What the Bible says about Jesus

The True Light "In him, (the Lord Jesus) was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world,…the world didn’t recognize him." John 1:4,9.
The Good Seed and the Weeds The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seeds in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. Matthew 13:24,25.

Monday, August 31, 2015

J.D. Farag - Mid-East Prophecy Update


John Haller Prophecy Update - It´s time to...


History of Unmistakable Divine Wrath Serves as Warning for Nuclear Deal

Reblogged from breakingisraelnews.com

“And I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse, and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you.” (Genesis 12:3)

Unmistakable divine messages can be tracked through history accompanying major world events. As US lawmakers deliberate the future of the nuclear agreement with Iran, American leaders should take a hint from history and understand the divine implications of their decisions.
We have already seen that natural phenomenon can often be seen as divinely guided. Is it a coincidence that after announcing the nuclear deal Iran was hit with an apocalyptic-like heat wave and, in a separate incident, a meteor?
While the heavenly warning are clearer to some than others, a quick look at the timeline of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and the accompanying natural disasters makes claims of coincidence lose their credibility.

October 30, 1991: US President George Bush, Sr. opened the Madrid Conference with an expectation that Israel would trade “Land for Peace”. As the conference progressed, what was later called the “Perfect Storm” develops in the North Atlantic, creating the largest waves ever recorded in that region. The storm traveled 1,000 miles from east to west, defying the more natural west to east pattern. One day later, on October 31, the storm struck the New England coast with 35 foot waves crashing into the Walker’s Point home of President Bush in Kennebunkport, South Maine. His home was extensively damaged.

August 23, 1992: The Madrid Conference moved to Washington DC and the peace talks resumed. One day later, Hurricane Andrew, the worst natural disaster recorded in American history, hit Florida, causing an estimated $30 billion in damage and leaving 180,000 homeless across the state.

January 21, 1998: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with US President Bill Clinton at the White House and was greeted in an unwelcoming manner. Clinton and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright refused to have lunch with him. It was later that same day that the Monica Lewinsky scandal broke out.

January 16, 1994: President Clinton met with Syria’s President Hafez el-Assad in Geneva . They discussed a peace agreement with Israel that included giving up the Golan Heights. Within 24 hours, the powerful Northridge earthquake, which registered a 6.9 on the Richter scale, hit Southern California. The earthquake caused an estimated $20 billion in damage, leaving 57 people killed and over 5,000 injured.  The earthquake became the second most destructive natural disaster to hit the United States.
September 28, 1998: US Secretary of State Madeline Albright gave a press briefing describing the final details of an American brokered agreement between PLO Head Yasser Arafat and Netanyahu. According to the deal, Israel would have been required to give up 13 percent of Judea and Samaria. The same day, Georges, a category 4 hurricane, hit the United States Gulf Coast with winds of 110 mph and gusts of up to 175 mph. In terms of damage, it was the costliest hurricane since Hurricane Andrew, causing $10 billion of damage and killing 604 people.

October 15-22, 1998: Arafat and Netanyahu met at the Wye River Plantation in Maryland for five days of intensive talks as part of a continuation of Albright’s plan that would force Israel to give up major areas of Judea and Samaria . On October 17, Hurricane Madeline boiled over. Though it never made landfall, the resulting rains and tornados that hit southern Texas caused over $750 million in damage and killed 31 people, affecting a quarter of the state. The storm dissipated as the meeting ended in Maryland. On October 21, Clinton declared the hard-hit areas of Texas a major disaster area.

November 30, 1998: Arafat arrived in Washington again to meet with Clinton. He proposed a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as the capital and began efforts to raise money. A total of 42 nations agreed to give Arafat $3 billion, with Clinton pledging $400 million and European nations pledging $1.7 billion. On the same day, the Dow Jones average plunged 216 points, and on December 1, the European Market had its worst day in history. Hundreds of billions of dollars of market capitalization were wiped out in the US and Europe.

December 12, 1998: Clinton landed in the Palestinian-controlled section of Israel to discuss the “land for peace” process. The House of Representatives votes four articles of impeachment against him.

image: http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Hurricane-Katrina-weather-radar-300x150.png
Hurricane Katrina making landfall in the southern US region, August 2005. (Photo: SSEC/CIMSS, University of Wisconsin–Madison)
Hurricane Katrina making landfall in the southern US region, August 2005. (Photo: SSEC/CIMSS, University of Wisconsin–Madison)
May 3, 1999: Arafat was scheduled to declare an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital. For two days, tornadoes ravaged the center of America, concentrated in Oklahoma and Kansas. 152 tornadoes touched down, causing $1.4 billion in damage, killing 50 and injuring almost 900 people. Arafat’s declaration was postponed to December 1999 at the request of Clinton.

October 11, 1999: Jewish settlers in 15 West Bank settlements are evicted from their homes. The Dow Jones financial averages loses 5.7 percent, in the worst week since October 1989. On October 15, the Dow lost 266 points. A hurricane hits North Carolina. The next morning, October 16, a magnitude 7.1 earthquake rocks the southwest US in the fifth most powerful earthquake in the 20th century. The earthquake was centered in the California desert and did little damage but was felt in three states.

August 13, 2005: The day before the 9th of Av, commemorating the day on which both Jewish Temples in Jerusalem were destroyed, over 10,000 Jews were evicted from their homes in Gush Katif as part of the Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s “Disengagement” plan. This disengagement was due to US pressure.  Less than two weeks later, Hurricane Katrina destroyed New Orleans and other parts of Louisiana, leaving thousands of Americans homeless and killing at least 1,833. Damage was estimated at over $108 billion.

Read more at http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/47736/history-unmistakable-divine-wrath-warning-nuclear-deal-middle-east/#zIxWcpTPQOmSgU7c.99

"Homosexuality is the unfailing characteristic of paganism"

Reblogged from theendtime.com

Posted: 30 Aug 2015 04:07 PM PDT
The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, by John Martin, 1852  
In reading the Word of God, it is such a delight when one re-reads the same passage and yet unearths new insights. It's a delightful mystery to me how this happens, but it is also a wonderful confirmation that the Word is living and active, just as was promised. (Hebrews 4:12).

In reading through Genesis, I'm up to Genesis 19. This is the pivotal chapter where God sends Jesus in a pre-incarnate visit along with two other angels to speak with Abraham and to render destruction onto Sodom (and Gomorrah and Admah and Zeboiim, and apparently Zoar was also slated for destruction but mercy came when Lot pleaded to be allowed to live there).

In searching out the parallel scriptures the Spirit brought the following to mind:

Mrs. Lot. I've always wondered about her turning into a pillar of salt. I've always wondered about the admonition from Jesus to "Remember Lot's wife!" (Luke 17:32).

Well, if you read right before verse 32, Jesus is saying what NOT to do when the day of Destruction comes,

31On that day, the one who is on the housetop and whose goods are in the house must not go down to take them out; and likewise the one who is in the field must not turn back. 32"Remember Lot's wife.

Mrs Lot had turned back. She was already behind, and she did not merely glance back, but had turned back, thus becoming embroiled in the destruction. Also by her action she demonstrated which path she wanted to take (the broad path).

I was also astounded to learn there is another parallel verse which mirrors the language of Genesis 19, in Judges 19. When I read the parallel verses I had to double-check them to make sure I wasn't reading the same incident.

Genesis 19:4-9

But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man, surrounded the house. 5And they called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them.” 6Lot went out to the men at the entrance, shut the door after him, 7and said, “I beg you, my brothers, do not act so wickedly. 8Behold, I have two daughters who have not known any man. Let me bring them out to you, and do to them as you please. Only do nothing to these men, for they have come under the shelter of my roof.” 9But they said, “Stand back!” And they said, “This fellow came to sojourn, and he has become the judge! Now we will deal worse with you than with them.” Then they pressed hard against the man Lot, and drew near to break the door down.
That we may know them ..." This is a euphemism for homosexual intercourse. "This is the carnal sin of pederasty, a crime very prevalent among the Canaanites," and also the unfailing characteristic of paganism. ~James Burton Coffman Commentary


Judges 19:22-26. Gibeah’s Crime

22As they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, worthless fellows, surrounded the house, beating on the door. And they said to the old man, the master of the house, “Bring out the man who came into your house, that we may know him.” 23And the man, the master of the house, went out to them and said to them, “No, my brothers, do not act so wickedly; since this man has come into my house, do not do this vile thing. 24Behold, here are my virgin daughter and his concubine. Let me bring them out now. Violate them and do with them what seems good to you, but against this man do not do this outrageous thing.” 25But the men would not listen to him. So the man seized his concubine and made her go out to them. And they knew her and abused her all night until the morning. And as the dawn began to break, they let her go. 26And as morning appeared, the woman came and fell down at the door of the man’s house where her master was, until it was light. (Judges 19:22-26).

James Burton Coffman Commentary says
"Stand back ..." If Lot had thought up until that moment that he enjoyed any real influence in Sodom, it disappeared with this blunt rejection. The gratification of carnal lust is supreme with every homosexual. They would even subject Lot himself to their vile passions. The corollary to this is that, given the size of the sadistic mob converged upon Lot's house, the unhindered gratification of their lust upon three men would inevitably have ended in their murder as well. The insight into this kind of situation which is provided by a similar incident in Judges 19 is all the proof that is needed that murder would have resulted.
And this brought me to pondering human nature. If a society turns away from God, aberrant sexuality always results. This is because giving in to lusts and passions always results. It is our nature. The incident at Gibeah exemplifies the parallel to Romans 1:24-25. The incident at Sodom exemplifies Romans 1:26-27.
the permissive views of the current society are not sufficient grounds for setting aside divine law. Furthermore, it may not be supposed for one moment that God is any more pleased with the sexual aberrations associated with Sodom in our own day than He was then. ~James Burton Coffman Commentary
In another interesting tidbit, Genesis 19 opens with a report that Lot sat at the gate. This means he was an administrator of some sort of the city, enjoying status in adjudicating and enjoying a measure of influence and status.

However that instantly came to naught when Lot asked the men not to gang-rape the angels. First the men revealed what they had thought about him all along, 'you're a foreigner, not one of us!' Despite all of Lot's compromises, all his trying to fit in, 'be relevant' amid a hostile and polluted people, it didn't work. It will go well for us Christians if we remember this. We are aliens, and as much as we may be tempted to dampen the Gospel message, make it 'palatable', drinking beer with the fellows and making crude jokes, being relevant ourselves, it will not work. They know we're not of them, even if we forget this once in a while.

Secondly, the minute Lot asked them not to gang-rape the angels, their next response was "Don't judge us!" Again it will go well for us to remember that no matter how many happy laughs you have shared with unbelievers, the moment you point out their sin they will cry foul. Worse, if you've been a hypocrite and tried to blend in with them, they will have a legitimate complaint against you in saying you're the pot calling the kettle black.

Lot was barely hanging on to righteousness there in Sodom. He was as low as he could go and still be called a righteous man. If he was a New Testament believer he'd be like one of those barely making it in, as through the fire (1 Corinthians 3:15). As for the rest of those in Sodom,
The judgment of the Lord upon Sodom was justified. The apostle Paul stated flatly that proponents and practitioners of the type of sins visible here are "worthy of death" (Romans 1:32), and the permissive views of the current society are not sufficient grounds for setting aside divine law. Furthermore, it may not be supposed for one moment that God is any more pleased with the sexual aberrations associated with Sodom in our own day than He was then. ~James Burton Coffman Commentary
And as I pondered depraved human nature after reading Genesis 19 and Judges 19, it makes me all the more in awe of God. All the scriptures testify about Jesus (Luke 24:27, John 5:39). His love for us even as we are depraved sinners is a profound truth, one that humbles my mind and crushes my heart. What a sinful degradation Sodom was (and Gomorrah and Admah and Zeboiim) yet the Lord spared Lot and his daughters. He spared them even knowing they would incestuously lie with one another and begat a tribe that would be at enmity with Him until the Day of His return. What love! What mercy! What a mystery why our God loves us so. I am tremendously glad He does though.

I am Lot. I am Mrs Lot. Do I have an intercessor pleading for me like Abraham did for Lot? I do. Not just my elder relative as Abraham was to Lot, but the Head of the Family, Jesus. (Romans 8:43, Hebrews 7:25). My High Priest intercedes for His people. What grace there is in that. What comfort there is in salvation.

Yet that comfort should not make us comfortable. The Day of Reckoning will come for the world like it did for Sodom, which is an EXAMPLE of the coming wrath to the ungodly. (2 Peter 2:6). Sodom and Gomorrah are used as warnings, repeatedly in the Old Testament to a rebellious Israel. (Isaiah 1:9; 3:9; 13:19; Jeremiah 23:14; Ezekiel 16:46-49; Amos 4:11; Zephaniah 2:9)

And through it all, Jesus said, Remember Lot's wife!

REMEMBER LOT'S WIFE (Luke 17:32) J. B. Coffman:

I. She is a warning to all who are tempted to sacrifice their safety in order to win or keep more of this world's goods.

II. If we strive to possess the best of both worlds, we are likely to lose both.

III. She is a reminder that being "near safety" is not enough.

IV. She is a warning that having begun to follow the Lord's Word, one may still turn back from the way and be lost.

Yet He protects the righteous. He protects his children.

So it was that, when God destroyed the cities of the valley, God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow when he overthrew the cities in which Lot had lived. (Genesis 19:29).

How great is our God.

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

What do you know?

Reblogged from servehiminthewaiting.com


Through out the centuries, God has had various ways He has dealt with mankind.  In the garden of Eden, there was total innocence, and God walked with Adam and Even personally in the Garden.  But when they disbelieved God about not eating of the fruit of the tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, and Eve was deceived by the serpent, (Adam was not deceived), then with the knowledge of sin, in the next Covenant man was guided by and judged on the basis of conscience.  He knew what was evil, and yet, man still sinned. 

In fact man was so sinful that we don’t even get out of Genesis before God has destroyed all but eight humans in a global flood.  And not only that, but still before we get past Genesis, mankind is so rebellious that they have built a monument to themselves in the form of the Tower of Babel under human government, then a period when God made a Covenant with Abraham, and then a different covenant with Moses when He gave the law.  At the end of the Old Testament, and through 400 years of silence on God’s part, as far as direct interaction with mankind through prophets, priests and kings, there came a period of excessive Grace.  That is the condition that began with Messiah’s death, and is still in place in present time. 

A term has arisen for these various conditions of God’s dealing with mankind, which is “dispensations” which, like the word Trinity, is not in the Bible, but the principle is clearly established.  Same as the word Rapture although that word was in the Latin translations.

The purpose of these different ways and means of dealing with man, has been to prove (to man himself) that under each and every circumstance, that it is not the “environment” that leads to corruption and sin, but rather a condition of the human heart.  Even during the Millennial reign of Christ on Earth, when Satan has been imprisoned for a thousand years and thereby unable to deceive the human heart, as soon Satan is released, the scriptures tell us he will succeed in leading yet another (and final) rebellion against the authority of God.

Why will God allow this?  Because it will prove that the thoughts of man’s heart are only evil, left to themselves and their own thoughts and devices.  Man cannot redeem himself. Man will gravitate toward darkness, rather than light, so there would be no “enlightenment”, no attainment of “godhood”.

All through history, salvation is solely in Jesus, though in the Old Testament, man was tasked with keeping the law, it was not for salvation, but rather for purposes of showing man his own sinfulness and inability to keep it.  Their system of sacrifice was merely a pre-figuring of the death of the perfect lamb, Jesus, which at the time was yet future.

 Read more: Serve Him in the Waiting

Tuesday, August 4, 2015

A testimony of God’s Tenderness

Reposted from servehiminthewaiting.com


A reader invited me to share this testimony after reading the post on the topic of the bruised reed and the smoking flax last week.
——————————————————————————————————–
By Anonymous:


New American Standard Bible
“A BATTERED REED HE WILL NOT BREAK OFF, AND A SMOLDERING WICK HE WILL NOT PUT OUT, UNTIL HE LEADS JUSTICE TO VICTORY. Isaiah 42:3 and Matthew 12:20.


This scripture is very dear to me.

It reminds me of an experience that happened some years ago around 1995. A neighbor used to come to my house about once a week to ask for prayer and encouragement.

She had a very traumatic childhood, drepeatedly by a step father, didn´t know how to read, had gained a lot of weight, didn´t do well at school, didn´t know how to read or write (she was in her mid-twenties) when I knew her.

She was a poor afflicted soul, who was on medication for a number of ailments and chronic depression. But she was sweet tender soul who loved the Lord and grateful in spite of all her life of suffering. She was also married to a wonderful, good husband who loved the Lord and loved her and took good care of her and their children.

One morning she came to talk to us as was her custom. After a chat, I wanted to pray.

You know by now that I am not a prophet, nor claim to be. At some rare times during my life the Lord in his mercy has seen it fit to show me some things, mostly for the benefit of others, insights for understanding and direction and at times to simply help or warn me or others of a dangerous, even life threatening situation.

So as I was praying and asking the Lord to show me in his Word how to minister and comfort her, suddenly I saw in my mind´s eye a candle barely burning about to be snuffed out by the movement of the air around it. I felt bad, but waited in silence to see what would happen next. Then, a hand came into view in front of the candle with a glass chimney for an old fashioned kerosene lamp and protected the weak flame from being extinguished.

Then I knew what to pray. Of course this verse came back to me and I described the scene to her explaining that the Lord was going to keep her from getting worse, that he loved her and protected her and gave her the verse. After the prayer, her whole countenance had changed, her smile came back and her face was glowing.

This picture is very similar to the holder that I gave my friend.

Candle and globe

I got up and found in the kitchen closet a small wooden frame with a mirror and a holder for a candle and of course a chimney just as I had seen.

To help her remember this divine encounter, I gave her the candle holder and the verse on a piece of paper with the date, which she put on the wall of her living room as a reminder of God´s faithfulness and blessing.

Then, as a practical illustration and memory exercise, we reenacted the scene. She lit the candle and blew on it up to the point of almost extinguishing it and then she was so happy to place the protective chimney to illustrate the verse. What a lesson it was for all of us! Those are the altars that the patriarchs of old erected in the desert as a remembrance of the goodness and the mercy of God.

Something wonderful happened to her. From that day on, she got much better, happier, her condition improved in all areas of her life. She became more confident, registered with a free reading program with a one on one tutor. Her goal was to be able to read the Bible.

One day, two years later, she announced that she had gotten her diploma and was proud to be able to show me that she could finally read the Word. What a joy and burst of thanksgiving that was as we praised the Lord loudly with tears of joy!

God is faithful and will do what he has declared and his Word will not return void but accomplish what he has sent it to do. Amen!

The Lord never ceases to amaze me how he knows exactly what we need at the precise moment we need it.
Read more: http://thelightseed.blogspot.com/2015/08/a-testimony-of-gods-tenderness.html#ixzz3hsxI0igo

A Short Single Sentence that Saved my Life

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