TIME FOR ACTION

  TIME FOR ACTION
Most Christians would be aware that things have changed and changed very quickly and not for the best. What to do about it? While some are endeavouring to stand against the tide of anti-God activity, others see the downward trend as a sign that Jesus is coming to ‘rapture’ them shortly and take them out of the mess. People are looking for answers. They need to understand just what is going on. We need a Biblical worldview.  How does God see things?

First of all we need to understand who we are. How many know that Christians are the Seed of Abraham? What difference  does that make?
Let the Bible speak:-
“Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as of many, but as of one, “And to your Seed” who is Christ.”  Galatians 3:16
“And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Galatians 3:29

There is One Seed and that Seed is Christ AND the Church.- Jesus and His Church are the Seed of Abraham, and we inherit all the promises made to Abraham.  Abraham had physical seed through Isaac and spiritual seed through Christ. To the physical seed God gave the Land of Canaan, which they had to possess; To the spiritual Seed, God gave the Earth.
“For the promise that he would be heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.” Romans 4:13

That’s us! We are heir of the world. We also have to possess our inheritance. The journey of Israel from slaves in the kingdom of darkness to conquerors possessing the Promised Land is a template for how the Church will possess their inheritance. Israel had to possess the Land, bring down the strongholds of the enemy and establish the rule of God, i.e. the Kingdom. Our inheritance is occupied by satanic forces with their entrenched strongholds.
“We know that we are of God and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.”    1 John 5:19

During the temptation of Christ, Satan showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and boasted that they were his. This is still the case. That’s why we have a messed up world. Jesus removed his authority over the world by bearing all the sins of the world. Authority over the earth now belongs to the Seed of Abraham but Satan still operates illegally. Jesus has done all the work but we have to enforce His victory in the Earth till the satanic strongholds crumble.
This is a spiritual war against spiritual enemies:-

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:12
A generation of the physical seed of Abraham rose up under Joshua and claimed the Land of Canaan. Eventually the Kingdom was established under Solomon, son of David and the glory of God filled the temple.

This current generation is the Joshua generation. This is the generation destined to rise up and liberate the earth from the clutches of the wicked one. Since the resurrection he has been waiting in fear and trembling, knowing that his days are numbered. All he could do was exercise his only remaining powers, to deceive and accuse, to keep the Seed of Abraham from rising up and claiming the Earth for the Kingdom. He does this by blinding our spiritual eyes to spiritual realities. He is also quite happy to let us believe in wrong teaching about the end times; anything but the truth. Wrong teaching has bred an apathetic Church, just waiting to be raptured out any moment now; when what we are supposed to be doing is getting on the offensive against the enemy.

Jesus said that He would build His Church and the gates of Hell would not stand against it.
Time to wake up Church! It’s not just about taking us to Heaven when we die; it is about bringing back the King and the Kingdom to rule over our Earth. The Earth is our inheritance; the Kingdom of God ‘on Earth as it is in Heaven’ is our Promised Land. But we have to claim it. The Hosts of Heaven are waiting to do battle with us. The Victory is ours! Amen

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PROPHETIC FEASTS

Jesus’ brothers were preparing to go up to Jerusalem to the Feast of Tabernacles. They challenged Jesus to go up and “Show Yourself to the world.” Jesus replied:-

“My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready. The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil. You go up to this feast, I am not yet going up to this feast, for My time has not yet fully come.” John 7: 6-8

After His brothers had left, Jesus went up to the feast secretly and about the middle of the feast He went into the temple and taught. The Pharisee’s wanted to arrest Him but could not “for His time had not yet come.” On the last day, that great day of the feast, as water was poured out from a golden pitcher onto the altar to the rejoicing of the crowds, Jesus revealed Himself openly as the One who provides the living water of the Spirit.

Throughout His ministry, Jesus moved with a sense of purpose. He was obviously conscious that He was fulfilling prophecy as encrypted into the feasts of Israel. That’s why He rode into Jerusalem on the exact day of the choosing of the Passover Lamb and was acclaimed by the crowds. When told by the Pharisees to silence them He replied that if the people were silent the stones would cry out. This was the time for the Lamb of God to be chosen and to give His life for the world and nothing would stop it.

Jesus died at the time of the sacrifice of the Passover lamb up at the temple; His body went into the tomb as the Feast of Unleavened Bread began; and He rose on the Feast of Firstfruits to be ‘the firstfruits of them that slept.’ The Holy Spirit was poured out exactly on the Day of Pentecost – the anniversary of the giving of the Law and the plans for the tabernacle. This Feast was about equipping the people of God to fulfil their commission.

The one Feast that has never been fulfilled in the Church is the Feast of Tabernacles. This is the Feast of fullness, the final harvest when God will bring into manifestation all that the Cross has purchased. All the seeds that have been sown will come to harvest. The Church will rise to its full potential in Christ and there will be a mighty harvest of souls. ‘Elijah’ will come and restore all things [Matthew 17:11] i.e. the Spirit which anointed Elijah will come upon the Church to prepare the way of the Lord as He came upon John the Baptist to prepare the way for Jesus’ 1^st coming. It will be a glorious time and it’s about to begin in a few short years.

Jesus moved in sync with the Feasts of Israel. Those Feasts were set into the history of Israel as a road map for the Church. Therefore if we look at what Jesus did at the time of the Feast of Tabernacles, we will have some clues about what Jesus will be doing during the season of the fulfilment of this Feast. Jesus made the point that He could not go up to the Feast any time as others could. He wasn’t just another worshipper; He was the central figure of what the Feast was all about. Jesus went up secretly. What is that saying? Jesus will be coming to the Feast but it will not be the time for Him to be openly revealed. Of course Jesus is always with His Church but at the End time fulfilment of the Feast, there will be a greatly increased sense of the Presence of the Lord.

About the middle of the Feast, Jesus went up into the temple and taught. The temple stands for the people of God. They are the Living temple that Jesus is building even now. At this time the Church will come greatly alive with the Word of God; we will be of one mind with Jesus the Head. This is the glorious Church spoken of in Ephesians 5:25,26

“that he might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.”

The Church will move with power and authority and be filled with the love and the Presence of God.  There will be great healings and creative miracles, like limbs being restored, and the world will flow into it.

On the last great day of the Feast Jesus revealed Himself openly and proclaimed Himself as the fount of Living Water and gave the invitation,

“If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scriptures has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”  John 7:37, 38

Foreshadowing the invitation at the end of the Age as in Revelation,

“And the Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the waters of life freely.” Revelation 22:17

Jesus will come physically and openly at the end of the season of the fulfilment of the Feast of Tabernacles in the Church. It will undoubtedly be “On the last day, that great day of the Feast.” John 7:17.

Jesus, the king once despised and rejected, will be welcomed with great rejoicing and celebration and will reign on the Earth. AMEN

A NEW ERA

2019. What's up ahead? there are many things happening across our world that could cause anxiety and fear; yet the Word for the Church in these days is to not be intimidated by these things but to keep our eyes on Jesus 'that you may know the way by which you must go; for you have not passed this way before.' Joshua 3;4
We are in a new era. The Church will go beyond where it has ever been. God is moving on into the greatest awakening there has ever been. There will be some shaking going on as God prepares His people for what is ahead. Jesus is cleansing His Temple. 2019 will be a year of preparation for great things ahead.
The Feast of Tabernacles, which has never been fulfilled in the Church, is going to be fulfilled. It is the Feast of fulness and the final harvest, when God brings it all together. The Church will rise to it's full potential in Christ. This is what God has been working toward for ages and for generations.
Those who have written the Church off as not relevant any more; that we are in a 'post Christian era,' are about to get a surprise.
Jesus said " I will build My Church and the gates of Hell will not stand against it."
Of these days God told Daniel, "Go your way, Daniel; for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand."
Be wise; keep your eyes on God's agenda. The victory that Christ purchased at the Cross is soon to be evidenced in the earth.

A THIRD TEMPLE?

Many eyes are looking towards Israel for what they believe is a sure sign of the soon return of the Lord, - the building of a third Temple. This is because of a particular interpretation of a verse in Daniel 9

Vs 27 ”Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week;

but in the middle of the week he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering.”

 

This interpretation goes like this:- The Antichrist makes a peace pact with the Jews. After three and a half years he breaks the covenant and stops the sacrifices at the temple. From this they assume that a third Temple has been built. This all happens during the last seven years of the Age, which is a time of God’s special dealings with Israel. Meanwhile Christians will be ‘raptured’ out. The seven years are the final ‘week’ of a prophecy in Daniel 9:24 in which God told Daniel:-

               

“Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy.”

 

The weeks are weeks of years, so a week is seven years. According to this interpretation only 69 weeks have been fulfilled and there is another week to go. They teach that between the 69^th and 70^th week, God has inserted the Church Age. When the Church is ‘raptured’ out there is a time of great tribulation coming on the world. The promises contained in vs 24 have not yet been fulfilled.

 

This is the popular end time teaching in many evangelical and Pentecostal churches. It has made its way into the notes of the Schofields, Dakes and other Bibles and thus assumes the authority of holy writ. God told Daniel that some end time truth is sealed until the time of the end; (Daniel 12:9) but about 200 years ago, there were those who went ahead of the Spirit and put together an end time scenario which doesn’t leave a lot of room for the Holy Spirit to bring revelation on the real plan of God for the Church. Getting raptured out any moment may sound exciting but what God has for the Church is even more exciting.

 

The truth is that the seventy weeks were seventy consecutive weeks; the last ‘week’ was the week of Jesus’s ministry. In the middle of the week, after 3 and a half years of ministry Jesus brought an end to the sacrifices as far as God was concerned, by making the one perfect sacrifice for all time. By His death on the Cross He confirmed or strengthened the Abrahamic covenant and He fulfilled all the promises contained in vs 24. God has only one answer for this world’s condition, and that is the Cross of Christ. Anything that He is going to do was accomplished there. We just haven’t yet understood the full extent of all Jesus achieved there. Jesus work is a finished work. He is now seated at the right hand of God “waiting till His enemies are made His footstool.” (Hebrews 10:12-14)

 

Jesus moved with a sense of purpose. He knew the plan of Redemption and worked within the will of the Father. He often said ‘it is not time yet’ because He was working to the plan. He said “I am sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”(Matthew 15:24)) That is because the work of redemption had to be first demonstrated in Israel, the pattern nation and priestly nation. The whole sacrificial system and the commemorative Feasts and all God’s redemptive acts for Israel were set up as a platform for the work of Redemption. The time came when God told Peter to take the gospel to the Gentiles. (Acts 10 and 11) The seventy “weeks” were completed.

 

There is no specific seven year period of tribulation, though persecution and tribulation may come. The Jews may or may not build another temple, though one would expect that they would want to. The third temple as far as God is concerned is the Living Temple that Jesus is building, (Ephesians 2:19-22). There was, at one time in the days of Solomon, three places of worship which are a type of the present time: –

*The tabernacle of Moses at Gibeon which represents the Jewish people. It had lost the Ark, the Presence of God, but the sacrifices were still made there and Solomon went there when seeking God at the beginning of his reign. (2 Chronicles 1)

* The tabernacle of David, a tent in Jerusalem which now housed the Ark. It was open and the Ark was in full view of the people. David organized continual worship to be held there. There was none of the rituals connected to Moses tabernacle and the sacrifices were sacrifices of praise. This tabernacle represents the Gentile Church. (Acts 15)

*The great golden temple under construction being built at the command of Solomon, son of David. This represents the Living temple being built by Jesus Son of David.

 

When Solomon’s temple was finished, the Ark was brought up and placed in the Holy of Holies. Also the old tabernacle of Moses was brought from Gibeon and placed in the temple, probably in one of the store rooms. (2 Chronicles 5:5) Then the Temple was filled with the glory of God.

 

Jesus is still building the Living Temple. When it is finished, the gentile church and the Jewish people are going to come together as ‘one new man’ (Ephesians 2:15) and the glory of God will fill it. Jesus said “I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:18) The Living Temple is going to be filled with God’s glory and the nations will flock to it.

 

“’I will shake all nations and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘And in this place I will give peace,’ says the Lord of hosts.” Haggai 2:7-9

 

We are experiencing some of this shaking now. Don’t be perturbed; God is shaking the nations to reveal the things that cannot be shaken.

 

“Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear for our God is a consuming fire.” Hebrews 12:28, 29

 

THE MANIFESTATION OF THE SONS OF GOD

Recently in the news was the report of a man attacking someone with an axe. He said that a demon   told him to start the rise of hell on Earth. Undoubtedly he was regarded as being mentally ill but I believe that his experience was real.  What we are witnessing is the rise of the satanic realm in the Earth. Most people will shrug that off as ridiculous, but Spirit filled Christians know the reality of the spiritual realm and understand the nature of the conflict we are in right now.

During the temptation of Christ, Satan showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory and boasted that all of this was his. He would give it all to Jesus if He would bow down worship him. Jesus didn’t dispute Satan’s claim. Authority over the world was delivered to the devil when Man submitted to him in Eden. Now ‘the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.’ 1 John 5:19. Jesus went to the Cross to bring Satan’s boast to nothing. The Cross is about more than taking you to heaven when you die; it’s about reclaiming the Earth for the Kingdom.

Satan had legal claim to the Earth because of Man’s rebellion but the Cross of Christ has changed all that. God now has a new breed of Man in the Earth - cleansed, restored, eternally alive in Christ and given authority in Jesus Name. Since the Resurrection, Satin has been working frantically to maintain his hold on the Earth. The Bible speaks of him as having great wrath, knowing that he has but a little time. We are witnessing the rise of hell in the Earth. The values and principles which undergirded our nations are being cast aside, faith in God is derided and more and more we see the persecution of Christians.

Yes hell is rising in the Earth, but the good news is that Heaven is coming down. The Holy Spirit of God is going to rise up in the people of God and bring them ‘unto the measure of the stature of Christ.’ [Ephesians 4:13] Romans 8 speaks of the ‘manifestation of the sons of God,’ a time that all creation is waiting for, because at that time it will be delivered from corruption also.  When Man fell, creation fell; when sin grew in the Earth, there was a further cataclysmic change at the time of the great flood. Whenever there is reviving and renewal there has been a measure of restoration seen in the surrounding area as seen in the Transformation series – the crops yield abundantly, pollution recedes, the fish come back in the streams. The spiritual state of Man is reflected in the physical state of the Earth. With the moral breakdown of our society, we see the escalation of the devastation of the Earth – more earthquakes, more drought, more fires and destructive hurricanes.

The ‘manifestation of the sons of God’ speaks of a time when God’s people rise to live out of their position in Christ.  In Him we are righteous and holy; ‘seated in heavenly places in Him.’[Ephesians 2;6] i.e. having spiritual authority in the Earth. ‘As He is, so are we in this world.’ [1 John 5; 17]. What kept Israel in the wilderness for so long? They didn’t know who they were. God called them ‘My Son’ [Exodus 4:22] but they saw themselves as only grasshoppers. When they finally believed they were who God said they were, they rose up in victory and the walls began to fall. What God has done in Israel is there for the instruction of those ‘upon whom the ends of the ages have come.’ [1 Corinthians 10:11]

The time has come when the sons of God will rise up and really BE the sons of God. Then we will see the Victory of the Cross expressed in the Earth and the Kingdom of God begin to be established in preparation for the Coming of the King. The Battle of the Ages is upon us! Amen! Come Lord Jesus.