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Spirit, What is my spirit, Soul, What is my soul, Are Soul and Spirit the same, are spirit and soul different, body, God, Jesus, Bible, Scripture Spirit, Soul, & Body How to Discern the Difference Article below or click link for downloadable PDF PDF Spirit, Soul, & Body HOW TO DISCERN THE DIFFERENCE The difference in “who” is talking to you and how all of this operates. We are a Spirit, we have a Soul, and we live in a Body. * You will at different times hear from your Spirit, Soul, and Body, and from the devil. Learn how to hear each. Learn how to take authority over your soul. Learn how to be disciplined. In this, you will learn how to walk with the Lord and re-train yourself. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 - All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine , for reproof , for correction , for instruction in righteousness : that the man of God may be mature thoroughly furnished until all good works. 1 Thessalonians 5:23 - and the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God, your whole spirit, and soul and body be preserved, blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. * TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE: LET’S BEGIN WITH THE BASICS CHAPTER TW0: LEARNING TO WALK WITH GOD CHAPTER THREE: FURTHER DETAILS ON THE BODY CHAPTER FOUR: FURTHER DETAILS ON THE SOUL CHAPTER FIVE: MORE ON THE SPIRIT CHAPTER SIX : CONCLUSION SCRIPTURE REFERENCES CHAPTER ONE - LET’S BEGIN WITH THE BASICS SPIRIT, SOUL, & BODY - we will do this in reverse: Body, Soul, & Spirit because that is how we think of it in the world: The Body : It is our “outer layer” and speaks according to the 5 senses - what you can see, hear, smell, taste, and touch. It is the part of us that touches the world around us. Helps us interact with the physical world. To know if it’s hot or cold, to know when to cross the street, or when we are thirsty or hungry, and so on. Some people are controlled by their Body. How their Body feels with its sensations at any moment takes precedence over Spirit or Soul. The Soul: It speaks according to our intellect (mind), free will, emotions (feelings), and personality. This is the next layer inward within our bodies - in our heads and emotions (or heart). In the Bible when it says “heart” most often it is referring to our Soul. Like Psalm 64:6 NIV - “They plot injustices and say, ‘We have devised a perfect plan!’ Surely the human mind and heart are cunning.” You can tell by the context of that verse which one, Soul or Spirit, is being referred to, it is the Soul. We can see this is why our heart needs to be circumcised - Romans 2:29. The Spirit and Soul are connected according to Hebrews 4:12 - For the Word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing between soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intent of the heart. Soul and Spirit. What can be divided means it is connected. But until we receive Jesus into our heart we are unable to understand what is happening with us. We can’t distinguish the difference. Our heart can only be circumcised by Him, cutting away the “old man” from our Spirit. The Soul has to be renewed - it is the “renewing of our mind” Romans 12:2. And in our daily life interacting with this world the Soul typically has priority over our Spirit man with the Body as the second in command. Both the Soul and Body have not been renewed yet until we choose to do it. This is why they cause such trouble when we haven’t learned how to take authority over those parts of us in the Name of Jesus. The Spirit: this is the part that has been renewed by accepting Jesus into our hearts and is in contact with God. He speaks to us through our Spirit and only the word of God and things pertaining to the word of God come through our Spirit. Jesus is the word made flesh. God and His word are the same thing and this is how He speaks, things that go in line with His word. Our Spirit is what is called the “inward man” - or the “inner part of the belly” - Proverbs 20:2; Ephesians 3:16; & Psalm 51:6. It’s deep down within us. If you place your hand on your upper belly, the soft area at the opening of the rib cage, deep within that region. This is where you get those “gut feelings.” That’s where your Spirit is. When you “get” an unction, a revelation, from the Holy Spirit through your Spirit there is a quality to it…it’s “good.” You think: “Man, that’s good!” There is a sweetness to it. And there’s peace to it. Your belly is just so, so, good and likes what it “heard.” Totally satisfied, like you ate a really good meal. * Be aware of “naming” things of your Soul with the same terms used for the Spirit. You are deceiving yourself. You are buying into a con game either from your own thinking or from the devil to hoodwink you into thinking or “reasoning” is coming from your Spirit, when it is not. A person will always be deceived when this happens - James 1:22. You can’t be hood winked for long. You can always tell by the fruit of your life, what do you have. If you don’t like what you see, talk with the Lord. Ask for His correction. Repent when He shows you. And make the changes He tells you to make. ** We can see that our bodies will be rebellious and need to keep them into subjection to the Word. They are not re-created yet. So they will be disobedient. You can count on it. This is the reason why it is important to fast. To keep our bodies under and not rebellious. To take charge, on purpose, what you allow your body to eat and when. This is telling your body “who” is in control. Because the enemy is in this realm. This helps our spiritual ears to hear the Lord more clearly when our bodies aren’t fussing. Now you don’t need to do long fasts. They may be for one meal. Go as the Lord leads. And with that time that you would eat, instead pray and stay in the word. Always follow the Holy Spirit’s leading in ALL things. We discipline our Bodies by not allowing it to rule us. Instead we give God the priority and allow Him to rule us through our Spirit. We have to give one part priority. This is the way our system works. And until we learn how to do this from God’s word, we are either ruled by our Bodies or ruled by our Souls. We then follow whichever one we are giving credence to and speaking along those lines and doing actions along those lines we are bringing the things to pass by “speaking” and “doing” what is ruling us. You can always tell what is ruling you by listening to what comes out of your mouth. Then you will know what is in your heart and what is ruling you. But we can’t change this until we know what God says to do about it. Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks - Matthew 12:34. It is sobering to observe what comes out of our mouths. Whatever is in our heart. If it’s contrary to the word of God it is coming from our Soul or from the devil and we need to change it. Yes, the devil throws thoughts at our heads and if we take that thought and start speaking it, we will bring that word to pass. Because the things we speak are what we have. Genesis 1 - God spoke and it was so. We are made in His image. Instead let’s choose to have God rule from our Spirit. We are one Spirit with Him. 1 Corinthians 6:17 - Whoever is united with the Lord is one with Him in spirit. Hebrews 4:12 - For the Word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing between soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intent of the heart. We see from what the Lord has said in these scriptures that we are ONE with HIM in our inner man, our Spirit! It may not “feel” like it but we are. We also see that If you can divide Spirit and Soul, then that means they are together. Which shows us we can’t tell “what” or should I say “who” is speaking unless we use the word. The Word is the only way to discern who is “talking” and what you are being motivated by: Spirit or Soul, or Body, or the devil. They each have a “voice” and a particular way of speaking to us. And we can discern what part is “talking” to us with thoughts when we dive into the word and believe what He says about us! When you ask the Holy Spirit for insight He will let you know whether that “thought” was from your intellect, emotions, five senses, the devil, or from Him. As we do this the Holy Spirit “shows” us things…I call them “a-ha” moments. These are times when we get the “a-ha” about a particular situation we are wondering about. Our eyes “see” what is happening. That’s called: revelation knowledge (Ephesians 1:17-18), which we get from the Holy Spirit. He IS revelation knowledge. The more you “hang out” with Him the more revelation knowledge you get. Yes He is always with you, He will never leave you nor forsake you. What I mean is that you “choose” to spend time with Him and listening for His leading. The more you do this, the more revelation you’ll have…if you are willing to receive it. We always have to be willing to receive. Sometimes that can be challenging. But bless God, we can do it because we “choose” to. As we spend time with Him we begin to notice when we are being “just us,” being weird, “fleshly” - in our carnality; or if we are “seeing” through the lens of the Holy Spirit. This only happens as we talk with the Lord about it and stay in the word about the situation and do what He reveals and tells us to do. A friend said to me once, “Discernment is not knowing right from wrong but knowing right from almost right.” Huge insight to her statement! (That’s the Holy Spirit operating through someone else to give the word that is needed! I thank God for that.) We need to press into the Holy Spirit to “see” what is right from almost right with everything and in this case from “what” or “who” is speaking to us: Spirit, Soul, Body, or the devil. Each speaks differently. You know if you have a friend who is from another country - they have a certain way of speaking, catch phrases, subject matter they like to discuss, metaphors, and so on. It’s the same here. Spirit, Soul, Body, and the devil, all speak differently and come at you from places: Spirit - God deep inside your being speaking in line with the word of God; Soul - occurs in your thinking or emotions, or personality; Body - things of the 5 senses which are needed for this physical world, bear in mind your Body is the temple of the Holy Spirit so how we treat our Bodies is important; devil - from outside of your body to your head as thoughts coming from the outside pretending at being “you” (most often) talking to yourself. Sometimes pretending to be God - Isaiah 14:13-14. Always saying bad things about you, to you, so that you think it is “yourself” - he has been running con jobs, always a liar and skilled liar of which he is the father of lies, hides the lies within truth, he even knows scripture and will quote it to you just like he did with Jesus in the temptation in the wilderness, always speaks about bad things you’ve done in the past of which God already forgave you of and has no memory of it - He has removed it as far as the east is from the west - Psalm 103:12, and the devil always comes from the five sense realm or emotions because the senses and emotions can “drive” someone. Whenever you are being “driven” - “pushed” to do something and you can’t control it the devil is always behind it. Until we learn how to operate with the Spirit, through our Soul, and to our Body it’s a free for all. One of them has priority and is in control. Because of this material world it will either be Body or Soul… and yes, someone can be controlled by the devil, especially unbelievers but that is enacted through the Body realm. The devil and his hordes are always looking for a body. The Spirit is the enigmatic part of us that most born again brothers and sisters have no idea how to operate from; and people who are not saved have no idea at all. 1 Corinthians 2:9-14 - 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. Whatever He tells you to do, do. So if He says you need to eat vegetables for a few days, do it. Or if He tells you to get more rest, do it. We do this no matter what our Bodies want. We give God the priority and do what He says. He always has a good reason, and the reason is for our benefit. But it is up to us to discipline our flesh when it rears its ugly head and wants to do things contrary to the spirit. How do we do that? It is the same whether it is for our flesh/Body or our Soul: 2 Corinthians 10:3-6 - For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: 4. For the weapons or our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds. 5. Casting down vain imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. 6. And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled. This is a great scripture for step by step instruction of “how” to deal with the unruly flesh/Body, as well as our Soul, or the devil, when they is causing havoc. What is a “strong hold”? It is a belief system that we have. We identify with it. We think it’s “the truth.” But it is simply a thought we were taught somewhere along our life and have treated it “as truth.” We do this, it defines us. BUT we can tear it down through casting down the thought in Jesus Name. (We will get into this more in later paragraphs.) Verse 5 can be phrased another way for seeing the order of what we are to do: “By casting down vain imaginations, and every high (or lofty) thought that exalts itself over the word, or speaks contrary to the word…and being ready to revenge all disobedience from our Bodies, Souls, or the devil.” Many times the common Christian phrase that is used is: “rebuke that thought” for a thought that comes up contrary to God and His word. But this is only half of what needs to be done. The next part is to replace that thought with the appropriate scripture that contradicts that thought. Or in common writing terms when you are using a word processor, you use the key for “find and replace.” That’s what we want to do with the word. Find the appropriate scripture on a situation and replace your previous “ingrained” thought(s) - or “strong hold” - cancel them out in Jesus Name and replace it with what the word says. For example: a thought comes to your mind that you have no will power to eat healthy. You may even make a statement to someone along those lines. As soon as you realize it (even if it’s hours later), speak out loud to yourself. Say: “I refuse that thought in Jesus Name, and cast it out! I HAVE the will power because I am a new creature in Christ Jesus. Old things are gone away and ALL has become new!! (2 Corinthians 5:17.) I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13.)” This is what you do with thoughts and words that come up from your heart or into your mind and out of your mouth, to take authority over them. When you first do this you will feel like you’re are lying to yourself because you always thought that negative thought, and it was a “strong hold.” But now you are replacing the “you” with God. It’s His thought of who you are and you are making it yours. On purpose. He’s right. Always. This first day you will have to do it a lot. It may seem like every 10 seconds you’re having to cast down thoughts and replace them with the word. But as you stay persistent it will get easier. Even the next day will be easier. By the third day it will be even easier. By the fourth day you’re doing a victory dance because it’s over. There will be times here and there of the flesh rearing its ugly head or the devil tryin to jump in, but it’s laughable when it happens and you treat it the same as you did at the start: cast down that thought in the Name of Jesus and replace it with the Word. We can also ask the Holy Spirit for His help, always. He is our Helper. Psalm 141:3 - Set a guard over my mouth, Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips. Do not let my heart be drawn to what is evil so that I take part in wicked deeds along with those who are evildoers; do not let me eat their delicacies. There’s another in Psalm 139:23-24 - Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. As you do this He will highlight to you when something has come out of our mouth, or thought, or action that is contrary to the Word of God. Then take action on what He is telling you to do. And as you start this process the first thing to watch: what comes out of our mouths. There’s one more part to all of this, and that is understanding the “gateways” to our heart. These are the openings to our heart and what goes into them is what gets planted in our heart. We are told to “guard our heart” which means to guard the entrances to the heart. The gateways or entrances are: eye gate; ear gate; mouth gate. What goes into our eyes and our ears can get into our heart. Mouth is a two way gate. We speak out of the abundance in our heart, that’s how we know what is in it; and we can speak the word out loud to change what is planted in our heart. This is our Body and Soul working together. That is how we are made. And the Lord gave us scripture for this: Take a look at Proverbs 4:20-27 - Berean Study Bible: 20 My son, pay attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. 21 Do not lose sight of them; keep them within your heart. 22 For they are life to those who find them, and health to the whole body. 23 Guard your heart with all diligence, for from it flow springs of life. 24 Put away deception from your mouth; keep your lips from perverse speech. 25 Let your eyes look forward; fix your gaze straight ahead. 26 Make a level path for your feet, and all your ways will be sure. 27 Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your feet away from evil. In verse 20-21 we see that the word(s) that we hear causes “images” to come up. We see what was said. This happens no mater what is spoken. This is why we have to be careful what we “hear”. It causes images in our mind. If we keep thinking on it, it will come out of our mouth. If we are “inclining our ear” to the word of God we will be storing it in our heart and have life and health. Out of our heart springs life. But if we are storing things contrary to the word of God, then we are springing up death from our heart and those words we speak will be “death” types of words. Like when someone constantly has negative things to say. They are hard to be around because they are so negative. That is a heart issue, a heart filled with sickness, death, disease, destruction. And we know who is the instigator of that - John 10:10 the devil has come to steal, kill, and destroy. Jesus came to give life and that more abundantly. The remainder of the verses are about staying focused on God’s word and doing it. The steps are simple. The “doing” of it is initially a challenge due to our “feelings” but the Lord also changes our “feelings” when we do this and He is with you every step of the way and will help you. * I’m going to repeat myself, I am choosing to do that in this article because this is important: Watching our words is the first thing to notice and when something comes out, we say something that is contrary to the word, immediately repent of it. Not just ask forgiveness. “Repent” - which means to change our way of thinking about that situation. Then cancel those words out in Jesus Name, because they create. AND then replace them with what the word says about that situation. STOP yourself when you realize you said something contrary to the word - even if its hours later. Then say: “Sweet Heavenly Father, forgive me for saying that. I change my thinking with what Your word says about me. I forbid my body to have control over me in Jesus Name! I keep my focus on You in my Spirit through the Holy Spirit in charge of my physical Body and Soul, and I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. It’s not my strength, it’s Yours! And I thank You for giving it to me.” (Philippians 4:13.) *** CHAPTER TW0 - LEARNING TO WALK WITH GOD Now that you know the basics you can begin or renew your relationship with God. And we do all of what was mentioned on the previous pages because we love the Lord and want to clearly hear Him and be directed by Him. It’s about our intimate relationship with Him. He is closer than a brother. He is always on our side and wants to help us. Spending time with the Lord is the most important thing. Any relationship needs time with that person. Our relationship with the Lord is no different. The more you read His word the more you learn how He talks. Where most people miss His voice is when they think they hear themselves rather than Him. For example: At work, discipline yourself to ask for His help. Ask: “Okay, Lord, how do I do this?” An idea or hunch will come from deep within your being to your head as a thought. You check that “thought” this way: a.) Do you have “peace’ about it? b.) Do you have joy about it? If you have peace and joy, it’s Him. Especially joy. (Colossians 3:15; 1 Thessalonians 5:23; Psalm 16:11.) Love, joy, peace are all results of hearing from Him, they are Him and He exudes them. When He speaks to you they are always present. Even when He is correcting us! There is peace and love. While it’s sobering there is liberty - freedom in taking His correction, never bondage. If there is “confusion” - that is not God. He is not the author of confusion but of peace - 1 Corinthians 14:33. As an example, you know that friend or associate you have that is so great to be around. You feel great about yourself when you’re with them. You laugh. Have a good time. Enjoy each others’ company. This is what it’s like with the Lord! Even more so because He is the creator of all that exists - and you are a friend of God and His love for you is everlasting. This is what we all aspire to, a high quality of life with an intimate relationship with the Lord. We will unpack this further in the nitty-gritty of things in the following pages. *** CHAPTER THREE - FURTHER DETAILS ON THE BODY Ephesians 6:12 - For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. In this Ephesians scripture we can see the relationship between the devil and the flesh. They are symbiotic. This world is where he roams and attacks come in the material world and will affect our bodies. All ways, and always. Attacks can also come to our minds as “Thoughts.” They come from the outside into our heads. Usually that’s his mess. Sometimes thoughts from other people come. Thoughts come from the outside from whatever we are giving our attention to, like books, movies, music, and conversation. But this is where we need to control what comes into our “gateways.” We have to guard our heart. And in the flesh realm is where we see the devil roams in scripture. Look at Job 1:6-7 and Job 2:1-2. He is roaming the earth. And we see in 1 Peter 5:8-10 he is roaming the earth to seek someone to devour. And devouring was on his mind with Job. God wouldn’t allow him to devour Job but He allowed the devil to do it to Job’s family. I have heard people ask why did God allow that. When you read the first couple of chapters you see that his kids were in sinful behavior, his wife was in sinful behavior (complaining about God, like Israel did in the desert), and we see Job was in fear because of the sacrifices he offered continually for his kids because of their sin. A parent or whomever is led to intercede for someone in sinful behavior is only allowed for so long. God expects the people (person) to make it right. God had to allow it by His very own truth, law. Job was supposedly the first book written, before the law but God’s law is forever. God is forever. His truth is forever. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. And being disobedient to Him knowingly or unknowingly, although they had no understanding, allowed the devil to pounce. The only way the devil can do that is if someone allows him by their thoughts, words, and actions. We have Authority over him as Jesus told us in Luke 10:17-19. We are to use that Authority that Jesus gave us in His word as He said and do honor to His blood that was spilt for us. He upholds all things by the Word of His power! (Hebrews 1:3.) And when someone is in sin there is always a result for the sin. Repentance sometimes voids the result or outcome, sometimes it does not. There are times when people in the Bible had to go through the result of their sin even though they got their hearts right with God. I believe Adam and Eve were the first; Abraham - yes, he brought Lot with him who was family and Abraham was called God’s friend and Jesus was able to come to the earth because of Abraham’s faith for God to raise his son from the dead. Abraham’s faith was more important than the sin of taking his nephew Lot with him on his journey. But who knows how that would have happened if Abraham didn’t take Lot. James 4:7 - Submit yourself to God…..resist the devil and he will flee. Consciously submit and yield ourselves to God!! Do this first. Then as we resist the devil by casting down his thoughts and accusations he will flee, but we have to resist. Resist the thoughts he throws into our heads and the drives of our Bodies. Take Authority over our flesh through Jesus and His Word. It keeps our Body under. As Paul said in 1 Corinthians 9:27 - “but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.” Romans 13:14 - But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires o the flesh. * I. Matthew 26:41- Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. We are to keep “watch” and pray. “Pray” in straightforward terms means: in conversation with the Lord. We can do this all throughout the day. This is what Paul means by “pray without ceasing” - 1 Thessalonians 5:17. As we keep our hearts in tune with the Holy Spirit, He warns us of what is coming. He then leads us to pray against it to stop it or decrease the severity of it (John 14:26 and Romans 8:26-27). The next part is key: our Spirits are willing. This born again part of us is in union with Christ, as 1 Corinthians 6:17 says, and they are willing. We are one Spirit with Him. But our flesh, which is in two parts: physical body and the flesh nature (or sin nature, or sometimes called “human nature”) is what needs to be crucified: Galatians 5:16-17, 24 - This I say then, Walk in the Spirit and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that you cannot do the things that you would. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. In verse 24 for us to “belong to Christ Jesus” is a choice…after we are born again. If we take this scripture and compare it to Romans 7:14, 25 and Chapter 8 and Galatians 5 we see that there is a “struggle” between our flesh and Spirit. And we all know brothers and sisters who “got their life insurance.” Meaning they received Jesus into their heart but they are not submitted to Him. Yielded. We have to yield to Him to “belong” to Him. They are saved. They will go to heaven. But they won’t receive a crown. There are 5 crowns that believers can achieve. Not all who run the race will receive the reward - meaning all who get saved won’t do what it takes to receive a crown. It’s a reward. I know believers who do not submit and do not yield to the Lord. Walking in the Spirit is a constant choice. We must walk in the Spirit in order to have crucified the flesh - Romans 8. It’s an “if”/“then” statement. Even if we walk according to the flesh our inner man, the Holy Spirit though our Spirit will be grieved because we are not doing what He says. He will give that inward feeling of “discomfort” but if we continue to disobey He will stop warning us and let the result of the sin come upon us. And there are many brothers and sisters who do not walk in the Spirit and their flesh isn’t crucified, and going through turmoil. How do you know? Their fruit. You can always tell by what inhabits and surrounds a person’s life. BUT all we have to do is repent. Sometimes we still have to go through the result of that sin, like David with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11-12) but the sin is forgiven. Repenting doesn’t always get rid of the result but it does make your hearing from the Lord, intimacy with Him, get back on track. Ephesians 2:3 - All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. Romans 6:6,16- For we know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin….Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? We are always obeying somebody . Either the flesh and sin, or God. We have a choice. Choose you this day life or death, blessing or cursing: therefore choose life, that both you and your seed may live: That you may love the Lord your God and that you may obey His voice, and that you may cleave unto Him: for He is your life and the length of your days… - Deuteronomy 30:19-20. The Holy Spirit in our inner man has to have priority over our flesh. The two - flesh and spirit are against one another: 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 what you want. Romans 7:14, 25 (part, in my words) - Thank God because He delivers me through Jesus Christ my Lord! I myself in my mind serve God, but in my sinful nature am a slave to the law of sin. What that means as born again believers is we are constantly presented with a choice. Choosing to abide by the sinful nature or choosing to abide by God’s word. He gives us the choice. He never forces it upon us. * II. The word “death” in Strong’s means: Greek- #2288 separation from the life of God. Before we were born again we were in “death”- in sin. We were separated from God. Genesis 2:17 -“But of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it: for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” When Adam and Eve ate of the fruit they died immediately in the Spirit-Soul-Body. They were separated from God in all three areas. Notice God didn’t know where they were…He asked, “Where are you?” They had been separated. It was hundreds of years until their bodies learned to die. Yes, their bodies had to learn to die. They were not created to do so. The natural man or flesh, or one who is separated from God cannot spiritually discern because they are spiritually dead - the Spirit is separate from God, the Soul is separate from God, and the Body is separate from God. Our outer man is perishing but the inward one is renewed day by day - 2 Corinthians 4:16. (This is a great confession to do each morning!) This is why 1 Corinthians 15:51-53 is so important. Our bodies need to be recreated in their original, un-fallen state. Immortal. We won’t have blood running through our veins, instead it will be the glory of God. Just imagine what that will be like!! (Luke 24:39; Romans 6:4; 1 Peter 1:21) When we receive Jesus as our Lord and receive His sacrifice for us, that brings us into union with Him. No longer separate in our Spirit from the Spirit of God. But our Soul and Body are not changed. Originally we were intended to be entirely a part of God - Spirit-Soul-Body. Like Adam when he was first created before the fall. But now that we have received Jesus our Spirit is alive unto God, 2 Corinthians 5:17 and 18 Amplified- Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature (new species of being), old things are passed away and all things are become new. And all things are of God, Who has reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation. The first Adam and the last Adam - Jesus Christ - 1 Corinthians 15:45 “It is written, ‘The first man Adam became a living being,’ the last Adam, a life-giving Spirit.” This is why when we receive Jesus into our hearts we have life the moment we say “yes” to Him. You know something happened. You now have life in your Spirit. Adam at first was entirely one with the Father - Spirit-Soul-Body. Imagine what that must have been like?? We will soon get to experience that for eternity!! When the fall happened he was entirely separated Spirit-Soul-Body. Imagine what that must have been like for Adam and Eve to experience both. Jesus too, when He was on the cross and said, “Father, why have you forsaken Me?” Jesus had always been one with the Father and then at the cross He was entirely separated from the Father, and the Father had to turn His back on His Son because He was laden with all of our sins. (Habakuk 1:13; Exodus 33:18-23.) That was devastating to Jesus to have His loving Father have to turn His back to Him. Scripture says Jesus gave His Spirit up to death. It was not taken. I believe He died of a broken heart and gave up His Spirit. * We are to take authority over our Bodies: 1 Corinthians 9:27- But I keep under my body (make it my slave) and bring it under subjection…. (Look at TPT) and our Souls (thoughts, emotions, personality: 1 Corinthians 10:10-13 TPT - And we must not embrace their ways by complaining-grumbling with discontent, as many of them did, and were killed by the destroyer! All the tests they endured on their way through the wilderness are a symbolic picture, an example that provides us with a warning so that we can learn through what they experienced. For we live in a time when the purpose of all the ages past is now completing its goal within us. So beware if you think it could never happen to you, lest your pride becomes your downfall. We all experience times of testing which is normal for every human being. But God will be faithful to you. He will screen and filter the severity, nature, and timing of every test or trial you face so that you can bear it. And each test is an opportunity to trust Him more, for along with every trial God has provided for you a way of escape, that will bring you out of it victoriously. Praise God, He is with us through all tests and trials and provides a way out. These tests and trials come in this material world, like the parable of the rain that beats upon the house. Much of the time tests and trails come through our own bodies. Sometimes through the soul - thinking and emotions. And we are warned not to grumble and complain spoken words against God. They create. And it killed them. A very sobering warning. One thing of note: when you are in the midst of a test/trial, notice that is when you do not hear the voice of God. Like when you took examinations in school, the teacher was there in class. He or she was at their desk. Never said a word. They waited until the test was finished. This is important to know. You will still have unction/knowing from the Holy Spirit. Stay highly tuned to His direction during the test. Whether you obey or not will either decrease the time of the test, or increase the length of time of the test. And important to realize there is difference between a test/trial and a temptation. The Lord does test - Abraham with Lot for example versus Jesus in the wilderness tempted by the devil (Jesus had to deal with His soul while in prayer and fasting). Temptations do not come from God as James 1:12-16 - we encounter them because of our flesh and Soul: “Blessed is the man that endures temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive that crown of life, with the Lord has promised to them that love Him. Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither does He tempt anyone; but every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust has conceived, it brings forth sin; and sin, when it is finished brings forth death.” * IT ALL COMES DOWN TO WHAT WE FOCUS ON: Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2:14 - But the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. Paul wrote this to the church in Corinth, to believers. Another scripture that is imperative to read is Romans 8. The entire chapter is about focusing on the Holy Spirit or focusing on the flesh, and the outcome of both. Here’s another aspect to be aware of with the body: CRAVINGS - any “impulse” from the body that is hard to control or you have no control comes from a demon. Many times it is attached because of unforgiveness and/or fear. Sometimes it’s a family curse. If this is the case, as always, ask the Lord how to go about it. It requires repentance either for yourself, or in the case of a family curse repenting for your forefathers and foremothers of all agreements, oaths, contracts, and such like, known and unknown. Tell the Lord you receive forgiveness; and cancel out all family curses. Stamp the spiritual contract with the Blood of Jesus because you are redeemed from the curse of the Law (Galatians 3:13-14) and the Law of the Spirit of Life (Romans 8:2) is in you, on you, and has permeated your life. You are free, in Jesus Name. And cut all cords to the curse or whatever it is, in the Name of Jesus (Proverbs 5:21-23) and burn them up with the Fire of God (Hebrews 12:29 and 1 Kings 18: 38-39 [23-39].) * REVIEW: John 6:63 - It is the Spirit that quickens (or that gives life); the flesh profits nothing; the Words that I speak unto you are Spirit and they are life. Very clear distinction between Spirit and Body in this scripture. We can see the outcome of being focused on one or the other. Our Spirit is new, born again, and one with Jesus. There is light and life with what He speaks. This is where God talks to us and what He says always agrees with His word. His word is life to us! The more you read it the more you have life and light on the situation. It makes you “feel” energized…I know, it’s a feeling and the word affects our feelings in the right way. Did you know God has feelings? But He’s not ruled by them. Our Body, called “flesh” or “carnal” is 2 parts: physical body with the 5 senses - see, hear, smell, taste, and touch; and our sin nature - also called “human nature”, or “beast like nature” - Daniel 5:21; 2 Pet. 2:12; Jude 1:10; Ps. 49:12, 20; James 1:23-26; Romans 8. Don't waste even a moment's thought on your former identity to awaken its selfish desires. Instead fully immerse yourselves into the Lord Jesus, the Anointed One. - Romans 13:14 TPT Paul says 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 - do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. We see that even when moving in the Spirit preaching, because Paul constantly had the flow of the Holy Spirit with miraculous signs following, if he didn’t keep his body “under”- discipline his thoughts and emotions, he would loose the crown!!!! *** CHAPTER FOUR - FURTHER DETAILS ON THE SOUL We discussed much of how to do this already. How we retrain our Flesh/Body is the same as retraining our Soul. There are only a few things to add here. Soul: mind, will, emotions, and personality. I’m going to do this out of order above. Let’s go to the “WILL” . Will power is your “chooser” - the will can only work properly when you have enough word in you. You know the phrase: “I have no will power…I have to eat the entire cake.” They don’t have enough Word to resist that temptation. This is the only way our “will” can properly work: with the Word. 2. Our Soul - mind (thoughts), FEELINGS, personality are not always right, although we believe they are. Every thought we have is not accurate. Every feeling we have is definitely not accurate and can get you in trouble. Feelings can kill and being ruled by “feelings” will make one’s life absolute hell. They are up one minute and down the next. A roller coaster that always leads to confusion, and God is not the author of confusion but of peace. (1 Corinthians 14:33.) Feelings (Emotions)- is huge. At times they can seem overwhelming. This is where we stumble the most. We think we “are” our emotions. But no. We have feelings…they are not who we are. Feelings can kill you! Talk with anyone who has attempted suicide. They will tell you how they “felt.” ‘Hopeless. No way out. People are better off without them.’ The person has their identity in their feelings. And nothing could be further from the truth. Another example: when someone is ill - people because of “feelings” can be detrimental to the person who is sick, because they “feel sorry” for them. “Feeling sorry” is only an emotion. It has no “action” to help the person. Then the person who “feels sorry” for them speaks words of illness and death over them. Not words of life. Words create. The power of life and death is in the tongue, and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof. - Proverbs 18:21. Instead of emotion, Jesus moved with COMPASSION. Notice the verb. “Moved”. Compassion “does” something about the situation. So when you hear of someone who is not well, pray for them! Pray how the Lord leads. Each situation is different. Speak words of life to them…which means speak scripture to them. Put it in layman's terms, don’t “christian-ize” the words straight out of King James Version…that can turn many people off. For people who are in the hospital, sleeping, in and out of consciousness, or coma - that’s when to play the word in their room, it changes things!! 3. more on the MIND : 1 Corinthian 8:1 - Knowledge (head knowledge) puffs up but Love builds up. This word gives us a key! Are we puffed up by what we are saying or thinking? Or does it benefit someone else. Results are the key! By the result we know what was the motivator and if actions are needed to be taken like casting down thoughts and replacing with the word. This is why our focus needs to be on the love of God and what He wants. Not what we want. And we can always tell by the end result. God is very specific about the thoughts of our Soul (mind) and what it leads to, like the scripture above, and the ones below: 1 Corinthians 3:18-20 NIV - Do not deceive yourselves, if any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age, you should become “fools” so that you may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness”. And again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.” (Job 5:13, Psalm 94:11.) Romans 12:2 NIV - Be not conformed to the world’s way of working: but be transformed by the renewing of your mind - THAT we we may prove what is that good, acceptable, and perfect will of God. And I like to use this scripture with this, Philippians 4:8 NASB- Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, commendable, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, think about these things. One translation says “if there is anything praiseworthy - meditate on these things.” These are the things to think about on purpose. Not on our automatic thinking from our minds when it is contrary to the word. We renew our minds by reading the word and confessing the word, and guard what we see with our eyes, hear with our ears, and speak with our mouth. It’s a simple equation but it takes work. And by doing this we prove what is the perfect will of God in our lives. Fruit. We will bear good fruit. (Matthew 12:33; John 15:2.) We can tell what is happening in our lives by the fruit we are bearing. In other words, look at what you got. If you don’t like what you see, then things need to change within you. And this is how you do it. Refocus. Put your sights on the Lord - intimacy with Him IS key. Take time every day to be with Him in prayer and the word. Ask Him to help you, to show you where to go in the word. Then get quiet for a few minutes and see where you are led to go in the Bible. You may hear His still, small voice coming up from deep inside of you; or you will get a “knowing” of where to go; sometimes from deep within you will come a picture of the title of the book, like John or Isaiah and a chapter number; or sometimes a thought will come up from within you of the place to go. Whichever way He chooses to tell you, do it. Continue to nurture your “hearing” of Him.You already do whether you know it or not. You are His sheep and you hear His voice (John 10:27), it’s simply strengthening the “learning” how to hear. Continue to follow His promptings and leadings. If you follow one that wasn’t right, then you know it wasn’t Him. It was either your Soul or your Flesh, or the devil. Just because you found it wasn’t the Lord isn’t a bad thing. It is part of teaching you what is what. When the devil chimes in he typically starts with bringing thoughts to your mind that “you are worthless; you can never do anything right; people think your an idiot; you don’t have what it takes” etc. Never fails, he will always talk bad to you, about you, and make you think it is “yourself” that is talking this way. The more you keep doing this he will eventually be his ugly self and tell you he’s going to kill you. Laugh at him. He can’t touch you. Psalm 91:16 with long life will God satisfy you and show you His salvation. The difference is satan will condemn you; while the Holy Spirit will convict you in order to help you to grow in the Lord. There are some Soulish ways of thinking, ways we were raised, what we heard from our parents or family, or friends that is negative - these are “strong holds.” We took on these thoughts as our “identity.” But it’s not who we are. All of these thoughts can be changed just the way God told us in 1 Corinthians 10:3-6 and Proverbs 4:20-23. Casting down those thoughts in Jesus Name and replacing them with what the word says about us; and guarding our hearts by careful watch of what goes into our eyes, ears, and out of our mouth. Be sure to cut the cords to that way of thinking - Proverbs 5:21-23. Strong holds always have cords. It’s what creates the bondage - Isaiah 5:18; Psalm 107:13-14; Psalm 140:5; Psalm 129:4. Plus, with all of this the Lord also gave us His mind. We have that in our inner man, the Spirit, that is one with Jesus. (1 Corinthians 2:16.) This is the part of us that knows deep down what is right and what is wrong. Our moral compass. We call it our “conscience”. Keep on track with the conscience. Don’t violate it by not doing what you are led to do. Following our conscience will keep you on the right track. 1 Timothy 1:19 NIV - Holding on to faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and so have suffered shipwreck with regard to the faith. As we do all of this we know as Philippians 4:7 says, The peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Always follow your “peace”. If you don’t have peace about something, don’t do it! Don’t allow yourself to be pushed to make a decision. Colossians 3:15 Classic Amplified says, “Let the peace of God [the umpire of peace, the inner calm of one who walks daily with Him] be the controlling factor in your hearts [deciding and settling with all finality all questions that arise in your mind]. To this peace you were called to live as members of Christ’s one body. And be thankful [to God always].” And if you still don’t have peace about a situation, ask the Lord about it. There’s something He is trying to tell you. Don’t make any decisions about a situation until you have peace about that situation. Stay in the word and prayer until you get the answer from Him and you know how to proceed. * THOUGHTS & EMOTIONS ARE CONNECTED. One causes the other. We don’t ever think of them as separate, because they are not. Thought causes emotions; and emotions cause further thoughts. We are separating them in this study as a matter of study. And if we continue ruminating on a thought it creates a pattern, a “habit”, in our mind to continue thinking on those things which stirs up powerful feelings. Scientifically it has been proven (https://qz.com/1569158/neuroscientists-read-unconscious-brain-activity-to-predict-decisions ) - that if you take a thought for 10-11 seconds a pattern is created in the brain and a decision is made, thus an action and words occur next. This is why it is so crucial to be aware of our thoughts BEFORE a pattern is created in the brain. A habit. A proverbial “groove” if you will, like a groove in a record. When we stop the thought that is contrary to the word of God before 11 seconds, we stop the pattern from ever forming. It’s much easier to deal with thoughts quickly. It takes more time to uproot and change patterns in the brain. No matter which way we have to go, we got the victory through Christ Jesus. And it is the same simple way of casting down the thought in Jesus Name and replacing that thought with the word of God that pertains to the situation. As we take authority over our emotions and thoughts when they are out of line with the Word our mind gets more and more renewed, so does the emotions. We won’t be an emotional rollercoaster but on a steady, even keel that is hard to get flustered or flare out in situations. For example: in an emergency, a crisis situation - people either become paralyzed, or cry, or scream and yell profanity. This is the common reaction and is evidence that those people do not have any word in them. It is the Spirit man that is supposed to take over. But they have nothing in their spirit, no word. Their mind shuts down and they don’t know what to do and their emotions get flustered and flare. Another aspect for renewing our minds and emotions is that it is crucial for healing emotional scars. This is where being “hurt” comes from. Our “hearts hurt” because of an emotional scar because we “see” ourselves as our emotions. But we are not. That’s what the phrase means: “Don’t take it so personally.” Taking the emotional hurt personally - as if it is us. It is simply an emotion we have. This is why we have to renew our minds, how we think of ourselves and “see” ourselves. The way we think about that situation will create a bigger groove of hurt in our emotions and causes us to not forgive. We are new creatures. Old things have passed away and ALL has become new! And we forgive because Jesus told us to. It keeps us in contact with the Lord. If we harbor unforgiveness we separate ourselves from the love of God. He can’t get to us because there is a “barrier” in between us and Him and we were the ones that put it there…and we can “take it down” too, simply by forgiving…on purpose - Mark 11:25-26. We have to retrain our thoughts by be disciplined in forgiving that person instead of harboring resentment, pray for them, bless them in Jesus Name. This will take a few days just like any retraining of our thinking. It is the same process. If we will change our tendency to see ourselves as our emotions we won’t be so flighty; instead more stable, consistent. Plus we are commanded to forgive: Ephesians 4:32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. When we don’t control our emotions we will 100% of the time get “off”. It’s the realm the enemy uses a lot. It’s one of the major fields he attacks. Attacks our minds, attacks our emotions, attacks our personalities, attacks the will power. * Here’s one more part to look at regarding dealing with the soul, and specifically our feelings and thoughts, AND how it relates to the will: Jesus at Gethsemane - He was struggling with His own soul! Matt. 26: 36-46 - Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, “Sit here while I go and pray over there.” And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. TPT - 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. “ 39. The he walked a short distance away, and overcome with grief, he threw himself facedown 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. Luke 22:39-44 -42 - Father, if you’re are willing, take this cup of agony away from me. But no matter what your will must be mine. 44. He prayed even more passionately, like one being sacrificed, until he was in such intense agony of spirit that His sweat became drops of blood, dripping onto the ground. Agony: (Merriam-Websters) - 1. A. intense pain of mind or body; anguish, torture. B. The struggle that precedes death. A violent struggle or contest. 3. A strong sudden display, outburst. In this instance we see Jesus struggle with His own soul - thoughts and emotions - He surrendered His will to His Father. Not Jesus’ will but God’s will. Will power is the “chooser”. This is crucial in times of crisis. If it wasn’t for the fact that Jesus had so much word in Him (He is the word made flesh - John 1:1-4,14), He wouldn’t have been able to make HIs will submit to God the Father. That is the only way we can do this ourselves. We have to have the word in us, abiding in us - John 15:7. Sometimes the Lord may show you something terrible that you have to face, but that you need to go through it. Just like He did with Paul and Peter. They knew the what was going to happen. The Father always has a very good reason. We may not understand it yet but He will reveal it to us. And He gives you the faith to get through it. For example, there was a man who knew he was going to prison. He had done nothing wrong and had been set up. But the Lord told him that He wanted him to go, there was something for him to do there. The man was sent to prison. And once the man was in jail the Lord told him to minister to other inmates. Eventually he began a prison ministry with the inmates in his jail and many came to know the Lord!!! At the beginning of the situation it looked like that the entire thing was wrong. This man had been set up. It wasn’t right. Same as Jesus. Jesus was set up. It wasn’t right. But there was a purpose!!!! And the man who was sent to jail was the means of the Lord being sent to those in prison and “setting them free”. One statement I heard was from one of the inmates who came to the Lord though this man’s ministry, the guy was in for a life sentence, he said how much he thanked Jesus for loving him enough to come in to where he was, and no matter what it looks likes, he was freer than he could ever be even when he was on the outside. “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free…whom the Son sets free is free indeed!!” (John 8:32, 36.) This man is set free! Even though to the outside world it looks like he is not. No matter the massive battle Jesus had with His soul, His emotions and thoughts, and submitting His will to God’s will, Jesus’s death and resurrection was for saving all of mankind! That’s why He said on the cross before He gave up His Spirit: “It is finished.” * 4. PERSONALITY We don’t have to be chained or imprisoned by our personality either! Glory to God!! That’s why we have to renew our minds with who Jesus Christ says we are. We are not our personalities or what others have said about “who we are”. And we do not have to be a prisoner of either one in our behavior. All parts of our Soul are something we have. It is not who we are. We are to take control of our Soul’s through the word by “who” God says we are. Personality is the most difficult area to change because it is a foundation of how we identify ourselves. When you “see” yourself at “that” thing, you don’t think it can change. But it can!! Once you grasp that so much of our personality is learned behavior, it then makes it easier. Those parts to the personality are not “you” and they can change. Praise God we have been delivered from our personality as well as sin, sickness, destruction, poverty and such things. (Galatians 3:13-14; Romans 8:1-2; Deuteronomy 28.) No matter what has gone on in a believer’s mind and becomes their personality, and the decisions they have made for themselves is not necessarily true. When you use the word of God to change ungodly thinking, those previous “identities” make no difference….but you have to know this. You have to change your automatic thinking on purpose WITH the Word. Cast down those thoughts in the Name of Jesus and replace it with what the word days about that situation. That’s the only thing that can change it! When your personality is telling you will never be good enough, or you can’t excel because your not smart enough, or whatever you have “made” your identity; then the devil jumps in and bombards your thoughts with even more bad news of telling you how bad you are, WITH fear - when he shows up there is ALWAYS fear - tell your thoughts, the fear, and the devil, OUT LOUD, “No! I refuse that thought! That is not who I am!! God so loved me that He gave Jesus to die for me!! He gave me His righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21), if you don’t like it take it up with Him! I’m a new creature! OLD THINGS have GONE AWAY!!! ALL has become NEW and all things are of Father God Who is in me!! THE mighty God is in me and He continuously gives me life and that more abundantly! (John 10:10.). And I do NOT have the spirit of fear BUT of power, love, and a sound mind!” (2 Timothy 1:7.) There is one more element when we are dealing with re-training the personality. Those deep ingrained belief systems have spiritual “cords”. Since the thoughts are not “truth” - truth is the word of God (John 17:17), and the word gives faith according to Romans 10:17 - and whatsoever is not of faith is sin (Romans 14:23), that means those programmed identities are “sin”. Sin has cords. Take a look at a few scriptures: Psalm 129:1-4 - “They have greatly oppressed me from my youth”…they have greatly oppressed me from my youth, but they have not gained the victory over me. Plowmen have plowed my back and made their furrows long. But the Lord is righteous; He has cut me free from the cords of the wicked. “They” are the “wicked” which always refers to the devil and his hordes. Remember they exist in the soul and physical realm. They don’t have the victory over you unless you allow it. And they attack from our youth. It’s imperative as a parent to watch your kids and what they say!!!!! You can tell if they are being attacked! Even at 4 or 5 years old. Pay attention to what they say and let the Lord lead you. And the last sentence of that scripture is amazing: The Lord is righteous and He has cut me free from the cords of the wicked. Because when we are attacked by the devil, if he is “allowed” because we play with the thoughts he gives us because we think they are our own, then he ties us up spiritually with cords. Often it is called “bondage” in the word. Look at Isaiah 5:18 - Woe to those who draw sin along with cords of deceit, and wickedness as with cart ropes. When we don’t realize that we are in bondage with cords of sinful thoughts our life becomes more and more miserable. We have the same terrible cycles occurring in our lives and become more and more desperate. That’s because we are believing a lie and the lie attaches to us with cords. Psalm 107:13-14 - They cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them out of their distresses. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and broke away their chains (cords). When we identify a part to our personality that needs to change, we first find all the scriptures about that subject matter and write them down. This is “who” you really are. This will take more than an hour. Give yourself a few days or so to do this. Then when you’re ready, with your Bible and the scriptures you’ve written out, you are going to pray. You are going to “repent” which means “change your thinking” about the former way of thinking and cut all cords to those thoughts to you and everything that belongs to you. Doesn’t have to be these exact words but something like this: “Father God, in the mighty Name of Jesus, I am so sorry for having ungodly thoughts that I made my identity. I repent of that in Jesus Name. I cut all cords to those thoughts and to all they are attached to and I thank You Jesus for shattering the chains of bondage to those thoughts. I am free!! Now I see in Your word that I am: (read off the scriptures you found). I am what You say I am because You made me this way!!! You have blessed me and I thank You for it. Holy Spirit I ask that you let me know if I do that again. And I thank You for it.” * Our “Conscious ” is a part of the soul. We are instructed not to violate our conscious or anyone else’s. As we grow up in spiritual things our conscience grows as well: 1 Corinthians 8:10-13 TPT - For if a believer with a weak conscience sees you, who have a greater understanding, dining in an idol’s temple, won’t this be a temptation to him to violate his own conscience and eat food offered to idols? So, in effect, by exercising your understanding of freedom, you have ruined this for a believer, a brother for whom Christ has died! And when you offend weaker believers by wounding their consciences in this way, you also sin against Christ. So I conclude that if my eating certain food deeply offends my brother and hinders his advance in Christ, I will never eat it again. I don’t want to be guilty of causing my brother or sister to be wounded and defeated. It’s important to abide by what our conscious is telling us. Otherwise if we violate it, it is the same as sin against the Lord. And we don’t want to cause our fellow brothers and sisters to stumble. We have a responsibility to the Lord for this, as He had said, for each other. The Lord showed me during the writing of this - 3 John 2 - “Beloved, I wish above all things that you would prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers.” He said that when our minds are not renewed (soul) we cannot prosper nor can we be in health. If we see ourselves struggle with money and health, we know what the problem is. The Soul, our mind needs to be renewed! The Word will show us when our soul is getting out of line and differentiating between Soul and the Spirit. The Holy Spirit teaches you these things. Ask Him questions, tell Him all the questions that arise in your mind. He will let you know what is what. He will show you what is coming from the Spirit and what is Soulish. Forget about the “thinking” that He already knows it all. Yes, He does. And when we talk with Him about the things we are questioning it clears us up. The Holy Spirit shows you what is going on. It’s so cool when He does this!!! 1 Peter 1:22 - Seeing you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that you love one another with a pure heart fervently. *** CHAPTER FIVE: MORE ON THE SPIRIT Proverbs 20:27 The spirit is the lamp of the Lord that sheds light on one’s inmost being. When we give God our priority, prioritize Him in our Spirit, He sheds light on our inmost being and every situation we give to Him. This is how we have “light” on the situation - Him. He is light, the light of this world. (1 John 1:5 & John 8:12.) As we press into Him we allow Him to lead us - Proverbs 3:5-6 says Trust in the Lord with all your heart; lean not to your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your path. So we make a choice to not lean to our understanding - our thinking - and always acknowledge Him. It makes everything easier. Relying on Him for His direction for every situation rather than our own thoughts and feelings is freeing…absolutely liberating. Yes, it is hard to first start this because of our habits but habits can be changed and once we do it gets easier each time, and we eventually realize how limited we were before relying on the Lord, when we just guessed at everything in life. We don’t have to do it alone and we aren’t in this alone. We were never intended to be. God always wants to help, He is the lover of our Spirit, Soul, and Body - our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Temple. This why we undergo specific judgements for things done to our bodies if we do not repent - 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 (The Holy of Holies is within us, where the Holy Spirit dwells. The Holy of Holies was the inner sanctuary where God’s presence dwelled. That’s IN us!! God’s presence is IN us. Have people ever told you “you just light up a room.” That’s God in you! In the temple the high priest could only go into the Holy of Holies once a year. And the holiness of God could only be accessed by the high priest once per year with a veil between him and God, a barrier (representing sin). God’s eyes are too pure to look on evil (sin)- Habakkuk 1:13. The priest with the veil and the elaborate customs (ordination) put in place by God were a reminder that man could not carelessly or irreverently enter God’s awesome presence. Before the priest entered the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement, he had to wash himself, put on special clothing, bring burning incense to let the smoke cover his eyes form a direct view of God and bring sacrificial blood with him to make atonement for sins - Exodus 28 and Hebrews 9:7. He has saved us from all of the torment of this world. God is not the tormentor. He IS love and kindness, just, peacemaker, life, light and so much more. Jeremiah 31:3 - “…I have loved you with an everlasting love, therefore I have continued My faithfulness to you.” His absolute holiness is within us. It is the Lord who speaks with us out of our innermost being, deep in your belly. At times the words seem to come up from our belly, the upper part where the rib cage opens, and the words will move from there to deep within our head, not from the outside in. Sometimes we will hear His still, small voice (1 Kings 18:19-20) from within us. When He speaks, He always speaks according the word. He may use modern terminology but there are always scriptures that go with what He is telling you. If you don’t know the scripture off hand when He speaks, ask Him for one. He always gives at least one. John 4:24 - God is a Spirit: and those that worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and truth. We know His Word is truth (John 17:17). So we worship Him in the Spirit and in the Word, and as we do this the Holy Spirit reveals things through His Word about what is going on with us- are we wrapped up in our Soul in a mental game of gymnastics, or are we operating in the Spirit, or are we trapped in our flesh (Body). This is the only way to find out. Stay in the Spirit worshiping God being led in the Word. Not led by the Soul or Flesh. You can always tell by the fruit your life is producing. As we worship Him, we shut off our physical senses (Bodies) - that’s why it’s important to close your eyes so you don’t respond to the sense realm; and we tell our Souls (mind and emotions) to “keep quiet.” Stay focused on His majesty. His beauty. There’s nothing like it! THIS is who we are! We are our God-given-recreated Spirit. Our Spirit-man. Made in the image of God in connection with Him. We are who God says we are: we are more than conquerors though Him who loved us; and there’s no condemnation to us who walk after the Spirit and we walk after the Spirit - we follow Him; therefore we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us; it’s Christ in us, He does the work and greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world; the law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus has made us free from the law of sin and death; if God be for us who can be against us!! (Romans 8:1-2, 31, 37; Colossians 1:27; Zechariah 4:6; Philippians 4:13; 1 John 4:4) Galatians 5:15 - Walk in the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. John 6:63 - It is the Spirit that gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I speak unto you are Spirit and they are life. Always keep “feeding” on the word. It gives life. We don’t want to put our Spirit man on a diet or starve him. We want to keep him well-fed, and we do it with the word: Matthew 4:4 - But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” *** CHAPTER SIX: CONCLUSION The crucial part is to put the examples to work in your life so that God IN your Spirit has dominion over your Body and Soul. We have to “choose“ this on purpose. We ARE a Spirit; we HAVE a Soul; and we LIVE in Body to contact this world. Being made in the image of God, it makes sense. He is in three parts: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And what I love about that scripture in 1 Thessalonians 5 (on first page) is that God, who is the God of peace is the One who preserves us!!!! He preserves us blameless! Unto the Rapture! That’s shouting ground right there. And the following scriptures sum it up nicely: James 1:22-23 - But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving your own hearts (souls). Matt. 7:24-27 - Therefore whoever has these saying of mine, and does them, I will liken him unto a wise man, who built his house upon a rock: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it did not fall because it had its foundation on the rock (from doing what was heard in the Word). But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell: and great was the fall of it. James 2:22-24, 26 - You see that his (Abraham) faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. [Faith not joined with action leaves room for doubt to fill that void. Which makes us double minded.] And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone. For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. Phil 4:6-8 TPT - Don’t be pulled in different directions or worried about a thing. Be SATURATED IN PRAYER THROUGHOUT EACH DAY, OFFERING YOUR FAITH-FILLED REQUESTS BEFORE GOD WITH OVERFLOWING GRATITUDE. Tell Him every detail of your life, then God’s wonderful peace that transcends human understanding, will make the answers known to you through Jesus Christ. So keep your thoughts continually fixed on all that is authentic and real, honorable and admirable, beautiful and respectful, pure and holy, merciful and kind. And fasten your thoughts on every glorious word of God, praising Him always. *** SCRIPTURE REFERENCES Alphabetical by Subject Beast-like Nature: Daniel 5:21; 2 Peter 2:12; Jude 1:10; Psalm 49:12, 20; James 1:23-26; Romans 8 flesh vs. Spirit. Choices: Deuteronomy 30:19-20; Proverbs 18:21; follow the flesh or the Spirit, outcomes: Deuteronomy 28 and Romans 8; Genesis 2:17. God: Luke 24:39; Romans 6:4; 1 Peter 1:21; 1 Corinthians 6:17; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 1 John 2:20,27; John 10:27-28; Hebrews 1:3; Proverbs 3:5-6; John 1:1-4, 14; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Hebrews 12:29; 1 Kings 18:38-39; John 4:23-24; 1 Corinthians 14:33; Job 5:13; Psalm 94:11; John 8:32, 36; Habakuk 1:13; Exodus 33:18-23; Exodus 28; Hebrews 9:27; Jeremiah 31:3; 1 Kings 18:19-20; Colossians 1:27; Zechariah 4:6; 1 John 4:4; Mark 11:25-26; see also James 13-15; 1 John 1:5; John 8:12. Scripture/The Word: John 1; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; John 17:17; Hebrews 4:12; Hebrews 1:3; Psalm 1:2; Romans 10:17 and Romans 14:23; John 6:63; Matthew 4:4; James 1:22-23; Matthew 7:24-27; James 2:22-24, 26; John 15:7. Spirit of God (Holy Spirit): 1 Corinthians 2:-9-14; Romans 8; Galatians 5; 1 Corinthians 12-14; John 14:18, 26-27; John 16:7-15, 33; Psalm 141:3; Psalm 139:23-24; 1 Corinthians 3:16; John 6:63; Proverbs 20:27; Ephesians 1:17-18; 1 John 1:5; John 8:12; see also John 7:37-39. Spirit, Soul, Body, Heart: James 1:12-16 ; 2 Corinthians 10:3-6; 1 Thessalonians 5:23; Hebrews 4:12; Psalm 64:6; 2 Corinthians 4:14; Romans 2:29; Matthew 26:41; Ephesians 2:3; Romans 6:6,16; 1 Corinthians 9:24-27; Philippians 4:13; Philippians 4:6-8; 2 Corinthians 5:17-18, 21; Matthew 12:34; Proverbs 4:20-27; 1 Corinthians: 15:51-53; Galatians 3:13-14; Romans 13:14; Proverbs 18:21; 1 Corinthians 8:1, 10-13; 1 Corinthians 3:18-20; Romans 12:2; Job 5:13; Psalm 94:11; Matthew 12:33; John 15:2; 1 Timothy 1:19; Colossians 3:15 Amplified; Ephesians 4:32; Matthew 26:36-46; Luke 22:39-44; 3 John 1:2; Proverbs 3:5-6; 1 Corinthians 3:16-17; Galatians 5:15; John 6:63; Romans 14:23; James 2:22-24, 26; Romans 13:14; 1 Peter 1:22. Warfare, devil: Genesis 2:17; 2 Corinthians 10:3-6; Luke 10:17-19; Proverbs 5:21-23; Isaiah 5:18; Psalm 107:13-14; Psalm 140:5; Psalm 129:1-4; John 10:10; 2 Timothy 1:7 (“fear” is a spirit); James 4:7; 1 Peter 5:6-10; Matthew 18:18; Ephesians 6:12; Job 1:6-7; Job 2:1-2; see also Isaiah 14:9-17; Ezekiel 28:11-17; Revelation 12:7-12; Genesis 3; Genesis 6; Psalm 110:1 with Romans 16:20; Psalm 91; 2 Thessalonians 3:3; 2 Timothy 4:18; Isaiah 54:17; Psalm 2:1-4; 1 John 4:4; 1 John 5:4.

What are spiritual cords, all relationships have cords, decisions have cords, decisions have reactions, repeating cycles, why do cycles repeat Cords - (yeah, it's a thing) Article below. For downloadable PDF click link below. PDF Cords Yeah, this is a thing. I know…who knew? Let’s take a look at what scripture has to say about it then how to tell if you are dealing with this and how to pray about these things. Proverbs 5:21-23 - “21 For your ways are in full view of the Lord, and He examines all your paths. 22 The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare them; the cords of their sins hold them fast. 23 For lack of discipline they will die, led astray by their own great folly” Hosea 11:4 - “I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love. To them I was like one who lifts a little child to the cheek, and I bent down to feed them.” Isaiah 5:18 - “Woe to those who draw sin along with cords of deceit, and wickedness as with cart ropes,” Psalm 107:13-14 - “Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them from their distress. 14 He brought them out of darkness, the utter darkness, and broke away their chains.” Psalm 140:5 - “The arrogant have hidden a snare for me; they have spread out the cords of their net and have set traps for me along my path.” Job 30:11 - ESV “Because God has loosed my cord and humbled me, they have cast off restraint in my presence.” Ecclesiastes 12:6-7 - “6 Remember him—before the silver cord is severed, and the golden bowl is broken; before the pitcher is shattered at the spring, and the wheel broken at the well, 7 and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.” Hebrews 12:29 - “or our God is a consuming fire.” As you can see from the scriptures there are different types of cords. Some are good and some are bad. The two main types are cords of sin and traps or snares that have cords. Sin has cords. This is the most common one we have to deal with. Case in point, when there is recurring sin that you can’t seem to stop - a cycle that keeps repeating - it usually has a cord. It can also have a demon that is attached to you with that very same cord. Even if you’re repented of the sin, been studying scripture to change your thinking, but you still find the sin recurs. That is a cord. And cords can attach demons to a particular behavior. You know there’s a demon when you “can’t stop.” The other is a trap or snare. These are put in place by the devil. But he can’t place a trap unless we have created an opening or it is time for a test. Many times the openings come from our thought life. If we haven’t been taking our thoughts captive as 2 Corinthians 5:3-6 says, and mulling something over repeatedly the Lord may allow a test, or if we have started to speak what has been going on in our thoughts, then that creates an opening for the devil to throw something at us. There are also cords with relationships, whether it is a friendship, partnership in business, or romantic - all have cords. If the relationship was toxic, there were cords. If the relationship was romantic and is someone you just can’t “seem” to get over and you think of them a lot, may even have depression from it - there’s cords. All these things hang on with cords. Anything that is “plaguing” you is a cord. How to get rid of them: Ask for forgiveness of the sin and receive it. As Ecclesiastes 12:6-7 says, sever the cord(s) in Jesus Name, and loose all demons attached. Hebrews 12:29 - With the mighty fire of God Almighty, or sometimes I say the Fire of the Holy Spirit, I call the fire of God to burn up the cords and all residue of them. Like 1 Kings 18:30-39 says, His fire consumed the sacrifice with not only the animal but the wood, water, stones, and earth it was upon. There was nothing left! Ask the Lord to show you when your thoughts are going off track and take them captive in Jesus Name, cast them down, & replace with the Word of God regarding that matter.

Who is God; Who is Jesus; Jesus Christ and what He's done, Savior, Son of God, How you see Jesus, Your life reflects what you believe, God, Jesus, Are they real, Isn't the Bible just stories, Authority, Bible, Teaching, Belief, Faith, Love, How Great Is Your Jesus? How Great Is Your Jesus? PDF Do you truly know how BIG and HOW GREAT God is? This is a serious question to ask ourselves. If we don't get how big He is and what He's done for us, we can never show it in our lives. And if we can't show it then we haven't truly received it. Isaiah is a great book to see how big God is! In your time read chapters 33-35, 40 ; and Job chapters 38-41 is God speaking of Who He is and some of the things He has done. But here we will look at: Isaiah 35:2-4 "...they will see the glory of the Lord, the splendor of our God. Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; say to those with fearful hearts, 'Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, He will dome with vengeance; with divine retribution He will come to save you.'" Isaiah 40:12-14 "Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, or with the breadth of His hand marked off the heavens? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance? Who can fathom the Spirit of the Lord, or instruct the Lord as His counselor? Whom did the Lord consult to enlighten Him, and who taught Him the right way? Who was it that taught Him knowledge, or showed Him the path of understanding?" Of course this is rhetorical. No one did this but Him. And HE IS IN YOU!!! As you know Him more, more of Him you will reflect! Because you Cannot Reflect From Within You Qualities Of The Lord If You Haven’t Truly Received Them. He Is In You - All Of Him but Do You Let Him Show Out From Within You? We know God is Love. He has mercy, grace and all that… but He is Love. Jesus and The Father are One. It is this immeasurable Love that Jesus has for the Father and for us that is equal to the immeasurable Power of Jesus. So, as we cannot measure His Love; we also have no ability to measure His Power. His vast Love and His vast Power are immeasurable. It is absolute and vast. And that is what is living inside of you, but His Power it is ruled by Love. That is the ultimate Love. It is written “Love conquers all things.” not just a couple things, everything. God is Love. We are talking about the God kind of Love, not man’s type of love that tends to be self centered. We are talking about the true Agape Love that caused Him to sacrificed everything to bring man back to Him. It was not an easy sacrifice. His sacrifice was more than equal to His Love. When we start dealing with the Love of God, the Love that He has for man is sometimes mind boggling to see how vast and deep it is. Start tuning into His Love. When you start to see who you are in Him, in Christ (the Anointed One and His Anointing) and in His Love, it changes your idea of yourself forever. Check out what that anointing is. When you start exhibiting that anointing in you and in your life, you are tapping into the immeasurable Love of God. Then you have no problem finding your identity in Him. It’s been an identity problem with the modern day christian in America. They have no idea who they are. It takes study in scripture and in prayer.Dedicating yourself to your pursuit of finding out who you are in Christ. It comes only with your determination and dedication so you can live up to who you are in Jesus, but when you do that, life is an adventure. This power can only be executed with your understanding of that power with in you. Ephesians 3: 20-21 Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen. How much power is at work in you? This is major! In your alone time with Jesus ask Him how you can increase His Power in you. Then do what He says. This will take your spiritual walk to another level. 1 John 3:2-3 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. 3 And every man that has this hope in him purifies Himself, even as He is pure. I know that it’s an easy thing to say but I would like to give you an insight as to how this can be accomplished. The thing that the Lord judges is our hearts. We know what is in our hearts by our thoughts, by our words and by our deeds. It is written, Out of the treasure of our heart the mouth speaks. But let’s go even further than that by noting the thoughts arising from our heart. So when you start looking at what your are thinking as well as saying and doing, and judging yourself in these three areas, you will see the weak areas you need to build yourself up in on the Word to become strong. Any thought that doesn’t line up with God’s Word, you cast that down as a vain imagination and replace it with the Word of God that applies. So when you start cleaning up your thought life, your words will start to be cleaned up. What I mean by “cleaned” is anything that is contrary to the Word of God. I am not speaking about foul language or sexual thoughts, I’m talking about thoughts and words contrary to God’s Word. Thoughts of despair and failure, self condemnation and anxiety. When you start to clean up your thoughts, words and deeds by lining them up with the Word of God then you will become pure as He is pure. A bride without spot or blemish. God will then turn up His Power in you. He cannot turn up His Power within you if your thoughts and words are contrary to His. We already have the Mind of Christ. We got that when we were born again. This is about us working out our salvation with fear and trembling. This is how it’s done. It is a job. It is a job of a disciple to become more and more like Him. When we dig deep, and become determined to be holy as He is holy we can look forward with gladness that when we are face to face with Him, we will be uniquely the same. We think His thoughts, we feel what He feels. We feel the grief and the hurt of those who are lost. We feel that! We feel the grief and the hurt of the backslidden. They are in areas that do not have to be. They are in such defeat they don’t even know that they are losing. When we see that, we drop down to our knees and pray, “Lord send Your Spirit to open their minds open their hearts so that they can see who they are and where they are.” If they would judge themselves and correct that, then revelation comes as a powerful flood upon them. God is revelation Himself. When you put yourself in that position by purifying your life that’s how you turn up the Power of God within you. That’s how you turn up the Love of God within you. That’s how you are able to pray revival in your community, in your state, in your country. That is how you have dominion and authority. 1 John 4:4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world. This is all predicated on you. How great is Jesus in you? How great is the anointing in you? They will not increase until you increase Jesus within you. When you increase the knowledge of His Word, when you increase your obedience to His leading by the Holy Spirit, when you increase all of these things, then Jesus can truly be greater than. You are the one that makes Him greater than. Those out there that are prayer warriors who get worried about coming up against “that” strongman or “this” strongman, shows how great Jesus is in you. The greater Jesus is within you, there is nothing in all creation that you come up against that should have you worried. Jesus is greater. But you are the one that makes Him greater. Nobody else, you. Ask yourself, “How great is Jesus in me?” How you view Jesus affects everything in your life. You need to come to the realization that you are the deciding factor. Your thoughts, your words, your deeds are the deciding factor on how great Jesus is in you. How great is His Power in you? How great is His Name in you. How great is His Blood in you? You and only you decide that. 1 John 4:4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world. Genesis 1:26 “And 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 fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” Luke 1: 30-33 And the angel said to her, Fear not, Mary: for you have found favor with God. And, behold, you shall conceive in your womb, and bring forth a son, and shall call His Name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David: And He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of His kingdom there shall be no end. John 15:4-7 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can you, except you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches: He that abides in Me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit: for without Me you can do nothing. If a man abide not in Me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you. 1 John 4:15-16 Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwells in Him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God has to us. God is love; and he that dwells in love dwells in God, and God in him. 2 Corinthians 6:16 And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God; as God has said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. John 10:30 I and My Father are One. John 17:10-1, 20-23 And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine; and I am glorified in them. And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Thine Own Name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one, as We are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your Name: those that You gave Me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled. 20-23 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on Me through their word; That they all may be one; as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be one in Us: that the world may believe that You have sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them; that they may be one, even as We are One: I in them, and You in Me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them, as You have loved Me.

can you lose your salvation, once saved always saved, eternal salvation, life after, life after death Can You Lose Your Salvation? Let's see what the Word of God has to say about it. Article below or click link for PDF. PDF Can You Lose Your Salvation? Let’s see what God has to say about it in His Word. His Word is truth and the only thing that matters. It is HIM speaking TO you. God’s Word is for instruction and correction (2 Tim. 3:16). 1 Peter 1:23 For you have been born again , not of perishable seed, but of imperishable , through the living and enduring word of God. God’s Word is imperishable and that is the Word that we believed. It never goes away. Trust Him . 2 Cor. 5:17-19 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature . Old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, Who has reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and has given to us t he ministry of reconciliation; That God was reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them ; and has committed unto us the word of reconciliation. This is not only for sins of the past. This is of ALL sin. And He is Faithful to do it. Trust God . 1 Peter 2:1-3 Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation , now that you have tasted that the Lord is good . 1 Peter (all of the Epistles) is written to believers. Isaiah 12:2 Surely God is my salvation; I will trust God, and not be afraid . The LORD, the LORD himself, is my strength and my defense; He has become my salvation. Ephesians 1:13 In Whom you also trusted , after that you heard the Word of Truth, the good news of your salvation; in Whom also after you believed were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise . 2 Cor. 1:20-22 For all the promises of God in him are “yes”, and in Him “Amen” (“so be it”), unto the glory of God by us. Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. 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. Ephesians 4:30 And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby you are sealed unto the Day of Redemption. Did you know that doubting your salvation or believing you can lose your salvation grieves the Holy Spirit? Repent, for the Day of the Lord is at hand. Ephesians 6:17 is taking the helmet of salvation…for what? Like 2 Cor. 10:3-6 says to protect our thoughts from lies against the truth of God. Salvation is eternal . Anything that pops up in our heads or to our heads that says we lose our salvation is a lie. We cast down that lying thought with the Word of God just like Jesus did in the wilderness when He was tempted by the devil. Jesus spoke to those lying thoughts and visions. If you are having a hard time because you still believe that you can lose your salvation then get on your face before our great and holy God and ask Him to reveal it to you. The root of the unbelief is not trusting God and trusting His love. Get quiet before Him so you can hear what He has to say within you. Read John 3 ; Ephesians 1-3 ; Galatians ; 1 Cor. chapters 1-2 ; 5:1-5 and chapter 15 ; 2 Cor. 1 and 5 , and Romans ...even Hebrews chapters 7-9 until you know, that you know that God has said over and over again in His Word that you cannot lose your salvation.

Being a parent, How to be a Godly parent, God, Jesus, Bible, How do I do this, Rules of being a parent, Being a Parent PDF Article is below. For downloadable PDF link click button. Being a Parent “The family should be a closely-knit group. The home should be a self-contained shelter of security; a kind of school where life’s basic lessons are taught; and a kind of church where God is honored; a place where wholesome recreation and simple pleasures are enjoyed.” ~ Billy Graham “You want to mess up the minds of your children? Here’s how – guaranteed! Rear them in a legalistic, tight context of external religion, where performance is more important than reality. Fake your faith. Sneak around and pretend your spirituality. Train your children to do the same. Embrace a long list of do’s and don’ts publicly but hypocritically practice them privately… yet never own up to the fact that it’s hypocrisy. Act one way but live another. And you can count on it – emotional and spiritual damage will occur.” ~ Charles (Chuck) Swindoll The biblical role of a parent is to be a steward of God’s children. God is God, no need for you to step into His place in our children’s life. Only God knows what each child was created to be and do. Stewardship Just as a manager or steward doesn’t own what they are put in charge of, we don’t own our children. Our children belong to God and we are entrusted with their care for a period of time. And we will be held accountable for the care we give them. When they are first born dedicate them to God and formally place yourself in the position of their steward before God. Commit to raising them in the fear and admonition of the Lord. If you were not born again at their birth, make this the first thing you do after being saved yourself, no matter how old they are. When you pray for them as a parent you have authority in the spirit realm over them that no on else has. If your children are older when you received the Lord do this anyways, no matter what it looks like. This even applies to step children. Another aspect of parenting is relying on the Holy Spirit to guide you in your prayers over your children. Listen carefully to His leading. He knows the things your children are facing or will face in the future. You are standing in the gap for them. I cannot stress how important this is to the welfare of your children. There were so many times I was praying for my child and the Lord was bringing certain scriptures to my attention to pray over her only to find out later that she faced an attack and was able to overcome it by the scriptures I stood on for her safety and welfare. More than once they saved her life. Wisdom and guidance is the key. Pray for wisdom and guidance as you raise your children. Rely on the Holy Spirit. Ask God to help you to lead them in His ways and in the manner that He wants you to lead them. You are a steward of them, and it's not a responsibility to take lightly and has great accountability on our part. Children learn by example. Children will copy what you do, not what you say. You need to walk it like you talk it. The very first time that I heard the Lord’s voice audibly, Jesus said “Teach her to pray.” I was born again and just got Holy Spirit filled. I was in my bedroom on my knees praying to the Lord. I sensed someone in front of me so I opened my eyes and there was my five year old daughter. I immediately obeyed the Lord and started to teach her to pray. She has always been a blessing to me as well as to others each and every day. If you want your children to know God you must show them by example. The parent-child relationship is the pattern that God uses to demonstrate our relationship with Him. Let your children see that you ask Father God for direction in all matters of life. Let them observe and hear you pray for them. Let them get used to you thanking the Lord and praising Him, especially for answered prayer. Let them be active in your prayer life. Teach them to pray and talk to the Lord. Teach your children to pray so if their little hearts feel heavy they can go to God and not to the world. Proverbs 22:6 KJV “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Always, always, always, tell your children how much you love and treasure them. This lays the foundation for them to accept that God loves them and treasures them. Let them know that they are a blessing from God. Psalm 127:3 NLT “Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from Him.” Not only should you demonstrate this principle, but you should frequently talk about how much God loves them. When you hug them, tell your child this truth that “God knows them and loves them — in fact, He knows them and loves them even more than you do!” Reminding your child that God loves them is the first step to help your child know Jesus and understand the most important principle of the gospel. God is Love! Ephesians 6:4 “but bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord” Buy age appropriate books about Jesus and read with your children. Fellowship with them in Bible stories. As they get older share scriptures with them that the Lord gave you revelation on. Make it a habit to fellowship with them in things regarding the Lord. Make this a way of life. This is especially true if the children are older. Always share what the Lord is doing for you and saying to you. It doesn’t matter if they want to hear it or not. You are making Jesus a reality by your life. Deuteronomy 6:6-7 “These Words I am commanding you today must be kept in mind, 7 and you must teach them to your children and speak of them as you sit in your house, as you walk along the road, as you lie down, and as you get up.” Proverbs 29:15-17 “To discipline a child produces wisdom, but a mother is disgraced by an undisciplined child. When the wicked are in authority, sin flourishes, but the Godly will live to see their downfall. Discipline your children, and they will give you peace of mind and will make your heart glad.” The way to demonstrate the gospel as a parent is by having consequences for bad behavior. Each time you patiently remind your child, “that was wrong, and these are the consequences,” you’re demonstrating that there’s a standard by which all behavior can be judged as right or wrong — the standard of God’s Word and His character. Loving Biblical discipline paves the way for the truths that “all have sinned” and “the wages of sin is death”, while true Christian parenting patiently encourages the desire for righteousness within a child. Without the awareness of personal sin and its consequences, a child will never see their need for a Savior. Use the rod sparingly for life lessons to be seared into their brains. Ex: running into traffic, blatant disobedience, etc. It’s fine for them to want to negotiate a decision. However once you have listened to their case and your decision is the same, then negotiation is over and obedience must follow. As they get older, the world will start to call to them. They will be pulled into the world by their peers etc. Remember sin always starts out as a good time. But the wages of sin still pays the same. Death! We may get by with it for a while but judgement will come. You cannot stop it. Sin and its judgement are attached. True repentance is the only way. To change your mind on the sin completely, ask God to forgive you. Receive your forgiveness then move forward with God and a renewed mind. Your attitude towards your child should confirm that fact that no matter if they are being good or being bad you love them unconditionally, just like Father God does. This demonstrates the truth of God’s selfless and unconditional love. Romans 5:8 “ While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” You will make mistakes as a parent, and it’s important to tell your children that. When you mess up, discipline in anger, or are too harsh or not consistent, apologize to your child and tell them that you want to do better, because that’s not how God our Father is with us. Point out that even though you love your child so much and will always try to be the best parent you can for them, God’s love is greater, and His wisdom and discipline is perfect. Remind them that He will always show them unconditional love, no matter what they do. As parents, we can demonstrate how a relationship with God works by talking about how sin affects our relationships. Whenever your child disobeys you or lies to you, and you talk to them about it, explain how it affects your relationship with them. Open up about how, because of the sin, it makes it harder to trust that they are going to do the right thing or tell the truth next time. And while God’s love is unconditional, sin can put a strain on our relationship with Him too. When trust is broken, it’s hard to have a good relationship. In fact, unconfessed sin hardens the sinner’s heart and makes it more likely we will continue in the same, damaging behavior. Hurting us too, not just the relationships we care about. Confessing that the sin was wrong and asking for forgiveness helps your relationship to be better and grow stronger. Confessing sin and asking for forgiveness helps create good relationships with God and other people, demonstrating this principle yourself is even better. When you make a mistake and must ask your child for forgiveness, talk about how your offensive behavior hurt your relationship with them, how asking for forgiveness offers a chance to make it better, and how the confession also makes it less likely you’ll do the same thing again. From there, it becomes very easy to explain that when we sin against God, He doesn’t throw us out of the family, but the sin does hurt our relationship with Him. Confessing our sin and asking for forgiveness activates the truth in: 1John 1:9 “If we confess our sin, God not only forgives us, but He cleanses us from unrighteousness,” Causing the relationship to be restored and for us to sin less. None of us can be perfect, but we’re thankful for the gospel, which shows us how to deal with our sin in a way that’s healthy. Healthy for us, healthy for others, and healthy for our relationship with God. Let your household be one where forgiveness is celebrated! Teaching the gospel in your home, both verbally and, more importantly, with demonstration as a parent is the best way to help your child know Jesus at an early age and understand how a relationship with their Heavenly Father works. When you learn how to raise your children in a Godly way and how to demonstrate the gospel as a parent, you’re teaching your child how to walk in good relationship with God before they ever leave your home. Equipping them in the very best way possible for life ahead. Discipline: This is the part of parenting many don’t like, many disagree on, and many ignore. But we cannot ignore the fact that children need discipline. It may be different for each child, but the fact remains that they need discipline. For example, one child’s form of discipline may be taking privileges away. It doesn’t take much for the child to understand disobedience has consequences and will rarely commit the same offense. Then another child will require more than words to help them understand the consequences of disobedience. A rebellious nature takes a bit more molding and love from parents. You can’t be the push around parent. God didn’t make us to be bossed around by a child who has no idea what God’s Word says about raising them. We must rely on God, His Holy Spirit, and the Word to guide us to discipline our children. God loves us so much that even He disciplines those He loves. We as parents should do the same. Hebrews 12:11 “For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” Proverbs 12:1 “The one who loves discipline loves knowledge, but the one who hates reproof is stupid.” Everything we do sets an example for our children. The way we confront a situation, the way we speak of others, the way we dress, the way we carry ourselves, how we treat others ( are we respectful, polite, and kind). Do we treat our children in this same manner. Our children are watching every move. They are the ones that see us for who we truly are. Do you want to know one of the fastest ways for a child to reject Christianity? A hypocrite Christian parent. We cannot say we love God and live a life that is unpleasant to Him, our children get to witness our walk with Jesus. Contrary to popular belief; it’s not about what makes us happy, but what makes us holy that truly changes our life. It’s not easy, but it’s a blessing to be refined on our walk with Jesus and have our children witness repentance, sacrifice, forgiveness, and love. Just like Jesus. He set an example for us, He’s our Father and walks the talk. Setting an example is crucial for our children and we cannot fail to lean on Jesus! P.S. Just because you’re Christian, doesn’t mean your children are. Even more so, our example is needed. The last thing I want to touch on is provision. When I say this, of course I mean financially but I also mean providing love, patience, a warm home, and all the above we just read together. Providing is not buying everything a child wants. Providing isn’t choosing work over them to make money, (In some situations, it’s the only choice we have to provide the basics but for the average parent, this isn’t the case.) It’s not making sure they have all the things you didn’t get as a child. Provide: To equip or supply someone with (something useful or necessary). That’s one of the definitions I found of the word provide and that’s what we ought to do. Equip our children with what’s necessary. The way God provides for us. He’s always the One we want to look to as an example of how we should provide or what we should provide for our children. Philippians 4:19 “And my God will supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” 1 Timothy 5:8 “But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” 2 Corinthians 12:14 “Here for the third time I am ready to come to you. And I will not be a burden, for I seek not what is yours but you. For children are not obligated to save up for their parents, but parents for their children.” (Paul was father like to Corinth) Psalm 103:13 “As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear Him. Galatians 6:10 “So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.” (This includes our children)

What is the fear of the Lord, Reverance for God, proper way to pray, proper fear of God, honor of God, faith, teaching, Jesus Understanding the Fear of the Lord Article below or click link to download PDF PDF Understanding the Fear of Lord a vital necessity in the life of a Christian Understanding the fear of the Lord is a vital necessity in our daily walk. When praying and fellowshipping with the Lord one day, He said in my spirit “The Fear of The Lord is the path to resurrection power.” That certainly got my attention, however I realized I didn’t really know what the Fear of The Lord truly means to me as a believer and child of God. Proverbs 9:10 says, “The Fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and Knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” Basically, this verse teaches that the Fear of God is foundational to true wisdom ; all other types of learning are worthless unless built upon a knowledge of the Lord Himself. Many other passages talk about the Fear of the Lord. Psalm 111:10 (NKJV) The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments. Proverbs 1:7 (KJV) The Fear of the LORD is the Beginning of Knowledge: But fools despise wisdom and instruction. Proverbs 14:27 The Fear of the LORD is a Fountain of Life, turning a person from the snares of death. Proverbs 15:33 Wisdom’s instruction is to fear the Lord, and humility comes before honor. Before we can understand how the fear of the Lord leads to wisdom, we need to define what the Bible means by “fear” in this context: In Hebrew the word translated “fear” can mean several things. It can refer to the “terror” one feels in a frightening situation. For example: Deuteronomy 2:25 This very day will I begin to put the terror and fear of you upon the nations that are under the whole heaven, who shall hear report of you, and shall tremble, and be in anguish because of you. It can mean “respect” in the way a servant fears his master and serves him faithfully: Joshua 24:14 Now fear the LORD and serve Him in sincerity and in truth (with all faithfulness): and throw away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the Euphrates river, and in Egypt; and serve the LORD. Fear can also denote the “reverence or awe” a person feels in the presence of greatness. Isaiah 6:5 “Woe is me!” I cried. “For I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among people of unclean lips: for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of Hosts. The Fear of the Lord is a combination of all of these: Terror Respect Awe Fear of the Lord can be defined as: “The continual awareness that our loving heavenly Father is watching and evaluating everything we think, say, and do” Matthew 12:36 But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty (idle) word they have spoken. Personally this scripture always gives me a healthy dose of the Fear of The Lord! I make a habit of repenting of idle or empty words and thoughts. This is done in context with: Psalm 103:12 As far as the east is from the west so far has He removed our transgressions from us.” And I ask the Lord to do this over my mouth Psalm 141:3 Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips. Psalm 139:2-4 You know when I sit and when I rise; You perceive my thoughts from afar. (3.) You discern my going out and my lying down; You are familiar with all my ways. (4.) Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely. Jeremiah 12:3 But You know me LORD; You see me and test my heart (thoughts) about You: Drag them off like sheep for the slaughter, and prepare them for the day of slaughter. As Jesus told each of the seven churches in Revelation 2:2 and 3:1, “I know your works.” Nothing escapes His attention. Revelation 2:2 (NKJV) I know your works, and your labour, and your patience, and how thou cannot bear them which are evil: and You have tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and have found them liars: Revelation 3:1 (NKJV) And to the angel of the church in Sardis write; “These things says He that has the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; ‘I know your works, that you have a reputation that your are alive, but you are dead.’” In order to develop the Fear of the Lord, we must recognize God for Who He is. We must glimpse with our spirits the Power, Might, Beauty, and Brilliance of the Lord God Almighty. Revelation 11:17 (NKJV) saying: “We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty, The One Who is and Who was and Who is to come, because You have taken Your great power and reigned. Hosea 12:5 Even the LORD God of hosts; the LORD is his memorial. Isaiah 6:1-5 (NKJV) (1)In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a Throne, high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple. (2)Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he did fly. (3)And one cried unto another, and said, “Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of Hosts: the whole earth is full of His glory.” (4)And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. (5)Then said I, “Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.” Those who fear the Lord have a continual awareness of Him, a deep reverence for Him, and sincere commitment to obey Him. Proverbs 1:7 says, “The Fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” This verse gives us some added insight with its sharp contrast between the wise life and the foolish life. A wise person fears, reverences, and obeys the Lord; a fool despises God’s instruction and cannot be told what to do. The wise person is wise because he has started at the starting place of Fearing The Lord; the fool has no foundation on which to build wisdom. Romans 1:21–22 speaks of those who “neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools.” This is a description of people who try to obtain wisdom while ignoring God—it cannot be done for the simple reason that: God is the source of wisdom. The link between the Fear of God and wisdom means we cannot possess wisdom if we recreate God in our own image. Too many brothers and sisters want to “tame” God into a non-threatening nobody. If we redefine the Lord as “a god” that makes us feel comfortable, a permissive “buddy” who exists simply to bless us and give us what we want, we will not Fear Him in the way He deserves to be feared. The Lord God Almighty is far greater than that, and the Fear of the Lord begins when we see Him in His majesty and power: Revelation 4:11 - “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things, and by Your will they were created and have their being.” Job 42:1–2 (NASB) - “Then Job replied to the Lord, ‘I know that You can do all things, and that no plan is impossible for You.’” The Lord shows Job (and us) a glimpse of His power in Job chapters 38—41 when The Lord God Almighty describes His absolute sovereignty over everything. If you haven’t read those chapters, definitely check them out! The Word is a Spiritual Book! It takes the Holy Spirit within you to open your eyes to it. Therefore, these instructions the Lord has carefully placed in His Word are for us!!! Not for unbelievers. His correction is for us. When the reality of God’s true nature has caused us to fall down in worship, we are then in the right position to gain wisdom from the Lord. Wisdom is merely seeing life from God’s perspective and responding accordingly. Wisdom is a priority, and we are told to seek it above all else (Proverbs 3:13; 16:16 ). Proverbs is known as the wisdom book, and the entire second chapter gives a detailed explanation of the value of gaining wisdom. Until our hearts are in a right relationship with God, we are unable to have the “wisdom that comes from heaven” (James 3:17 ). Without the Fear of the Lord, we may gain knowledge of earthly things and make some practical choices for this life, but we are missing the single key ingredient that defines a wise person, and that is the Fear of the Lord - (Psalm 14:1; Exodus 20:3; Exodus 34:14; Jeremiah 25:6; Matthew 22:37 ). In the parable of the rich farmer , the rich man had a “wise” and practical plan for his profits, but God said to him, “You fool!” because the farmer’s plans were made with no thought of God and eternity (Luke 12:16–21 ). Without the Fear of the Lord, we make final decisions based on our faulty human understanding (Proverbs 3:5–6 ). When we incorporate the Fear of the Lord into every moment of our lives, we make decisions based upon His approval. We live with the knowledge that the Creator of the universe is intimately involved in our every move. He sees, knows, and evaluates all our choices, and We Will Answer To Him: Psalm 139:1–4 - 1.You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. 2. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. 3. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. 4. Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely. 1 Corinthians 3:10-15 - 10.By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. 11.For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.12.If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw,13.their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work.14.If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. 15.If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames. He and He alone will judge as to where we spend our eternity, in heaven with Him or the lake of fire. If this does not make you tremble you are indeed foolish. Our respect for God’s majesty causes us to honor Him: Psalm 29:2 - “Honor the LORD for the glory of His Name. Worship the LORD in the splendor of His holiness.” Our gratitude for His mercy causes us to serve Him well: Psalm 2:11 - “Serve the LORD with fear and celebrate His rule with trembling.” Psalm 107:15 (NKJV) - “Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men!” And the understanding that our God of Love is also a God of Wrath inspires enough fear to help us stay away from evil: Romans 1:18 (NKJV) - “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,” Proverbs 8:13 - “To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech.” Sin is foolish; righteousness is wise. When we live righteously, we are on the path of wisdom, and everyone in our lives benefits: Proverbs 13:20 (ESV) - “Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.” Proverbs 19:8 (NKJV) - “He who gets wisdom loves his own soul; He who keeps understanding will find good.”

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. ***

Calling, What am I supposed to be, Who am I supposed to be, How do I know God, How do I know Jesus, Bible What is Your Calling Article below or click link for PDF. PDF What is Your Calling 1 Peter 4:10-11 10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 11 If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very Words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen. The bottom line to any calling is recognizing what you’re good at. Really? We often overlook the things that excited us as kid and made us want to be an astronaut, or a doctor, or whatever it was. We think it was some silly “kid thing.” But was it? Typically our calling has something to do with what delighted us as children. That is your calling. It’s something that comes easy for you to do. Naturally. Yet others are amazed at how easy it is for you. That is your calling. What do I do now? As 1 Peter 4:10-11 says (above) we are to use that calling to serve others rather than ourselves. It’s the motivation behind it. Are you doing it to help someone else, or is it being used selfishly? Here are a few principles to help: Dedicate yourself to the calling God gave you over communion and prayer to the Lord. Acknowledge the gifting God gave you, to the Father in Jesus Name. And ask for His help in showing you how best He would like for you to do it. If you have an office, or computer, or whatever means the Lord has you working in for your calling, pray over it. Dedicate the equipment or space to the Lord. Plead the Blood of Jesus upon it and seal it in the Blood of Jesus. Each day as you are doing the calling (job) pray over it. Thank the Lord for showing you how to help people that day. And always give glory to God. Stay sensitive to the Holy Spirit throughout the day of how to do things. If you miss it, don’t worry about it. Repent. Get back into communication with the Lord. Rely on the strength of God to do the calling He gave you. And tell Him you are relying on His strength. Tithe as your led by the Holy Spirit. If you have a church, fine. If you follow an on-line pastor, fine. However the Holy Spirit leads you to do it. He may even lead you to give money in other ways - perhaps an organization that gets Bibles out to people; or one that helps battered women. Whatever it is and however the Lord leads, do what He is giving you to do. Always give glory to the Lord for the gifting He gave you.

Crucifixion, What was the crucifixion, What does the crucifixion mean, Jesus on the cross, Jesus the Son of God died for you, Jesus was raised from the dead and people saw Him, Fallen angels, nephilim CRUCIFIXION Article below. Or downloadable PDF click link PDF Crucifixion *This is long. Take your time. The Depth of the Crucifixion - How deep this goes. 1. Notes Like all of our articles - they are in depth studies. Get your Bible and read the scriptures from your Bible, take your time. Allow the Holy Spirit to minister to you, to “enlighten your eyes with wisdom and revelation knowledge of God Himself, that you would have further understanding of Him” that you haven’t had before. (Part Ephesians 1:17-18.) He will enlighten your heart with answers to questions you have had, in the beautiful Name of Jesus. We will be going to the first three chapters of Genesis, and specifically Genesis 1:1-3. Put your mindset on eternity from the eyes of God as you read further. Not linearly. “See” how He sees it. Put yourself, imagine yourself, in God’s position creating everything. You don’t have to understand it, the Holy Spirit will reveal it. We will be using these references in this study: Strong’s Concordance; The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon; and Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Old & New Testament Words. Reference book: Before Genesis: The Unauthorized History of Tohu, Bohu, and the Chaos Dragon in the the Land Before Time. By Donna Howell & Dr. Thomas Horn. Defender Publishing 2023. All emphasis in scripture are mine. NKJV and NIV are translations used, unless otherwise noted. I will refer to satan, snake, devil, and Lucifer interchangeably because of Revelation 12:9; Luke 10:18; Isaiah 14:12. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit - Romans 15:13. * TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Notes 2. Depth of the Crucifixion 3. What Happened? 4. Genesis 6, What??? 5. Jesus Christ on the Earth 6. Last Bit: Details on Crucifixions 2. Depth of the Crucifixion Was the crucifixion necessary? Yes. Vital. There’s so much more than what is called the “original sin” that passed from Adam and Eve to all of mankind: the original heavenly rebellion that caused Adam and Eve to sin, Lucifer with his angels. Remember the snake was already in the garden and God had put in the garden the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Evil was not in existence until the heavenly rebellion. This rebellion had already occurred by the time Adam and Eve were created, which is why they were made in the image of God and given dominion. It occurred even before Genesis 1:2 had happened. It is “why” it happened. And we will look at Genesis 1:1-3 (and more) in detail. All of creation had been stolen by Lucifer and his angels - mankind, animals, planets, universe. Everything that was in darkness (still is - like space and the sea, until the new heaven and earth after the millennium). What Jesus did on the cross covered not only mankind but all that had been stolen from God the Father and He took it back from the devil! We will get into all of this! (Colossians 2; 1 Corinthians 2:6-8; Ephesians 1:20-23.) * Before the deception of the snake with Eve, God could walk and talk with Adam in the garden in the cool of the day. When Adam and Eve fell God couldn’t see them. Recall God asked, “Where are you?” (Genesis 3.) The Bible says they hid amongst the trees but there is likely more to it. They were hiding in their sin. Adam and Eve who were one with God and in the same Spiritual dimension had left that dimension with God - the fall. They couldn't see God anymore. They could hear Him walking and hear His voice when He called out, but were ashamed for Him to see them because of sin - disobedience to God. Check out Exodus 33:12-23 when God walked in front of Moses, God said, “you can’t see Me and live.” All of mankind, the earth and the animals too could no longer be in the presence of God because of sin. God sets His foot on the mountains and they tremble and fire comes forth because of the sin that is entrenched within the earth (1 Kings 18:11-18) - the animals, the earth, were under the dominion of man to keep it out of Lucifer’s hands but mankind instead of taking Authority over satan, listened to him and had turned his Authority over to Lucifer and his regime, because of man’s turning away from God. (If you haven’t read recently what is the outcome of different sins in Leviticus, you should. There’s outcome for unknown sin, which is what Eve’s was - she was deceived; and there is outcome for those that are known sins, which is what Adam did - he was there, he knew what was happening and yet he blamed Eve. Check Leviticus chapters: 5-7, 12-15, 17-20.) Remember, Jesus has paid the price for all sin! I will repeat myself because this is important - don’t intellectualize this, allow the Holy Spirit to give you insight into this: God had to do something to rectify the first rebellion because all that the Lord created was tainted by the rebellion of Lucifer and his angels, and now mankind and all the creatures of the earth were under the curse of satan (Genesis 3:14). God had to manifest Himself in the flesh, His Son Jesus Christ, to rectify all of what had been stolen from Him. “The buck” truly stops with God. I repeat: the original fall of Lucifer and his angles occurred before Genesis! It was the original rebellion that has created all atrocities. The angels before the fall, were given “jobs”. These angels were to attend to planet earth and the creatures created on it. It was all in their hands, like policemen who have authority in their city, not somewhere else. The angels have an “overseer-ship” of regions on the earth. And when the original rebellion happened it was in “eternity” - it did not happen in “time”. I will get into this more later. The depth of the first three chapters in Genesis reveals why the crucifixion was necessary. We will look at this in context with other verses in the Bible to see what happened in the “beginning” to make God manifest Himself in the flesh, in Jesus Christ, to die for mankind. In fact, I believe this is why God created man in His image just in case He had to manifest Himself in human form within this realm, in the image of God, to wipe out all that satan had done that was under his overseer-ship. The sacrifice Jesus Christ, God manifest in the flesh, is deeper than we have thought - God is omnipotent and omnipresent, and eternal which makes the price He paid go from this age to the ages to come, all dimensions and timelines, it is everlasting so that this rebellion never happens again. (Ephesians 1:17-23; Colossians 1:21-22.) Yes, it’s that big. Let’s go to the beginning. Genesis 1:1-3 -1. “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. 3. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, ‘Let there be light and there was light.’” In verse two, many translations say: “…darkness was on the surface of the waters.” This may have been the first flood to destroy the earth because of the original rebellion, before Noah! His flood was the second, which geological findings are showing 2 major world wide floods on our planet. Who was here before Adam? All we can do is speculate but there is geological and anthropological evidence of life here on earth before Adam. I will touch on this briefly later. We will look at Genesis 1:1-3 in light of other scriptures: Jeremiah 4:23-28 - “I looked at the earth, and it was formless and empty; and the heavens, and their light was gone. (Which means it was first there.) I looked at the mountains, and they were quaking; all the hills were swaying. I looked, and there were no people; every bird in the sky had flown away. I looked, and the fruitful land was a desert; all its towns lay in ruins before the Lord, before His fierce anger. This is what the Lord says: ‘The whole land will be ruined, though I will not destroy it completely. Therefore the earth will mourn and the heavens above grow dark, because I have spoken and will not relent, I have decided and will not turn back.’” Isaiah 45:18-19 - “For this is what the Lord says—He who created the heavens, He is God; He who fashioned and made the earth, He founded it; He did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited—He says:; ‘I am the Lord, and there is no others. I have not spoke in secret, from somewhere in a land of darkness;” Isaiah 24 - (all of 24 but here we will do verses 19-21) - “The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly (violently shaken). The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and it sways like a hut in the wind; so heavy upon it is the guilt of its rebellion that it falls; and not rise again. In that day the Lord will punish the powers in the heavens above and the kings on the earth below….” (Ephesians 6:12.) 1 Corinthians 14:33 - “God is not the author of confusion, but of peace.” Job 1:6-7, 12 - “all Job has in your power” - shows the authority that had been delegated to Lucifer/Satan. Job 2:1-2 - “On another day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and satan also came with them to present himself before Him. 2. And the Lord said to satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered the Lord, “from roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.” These two scriptures in Job show where satan is positioned, overseeing the earth. A barren land is always a sign of a curse. Think about the numerous deserts on earth now. There was “something” that occurred in order for it to become barren. We see this is throughout the Old Testament - 2 Kings 2 for example. “Barrenness” is always a curse, whether it is barren land or a barren womb. We see that something happened! In Genesis 1:1 God created it all: the heaven or what we refer to as “sky” - what is above our heads. The word “heaven” in this verse in Hebrew is “haš-šã-ma-yim” - “visible heavens, sky, where stars, etc., are. Heavens + sky = universe, where God shows signs. Before which fowl fly, with waters beneath and above; darkened with clouds, cleared by wind; whence comes rain, and dew, but also destructive fire.” In this verse the use of the Hebrew word “heaven” describes that something big had already taken place. And we are only in the first verse of the Bible! It was “darkened with clouds, cleared by wind…and destructive fire.” With all the previous scriptures we see much more was going on. Let’s put this in context with “Who” God is: John 1:5 - “God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.” Acts 2:2 - “And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.” (Verses 1-4. With Acts 1:4-5, 8.) John 3:8 - “The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Psalm 92:15 - “Proclaiming, “The Lord is upright; He is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in Him.” Leviticus 11:44 - “…be holy for I am holy.” Deuteronomy 32:4 - “The Rock! His work is perfect, for all His ways are just; a God of faithfulness and without injustice, Righteous and upright is He.” Psalm 18:30 - “As for God, His way is blameless; the Word of the Lord is tried; He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.” Let’s put this all together: It was “darkened with clouds, cleared by wind…and destructive fire.” The earth was without form. Hebrew: formless, confusion, unreality, emptiness. The earth was void. Darkness was on the face of the deep The Spirit of God moved, one translation says, “brooded” upon the waters. The Spirit is represented as wind at times. Let us put that in mind with Job 34:14-15 - “If it were His intention and He withdrew HIs Spirit and breath, all humanity would perish together and mankind would return to the dust.” So let’s look at another way to phrase it: “The Spirit of God brooded like a chicken over her eggs, caring for them, gently blowing His Breath upon them because He had given His creation life.” God created light in verse 3…why did He create it?…He is light. And in the fourth verse He separated the light from the darkness. Notice God didn’t create the sun until day 4, verses 14-19. God separated light from the darkness on the first day before He created the sun! Something definitely happened before Genesis 1:1-3 to occur because… Scripture says: God is light In Him is no darkness at all The wind is the Spirit of God, He was hovering over the waters, “to grow soft, to relax” over the waters. (If He relaxed He must have been in another state before, speculation here but perhaps angry, because of what Lucifer and his angels had done per Jeremiah 4:23-28 on page 6.) The Lord is upright The Lord is holy There is no wickedness in Him His work is perfect All His ways are just He is a God of faithfulness He is without injustice His way is blameless He is not the author of confusion He formed the earth and fashioned it He established it He did not create it to be empty He formed the earth to be inhabited. What Jesus died for on the cross not only covers the mistakes of mankind, it also covers all that had been stolen from God the Father in the original rebellion. * 3. What happened? When God created everything: Let’s look at Job 38. This is the Lord speaking (in chapters 38-41) and describing when He created the heaven and the earth. In 38:6-8 - “On what were its footing set, or Who laid its cornerstone—while the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy. Who shut up the sea behind doors- when it burst forth from the womb, when I made the clouds its garment and wrapped it in thick darkness,” (Think of Genesis 1:2.) This is all during creation. Notice the morning stars and sons of God were there. Who are the “morning stars”? In Revelation 22:16 Jesus calls Himself “the bright morning star.” Isaiah 14:12 says that satan is also a “morning star.” In Hebrew “morning stars” means: ‘morning prince.’ It doesn’t say that these morning stars were Jesus and Lucifer, just that they are that “kind”. It would be an assumption to think that and could get you off on wrong theology. God also doesn’t say specifically if there are two different types of “angelic” creatures, but it seems that way: morning stars and sons of God. We can see from Genesis 6:1-4 that “sons of God” are, in fact, the angels. The sons of God were there when the morning stars were created, and the sons of God shouted for joy at seeing God in action! That must have been an extraordinary sight!!! And we will see this happen again at the creation of the new heaven and earth! The Aramaic Bible: “He created as one the stars of the morning and all the sons of the Angels shouted for joy.” Good News Translation: “In the dawn of that day the stars sang together, and the heavenly beings shouted for joy.” Brenton Septuagint Translation: “When the stars were made, all My angels praised Me with a loud voice.” Sons of God are angels and they were there at the beginning of Genesis 1 and watched all being created. Let’s go once again to Job 1:6 “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord and satan came also among them. And the Lord said unto satan, ‘Where have you come from?’ satan answered the Lord, ‘From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.’” Seemingly there was a type of “roll call” for the angels to present themselves before God and give reports of their actions over their territory. satan’s territory was the earth. The Book of Enoch discusses the territory and jobs of the fallen ones in more detail. And it goes right in line with Genesis 6. Enoch calls them the Watchers. They are to watch over the earth and mankind. We call it a “calling”. It is what they were created for; to make sure things run smoothly in God’s behalf. But it was the Watchers who did what they did in Genesis 6. Something to bear in mind is Romans 11:29 - “For the gifts and the calling of God are without repentance.” Amplified Translation says: “…He never withdraws them (gifts and callings) once they are given, and He does not change His mind about those to whom He gives His grace or to whom He sends His call.” God’s calling is how He creates His creatures. And He doesn’t withdraw it, even when the creature is in rebellion. Just like the covenant with Abraham. It is eternal and goes on to bless Israel when they are not rebelling; and the Gentiles that come to the Lord through the blessing of Abraham (Galatians 3). It is the same with the angels. They each have a calling and God doesn’t withdraw it once it is given. Including the fallen ones. There’s another element to discuss with satan and the fallen angels and that is the name “satan”. It is not the type of creature. It is a title. It means: accuser. Look at Revelation 12:9-10 - “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the devil, and satan, which deceived the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, ‘Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down which accused them before our God day and night.” The word “devil” means deceiver. “satan” means to accuse, rebuke, an adversary. This is pure speculation but it could fit: In Job he is called “satan” - accuser. And that is exactly what he does to Job. But God had Job protected from satan until he asked. And why did God allow satan to have some rule over Job - there was sin in his life and God couldn’t do anything about it. Job had allowed it. His sin was “fear”. He was in fear for his kids and kept doing sacrifices for them. “The thing I have feared the most has come upon me.” (Job 3:25.) The accuser could very well be Lucifer’s “job description”. Bear with me on this…it doesn’t have to be a negative context per se. It’s like a legal term, “prosecutor”. It doesn't mean a bad thing in its original context. But spirits who left their original God-given position are using it wrongly. Principalities, for example, rule over regions. Overseers. Like a governor of a state. They are supposed to guard and protect. But the fallen ones are now overseers in their God-given positions and instead of oversee and protect they destroy geographical regions. Some are called “rulers of the darkness” because that is how they oversee, no longer part of the light. (Ephesians 6:12.) Add on: the “destroyer” angel known as the “angel of death” mentioned in Exodus 12:23; Hebrews 11:28; then there is the “spirit of error” and “spirit of fear” - 1 John 4:6; 2 Timothy 1:7. There seems to be two parts, one is the original job that God gave them and the other is what they are now since the fall: what was life is now death; truth is now error; faith is now fear. Evil spirits now have different job titles because of how they have perverted their original job. It could be that Lucifer’s job was as an accuser or prosecutor, but now he is doing it in wickedness - to steal, kill, and destroy - John 10:10. Don’t know…purely speculation. There is an excerpt from a Rabbi later in this article that touches on this. Back to Revelation 12:9-10 where it says the “…and his angels were cast out with him.” Look at this from a reference with scripture. Paul in a couple of Epistles uses military terms, especially in describing spiritual warfare. In fact, Job 1 “roll call” looks to me like the “generals” brought in to give reports. I have a hunch the angels that fell with Lucifer were the very ones in his “unit”…so to speak. He was in charge over them, they followed him as their commander. Again, speculation but it certainly looks like it when you look at all scripture together in context. * There’s one more part to put into the proverbial mix on the angels, this is all in Hebrews 1. This is all vital when we are looking at the depth of what Jesus did on the Cross and what it all means. And there’s one thing I want to mention. In verse two: “has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, who He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;” In many other translations it says “universe.” Now I don’t speak Greek, but when you look up the word used here - Aión - it has two possibilities: 1. An age or a cycle of time - the present age as contrasted with the future age; 2. And of one of a series of ages stretching to infinity. For me, this is how I go, I think it’s both. Yes, its of this age we are in - this world; AND it also means a series of worlds! Ones before us, and the one the Lord says will be created after. 4. Genesis 6 - What??? For many this information is not new. But for those who have not seen this before because it is not taught in Sunday services might find all of this shocking and bit overwhelming. It is what is said in scripture and it’s not the full story - the Lord has not told all the details. God must have a reason for that. Everything He does has a purpose! When you look at extra-Biblical texts including historical logs of ancient cities and empires, along with archeological sites you can see there is a bigger picture of what was going on. They weave beautifully together with scripture. We always go to the Bible first. It is God’s spoken Word. And what lines up with scripture is what we look at. And we can see some of these things go in line with it. In this article we will only go into scripture. You can research the others on your own. The internet is a wonderful tool. (Yes, there are some scientists and studies that are false, pushing an agenda of theories which have already been disproven, like evolution. Statistically it has already been disproven - the planet has not been around long enough for the type of evolution they endorse to occur which would take hundreds of billions of years. The earth is older than 6,000 years but it is not as old as evolution theory suggests. And there are no archaeological findings of such evolution of creatures that morph from one kind of creature into another. Like a bird into an antelope for example. We know it’s against scripture - “each kind reproduces after its own kind.”) * Genesis 6:1-4 - “When human beings began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, (1) the sons of God (angels) saw that the daughters of humans were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. Then the Lord said, (2)“My Spirit will not contend (remain in) with humans forever, for they are mortal; their days will be a hundred and twenty years. The (3) Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of humans and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.” Let’s unpack this….. (1) Sons of God: as we looked earlier, these are the angels. The word “angels” is not a species name. It is a job title. It means “messenger.” We have seen this though out scripture where they come to speak with someone; they are also protectors and warriors, here are a few examples: like Abraham in Genesis 18; in Genesis 19 they came to rescue Lot and his family; in Matthew 1:20 one appeared to Joseph to let him know that the baby Mary carried was from God; Daniel (all through this book) angels came to protect Daniel from the lions (6:22), as warriors with Gabriel and Michael in Daniel 10:12-13; 12:1 and Revelation 12:7-10; Daniel 8:16 and chapters 10-12 Gabriel gave understanding to the visions that God was giving Daniel; in Genesis 3:24 we see a mighty Cherubim with a flaming sword to keep the tree of life protected from being found by sin-fallen man…God did not want man - His creation - to live life eternally in a sin fallen state, eternally separate from HIm. That’s insight!!! Thank You Holy Spirit! And if you look once again at the Revelation 12:7-10 the angels are calling us their brethren! This goes with Revelation 19:10 - the angel telling John that he is John’s “fellow servant with you and with your brothers and sisters who hold to the testimony of Jesus.” Angels are a similar creature to God by the Hebrew word that “angel” comes from: Bene Elohim. Elohim means God; Bene means son(s) of God. They are His sons and His servants, Psalm 103:20 - “Bless the Lord, you His angels, mighty in strength, who perform His word, Obeying the voice of His word!” Hebrews 1:14 - “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?” They are His sons, ministering spirits sent out to render service for us, they help us, watch over us, protect us, fight for us and obey the voice of the Lord. This next part I cannot say for sure but from the the scriptural evidence of what angels are to do and Romans 11:29 mentioned earlier, it is my belief that the fallen ones were still at their posts guarding the earth as the Lord had tasked them to do, even after their rebellion (Book of Enoch chapters 6-8), and these were the ones who decided to reproduce with mankind in Genesis 6:1-4. Why would they do that? Genesis 3:14-15 - “And the Lord God said unto the serpent, ‘Because you have done this, you are cursed above all cattle, and and over every beast of the field; upon your belly shall you go, and dust shall you eat all the days of your life; and I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he will crush your head and you shall bruise his heel.’” So let’s unpack this one: The “serpent seed” versus the “seed of the woman”. Yes, the seed of the woman does refer to Jesus AND it refers to all of God’s seed, all of God’s created “man”. Not the serpent’s. Yes, he has seed. Again…Genesis 6:1-4. The serpent has been trying to destroy the seed of the woman ever since, trying to stop God’s plan. Why? Satan hates mankind. Look at Psalm 8:4-8. In brief, something the Lord showed me is this scripture shows how satan thinks. That he was jealous of mankind and the Authority that God gave us. Satan attempted to produce more of his seed in Genesis 6 which is why God said “His Spirit will not always dwell in man” - it is another spirit. The spirit of the serpent. All of which is why God had to bring the flood of Noah. Not only to get rid of the offspring of the fallen angels, the Nephilim, but also to destroy all they had destroyed with their DNA even in the animals. The only ones found by God who were not genetically corrupted were Noah and his family who had not been altered by them and the animals that God brought to Noah for the ark. When you look at the Hebrew words about Noah being a “perfect man” it means genetically. Not by his actions. Because he was an offspring of Adam and Eve there was sin nature in him but he was genetically clean…no fallen angel DNA. God did bring some unclean animals for Noah to sacrifice. That always puzzled me until I saw the bigger picture. These animals were corrupted by the fallen ones. Now we get it. It’s blood that cleanses. Leviticus 17:11 & Hebrews 9:22 - “For the life of the flesh is in the blood; and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes an atonement for the soul.” & “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.” ALL OF THIS on planet earth, from Genesis 1 is about a seed war! Seed of the serpent versus seed of the woman. The serpent has been trying to corrupt God’s seed, God’s creation by toying with genetic experiments for a very long time…even before Genesis. Satan hates that God created man in His image and wants to destroy mankind and keep mankind away from God. He thinks he has done it if he succeeds in someone not receiving Jesus Christ in this life…but he didn’t - Revelation 20:11-15 - see article on “Second Death and Great White Throne Judgement.” The Lord has said what He has said in His Word. He is not a man that He should lie - Numbers 23:19. God will not loose any of His own seed for eternity. * All creatures, including mankind, were made to be vegetarian: “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be food for you. And to the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground–everything that has the breath of life in it – I give every green plant for food. And it was so.” Genesis 1:29-30. It wasn’t until after the flood that God told Noah and his sons that they could eat meat. (Genesis 9:1-3.) When did animals start eating meat? And why? (Just as an fyi, I love a good steak.) In Isaiah 11:6-9 - “The wolf (lion) will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play near the cobra’s den, and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all My holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” This scripture shows us what God intended, for all animals, just like in Genesis 1:29-30 to eat plants and to be at peace with each other. Yet, this scripture seems to be during the millennial reign or on the new earth. Consider what animals are like now and how many dinosaurs were predators. Eating flesh of animals. Besides the long necked vegetation eaters of the dinosaurs, the T-Rex, raptors and other vicious dinosaurs were on the scene! That is not what God intended. Something happened. The “tearing of flesh” is part of the curse - Deuteronomy 28. I think the evidence is clear from scripture. Lucifer and his fallen ones were messing with the genetics long before Genesis 1, they continued in Genesis 6, and from 6:4 it looks like they will do it again - “There were giants in those days; and after that…” I believe it has already been happening for some time. The curse: we don’t know that the serpent was cursed before Genesis 3 but it is likely he was because of the original rebellion. We know Jesus came to die for humankind, not the angels: Hebrews 2:9-18 Phillips Bible Translation: 9-11 “What we actually see is Jesus, after being made temporarily inferior to the angels (and so subject to pain and death), in order that He should, in God’s grace, taste death for every man, now crowned with glory and honour. It was right and proper that in bringing many sons to glory, God (from Whom and by Whom everything exists) should make the leader of their salvation a perfect leader through the fact that He suffered. For the One who makes men holy and the men who are made holy share a common humanity. So that He is not ashamed to call them His brothers, for He says: ‘ "I will declare Your name to My brethren; in the midst of the congregation I will sing praise to You’. 13 And again, speaking as a man, He says: ‘I will put my trust in Him.’ And, one more instance, in these words: ‘Here am I and the children whom God has given Me.’ 14-18 Since, then, “the children” have a common physical nature as human beings, He also became a human being, so that by going through death as a man He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil; and might also set free those who lived their whole lives a prey to the fear of death. It is plain that for this purpose He did not become an angel; He became a man, in actual fact a descendant of Abraham. It was imperative that He should be made like His brothers in nature, if He were to become a High Priest both compassionate and faithful in the things of God, and at the same time able to make atonement for the sins of the people. For by virtue of His own suffering under temptation He is able to help those who are exposed to temptation.” Jesus came as a man, not an angel. His sacrifice was to pay for all things done wrong by mankind. All. Not angels. I have a theory on this from Genesis 1 - since God separated the light from the darkness on the first day and yet hadn’t created the sun and moon: creating “time” - until day 4, I believe God by creating “time” put a “time limit” on what satan and his angels were doing. A limit on their rebellion. God is the ultimate legalist and judge. He does things right and there had to be a certain procedure for Him to resolve the entire rebellious situation. Literally - THE civil war. And here’s the other part about “time”: when Lucifer and his angels rebelled they did it before “time” was created. They did it in eternity. Their sin is eternal. That’s why Jesus didn’t first manifest for them and stop the entire thing. He couldn’t. They can not be saved. Their sin was in eternity, not time. God put a “time-limit” on sin so He can stop it! “Time” is linear. Not multidimensional. And in the earthly, linear realm He took the very sin-nature of man in “time”, in the heart of man, and put it on Jesus’ own heart at the crucifixion - to give us His eternal righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:17-21). This is big!!! There is no other way God could get His created beings, mankind, back into union with Himself. (2 Corinthians 5.) This is why Gethsemane is SO important. Jesus knew the eternal nature of what was about to go down! He had to get His “earthly” will in line with the Father’s. His very own “humanity” in His linear-earthly flesh did not want to go through the brutal beating and torture, cross, and hell. He knew what was coming. “Nevertheless, not My will, but Yours be done.” (Luke 22:42.) He knew what was at stake if He didn’t. This is an eternity thing. God was the only One who could pay the price to get His creation back…He had to pay the sacrifice. Because without the spilling of blood there is no remission of sin - Hebrews 9:22; and as Leviticus 17:11 says: “For the life of the flesh is in the blood; and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that makes an atonement for the soul.” Put that with Genesis 4:10 with Cain having killed Abel, the first murder recorded - “And He (God) said, ‘What have you done? The voice of your bother’s blood cries unto Me from the ground.’” BLOOD HAS A VOICE!!!! THE BLOOD SPEAKS!!! THE LIFE IS IN THE BLOOD!!! HE IS THE SPIRIT OF LIFE. Just as Abel’s blood speaks, so does Jesus’ Blood - eternally: Abel’s blood cried out to God for justice. The Blood of Jesus cries out “REDEEMED!” (Galatians 3:13-14.) This is for all of God’s seed, mankind, who accept His sacrifice for our sin stained souls and allow Him to wash them clean with His Blood and renew our spirit by giving us a new spirit by the Holy Spirit. (Ezekiel 36:26-27; John 3:6; 2 Corinthians 5:17.) What Jesus did lasts for eternity! (*See “Second Death” for more.) If you have ever seen the video of Ron Wyatt who discovered the Ark of the Covenant in Jerusalem and the Blood of Jesus that dripped down the Cross into the ground and onto the Ark - Ron had it DNA tested. Typical humans have 46 chromosomes. 23 from the mother and 23 from the father. Jesus’ Blood has 23 from Mary and 1 from Father God!! Blood Type comes from the father!!! It was the Blood of Father God that was spilled on the Cross and at Gethsemane!!! Another theory from what I see in scripture: the dead in Christ being raised at the rapture (1 Corinthians 15:42- - I think there is an element of the Spirit of Life still in the blood of all who died on the earth. It is separated from them and those who have died need to be restored completely. As I just spoke of Ron Wyatt, Biblical Archeologist who discovered the Blood of Jesus in the 1980’s at the burial site/cross site in Jerusalem, when he had it tested it still had “life” in it! Cells were still moving in Jesus’ very own Blood! A human can’t survive with only 24 chromosomes. But God made manifest in the flesh, Jesus Christ can and did!! (2) “My Spirit will not always remain in humans forever…” - this! The seed war means there will be seed that does not have the Spirit of God, the breath of God, within them. It’s the serpent’s seed. Look at Daniel 9. Just as God said the Nephilim (Hebrew for “giants”) was at that time (Genesis 6:4) and after!!! God’s seed, the seed of mankind, the seed of the woman, has been written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world. God made sure we could not be taken by the serpent for eternity. (Ephesians 1:3-6; Revelation 17:8; Titus 1:2 - out of two or three witnesses let every word be established, 2 Corinthians 13:1.) (See article on “The Second Death” for more on this.) There is a book by a psychologist by the name of David Jacobs PhD, entitled: Walking Among Us. He was not Christian at the writing of his book, I don’t know if that has changed yet, but the book is interesting. It may be a bit “out there” for some. It’s about his practice for over 20-30 years on “alien abductions”. This is what his entire practice eventually covered. I say that because he, like most of us, thought the “alien thing” was all ridiculous and these people who had started coming to him, he believed, were simply having hallucinations. By using scientific practice he realized that yes, something was actually happening. “There is no such thing as a ‘group delusion,’” he stated. He dedicated his entire practice to this because of what he found. He notes, there are “non-humans” walking around us and have been increasing over the decades. Seed of the serpent. (The book is available online. You can also look up L.A. Marzulli for his ministry on researching Nephilim archeological evidence, alien abductions research and the like at: www.lamarzulli.net ) (3) Nephilim: there is archeological evidence of mammoth cities and structures, and even technology that surpasses what we have today. Yes, pyramids in Egypt and Stonehenge are what people typically think of but there are many more all over the world. Including in America. These are old. Really old. Like 40,000 years BC. And older. Before Adam. Look at Genesis 1:2 again…darkness was on the face of the waters. It is entirely possible the earth was first flooded here. Before Noah. And we know why the flood happened with Noah. The Nephiliim. Fallen angels bred with women. They have also messed with animals. Remember, earth is their domain even in the fallen state. Extra-Biblical texts like Book of Enoch talks about it and so does every mythology from every civilization around the globe. Creatures that are part “man” and part beast, like the Centaur or Minotaur; and many mixed creatures like the Griffon or Pegasus. Every culture around the planet has these stories. What if some of these “experiments” are what happened before Genesis 1 and that is why God first flooded the earth. His fallen angles were messing around trying to create like God but was making horrid atrocities. Just like the story of The Island of Dr. Moreau. There is also at least one ice age geologically evidenced and now scientists are saying there may have been two. We know the first one took out the dinosaurs from archeological evidence. This is before Adam. There is archeological evidence in Texas of a dinosaur foot print with an extremely large human footprint next to it, a giant - Nephilim perhaps, or some other extremely large humanoid creature. It seems they were walking together. There are even skeletal remains often times in mounds all over the globe of giants that have been reported. There have been skeletal remains also found in caves. There’s one more part to Nephilim if you would like to study this out in the Bible - notice the phrase in Genesis 6:4 - “(Nephilim) were heroes of old, men of renown.” KJV says: “Mighty men of old.” If you look up all scriptures that talk of “mighty men” or “mighty” or “heroes” - They always are Nephilim. Giants. In fact, all of the civilizations that are mentioned, I call them the “-ites” like: Canaanites, Hittites, Moabites, Amalakites, Ammonites, …etc all had Nephilim DNA in them. Especially the tribes of “im’s” - Anakim, Rephaim, etc. There’s a lot of scripture on them. Including scripture that is prophetic, hasn’t occurred quite yet, like Joel 2 and 3. Nephilim were in the days of Noah and after that: Anak: ”neck", a giant people around Hebron and in Philistia - Deuteronomy 1:28; chapter 2, 9, 23; Joshua 11 and 14; Nehemiah 13. Rephaim: proper name, of a people old race of giants, in land of Canaan - Genesis 14-15; Deuteronomy 2-3; Joshua 12, 14-15, 17; 2 Samuel 5, 21, 23; 1 Chronicles 11, 14; 20; Isaiah 17:5-6. Here are more scriptures on giants: 1 Samuel 17 2 Samuel 21, 23 1 Chronicles 20 Numbers 13, 21:21-35, 32:33 Deuteronomy 1-4, 9, 29, 31 Job 16:14 Joshua 2, 9, 12-13, 15, 17-18 Psalm 135:10-12 Psalm 136:17-24 Nehemiah 9:22 5. Jesus Christ on the Earth It is so important to understand the Authority that God the Father gave us over all evil in this world - THIS is our realm, not the fallen ones, God gave us Authority in this realm - over satan and the fallen angels and everything they have attempted and are attempting to do. Our battle is not with flesh and blood but principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this world, and spiritual wickedness in heavenly places because they are the evil overseers of this world in it’s fallen state. We can see this is the the fallen ones still in their callings in operation over the earth, where they were placed by God before they chose to rebel. BUT God gave us His Authority over them, “not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit says the Lord of hosts” - Zechariah 4:6. Look in Genesis and Luke: Genesis 1:26-28 - “And God said, Let us (1) make man in our (1) image, after our (1) likeness: and let them have dominion (2) over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.’ So God created man in His own image (1), in the image of God created He him: male and female, created He them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, ‘Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish (3) the earth, and subdue (3) it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth. (2)’” Luke 10:17-19 - “The seventy-two returned with joy and said, ‘Lord, even the demons submit to us in Your Name.’ He replied, ‘I saw satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you Authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.’” Make man in “Our” image , “Our likeness”, “Let Us”: Who is God talking about here? Let’s take a look at two Biblical scholars, one is a Rabbi and the other is Biblical Scholar Michael Heisser: Rabbi Roshi at chabad.org and TetzeTorah.com comments on this verse: “Let us make man: From here we learn the humility of the Holy One, blessed be He. Since man was created in the likeness of the angels, and they would envy him, He consulted them. And when He judges kings, He consults with His Heavenly household, for so we find regarding Ahab, that Micah said to him (1 Kings 22:19): “I saw the Lord seated on His throne, and all the host of heaven were standing by Him, on His right and on His left.” Now the “left” or “right” apply to Him?! But rather, [the passage means that] these [angles] were standing on the right to defend, and these [angels] were standing on the left to prosecute. Likewise, (Dan. 4:14 Tankh): “By the decree of the destructive angels is the matter, and by the word of the holy ones is the edict.” Here too He took counsel with His heavenly household. He said to them, “Among the heavenly beings, there are some in My likeness. If there are none in My likeness among the earthly beings, there will be envy among the creatures of the Creation.” - [From Tanchuma, Shemoth 18: Gen. Rabbah 8:11, 14:13]. “Let us make man”: Even though they [the angles] did not assist Him in His creation, and there is an opportunity for the heretics to rebel (to misconstrue the plural as a basis for their heresies). Scripture did not hesitate to teach proper conduct and the trait of humility, that a great person should consult with and receive permission from a smaller one. Had it been written: “I shall make man,” we would not have learned that He was speaking with His tribunal, but to Himself. And the refutation to the heretics is written alongside it [i.e. in the following verse:] “And God created,” and it does not say, “and they created.” - [from Gen. Rabbah 8:9]” Dr. Michael Heisser, Biblical scholar of both Hebrew and Greek says, “To look at Genesis 1 in light of the New Testament is faulty hermeneutics. There are other places in the Bible that talk about divine plurality (Us, Our) that would take us into bad theology. (Not properly dividing the Word.) Some say it has to do with Hebrew plurality but that only pertains to nouns. These are verbs. ‘Let Us create human kind in Our image.’ A verb and a pronoun. It’s not the plural of majesty (Father, Son, Holy Spirit). The concept is just as important. The plurals are there for a reason. They telegraph something theologically, of crucial importance about our relationship to God and members of the unseen world.” We see that God was speaking to the sons of God, the angels, to get counsel with His heavenly host when God made man. Psalm 89:5-6 - “The heavens praise your wonders, Lord, (just like Job 38), Your faithfulness too, in the assembly of the holy ones. In the council of the holy ones God is greatly feared; He is more awesome than all who surround Him.” 2. “Dominion” in Hebrew means to tread down; to subjugate; to crumble off. God gave us dominion over all the earth and all that moves on it, and in Luke 10 and Ephesians 6 He states very clearly that we have dominion over all the powers of the enemy. God Almighty has completed what needed to be done and does not allow them to do what is not written in His Word, and when they step out of bounds to His Word He doesn’t want us to put up with it either. He gave us dominion. They are defeated foes. The battle has been won! Victory is ours through the sacrificed Blood of Jesus that is still on the earth! The Blood still speaks!!! Eternally! Notice Jesus executed this Authority because of what the Father said in Genesis! Jesus treaded down the enemy, subjugated the enemy, and crumbled off all that the enemy attempted to bring against Him. He knew His Authority given to Him by God the Father, His Father. Oh, if the Church would understand this has been given to us! We are not to put up with any of the enemies mess. If we do, we dishonor the Blood of Jesus. Jesus stood on the Word spoken by His Father in Genesis to cast out devils, heal the sick, walk on the water, and stop the storms! We have been given this Authority in this realm too in Genesis, Luke, and Ephesians! Jesus only did what the Father told Him to. He did not operate beyond what the Father said. (That’s why Jesus spent so much time in prayer, to get God the Father’s plan before He did things.) Don’t move into something without getting unction from the Holy Spirit. Jesus did nothing without the Father speaking to Him. Sometimes Christian folks get into deliverance as a “ministry” and it can cause real damage. Never jump into anything like this unless the Lord is telling you to or unless you are experiencing the demonic in your life. The Holy Spirit will lead you in what to do. We don’t want to be like Joshua in Ai when he went in to destroy the city without getting God’s Word on it. (Joshua 7.) Three thousand men were killed because Joshua didn’t seek the Lord before they went in to battle. Always get the battle plan from the Lord first. He always makes perfect plans! He is THE General! 3. Replenish and Subdue: If the earth is to be “re-plenished” this means it was “plenished” before. Not grammatically correct but you get my point. And Hebrew definition of subdue means “to assault; brought them into subjection; forced into bondage; forcing; trample; tread under foot.” Adam and Eve were to do this. Although they did not, Jesus certainly did!! And He taught us to do it too. Don’t put up with the devil’s mess. He is under your feet by the Blood of Jesus! The eternal covenant in the Blood of Jesus. THE BLOOD SPEAKS! This brings much more to the mix than what we have understood before in Genesis 1 and put it in light of what Jesus did because of this Word. He understood the depth and the eternal context of what it means. Because He was God manifested in the flesh, He had to deal with sin-nature within His own flesh. He NEVER submitted to it. He was without sin, 1 Corinthians 5:21, that is why the devil couldn’t hold Him in hell. It was illegal. As 1 Corinthians 2:6-8 says, “Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect (mature): yet not the wisdom of this world, nor the princes of this world, that are coming to nothing: But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” 6. Last Bit: Details on the Crucifixion Crucifixion is one of the most brutal deaths at that time. And this was the ultimate physical torture Jesus had to go through to pay our price, our ransom from the devil and his hordes. Romans learned it from the Carthaginians, and they used it as a means of capital punishment for a thousand years. Crucifixions were designed to cause maximum pain for a prolonged period. Contrary to some tales of being tied with rope, they usually nailed wrists and feet to the wooden cross. Often the death would take several days. Birds and other animals would begin to feed on their bodies before they died. They would slowly suffocate from the position of hanging - the weight of their torso because they couldn’t hold it up on their own, would collapse on their lungs. They usually died from slow suffocation. It was a punishment typically carried out for slaves. Perfect - since mankind was made a slave under the kingdom of darkness. Jesus took the punishment of a slave. Jesus did this for all the consequences of sin upon mankind’s mistakes. “The wages of sin is death.” In other words, the result of all our mistakes is death. Jesus paid the ransom so we don’t have to. Many times those who were condemned to die this way were whipped before being nailed on a cross. Increasing the pain of raw wood scraping against torn flesh. 40 lashes were known to kill a man. Jesus was lashed with 39. The whips were braided leather strands, usually at least 3 separate braided strands with pieces of metal woven into them increased the tearing of the flesh down to the bone. The crown of thorns that was put mockingly upon Jesus’ head to symbolize being a King with a mocking sign for them but it told the truth: “King of the Jews” and so much more, King of kings and Lord of lords…meaning not just of the physical realm of kings and lords but of the spiritual realm of principalities, powers, and rulers. Jesus’ Name is above every name! (Philippians 2.) But these powers didn’t understand. Had they known this was the turning point for them they would have never done it (1 Corinthians 2:6-8). His “crown” had thorns that went through His skin into His skull. Incredibly brutal but it symbolized the “chastisement of our peace” (Isaiah 53), our human way of thinking. He suffered this to cover our tormented minds. He had to undergo the worst torture in every area: Spirit, soul, and body that was done at that time to save His created man because of the result of the enemy and sin. Or in basic English: mistakes. We have all made them and He took the penalty for all of it. Body, soul, and Spirit. Body: already described above and adding to it: with His torn flesh to His bones, He had to carry the cross made of raw wood against His gaping wounds. Romans typically broke the legs of those on the cross to speed up death. The death was grueling and could take up to a week but this was in Jerusalem and they had to appease the Jews by not having bodies hung on the high holy day of Passover. When the Lamb had to be sacrificed to save Israel…and mankind. So the Romans were breaking the legs of those hung on crosses that day with Jesus - two thieves. Exactly what Psalm 34:20 says, His legs were not broken because He had already died. I believe He died of a broken heart - “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” - because God the Father had to turn His back on His own Son! Never had He been separated from His Father. Ever. And everywhere He went His Blood spilled. On the Cross Jesus’ Blood dripped down the cross into the earth. Redeeming the earth and the dust mankind was made from. He paid that price for our bodies. The Life is in the Blood and the Blood speaks. (See Ron Wyatt’s videos on the Blood and where it went into the earth.) Soul: He dealt with His soul in Gethsemane. Genetically He was half-human and half God. He fought against His carnal-nature side of Himself that did not want to do this. He had to fight to get His will in line with the Father. He fought for our mental struggles when we don’t want to obey God. Jesus struggled so much something very strange happened…He sweat Blood. I have never experienced anything like this nor has anyone else I have met. It’s an extreme amount of stress that causes such a thing. And His Blood was spilt. It went into the earth for tormented minds - tormented souls. He paid that price. That’s why scripture says His Blood cleanses us with eternal redemption and from our guilt: Hebrews 9:12-14 - “This is an illustration pointing to the present time. For the gifts and sacrifices that the priests offer are not able to cleanse the consciences of the people who bring them. 10. For that old system deals only with food and drink and various cleansing ceremonies—physical regulations that were in effect only until a better system could be established. Christ Is the Perfect Sacrifice. 11. So Christ has now become the High Priest over all the good things that have come. He has entered that greater, more perfect Tabernacle in heaven, which was not made by human hands and is not part of this created world. 12. With His own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—He entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever. 13. Under the old system, the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer could cleanse people’s bodies from ceremonial impurity. 14. Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered Himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins.” Spirit: Jesus had to undergo all that mankind goes through including death in Spirit. Spiritual death means “separation” from God. Jesus had never been separate from His Father. He had never experienced that before. When you look at Matthew 27; Mark 15; John 19 you can see that Jesus was praying for those who crucified Him, “Forgive them for they know not what they do.” And it was not long on the Cross before He gave up His Spirit after He “died” Spiritually - separated from God. God had to turn His back on Jesus - He couldn’t look upon Him because of the sin - God would have destroyed Him, His only begotten Son, because of the sin He took on for us. His heart/soul - had morphed into a sin-ridden tormented soul of all the sin of mankind. If the Father looked at Jesus it would have destroyed Him - just like Exodus 33 with Moses. He paid that price. There are many Old Testament scriptures about Jesus. More details on Jesus at the Cross in the Old Testament than in the New: Zechariah 12:10; Psalm 22; Psalm 34:20; Isaiah 52-53; Isaiah 7:14; Psalm 69:1-4, 7-36; Psalm 23:1-6; Numbers 9:12; Leviticus 23:5; Exodus 12:22, 46. There are more Old Testament scriptures that give insight. Don’t read it like reading news headlines. This had to do with what He took on as a human to pay the price - Yes, God in flesh and He had to take on the worst of mankind at the time of rebellion to pay the price. His human family was not wealthy. You can tell by the sacrifice Mary brought the priest after Jesus’ birth, Luke 2:24, two turtle doves. According to Levitical law this was a substitute for the sacrifice of the lamb if one couldn’t afford it. She didn’t have the money for a lamb…although she had the greatest substitute…THE LAMB - Jesus. HE was our substitute for our sacrifice! Oh, there so much revelation in every Word of the Bible if you will allow the Lord to show you! It’s not a “happenstance” the little things that are mentioned. There is great revelation there. [Micah 5:2; Hosea 11:1; Isaiah 9:6-7; Genesis 3:15; Zechariah 9:9 (there is revelation about the “colt”- it has to do with Authority); Jeremiah 23:5; Isaiah 11:1; Psalm 16:10; Isaiah 50:6; Isaiah 42:1; Psalm 2:7; Genesis 49:10; Zechariah 13:7; Zechariah 11:12; Isaiah 61:1-2; Isaiah 49:7 (the “kings” and “princes” are the fallen angels); Isaiah 9:1; Psalm 110:1; *Psalm 68:18; Psalm 2; Deuteronomy 18; Genesis 12:3.] The law of Leviticus 12:8 two turtle doves are substituted for the normal sacrifice of a lamb as a burnt-offering, and a pigeon or dove as a sin-offering, when the mother was “not able” to offer the lamb. This fact is an indication of the poverty of Joseph and his espoused wife. By Jesus coming in a state of poverty, has shown that it is not dishonorable to be poor. (“Jesus became poor so that we might become rich” - 2 Corinthians 8:9.) And yet His garment had no seems…it was an expensive garment that He was stripped of at the crucifixion, again there’s revelation in that. (No station is dishonorable where "God" places us. He knows what is best for us.) And the offering had to be made in the Temple. This was likely to happen in Jerusalem preceding the visit of the Magi who brought gold, frankincense, and myrrh. After that, it would have been perilous due to Herod sending out soldiers to kill children, as Matthew 2 states they immediately left for Egypt. “Egypt” alway symbolizes the “world” in scripture. He was in it, but not of it. When you grasp how big the sacrifice of Jesus was and the depth to which God the Father went to save mankind not only from making mistakes (sin) but to put an end to Lucifer and his angels, you know you can never loose your salvation. If you could, that would be dishonoring Jesus’ Blood. What He did exceeds this “time-line” and goes throughout eternity. That’s why it’s “eternal salvation” mentioned all over the New Testament - there are over 460 verses where it’s mentioned. Out of 2 or 3 witnesses let every word be established. Jesus was God in flesh paying the ultimate sacrifice for all sin and God’s seed, the seed of the woman, God’s seed is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life from the foundation of the world. Look at 1 Corinthians 5:17-18 and Romans 6:23 and many, many others. But what the sin does is get in the way of your relationship with God. You won’t be able to hear Him clearly. Simply repent of it. Truly change you heart about the situation and allow Him to cause you to think differently; and ask the Holy Spirit to let you know if/when you are likely to get caught up in it again, He will show you. Just follow His leading. Whatever He tells you to do, simply do it. CONCLUSION Next time you receive Holy Communion, think on these things! For this is what it’s about. We are to put ourselves in remembrance of this. We are now in union with Him. He has paid the sacrifice for us. Going a step further, I believe we have been written in the Lamb’s Book of Life from the foundation of the world so God could get His seed back from the enemy. His creation back into union with Him - Ephesians 1:4-6 - “For He chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight, in love” and Revelation 13:8 - “All who dwell on the earth will worship him (antichrist), everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain.” God’s eternal plan is to save ALL of His created ones. He would have all men to be saved and come unto the knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:4). This is not simply a “nice thought.” NO! This is a promise that God made to Himself! He will bring it to pass. 2 Peter 3:9 - “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise (to Himself), as some men count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” (*See the article: The Second Death.) I pray that the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what it is that God expects (to bring you and all mankind back to Him from the fallen state) which is: He would have that all men be saved from the fall and come unto the knowledge of the truth of what happened, and why He had to do it. (Ephesians 1:18 and 1 Timothy 2:4.) Titus 1:2; 2:13-14; 3:4-7 - ”in the hope of eternal life, which God, Who cannot lie, promised before the beginning of time…Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ; Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all wickedness and to purge for Himself a people that are His very own, eager to do what is good…But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 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, whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that (we) having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.” Colossians 1:12-14 - “and giving joyful thanks to the Father, Who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of His holy people in the kingdom of light. For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in Whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” 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, equip you with everything good for doing His will, and may He work in us what is pleasing to Him, through Jesus Christ, to Whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. - Hebrews 13:20-21.

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.”

Warfare, Armor of God, How do I put on the armor of God, What does the armor of God mean, Authority, Armor of God is the Armor of Light Article below or click link for PDF PDF Armor of God is the Armor of Light “The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.” - Romans 13:12 BELT OF TRUTH BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS FEET SHOD WITH THE GOSPEL OF PEACE SHEILD OF FAITH HELMET OF SALVATION SWORD OF THE SPIRIT - THE WORD OF GOD Truth; Righteousness; Peace; Faith; Salvation, and the Word of God are more than words. THEY’RE ARMOR and they are WEAPONS. Ephesians 6:10-18 NKJV The Whole Armor of God 10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole Armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the Whole Armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having Girded Your Waist With Truth, having put on the Breastplate of Righteousness, 15 and having Shod Your Feet with the preparation of the Gospel of Peace; 16 above all, taking the Shield of Faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the Helmet of Salvation, and the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints— LEARN HOW TO APPLY THEM!! What He accomplished by His death and resurrection IS our armor. It is Jesus who IS our armor! Read the 91st Psalm in that light. He is our shield. How? By what we declare! “I will say of the Lord…”. What is it you say of the Lord during your day? In verse 14 it says “Because he holds fast to Me in love I will delver him…”. It’s always about our relationship with the Father. Jesus died on the cross to restore that relationship. All of this is knowing who you are by Jesus’ death and resurrection AND believe it and speak it in order to stand in HIS spiritual armor. When we do not, then we will constantly struggle. I know, I share this from experience. God’s Word and Prayer are essential in this ongoing warfare and is a part of our armor. And do not forget Praise, the mightiest weapon of them all! (Psalm 149:6-9; 145:18-21; 148.) Use it daily by confessing what the Word says about you, who you are in Christ Jesus and what is yours by Jesus’ death and resurrection in your every day life. Remember - Jesus said by your words are you justified and by your words are you condemned. What kind of words do you speak about yourself? Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil ( 1 John 3 ). This battle against the enemy is not “one and done.” It is ongoing until we are raptured or go by the grave. And whatever we are not taking Authority over in Jesus Name, we are submitting to. And we take Authority by what we speak! Read that again: Whatever we are not dealing with in prayer, we are submitting to! I’ve heard brothers and sisters pray putting on the whole armor as something physical not realizing it’s the knowing of who we are in Jesus that is our armor and protection. For example: we only have access to the whole armor of God through who we believe we are to Jesus and Father God. The Father sent Jesus to die for you!!! Meditate on that one if you haven’t. If we haven’t truly received our forgiveness of sins through the spilt blood of Jesus, we will have problems. Because we don’t know what is truly ours. We only have access to the “pieces” of the armor by what we believe. As is all things in Christ. Remember, He will never leave you nor forsake you! Our loins are girt about, covered, by what we truly know from the Word of God - not what we parrot out just because we’ve heard it so many times…do you actually believe it? And actually walk in it? The Word is truth and the more of it we grasp, the more of it we walk in. Our feet shod with the preparation of the Good News of what Jesus did for us, means we live it. Each day. It is how we operate our daily lives. The breastplate of righteousness covers our heart with the Righteousness of God, of which we should have received when we got born again. But many brothers and sisters have no idea that Jesus took our sin and gave us His right-standing with God. It was an exchange. WE have it, whether believers know it or not. The shield of faith - what we believe from the Word is a shield to us from attacks of the enemy, whether it’s illness, bouts of anger, lying tongue, etc. or manifestation of demonic spirits: our shield is knowing for an absolute fact what Jesus died and rose from the dead to give us! If you haven’t read the article on the Crucifixion, do it. It will help! Continuing on : the helmet of salvation IS the Word that we mediate on that protects and delivers our thoughts from lies -whether they are lies we tell ourselves or the enemy and is always, always the first place where the enemy attacks. It is also the place we have to re-train. Our own soul-ish way of thinking when it is contrary to what God has said about us needs to have a “make-over” from the Word of God. WE do that by speaking the Word to ourselves. Repeatedly. Until that is how our mind thinks. Finally, the sword of the Spirit is the Word of God that we speak over ourselves and our family when attacks come from the enemy, like Jesus in the wilderness. It is a weapon! People only speak what they believe. If you don’t know “where” you are with this, listen to the things you say. It will show you. Revelation 19:15 (Jesus) “And out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations: and He shall rule them with a rod of iron: and He treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.” Jesus knows who He is in God the Father. Do you? The tongue smites. Read James 3 if you haven’t. * FIRST: Find out who you are in Christ. Study every scripture stating, “in Christ, in Him, in Whom.” THAT my brethren, is your Whole Armor of God. The Word is Truth . Discover what your Truth is in Jesus. Then speak it over yourself and your family. The Belt of Truth What is your truth in Jesus? What is the Truth that you know beyond all shadow of a doubt? That Truth is what will gird you and enable you to stand tall and erect before sin, temptation and attack, defeating it. 2. The Breastplate of Righteousness 2 Corinthians 5:21 - “God made Him Who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the Righteousness of God”. Receiving Jesus in our hearts allowed us to become the very Righteousness of God. So, what does that mean? There are three main points to consider. 1: It’s Not Earned, It’s Given Through Exchange The unique thing about God’s Righteousness and God seeing you as approved is that there’s not enough you could ever do to earn God’s approval. God’s Righteousness is not earned, it is given through exchange. Here is how the exchange works: Christ takes on our sin, in fact He became our sin and in exchange for our sin we receive His righteousness. To be declared Righteous in God’s sight you must be willing to put all your sin on Christ and take up His Righteousness. Sometimes that’s hard to grasp because it sounds too good to be true, but thankfully it is true. If you will allow Him, God will take your sin and exchange it for His Righteousness. And when you received Jesus into your heart and made Him your Lord, you did just that - whether you know it or not. 2: It’s Not Bought, It’s Paid For Another wonderful aspect of God’s Righteousness is that it really doesn’t cost you anything, but it cost Jesus everything. Romans 5:9 - “So, now that we have been made Righteous by His Blood, we can be even more certain that we will be saved from God’s wrath through Him”. You are declared Righteous and Justified because of the Blood of Jesus Christ. If you have received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior then this moment, right now, you are Righteous in God’s sight. All the sin stains are gone. Paid for by the Blood of Jesus and applied to your account so that your sinful account is now paid in full. All of it! There is nothing more required. 3: It’s Not Temporary, It’s Eternal We know that sometimes Christians struggle with sin, repentance, forgiveness , and God’s Righteousness. One thing you must understand is that God’s Declaration of Righteousness over you is not temporary – it’s eternal. In a legal courtroom when a case is dismissed, sometimes it is dismissed with prejudice. What this means is the case is dismissed forever. That issue is over and done with, once and for all. That case can never be brought before the courts again. When God declares you Righteous He is in effect dismissing your original sin case with prejudice. Consider this passage in Romans: Romans 3:21-24 “But now apart from the Law the Righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This Righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus”. God’s declaration of Righteousness over your life has made you right in His sight both now and forever. It is one of the most important things to know about the Righteousness of God. Your problem of original sin has been dealt with and you are not only the Righteousness of God, you become His very special possession. In short, you belong to Him both now and forever. How Does God’s Righteousness Apply When I Sin? It is important to understand the role sin plays in relation to God’s Declaration of Righteousness. As I mentioned one of the important things to know about the Righteousness of God is that it dealt with your original sin. The sin that separated you from God, that would have condemned you to an eternity apart from God has been tried and dealt with and dismissed with prejudice. That’s why Paul could write in Romans 8:1 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” By the way, Paul wrote these words right after talking about the struggle we all face with our sinful nature in Romans 7 :18-19 “For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do — this I keep on doing”. I am sure you can clearly understand the fight that Paul is having. I certainly can. Paul acknowledges that in this body you will have struggles with your sinful nature, this is why we get new bodies at the rapture/resurrection, however that struggle does not disqualify your Right Standing with God. In fact, one of the meanings of the word condemnation is the penalty that comes down after standing trial. Because you are the Righteousness of God, you have stood trial and been found not guilty and there is no eternal penalty! Does This Give Me a License to Sin? IT DOES NOT! I would say that a person who views God’s Grace or Declaration of Righteousness as a license to sin has no understanding of Justification or Grace. While sin may not affect your Declaration of Righteousness, it does affect your ability to have close fellowship with God. That’s why when you sin you need to repent quickly because it keeps the fellowship open between you and God. The other side of the sin coin is that sin does have potential consequences. Just because it doesn’t remove your declaration or lead to condemnation, you may still have to pay the price in this life over sinful choices. The difference is the price you pay is temporary and not eternal because that has already been dealt with. So with the help of the Holy Spirit, avoid sin at all costs. But should you fall into sin, repent quickly so you will be able to maintain your beautiful fellowship with the Father. How Do I Become More Righteous? This is a good question to consider, but it’s the wrong question. One of the things to know about the Righteousness of God is that it is not something you become, it is something you are. Once you are declared Right with God or approved by God, you don’t become more right. If I were to consider this question I would ask, how do I become more like Christ? Your goal as a believer should be; to look, act, think, and behave like Christ did. When you do this, you reflect who He is in the earth. This is what God desires in our lives anyway. So don’t seek to be more righteous, you already are, seek to be more like Christ. The best part is the Holy Spirit is here to help you do it. Ezekiel 36:26-27 “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit in you and move you to follow My decrees and be careful to keep My laws.” Today my brothers and sisters, you are Declared Righteous. Do this one thing. Live like it. No matter what you “feel” like. You are Righteous with God. With the help of the Holy Spirit live like one who has been tried and found not guilty, because that is what you are. Live today knowing that if you are in Christ, you have and are the Righteousness of God. You don’t have to doubt or ever question it again. This is the Breastplate of Righteousness that protects your heart. 3. Feet Shod with The Gospel of Peace We stand on our feet alert, always ready to share the blessings of the good news of peace. Peace between man and God. Standing tall on the foundation of Jesus our Rock!. 4. Shield of Faith In every battle, we take our faith as our wrap-around shield, for it extinguishes the blazing arrows coming at us from the evil one! Those arrows of temptation, doubt and unbelief, anxiety, fear and condemnation. AS an example: Matthew 14: 29-31 “And He said, “Come.” Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind and waves, he was afraid and began to sink, cried out, “Lord save me!” Peter did not walk on the water, Peter walked on the Word of Jesus when He said, “Come.” That Word “Come” sustained Peter where he would have normally sank. He was walking out on the Word, “Come”. When Peter saw the wind and the waves, he became double minded and didn’t know what to believe. satan does not have to make you disbelieve God, he just has to make you consider. The Truth of God does not consider facts. They have no relevance when it comes to the Word of God. The Word of God combined with our Substance of Faith reigns supreme. 5. Helmet of Salvation We embrace the Power of Salvation’s full deliverance, like a helmet protecting our thoughts from the lies, the slings, and arrows of the evil one. We refuse to consider anything other than what the Word of God tells us we are in Him. No matter what the enemy would try to tell us otherwise, we combat them by God’s Word. Speak to thoughts that are contrary to the Word of God, with the Word of God. 6. Sword of The Spirit/The Word Of God We use the mighty razor-sharp Spirit-Sword of the Spoken Word of God out of our mouths, combating fear, anxiety, doubt and unbelief and attacks of the enemy. Confirming God’s Word by our words of faith that we speak. Having done all, We Stand!! 7. The Armor of Light is the Armor of God “God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.” - 1 John 1:5. He is in you. His light is armor. Like Moses in the desert with God as a pillar of Fire!!! The Israelites were afraid!!! THIS is Him IN you! It’s His Armor and you have it on the moment you received Jesus!!! You can’t take it off but you have to know “Who” is in you and what it is He does and How much He loves you. REMEMBER: (you can look this up as to what His Name “YHVH” means) - The One bringing into being, The 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, AND He IS Who is essentially unnameable-inexplicable!! THIS is Who is in you!! He IS the Armor of Light IN us!!!! The Greater One is in you and if God be for you who can be against you! (1 John 4:4; Romans 8:31.)

What is a confession, Do I have to speak the Word of God outloud, How to pray, to pray is to say, God, Jesus, Are they real, Isn't the Bible just stories How to Use Confessions Simple and Powerful Tool Article below. Or for downloadable PDF click link. PDF How to Use Confessions Simple and Powerful Tool Colossians 3:10 and Ephesians 4:24 - we are to “put on” the new man. What does this mean to “put on”? Actually, it’s literal. We behave like we have a “new self” because…we do. As we do this we will be renewed by the Holy Spirit bit by bit. And we are renewed in the knowledge of the image of the Creator, just like Colossians says: “And have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.” - Colossians 3:10. The more we learn about God the more we are renewed! It’s like when you were in the school play as a kid. You had to “put on the character” you were playing. When you put on the costume, you felt different. You felt like the character and it was easier to behave the way that character behaved. It’s the same with “putting on” the new man. There is a part to us that is changed once we are born again - our Spirit with the Holy Spirit within us. And yes, there are parts to us that drive us crazy because we can’t stand the old behavior because we “know” deep down inside that we are different. It is the struggle that Paul talks about in Romans 7 and 8. The flesh versus the Spirit. They struggle against each other. (I suggest that you read Romans 7 and 8 if you haven’t.) What we are left with is a choice. Do we behave how our flesh wants us to; or do we behave how the Holy Spirit is leading us in our Spirit. It’s a choice. This choice comes from “what” we are focused on: flesh or Spirit. If you want to change your behavior stay focused on the Holy Spirit in your Spirit by staying in the Word, acting on it, and following His gentle leadings, and making confessions from the Word. It’s that simple. As we do this we are putting on the new self, that is created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4:24). How to make confessions: Always have a notebook when you are reading the Word in your prayer time. When a scripture “jumps off” the page at you; or a scripture you don’t understand; or a scripture that just “bugs” you - write them down! If/when you get any revelation about them you can go back to that page and write it down too. For the scripture that “jumps off” the page: write it down on a separate piece of paper and change a few of the words to make it personal. I’ll show a scripture in full, then the confession: John 3:36 - “He that believes on the Son has everlasting life: and he that believes not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abides on him.” Confession : “I believe on the Son of God, My Lord Jesus Christ, therefore I have everlasting life.” Here’s a few more: Romans 8:11 - “And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit, who lives in you.” Confession: “The Holy Spirit, of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in me, therefore He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to my mortal body through His Spirit, Who lives in me. “ Colossians 2:12-13 - “Buried with Him in baptism, wherein also you are risen with Him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised Him from the dead and you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, has He quickened together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses;” Confession: “I am buried with Jesus in baptism, and I’m also risen with Him because I know God raised Jesus from the dead. Hallelujah! And I am now alive with Him because God forgave me all of my sins through Christ Jesus my Lord.” Colossians 3:1-3 “If you then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sits on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For you are dead, your life is hid with Christ in God.” Confession: “I am risen with Christ, I seek those things which are above, I keep my eyes where Christ sits on the right hand of God. I set my affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For I am dead to them and my life is hid with Christ in God.” However many confessions you have, whether it’s one or 10, or 20, whatever…put them on a sheet(s) of paper and speak them out over yourself in your prayer time. You can do this after you have said your morning prayers and read scripture; or before; or instead of “typical” morning prayers. However the Lord is leading you to do them. Things with the Lord tend to go in cycles. Or seasons, may be a better word. There will be a period of time you may focus on them. Especially if you are retraining your soul (*See Spirit, Soul, Body article). Until you get your mind renewed (Romans 12:2) with what God says about you, stay on this. You have to change your thinking to His thinking - the way He sees you through the Blood of Jesus. Not through your flesh and not through your personality. If you have never done this there’s nothing quite like this. You will sense joy, vitality, you’ll get excited. That is the Holy Spirit taking hold together with you on scripture!! (Romans 8:26-27.) It’s a good thing to do!