Second Coming of the First Century Church

 Given how PI the Church seems to be viewed by many the "Second Coming of the First Century Church" seems to be an appropriate title for this post. As often happens with me, I was sidetracked by remembering a teaching by Chuck Missler from several years ago.  Chuck provides a good history of the  persecution of the early Christian church and then goes on to talk about home churches. Again, very relevant today.

It seems that the Wuhan Virus has had a negative impact on religious freedom. Attending church is being discouraged, so the home church is a possibility. Was the First Century Church that met in catacombs in Rome is a type for present day. How close are we to underground meetings to be able share the Word of God?

For years my favorite Bible study was  a small group meeting openly winters at a camping site in the desert in a 10’ x 20’ tent on Bureau of Land Management land. There is something about studying the Word of God in the desert that makes me feel even closer to Jesus. Our Bible study leader, Jay, always  prepared thoroughly and had many references and included word studies in her teachings. Jan didn't just talk at us, we were encouraged to join in.

Even this little gathering didn't escape minor persecution. Several years ago one of the local politicians challenged Jay about holding a Bible study on BLM property. This person brought with her an air of darkness but Jay stood her ground as we had permission to meet there. We even invited her to join us, her reply was something like "You would like that wouldn't you." Yes we would have welcomed her and prayed for her salvation, however, she glared at Jay. After she left the atmosphere that had been so uplifting was weighted down by a feeling of darkness. Our little group joined hands and prayed and the atmosphere was cleared up. A preview of coming persecution? 

Sadly last year our Jay had a series of strokes and her extensive teaching are scattered among a pile of yellow legal sheets and in her confused mind. Thus ending Jay's desert Bible study.

As an aside, should we be forced to meet in small group, well, there are some advantages:

· Members of a small group seems to me to bond with each other

· The group can get into a very in depth Bible study

· Members of small groups can be very supportive of each other

· There doesn't seem to be the clicks in a small group

· Everyone is involved in the discussion

The 2020 election is tending towards a Biden/ Harris administration, however, there still are courts cases pending and the Electoral College is still to meet. Will the church be going underground if the left takes over control of our national government? Home/ underground churches have the advantage of not drawing attention as does a large church in these post Wuhan Virus days. Small groups may very well be the future churches in America as they are in so many other countries.

There is more and more discrimination against the Christian faith and Christians even here in the United States. Some state governors have restricted church attendance and even banned singing praises to the Lord. I would pray that rather than having to go underground, we will see great revival in the United States. For now, the possibility of a Biden/ Harris administration may be a shaking of the Church (capital C) a wake up call, a rebirth of the church at Pentecost in Acts 2.

Dr. Missler’s teaching on the “Once and Future Church” is available at https://store.khouse.org/products/the-once-and-future-church

Covid-19 The Great Reset

It was only through promising myself my second cup of coffee and a Tootsie Roll Pop that I could make myself attempt once more to read "Covid-19 the Great Reset" by KLAUS SCHWAB THIERRY MALLERET.

I finally made it to 20% read with many pages highlighted. One quote for example, "Jin Qi (one of China’s leading scientists) had it right when he said in April 2020: “This is very likely to be an epidemic that co-exists with humans for a long time, becomes seasonal and is sustained within human bodies.”[19]"

Also read of something called, "The Fourth Industrial Revolution (or Industry 4.0) is the ongoing automation of traditional manufacturing and industrial practices, using modern smart technology. Large-scale machine-to-machine communication (M2M) and the internet of things (IoT) are integrated for increased automation, improved communication and self-monitoring, and production of smart machines that can analyze and diagnose issues without the need for human intervention.[1]"

With my tenancy to think "Outside the Box," perhaps rather than a lightning bolt, God will use something like a solar event to create an EMP.

Is President Donald Trump God’s Modern-day Cyrus? God’s Jehu?

In 2016 there was a tremendous groundswell of Christians not only in the United States but in Israel praying for Trump to be victorious. Prayer meetings were held often through the night before the election. Donald Trump was elected President of the United States (POTUS), however, Obama still had two months to cause damage both to our country and to Israel.

Was King Cyrus a type of Donald Trump? Centuries before the birth of Jesus and more than a hundred years before King Cyrus matched into Babylon God dictated a letter to him through the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah 44:28, “That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.”

Also, as prophesied, Cyrus’ military was unopposed, Isaiah 45:1, “Thus saith the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut;”

Unlike Cyrus, Trump met with great opposition, opposition from Liberals, from Obama and his minions, a bias and often lying mainstream media, the Elicits both from without and within his own party and the Globalists.

Like Cyrus who had already conquered most of the known world, Trump is/ was a very successful businessman. Cyrus encouraged the Israelites to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple. Rebuilding the temple didn’t go smoothly as a wall was needed. Israel was finally given permission to rebuild the wall leading to one of the greatest prophecies of all time. Daniel 9:25, “Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.” A subject for another time.

The hand of God was involved in the selection of Cyrus to free the Israeli and help them to return to Israel. What is the likelihood that the hand of God was in the election of Donald Trump in 2016? Was the imperfect Donald Trump raised up “For such time as this?” I certainly think so.

Now four years and the 2018 mid-term election later, where are we? Today we have a POTUS of the type of Jehu the Warrior. Jehu helped to cleanse Israel of Idol worship, 2 Kings 10:28, “Thus Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel.” President Trump has taken a stand for Christianity. He has moved our Embassy to Jerusalem rather than kicking the can down the road like pass POTUS.

President Trump has delivered on many campaign promised and we now have a more conservative Supreme Court. President Trump has been a friend to Israel and is prolife.

 

As an aside, Rabbi Jonathan Cahn’s 2017 “The Paradigm: The Ancient Blueprint That Holds the Mystery of Our Times” is quite a read. Again, very relevant to 21st Century America.

As for Jehu, recommended reading, “The Paradigm,” by Jonathan Cahn,

“The Paradigm: The Ancient Blueprint That Holds the Mystery of Our Times is, above all, the revealing of a mystery, a blueprint, an ancient paradigm, that uncannily and amazingly has everything to do with our times. It is also the revealing of a warning to a nation and a civilization concerning its present course and the ultimate end of that course.”

In  my opinion, a Biden/ Harris administration will spell the end of America as it was and could be. God raised up Donald Trump as a sort of King Cyrus/ Jehu to provide one last chance for our country to turn around. God willing President Trump will be re-elected 11/3/2020.

506-1-1-8. YHWH, the name God uses to denote His covenant relationship with Israel, is only one of the many names of God and the seven names of Jesus as given in the Book of Revelation

The many names of God relate to His attributes. These are just a few,

Adonai, El Elyon, El Olam, El Roi, El Shaddai, Elohim, Yahweh

Moving to the Church Age, God has several names of God including:

YHVH-Yireh — "YEHOVAH will provide"

YHVH-Rapha — "Yahweh that healed"

YHVH-Niss"i — "YEHOVAH our Banner"

YHVH-Shalom — "YEHOVAH our Peace"

YHVH-Ra-ah — "YEHOVAH is the Way, my Shepherd"

In the Seven Letters to the Churches in the Book of Revelation Jesus has a unique name related to each church. Each church represents a period in church history; however, all are applicable to the churches of today.

Church         The name of Jesus

Ephesus      “He that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden lampstands”

Smyrna       “The first and the last, which was dead, and is alive”

Pergamos   “He which hath the sharp sword with two edges 

Thyatira     “The Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass” 

Sardis        “He that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.” 

Philadelphia   “He that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth”

Laodiceans   “The Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God”

Again, the seven churches represent the church through the ages. Starting with the church of Ephesus which was the apostolic church through the church of Laodicea, the lukewarm church which pretty much sums up we’re were at today.

The church of Ephesus had gotten so involved in doctrine that “thou hast left thy first love.”

The church of Smyrna, the persecuted church. There was such great persecution of the early Christians  that they were actually used as torches to light the pathways in the court of Nero.

The Church of Pergamos was the marriage between Christians and the pagan worship.  

That church of Thyatira  represented the medieval church that had that woman Jezebel, shades of the Inquisition.

The Church of Sardis was the dead church as the  incompletion of the Reformation.

The church of Philadelphia is what we the Lord would that we all were, the missionary church. This is what we all should be about, witnesses for Lord Jesus as the time is short. If you listen carefully you can almost hear the beating of the horses’ hoofs.

More posts to follow, Prophecy Watchers October 2019 Watchers Conference

Off and on, well more on than off, I've been on a 3 day binge of watching the DVD's I received from Prophecy Watchers from their October 2019 Watchers Conference dealing with "Encouraging one another as you see the day approaching."

As for what the day is, is it the "Day of the Lord" referred to 29 times in the KJV of the Bible in both the old and New Testament? Thankfully the believing Church (capital C) will be caught up before that terrible time. 

The Day of the Lord is a subject I have written on several times including this from five plus years ago:
https://sallycp-inthebeginninggod.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-day-is-near-521-4-7.html

I believe the 2016 election of Donald Trump was a chance to get it right.

506-1-2-5 Re: Deuteronomy 3:25,26. Remembering a time when the Lord told me to stop asking for something and what I learned from this

Deuteronomy 3:25-26, “25 I pray thee, let me go over, and see the good land that is beyond Jordan, that goodly mountain, and Lebanon. 26 But the LORD was wroth with me for your sakes, and would not hear me: and the LORD said unto me, Let it suffice thee; speak no more unto me of this matter."

Last fall I had a comeuppance from God while at my summer home in northeastern Arizona. I often say that in addition to the certainty of death and taxes is the wind in Arizona. The wind was blowing at 20 plus miles per hour with gusts. I was driving the nearly 30 miles to town to the post office and to refill propane tanks.

I often talk to God when I'm driving and perhaps I was being just a little bit too familiar. I was asking him to help me get over something I was feeling bitter about that dealt with him.

 1. For months friends and I had prayed that my left eye would be healed after cataract surgery. Rather than healing my eye directly God sent me to a very skilled surgeon with the result of a successful partial cornea transplant surgery. A few months later I had both cataract and partial cornea transplant on the right eye. However, my bitterness was that I possibly further harmed my left eye by waiting several months for God to act.

 2. I had recently been told my very good friend and Bible teacher had a stroke and fell and broke her hip. Within minutes the EMTs were there and wanted to take her to the hospital. She refused to go and was declared competent. Hours later she finally agreed to go to the hospital, sadly after she most likely loss more function due to time wasted. Was she so deep in the belief that God would heal her brain and hip that she refused immediate medical assistance? I suspect so.

So back to my complaining to God. I barely got the words out of my mouth when I was slammed by a very powerful gust of wind and I was barely able to keep control over my van. Oops.

This experience brought to mind Job Chapter 38”

Job 38:1  Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said, 

Job 38:2  Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge? 

It could have been worse, the Israelis murmured and had to spend another 38 years in the wilderness. We have a merciful God. But no more murmuring on my part.