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Jesus, Authority, Warfare, fallen angels, nephilim, Bible, How to fight Authority in the Name of Jesus & How to Take It! Article below or click link for downloadable PDF PDF Authority in the Name of Jesus & How to Take It! To get started there are two things that will be addressed here: 1.) Knowing “who” you are in Christ Jesus; 2.) and “How” to use our Lord and Savior’s Name appropriately. * Who you are in Christ Jesus: Your identity is not “who” you think you are in this world. Your identity is in the Son of God, the Messiah Jesus! Who He says you are - you are! Not what you’ve been told your whole life or not what you think of yourself. Take a look in the Word at how the Most High Elohim, God Almighty describes His Son and what is His. Because this is who we are now! In Him, as born-again children of God in Christ. When we “see” ourselves the way He sees us THIS is how we take authority. If this is new to you I suggest reading this article a few times and doing what is suggested. You will never be the same. If you haven’t taken the time to re-train your thinking in regards to this, you need to. Look up and read all the “in Him” “in Whom” “in Christ” and “in Christ Jesus” scriptures. This is who you are now! It’s vital to everything in a Christian’s life. When we are living in line with our new identity with the Lord and hearing from Him there is a marked difference in our lives. If you have self-worth issues (we all have had this in some way) you don’t think that God will talk with you. You don’t think you deserve it. BUT Jesus said, My sheep hear My voice, I know them and they follow Me, and I call them by name. (John 10.) So expect it! He will call you by name and speak with you. God’s Word rules! What He has said about it is FINAL. Not what we think or feel. We change our thinking and refuse our feelings in order to go in line with what He has said in His Word. Period. God’s Word is the ruler to judge everything by. If this is your situation spend a week or so reading and re-reading John 3, 10, 14-17 (all 6 chapters in one day) and repeat it each day until you KNOW that God speaks with you; then read all of 1 John (5 chapters, read all 5 each day). Also repeat it each day until you know your identity. Then when that is complete spend time in the Epistles. There are chapters you can start with if it seems to daunting, like Romans 8 & 12; Ephesians 1-3; all of Galatians; 2 Corinthians 1-2 & 5; 1 Corinthians 1-2 & 15; Philippians 1 & 3. Make it personal as you read. Like when it says “you”, say out loud “me”, or when Paul is talking about himself like in Philippians 3 speak the scripture out loud and say it as “me” - that sort of thing. This is putting yourself in scripture because it is God speaking to YOU! Once you learn how He speaks then you’ll begin to notice when He is speaking with you because it’s the same language and always leaves you with joy and peace. When we are first learning this we think it’s our own thoughts because it is coming from within us - not voice to skull. KNOW where the voice is coming from!!! This is crucial. People say they hear from God but when you hear what was said to them you know it’s not God because of the subject matter and what that “word” left you with - not clear, confusion, fear, no peace, unsettled. That result isn’t God. God always speaks in line with His Word which is light and life; and when someone can’t tell “where” the voice came from - within or voice to skull - they get deceived and get into trouble. It can even cause death. The enemy is a deceiver and murderer from the beginning. KNOW who is talking. Focus on whether you were thinking anything just before that “thought” and if so, if it what you were thinking was something totally different than what you “heard” that more often than not is Him. BUT measure it against the Word that you know! God will never speak against His own Word. If it was against the Word, then out loud “I cast that thought out in Jesus Name, I think on things that are good, lovely, peaceable, these are the things I think on! God gives me peace and keeps my heart and mind, in Jesus Name!” (2 Corinthians 10:3-6; Philippians 4:7-8.) Speak with Him - this is the Creator of the Universe, be respectful - AND listen to what He has to say. AND always tell Him “thank You”. People like to be appreciated and so does God. Pour out your heart to Him. Hold nothing back. Yes, He knows it all but He wants you to feel free to talk with Him and ask Him what He thinks about it. Great revelation of the Lord comes with authentic opening of your heart to the Creator, Father God. You will never be the same! Now that this is accomplished, what God Almighty has said about you in His Word IS your identity. Jesus is the Word made flesh. He upholds all things by His Word of power! It will be easier to “see” yourself as this - all the characteristics of the Messiah - because He is IN you. You have His characteristics. You need to let Him flow out of you. This is why we feel “guilt” when we sin. The act of sin is going against our new nature. You are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus whether you “feel” like it or not and when we sin it is abrasive against our new nature. That’s why “guilt” shows up. Ask for forgiveness and ask the Holy Spirit to help you with this. He certainly will. Then spend time speaking the Word out loud over yourself of “who you are” in Christ to change your guilt feelings. They are only feelings and the Word will change them as you keep speaking the Word over yourself. All of this will be easier now that you have practiced these things from the previous paragraphs of spending time in the Word and listening for His voice within you, sharing time with Him, communing with Him, and doing what He says. Here’s an example of what people typically do in stressful situations, actually what I call “crisis”. There is a difference between “inconvenience” and “crisis”. Most situations people get stressed about are “inconvenience”. Not life threatening situations which I call “crisis”. Crisis situations have the potential to be life altering for those involved. It is in these situations when either the person(s) are not born again, or they are but do not know their identity and Authority in Christ Jesus. You see, when people are in life threatening situations most do not know what to do. They freak out. They speak what they fear. Case in point when I had the stroke in 1995, it was what doctors called a “massive stroke” because of 9 blood clots in my brain in the arteries (that bring blood to the brain, so my brain was starving - no oxygen) and they did not expect me to live. I was in a coma for 3 days. My colleagues and friends attempted to be “sympathetic” saying things like, “Oh, no, poor Rina. I can’t believe this happened. She used to be such a great ……”. My mother had come to the hospital a couple days later (because I was in another country) and would retort: “No, she will not die but live and declare the works of the Lord. Great is her peace, her wholeness, in Jesus Name. And she has a long life because of what the Lord Jesus has done!” When she first got the phone call about the situation she had said this sentence and there was silence on the other end of the phone. And a quick, “Uh, ok.” It wasn’t much different when she got to the hospital. They all thought she was nuts. But who cares when you’re trying to keep your “child” alive - (I was 26). Speak the Word of God! It changes things! “Let there be light. And it was so.” That’s how you handle crisis situations. What you speak is declaring your Authority. Whether you speak life or death - what you say is vital! No matter what it looks like. No matter what you think. No matter what it feels like. Words create life or death - what kind of words will you speak? Spend time in the Word of God, ask Him where He wants you to focus on in the Word. Immerse yourself in it to form your new identity. These will be the words that come out of you mouth in a crisis. Because crisis situations “turn off” our mental abilities. We can’t think and have to rely on our spirit. You can only speak from your spirit if you have been putting spiritual food in there - the Word of God. The Word is spiritual food. Most believers are on a spiritual diet and that will be devastating in crises situations. And where we are now in 2024, the crises will build. You have got to know “who you are” in Christ Jesus and how to take Authority by speaking over terrible stuff that happens. * Below are some scriptures to immerse yourself in. All of the scriptures will be noted for each numbered item. And there are many more besides the ones listed here. Look them up as the Lord leads you. As always I add emphasis in the noted passages. Jesus gave us His Authority: Luke 10:17-20 - 17 The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in Your name.” 18 So He told them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over ALL the power of the enemy. Nothing will harm you. 20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” Jesus has given us His Authority over ALL the power of the enemy and NOTHING shall harm us; and demons submit to us as we declare the Name of Jesus! This doesn’t mean that attacks won’t come. Jesus said: Nothing, no thing shall harm us - He didn’t say it wouldn’t show up. While on this earth, it certainly will and Jesus gave us His weapons - the Word of God! God the Father has also given us Authority: Genesis 1:26, 28 - 26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Important to notice the bold portions in this passage in Genesis: this is Father God giving this to mankind, to have dominion over all the earth, all that is in it. The Father doesn’t say we have to “see” it - He says to have dominion over ALL the earth, or earthly realm, whether we see it or not. We are to “subdue” it and we have been given dominion over all in this realm. Not the heavenly realms (I will get into that more in #2 .) To “subdue ” means: assault, brought them into subjection, forced into bondage, forcing, trample, tread under foot, underfoot. Dominion : to tread down, subjugate, to crumble off. Subdue and Dominion aren’t just for the animals and the weather - it’s for the enemies of God, satan and all his angels - all the fallen ones and their offspring the nephilim (giants), and all of their monstrosities (hybrid creatures) they’ve created, and….get this…they do have power - don’t kid yourself and think they don’t - God gave us His Authority over ALL of the enemies’ power. I don’t care what witchcraft, sorcery, curse, spell, whatever…God gave us His Authority over it all! One of the important things to realize in this passage is that God the Father had given Authority to the angels that oversee the earth - the Watchers, as Enoch calls them - BUT in Genesis our Father gave us their dominion over the earth!!! Let that sink in. I’m convinced this is one of the scriptures Jesus “stood on” to take His Authority on earth. He had to do it the same we do - He was the Word made flesh. He had to use the Word of God in this realm. That’s the only way this realm works - He upholds all things by His Word of power! Not by being the Son of God. If He was able to do it by sheer fact of being the Son of God, then we would not be able to do it. Jesus had to operate the way we do and this is how God ordained it, by His Word of power. Think on this for a while. It will help. Ephesians 1:20-23 - 20Which He wrought in the Messiah, when He raised Him from the dead, and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named; not only in this world, but also in that which is to come; 22And has put all things under His feet and gave Him to be the head over all things to the church, which is His Body the fullness of Him that fills all in all. The more revelation we get from the Lord about “being IN Him” and we “see” that we have His Authority because we are truly IN HIM, we can’t help but walk in it. Execute it. Everything is beneath our feet because we are in Him and all things are under His feet, which puts them under our feet. Again…meditate on that. It’s big! It has nothing to do with us - IT’S ALLLLL HIM!!!! 2. Jesus has Authority over all creation: 1 Peter 3:21-22 - 21 And this water symbolizes the baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body, but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 Who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers subject to Him. Colossians 2:14-15 - TPT - 14. He (The Messiah) canceled out every legal violation we had on our record and the old arrest warrant that stood to indict us. Messiah erased it all —our sins, our stained soul—He deleted it all and they cannot be retrieved! Everything we once were in Adam has been placed onto His cross and nailed permanently there as a public display of cancellation. 15. Then Jesus made a public spectacle of all the powers and principalities of darkness, stripping away from them every weapon and all their spiritual authority and power to accuse us. And by the power of the cross, Jesus led them around as prisoners in a procession of triumph. He was not their prisoner; they were His! Hebrews 1:4-9 - Berean Standard Bible 4 So He became as far superior to the angels as the Name He has inherited is excellent beyond theirs. 5 For to which of the angels did God ever say: “You are My Son; today I have become Your Father”? Or again: “I will be His Father, and He will be My Son”? 6 And again, when God brings His firstborn into the world, He says: “Let all God’s angels worship Him.” 7 Now about the angels He says: “He makes His angels winds, His servants flames of fire.” 8 But about the Son He says: “Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever, and justice is the scepter of Your kingdom. 9 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed You above Your companions with the oil of joy.” 1 Corinthians 2:4-8 - 4 My message and my preaching were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, 5 so that your faith would not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power. 6 Among the mature, however, we speak a message of wisdom—but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 7 No, we speak of the mysterious and hidden wisdom of God, which He destined for our glory before time began. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood it. For if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. * 2. “How” to use our Lord and Savior’s Name appropriately. First: It is in this earthly realm that we have Authority that God gave us using “In Jesus Name” in Genesis 1 and Jesus re-stated in Luke 10. I speak from experience here because until I understood how this all worked I had serious problems from witches, sorcerers, astral projection, evil spirits, and fallen angels coming after me in my house…too much to go into. It was crazy times. Understanding what realm we are to take Authority in is major. Especially if someone has previously been involved in spiritual warfare incorrectly like I was, taking it into the heavenly realms. It leaves a person open to major attacks from the enemy and can result in serious harm and even death of you or someone you love before your/their time. It’s only by the grace of God that something devastating didn’t occur for me and my family. The Lord protected us in my stupidity. Thank You Lord for Your mercy, kindness, and correction! The reason why people have taken it like this is a misinterpretation of Ephesians 6:10-13 - “10 For the rest, my brothers, be strong in the Master and in the mightiness of His strength. 11 Put on the complete armour of Elohim, for you to have power to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 Because we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against authorities, against the world-rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual matters of wickedness in the heavenlies. 13 Because of this, take up the complete armour of Elohim, so that you have power to withstand in the wicked day, and having done all, to stand.” Let’s break this down: 1. We are to be strong in Jesus, our Master, our Savior by knowing what is ours through Him. What is it we are strong in, or how do we get strong? The Word! Nehemiah 8 - the joy of the Lord is our strength and we get this joy from what we know from the Word of God! It’s being strong in knowing what is ours and what He has done for you through the Word, what your identity is now in Jesus!!! THAT is what we are to be strong in - knowing who we are - in Him. If someone is still struggling with thinking they can lose their salvation, then they actually do not know what He has done for them and will struggle with taking Authority. Spend time in all of the scriptures previously mentioned - in fact read all of the scripture mentioned in this article. Re-read them. Absorb them. Meditate on them. If you are thinking you could lose your salvation, if this has been an issue for you then what your are thinking is that what Jesus did wasn’t enough! Ohhhhhh no…what Jesus did was more than enough! Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil…the devil was hell-bent on keeping God’s creation, mankind, away from God because God loved us so much!!!!! Psalms 8:4-5 “What is man that you are mindful of him and the son of man that You visit him? You made him a little lower than the angels and have crowned him with glory and honor” - that was the devil making that statement and he was upset that another creation was now held in higher regard to God than him. God the Father ain’t having the devil steal His children from Him!! Jesus did all that was needed to get His Father’s children back - permanently!! He came to be a ransom for ALL so that ALL would be saved (1 Timothy 1:4, 6 ). This is why we are SEALED with the Holy Spirit of promise when we receive Jesus into our hearts! (Ephesians 1:13; 4:30 and 2 Corinthians 1:21-22; John 3- we get eternal life. ) To be sealed means: Greek - sphragizo - security and permanency . The definiteness and completeness of the act of faith. Settle that for yourself once and for all. 2. Note: Job 38:31 shows us that we cannot bind evil spirits in the heavenly realm - it is God alone who can do this in the heavenly realm. THIS earthly realm is where God the Father told us to take Dominion and Authority, not the heavenly realm; and He gave it to us to have His Authority over all of the fallen angels with all of their means of weapons, creations, deception, lies, murderous ways, dark powers, etc. God took their Authority away in this realm from them and gave it to us! And when they deceive people into allowing them into this realm they start manifesting in various ways…and you can sense it, sometimes it’s major depending on the spiritual doorway(s) that were opened to them by people. Some of the means are by music, movies, books, demonized objects, rituals, magic/majic, spells, etc. God wants us to use His Word to defeat the enemy just like Jesus did in Matthew 4 and Luke 4 when He was tempted by the devil. Jesus spoke the Word to him when the devil launched an attack. Notice the devil kept coming back more than once. Expect it for yourself. It will be more than once. WE are to speak the Word to him when he launches attacks against us, just like Jesus did. The Word is a Sword!!! Read Hebrews 4 ! It’s a double-edged sword that cuts! And Jesus in Revelation 1:16,18; 2:12, & 19:11-16 ; 2 Thessalonians 2:8 has a Sword of Fire coming out from His mouth! And He has the key to death and hell - not the devil! The devil doesn’t even have his own keys to his kingdom, God does! When the Word comes out of your mouth it is like a flaming sword against the enemy when you speak - it is the Sword of the Spirit!! The Armor is not something you put on. It’s knowing God’s Word of who you are IN Him. God’s Word that you know is your shield, His Word that you know is your helmet, His Word that you know is protecting your thoughts from lies from the enemy and from lies you tell yourself, it’s His Word that you know that protects you!! Jesus is the Word made flesh, His is the Word protecting you! You are in Him and He is in you (John 17 ). Our example is Jesus! He did this with the storm on the sea (Matthew 8); when satan launched an attack against Jesus through one of His closest friends Peter (Mark 8 and Matthew 16 ); He did this in the wilderness; and with the multitudes that He cast devils out of. Notice as Jesus did all of these things He NEVER once took Authority in the heavenly realm!! He took Authority in THIS realm. This is where God gave us Authority - in this realm. When those fallen angels etc. launch attacks against us in this realm, we then have God’s Authority! USE IT! 3. If we have an incorrect view of taking Authority in the heavenlies what that does is create an opening for fallen angels and their evil ones to launch an attack. We have then created an opening for them! It’s not our place to “pull down principalities”. That is where they were placed by God when He kicked them out of heaven after their initial rebellion (Luke 10:18 ). He is the one who will remove them from there and cast them to the earth (Revelation 12:7-9 ). We can take Authority over actions of these principalities etc. as they are moving and doing upon the earth. We do this through prayer and speaking the Word to the situation. The Lord will lead you if there is a strongman to bind that is active in an area, like your neighborhood or city. Don’t just run off half-cocked and do it unless the Lord tells you. Often He does so by an “unsettled” deep sense in your inner man. You will be so edgy, uptight. (Like Acts 16 .) THIS is the Holy Spirit letting you know there is a demonic spirit. Ask the Lord how He wants you to handle it. He will tell you. 4. We are strong to stand in the evil day because we know who we are in Christ Jesus. We know what He has said about us in His Word. And we speak it over ourselves and our families. This is how warfare occurs most of the time. In your proverbial prayer closet. Yes there are times where you may have to do something in prayer with someone else or in public but until you are comfortable with it in your own prayer time God won’t allow something to show up. God will never give you more than you can handle (1 Corinthians 10:13 ). Second: Don’t go looking for a fight. When you are living right with God the fight will always come to you. That is when you take Authority. How do we judge what is happening? We look at the results: John 10:10 - satan has come to steal, kill, and destroy; Colossians 3:15 - God leaves only peace; 1 Corinthians 14:33 - the enemy leaves no peace but confusion/worry/anxiety; 2 Timothy 1:7 - fear and 1 John 4:18 fear has torment. All of these things are results of the enemy being active/attacking your life, with all other similitudes thereof like: depression, anxiety, timidity, pride, forceful drive upon you…there are so many others along this line. Don’t forget “temptation”. A means of enticing your flesh. Realize Jesus in the wilderness WAS a TEMPTATION. His flesh was TEMPTED!!! How did satan attack? Continual bombardment of “Who He was”. Go read that again - Matthew 4 and Luke 4, he was trying to make Jesus doubt who He was; then he attacked Jesus to try Him with enticing Him with pride - “I’ll give You all of these kingdoms if You will bow down and worship me.” (What do you think he does to you?? The same thing! Attacks “who you are in Christ Jesus” and then tries to lure you with pride-just like he did Jesus and just like he did with Eve.) But Jesus fought back in the Authority God spoke in Genesis 1 to overcome the temptation. Think about what satan did in the Garden of Eden with Eve - not only did he tempt her flesh, by making her think she could be like God, (exactly how he thinks of himself, Ezekiel 28 and Isaiah 14); but he got her to consider SOMETHING ELSE other than what God told her. It was a wee-little-bit of doubt, doubting what God said, doubting what God meant. THAT is temptation. AND we have Authority over it and can do what Jesus did in the wilderness. This is what 2 Corinthians 10:3-6 is all about. Casting down those vain imaginations that lift themselves up against the Word of God. It’s when these things show up that you need to grab your Bible and see where the Lord leads you in scripture or the Holy Spirit may simply bring scriptures to your remembrance (John 14, & 16 ) - and then you speak the scriptures out over your life and your family and the devil will flee (James 4:7; 1 Peter 5:6-10 ). and take God’s Authority that He gave you over the devil! That is how you take Authority. It’s the Sword, a Flaming Sword coming out of your mouth and striking a HEAVY blow to the enemy!!! (There will be examples of prayers at the end. ) Third: There are times when we have to use the Authority given to us over our bodies. Our bodies are not renewed. This is why we get new bodies at the rapture/resurrection. Look at Romans 7:14-25 where Paul talks about the struggle within his body. He then goes on to the next profound and great chapter 8 because of that struggle and how he overcomes it through revelation of what Jesus has done for him!! We are to do the same thing. Our bodies misbehave. If you have never done this it will be a challenge at the start. But it’s do-able! Otherwise God wouldn’t have stated Romans 12:1-2 and many verses in the Epistles that say the same sort of thing. We have lived life in this world driven by our bodies. The body “drives” by the 5 senses: what we see, hear, smell, taste and touch. In fact the phrase: “body, soul, and spirit” is the reverse of how God sees it: “spirit, soul, and body” - 1 Thessalonians 5:23 . Which one is “first” for you? There are 5 reasons why our bodies act up with either sickness or drives to do something: 1. the body not being trained with the Word of God; 2. unrepented sin and/or a curse; 3. Unforgiveness; 4. or an evil spirit driving it; 5. or not seeing ourselves properly - our identity - in the Word of God with who we are now that Jesus has redeemed us. Ask the Lord which it is and do what He tells you to. Fourth: Bind, Loose, Bind the strongman, Cast out. (Matthew 18:18; 16:19; Mark 3:15-27; Matthew 12; Luke 11; Matthew 10:1-8; Luke 13:32; Mark 7:26; Luke 9:40-49; Mark 6:13; Mark 1:39; Mark 9:18-38 ) Remind yourself of Colossians chapters 1 and 2 - I will only mentions a brief part here: 1:13 - “Who has delivered us from the authority of darkness and transferred us into the reign of the Son of His love,” And 2:15 - TPT - “The Jesus made a public spectacle of all the powers and principalities of darkness, stripping aways from the m every weapon and all their spiritual authority and power to accuse us. And by the power of the cross, Jesus led them around as prisoners in a procession of triumph. He was not their prisoner; they were His.” - I say this because the enemy comes at us with an immense amount of anger, veracity, and fierceness to attempt to get us in fear and off the Word. BUT GOD!! He has already won and Jesus has already defeated HIm. Remind yourself of these scriptures and 1 Corinthians 2 with Luke 10:17-19 . Jesus has already given us the victory because we ARE IN Him. So bind, loosen, and cast out as the Holy Spirit leads. It’s not you doing the work, It’s the Lord doing it as you speak the Word. Binding, loosing, binding the strongman, and casting out : this is what our Lord and Savior did on the earth. He didn’t go into the heavenlies to take out principalities or bind them. He executed this in this realm. He stopped the storm; He cast out demons; He loosed demons when they had someone trapped (think of the “fowler’s snare” of Psalm 91:3 ) - the enemy uses this and the snare can only “stick” if there’s sin or a curse (a curse can only stick if there’s sin - Proverbs 5:21-23; 26:2; Isaiah 5:18; Psalm 107:13-16 ; look up “cords”). The strongman is a “chief”, for lack of a better term. Kinda like a “General”. They are in charge of their unit. They have charge over a bunch of demons that work under them. When you bind the “General” or Strongman, then all of its subordinates are bound. Typically strongmen are over geographic regions and then their minions/subordinates are at work in the area. When you bind the strongman it stops the work of the minions. Again, this has to do with what is going on in this realm. People have allowed them access into the region/area and lives, and if the Lord tells you to bind the strongman, then do it. In my experience the Lord has only led me to do this a few times. And it was when I was traveling, away from home. As with everything see how the Lord leads you with this. One more thing about “binding”: sometimes this is the action that needs to be done with someone who is demonized that you have to deal with, like at work or in your family. I say this because you can’t get rid of someone’s demons that they like. Just like Matthew 12:43-45 , if you cast it out and the person doesn’t get saved and doesn’t renew themselves with the Word of God, that demon will return with 7 more and their last condition will be worse than their were at the start. If you cast something out, be sure the person is born again and studies their identity in Christ Jesus. And this may put some of our brethren on tilt but you need to know…you can be born again AND have a demon. I know. I had to cast devils out of myself. I always thought that someone couldn’t have them if they are born again. But that was one of the demons. It was the actual demon of “pride”. There were others. It was an eye-opening experience. And you can do self-deliverance. Praise God for His help in this. Especially if anyone has been through childhood trauma, there will always be demons attached. Realize they are not attached to your spirit when you are born again. That is where the Holy Spirit is. But they can be attached to your flesh and/or in your flesh. You can tell when you “can’t control” behaviors. They are “drives”. Can’t control thoughts or constantly hear voices. The devil always drives, forces, and floods your thoughts especially if one or many are attached to you and within your body. Ask the Lord if this is something you need to do. Some of what I see as a whole in today’s society - the spirits that are heavy on and in people are: spirit of infirmity; spirit of anger; spirit of unforgiveness; spirit of rebellion; spirit of self-pity; spirit of doubt; spirit of consternation; spirit of lust; spirit of lasciviousness (no restraint); spirit of homosexuality; spirit of pornography; spirit of lying; spirit of depression; spirit of low self-esteem (self-worth); spirit of fantasy (especially if you used to be addicted to movies and fantasy books and games); and the spirit of python and leviathan (divination/witchcraft-involved in all new age practices). These are the main ones I “see” and some I personally had to cast out in Jesus Name and repent of all sin and cut all cords to sin and cast them out. If you’ve never dealt with this know that once you do this you may feel nauseous and have to throw up. Go ahead and do it. It will typically be dry heaves. Some spittle may come up. Get it out. Sometimes there are physical things in our body that are related to the spirit. This is why wretching is important if you feel it. Don’t let it sit within you. Get it out. Fifth: Matthew 13 - wheat and tares: if you’re not familiar with this parable and what it means this will be very sobering and will explain much, along with Matthew 10:34-36 and even Matthew 25:1-13 . We are now in the times when foes will be amongst believers. Either within their own family or within their own church. It is the Word that will distinguish who’s side each one is on. These ones may look right, talk right, but at the root they do not belong to Jesus. No matter what stick with Jesus. He will always lead you right. He is your best friend. He is your greatest hero. He is your defender. He is your deliverer. He is your all in all. He is your everything. He will never leave you nor forsake you. PRAYER 1 - morning : “Heavenly Father, in Jesus Name, I love you Lord and am in awe of You. You are THE Creator of ALL. You are the God over all. And I take Authority in this realm as you have told me to in Genesis 1 and Luke 10, You gave me Authority over ALL the power of the enemy and NOTHING shall by any means harm me and I thank You for it. So I declare that today, this day, for me and my family nothing shall by any means harm us. No evil shall befall us and no plague shall come near our dwelling place. I declare it over our home and the grounds about our home, and the surrounding area in Jesus’ Name. I ask for the forgiveness of sins in this area and ask that You make Yourself known in this area and I bind the power of the enemy working through people to try to harm us. Father forgive them. Deliver them. Heal them. And if they refuse You, then stop them from doing harm to someone else. I take Authority over all that the enemy attempts against mankind that comes in through the air, food, and water. Through electrical waves, electronic devices, computers, electrical lines, phones, & satellites. I bind all evil spirits sent on assignments against us in this realm and I bind them from coming into this realm from above, below, and all around in Jesus Name, and I ask Father God to keep angels posted to defend us from above, below, and all around. I ask Father God, when needed, that you would send extra angels to surround us, our home and our property, and our transportation, for Your safety and protection to sheath us in Jesus Name and place a hedge of protection around us. You are our Shield and our Fortress, You are our God and IN You we trust! Your angel surrounds us and delivers us from every evil thing. No weapon formed against us shall prosper and every tongue that rises against us WE shall condemn in the Name of Jesus! We over came the enemy by the Blood of the Lamb and the Word of our testimony! We declare the Blood of Jesus on us and our homes and upon all transportation in Jesus Name. We commit our works unto You this day and we thank You that our thoughts are established (Prov. 16:3). I ask for Your wisdom and revelation knowledge to live this day, I want to know You more (Ephesians 1:17-19), open my eyes and ears to You, in Jesus’ Name. I listen to You, I am Your sheep and I hear Your voice (John 10:1-5, 27; Prov. 1:33) and thus I dwell in safety because I do what You tell me to do, and I am at ease from the dread of evil. I thank You that You are with me wherever I go (Josh. 1:9), I refuse to fear for fear is not of You, I have the Spirit of Life within me that expels all darkness (2 Timothy 1:7; Romans 8:2). Thank You for showing me Your magnificence. I thank You that I experience the communion with You and Your Son Jesus Christ (1John 1:3) and I thank You for loving me and giving Yourself and Your Son for me. Show me more of You! And I thank You for it. I give You all of the praise and glory for the victory that You have given me and my family through Christ Jesus our Lord!” (Psalm 91; Isaiah 54:17; Revelation 12:11) PRAYER 2 - evening : “Father God, You are my everything! I love You Lord and praise You for giving me the victory through Christ Jesus my Lord and Savior. Deliver me from the hands of evil spirits who have subtleties and sway over men’s hearts and let them not lead me astray from You and I take Authority over all attacks of the enemy against me and my family this night and bind them from coming against us in way, shape, or form while we sleep. I close all portals or doorways that may have been opened to the enemy. I repent of all sin that opened them and ask for You to reveal to me what was it that caused this happen. Holy Spirit help me with this to keep me from doing this in Jesus Name. Father God, keep me from following deceitfulness of my own heart and cleanse me from it and reveal if there is an issue there and deliver me from it. I thank You that Your angels surround us and our home and deliver us from every evil thing. You are our secret place. We are in Your hands and in You alone we trust. You are our Shield and You are our Refuge. You are our God - the One True Elohim! The Everliving and Everlasting One! You give us sweet and restful sleep and we are so grateful for Your love for us in Jesus Name.”

Marriage in the Bible, How to be a wife, how to be a husband, what are the rules of marriage, fornication, living with my boyfriend, living with my girlfriend, living in sin, Do I have to get married Marriage Article below. For downloadable PDF click link. PDF Marriage Proverbs 31:10-31; 1 Corinthians 7; Romans 7:1-3; Ephesians 5:21-33. Malachi 2:14-16 - “You ask, “Why?” It is because the Lord is the witness between you and the wife of your youth. You have been unfaithful to her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant. 15 Has not the One God made you? You belong to Him in body and spirit. And what does the One God seek? Godly offspring. So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful to the wife of your youth. 16 “The man who hates and divorces his wife,” says the Lord, the God of Israel, “does violence to the one he should protect,” says the Lord Almighty. So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful.” Marriage is a covenant. Every time God speaks, it’s a covenant. Sometimes there are time limits - like with the earth, the sea, the sun, the moon. But with people His covenants, God’s promises to people are eternal. God makes these promises to Himself so they can never be broken as Hebrews 6:13 - “When God made His promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for Him to swear by, He swore by Himself,” Covenants, the covenant of marriage is forever in this realm on earth. It is only dissolved at the death of one of the spouses. Which is why it is said in Scripture that when one dies the other can marry again and is not committing adultery. Not what it seems Expectations can be good and sometimes not. We all have expectations of “what a marriage” should be. But what does God say about it? It’s a covenant as long as both are alive - Malachi 2:14-16; 1 Corinthians 7; Matthew 22:23-33. It will be difficult spending much time with the Lord because you are focused on your spouse and your family. And that is right. God is with you in this. He has given you the spouse of your choosing. Know all of this to start out. 1 Corinthians 7. (I like it in the Message Translation.) Spending time with the Lord will be a bit of a struggle because you have your family. But it should still be a priority with you to spend time with the Lord. When you don’t spend time with Him, you can’t hear Him as clearly. So prioritize a “set time”. Maybe it’s very early in the morning before your spouse and children awake. Or maybe it’s at night after everyone has gone to bed. Or perhaps if you’re a stay at home mom, it’s when your husband goes to work and after your child/children lay down for a nap. Talk with the Lord about it, He will direct you. It’s not about the length of time, rather the quality. Stay open to the Lord’s leading all day long as you’re going about your business. The more you keep your awareness of Him with you and leading you, the closer you will be with the Lord. There will be troubles and disagreements. Particularly if you didn’t clarify what your core values are with one another at the beginning. (See article on: Looking for a Spouse.) It’s okay to disagree but don’t let offense take hold. Always stay in forgiveness for your spouse and yourself. It’s not about “winning” or “proving your point”. It’s about growing together, learning together. The two are one flesh! True victory lies in understanding, compromise, love, and strengthening your bond together, through respectful resolution. Keep strife out of the marriage at all costs. Proverbs 17:1 - “Better a dry crust of bread with peace and quiet than a house full of feasting, with strife.” Again, it’s about respectful resolution. Not proving your point. When “strife” has grabbed hold that means that someone is not understanding, not compromising, and not strengthening the bond together with their spouse. If the other spouse will not let go of their point, then immediately forgive them and pray over the situation. Pray the Ephesians 1:17-23 prayer for you both, that the Holy Spirit would give you both wisdom and revelation knowledge; and that the eyes of you both have understanding what the Lord wants. You will “know” what comes next, a means for resolution. Remember, do all things from love. Nurture each day with love and respect. Make your life about doing things together (not just “going somewhere” kind of things), not only the good things but also the hard things. Do them together - don’t leave your spouse on their own to handle tough situations. Always lean to the Holy Spirit together to guide you through love, kindness, and honesty. This is key. Know there is an enemy, the devil. There is a spiritual world. Attacks will come. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you “see” them. Deal with them the way He leads you. Prayer of agreement is mighty in the Lord. One can put a thousand to flight and two can put 10,000 to flight! (Joshua 23:10 & Deuteronomy 32:30.) Pray for your spouse!! Pray over you and your family. Look at the Epistle prayers and see how the Holy Spirit leads you in this. Ephesians 1:17-23; Ephesians 3:14-21; Romans 15:5-7,13-14; 1 Corinthians 1:4-9; 2 Corinthians 1:3-5; Philippians 1:6, 9-11; Colossians 1:9-14; 1 Thessalonians 1:2-3; 3:12-13; 5:13-24; 2 Thessalonians 1:12-13; 2:16; 3:2-5, 16; 1 Timothy 2:1-4; Hebrews 13:20-21; Jude 1:20-21, 24.

Who am I in Christ, Who am I in Christ Jesus, Am I really a new person in Jesus, my mind, my spirit, my soul, God, Jesus, Bible A New Race of Humanity Article is below. For downloadable PDF click here. PDF Jesus used His Faith to be raised from the dead! A New Race of Humanity A New Race of Humanity Jesus Used His Faith to be Raised Up in Resurrection Power! Yes, God the Father is the One Who raised Him from the dead AND God needed HIs own Son's Faith to be hooked up with Him for this mighty feat. Psalm 16:9-10 Therefore My heart is glad, and My glory rejoices; My body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon Me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful One see decay. Acts 2:24-33 & 13:32-37 24 But God raised Him from the dead, freeing Him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on Him. 25 David said about Him: “ ‘I saw the Lord always before Me. Because He is at My right hand, I will not be shaken. 26 Therefore My heart is glad and My tongue rejoices; My body also will rest in hope, 27 because You will not abandon Me to the realm of the dead, You will not let your holy One see decay. 28 You have made known to Me the paths of life; You will fill Me with joy in Your presence.’ 29 “Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. 30 But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. 31 Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that He was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did His body see decay. 32 God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. 33 Exalted to the right hand of God, He has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. Jesus used these scriptures to stir up His faith for His own resurrection! He knew the Father wouldn't let Him down! He speaks His word to perform it! We are to do the same thing. A New Race of Humanity His resurrection created a whole new race of humanity of which He was the first born. A race of people who worship God in spirit and in truth. All worship prior was in the soul’s realm only. (ie: song, instruments, dance, heart felt praise and animal sacrifice as seen in psalms.) But we, as this new race of humanity worship Him in spirit and in truth!! Our spirit linked together with the Holy Spirit. How magnificent is that? That is why we are in this world but not of it. This world is not our home. We are of the Realm of Holiness. The sacrifice of Jesus created us brand new, restored to innocence, a holy people. We are neither greek nor jew, but a new creature, a new race of humanity that never existed before. (Colossians 1:18) A new race of humanity born into the Kingdom of God as kings and priests. (Ephesians 2:14-21) Jesus the first born among many brethren. He is the Author and Finisher of our faith and Praise God, He always has a perfect work. We are a race of people who have His law in our hearts and minds and are graced with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. As we press on to the mark of our high calling, like little children we grow up into the fullness of His Holiness without spot or blemish. Stop thinking we are part of this world. We are not. Stop seeing your self as a sinner. You are a new form of humanity in Christ. The sooner you start to see yourself as brand new, the easier it will be to leave the old ways behind. Make repentance a daily part of your prayer life letting old habits fade away. Jesus is coming for His Bride without spot or wrinkle and He has made you that way - Ephesians 5:26-27 - “(Christ) to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the Word, and to present her to Himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.” See More on "In Depth Studies" Page PDF link of article at top of page In Depth Studies

Who is the Holy Spirit, How to follow the Holy Spirit, How does He lead, Is tongues really from the Holy Spirit, Gifts of the Holy Spirit, God, Jesus, Are they real, Isn't the Bible just stories Holy Spirit He is in you and He is a person, He is the Spirit of God. Article below is long. Take your time. For downloadable PDF use link. PDF Holy Spirit He is in you and He is a person, He is the Spirit of God. Areas of discussion: 1. Who is the Holy Spirit 2. When do we receive the Holy Spirit? 3. How do we recognize Him? 4. Leading and Revealing by the Holy Spirit 5. Specifics: Let’s look at specifics of “Who” He is 6. The Holy Spirit Is the Spirit of God Almighty 7. He Counsels Us at Night While We Sleep 8. He Is The Spirit of Power and Spirit of Love 9. The Holy Spirit Guides Into All of the Truth, and He Speaks 10. The Holy Spirit Is Also Called “Water” 11. The Holy Spirit is your Comforter, Helper, Teacher 12. The Holy Spirit can be grieved: 13. Praying in Tongues 14. Spiritual Gifts 15. Spiritual Fruit: 16. Having “Utterance” and “Revelation Knowledge” Go Together 17. Spend time in reading Romans 8. 18. Test the spirits 19. The Holy Spirit is the Anointing 20. How to “Hear” 21. He Gives You Strength Other Scriptures to Note: 1 Corinthians 2 Romans 8 - ESV ...and so much more. 1. Who is the Holy Spirit Teaching on the Holy Spirit is sparse unfortunately and the Church as a whole doesn’t exactly know “Who” He is, how He operates, and how we are to work with the Holy Spirit. And yet there are over 800 scriptures that speak of Him. If we look to see how Jesus operated with Him we get a clear idea: He was always in prayer and obeyed what was given Him. It’s that simple. Here are some details that will help answer questions and build your relationship with the Holy Spirit. We need to know Him because as born again believers He now lives in us and He gives us rights and privileges we did not have before. Since there are over 800 verses in the Bible about the Holy Spirit we will only go into small portion of course. God wants us to know about Him, we need to know about Him. He is a Spirit. He is the Spirit of God. He is a “person” - if that is the correct term…maybe not…but you get my point. The Holy Spirit is God and He lives within you, the born again believer. Now how do we operate accordingly? He is Wisdom. He is Understanding. He is Might. He is Council. We will get into more of this later in “How do we recognize Him?”. 2. When do we receive the Holy Spirit? Ezekiel 36:26-27 - “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes and be careful to obey My rules.” When we received Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and as the sacrifice for our sins, God put in us a NEW heart and He put His Holy Spirit in our new heart. This is how we are born again. Our mind (soul) needs to be renewed and our flesh is corrupted. It will not change until the Lord resurrects our bodies and changes those who go in the rapture. Don’t we receive the Holy Spirit when hands are laid on us? I know many believe that you have to have hands laid on you and have a second prayer for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. I used to think so too, but what I see is this is not clearly stated in scripture consistently. When you look at what happened in Acts you see that Peter took the one time God told him to lay hands on people to receive the Holy Spirit and he interpreted that as “do it every time.” Even Peter was shocked in Acts 11:15-17 - “15 And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, as upon us at the beginning. 16 Then I remembered the Word of the Lord, how He said, ‘John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 17 If therefore God gave them the same gift as He gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God?” and Acts 10:44-46 - “44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the Word. 45 And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. 46 For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God.” No hands laid on them. And particularly in the Epistles laying on of hands to receive the Holy Spirit is not mentioned. When there are scriptures that appear to “contradict” that means there is not enough understanding. Missing something. Because all of God’s Word is “yes” and “amen” and there are no contradictions. There are not two or three scriptures that say you have to have hands laid upon you to receive the Holy Spirit. It’s actually a “doctrine” of men that was taught from a misunderstanding. Peter and John, and the other apostles believed hands had to be laid upon people to receive the Holy Spirit as it says in Acts 8. In verses 14-17 - “14 When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the Word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria. 15 When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the Name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.” There “seems” to be a contradiction. But it is not. It was the apostles understanding. So many other scriptures talk of believing in Jesus Christ the Holy Spirit falls upon them. In the book of Acts it is clearly telling what the early church did. Like a journal. It’s not carried on into the Epistles, there’s not even one scripture there that says that is necessary. It is the book of Acts where doctrines have been built around this. But Acts simply states “what” occurred. Like I’ve said before in another article, all of God’s Word is truth. It is truly stated. Not all that is in the Bible is God’s Truth…meaning, some things are explaining what transpired. Just because something transpired doesn’t mean it was God’s will. Case in point, Adam and Eve. It was not God’s will for them to fall. Another is Samson and Delilah; David and Bathsheba; Peter denying Jesus, and many more. None of those were God’s will. But they are in the Bible. They are lessons for us to learn by. There’s one scripture where Jesus stated to ask for the Holy Spirit, in Luke 11:13 - “ 13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” Yes, we can absolutely do this. Jesus said so. But this should not be a doctrine in the Church because it is the only time in the Gospels where Jesus said this. And out of two or three witnesses let every word be established. (2 Corinthians 13:1; Deuteronomy 18:15; Matthew 18:16.) Meaning, we can’t make it a “doctrine” of the Lord unless it is stated more than 2 or 3 times. So what does scripture say? Above Ezekiel 36:26-27 - when we get born again we get the Holy Spirit. AND a second scripture: Ephesians 1:13 - “In Him you also, when you heard the Word of Truth, the Gospel of your salvation, and believed in Him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,” If you don’t give credence to the Old Testament, then look at John 3! In verses 1-21 shows Jesus speaking with Nicodemus and telling him that we must all be “born again” - and that this happens only by the Holy Spirit coming in and changing the “flesh heart” to a “God-heart”: verses 5-8 - “5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. (Word and Spirit.) 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at My saying, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” 1 John 4:15-18 - “15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. 1 Corinthians 3:16 “Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you” and we have Him because we believe. We have accepted Jesus and made Jesus Christ the Lord of our lives. The Holy Spirit IS the Spirit of God Almighty. God is omnipresent - everywhere at the same time. This is far-out trippy stuff to think about because yes, God the Father is in heaven, Jesus is in heaven, and Jesus said He would not leave us alone and would send the Holy Spirit to us once He (Jesus) was resurrected, that the Holy Spirit is our down payment of what is to come: Jesus Christ in the rapture and our new immortal bodies. And He’s everywhere at once. Hard to wrap our minds around but it’s pretty cool. 1 John 4:15-18 - “15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God.” When we are born again we are Born of the Spirit. Can’t have one without the other. God is the Author of the entire Bible. Not just the New Testament. It all matters. Just ask Him. 3. How do we recognize Him? Isaiah 11:2-3 - “The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him— the Spirit of Wisdom and of Understanding, the Spirit of Counsel and of Might, the Spirit of the Knowledge and Fear of the LORD—3 and He will delight in the fear of the LORD. He will not judge by what He sees with His eyes, or decide by what He hears with His ears;” The Holy Spirit is: Wisdom The Holy Spirit is: Understanding The Holy Spirit is: Counsel The Holy Spirit is: Might The Holy Spirit is: Knowledge The Holy Spirit is: Fear of the Lord WE have this within us because the Holy Spirit is within us!! This is “Who” He is. He is in Jesus and He is in us. He is love. God is love. Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God. Always check your motivations. Should always be love. Proverbs 3:5-6 - “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths.” With Proverbs in mind, always acknowledge the Holy Spirit. Talk with Him. He is in you!! It’s like being an adult and living with your parents. You are in the same house with them. But never talk with them. You ignore them. How does that make them feel? It’s the same thing. You and the Holy Spirit are living in the same place, within you. Don’t ignore Him. Talk with Him. All throughout your day. Acknowledge Him. Tell Him “thank You” when He leads you throughout the day. Those great ideas you get during the day, that help…that’s Him. Let Him know you appreciate it. As you acknowledge Him, He will lead you more, and more. And of course, let Him know you love Him. For He certainly loves you! God leads God reveals God stirs He gives light He gives life He is love These are part of how we judge what we are “getting.” As Isaiah said (scripture above) Jesus did not judge by His body - by what He saw or what He heard. He judged by the Holy Spirit deep within Him. We are to do the same. “Where” are you hearing from? By judging by what you see? By what you hear someone say? None of this is necessarily accurate. What is the Lord saying on the “inside” of you. These things are crucial to know when you want precision in following the Holy Spirit. He gives wisdom. He gives understanding. He gives counsel. He gives might. He gives knowledge. He gives fear of the Lord. All from deep within you. If you’re not seeing one or more of these then spend time in looking up scripture about the subject matter and take them personally. Because they are in you. This is ‘Who” the Holy Spirit is; how He operates; and these are things we can expect from the Holy Spirit within us. When we need God’s knowledge on a matter in our lives, ask the Holy Spirit. He will reveal it to you. When you need Godly counsel - ask Holy Spirit. He will reveal what needs to be done. When you need might, ask Him. He will do it. And if we want to continue hearing from Him we must act on whatever He reveals to us. What He reveals will leave us with light, insight, love, & joy. A good tree produces good fruit…fruit of the Holy Spirit. These things will be the result. This is how you can tell what is happening in your life by what is showing up. If there’s a sudden “thought” and it’s accompanied by “light” and “joy” That’s the Holy Spirit. God is light and in Him there is no darkness - 1 John 1:5. In God’s presence is fullness of joy - Psalm 16:11. God’s Words are life - John 6:63. This is how you judge the revelation you are getting. Does it bring light? Does it bring joy? Does it show you something you couldn’t have known any other way? Does it bring life? If it’s yes to all of these questions, it’s from the Holy Spirit. If only one of these questions has a “yes” throw it out. 4. Leading and Revealing by the Holy Spirit Definition of Reveal: to make known through divine inspiration; to make something secret or hidden known. Definition of Lead: to guide on a way especially by going in advance; to direct on a course or in a direction; to go through; to direct the operations, activity, or performance of; to have charge of; to go at the head of. Ask yourself this: “Do I allow the Holy Spirit to reveal and lead me? To direct me? Do I follow what He says?” Being brutally honest with yourself will help you tremendously and lead you to your next step. 1 Corinthians 2:9-10 - “However, as it is written: ‘What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived’ — the things God has prepared for those who love Him, 10 these are the things God has revealed to us by His Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.” Isaiah 11:2-3 (listed above) is how Jesus operated here on earth, by being led by the Holy Spirit. Matthew 4:1 - Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit to go into the desert to fast and pray. This particular “leading” by the Holy Spirit involved a test for Jesus. Read Matthew 4 and Luke 4. The devil was allowed to tempt Jesus. It was a test. It was a temptation for Him. Otherwise it wouldn’t be called the “temptation in the wilderness.” Even Jesus got tested by the Father. The trying of your faith produces patience - James 1:3 - written by Jesus’ brother James. Jesus’ faith was refined by fire. God has to allow this because Jesus had to go through every trial and temptation that man has to go through in order to pay the price completely for us. The Holy Spirit leads us too if we follow His leadings from deep within our inner man. Not from the outside. And Not from our emotions. (See article on “Spirit, Soul, & Body”) He is wisdom. He is understanding. He is counsel. He is might. He is knowledge. He is the fear of the Lord. And He is in us. If you’ve read many of my articles the Lord has had me write, you see often I talk about the emotions. This is a big subject matter that causes the most trouble for people. Everywhere and in everything. We think we are our emotions. No, we are not. Emotions are something we have . Not something we are. We are so easily swayed by our emotions, and if they can sway you, they can stop you. Case in point, if you “feel” depressed, you then think you’re depressed. No. Depression is darkness. You are light. You are in God and He is in you. Cast off that depression in the Name of Jesus, and ask the Holy Spirit what are the “doorways” you opened to let that thing in. Yes, it can be biological, chemical imbalance. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal it and to help you with it. It is not who you are. If there is a chemical imbalance, pray over your med’s. Just like you do your food. Expect God’s blessing upon it to help you. (See article on “Healing.”) Pray about how He wants you to handle the situation. Don’t go on automatic pilot. Follow His leading. Same deal with all other negative emotions. Guilt. Bitterness. Lying/Deception. You name it. It’s not you. Ask the Lord what the deal is. Most of the time it is a spirit that has attached itself to you and is making you “feel” a certain way. Because if you are swayed by your feelings, it is likely you won’t fight it because you think it is “who you are” and the spirit can burrow in and make your life miserable. Take your Authority in Jesus Name and loose that thing and cast it off permanently in Jesus Name. (See article on “Taking Authority.”) There is likely a stronghold, an embedded way of thinking that needs to be changed by the Word of God. Ask the Lord how to handle it. Usually there is some unrepented sin, so repent of it, truly. Close the doorway in the Name of Jesus. Cut all cords to the sin in Jesus Name. And praise God for your deliverance. Then ask Him what scriptures to renew your mind with. This means every time an “old” thought shows up, cast it down in the Name of Jesus, and speak the scripture out loud to yourself to replace the old thought with the Word of God. Do this each time the old thought comes up. The first day is the roughest. The second day is easier. The third day it will only happen a couple of times. By day 4 it’s gone. This is how you renew your mind. When we need wisdom on a situation, ask Him. When He reveals it, I call these moments “ah-ha” moments. That’s because it’s like the “light” was turned on. Perfect phrase we have in our language. God is light. And when you get a “bright” idea…and it makes you smile…it’s revelation…that’s Him. The Holy Spirit. Haggai 1:14 - “So the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of the whole remnant of the people. They came and began to work on the house of the LORD Almighty, their God,” I know this is Old Testament but God is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8; Malachi 3:6, John 8:58, & Hebrews 1:12) - The Lord stirs our spirit’s within us!! A “stirring” to do something. This comes deep down within our being. Not outside. You have to discern where the “stirring” is coming from: outside of your physical body; or within, deep within your physical body, within something you can’t quite figure it out where because it’s deep within you. This is your spirit. It’s imperative to recognize. Many fellow brethren I have encountered are “moved” from the outside and they interpret it as the Holy Spirit. It is not. And if you don’t know what the Lord has said in scripture well enough you will be deceived. Deep within your inner man is where the Holy Spirit is. It is where leadings will come from. A hunch. A deep-down knowing. Sometimes they percolate from deep within your inner man to your mind and a thought will come up that way. Pay attention to those. That is the Holy Spirit. Psalm 16:7 says, “I will praise the LORD, Who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me.” God counsels us, the Holy Spirit Who is our Counselor, teaches us as night if we allow Him to. Deep within our inner being. Not outside of our body. When you feel as if you are “forced” or “can’t help” but do a certain thing…that is never the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a Gentleman. He never forces. Only the devil forces. Ask the Lord how to handle it. An evil spirit most likely needs to be loosed, sin repented of, cords burned, and ask the Holy Spirit for direction in the matter. (See article on Spiritual Warfare.) 5 . Specifics: Let’s look at specifics of “Who” He is: The Holy Spirit Is the Spirit of God Almighty 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 - “16 Do you not know that you yourselves are God’s temple, and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.” 2 Chronicles 24:20 - “20 Then the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest, who stood up before the people and said to them, “This is what God says: ‘Why do you transgress the commandments of the LORD so that you cannot prosper? Because you have forsaken the LORD, He has forsaken you.’ ” 1 Corinthians 2:12-13 - “12 We have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit Who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. 13 And this is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.” Genesis 1:2 - “2 Now the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.” 6. He counsels us at night when we sleep. Psalms 16:7 - “I will praise the LORD, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me.” 7. He Is The Spirit of Power and Spirit of Love Acts 1:8 - “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you.” 2 Timothy 1:7 - He is the Spirit of Love. He is the Spirit of Power, and a Sound Mind: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” As we pursue walking with the Holy Spirit, we pursue Him moving in us in these ways. Because these things are in us. They are Him. Romans 5:5 - The Holy Spirit has shed the love of God within our hearts; and God is love - 1 John 4:16. 1 John 4:15-18 - “15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 17 This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. 18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” 8. The Holy Spirit Guides Into All of the Truth, and He Speaks John 16:13 -“When the Spirit of Truth comes, He will guide you into all the Truth, for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak, and He will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take what is mine and declare it to you.” And John 17:17 says “Your Word is Truth.” - The Holy Spirit will guide you in the Word if you let Him. And John 16:13- God’s Spirit is the Spirit of Truth: “But when He, the Spirit of Truth, comes, He will guide you into all the Truth. He will not speak on His own; He will speak only what He hears, and He will tell you what is yet to come.” The Holy Spirit will guide you in the Word if you ask Him and let Him. The Holy Spirit “leads”: Luke 4:1 - ““Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,” Romans 8:14 - ““For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.” Galatians 5:14 - ““But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.” The definition of “lead” or “leading” - to go before or with to show the way; conduct or escort; to conduct by holding and guiding; to influence or induce; cause; to guide in direction, course, action, opinion; to bring; to take; to command or direct; to go at the head of or in advance of. All of these are ways to expect the Holy Spirit to “lead” you! The Holy Spirit will give leadings that are in line with the Word of God always. That is how you can check the leading or prompting within you. Sometimes it comes as a “hunch”. Sometimes it comes as a “thought” from deep within. Always test it by scripture. If you don’t know the scripture then ask the Lord. If you don’t get a scripture than let it go. Recall Paul in Acts 16 with the servant girl who was demonized with a spirit of divination. Paul didn’t do anything about it for weeks. Not until he was so bothered in his spirit by the Holy Spirit that he acted on how the Holy Spirit led him which was to cast the thing out of her. See also Ephesians 1:17-19 & 1 John 2:20,27. The Spirit and the Word, they go together ALWAYS! - John 4:23-24. Never one or the other by itself. And as the Holy Spirit leads you there are results: Peace - 1 Corinthians 14:33, Colossians 3:15; Light - 1 John 1:5; Joy - Psalm 16:11. When the Holy Spirit is leading you always look at what you are left with? If it’s heaviness, questioning, confusion = FORGET IT! It’s not the Holy Spirit. God is peace, light, love, joy. This is what you are left with when the Holy Spirit is leading you. 9. The Holy Spirit Is Also Called “Water” John 7:37-39 - “37 On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to Me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in Me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” 39 By this He meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.” And John 4:13, - “13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The Holy Spirit and the Word are equated to “water”. Ephesians 5:26 - “(That He would) make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the Word.” Need a bath? Get into the Word! The world is dirty. Too much time in it you can tell you need to go for a “swim”. 1 Corinthians 12:13 - “For we were all baptized by One Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the One Spirit to drink.” Holy Spirit = Word = Water = Truth. You can also put “love” in this mix. God is love. His Spirit is love. Want to knock your socks off sometime with revelation from the Holy Spirit: substitute one of those words for the one of the others in your study time. Like every time you see “Word” - substitute Holy Spirit. Or every time you see Holy Spirit - put in “love.” And so on. Major revelation!!!! The Word = Spirit. The Spirit is the Word. The Word is Spirit. Like John 4:23-24 that we are to worship God in Spirit and Truth. They always go together. If you try to do one more than the other, things will go off kilter. Too much “spirit” can get one off into “spiritualism” which will be effected by the devil and his angels - you have to balance “spirit” with the Word. Always. And rightly dividing the Word. I say that because I have seen fellow believers who get off track because of wrong doctrine and then when they “hear” a voice, or a so-called “prompting”, this false voice and false “prompting” uses scripture incorrectly the way the person believes it and it throws them way off base. (Think of Jesus when He was tempted. The devil used the 91st Psalm incorrectly. Jesus responded with how to correctly use the Word in that situation. Luke 4.) The Word, rightly seeing through revelation knowledge by the Holy Spirit what God has said, is your guard rail. Out of two or three witnesses - complete witnesses, complete understanding of the scripture (2 Corinthians 13:1) let every Word be established. Meaning, when you have a prompting or leading, or “hear” a voice - Check all of Scripture and what God has said about it on that subject matter and see if it goes with it or against it. Nothing contradicting. Pay attention to the contradictions if they are there. That means something is off. The Holy Spirit will NEVER lead you contrary to the Word. Never. That’s how you judge what you “heard” or “saw”. Not every vision, dream, or word is from God. What does it leave you with? There is also the pendulum going the other way and you can get too heavy in the Word and it will be “dry” and intellectual. No Spirit. Word without the Holy Spirit is simply written intellectualism. The Spirit isn’t in it. Just Rules. No Spirit. Just like the Pharisees. The two go together - Spirit and Word; Word and Spirit. Always. And where the Spirit is there is wisdom and revelation knowledge so that your eyes are enlightened to what He wants you to do. (Ephesians 1:17-18.) God IS wisdom! He IS revelation! He will enlighten your eyes as to what needs to be done. If there’s no “light” happening for you, ask the Lord what’s the deal. Have Him show you where you missed it. We all miss it. The important thing is to have a willing heart to be corrected. We can’t do life successfully without Him. If you’re around “Christians” or a church where there is no revelation and Godly wisdom, get out! Quick. Because He’s not there. And there won’t be any “joy,” “light” or “peace” - in God’s presence is fullness of joy , Psalm 16:11; God is light - 1 John 1:5; and God is the God of Peace , He keeps us separated unto Him wholly - spirit, soul, and body, and His peace settles our minds - guarding them . (1 Thessalonians 5:23; 2 Thessalonians 3:16; Philippians 4:7.). Jesus is the God of Peace . These are the markers. These are what you “look” for. These are what you are left with when He is present! Not bondage. Galatians 5:1 - “1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.” 10. The Holy Spirit is your Comforter, Helper, Teacher John 14:26 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My Name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” One translation says: Helper, Comforter, Advocate, and Standby. He is all of these things for you. He is there, within you, to help you. He is there, within you, to comfort you. He is there, within you, to be your advocate…most often to yourself. Because we always tear ourselves down. Once you are saved, the Blood of Jesus covers you. If you get off into sin, then He will let you know you shouldn’t be doing that particular thing. If you keep on doing it and ignoring Him, He will just stay quiet and let you deal with whatever outcome will come upon you because of your actions. He will never leave you or forsake you even to the end of the world. (Hebrews 13:5) If someone is led to intercede for you, then you will be given grace. The ultimate of it, sin, will be the death of your physical body so that your Spirit may live with the Lord (1 Corinthians 5:1-5). God never turns His back on a prodigal son or daughter. Ever. 11. The Holy Spirit can be grieved: Ephesians 4:30 “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by Whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” You are sealed by the Holy Spirit. Sealed means sealed. The seal cannot be broken. But you can grieve the Holy Spirit by not obeying Him. That scratchy, uncomfortable feeling you have on the inside of you when you are about to do that “thing” that you want to do. That is grieving the Holy Spirit. Sometimes there can be a “heaviness”. Heaviness can also be demonic oppression. Whatever the situation, get on your knees and repent of it and ask the Holy Spirit how to clean this up. He will lead you. If you have repeatedly disobeyed the Holy Spirit’s leading your heart gets hardened. You won’t be able to “hear” Him. There needs to be repentance if your heart has gotten hard. Talk with the Lord about it and follow His lead. 12. Praying in Tongues: Let’s clear up some questions about this subject because there are many. All believers can pray in tongues, whether they do or not is up to them. It is part of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that we received when we got born again. And for those who do not they will only have a certain depth in their relationship with the Lord because they are relating to the Lord in physical terms and not by means of the Spirit. God is Spirit. Those that worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and Truth. (John 4:23-24.) Let’s look at a few Scriptures: Mark 16:17 - “And these signs will accompany those who believe: In My Name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues;” We see signs accompany ALL those who believe - speaking in tongues is one of the signs. It’s the Holy Spirit that gives us utterance to speak: Acts 2:4 -“All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.” You have to enable the Holy Spirit to speak through you, you are using your voice with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. It may be done in your known language, or in wordless groans, or most often it is in another language. Sometimes in God’s heavenly language, sometimes in another known language that will minister to someone who hears you, just like Acts 2. But you have to allow it. You have to release it. You are the one speaking, the Holy Spirit is giving you the utterance. He is enabling you. Ephesians 6:19-20 - (Paul asking for the Ephesians church to pray for him) “And for me that utterance may be given to me so that I will fearlessly make known (in boldness) the mystery of the Gospel….Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.” We can pray to access utterance and boldness through the Holy Spirit. But if you want to go a step further…simply expect it. He’s already in you. You have all of the Holy Spirit within and all His giftings. Your expectation creates God’s manifestation in your life!! And we see this in Mark 13:11 - “11 Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given to you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.” The Holy Spirit inspires the words we speak! How can you tell? What is your “joy” level and “peace” level? He will always leave you with joy and peace. And you’ll tend not to know what you are saying until you say it. Always check your joy and peace level. 1 Corinthians 1:5, 7 - “5 For in Him you have been enriched in every way—with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge—7 Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.” You don’t lack any spiritual gift. He’s given you everything. Now what are you doing with it? Are you using what He has given you? Isaiah 56:6-7 - “And foreigners who bind themselves to the Lord to minster to Him, to love the Name of the Lord, and to be His servants, all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to My Covenant—7. These I will bring to My holy mountain and give them joy in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on My altar; for My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations. Romans 8:26-27 - “26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And He Who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.” Notice the Holy Spirit has a “mind”. He is a person. Not an enigma. And He is a Spirit. We are physical. We have to learn how He operates and work with Him. Sometimes we don’t know what to pray regarding a situation. Let’s face it, we don’t know everything. We don’t have all the facts. But God does! That’s the perfect time to pray in tongues!! Talk with Him about the situation in your natural language just like you would with a friend. Then begin speaking in tongues and by faith trusting the Holy Spirit will give you what needs to be prayed in tongues according to God’s will, as He has said in Romans. Sometimes we wind up praying for something completely different than what we started out. Case in point: One time I was concerned regarding a personal matter, so I spoke to the Lord about all my concerns - I know He knows my concerns but when I speak them out loud often He gives me revelation about the situation. Sometimes I don’t even need to pray in tongues over it when that occurs. Sometimes He reveals scriptures to stand on for the situation. So that is what I will pray, using those scriptures and by faith receive it. But there are other times I don’t get anything as I’m talking with Him. So I kick it over into tongues. In this situation I was praying along and suddenly the word “Puerto Rico” comes out. (Often the Lord has me pray over nations/geographical regions, so this isn’t unusual for me.) This wasn’t what I was intending to pray over. Never crossed my mind to pray for that island. But I don’t know what is important and what should be prayed as Romans 8:26-27 says. I know the Holy Spirit does. I trust Him and keep praying. The Holy Spirit often reveals something of importance and gives me direction regarding something entirely different than the thing I had started praying. And the entire notion of the original request simply goes away and I know He’s got it handled. The situation resolves as the Lord simply takes care of it without me messing with it. I love that. I simply trust He has “got my back” so to speak. And so, the Lord had me pray for Puerto Rico instead. In this prayer the Holy Spirit showed me a vision. He does that often with me while praying in tongues. The vision comes from deep inside me. I saw the area, looked like rural areas, covered in water. Things floating in it. I saw bodies floating in it. And I saw heavy rain falling. I was led to pray for the island for people’s protection. Within a few months the island had the most sever hurricane it has ever encountered in recorded history. Not blowing smoke up my skirt. It was all the Holy Spirit. He knows what’s what. We just simply follow Him. I shared this as an example of how to trust Him and what He gives you. Just do what He gives you to do. We trust whatever He gives because we know it is according to God’s will that the Holy Spirit leads us to pray. It is what He sees as important, not necessarily what we “think” is important. You can trust the Holy Spirit will give you capability to pray in another language and it is always in line with the will of God according to Romans 8:27, Mark 16:17, Acts 2:1-14. He’s got the facts and He knows how to lead you in praying what is needed and bring scriptures to your remembrance to use for praying over them in English, (or whatever is your natural tongue) using your faith that He has given you. It’s nothing you have to muster from within yourself. Simply trust He will do what He has said He will do. He is not a man that He should lie - Numbers 23:19. This is a “dimensional” thing and Authority thing. Meaning God gave us Authority on this planet. What we say, goes. In this dimension God gave us this Authority. He will not interfere or intervene in this dimension unless asked by a person. He can’t. Legally. That’s how He set it up, that man has dominion on the earth. That is why God is looking for people who will pray in tongues, to intercede for people, nations, people groups, families because we have Authority to ask Him. God is looking for prayers to intercede, stand in the gap for those who can’t or don’t know how to pray. Ezekiel 22:30-31 - “30 “‘I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall (in prayer) and stand before Me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one. 31 So I will pour out My wrath on them and consume them with My fiery anger, bringing down on their own heads all they have done’, declares the Sovereign Lord.” Very important: when the Lord gives you something in prayer, whether it comes out in the words you speak (prophecy), or a vision - He gives it to you to pray about! There are one of three possible reasons why: 1. Through prayer you can stop it from happening; 2. Through prayer you can’t stop it but you can decrease how bad the event will be and how many it will effect; 3. Through prayer you cannot stop the event or decrease it but you can prepare people for what’s coming. As you are praying over the event the Holy Spirit will give you the impression of which one of the three it is. And if you are to prepare for what’s coming, He will tell you. He will give you details of what needs to be done, just like He did with Noah, and Joseph in Egypt with the famine. One more part. Sometimes you will be so excited as you pray you’ll sense the “excitement” and you want to move. Like jump, run, or dance. DO IT!! Sometimes the Holy Spirit expresses Himself that way through people, through you. You know it’s correct when your joy goes even higher. And you feel like a huge weight got lifted. That is all a result of the Holy Spirit breaking stuff off of you. And yes…even this in scripture: 2 Samuel 6:16-23 - “16 As the ark of the Lord was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul (David’s wife) watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him in her heart. 17 They brought the ark of the Lord and set it in its place inside the tent that David had pitched for it, and David sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before the Lord. 18 After he had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the Name of the Lord Almighty. 19 Then he gave a loaf of bread, a cake of dates and a cake of raisins to each person in the whole crowd of Israelites, both men and women. And all the people went to their homes. 20 When David returned home to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, ‘How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, going around half-naked in full view of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!’ 21 David said to Michal, ‘It was before the Lord, Who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when He appointed me ruler over the Lord’s people Israel—I will celebrate before the Lord. 22 I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor.” 23 And Michal daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death.” * So many times I have experienced people going off the rails and getting WAY WEIRD!!! The Holy Spirit is not weird! Inspired - yes! Doing things that are not normal - yes. But you won’t have this weird feeling, like you just feel like you jumped into dirt and need a bath. You can sense something is “off.” Trust that! That’s Holy Spirit letting you know you got off track. It happens to all of us. But we have to learn how all of this works. Praying in the Spirit is …well, Spiritual. We are not. Not yet. We are physical. We cannot naturally see into the Spirit realm. We do not know how it operates. This is why we have to rely on the Holy Spirit. He will lead and guide us in the way that we should go. Psalm 32:8 - “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with My loving eye on you.” When things start to go off the rails, prayer will get hard. Tough. Like you gotta push through something heavy. Can even seem like there’s “nothing” there. Dry. This shows the Holy Spirit has lifted! If there’s dryness, that’s a sign, a warning. That’s not being led by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit and the Word are water!! You need to “take a bath” in the Word. How you get back on track is get to scripture once again. Use the ones you started your prayer with, or whatever the Holy Spirit is leading you to. Speak it out. Repeat it. Knuckle down into your spirit and pull out words out of your heart by using the Scripture itself. Go as far as you can in your native language, then roll it over again into tongues. Order of praying in tongues: — Use a scripture to start with , can be any that you will go back to during your prayer time if and/or when you need it. Personally I tend to go to: Jude 20-21 (part) - “20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God,”; and Isaiah 28:11-12 - “'11 For with stammering lips and another tongue He will speak to this people’, 12 To whom He said, ‘This is the rest with which You may cause the weary to rest,’ And, ‘This is the refreshing’;” Ephesians 1:17-19 - “17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power” As I pray I go into prayer praying one or all of these, and any others the Holy Spirit is reminding me of, and praying them back to God and then I add something like this: “Father God, in the Name of Jesus, I thank You for Who You are and Who You are within me. I trust YOU with every ounce of my being. And I thank You that as I pray in tongues in the Holy Spirit, that I am edified. I am built up on my most holy faith on things I am standing for from Your Word in my life, my family, my situations, as I pray in tongues. I thank You Father God that You will reveal answers to me as I pray in tongues and I keep myself focused on Your love. For that is Who You are and Your love strengthens me and gives me insight. I am standing on what these scriptures say that praying in tongues is a “rest” - means I don’t have to work hard at it and you cause me to rest and not to stress; and I have wisdom and revelation from the Holy Spirit regarding stuff that I’m praying and regarding situations in my life, or anything else the Holy Spirit wants to show me, and I thank You for it.” Then I open my mouth and utter the strange sounds that come out of my mouth. — Slow down your words so you can hear them . Pronounce them. Speak clearly. Write down any that catch your attention. Sometimes a word or phrase will repeat. Write it down as best you can - because it’s in tongues you won’t know exactly how to spell words but the Holy Spirit will reveal it to you. Words in your own language may start coming out. Write them down. Sometimes a scripture comes up. Write it down. You can look it up when the time is right. If a word or phrase “bugs” you, ask the Lord right then and there, out loud, about that phrase or word and then roll it back over into tongues. Sometimes the Lord will reveal it to you right then. Write it down. (Sometimes He reveals it later.) You can look up some of the words with an internet search later. This is showing your faith. Acting on the Words He is giving you. He will then give you more when you pray. Be watchful of pride. It likes to seep in. The only reason you can pray in tongues is the Holy Spirit, it has nothing to do with you. You are simply being obedient to His leading. — Keep your focus on your words as you continue to pray. And when you don’t, no worries. Sometimes our minds drift off into random stuff like, what you need to do that day; what you need to pick up at the grocery store…you get my point. This is why we used scripture to start with. Go back to that scripture, speak it out loud again. You will now, on purpose, be focused once again on the Holy Spirit and see what Holy Spirit gives you to say in addition to it. Maybe repeating that scripture. Maybe adding other scriptures that come up out of your heart. There may be other things He gives you directly out of your heart. Phrases. Words. Keep hitting them. Repeating them. You’ll find a flow of the Holy Spirit. This is typically when prophecy comes out. You go as far as you can in English, then kick it over into tongues again. Often this gets “deeper” in Him. Trust the Holy Spirit is speaking into the atmosphere whatever He needs spoken into this reality. It’s that “dimensional” thing I spoke of earlier. — Groanings: As Romans 8:26 says. Sometimes groanings come out. Deep. Guttural. Follow it out BUT don’t be moved by your emotions! You may even wind up sobbing, uncontrollably. DON’T GET WRAPPED IN THE EMOTION!!! EVER!!! I REPEAT - DON’T GET WRAPPED UP IN THE EMOTION! E V E R!! PRESS THROUGH IT UNTIL you wind up laughing!!! THIS is vital! In His presence is fullness of Joy! There’s joy in the house of prayer!!! DON’T stay stuck in sadness, or heaviness, or grief, or sorrow. PUSH THROUGH until you hit the flow of the Holy Spirit in laughter and Joy!! I say this because I’ve seen so many prayers get off track because they “like” the emotion. The heaviness. The sadness. They “feel” like they are really doing something. No. They are not. They are getting pulled off by their emotions and ultimately getting hoodwinked by the devil. If they continue in this ultimately their life will be in torment. It never has a good outcome. Push through until you hit joy in the Spirit. Tears will turn to smiles. Then chuckles. You will start laughing. As you keep “following” it, you will wind up laughing in hysterics. No burden. And lightness of heart will come and you will absolutely know the presence of the Lord is with you. — Always date your prayer journal each time you pray . Sometimes when we pray we are able to stop things. Sometimes we can’t stop them but we can decrease how bad they will be - like that Puerto Rico prayer. I knew it was going to happen but I also “knew” that I could decrease how bad it would be for some people. That is what is called “standing in the gap.” (Ez. 22:30.) In your prayer journal you can always go back to see what the Lord has given you. Be sure to write down any “impressions” you get from the Holy Spirit. — Burdens of prayer. When the Holy Spirit knows He can trust you to pray, there will be times when you get a “burden” to pray. Sometimes it may start where you just “know” something is up, and you gotta pray. Do it! Sometimes it shows by you being “restless.” An uneasiness that you can’t shake off. All of this means something big is about to happen to you or someone you love; perhaps to your town, city, or state. And as you pray about it, you may not be able to get a “release” from the Holy Spirit about it. Means it’s not prayed through until you hit “joy” and you get the release. Keep staying with it until you do get the release. You know that you know in your spirit by the Holy Spirit that it’s done. For example: At one point in my life I had told the Lord that if He wanted me to get up in the middle of night to pray, that I would. So as I was sleeping one night He woke me up! He said, “Get up and pray. Now.” So I got out of bed. Went to the living room. I was about to sit on the couch but the Lord said, “Get on your face on the floor.” “Yes, Sir.” I replied. I could sense the urgency with this. As I began praying in tongues deep groans came out. I was quiet about it. I didn’t want to wake up my husband. It was like a silent movie. My mouth was moving but no sound. Spiritually it was intense. Deep weeping came out. And at the same time I was thinking, “Wow, this is strange. I wonder what’s up.” I stayed with it. And then the Lord showed me a vision. I knew it was the person I was praying for. I didn’t know who they were. I saw the face. They were engulfed in flames and screaming a blood curdling scream. As I was watching this I too was as if I was screaming her scream. Then it all STOPPED. Suddenly. Nothing after it. The burden was gone. The vision gone. The tears gone. I got up to my knees and asked the Lord “Was that it? Is that all. Am I done now?” He said, “Yes. Go to bed now.” So I did. The next day on the news I saw a report of someone who had died horribly from something that had burned. (I won’t disclose the detail of it.) I was shocked. I was very upset because I didn’t think I had done enough. (Notice “my thoughts” verses what the Lord had said. This is why you can’t trust in only your thinking.) The Lord said that prayer was enough. I trust Him. I knew by the Holy Spirit that the Lord wanted her to receive Him before she died. I knew that in the prayer. I didn’t have to figure it out. And I knew at the time of praying that the event was going to happen. I didn’t think it was anything I would ever know about. I didn’t need to. I simply trust Him. He got done what He needed. I’m sure He had others besides me praying for her and the others involved. It is only an example of how the Lord will use you, if you allow Him. He will do this with you too. 13. Spiritual Gifts Yes, they are for today, they did not “die away.” The teaching about spiritual gifts no longer a part of the Church is no where in scripture . Try to find two or three scriptures that say so. Spiritual gifts come from the Holy Spirit. You cannot have the Holy Spirit and not have His giftings. It’s not possible. They are the result of Him within you. The more you spend time with the Holy Spirit and being obedient to His leadings, the more the giftings will manifest. Spiritual gifts are in 1 Corinthians chapters 12-14. And as you read the New Testament you can see the giftings of the Holy Spirit in operation through people. God puts these things in His Word to teach us how they operate so we know when they are operating in us. Giftings are for other people. They are not for yourself. And they should operate by love . All the spiritual gifts when in operation correctly will be operating by love. If you don’t, then the gifting(s) that the Lord has created you with can be used incorrectly out of ego and deception. Ultimately be twisted by the devil. All people have at least one gifting. It’s how the Lord created us. And when someone is not born again and has Word of Wisdom and Word of Knowledge operating in their life and they never turn to the Lord, the devil will use that gifting his way. The person will be deceived by deceptive spirits and be a “clairvoyant” or “fortune teller” and such like. It’s simply the gift the God gave that person being used in the wrong way. How you reflect on what your gifting is, ask the Lord. And reflect on your life. Especially as a child. The things you liked and wanted to do, what you're good at and are usually related to that gifting. Go to 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 and see how that “job” fits into the gifting(s). Every job does. 14. Spiritual Fruit: Comes from spending time with Him. Not simply a “Sunday Christian.” You have to put what you know to work. The result of the fruit is from spending time with Him, giving heed to Him and doing what He says to do. Galatians 5:16-26 - “16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. Notice in verse 16 we have a choice. We can walk by the Spirit or not. When someone does not walk by the Spirit they are automatically walking by the flesh. And there are the outcomes listed of each. Again…look what is showing up in your life. When we see something we don’t like we have to ask the Lord where are we off track and make any corrections He gives us. 15. Having “Utterance” and “Revelation Knowledge” Go Together Acts 4:23-25 - "23 When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. 24 And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, Who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, 25 Who through the mouth of our father David, Your servant, said by the Holy Spirit,” then the Holy Spirit gave them a scripture that Peter and spoke….continue on to verse 31 - “31 And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the Word of God with boldness.” The Holy Spirit gives you words to speak from the Word of God, whether it be in your known language or in tongues; and He gives you boldness and revelation about what the Holy Spirit is talking about! This is what He does. It is light. He is light. He is the light of the world. This is a result of having Him within your spirit. Utterance, revelation knowledge, light! - this is what you look for to see if the Holy Spirit is present. 1 Timothy 4:1 - “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.” In 1 Timothy we can see that Paul was given utterance and revelation knowledge by the Holy Spirit. I say that because there’s no clear Old Testament scripture that states what Paul says. This was direct revelation from the Holy Spirit. And this most likely happened through prayer. Revelation from the Holy Spirit most often comes through prayer and studying Scripture as He leads. It is not the only way but it is the most frequent. It can come through teaching of the Word, or dreams, or visions, but the biggest way the Holy Spirit gives you revelation knowledge is through prayer and the Word. And as you are praying in tongues, He will at some point give you utterance in a known language. Write down whatever He gives you if you can. He will also give Scriptures along with it. If you didn’t get Scripture with it, ask Him. Sometimes He may want you to look up a subject matter in the Word. Another place where we see the Holy Spirit revealed something to someone is Luke 2:26 - “It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah.” The revelation corresponded to action and to speaking. This was Simeon, the priest in the Temple that year. The Holy Spirit was upon Simeon and revealed this to him. Most likely this was done while Simeon was in prayer. He had “gotten” that he was waiting for the “consolation of Israel.” He knew…by the Holy Spirit. There are so many places in the Word about when God revealed things to people, including Jesus. Recall how Jesus would suddenly “know” what people were thinking. Jesus would then respond with speaking. Speaking the revelation from the Holy Spirit sometimes. Everything the Holy Spirit reveals is not necessarily to be shared. Many times it is to pray about for someone else. It’s part of Word of Wisdom and Word of Knowledge (1 Corinthians 12.) 16. Spend time in reading Romans 8. (Printed at the end of the article.) And then re-read it. Read it in different translations. You’ll get more insight. And then do the same with John 10, 14-17. And then re-read it again. There is a wealth of Spiritual knowledge about the inner dwelling of the Holy Spirit within you and how to follow Him. Another really interesting thing Paul says so many times is to “follow your conscience.” Don’t violate it. When you do, you step out of faith. Romans 14:22-23 - “22 So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves. 23 But whoever has doubts is condemned if they eat, because their eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.” See about the conscience: 1 Corinthians 10:25, 27-29; 1 Timothy 1:19; 1 Peter 3:16; Hebrews 13:8; 1 Corinthians 8: 7, 10, 12; Acts 24:16; 2 Corinthians 1:12; 1 Timothy 4:2; Romans 9:1; 1 Timothy 3:9; 2 Timothy 1:3; Titus 1:15; Hebrews 9:9, 14; Romans 2:15; 1 Timothy 1:5; Hebrews 10:22; 1 Peter 3:21; 2 Corinthians 4:2. 17. Test the spirits Not all spirits are of God and they always have a con game going to “seem” like they are from God, looking like an angel of light 2 Corinthians 11:14. 1 John 4:1-6 Any spirit that does not say Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not a spirit of God. 18. The Holy Spirit is the Anointing Luke 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me because He has Anointed Me… This was after Jesus’ baptism with John the Baptist and the Holy Spirit came upon Him and within Him. The Holy Spirit IS the Anointing! Isaiah 10:27 The Anointing removes burdens and destroys yokes. The Anointing is a person. The Anointing is the Holy Spirit. “Christ” is the Greek word for the Hebrew word “Messiah”. “Messiah” means “The Anointed One”. So the term “Christ Jesus” or “Jesus Christ” refers to different aspects of the Holy Spirit Anointing on Jesus and how He is working in a particular manner. For example: “Christ Jesus” means The Anointed Jesus - scriptures with this term are specifically showing how the Anointing works. “Christ Jesus” is usually about the Anointing of Jesus in operation while He was in His earthly ministry, of which we have access to because of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. It is how the Holy Spirit works on Jesus - thus how He can work on you if you stay in repentance (because not doing so hardens one’s heart and clogs up the “hearing.”); and stay in prayer and the Word and follow Him. It’s simple. The second usage: “Jesus Christ” - has to do with the Resurrection. The epitome of the Anointing is the Resurrection with the changed mortal body. We see this in Romans 8:11 -“But if the Spirit of Him that raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He Who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of His Spirit Who lives in you.” And Ephesians 1:19-20 - “19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power 20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,” “Jesus Christ” is talking about something that has been given to us in the Anointing by Jesus’ Resurrection from the dead. “Christ” means the Anointing which is the Holy Spirit. So if we word that passage like this: “and what is the exceeding greatness of His power, because His power is the Holy Spirit, toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power through the Holy Spirit which He worked in the Anointing when He raised Jesus from the dead by His power through the Holy Spirit in the Anointing and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places.” We see more to that passage than we did before. Every time you see the word “Christ” by itself it means all of what it can mean: The Anointed Jesus; the Anointing—the Holy Spirit; and it can mean the ultimate of Resurrection Power. You have to pay attention to the inward leading of the Holy Spirit about a passage to see what He specifically wants to show you. I have found that “Christ” when it’s by itself usually means the Anointing (through the Holy Spirit) and how it works. Ephesians 3:16-19 AMP - “16 May He grant you out of the riches of His glory, to be strengthened and spiritually energized with power through His Spirit in your inner self, [indwelling your innermost being and personality], 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through your faith. And may you, having been [deeply] rooted and [securely] grounded in love, 18 be fully capable of comprehending with all the saints (God’s people) the width and length and height and depth of His love [fully experiencing that amazing, endless love]; 19 and [that you may come] to know [practically, through personal experience] the love of Christ which far surpasses [mere] knowledge [without experience], that you may be filled up [throughout your being] to all the fullness of God [so that you may have the richest experience of God’s presence in your lives, completely filled and flooded with God Himself]. Notice the words “Christ” - The Anointing, and “His Spirit” are grammatically used interchangeably. They are the same. The Holy Spirit is the Anointing, and they are love within you. And God wants you to know about this, His Power…WITHIN you! Now look at these scriptures with the word “Christ” interchanged with “Holy Spirit”: 1 Corinthians 15:22 - In the Holy Spirit I am made alive. Colossians 1:27 - the Holy Spirit is in me and is the hope of glory. 2 Corinthians 1:21-22 - Now it is God Who makes both us and you stand firm in the Holy Spirit. He Anointed us, set His seal of ownership on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. 2 Corinthians 2:14 - Now thanks be unto God Who always causes me to triumph in the Holy Spirit, and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of Him everywhere. Galatians 5:1 - I stand fast in the liberty where the Holy Spirit has made me free and I am not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Philippians 4:13 - I can do all things through the Holy Spirit Who strengthens me. Romans 6:7-8 - For he that is dead is freed from sin. I am dead to sin and alive with the Holy Spirit. *There is a difference in these two passages: Galatians 2:20 - I am crucified with the Anointed One; and I no longer live, but the Holy Spirit lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself for me. Ephesians 2:5-6 - Even though I was dead in sins, God has quickened me together with the Anointed One through the Holy Spirit. By grace am I saved; and made me sit with Him in heavenly places. Now the next time your in the Epistles keep this in mind and see what deeper revelations you get from the Holy Spirit by reading them like this! 19. How to “Hear” Like previously stated you are to judge what you heard or the prompting you got by several factors: “Where” did the voice come from? Outside of your head. Inside of your head: if it’s inside, did it come up from deep within your inner being; or did it just “pop” in. From outside of your head is NOT the Holy Spirit but another spirit. Sometimes it may seem like someone is speaking into your ear. If it’s inside your head it is either from a spirit or your own thinking. When it comes from deep down within you, like it’s bubbling up from the depth of you into your head, it’s the Holy Spirit. Does it go in line with all of scripture; or does it contradict some? The more you know of the Word the greater the tests. And the devil is sneaky. There are times he will use scripture to attempt to deceive you. Don’t go against any inner warning. It’s like this gut feeling like you got punched. Sometimes it shows up as a subtle warning. Quieter. Like this uneasiness about what you heard and it ALWAYS brings questions up to your mind. “Questions” always show that you DO NOT have peace in your conscience. So let go of what you heard cause it’s not God. What does that “word” leave you with: joy, peace, knowing what to do - insight, light, does it strengthen you. Or does it leave you with questions, confusion, not understanding, fear, uneasiness, consternation: Psalm 16:11 ESV - “You make known to me the path of life; in Your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” 1 Corinthians 14:33 AMP- “33 for God is not a God of confusion and disorder but of peace and order.” Colossians 3:15 AMP - “15 Let the peace of Christ [the inner calm of one who walks daily with Him] be the controlling factor in your hearts [deciding and settling with finality all questions that arise in your minds]. To this peaceful state indeed you were called as members in one body [of believers]. And be thankful [to God always].” Romans 15:13 - “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” 1 Timothy 4:1 - “Now the Spirit expressly says …” - in this passage when you look for any other passages like this about what people will be like in the last days, there are none. This one speaks of “how” the Holy Spirit can communicate something: “The Spirit expressly says”. Restating: He speaks from deep within you. Not outside of you, your body. Visitations can happen but they are not common. If a visitation from the Lord occurs, always test the spirits as 1 John 4:1-4 says, ask the Spirit/spirit: “Did Jesus Christ come in the flesh?” The reason why you want to ask this question is evil spirits do not acknowledge that they have lost the eternal battle. They still think they can win. Seriously delusional. As 1 Corinthians 2:7-8 - “7 No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” God had us on His mind before we were born! Before God created “time” - this was when we were written in the Lamb’s Book of Life - Revelation 17:8 - “The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and yet will come up out of the Abyss and go to its destruction. The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, because it once was, now is not, and yet will come.” And a second passage, out of 2 or 3 witnesses - Revelation 13:8 Berean Standard - “And all who dwell on the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written from the foundation of the world in the Book of Life belonging to the Lamb who was slain.” And Psalm 139:16 - “Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” 20. He Gives You Strength Ephesians 3:16-17 - “That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory to be strengthened with might by HIs Spirit in the inner man; that Christ…” John 14:16-17 AMP - “16 And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor--Counselor, Strengthener, Standby), to be with you forever-- 17 the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive [and take to its heart] because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He (the Holy Spirit) remains with you continually and will be in you.” Here’s another verse of scripture that shows the Holy Spirit is not taken away. He remains within us — forever!! He is the Spirit of Truth. He is our strength. The Joy of the Lord is our strength…Nehemiah 8:10. How to judge what you have happening in your life: questions, confusion, unhappy, killing, stealing, destroying; or is it joy, peace, strength, life, love…these are markers of “Who” or “who” is active in your life - John 10:10. Other Scriptures to Note 2 Corinthians 5:14 (TPT, TMT, KJV, NIV)- “14 For Christ’s love compels us…” He compels us; He constrains us - doing so with urgency, a pressing necessity; He fuels our passion and motivates us; He moves us to extremes. 1 Corinthians 14:15 - “So what shall I do? l’ll pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my understanding; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my understanding.” - As a statement of faith. Focus on scripture as you are praying in tongues. That is praying with your understanding. Then the Holy Spirit will give you tidbits of insight. And then you simply trust Him by faith that He has it handled. 1 Corinthians 14:4 - He that speaks in an unknown tongue edifies himself …. 1 Corinthians 14 - verse 19, Pauls said he spoke in tongues more than the Corinthian church. And they were prolific in it and got off track because there was no order to it. They were undisciplined and only leaned in to that part of the Spiritual gifts. That’s why Paul wrote 1 Corinthians chapters 12-14. Back to 1 Corinthians 14:14 - “For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prays but by understanding is unfruitful.” We make our understanding fruitful by using scripture to start the prayer with and go back to it if things go off , you get distracted, or if there is a lull. Speak the Scriptures out loud to the Lord and keep going as far as you can until you can’t go any further in your language, then go into tongues. Numbers 11:24-27 - So Moses went out and told the people what the LORD had said. He brought together seventy of their elders and had them stand around the tent. 25 Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke with him, and He took some of the power of the Spirit that was on Him and put it on the seventy elders. When the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied —but did not do so again. 26 However, two men, whose names were Eldad and Medad, had remained in the camp. They were listed among the elders, but did not go out to the tent. Yet the Spirit also rested on them, and they prophesied in the camp. 27 A young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” I love this scripture in Numbers!! The Lord came down and took some of His power of the Spirit that He had put on Moses and put it on the 70 elders, including the dudes who were back in camp! And they all prophesied. It sure is interesting that when the Spirit is on people, He talks. And He’s got a lot to say. He is a person! Nowadays it’s tough because there are so many false prophets BUT the Lord told us there would be in the end times chapters of the Gospels; and in 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22 He told us to weigh prophecies and throw out what is not right and hold on to what is good: “19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not treat prophecies with contempt 21 but test them all; hold on to what is good, 22 reject every kind of evil. ” And we test them by what the Word says: are we left with joy? - Psalm 16:11; are we left with peace? - John 14:28; are we left with light, revelation? - 1 John 1:5 and Isaiah 11:2. Ephesians 3:19 - God the Father wants us to know the love of Christ, the love of the Anointing, the love of the Holy Spirit which passes knowledge so that we will be filled with all of God’s fullness. The Love of God gives knowledge. We can’t have Godly knowledge unless we allow the love of God to flow and glow in our lives!!! Love and knowledge go together! ! Philippians 1:9 that our love would abound (because we choose to) more and more in knowledge and in all judgement. We can’t judge things correctly unless we are operating in the Love of God. Verses 10-12 we will then be able to approve things that are excellent, Godly, and sincere without offense and filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ and all of it is to the paise and glory of God!! 1 John 2:20, 27 - AMP “20 But you have an Anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the Truth. 27 As for you, the Anointing you received from Him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as His Anointing teaches you about all things and as that Anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it (He) has taught you, remain in Him.” “Remain” - #3306 meno - abide, wait, remain. It’s the same word as abide and wait. Wait on the Holy Spirit’s leading, on His teaching you; abide - live with Him by obeying what He leads you to do. When we don’t we grieve Him. When we do grieve Him we won't have any peace. Just repent. Clean it up. Do whatever He is leading you to do. He never leaves us even if we don’t repent but He’s not happy. So make it right with Him. God said He would be with us even to the end of the earth! He would never leave us nor forsake us. So…yeah…once you have received Him, you are His! Now that we understand more of “Who” the Holy Spirit is, how He operates, and that He is in us, we can understand more depth in scripture - the Holy Spirit IS love, He has poured it out in our hearts, love is what teaches us, and He is this power within us, the power to raise mortal bodies and create universes!!! Let’s look at the Ephesians 3 prayer: Ephesians 3:16-20 - “16 I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. 20 Now to Him Who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us,” The part of the sentence in bold - Paul is praying that we would grasp ALL the dimensions (length, height, depth) of the love of the Holy Spirit-His Anointing that is WITHIN us!!! And the more we allow the Holy Spirit to reveal it to us, the more that is activated within us!!! What we don’t know, we won’t have. What we have revelation about is what we will have! 2 Timothy 1:7 - “7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” John 14:26-27 - “But the Advocate, the Helper, the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My Name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” 1 Corinthians. 2:3-16 - “3 I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. 4 And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. 6 However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, 8 which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” 10 But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. 11 For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit Who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. 13 These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15 But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. 16 For “who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ. We have the mind of the Anointing. We have the mind of the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 6:11 - “…But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the Name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.” John 14:16 - “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—” This is another very important verse to those who have thought you can loose your salvation. If you have thought that, read John 14:16 again. And put it with other scriptures like: John 10:28-30; Ephesians 1:13; & 2 Corinthians 1:20-22, listed below. Out of 2 or 3 witnesses let every Word be established: “28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father, Who has given them to Me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of My Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are One.” “When you believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,” “20 For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God. 21 Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He Anointed us, 22 set His seal of ownership on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.” If you still don’t believe that salvation is eternal, you need to allow the Holy Spirit to show you in way you can receive it. God’s promises are “yes” and “amen”. You will either believe what He has said, or you won’t. Not believing something God has clearly stated will make your life miserable. “Choose you this day Life or death; blessing or cursing.” What will you choose? John 6:63 - “It is the Spirit Who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The Words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.” 2 Corinthians 3:17-18 - “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 being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 12:13 - “For we were all baptized by One Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the One Spirit to drink.” John 4:14 - “but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” Philippians 1:19 - Supply of the Spirit - "19 for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance,” We serve God by His Spirit, Philippians 3:3 - “3 For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh—“ 2 Timothy 1:13-14 Keep the Word which is in you by the Holy Spirit - “13 Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 14 By the Holy Spirit Who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.” 2 Corinthians 3:17 - “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” John 10:30 - “30 I and the Father are one.” 1 John 4:6 - “We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of Truth and the spirit of falsehood.” Titus 3:5-7 - “5 He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that, having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs having the hope (absolute expectancy) of eternal life.” Galatians 5:4-6 - ‘4 You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. 5 For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.” Galatians 5:17 - “For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.” 2 Corinthians 3:17 - “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” John 6:63 - “It is the Spirit Who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The Words that I speak to you are Spirit, and they are Life.” Matthew 12:28 - “But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” Ephesians 1:13 - “In Him you also, when you heard the Word of Truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in Him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,” Acts 4:31 - “And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the Word of God with boldness.” Matthew 28:19 - “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,” Mark 12:36 - “David himself said in the Holy Spirit, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Until I put Your enemies beneath Your feet.”’ Mark 13:11 - “When they arrest you and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour; for it is not you who speak, but it is the Holy Spirit.” John 15:26 - ““When the Helper comes, Whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me,” The word: "proceed" - means to come from the source. Romans 8:9 - “You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Him.” 1 John 4:1-2 - “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God,” 1 Corinthians 2 “1 And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. 2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 3 I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. 4 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, 5 so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power. God’s Wisdom Revealed by the Spirit 6 We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 7 No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived” — the things God has prepared for those who love Him— 10 these are the things God has revealed to us by His Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 11 For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. 13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. 14 The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. 15 The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, 16 for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ. Romans 8 - ESV 1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. 10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. Heirs with Christ 12 So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him. Future Glory 18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. 26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And He who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose. 29 For those whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that He might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom He predestined He also called, and those whom He called He also justified, and those whom He justified He also glorified. *(If this gives rise to questions for you read the article on “God’s Calling.” God’s seed He foreknew and wrote our names in the Lamb’s Book of Life, we are who He has called, justified by the Blood of Jesus, and will glorify upon death and resurrection.) God’s Everlasting Love 31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He Who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things? 33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God Who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the One Who died—more than that, Who was raised—Who is at the right hand of God, Who indeed is interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written, “For Your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him Who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Who is God, Who is Jesus, Does God love me, Can I be close with God, God, Jesus, Are they real, Isn't the Bible just stories, Intimacy with the Lord Being called a friend of God Article below. Or click link for downloadable PDF. PDF Intimacy with the Lord How to be close with your Creator Being Called a Friend of God How to Be Close with Your Creator? Abraham was the first friend of God we see in the Bible and he wasn’t the only one. Imagine being called a friend of the all-knowing, and omnipresent God. It is incomprehensible in our mental abilities. But we can with God who created the heavens and the earth! This is what He desires with us, His kids. Abraham wasn’t perfect. Neither are we. He partially lied to Pharaoh and said his wife was his sister, so he wouldn’t be killed. He also took Lot with him when he left his country - God told him to get out of his country, away from his family, to the place that God was taking him. But he took Lot, his family and all the belonged to him. Nevertheless, Abraham was God’s friend. James 2:23 Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness AND he was called God’s friend. God wasn’t looking where Abe messed up. He looked on Abraham’s heart. Abraham believed God and consequently God called him “friend.” Imagine what it would be like if fellow brethren treated each other like that rather than telling them they were going to hell. But I digress... David was similar. God so loved David because He knew David’s heart. As a young shepherd boy it was likely he spoke to the Lord, sung to Him, spoke scripture back to Him because of this one verse - it was in the showdown with Goliath. 1 Samuel 17:26 - “David asked the men standing near him, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?” David understood the Law. He knew who he was to God. And God said David had His Own Heart. (1 Samuel 13:14.) And David, like us all, was a flawed man. BUT God knew David had His very own heart: David would believe what God said. This is a part of how intimacy with God happens. All we have to do is believe Him. Like any good parent, they always tell the truth to their children and their children trust them without a second thought. So now we established a part of what it takes to have intimacy with the Lord, what are the other aspects and how do we do it? It’s just like any relationship. The basic rules are the same. Spend time with the Lord, believe Him, do what He says to do. 1. Spend time with God - we do this in quiet time each day, in His Word and speaking with Him and most importantly, listening to Him. You are His sheep and you hear His voice John 10:3-4, 27. Ask Him how He wants you to go about your day; you may have questions about the specifics of that day - ask Him - He will lead you, even if you don’t “get” anything immediately, you will get a prompting from deep within you of what to do. Sometimes you may simply get “peace” about your day. That’s wonderful. When you get busy and distracted from time with the Lord, you will notice a difference. You’ll be short tempered, language will not be Godly, etc. If your life is such that time is limited, then play Christian music when you sleep and in your car, or play teaching sermons from pastors/teachers who you are led to. Keep the Word going into your heart. Then when you can, set aside time with the Lord. Even if it’s 30 minutes. Talk with Him. Always be sure to listen, listen in His Word - ask Him where He wants you to read that day. All of this is so important. It’s like building any relationship. You have to spend time together. The more you do it, the more you will want to do. 2. Do what He tells you - as John 2:5 says, whatever He tells you to do, do it. He may tell you by a gentle prompting (He is the ultimate gentlemen); or a knowing; or His still, small, quiet voice. However He chooses to lead you, follow His lead. If you miss it, repent immediately and ask for His direction about it. He may still want you to do it or He may direct you otherwise. 3. Take His Correction - there are times when we miss it. Allow the Lord to correct you. There are several things to be aware of in the area of correction. First, take a look at what God has said about it in scripture: Zephaniah 3:2 - “She obeys no one, she accepts no correction. She does not trust in the LORD, she does not draw near to her God.” In order for us to take correction from the Lord we have to trust Him . Do you trust God? Be honest with yourself. You have to come to the place where you know that God is always right. It doesn’t matter if you don’t “get” it. He will reveal it. Simply do it, no matter what. His “will” will make things very clear to you. What He says goes - He is always right. Proverbs 12:1 - “Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but whoever hates correction is stupid.” Proverbs is great for correction and very clear. Proverbs 15:32 - “Those who disregard discipline despise themselves, but the one who heeds correction gains understanding.” Not only is the understanding you gain deeper in the things of God but your understanding is deeper in the things of “you”. Trust “you” because of the Holy Spirit within you, and learning where you missed it and how. You will learn volumes from things like this…they are painful…but oh, so helpful. Heeding correction will draw you closer to the Lord. Disregarding it puts a barrier between you and God. The main way we receive correction is through God’s Word, 2 Timothy 3:16 - “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” We don’t know “how” to be righteous and since we are now new creatures in Christ Jesus and the righteousness of God through Jesus paying the price for our sins on the cross, we have to learn “how” (2 Corinthians 5:14-21). Proverbs 3:12 - “Because the LORD disciplines those He loves, as a father the son He delights in.” The Lord loves us and that is why He corrects us. To help us. After all, that is why a parent disciplines their child. To help them. And there are 5 general things that we need to be aware of in life. These occur with each and every one of us. How to recognize them when/if they are happening: • There are 5 things that we all have to be aware of because we all have (had) them to some degree. The Lord’s correction will change you with these things. And this is where learning correction from the Lord is VITAL, to change these things in our lives. A . Generational Curses - these show up as cycles of things in a person’s life and they are a trait in the family line, like: cycles of sickness, divorce, molestation, addiction and many more. Curses can come from a few ways - a family member whom has done oaths, agreements, rituals (witchcraft), [these can be known or unknown done by the person] - these come from “sin” - disobedience to God - and has cords Proverbs 5:21-23. That’s why it is in cycles, it’s the cord. The cord allows the demons to attach to the family line. All of these ways can also be done by a witch who has cast it upon you or your family. The bottom line is Jesus Christ has given you Authority to break them. A doorway was created by someone with unrepented sin, and the sin needs to be cleaned up with repentance and the Blood of Jesus. Yes, Jesus died for all of our sins. But sometimes when there is a family curse the Lord will allow it to teach you about Spiritual Authority. Pray along these lines: 1. Stand as the intercessor for your family; 2. In Jesus Name, repent of all sins of your forefathers and foremothers and cancel all oaths, contracts, rituals and such things - known and unknown and close all doorways that had been opened; 3. Receive God’s forgiveness for you and your entire family; 4. Break all cords to the sins of your family Ecclesiastes 12:6; 5. Speak the blessings of God over your family from this point forward and plead the Blood of Jesus over your entire family and wipe it clean in Jesus Name. B. Demonic spirits - Sometimes demonic spirits get lodged in a family from a family curse. But there are others that can take up residence with you or another family member. Demonic spirits may manifest in various ways like spirit spouses - you know if this is your situation if you have sexual dreams. Some experience being raped in their dream; there can be spirits of anger - these can manifest as short outbursts for very trivial problems; spirit of control - yourself or a family member likes to be in control over every thing at all times; spirit of loneliness; spirit of rejection - very common today, shows up as a lack of self confidence. There are others. The result is negative “traits” that plague a family. You know if there is spirit if there is a behavior that you don’t like and that you can’t get away from. You can’t stop it. Demons force. They are here to steal, kill, and destroy - John 10:10. They steal your peace, steal your joy; kill your destiny, kill off your health; destroy relationships in the family, destroy success. These spirits can cause division and strife within the family and within marriages if they are not dealt with. What to do : you have to break spirit marriages in the Name of Jesus, you belong to Jesus’ - end of story. Repent of all sin that caused the doorway(s) for these spirits to enter and close it in the Name of Jesus; cut all cords to the sin; and loose the demons in Jesus Name and cast them out into outer darkness to await their judgement - Jude 6. Ask the Holy Spirit to cleanse you, your family, your home, of all residue in Jesus Name - this may mean playing Holy Spirit led music, or playing scripture in your home to spiritually clean the environment - Ephesians 5:26-27. C. Mental strongholds - mental strongholds are false beliefs. Typically they are “thoughts” we grew up with and we can’t tell they aren’t true because they have becomes a part of our personality. Like: “We’ve always been poor, that’s just how it is. We are poor.” That’s a mental stronghold. It’s a false belief or misconception that you have accepted as truth. Another like: your mother or father always told you that you were stupid. This misconception became your identity…but it is not who you are. You deal with mental strongholds by renewing your mind, as we have spoken before. Change your thoughts for God’s thoughts. He is always right. You do this by getting into scripture that says “who you are” according to God. Go to all the “in Him, in Whom, in Christ Jesus, in Christ” scriptures. This is your identity now! And every time the old stronghold shows up, cast that thought down in the Name of Jesus and replace that old thought by speaking to yourself the scripture that counteracts it. You do this until your thinking changes. (2 Corinthians 10:3-6.) D. Addictions - alcohol, drugs, pornography, even types of food can all be addictions. Can be caused by curses, but not always. Addictions are motivated by two parts, a spirit of addiction that is typically hooked up to spirit of rejection and unforgiveness. The spirit of guilt sometimes comes along for the ride. Like all the others things listed above: Repent of opening a doorway (unforgiveness is usually the doorway here) and the sin, cut all cords, loose the strongman with all spirit(s) it’s in charge of, in the Name of Jesus and cast them into outer darkness; wash yourself clean by pleading the Blood of Jesus and renewing your mind with scripture - washing of water by the Word. You are a new creature 2 Corinthians 5:17, John 8:36. You have to change your thinking. Always with addictions there is a stronghold involved. E. Issues of the flesh - our sinful nature, when not submitted to the Holy Spirit, is a free-for-all with the enemy to have his way with us. Things like pride, pushiness, selfishness, and stubbornness will cause serious problems in your life. It’s about submitting your way, for God’s way. It is a choice. You have to choose to do it. None of us are smarter than God. We don’t have it all figured out. Submit to God and He will lead you through it. As you are spending time in the Word with the Lord, listening to Him, obeying His voice, retraining your mind, getting rid of all strongholds, you are getting closer and closer to the Lord. And the more time you spend in His Word, the more you want to spend time. It’s amazing how that happens! Simply trust Him and follow Him. As Proverbs 3:5-6 says, Trust in the Lord with all your heart and don’t lean to your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will bring it to pass. He has got you! 2 Corinthians. 13:14 - “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion (fellowship) of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

Is God real, Who is God, His personality, His character, Is Jesus the Son of God, Is all this God stuff real Who is God, His Names, & His Character Article below or click link for downloadable PDF PDF Who is God, His Names, & His Character When we introduce ourselves we say, “I am (name).” We are making a simple statement of “who we are”. There is no one who can tell you that you are not that named person. Ever. It is your identity. You are who you say you are. AND names are personal. The Name and titles of God are no different. When we look at the names/titles of God we see the same thing. He is who He says He is. Can’t change it. It is Him. It’s His personality. And it is a great privilege that He shares His names with us. He has given us His Name (Ephesians 3:14-15). I don't fully understand this myself...yet. It's extraordinary! It’s personal. It reveals more than the name “God”. It is His substance and we learn His personality. And the more we spend time with Him in the Word and talk with Him about it, the more we see Him actively involved in our lives in the way that He “describes” Himself. It’s important for us to know these names when we address Him in prayer, rightfully, respectfully. And when we address Him in prayer using one of His names it enlarges our expectation...our faith...that shows Him to us as His name or title says He is. He is the everlasting God, the Creator of all. We want to address God with reverence and wisdom when we pray. It’s also important to remind ourselves of Hebrews 13:8 - God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. What He said about Himself in days gone by is the same today! Let Him show up in your life in these ways. These names are who He is and what He is like. Way better than a dating app!! He is our first love. Who loved us before the foundation of the world and had us planned in His heart from that point. Listed below are only a small part of the many scriptures in each area. I suggest doing a full study on the area of interest. YHVH - Exodus 3:12-15. I AM. The One bringing into being; Life-giver; Giver of existence; Creator; He who brings to pass; Performer of His promises; He who causes to fall, rain or lightning; Destroying foes; The One Who Is; The Absolute and Unchangeable One; The Existing; Everliving: I shall be with you; He who will be IT with you; He is who is essentially unnamable, inexplicable. Jesus - Luke 1:31. Is a translation of the Hebrew “Joshua” - “Yashua”, that means, “Jehovah is salvation, is the Savior”. It was a common name among Jews at the time which is most likely why they missed it when He was on the earth (Ex. 17:9; Luke 3:29; Col 4:11). Jehovah Jireh - The Lord will provide. He is our provider: Philippians 4:19, 3 John 2 and Genesis 22:13-14. Jehovah Rapha - The Lord will heal. Philippians 4:19, Exodus 15:26, and Isaiah 53:5. Jehovah Shalom - The Lord our peace. 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24, John 14:27, & Philippians 4:6-7. Good to use when anxious or afraid. Whenever God showed up to people and they were afraid He would always say, “Peace, be still.” Jehovah Nissi - The Lord our banner. Exodus 17:15 (all). Represents He is the one that stands with you in battles. You are not alone. The “banner” is God Himself as a “name tag” over you saying “you are His”. Jehovah Tsidkenu - The Lord Who is righteousness. He is our righteousness - 2 Corinthians 5:21, Romans 10:4, Philippians 3:9, Jeremiah 23:5-6. Good for using when you need Godly judgment and righteousness in situations, decisions that need to made. Jehovah Rohi - The Lord is our Shepherd. John 10 and Psalm 23 Jehovah Shammah - The Lord is always present - The Lord who is there. Ezekiel 48:35. Such an intimate prayer time with this title. As you go into prayer, call Him Jehovah Shaman. He is righter there in the same room with you, as close as your own breath. Jehovah M’Kaddesh - The Lord Who sanctifies. Leviticus 11:44, 20:7-8. God is Who sanctifies you and makes you holy, He sets you apart for Himself and perfects that which concerns us. Praying like: “Jehovah M’Kaddesh, I need more holiness my life. I needs greater victory over temptation. I need strength over son. I want to represent You more purely to a corrupt world. Please help me grow in Your sanctification. You are my Jehovah M’Kaddesh.” The Lord of Glory - 1 Corinthians 2:8; Exodus 33:7-23 I AM - John 8:58 Author of Salvation - Hebrews 2:10 The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob - Exodus 3:2, 6 The Almighty - Revelation 1:8 The Everlasting Father - Isaiah 9:6 The First and the Last - Revelation 1:17 The Faithful Witness - Psalm 89:36-37 The Image of the Invisible God - Colossians 1:15 WONDERFUL, COUNSELOR, MIGHTY GOD - Isaiah 9:6 A Sacrifice - Ephesians 5:2 A Ransom - Mark 10:45 Heir of All Things - Hebrew 1:1-4 He is Love - 1 John 4:8. The Temple - Revelation 21:22 A Sanctuary - Isaiah 8:14 Intercessor - Hebrews 7:25, Romans 8:27 Helper - Romans 8L26, John 16:7 (Amplified) Author and Finisher of our faith - Hebrews 12:2 Advocate - 1 John 2:1 Surety of a Better Covenant - Hebrews 7:22 Teacher - John 13:13, 1 John 2:27 The Resurrection and the Life - John 11:25 The Wisdom of God - 1 Corinthians 1:24 Lord (Yahweh) - Isaiah 26:4, Psalm 23, John 20:28 (a vast study can be done on “Lord” - it’s a proper name. Hebrew: Addonai. Strong’s #113.) God - (same study done can be done here. Hebrew Strong’s #430. Greek #2316 ) 1 Timothy 2:5. Son of God - John 1:34 Beloved Son - Matthew 17:5, 3:16-17 The Word - John 1:1 Messiah - Daniel 9:25 Alpha and Omega - Revelation 22:13 Savior - Luke 2:11 Redeemer - Job 19:25 Light of the World - John 8:12 Lamb of God - John 1:29 Creator of All Things - Colossians 1:16 Master - Luke 8:24 Mediator - 1 Tiimothy 2:5 Bread of Life - John 6:48 High Priest - Hebrews 3:1 The Lamb - Revelation 7:9 A Lamb without Blemish and without Spot - 1 Peter 1:19 Lamb Slain from the Foundation of the World - Revelation 13:8 The Shepherd of The Sheep - Hebrews 13:20 The Way - John 14:6 The Good Shepherd - John 10:11 The Chief Shepherd - 1 Peter 5:4 The Rock - Psalm 18:2 My Rock and My Fortress - Psalm 31:3 The Rock of My Refuge - Psalm 94:22 The Rock that is higher than I - Psalm 61:2 The Rock of My Salvation - 2 Samuel 22:47 My Rock and My Redeemer - Psalm 19:14 NIV The Builder - Hebrews 3:3 The Foundation - 1 Corinthians 3:11 A Sure Foundation - Isaiah 28:16 A Stone - Isaiah 28:16 A Living Stone - 1 Peter 2:4 A Chief Cornerstone - 1 Peter 2:6 A Precious Stone - 1 Peter 2:6 A Stone Cut Without Hands - Daniel 2:34-35 The Last Adam - 1 Corinthians 15:46 God’s Firstborn - Psalm 89:27 The Firstborn Among Many Brethren - Romans 8:29 The Firstfruits of Them that Slept - 1 Corinthians 15:20 74. A Witness to the People - Isaiah 55:4 The Amen - Revelation 3:14 The Light , The True Light- John 12:35, John 1:9 The Light of Men - John 1:4 He is the Lamb Who was Slain - Revelation 5:12 He is Faithful - Hebrews 3:2 He is Our Strong Tower - Proverbs 18:10 He is Our Foundation - 1 Corinthians 3:11 He is Preeminent - Colossians 1:18 He is the Tree of Life - Revelation 2:7 The Bright and Morning Star - Revelation 22:16 The Sun of Righteousness - Malachi 4:2 He is Our Gift - 2 Corinthians 9:15 The Head - Ephesians 4:15 The Head of the Body, the Church - Colossians 1:18 A Life-Giving Spirit - 1 Corinthians 15:45 The Head of All Principality and Power - Colossians 2:10

Who is God, Is God a person, Is God real, What is God like, Can I trust God God's Names Reveal His Character They ARE Who He IS Article below. Or PDF in the link. PDF God's Names Reveal His Character They are Who He is. When we introduce ourselves we say, “I am (name).” We are making a simple statement of “who we are”. There is no one who can tell you that you are not that named person. Ever. It is your identity. You are who you say you are. AND names are personal. The Name(s) of God is no different. When we look at the Names of God we see the same thing. He is who He says He is. Can’t change it. It is Him. It’s His personality. And it is a great privilege that He shares His Names with us. He has given us His Name (Ephesians 3:14-15). It’s personal. It reveals more than the Name “God”. It is His substance and we learn His personality. And the more we spend time with Him in the Word and talk with Him about it, the more we see Him actively involved in our lives in the way that He “describes” Himself. It’s important for us to know these Names when we address Him in prayer, rightfully, respectfully. And when we address Him in prayer using one of His Names it enlarges our expectation...our faith...that shows Him to us as His Name(s) says He is. He is the everlasting God, the Creator of all. Therefore, we want to address God with reverence and wisdom when we pray. It’s also important to remind ourselves of Hebrews 13:8 - God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. What He said about Himself in days gone by is the same today! Let Him show up in your life in these ways. These Names are Who He is and what He is like. Waaaaay better than a dating app!! He is our first love. Who loved us before the foundation of the world and had us planned in His heart from that point. Listed below are only a small part of the many scriptures in each area. I suggest doing a full study on the area of interest. Jehovah Jireh - The Lord will provide. He is our provider: Philippians 4:19, 3 John 2 and Genesis 22:13-14. Jehovah Rapha - The Lord will heal. Philippians 4:19, Exodus 15:26, and Isaiah 53:5. Jehovah Shalom - The Lord our peace. 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24, John 14:27, & Philippians 4:6-7. Good to use when anxious or afraid. Whenever God showed up to people and they were afraid He would always say, “Peace, be still.” Jehovah Nissi - The Lord our banner. Exodus 17:15 (all). Represents He is the one that stands with you in battles. You are not alone. The “banner” is God Himself as a “name tag” over you saying “you are His”. Jehovah Tsidkenu - The Lord Who is righteousness. He is our righteousness - 2 Corinthians 5:21, Romans 10:4, Philippians 3:9, Jeremiah 23:5-6. Good for using when you need Godly judgment and righteousness in situations, decisions that need to made. Jehovah Rohi - The Lord is our Shepherd. John 10 and Psalm 23 Jehovah Shammah - The Lord is always present - The Lord who is there. Ezekiel 48:35. Such an intimate prayer time with this title. As you go into prayer, call Him Jehovah Shammah. He is right there in the same room with you, as close as your own breath. Jehovah M’Kaddesh - The Lord Who sanctifies. Leviticus 11:44, 20:7-8. God is Who sanctifies you and makes you holy, He sets you apart for Himself and perfects that which concerns us. Praying like: “Jehovah M’Kaddesh, I need more holiness my life. I needs greater victory over temptation. I need strength over sin. I want to represent You more purely to a corrupt world. Please help me grow in Your sanctification. You are my Jehovah M’Kaddesh. You are my sanctification.” The Lord of Glory - 1 Corinthians 2:8; Exodus 33:7-23 I AM - John 8:58. Ever present. All encompassing. Everywhere at the same time. Author of Salvation - Hebrews 2:10 The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob - Exodus 3:2, 6 The Almighty - Revelation 1:8. No might is more powerful than God! He is mightier than anything created. He is might. The Everlasting Father - Isaiah 9:6 The First and the Last - Revelation 1:17 The Faithful Witness - Psalm 89:36-37 The Image of the Invisible God - Colossians 1:15 WONDERFUL, COUNSELOR, MIGHTY GOD - Isaiah 9:6 The Sacrifice - Ephesians 5:2 The Ransom - Mark 10:45 Heir of All Things - Hebrew 1:1-4 He is Love - 1 John 4:8. The Temple - Revelation 21:22 Sanctuary - Isaiah 8:14 Intercessor - Hebrews 7:25, Romans 8:27 Helper - Romans 8L26, John 16:7 (Amplified) Author and Finisher of our faith - Hebrews 12:2 Advocate - 1 John 2:1 Surety of a Better Covenant - Hebrews 7:22 The Teacher - John 13:13, 1 John 2:27 The Resurrection and the Life - John 11:25 The Wisdom of God - 1 Corinthians 1:24 Lord (Yahweh) - Isaiah 26:4, Psalm 23, John 20:28 (a vast study can be done on “Lord” - it’s a proper name. Hebrew: Addonai. Strong’s #113.) God - (same study done can be done here. Hebrew Strong’s #430. Greek #2316 ) 1 Timothy 2:5. Son of God - John 1:34 Beloved Son - Matthew 17:5, 3:16-17 The Word - John 1:1 Messiah - Daniel 9:25 Alpha and Omega - Revelation 22:13 Savior - Luke 2:11 Redeemer - Job 19:25 Light of the World - John 8:12 Lamb of God - John 1:29 Creator of All Things - Colossians 1:16 Master - Luke 8:24 Mediator - 1 Tiimothy 2:5 Bread of Life - John 6:48 High Priest - Hebrews 3:1 The Lamb - Revelation 7:9 A Lamb without Blemish and without Spot - 1 Peter 1:19 Lamb Slain from the Foundation of the World - Revelation 13:8 The Shepherd of The Sheep - Hebrews 13:20 The Way - John 14:6 The Good Shepherd - John 10:11 The Chief Shepherd - 1 Peter 5:4 The Rock - Psalm 18:2 My Rock and My Fortress - Psalm 31:3 The Rock of My Refuge - Psalm 94:22 The Rock that is higher than I - Psalm 61:2 The Rock of My Salvation - 2 Samuel 22:47 My Rock and My Redeemer - Psalm 19:14 NIV The Builder - Hebrews 3:3 The Foundation - 1 Corinthians 3:11 A Sure Foundation - Isaiah 28:16 A Stone - Isaiah 28:16 A Living Stone - 1 Peter 2:4 A Chief Cornerstone - 1 Peter 2:6 A Precious Stone - 1 Peter 2:6 A Stone Cut Without Hands - Daniel 2:34-35 The Last Adam - 1 Corinthians 15:46 God’s Firstborn - Psalm 89:27 The Firstborn Among Many Brethren - Romans 8:29 The First Fruits of Them that Slept - 1 Corinthians 15:20 A Witness to the People - Isaiah 55:4 The Amen - Revelation 3:14 The Light , The True Light- John 12:35, John 1:9 77. The Light of Men - John 1:4 He is the Lamb Who was Slain - Revelation 5:12 79. He is Faithful - Hebrews 3:2 He is Our Strong Tower - Proverbs 18:10 81. He is Our Foundation - 1 Corinthians 3:11 82. He is Preeminent - Colossians 1:18 He is the Tree of Life - Revelation 2:7 The Bright and Morning Star - Revelation 22:16 85. The Sun of Righteousness - Malachi 4:2 He is Our Gift - 2 Corinthians 9:15 The Head - Ephesians 4:15 The Head of the Body, the Church - Colossians 1:18 A Life-Giving Spirit - 1 Corinthians 15:45 The Head of All Principality and Power - Colossians 2:10

Who gets raptured, who gets left beind, can I loose my salvation, Jesus, Rapture, Perfect, Jesus Perfects Us to be saved & the rapture Article below or click link for downloadable PDF PDF Definition from Greek of “Perfect ”: complete, wholeness. In James repeatedly faith goes with good works but we are not saved by good works. Good works because of our faith in God deepens our relationship with God. It doesn’t save us nor equip us for the rapture. The only thing we are asked to do for the rapture is to “watch” - Luke 21, Matt. 24, Mark 13. And there is a crown that those who “watch” are given. Those that do not watch are not given a crown. It’s the reward. 2 Tim. 4:8 - in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing. Matt. 24:42 - Watch therefore: for you do not know what hour your Lord will come. (Verses 42-51 are about watching.) Mark 13:33-37 - Be on guard! Be alert! It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with their assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch. 35. Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back- whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. 36 If He comes suddenly, do not let Him find you sleeping. 37 What I say to you, I say to everyone: Watch! 1 Corinthians 1:7- So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: Luke 21:34-36 - Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will come upon you suddenly like a trap (because they are not watching). 35 For it will come on all those who live on the face of the whole earth. 36 Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man. One of my favorite scriptures that has really helped me is: 1 John 2:28 - Four different translations: New International Version - "And now, dear children, continue in Him, so that when He appears we may be confident and unashamed before Him at His coming." New Living Translation "And now, dear children, remain in fellowship with Christ so that when He returns, you will be full of courage and not shrink back from Him in shame." English Standard Version "And now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears we may have confidence and not shrink from Him in shame at his coming." Berean Standard Bible "And now, little children, remain in Christ, so that when He appears, we may be confident and unashamed before Him at His coming." Given that, cross reference other scrip’s: Ephesians 3:12 - In Him and through faith in Him we may enter God's presence with boldness and confidence. The bottom line is to abide, continue our relationship with Him. If we do not, it doesn't mean we aren't saved. What it will mean is we are open to attacks from the enemy, we will be extremely unhappy in this life and there won't be rewards in heaven at the Beama Judgement Seat, 2 Cor. 5:10 - "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad." When we are doing what He said to do out of heart because we love Him, not from “works”, we can be bold and confident at His coming and receive a crown of righteousness. If we do not, and are going our own way, for whatever reasoning we have...we will be ashamed at His coming because we knew what He wanted us to do but refused to. Jesus is Truth, (the Way, the Truth, and the Life) and Truth is instantly revealed when He is on the scene. Matthew 16:27 - For the Son of Man will come in His Father's glory with His angels, and then He will repay each one according to what he has done. There are scriptures that refer to the judgment seat or what is called the Baema (Greek) seat at the rapture. This is the reward ceremony for what we did that the Lord gave us to do. We get rewards for following out His plan, His calling on our lives. If we don’t do it we don’t get rewards. We are not “kicked out” of heaven. We are saved for good works, in our calling. We don’t have to do them but when we do it pleases the Father. Here’s another scripture that stings a bit...again, it doesn’t say we will be kicked out of heaven. But it does say the Lord won’t be pleased with what we did if we disobeyed. And if we “didn’t please Him” it means what we did was not in faith, because “faith pleases God”: Mark 8:38 - If anyone is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in His Father's glory with the holy angels. Jesus doesn’t come in His own glory, but in His Father’s. Beautiful. Jesus said, in Me I can do nothing. It is the Father in Me that does the work. Same with us! Notice in scriptures never sections out parts of the Body of Christ for the rapture. Never. He speaks of “you”, "we" or “our” - which means “all”. On the other hand for the rewards, yes - what did we do with what we were given. Colossians 3:4 - When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. 1 Thessalonians 2:19 - After all, who is our hope, our joy, our crown of boasting, if it is not you yourselves in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming? We see in 1 John we will be transformed just like 1 Cor. 15:51-52 . It’s God who does this in us, not us: 1 John 3:2 - Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it does not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is. Colossians 3:4 - When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall you also appear with Him in glory. Again, scripture says “our” and “you” - never makes a differentiation between believers. We are theBody of Christ. Jesus wouldn't return for just one or two body parts. But wait...there’s more...I love that the Lord keeps putting these things in His Word for us!! 1 John 3:21 - Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. If our heart condemns us simply ask for forgiveness. It doesn't necessarily mean you will miss the rapture. But it does leave you open to attacks and troubles, and some that can cause death. Get the sin out to keep your relationship right with the Lord. Sin causes us to not hear properly. We want to keep our spiritual ears clean. Why do we have confidence? Because we are made right with Him because of Him. All we had to do is simply receive Him. He has made us in right standing with God the Father!! (2 Cor. 5:21 - “righteousness” means “right staining”. ) All we had to do was receive Him. He took our sin so we could receive His righteousness. We can never be right with God on our own. It takes Jesus!! 1 John 4:17 - Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as He is, so are we in this world. Isaiah 25:9 - And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for Him, we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation. Let’s address the “being holy” issue. Do you think you can do anything to “make yourself holy”? That is what the Pharisees were doing. They thought following the law to the last detail would make them holy before a HOLY God. Never going to happen. We cannot make ourselves holy by our behavior. We are in a sin fallen state on this earth. We have flesh (body) and a soul that needs to be renewed. The body will not be renewed until the transformation (1 Cor 15:51-52; 1 John 4:17; 3:2 ). The Lord has told us to renew our minds. We are to start this here per Romans 12. Holiness comes from the Lord. The more time you spend with Him in the Word and in prayer the more of Him "rubs off" on you. He is holy. Like Moses on Mt. Sinai who spend 40 days and nights with God, he had the holiness of God on him! God is who makes you holy. 1 Thess. 3:13 - May He strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all His holy ones. Definition of Holy : to be set apart or separate from sin and evil. Deep within each of us is the Holy Spirit leading us. When we listen and obey we are living in holiness. But when we do not we are heeding the voice of sin and greivgin the Spirit of God. Get back on track by asking the Lord for forgiveness and changing your thoughts and actions about the thing that has been a problem. Always ask the Holy Spirit to help you. He is our Helper. 1 Peter 1:13-16 with Romans 15:16 Passion Translation: 13 So then, prepare your hearts and minds for action! (*Note: we should prepare our hearts and minds for action. Doesn’t mean all believers will.) Stay alert and fix your hope firmly on the marvelous grace that is coming to you. For when Jesus Christ is unveiled (rapture), a greater measure of grace will be released to you (‘cause our bodies will be transformed). 14. As God’s obedient children, never again shape your lives by the desire that you followed when you didn't know better. 15 Instead, shape your lives to become like the Holy One who called you. 16 For Scripture says: "You are to be holy, because I am holy." *Let’s take a look at the word: “obedient”. In KJV verse 14 says As obedient children, do not be comforted to the passions of your former ignorance. Not all children are obedient. All parents can testify to that. Same with the Lord. We see “knowledge” is a part of “obedience” and what we do with that knowledge. We have a choice. Always. Ignorance means you do not know consciously - not willfully. Let’s look at Romans 1:5 - Through Him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for His Name’s sake. “Obedience” comes from faith. Not by “doing” but by “believing”. When you receive Jesus you automatically want to do what is right. The Holy Spirit is there telling you right from wrong, and when we grieve Him we know it...maybe not instantly but we know something isn’t right. Where do we get faith from? The Word (Romans 10:17 ) and more than that faith comes from the Lord. He put it there from His word. We had nothing to do with it. All we had to do was believe. Ephesians 6:23 Faith from God and 1 Tim 1:14 faith and love are found in Christ Jesus. We are in Him and He is in us. WE have holiness in us because He is in us. But how much do we let His holiness be exhibited in our lives is up to us. It’s like the Eph. 3 prayer - according to the Power at work in you. How much of His power do we allow to work and bubble up from our Spirit through our soul (minds) through our bodies....that is up to us. How much do we cherish the Lord and do what He says? That is what get’s us the reward if we obey. I’m not saying that we don’t have to be obedient. We should. We are told all over 1 John to follow His commands. His commands are not grievous, they are to love the Lord your God with all your heart and to love your neighbor as yourself. Those are His commands. Do we do that? I’m sure you’ve noticed it’s hard to actually “hate” another believer. You don’t have it in you. Because He is in you. We may behave incorrectly because of stupid - soulish ways of thinking but it’s not in our spirit-man because the Holy Spirit is there. We are not the same as we were before we received Jesus. He is who makes us Holy. The Holy Spirit in us. A little leaven.... And the Spirit is called “Holy” - His Holiness is in us. Back to verse 13 So then, prepare your hearts and minds for action! Stay alert snd fix your hope firmly on the marvelous grace that is coming to you. For when Jesus Christ is unveiled, a great measure of grace will be released to you. 14 As God’s obedient children, never again shape your lives by the desires that you followed when you didn’t know better. 15 Instead, shape your lives to become like the Holy One who called you. 16 For scripture says: “You are to be holy, because I am Holy." Let’s add on to verse 17 - Since you call on Him as your Heavenly Father, the impartial Judge who judges according to each one’s word, live each day with holy awe and reverence through your time on earth. This again talks of the Beama Seat judgment. Okay....let’s unpack that. The Aramaic (notes from the Passion) can be translated: “no one will put on a face mask before Him.” Believers in Jesus will not be judged for their sins, since that happened once and for all when Jesus was crucified to redeem us. We will be judged, however, for our works in order to determine the reward (or lack of reward) that God gives to those who believe in Christ. See Isa. 53:4-5; Romans 14:10-12; 1 Cor. 3:12-16; 1 Peter 2:24. You’ll notice Romans and 1 Cor are about this Judgment Seat. Here are other scriptures that are part of all of this: Matt. 24:33 Hebrews 11:6; 10:39; 9:14 Rev. 1:5 Titus 2:13-14 2 Tim. 1:9 2 These. 1:10 - says “His saints”, doesn’t say a certain group. #40 Greek - to be a child by the Holy Spirit; set apart by and for God, holy, sacred. If we are set apart...what are we set apart for? We do know we are saved from wrath. Could be the rapture is before or could be we will be preserved like Israel in Egypt in the land of Goshen during the first Passover. I don't know. We do know the Church gets judged first according to 1 Peter 4:17 . Which is happening now. We are set-apart for God and set apart for the rapture. I'm not speaking to "when" the rapture is. But the rapture is a catching away, escape, set apart - harpazo in Greek. (Rev. 12:5 .) Whether that means a pre-trib rapture, or kept safe like Israel in Egypt, or like Noah and kept in safety, I don't know. I do know that no matter what, God has us! If God be for us, who can be against us!

Faith, What is faith, how do I use faith, how do I know if I'm using faith Whatever is not of Faith is Sin What do you believe? ...That is faith. Article below or click link for downloadable PDF. PDF Whatever is not of Faith is Sin What do you believe? - That is faith. God will meet you where your faith is. Meaning, some can believe to truly move a mountain; others can believe to get their fussy car to start; others are simply believing to get out of bed in the morning…yes, being slightly humorous…but you get my point. Wherever your faith is, God will meet you there! The faith of one person is in a different place than another and God will meet you according to you using your faith. For example, if someone has a medical background and their faith is in the medicine from the doctor, fine. Simply pray over the medicine each day when you take it, just like you pray over your food, expecting God to work through that medicine to deliver you from whatever the issue is. God meets you where your faith is. When you are new to living Godly, it’s like being a young child. God doesn’t expect a 4 year old to drive a car. He nurtures them closely. There’s more grace - meaning they can get away with things a mature believer cannot. Just like that 4 year old child. The parents know they have to help bathe and clothe the little one each day but as they get older the parents expect the child, who is 10 or 16 to bathe and clothe themselves. It’s the same. Faith is simple - it is whatever you believe. Everyone believes something. Including atheists. They believe that . Back to the example of healing: when your young in the faith you may not know how to take Authority over your body to be healed. Or you may not be aware of blessing your food to keep the toxic chemicals among other things, away from your body. There’s many things a young believer may not know and the Lord will protect them. However, as a believer matures, God’s expectation is greater. Perhaps you have always had someone pray for you for healing and it’s worked each time. At a certain point in time the Lord expects you to pull up your faith-boots and stand for your own healing. You can tell because when you have had people pray for you and it hasn’t worked. This is a means of the Lord letting you know you have to stand on your faith, not someone else’s. God is faith. Faith, hope, and love - the greatest of these is love and God is love, so God is faith and hope. And He is in us. Therefore His faith is in us. And it’s like a muscle. It needs to be worked. Hebrews 11:1, 6 Says faith is the substance of things hoped for - or expected from the promises in the Word of God - and it’s the evidence of what your hoping for before you see it. It’s the evidence that it exists because God spoke it, just like He spoke the earth, moon, and stars. And faith pleases God. We always want to please our Father. We simply take scripture regarding a situation and stand on it - this means to read it, speak it out loud over ourselves and our lives until manifestation comes. Use it. Believing. Using God’s faith to bring it to pass. You stay on that scripture each day until it comes to pass. And you don’t really have to ask for it. God already spoken it into being. Simply believe. That’s what a “disciple” is: disciplined one - stay steady on the Word - confessing the Word as a “disciplined one” until it comes to pass. But when we operate in fear, that is not faith. And whatsoever is not of faith is sin - so CAST DOWN THAT VAIN IMAGINATION and replace it with your faith filled scripture you’re using - Romans 14:23 . Let’s look at the entire verse: “But whoever has doubts is condemned if they eat, because their eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.” Symbolically “eating” is eating from the Word of God, it is our “food.” Our Spiritual meal. That’s why Jesus called Himself the “Bread of Life.” John 6:35 . Let’s look at this a bit deeper. What is your “conscious” telling you? That’s where the doubts are. Sometimes it comes from our thinking - which may be true or may not be, but we think they are. Everything we think is not truth. 1 Corinthians 4:4 ; & 1 Corinthians 8 is about abiding by your own conscious even if it’s not the Truth. Whether conviction is coming from your own mind or coming from the Holy Spirit, OBEY it. If it was coming from you own thinking, the Holy Spirit will show you at the proper time. You are still operating in faith by obeying your conscious. Because if we do not, we sin. Whatever your conscious deems as sin, if you do it, it is sin. (I Corinthians 8:7 .) For instance: If you believe having a glass of wine is sinful, then it is. (I know I may have to address this for some. Jesus said, “All things in moderation”; and in Titus 2:3 to not be addicted to much wine.” You can be addicted to sugar. Whatever the addiction is, is the sin.) Jesus BECAME SIN, ENTIRELY for us and PLACED ALL of it in hell! ALL OF IT!!! FOREVER. ALL SIN HAS BEEN BOUGHT AND PAID FOR! ALL we have to do is put our bodies into subjection to the Word and change our way of thinking to what the WORD SAYS ABOUT IT. If we sin He is faithful and just to forgive us. In fact He has already forgiven us of all sin, otherwise if He didn’t Jesus would have to die on the cross again. What sin does is block you from hearing God. And now more than ever we NEED to hear God. Stay in faith, abide by your conscious, and stay in the love of God and in love with God.

What is communion, What does communion mean, why is communion important, Holy Communion Article below. Or downloadable PDF link. PDF The Depth of Holy Communion Before you partake in Holy Communion, think on these things. When satan attacks and tries to destroy you, Remember!! TAKE THIS PERSONALLY AS IF JESUS DID THIS ONLY FOR YOU - BECAUSE HE WOULD HAVE!!! 1 Corinthians 11:23-32 (TPT) “I have handed down to you what came to me by direct revelation from the Lord Himself. The same night which He was handed over, He took the bread and gave thanks. Then He distributed it to the disciples, and said, “Take it and eat your fill. It is My Body, which is given for you. Do this to remember Me.” He did the same with the cup of wine after supper and said, “This cup seals the New Covenant with My Blood. Drink it - and whenever you drink this, do it to remember Me.” “For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are retelling the story, proclaiming the Lord’s death until He comes. For this reason, whoever eats the bread and drinks the cup of the Lord in the wrong spirit will be guilty of dishonoring the Body and Blood of the Lord. So let each individual first evaluate his own attitude and only then eat the bread and drink the cup. For continually eating and drinking with a wrong spirit will bring judgement upon yourself by not recognizing the Body. This insensitivity is why many of you are weak, chronically ill and some even dying. It you do not sit in judgement of others, you will avoid judgement yourself. But when we are judged, it is the Lord’s training so that we will not be condemned along with the world.” So, What are we remembering? Jesus crucified, Jesus’ death, Jesus buried? On the third day He rose from the dead? Yes, but there’s so much more. Genesis 4:10 “The LORD said, ‘What have you done? The voice of your brother’s innocent blood is crying out to Me from the ground for justice.” This is where Cain slew Abel and shows us that the voices of the blood speak! Hebrews 9:22 “In fact under the Law almost everything is cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is neither forgiveness nor release from sin and its guilt; nor the cancellation of the merited punishment.” Hebrews 12:24 “and to Jesus, the Mediator of a New Covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks a better and nobler and more gracious message than the blood of Abel,” Abel’s blood cried out for vengeance. The blood of Abel spoke revenge but the Blood of Jesus speaks Redemption. John 12:27 (TPT) “Even though I am torn within, and My soul in turmoil, I will not ask the Father to rescue Me from this hour of trial.” Jesus spoke this prior to His agony in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus was dealing with His mind, will and emotions regarding His upcoming trial, torture and death. You know the Father showed Him what He was going to go through. He knew what He would face in the torture and in the separation from the Father and in hell. It had to be on His mind continually. Matthew 26:37-44 (TPT) “He took Peter, Jacob and John, However an intense feeling of great sorrow plunged His Soul into deep sorrow and agony and He said to them, ‘My heart is overwhelmed and crushed with grief. It feels as though I’m dying. Stay here and keep watch with Me.’ Then He walked a short distance away, and overcome with grief, He threw Himself face down on the ground and prayed, ‘My Father, if there is any way You can deliver Me from this suffering, please take it from Me. Yet what I want is not important for I only desire to fulfill Your plan for Me.’ Then an angel from heaven appeared to strengthen Him.” Luke 22:39-44 “And He came out and went, as was His habit, to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples followed Him. When He arrived at the place Gethsemane, He said to them, “Pray continually that you may not fall into temptation.” And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup (of divine wrath) from Me; yet not My will, but (always) Yours be done.” Now an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. And being in agony (deeply distressed and anguished; almost to the point of death), He prayed more intently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down on the ground.” Jesus was in torment. He was fighting to get His will in alignment with the Father’s will. He knew what the Father was asking of Him. He knew the pain, torture and torment that lay before Him; so much so He sweated blood wrestling with His will. He did this for us so we don’t have to struggle so greatly to align ourselves with the Father’s will for us. Jesus paid the price for our willfulness with own His Blood. Psalms 22:1-18 “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from helping Me, and from the words of My groaning? O My God, I call out by day, but You do not answer; And by night, but I find no rest nor quiet. But You are holy, O’ You Who are enthroned in the praises of Israel. In You our fathers trusted; They trusted and You rescued them. They cried out to You and were delivered; they trusted in You and were not disappointed or ashamed. But I am (treated as) a worm (insignificant and powerless) and not a man; I am the scorn of men and despised by the people. All who see Me laugh at Me and mock Me; they (insultingly) open their lips, they shake their head, saying, ‘He trusted and committed Himself to the LORD, let Him save Him. Let Him rescue Him, because He delights in Him.’ Yet You are He who pulled Me out of the womb; You made Me trust when on My mother’s breasts. I was cast upon You from birth; from My mother’s womb You have been My God. Do not be far from Me, for trouble is near; And there is no one to help. Many bulls have surrounded Me; strong bulls of Bashan have encircled Me. They open wide their mouths against Me, Like a ravening and a roaring lion. I am poured out like water, And all My bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax; It is melted within Me. My strength is dried up like a fragment of clay pottery; And My tongue clings to My jaws; And You have laid Me in the dust of death. For dogs have surrounded Me; A gang of evildoers has encircled Me, They pierced My hands and My feet. I can count all My bones; They look, they stare at Me. They divide My clothing among them and cast lots for My garment.” The chastisement of our peace was upon Him as He hung on the cross. This means the torturing of our minds, our souls. His soul being ravaged by satan and his demons. Jesus paid the price for all of our torment and anguish as He hung on that cross so we wouldn’t have to endure it. Isaiah 53:1-12 “Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm and infinite power of the LORD been revealed? For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of dry ground; He has no stately form or majestic splendor That we would look at Him, Nor appearance that we would be attracted to Him. He was despised and rejected by men, A man of sorrows and pain and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their faces. He was despised, and we did not appreciate His worth or esteem Him. But (in fact) He has borne our griefs, And He has carried our sorrows and pains; Yet we assumed that He was stricken, struck down by God and degraded and humiliated (by Him). But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was crushed for our wickedness.The punishment (required) for our well-being fell on Him, And by His stripes we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, We have turned, each one, to his own way; But the LORD has caused the wickedness of us all (our sin, our injustice, our wrongdoing) to fall on Him (instead of us). He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth (to complain or defend Himself); Like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before her shearers, So He did not open His mouth. After oppression and judgment He was taken away; And as for His generation, who (among them) concerned himself with the fact that He was cut off from the land of the living, for the transgression of My people, to whom the stroke (of death) was due? His grave was assigned with the wicked, But He was with a rich man in His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was there any deceit in His mouth. Yet the LORD was willing to crush Him, causing Him to suffer; If He would give Himself as a guilt offering (an atonement for sin), He shall see His (spiritual) offspring, He shall prolong His days, And the Will (good pleasure) of the LORD shall succeed and prosper in His hand. As a result of the anguish of His soul, He shall see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge (of what He has accomplished) the Righteous One, My Servant, shall justify the many (making them righteous—upright before God, in right standing with Him), For He shall bear (the responsibility for) their sins. Therefore, I will divide and give Him a portion with the great (kings and rulers), And He shall divide the spoils with the mighty, Because He (willingly) poured out His life to death, And was counted among the transgressors; Yet He Himself bore and took away the sin of many, And interceded (with the Father) for the transgressors.” Jesus took our punishment in His soul; (His Mind, His Will and His Emotions.) He took our punishment in His Body. They held handfuls of His beard, and hair and pulled it out by the roots. They kicked, punched, and spit on Him for hours. Until there wasn't a single spot on His body not covered in blood. They shoved a crown of thorns down on His head. They beat Him with reeds so the thorns were imbedded right through His skull. After hours of being beaten, mocked, whipped, flogged, and tortured they made Him walk with a cross. They made Him carry it. A heavy, rough piece of wood with splinters digging into His fresh wounds. They wanted Him to feel every bit of pain they could bring. He had to endure the pain so He can heal us. He took our spiritual death, separation from the Father upon Himself so we could be reconciled to the Father. He cried out on the cross, “Father, Father, why have You forsaken Me.” In this moment He became sin itself and the Father had to turn His Back on Him. It was the first time Jesus was without the Father’s presence. Jesus experienced death in His Spirit, a total separation from His Father. His legs did not have to be broken to insure His death. I believe He died of a broken heart. 1 Corinthians 11:26-32 “So then whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in a way that is unworthy (of Him) will be guilty of (profaning and sinning against) the Body and Blood of the Lord. But a person must examine himself (and his relationship to Christ), and only when he has done so should he eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks (without solemn reverence and heartfelt gratitude for the sacrifice of Christ), eats and drinks a judgment on himself if he does not recognize the Body (of Christ). That (careless and unworthy participation) is the reason why many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep (in death). But if we evaluated and judged ourselves honestly (recognizing our shortcomings and correcting our behavior), we would not be judged. But when we (fall short and) are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined (by undergoing His correction) so that we will not be condemned along with the world.” Jesus, hanging on that cross in cruel torture, pain and torment said; “ Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.“ How can we justify ourselves for not forgiving wrongs done to us. Our Lord sinless, innocent, holy and pure took upon Himself the cup of God’s wrath that rightfully belongs to us. The world, Jew and Gentile alike screamed for His crucifixion. Taking our punishment, He asked the Father to forgive us. How can we as believers do less. Luke 23:44-47 “It was now about the sixth hour (noon), and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour (3:00 p.m.), because the sun was obscured; and the veil (of the Holy of Holies) of the temple was torn in two (from top to bottom). And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, “Father, INTO YOUR HANDS I COMMIT MY SPIRIT!” Having said this, He breathed His last. Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he began praising and honoring God, saying, “Certainly this Man was innocent.” Psalm 16:8 -11 TPT “Because you are close to Me and always available, My confidence will never be shaken, for I experience Your wrap-around presence every moment. My Heart and Soul explode with joy - full of glory! Even My Body will rest confident and secure. For you will not abandon Me to the realm of death, nor will You allow Your Holy One to experience corruption. For you bring Me a continual revelation of resurrection life, the path to the bliss that brings Me face-to-face with You.” Jesus used His Faith to conquer hell and the grave. He trusted The Father to raise Him up in glory! The devil created death when he caused Adam and Eve to sin against Father God. Jesus caused death, the devil’s creation, to be destroyed right there in hell; satan’s own territory. Colossians 2:15 (TPT) “Then Jesus Made a public spectacle of all the powers and principalities of darkness, stripping away from them every weapon and all their spiritual authority and power to accuse us. And by the power of the cross, Jesus led them around as prisoners in a procession of triumph. He was Not their prisoner; they were His!!!” Now as we eat the bread that symbolizes The Body of Jesus, we reflect on the great price Jesus paid for our health, peace of mind, and well being. As we drink the wine, we remember the tremendous price that Jesus paid for our new covenant with the Father. When we received Jesus into our hearts, He recreated us brand new. Our sinful old man died with Jesus on that cross and we became new and once again united to the Father. He put His law (Word) into our hearts and minds. Matthew 26:26-28 Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” (NOTE: Only OT priests were allowed to eat of the sacrifice, showing us we are a kingdom of priests as we partake in Holy Communion. OT priests were the only ones allowed to carry and teach the Law of God. We as a kingdom of priests have God’s Law put into our minds and hearts.) “And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; for this is My Blood of The (new and better) Covenant, which (ratifies the agreement and) is being poured out for many (as a substitutionary atonement) for the forgiveness of sins. “But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.” Isaiah 52:14 TPT “Just as many were appalled at Him, for so marred was His appearance, like an object of horror; He no longer looked like a man.” We are use to seeing images of the crucification that do not reflect the truth of what Jesus went through to save us from judgement. He was so disjointed and disfigured, He didn’t look like a man. When we receive the revelation of the horror Jesus went through, the very idea of letting satan steal from us the very things bought for us at such a great price is not an option. Jesus gave everything He was. Spirit, Soul, and Body. He died Spirit, Soul, and Body so we can have life eternally. Before you partake in Holy Communion, think on these things. When satan attacks and tries to destroy you, Remember!!

End times, Prophecy, Judgement, God's judgment, What is wrath, God's Wrath, Second coming, Rapture, Eschatology, Apologetics, The Judgment Seat, Going to hell, Lake of Fire Judgment vs. Wrath What's the Difference? Article below. Or click here for downloadable PDF. PDF JUDGMENT vs. WRATH What's the Difference? (This article is long. Take your time. Grab your Bible and I recommend to pray the Ephesians 1:17-23 prayer over yourself.) 1.) Introduction 2.) Judgment and Wrath work together 3.) “Day” of Wrath 4.) Last Tidbits - Another Sacred Cow 1.) Introduction God’s Word defines itself. What this means is when we have a question regarding a particular subject matter, look at all the passages on that point or word, like words as “wrath” for example. You will find all the scriptures work together like a jigsaw puzzle, they fit neatly together. While looking into a particular subject some passages say exactly the same thing as the others. Oftentimes some passages will show a slightly different aspect with added details. It all shows a bigger picture. God sure seems to like to work that way. Let God be God. In all our articles we add emphasis to most of the scriptures to draw attention on a point and be sure the detail(s) don’t get missed by the reader. There are hundreds of scriptures on this subject matter of Judgement and Wrath. Like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Revelation, and parts of the Epistles, the Gospels, Peter, and Jude. Clearly we will not list all of them. You can study it out on your own if you desire. We will list at least three in each section. For out of two or three witnesses every word is established - 2 Corinthians 13:1 and Deuteronomy 17:6 . Have your Bible since some of the scriptures are only listed and need to be looked up. This is heavy, dense. Take you time with this because we will be going against what we have been traditionally taught in the Church. Let God be God and all of the “doctrines of men” fall away. All that being said, in this article we will distinguish from the Word of God these subjects: 1.) Judgment-Wrath; and 2.) Day of Wrath. I pray God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ would give unto you wisdom and revelation knowledge by the Spirit as you read this, that your eyes would be enlightened to what He wants you to know, in Jesus Name. (Ephesians 1:17-18 ). * 2. ) Judgment and Wrath work together Definitions - From Strong’s Concordance: Judgment : “Greek - #2920 - krisis: A decision, judgment, judging, sentence; generally; divine judgment; accusation. To separate, distinguish - judgment, emphasizing its qualitative aspect that can apply either to a positive verdict (for righteousness) - or more commonly, a “negative” verdict which condemns the nature of sin that brings it on. Similar to #2919 - krinó: I judge, whether in a law-court or privately; sometimes with cognate noun emphasizing the notion of the verb, I decide, I think (it) good. Properly to separate (distinguish), come to a choice (decision, judgment) by making a judgment - either positive (a verdict in favor of) or negative (which rejects or condemns). J. Thayer comments that “the proper meaning of #2919 is to pick out (choose) by separating.” To make a determination of right or wrong, especially on an official (legal) standard. #2917 - krima: stresses the results that go with a particular judgment (of blessing or pain depending on the choice).” Wrath : “Greek - #3709 - orgé: Justifiable violent passion, abhorrence, by implication punishment, anger, vengeance, rising up from an ongoing opposition. To teem, swelling up to constitutionally oppose. Proceeds from an internal disposition which steadfastly opposes someone or something based on extended personal exposure, i.e. solidifying what the beholder considers wrong (unjust, evil). To swell, and thus implies that it is not a sudden outburst, but rather (referring to God’s) fixed, controlled, passionate feeling against sin …a settled indignation.” 1 Peter 4:17 - “For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God ; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?” The Body of Christ will have to go through judgment. The word: “tribulation” is used frequently in Old Testament and the New meaning “tough times.” They have happened before and will happen again. There is so much more to judgment and wrath then what we thought. And I’ve never seen it taught anywhere. God has executed wrath many times in the Old Testament. There are also many lessons in the Word of God where great men of God repented and some had to go through judgment even if they repented. It was the result of their sin although they repented. Depends on the depth of the sin. God does differentiate between “types” of sins in Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Even though there is forgiveness there is sometimes still judgment for the depths of the sin: 1. Moses who didn’t cross the Jordan to go to the promised land because of his sin, of which he repented of in Deuteronomy 32:51-52 - “This is because …you broke faith with Me in the presence of the Israelites at the water of Meribah Kadesh in the Desert of Zin and because you did not uphold My holiness among the Israelites. Therefore, you will see the land only from the a distance; you will not enter the land I am giving to the people of Israel. ” God showed him the land as it is recorded in Numbers 20 where we see the shortcoming of Moses when he disobeyed God. The symbology is even more layered than not obeying God. Moses struck the “Rock” twice instead of what God told him, “strike it once” - this was the symbol of Jesus’ death on the cross. Crucifying Him again. Moses’ punishment for his pride, doubt, and disobedience was very great…Moses didn’t get to go to the promised land because of his sin, of which the Lord had originally promised him he would see if he obeyed God. Yet with all of that God loved him and it was God Himself that buried the body of Moses. See also Deuteronomy 34 . Moses’ failure at the rock did not break his relationship with the Lord. God continued to use the prophet and continued to love him with tenderness. 2. David with Bathsheba - 2 Samuel 11-12 - King David was loved by God. He was chosen by God to be the first victorious king of Israel, who replaced king Saul after Saul got into idolatry. David wrote the majority of the Psalms, about half, and was a fierce warrior for God. David always went to God first when a battle looked like it would ensue and David got God’s plans for the battle before he ever made a step. His time as king over Israel was the most prosperous time period in Israel’s history…because David put God first. King David is written about a lot in the Old Testament mostly in Samuel and Chronicles. He is the second most written about person in the Bible; the first most written about is of course Jesus Christ the Son of God, the Messiah. David was a king of piety, repentance, and submission to God, as well as the forerunner to the Messiah - Jesus, the Son of God. David was even from Bethlehem. And David made several foolish and purposeful errors with Bathsheba. David knew what he was doing was wrong. It was “willful” sin. David knew the punishment of adultery according to Levitical law. Once he had taken her while her husband was at war, David proceeded to sleep with her and eventually found she was pregnant. Then because David knew what he did was wrong he tried to hide it. He wanted her husband Uriah to go home and sleep with Bathsheba so he wouldn’t know she was pregnant from someone else, especially him. So he schemed another plan to have Uriah killed, along with others in the Israeli army that had to die for David’s sin. Many people were effected by this one act of David’s “looking” on another man’s wife and wanting to sleep with her. Psalm 51 was written by David with his heartfelt pleadings from this ordeal. And yet, David is called by God as a “man after God’s own heart, who shall fulfill all My will.” (1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22 .) But because of David’s willful sin the first child born to David from Bathsheba died. Yes, God forgave David and took away his sin and took away the just penalty on David which would have been David’s death. David was in grief with fasting and praying to God to attempt to change the outcome of his infant son but just as the Lord said, David’s child died. When David heard, he cleaned himself up and went to the Temple to worship God!! That’s profound!! How many of us caught up in a tragedy would go or have gone to worship God?! There is something major to learn from this! And bear in mind, his second son born to him from this grief was Solomon. It’s an important story to read. There was an outcome for the sin of David, his son’s death. And even Solomon whom the Lord loved, got messed up in all sorts of idolatry and had wives from the tribes that had nephilim blood and were into idolatry worshiping demon gods. David is one of my favorite heroes. A giant slayer - more than only Goliath. But David made mistakes, as we all do. Some outcomes God will hold off the just punishment for the sins we commit, some He does not. This is “judgment.” Not “wrath.” 3. Sampson - Judges 13-16 - Sampson was a judge of Israel and known for his strength that came from God. God raised up judges who were heroes for Israel, my favorite is Deborah - take a look at Deborah sometime, Judges 4-5 , who was like Moses and David, a prophet, national leader, and military commander. Samson was born to begin to deliver Israel from the Philistines. But Sampson broke three of the Nazarite vows. (Seeing another “thread” here…Sampson was from Nazareth.) First: was to fall in love with a Philistine woman and he went home to tell his parents to get her to marry him. After the Spirit of God came on him and Sampson killed the lion, when he returned and passed by the carcass of the dead lion, he saw there was a bee hive within the carcass and he ate some of the honey. He brought some to his parents and they ate it. According to the Levitical law they were not to be near a dead body, but he ate from it and gave some to his parents who did not know where the honey came from. Numbers 6:6 says a Nazarite is not to go near a dead body and because Samson didn’t tell his parents means he knew what he was doing and breaking his vow. It is a vow to God. The second vow he broke is loosely implied in Judges 14:10-20 was the feast he gave to celebrate his wedding to this Philistine. In Hebrew the word is: misteh. It implies a drinking bout, of which he was doing with the Philistines, the woman’s family and friends. You can tell from this scripture this is what occurred. This was breaking his second vow to God that a Nazarite is to have no wine or hard drink. A Nazarite vow. There’s much historical narrative to what likely happened for this wedding which was never consummated and she was then married off to Sampson’s best man. The last vow that Sampson broke with the Lord was what happened with Delilah, a harlot he found in Gaza. (Judges 16:1-3. ) Sampson had sexual relations with her which is against Levitical law and Nazarite vow. Vow’s or keeping your promise(s) to God are very important. God is very serious about them - Matthew 5:33-35 . This example of Samson’s capture and death shows God’s judgement for broken vows. 4. Jonah - Jonah 1-4 - The lesson of Jonah is important for this age, Jesus said sign of Jonah being 3 days in the belly of the fish, like Jesus being in hell for three days before His resurrection; and it is also the last days sign - the sign of Jonah. He was a disobedient prophet who rejected what the Lord told him to do. It was a part of his calling that the Lord commissioned Jonah to go to Nineveh. There is so much scholarly text written about Jonah should you be inclined to do the research. Some of which I’ll mention: Nineveh was the capitol of Babylon. Heavy pagan worship. And the reason why they listened, at least in their minds, but we know it had to do with God, was that Jonah showed up after there had been a major solar eclipse. They worshipped the sun god. When the sun got covered by the moon Babylonians knew this was a bad sign. Like the eclipse we are going to have (at the time of this writing) on April 8, 2024, this I believe is the Lord telling us our nation is done for (and with the one in 2017 and the path of both make an “X” across our nation. Just like Babylon-Assyria, of which the Lord calls America “Babylon” in the book of Revelation.) Getting back to Jonah’s disobedience, it caused him to be thrown into the ocean and swallowed by a large fish. Jonah’s disobedience had an outcome. An outcome that included death - Jonah 2. Once he was vomited out by the fish, Jonah does what the Lord had asked. And because of the repentance from the king of Nineveh all the way down the ranks of the people, God withheld His judgment. And Jonah was not happy about that. He was upset that God would hold off. Interesting lesson of this story, it was the king of Nineveh that told the Ninevites to repent to the Lord, not Jonah. 5. Pete r - Matthew 14:29; Luke 5:8; Matthew 26:31-33, 69-75; John 21:15-19 Peter is another hero of the Bible I love and have learned so much from. He loved the Lord and yet, made mistakes. What I learned from his lessons are about faith. I call him the disciple of faith. When Jesus said something, Peter did it. “At Your word I will do it.” We don’t see in scripture that he ever had to go through judgement for a mistake like when Peter denied Jesus but we can learn much from looking at him through scripture. Judgment and Wrath Work Together The two work together: Judgment and Wrath. Judgment brings about wrath. Or perhaps it’s better to say when there has been no repentance wrath is the ultimate culmination of the judgement. Wrath as the outcome of judgment is all over the Old Testament with the flood of Noah, Sodom and Gomorrah, Tower of Babel, Moses with the Israelites in Egypt and in the desert, and with many of the kings in Chronicles, Samuel, Kings, Psalms, and Daniel. In looking at these two subjects we inevitably see in the Word of God the Seven Year Tribulation and the Rapture occurring around the same time period. The Word says the time period is seven years and not just in Daniel. God uses the same descriptions for things in many places and it pin points the timeline. * Let’s take a look at Ecclesiastes 1:9-11 - “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which one can say, “Look! This is something new"? It was here already, long ago; it was here before our time. No one remembers the former generations, and even those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow them.” Ecclesiastes was written by Solomon. The man of whom God gave the greatest amount of wisdom to and no one else will ever have that in this life on earth. What he wrote is important - God thought so. And there is much to this passage in Ecclesiastes but for this article we are looking at one piece: God’s method of operating - What God has done before He will do again; and what He has done of old will be again. And He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Judgment and Wrath work together and yet they are slightly different from each other from the definitions we looked at in the beginning. Wrath is the result of the buildup of Judgment - which means no repentance. When God brings Judgment on a land, a king, a people group, a city, He is looking for repentance. For people to run to Him. When there is repentance God holds off or cancels out the Wrath. The classic example is Jonah with the city of Nineveh. The City’s - ruler and the people, including the animals went to a state of repentance and stopped the hand of God from bringing His righteous Judgment and Wrath wiping out the city. As James 2:13 says “For He shall have judgment without mercy, that has showed no mercy; and mercy rejoices against judgment.” I like it in the NLV - “There will be no mercy for those who have not shown mercy to others. But if you have been merciful, God will be merciful when he judges you.” Historically we know that God ultimately did wipe out the city of Nineveh as it is to this day. Back to Ecclesiastes. Where else has God used two things that work together like Judgment and Wrath? Let’s look at an extra Biblical book for reference because it’s states clearly this type of duel relationship. These relationships are in the Bible but only in an esoteric way. Enoch 60:6,12-15 - 6 . “And when the day, and the power, and the punishment, and the judgement come, which the Lord of Spirits hath prepared for those who worship not the righteous law, and for those who deny the righteous judgement, and for those who take His name in vain-that day is prepared, for the elect a covenant, but for sinners an inquisition…12. And how the spirits are distributed, and how they are weighed. And how the springs, and the winds, are counted according to the power of their spirit. And the power of the light of the Moon. And the divisions of the stars according to their names. And how all the divisions are made. 13. And the thunder – according to the places were it falls. And all the divisions that are made in lightning – so that it may flash. And its hosts – how they quickly obey. 14. For the thunder have fixed intervals, which have been given to its sound, for waiting. And the thunder and the lightning are not separate although not the same. Through a spirit the two of them move inseparably. 15. For when the lightning flashes the thunder utters its voice, and the spirit, at the proper time, causes it to rest, and divides equally between them because the storehouse of the times for their occurrence is like that of the sand. And each of them, at the proper time, is held by a rein, and turned back by the power of the spirit, and likewise driven forward, according to the number of the regions of the Earth.” Thunder and lighting are two separate elements yet they work together by the spirit that God has put in charge of them. God sets things in motion that work together like: sun and moon, lightning and thunder, day and night, seasons, sand and sea, judgment and wrath. He even does it in the New Testament with sending the disciples out two by two and in marriage - the two are one flesh. And if we are taking all of this as an example of His modus operandi, then we also see there is a “space” of time between the two parts as it says in Enoch. For human kind his “space” of time is God’s grace and mercy to get people to repent so He won’t have to bring His Wrath. We can see a “space” of time in Revelation 8:1 when the 7th seal is open and the entire scroll is now open, there is silence in heaven for about a half-an-hour. A grace period of time to still give people a chance to repent before the trumpets begin to sound. There’s another element I want to bring up about that passage in Enoch that states: the day; the power; the punishment; the judgment; and that day is prepared, for the elect a covenant, but for sinners an inquisition. That “day” - what day? The Day of Wrath is prepared. It is a Judgment. It is punishment. It shows God Almighty’s power. Just like how God has prepared everything. Nothing is by coincidence. And that day is prepared for the elect, those who are His with a covenant. What is that covenant? It was made by God to mankind and sealed with the Blood of Jesus! Meaning we are sealed with a covenant to not partake of the Day of Wrath - 1 Thessalonians 1:10; 5:9 ; and Romans 5:9 . Praise God! But for sinners, it is an inquisition. Let’s see how seriously God takes His own covenants: Jeremiah 33:19-22 - “And the Word of the Lord came unto Jeremiah, saying, Thus says the Lord: ‘If you can break My covenant of the day, and My covenant of the night, and that there should not be day and night in their season; Then may also My covenant be broken with David My servant, that He should not have a Son to reign upon his throne; and with the Levites the priests, My ministers. As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured: so will I multiply the seed of David My servant, and the Levites that minister unto Me.” The question God asks is rhetorical. His covenant He made with the day and night, the season, and numbering and naming all the stars cannot be broken. Neither can God’s covenant with David. We see from Jeremiah that God cannot break His covenant. Any of them. His covenant(s) - yes, there is more than one, like His covenant with sun and moon, day and night, and how they are to operate; with the sand and the sea in Jeremiah 5:22 - “‘Should you not fear me?’ declares the LORD. ‘Should you not tremble in My presence? I made the sand a boundary for the sea, an everlasting barrier it cannot cross. The waves may roll, but they cannot prevail; they may roar, but they cannot cross it.’” When God declares something as a covenant He will never break it. All His covenants are everlasting. Hebrews 13:20 - “Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep,” Hebrews 10:29 - “How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?” God’s Word stands. His covenants He has made to Himself! He did that because He will never break His own Word - a human unfortunately can, and He is the one who is making the promise, covenant, to Himself to be sure that it cannot be broken - Hebrews 6:13 “For when God made promise to Abraham, He could swear by no greater, He swore by Himself.” And God is no respecter of persons, neither male nor female, Gentile or Jew - we are all one in Christ Jesus; and we are the seed of Abraham. People can break promises, covenants…God cannot. This is why He has set things up the way He has, His promises are to Himself and they cant be broken by Him! That’s shoutin’ ground! Ezekiel 37:26 - “I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant. I will establish them and increase their numbers, and I will put My sanctuary among them forever.” Psalm 111:5, 9 - “He provides food for those who fear Him; He remembers His covenant forever…He provided redemption for His people; He ordained His covenant forever - holy and awesome is His Name.” Isaiah 59:21 - “‘As for Me, this is My covenant with them,’ says the Lord. ‘My Spirit, who is on you, will not depart from you, and My Words that I have put in your mouth will always be on your lips, on the lips of your children and on the lips of their descendants - from this time on and forever,’ says the Lord.” So what happens when promises of God are not manifesting in the readers life? There are a couple of reasons why: unrepented sin; family curse/general curse; not heeding the Voice of God; not spending time with God; not understanding who you are to Him and what He has given you. Get in prayer time with Him and see what the cause is, then take the necessary steps to clean it up. * Let’s look and see Judgment and Wrath working together: Job 19:29 - “You should fear the sword yourselves; for wrath will bring punishment by the sword, and then you will know that there is judgment.” Deuteronomy 29:27-28 - “Therefore the LORD’s anger burned against this land, so that He brought on it all the curses written in this book. In furious anger and in great wrath the LORD uprooted them from their land and thrust them into another land, as it is now.” Hosea 13:11 - “So in my anger I gave you a king, and in My wrath I took him away.” 2.) “Day” of Wrath The Day of Wrath is a specific “day.” It is the culmination, the epitome, of the Judgment of God on people who have turned away from Him. They have refused Him. For those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, we are saved from that “day.” - Romans 5:9 - “Since we have now been justified by His Blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s Wrath through Him!” We don’t exactly know what “saved from wrath” means. Yes, it could mean the rapture. But it could also mean kept safe by the Lord just like Noah, Lot, Joshua, and many others. If we are being honest, we don’t exactly know what it means. We do know God is with us. Let’s look at details from the Word about the “Day of Wrath.” There are so many scriptures that speak of this when you know “what” to look for. Same descriptors, key words and phrases. Below is a very descriptive scripture about the Day of Wrath showing many aspects of what it’s called in the Word: Zephaniah 1:7-18 - “Be silent before the Sovereign LORD, for the day of the LORD is near . The LORD has prepared a sacrifice; He has consecrated those He has invited. ‘On the day of the LORD’s sacrifice I will punish the officials and the king’s sons and all those clad in foreign clothes. On that day I will punish all who avoid stepping on the threshold, who fill the temple of their gods with violence and deceit. On that day, ’ declares the LORD, ‘a cry will go up from the Fish Gate, wailing from the New Quarter, and a loud crash from the hills. Wail , you who live in the market district; all your merchants will be wiped out, all who trade with silver will be destroyed. At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps and punish those who are complacent, who are like wine left on its dregs, who think, ‘The LORD will do nothing, either good or bad.’ ‘Their wealth will be plundered, their houses demolished. Though they build houses, they will not live in them; though they plant vineyards, they will not drink the wine.’ The great day of the LORD is near — near and coming quickly. The cry (voice) on the day of the LORD is bitter ; the Mighty Warrior shouts his battle cry . (Rev. 19:11-21) That day is a day of wrath , A day of trouble and ruin , A day of darkness and gloom , A day of clouds and blackness , A day of trumpet and alarm (battle cry) against the fenced cities, and against the high towers. I will bring such distress on all people that they will grope about like those who are blind, because they have sinned against the LORD. Their blood will be poured out like dust and their entrails like dung. Neither their silver not their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord’s wrath ; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of His jealously; for He shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the the land.” Notice in the beginning of this passage it says - “be silent” - this is before the “Day of the Lord”/ “Day of Wrath”. Where else does the Bible talk about silence? - Revelation 8:1 - “And when He had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.” And in Zephaniah it says the “day” is near when the silence occurs. It is the same in Revelation 8. Heaven is quiet, nothing is happening. It’s a grace period of time before the trumpets sound. We know how we think of time is not how God does. He created time. He molds time. He is outside of time and operates within it for us. He is in eternity. I don’t know precisely what an “hour” or “about a half and hour” means. But it is a certain amount of time that is a grace period before it all comes down. I do not know if the silence happens then the Day of the Lord/Wrath immediately occurs. No matter what God has it in His hands. It’s simply an interesting observation. The Day of the Lord is listed as: The Day of the Lord The Voice on the Day is Bitter It’s a Day of the Lord’s Sacrifice It’s the Day of Wrath It’s a Day of Trouble It’s a Day of Distress It’s a Day of Ruin It’s a Day of Darkness It’s a Day of Gloominess It’s a Day of the Trumpet It’s a Day of Alarm/Battle Cry. All of this is what the “Day” encompasses - the nitty gritty details. This is THE wrath that we are delivered from in Romans 5:9 and 1 Thessalonians 1:10 , and 5:9 . Let’s take a look at 1 Thessalonians 1:10 - “and to wait for His Son from heaven , whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming Wrath .” Notice that the Rapture is the escape for that “Day.” It’s a rescue. This is what the Greek word “harpazo” means. A rescue from the “Day of Wrath.” In 1 Thessalonians 5:9 - “For (He) has not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation (deliverance) by our Lord Jesus Christ.” The basic definition of “salvation” is: deliverance. We are not appointed to wrath but delivered by Jesus Christ because He is our Lord. It is my personal opinion that as the Day of Wrath falls the Rapture occurs. God is always right. No matter what we will all see where we missed our interpretation of it all. Just to share a few thoughts. Let’s look at what else it appears He has to say about it. Because let’s face it…we don’t exactly know. But there are some very big clues. We will look at this in context with a scripture most have been taught was at the Second Coming. But the thing is, it matches all the other rapture scriptures. No where in the Word does it say there is a “second coming” and it’s been assumed that those with Jesus are the previously raptured saints. But no where does it say that either. It says He comes with His armies and in other places He comes with His angels. We do know He has warrior angels like Michael and Gabriel (Daniel 8-9 and 12 ). Revelation 19:11-21 - “I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice He judges and wages war . 12 His eyes are like blazing fire, and on His head are many crowns. He has a Name written on Him that no one knows but He Himself. 13 He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and His Name is the Word of God. 14 The armies of heaven were following Him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. 15 Coming out of His mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations . “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” a He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty . 16 On His robe and on His thigh He has this Name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. 17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun, who cried in a loud voice to all the birds flying in midair, “Come, gather together for the great supper of God, 18 so that you may eat the flesh of kings, generals, and the mighty, of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, great and small. 19 Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to wage war against the Rider on the horse and His army. 20 But the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who had performed the signs on its behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. 21 The rest were killed with the sword coming out of the mouth of the Rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh. ” First: we are not given a timeline of how long Wrath is. But some can look at it either 3.5 years or the remaining 75 days in Daniel 12 that says 1,260 days (3.5 years) and blessed is the one who can make it through to 1,335 days. (1,335 - 1,260 = 75.) But it is called a “day”. Isaiah 34 is much like Rev. 19. I think it is exactly, showing more aspects to the “day”. And in verse 8 it says “For it is the day of the vengeance of Yaweh, the year of recompense for the cause of Zion.” It certainly looks like it is the final year of the Seven Year Tribulation. Jesus is judging and making war - Judgment and Wrath with Jesus as the Judge. Zephaniah calls Him “the Mighty Warrior who shouts out His battle cry.” - Zephaniah 1:14 NIV. Armies of Heaven - following Jesus ridding on white horses and dressed in clean white linen. This more detail of what is said in part in 2 Thessalonians 1:7 - “…the Lord Jesus will be revealed with His mighty angels. ” And look at Matthew 16:27 - “For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels , and will then repay every man according to his deeds.” Again in Matthew 25:31 - “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him , then He will sit on His glorious throne.” Another in Matthew 24:31 - “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him , then He will sit on His glorious throne.” And another Mark 13:27 - “And then He will send forth the angels , and will gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest end of the earth to the farthest end of heaven.” Again in Jude 1:14 - “It was also about these men that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones, ”. And another in 1 Thessalonians 3:13 - “To the end He may establish your hearts un-blamable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints .” In this one there are three other translations of 1 Thessalonians 3:13 that say “Jesus Christ with His Holy Ones ;” “Jesus Christ with His holy angels ;” from the Greek: “Set apart by (or for) God, holy, sacred”. From “hagos”- sacred. And we can see from other scripture that “holy ones” means angels , Daniel 4:23 - “Your Majesty saw a holy one, a messenger, coming down from heaven…” ESV calls this “holy one” what Enoch calls them: Watcher. We can see by looking at some of the rapture scriptures that Jesus is coming with angels, not with the “already raptured” saints, the Word doesn’t state that anywhere. There are quite a few Old Testament verses about the rapture as well. There are far more than 2 or 3 scriptures settling this matter of “who” Jesus is returning with. Jesus comes with a sharp sword coming out of His mouth to strike down the nations. This is the Day of the Lord - both rapture and wrath. Other scriptures which speak to this: Revelation 1:16; Isaiah 49:1-2; Psalm 18:7-19; 2 Samuel 22:9-16; Job 37:2-4; 2 Thessalonians 2:8. Winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. Other scriptures that match this: Revelation 14:15-20; Joel 3:12-16; Isaiah 63:2-6; Isaiah 13:6-13; Revelation 18:3; Matthew 24:31. Birds gorge themselves on the flesh. Genesis 15:1-11; Ezekiel 39:4, 19; Revelation 19:21 - this is the Ezekiel 38-39 war, it starts before the Rapture/Day of Wrath. Look at Ezekiel 38:18-23 and 39:9 - they are gathering and burning weapons for 7 years. Notice all of this starts with the Rapture/Day of Wrath. Take a look at Isaiah 26:16-21 . And this is only a portion of the scriptures. There are three more parts to share about this “day”: 1. Jesus comes on clouds with tumult; 2. More to show on the day of the Rapture is the same day as the Day of Wrath; 3. Timing of this “day.” 1. Jesus comes with clouds and tumult: Matthew 24:29-30 - “ Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light , and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn , and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” We see here the sun is darkened, the moon doesn’t give its light, stars fall from heaven, and the powers (think Ephesians 6:12 ), all people of the earth will see this, and it’s all with Jesus coming in the clouds. Just as Acts 1:9 says He was taken up in a cloud and in verse 11 the angels told the disciples that He will come the same way they saw Him go. This also goes with Joel 2:28-32 and we will just show verse 30-31 - “I will show wonders in the heavens. And on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke, the sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.” And this also goes in line with previously mentioned Isaiah 13:9-10 ; All of Isaiah 24 but here note verse 23; 26:19-21; Joel 3:15; Amos 8:9 (All of Amos 8 pertains); Ezekiel 32:4-10 - Ezekiel is alluding to Revelation 18 , these two chapters of scripture go together. 2. Day of the Rapture is the same Day as the Day of Wrath. In Zephaniah 1:16 as I shared earlier, it says it’s a Day of Trumpet and Day of Alarm. That is two distinctions. “Trumpet” can symbolize two events: one of the seven trumpets that sounds in Revelation chapters 8-11 ; and it is also the Rapture as seen in 1 Thessalonians 4:16 - “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command , with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.” That “Day” as Zephaniah says has a voice and a trumpet , and Thessalonians says “a loud command.” All on that “Day.” It is a “Day of Alarm” and a “Day of Trumpet” - which I believe means it’s a dual day: a day of trumpet for the Rapture and day of alarm for the planet because of God’s Wrath. Praise God we are delivered as God’s Wrath comes down. And when you look at other Rapture verses many of them show the disaster that is falling. Including 2 Peter 3:10-12 - “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat.” And Peter goes in line with what Joel describes. 3. Timing of this “day.” 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 - “Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet . For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” This passage shows us “when” this happens. It’s at the Last Trumpet! Which is Revelation 11:15-18 . All of Revelation 11 is important for this because we see 42 months are given to the Gentiles to trample the outer court of the temple and the 2 witnesses are around for a specific number of days - 1,260 which is exactly 42 months at 30 days each month. Forty-two months give a little wiggle room. It could be just over 1,260 days or just under. Keep in mind there is only one resurrection for the believers - at the Rapture. The other resurrection is for the Great White Throne judgment. No where in scripture does it say there are multiple group resurrections. Perhaps the witnesses are raised on the Ratpure/Wrath Day or perhaps they are raised by themselves. This has happened before - Jesus. We shall see how Lord does this. In verses 15-18 it does look like the Day of Wrath after the 2 witnesses resurrection. It could be when the antichrist is possessed by satan after he or one of his “heads” or “rulers” gets shot in the head, there seems to be another 42 months - this is the time period if the a.c. gets killed during this time… unless he is someone of whom the enemy is cloning who has already died. A historical figure. Sounds a little out there but it has been discussed in many circles. (Revelation 11 and 13 .) Notice another phrase in Zephaniah - “…all your merchants will be wiped out, all who trade with silver will be destroyed.” Where else have we seen that statement in the Word? Revelation 18 ! Especially in versus 11-19 but we will look at Revelation 18:3-4 - “…and the merchants (or corporations) of the earth grew rich through the abundance of her delicacies. And I heard another voice from heaven saying ‘Come out of her, My people, that you be not partakers of her sins, and that you receive not of her plagues.” It could be that “duel day”. Rapture and Wrath - the same day. Jesus calling us upward as The Day of Lord is coming down. Or it could be that the Lord is telling us to get out of this country. We shall see. 3. Here’s a few more I see to state my case of the dual day theory: Rapture/Wrath. Look at another part of Zephaniah says: “Their wealth will be plundered, their houses demolished…neither shall their wealth deliver them” - This goes with Revelation 6:12-17 but we will only look at versus 15 and 17 - “Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and everyone else, both slave and free, hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains…For the great day of His Wrath is come and who shall be able to stand.” Which goes with Isaiah 2:10-22 & 24:5-23 (Notice in verse 23 the moon shall be confounded and the sun ashamed…this is just like Matthew 24:29 . This is the same day as the Rapture, the Day of the Lord, the Day of His Wrath. And if you look at Philippians 1:6,10 speaks of that “Day” as the Day of Christ. 2 Peter 3:10-12 calls it the Day of God and Day of the Lord - “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are in it shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?” Where else do we see “thief in the night?” - 1 Thessalonians 5:2 - “for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.” All of 1 Thessalonians 5 is another important chapter regarding all of this. Here are a few more scriptures: Ezekiel 30:2-3 - “Son of man, prophesy and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: “’Wail and say, “Alas for that day!” For the day is near, the day of the LORD is near— a day of clouds, a time of doom for the nations…” Isaiah 61:2 - “to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn,” Isaiah 10:3 - “What will you do on the day of reckoning, when disaster comes from afar? To whom will you run for help? Where will you leave your riches?” 2 Thessalonians 2:12 - “and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.” Jeremiah 15:3 - “I will send four kinds of destroyers against them,” declares the LORD, “the sword to kill and the dogs to drag away and the birds and the wild animals to devour and destroy.” (Revelation 6:7; 9:13-15.) Romans 2:8 - “But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.” Romans 5:9 (repeated again in 1 Thessalonians 1:10; 5:9 ) - “Since we have now been justified by His Blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s Wrath through Him!” Romans 1:18 - “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness,” Romans 9:22 - “What if God, although choosing to show His wrath and make His power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction?” Ecclesiastes 8:11-12 - “Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil…” Revelation 6:12-17 - “I watched as He opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, (just like Matthew 24:29) and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. The heavens receded like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. (Isaiah 24.) Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and everyone else, both slave and free, hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the Face of Him Who sits on the throne and from the Wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of His Wrath has come, and who can withstand it?” * 3.) Last Tidbits - Another Sacred Cow If you have read the article The Second Death and Great White Throne Judgement this is part of that article. You may want to skip it if you have already read it. Everyone in the Church has been taught this so this is going to be hard to look at initially because it messes with our paradigm. A paradigm isn’t necessarily the truth. It’s only something held onto “as” the truth. I am asking that you put aside what you have been told and look at what the Bible says versus what scholars and Pastors have assumed. Remember what 1 Peter 4:17 says the “judgment begins with God’s household; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? “ This “doctrine” is that the restrainer to be removed is the Holy Spirit (2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 ) and it is assumed that includes the Church and we won’t see the antichrist. This is put in line with Daniel 9:24-27 . But is that what it says? Let’s take a look. We will go to Daniel first. The entire chapter 9 is Daniel finding out by revelation from the Lord that the prophet Jeremiah spoke of how long Israel was to be captive in Babylon. Daniel interceded for the nation of Israel, repented in behalf of all their ungodly acts and asked the Lord how long would this judgement be for Israel. Daniel had thought it was a literal 70 years which by his time had already passed but he was told how he misunderstood it and that it was to be “70 sevens” or weeks of years. Verses 24-27 Gabriel comes to give Daniel the answer and yes, we do look at to what part is relevant for this day that we live in. The issue that has been the subject of confusion is all of the “he’s” that is in this chapter. Take a look. Overview Originally the word “restrainer” was used in 2 Thessalonians 2:7 . It’s been changed in many translations to “let.” “Restrainer” is one of those enigmatic Greek words that means simply means “something that restrains,” it is stopping something from happening for a particular reason. Uh…okay…this means we need to go into more depth in the Word to see exactly what the Lord means. As mentioned before the devil has been trying to get his antichrist (ac) in the limelight for centuries. Actually, millennia. The “Restrainer” has been holding him back because of what God has said in His Word. It’s in God’s timing, not the enemy’s. God has a timeline for this to occur. Why? This is my take on it, since God has already created people before the foundation of the world and written them down in His Book of Life, they must be born…or let’s say it this way: conceived in this world, this realm, first. Each person is designated to be on earth in a specific time period, and no devil is going to push the clock to make the final 7 years happen outside of God’s timing. What God has said in context with His prophetic scripture is a covenant. It is an oath from God Almighty. In context with 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 the Restrainer is stopping the ac from showing up before the time that God has ordained according to His Word - and according to Daniel 9:27 it is God Himself that has made a covenant with many for the 7 year Tribulation to occur, God has it set in a specific timeline and won’t let the devil “jump the gun” or make it last longer. We have thought that Daniel 9:27 the “he” was the ac. It is not the ac. Let’s look at Daniel 9 in more detail: "2 in the first year of his reign (king Xerxes), I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the Word of the Lord given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years. 3So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes. 4 I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed: ‘Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant of love with those who love Him and keep His commandments, 5 we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws. 6 We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your Name to our kings, our princes and our ancestors, and to all the people of the land.’ 7 'Lord, you are righteous, but this day we are covered with shame—the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far, in all the countries where you have scattered us because of our unfaithfulness to you. 8 We and our kings, our princes and our ancestors are covered with shame, Lord, because we have sinned against You. 9 The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against Him; 10 we have not obeyed the Lord our God or kept the laws He gave us through His servants the prophets. 11 All Israel has transgressed Your law and turned away, refusing to obey You.’ ‘Therefore the curses and sworn judgments written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against You. 12 You have fulfilled the words spoken against us and against our rulers by bringing on us great disaster. Under the whole heaven nothing has ever been done like what has been done to Jerusalem. 13 Just as it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come on us, yet we have not sought the favor of the Lord our God by turning from our sins and giving attention to Your truth. [which is why judgement comes on the house of the Lord] 14 The Lord did not hesitate to bring the disaster on us, for the Lord our God is righteous in everything He does; yet we have not obeyed Him.’ 15 'Now, Lord our God, who brought Your people out of Egypt with a mighty hand and who made for Yourself a Name that endures to this day, we have sinned, we have done wrong. 16 Lord, in keeping with all Your righteous acts, turn away Your anger and Your wrath from Jerusalem, Your city, Your holy hill. Our sins and the iniquities of our ancestors have made Jerusalem and Your people an object of scorn to all those around us.’ 17 'Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of Your servant. For Your sake, Lord, look with favor on Your desolate sanctuary. 18 Give ear, our God, and hear; open Your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears Your Name. We do not make requests of You because we are righteous, but because of Your great mercy. 19 Lord, listen! Lord, forgive! Lord, hear and act! For Your sake, my God, do not delay, because Your city and your people bear Your Name.’” The Seventy “Sevens” "20 While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and making my request to the Lord my God for His holy hill— 21 while I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice. 22 He instructed me and said to me, ‘Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding. 23 As soon as you began to pray, a word went out, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed. Therefore, consider the word and understand the vision: 24 Seventy ‘sevens’ are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the Most Holy Place. 25 Know and understand this: From the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven ‘sevens,’ and sixty-two ‘sevens.’ It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble. 26 After the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be put to death and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed. 27 He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’ In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.’” Notice the flow of what is spoken. It is about God and what He has poured out on Israel because of their sin. The “he” that occurs everywhere except the end - the last sentence - of verse 27 throughout the text is God. We will look at it again with more inflections to see better. There is also the part at Gabriel’s opening statement that lays out an outline in verse 24 - this gives an order to more details within the order that is discussed in subsequent verses. We will start at verse 15. We could go from the beginning but you get the point. Emphasis added of course and I will stop in more places with commentary: 15“'Now, Lord our God, Who brought Your people out of Egypt with a mighty hand and Who made for Yourself a Name that endures to this day, we have sinned, we have done wrong. 16 Lord, in keeping with all Your righteous acts, turn away Your anger and Your wrath from Jerusalem, Your city, Your holy hill. Our sins and the iniquities of our ancestors have made Jerusalem and Your people an object of scorn to all those around us. 17"Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of Your servant. For Your sake, Lord, Look with favor on your desolate sanctuary. 18Give ear, our God, and Hear; open Your eyes and See the desolation of the city that bears Your Name. We do not make requests of You because we are righteous, but because of Your great mercy. 19 Lord, listen! Lord, forgive! Lord, hear and act! For Your sake, my God, do not delay, because Your city and Your people bear Your Name.’” The Seventy “Sevens” 20"While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and making my request to the Lord my God for His holy hill— 21 while I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice. 22 He instructed me and said to me, “Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding. [Regarding what you have asked for from God.] 23 As soon as you began to pray, a word went out, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed. Therefore, consider the word and understand the vision: [Verse 24 which we are about to get to is the outline of what Daniel is told and the main themes and I have numbered them here. Verses 25-27 are further details of each numbered item and the events described within each numbered part overlap from one number to the next. Notice when God answers He does so from His perspective, not man’s: #1 was the primary question Daniel raised about how long Israel would remain in captivity under Babylon. #2 is from God’s perspective of His doing away with sin and atoning for wickedness. #3 is also from God’s perspective how God will bring everlasting righteousness because man cannot do it on his own. #4 is what God will do with…get this…THE vision and prophecy that He has given to Daniel - All of Daniel’s visions that God gave him are ONE vision and prophecy - they are more details of what the Lord is showing Daniel in chapters 2 (I know, it was Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, I’ll get to that later), 7-12. Just like chapter 9 there is further explanation of what verse 24 lays out will happen. This is how God does things all through the Bible, especially in Revelation. Revelation is not linear in happenings. Many chapters are further explanation of other chapters. They overlap. So does Daniel’s visions - they overlap, they are further detail of what he first got in Chapter 2 and chapter 7. And technically what he got in chapter 2 came through someone else - Nebuchadnezzar. Have you ever had the Holy Spirit give you further revelation upon a word that He revealed to someone else? Sure you have. God does that. And God was letting Daniel know that He would seal what He gave Daniel until the time of the end - Daniel 12. No one will understand it until God opens it. #5 the final part of God’s design of Anointing His Most Holy Place, the New Jerusalem, of which Daniel didn’t realize this was one of the answers he asked for, “the rebuilding of Jerusalem” - the final one, from God’s perspective. When we ask God questions, most commonly we don’t realize “what” we are asking. And He will answer from His perspective. This is why the Lord said in Isaiah 55:8-9 that His thoughts are not our thoughts and His ways are higher than man’s ways.] Verse 24 here’s the “overview” of what is spoken in subsequent verses that give more detail. 24 - #1 - Seventy ‘sevens’ are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, #2 to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, #3 to bring in everlasting righteousness, #4 to seal up vision and prophecy #5 and to anoint the Most Holy Place. Further Explanation of verse 24: we see 70 sevens of years (490) was the time allotted for Israel to pay for their transgression by the rule of Babylon, of which Daniel was praying about and repenting of the nation of Israel’s sin. Putting and end to sin and atone for wickedness permanently could only be done by Jesus and the cross. His resurrection is what brought everlasting righteousness, it could come no other way - 1 Corinthians 5:21 - “you are the righteousness of God through Christ Jesus.” Upon His resurrection He brought in EVERLASTING RIGHTEOUSNESS. Righteousness was not here before His resurrection. [Yes, God called Abraham a righteous man because he believed what God said. That is a different situation. People as a whole were not righteous and only Jesus could make that happen.] Sealing up Daniel’s vision and end time prophecy has been done from the time of Daniel through to the end times. Anointing the most holy place, the New Jerusalem, is what will happen after the millennium. There is a wide timeline of what the Lord was showing Daniel, from his time through to the next dimension on the recreated earth with the New Jerusalem - Revelation 21:1-2. [Numbered sections in verses 25-27 go into the sections listed in verse 24 - they are further explanations of sections in verse 24, they overlap.] 25"Know and understand this: #1 From the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the Ruler, comes there will be seven ‘sevens’, and sixty-two ‘sevens’” - In this verse there is more detail of #1 that leads into #2 giving a timeline - 490 years plus 434 years until Jesus came from the time of Daniel. Now I know it doesn’t add up. Thats because of use of the Gregorian calendar and matching it up with God’s calendar. There is always an overlap. [Babylon took over Israel in 605 BC. Which makes it 320 AD according to this verse of scripture for when Jesus was around and we know that wasn’t the case on our calendar. Hear me out - in Church history the most important political ruler was Constantine. 320 AD was the year he was born. His rulership made Christianity acceptable in the world. More than that, they stoped killing and torturing Christians. Something else to figure is the Essene calendar. The way the Essenes figured the timeline was according to scripture, it is God’s calendar not the Gregorian calendar. And there is always an overlap between the two. Each era or what are called “days” - there are 7 and we are currently at the end of the 6th era or day which ends in 2025 - overlaps on the Gregorian calendar. All of them overlap on the Gregorian calendar. [https://www.fivedoves.com/letters/mar2024/luisv310-2.htm ]. So from the Prevoius era “The age of Torah” over laps into the “Age of Grace”. It only does the first portion of that “day”. About 1/3. This is the same as an over lap to what they consider the “Church Age- the Age of Grace”. So what am I saying? It is both. It is the coming of Jesus to take away the sins of the world and bring righteousness and Constantine was the political leader who made Christianity the religion of an empire. It had never happened before. All done by the hand of God.] Back to #2. There are 70 sevens and another 62 sevens until Jesus comes to put an end to sin and wickedness. The Temple was rebuilt during the time of Nehemiah when the Temple was first rebuilt, after the time of Babylon, under Persia when they defeated Babylon. More detail in verse 25: #2 25 until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven ‘sevens,’ and sixty-two ‘sevens.’ It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble. - These are overlapping the rebuilding of the Temple and Jesus onto the earth under the occupation of Rome - times of trouble with what it was to be like to the time of His death on the cross. During the time of the rebuilt Temple would be a time of trouble - it wasn’t going to be easy for Israel for well-over millennia. We know what happened, after Babylon was the Persians with king Cyrus, Greeks with Alexander the Great, and then the Romans with the various Caesars, and subsequent to that the great dispersion after the Resurrection of Jesus that lasted until 1948 - all overtook Israel. Israel certainly had times of trouble even though the Temple had been rebuilt from what Daniel had asked. Explanation of verse 26: 26”After the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be put to death and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed.” Let’s look at this verse in Hebrew Bible: 26 After the weeks, 60 and 2, Messiah shall be cut off but not for Himself, and the city and the sanctuary shall destroy the people, of the prince (ruler) who is to come, and the end of it shall be with a flood and till the end of the war are determined desolations.” We see Messiah’s death on the cross which is not for Himself, He died for the sins of the whole world. When Rome takes over, at this time under emperor Nero, is the one who destroyed the second Temple. This is all part of #1 for Israel being under the punishment of God. Again, it’s more detail of verse 24. There is also added the time of the end like Revelation 12:16 where Jerusalem is destroyed by a flood. As verse 26 says, the end comes with a flood. There are scholarly debates as to whether this is literal or figurative. I’m not going to say one way or the other. It could be both knowing how God uses language. There are often 2 meanings at the very least. Explanation of verse 27: 27"He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’ In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.” Now here is part with the “he” or “He” to consider. Let me ask you a question: Did God speak of the antichrist at all in this chapter so far? No. So let’s take a look at it from God’s perspective since He is answering Daniel from His perspective. 27. “He - God - will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven’ “- God is making a promise to those who believe in Jesus, His death, burial, and resurrection, for a limited time: 7 years. And it’s a promise! A covenant! And He has made the covenant, His promise with many…not just Jews but to all who receive Him. God will not allow the devil to run rampant for longer than that. He is putting a parameter on the devil. Why is God even having to do any of this, you might ask? Because people have become so stubborn, hardhearted and deny God. All of God’s punishment no matter when He has done it - Noah’s Flood, Sodom and Gomorrah, (the original) Babylon, Tyre, Ai, Nineveh, Jericho, etc. - come from lack of repentance and coming back to Him. It’s all over Genesis, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and many more. It is what the entire Bible is about - those who stay with Him and those who do not. God has to allow the punishment to try to turn people back to Him. It is what the entire book of Revelation is about. Look at Revelation 16:11 - “they cursed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, but they refused to repent of what they had done.” But God will only allow so much time for this because of those who believe in Him - Mark 13:20 - “If the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would survive. But for the sake of the elect, whom He has chosen, He has shortened them.” Who God has chosen are those in the Lamb’s Book of Life. God’s seed. Those who are alive and remain and are His seed, the days will be shortened because of them! In the next part of this verse “‘He’ will put an end to sacrifice and offering - what has this whole chapter spoken about? - the sacrifice and offering of Jesus for all of mankind to put an end to sin and wickedness. This is where we get back to what “He” means, right here in this part of verse 27. Let’s look at this with 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 and Isaiah 66:9. First Isaiah 66:9 “Do I bring to the moment of birth and not give delivery?” says the LORD. “Do I close up the womb when I bring to delivery?” says your God.” As you know it is God that gives children and it is God that closes the womb. He allows or does not allow on the earth. 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 “1 Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to Him, we ask you, brothers and sisters, 2not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by the teaching allegedly from us—whether by a prophecy or by word of mouth or by letter—asserting that the day of the Lord has already come. 3 Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. 4 He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God. [This is the same as the ‘abomination of desolation’ from Daniel 9 and Luke 21. The ac will desecrate Christian churches and houses of worship. We have seen this occur recently when Jihad occurs and Christians are tortured, burned, beheaded, and their churches are set on fire or converted to mosques. I’m not saying the ac is muslim…but it’s possible. From what is written by Daniel especially in chapter 7 and 11 it could very well be. We shall see how this plays out.] This also goes with the “Restrainer” being removed…it’s half-way through the 7 years to allow the ac to have authority over the believers - Revelation 13:7 “it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them:” and Revelation 12:17 which is after the “woman” or those who believe in Jesus go into hiding - verse 17 says, “And the dragon was angry with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” God has to allow the devil to do this because believers who know their place in Christ and the Authority He gave won’t put up with it, unless they have been told by God that they will be a martyr. And let’s face it, most Christians today have no idea about their Authority in Jesus Christ. Once the Lord removes His hand from the devil and allows him to run wild, many of the Christians left won’t have a Spiritual leg to stand on. 2 Thessalonians 2:2-12 (continued) “5 Don’t you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things? 6 And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. [“Something” or better to say Someone is holding him - the ac - back for the proper time!!! Not in the devil’s own time, but rather in God’s own time! Which is only for 7 years. The devil thinks he can run the entire show on this planet for eternity. As Daniel 7:25 says the ac is going to try to change the law - God’s law - and the times. God is in charge and won’t let the ac change His timing. Not going to happen. The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof!] 7 For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work [because of sin in the earth and those who have not received Jesus]; but the one [One] who [Who] now holds it back will continue to do so till he [He] is taken out of the way. [Remember this is why has the sacrifice that Jesus paid have to be removed or “taken out of the way” which is the other way to say it: BECAUSE God gives satan authority OVER ALL mankind for a period of time - the last 3.5 years. This is seen in Daniel 7:25; 9:27 and Revelation 13:5 - Daniel 7:25 - “And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time:” Daniel 9:27 - “He (God) will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’ In the middle of the ‘seven’ He (God) will put an end to sacrifice and offering.” Revelation 13:5-8 - “5 The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise its authority for forty-two months. 6 It opened its mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander His Name and His dwelling place and those who live in heaven. 7 It was given power to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. 8 All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world.” We see that God’s holy people have to undergo the ac having authority over them. With Jesus having done His sacrifice we have Authority over the devil - Luke 10:17-19 & Mark 16:17-18 but this time period is different. God is allowing the devil to have authority over His people, those who are His holy people. It is not just Jews. No where does it say that it is only the Jews. It says: His people. There is no difference between Jew or Gentile, male or female, we are all one in God - Galatians 3:28. God is allowing the devil to have dominion so “Something” needs to be removed to allow the devil to have authority. God is removing His Atoning Sacrifice of sin and wickedness for a short period of time which is what gives believers Authority in order to let the devil free to torment those who are hard hearted, which is the punishment on people who have refused Jesus. Like Sodom and Gomorrah. Believers who are left are able to handle what’s coming. No different than the disciples who all but one was tortured to death. But they knew what was coming. The Lord revealed it to them. He was with them every step of the way. That’s heavy! But God!!! You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you!] 2 Thessalonians 2:8-12 “8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of His mouth and destroy by the splendor of His coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, [Just like Revelation 13.] 10 and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie 12 and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.” - This is an apparent and simple explanation of why God is allowing this. This next statement will be difficult who are still adamant about certain “doctrinal paradigms” but let go of preconceived paradigms of men and allow the Holy Spirit to show you. Notice all of the rapture scriptures - none state that there are 2 comings of Jesus. When Jesus comes in all of them it is at one time - at the end, the final year of the 7 year Tribulation, because according to Isaiah 34 a “the day” in this time period is equal to a “year”. Read the scriptures above again, notice that believers will be persecuted by the ac. The rapture is not pre-trib. I know some may say mid-trib but by 2 Thessalonians 2 we see it is at the end and this matches with Matthew 24:27-31; Isaiah 26:16-21. It is not at the mid-point either. Matthew 24:27-31 “27For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather. 29“Immediately after the distress of those days “ ‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’ 30“Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. 31And He will send His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.” Isaiah 26:16-21 “16 Lord, they came to you in their distress; when you disciplined them, they could barely whisper a prayer. 17As a pregnant woman about to give birth writhes and cries out in her pain, so were we in your presence, Lord. 18We were with child, we writhed in labor, but we gave birth to wind. We have not brought salvation to the earth, and the people of the world have not come to life. 19But your dead will live, Lord; their bodies will rise—let those who dwell in the dust wake up and shout for joy—your dew is like the dew of the morning; the earth will give birth to her dead. 20Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut the doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until his wrath has passed by. 21See, the Lord is coming out of His dwelling to punish the people of the earth for their sins. The earth will disclose the blood shed on it; the earth will conceal its slain no longer.” [Put that last sentence with Genesis 4:10 “The Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground.”] * God is just in all that He does. It’s all in God’s timing and His timing is always right, no matter what we perceive. The devil has been attempting to get an ac started for centuries: Nero, Napoleon, Hitler etc. But the “Restrainer” has to be removed before the ac can show up. And who…or Who is in charge of everything? God, the creator of all things. Many Bible scholars believe the Restrainer is the Holy Spirit. That’s understandable but according to scripture there is more depth to the meaning. Since there is persecution of the saints it doesn’t make sense for the Holy Spirit to be removed. It is the Holy Spirit who recreates our spirit when we get born again. If He is removed than He, the Holy Spirit being removed would of course mean all Christian’s. He can’t be because we are sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise and yet there are believers who are persecuted by the ac. That’s a contradiction. He can’t be because we are sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. And there are believers who are persecuted by the ac. The Restrainer cannot be the Holy Spirit - it goes against other scriptures in the Epistles like 2 Corinthians 1:21-22 “God makes us and you stand firm in Christ. 22 He Anointed us, set His seal of ownership on us, and put His Spirit in our heart as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.” And Ephesians 1:13-14 “13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of His glory.” We must always go to the Word to define itself. Reasoning for this “doctrine”? This “doctrine” is that the restrainer is the Holy Spirit and the Church to be removed - 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 is assumed that is the Holy Spirit and includes the Church because He is in each of us. Looking at it from that point of view we won’t see the antichrist because we will be taken out of the way. And yet, he persecutes those who believe in Jesus. It’s a contradiction. It is put in an incorrect context with Daniel 7:25; 9:24-27; Revelation 12:17 & 13:7,10. We will only look at the first scripture: Daniel 7:25 “he will speak against the Most High and oppress his holy people and try to change the set times and the laws. The holy people will be delivered into his hands for a time, times and half a time.” God is the One Who made the covenant with all those who are alive on earth at this time, that there will only be a 7 year period. It will be a tough period for Jerusalem because there will be a major flood and wars. And these things also go on across the globe. But here is a key point. It is divided into halves. Two 3.5 year parts. Where else do we see that number with the Tribulation? Revelation 11:1-3 - “1I was given a reed like a measuring rod and was told, “Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, with its worshipers. 2But exclude the outer court; do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles. They will trample on the holy city for 42 months. 3And I will appoint my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.” Revelation 12:14-17 - “14The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent’s reach. 15Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent. 16But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. 17Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring—those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus.” Revelation 13:5-8,10 - “5The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise its authority for forty-two months. 6It opened its mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander His Name and His dwelling place and those who live in heaven. 7It was given power to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. 8All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world. 10 'If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity they will go. If anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword they will be killed.’ This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of God’s people.” Daniel 9:27 27He [God] will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’ In the middle of the ‘seven’ he [He] will put an end to sacrifice and offering [because He is removing His restraint from the devil so the ac can show up and this whole thing will be done soon.] And at the temple he [this is finally the ac] will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed [by God and the entirety of Revelation is poured out on him and those who refuse God] is poured out on him.” [the ac who is possessed by the devil per Revelation 13 and 9 - he comes out of the abyss at the half way point, 3.5 years, and then goes to persecute the remaining believers.] Daniel 12:1-2, 5-7, 11 1 “At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered. 2 Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. 5 Then I, Daniel, looked, and there before me stood two others, one on this bank of the river and one on the opposite bank. 6 One of them said to the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, “How long will it be before these astonishing things are fulfilled?” 7 The man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, lifted his right hand and his left hand toward heaven, and I heard him swear by Him who lives forever, saying, “It will be for a time, times and half a time. When the power of the holy people has been finally broken, all these things will be completed. 11“From the time that the daily sacrifice is abolished and the abomination that causes desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days. [or 3.5 years] 12 Blessed is the one who waits for and reaches the end of the 1,335 days.” God’s people are delivered into the ac’s hands - meaning the ac has authority because God is no longer restraining him. There’s two types of saints at that time: those who will be martyrs and those who will be isolated and trying to survive - both are called “Tribulation Saints.” And with all of the disasters that are coming, many will go by way of the grave. I know this isn’t easy to read but it is what scripture states. Pray. Talk with the Lord and see what He wants you to do. * I don’t know “when” all of this will take place. But we know we are close. Very close. Some say it can happen at any time. Some say within 20 years. Whatever it is the Lord has got us. He never leaves us nor forsakes us. Some are given the calling to be a martyr as Revelation 6 speaks of; some will be a tribulation saint as Revelation 7 tells; some will go by way of the grave before the Rapture. Whatever God needs to be done will be done. Whatever your calling is, if you do not know, ask, He will lead you! He never gives a calling without giving you the grace to do it. If your a martyr - God will lead you and give you the strength; if you’re a tribulation saint, see what scripture He wants you to stand on. Perhaps Psalm 121:8 - “The Lord will keep me from all harm - He will watch over my life; the Lord will watch over my coming and going both now and forever more.” * Those who have accepted the Lord Jesus into their heart and made Him Lord ARE justified BY Him! It is through receiving Jesus as our Lord and His sacrifice that has blotted out all our sin - Colossians 2:14; Galatians 1:4; 1 Corinthians 5:7. We have obeyed His calling which is to “come to Him”- Ephesians 1:18 and Hebrews 3:1 - and receive the free gift of Jesus Christ through His sacrifice on the cross. None of this ever goes away. - His salvation, His justification, His Word. We now have an eternal covenant with God through the Blood of Jesus. If we could loose our salvation then what Jesus did through His death was useless. But He has taken all the bad for us. HOWEVER, simply because we are justified, which also means “made righteous” by Jesus Christ, AND we ARE new creatures and reconciled to God (2 Corinthians 5:17) doesn’t give us a “free pass” to do any sinful thing we want. The actions we take have an outcome. Sinful actions that are unrepented of eventually cause death - Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” BUT you are saved. Just like the Apostle Paul who told the Corinthian church to kick out the man who was having sex with his stepmother. This young man was in sin. “A little leaven leavens the whole lump.” Paul told them to kick him out of the church and let satan destroy his flesh so that his spirit may be saved. (1 Corinthians 5.) We have eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ no matter what form of sin we allow in our lives - John 3:15-17 - “eternal” means eternally, forever. The fact of allowing sin into someone’s life means there is no revelation about what the Lord has done. It doesn’t mean you loose your salvation. There’s simply no revelation. It all depends on what you focus on. Whatever you focus on is what will show in your life. He paid the price of going to hell so you don’t have to. You don’t loose your salvation. That’s why Jesus paid the price of a brutal, horrific death, and went to hell so we don’t have to. And He was the first one raised from the dead! Hallelujah! But there is judgment. And we will all go through it. As Peter says, judgment comes first to the house of God. ***

Kamp Jesus Our mission is to help replenish the earth with the true Word of God by bringing hope to the hopeless. There is a YouTube channel: Kamp Jesus. by Rina van de Kamp at - www.youtube.com/@rinavandekamp-kampjesus You can email on the contact sheet for further questions. We are happy to be of help. About Us We believe in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God is our Lord and Savior and He came and gave His life for you, for all that you've done wrong, so that you don't have to be pay the price. He came for all to have the knowledge of Him. But you have to ask Him into your heart. Receive Him. All you have to do is call upon the Name of the Lord and you shall be saved. Then ask Him to reveal Himself to you, to help you. He is always there for you even when you don't know it. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever; and with God all things are possible. He is coming back soon! Hallelujah! We at Kamp Jesus made this website for you! It is a teaching site for the things of God. Scroll though the different subjects to find what you're looking for. There are PDF's links available for you to download. And if there is subject matter that you are looking for but don't see it, send us an email and we will get it to you. May the Lord bless you and keep you. May His face shine upon you! He loves you more than you can imagine...so let your imagination expand with our beautiful Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!