INDEX TO VOLUME 3(3)
24. Forty years through the desert.
25. A dedicated nation for the Lord.
26. To lead many to righteousness.
27. Will your Father hide from you what He is going to do?
28. What will the good Father do for His children?
29. Knowledge of His Love Is Needed.
30. And when I perish, I perish.
31. Do you belong to Yahweh?
32. Do you believe the Angels are there for you?
33. If He tests me.
34. The Rapture Theory .
35. Distinguish between those who serve Him and those who don’t.
36. What are we to do now?
37. That is why it is very important to me to put on “The full armour of God” every day.
24. Forty years through the desert
[Please note: For the English chapters I always use the ‘New King James’ translation of the Bible, except where I indicate otherwise. I would like to emphasize with utmost love that it is very important that you read every verse I refer to in all the chapters. I would have liked to write out every Scripture reference in these chapters for those who do not have a Bible but for those who do have Bibles, it will help me a lot if you read it yourself. Then I don’t have to write it. If you do not have a Bible, please let me know and I will send you one. If you can’t read, please let me know and I can make another plan for you. If you do not want to read, then…??]
Introduction: It’s been 44 years now that I haven’t read any books about The End Times. During these years, I sought to fulfil a command from my Heavenly Father. His command came to me as I was preparing in Komatipoort assembly, at the request of my parishioners for a whole series of services on The End Times and the ultimate Rapture and Second Coming of Christ. I was in my study making a big sketch of the events at the end time: the rapture, the 7 years of great tribulation and the revelation of the Antichrist, etc. As I was doing this, a great dissatisfaction and unrest poured into my heart. I fell to my knees and asked my Father what was going on? He said to me, “You’ve read all these things in books and heard sermons about it too, but my child, it’s not going to happen that way. You also don’t need to know it all now”. Then He gave me Acts 1: 7 to read: “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth”. He also said to me, “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.” (John 16: 12-14). My Father’s words so comforted me that I was no longer searching for the facts and the so-called “truths about the end times”.
25. A dedicated nation for the Lord
In Luke 1:17 He gave me a word that still lives in my heart to this day: “He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord”.
Surely this is the people God initially looked forward to receiving ‘from the Gentiles for His name’ (Acts 15:14). It will surely be a well-equipped or prepared people referred to here, especially if you also read in the following verse: “Simon has declared how God at first visited the gentiles to take out of them a people for His Name” (Acts 15: 14). As you read this Scripture, you will notice that I try to stay strictly with the ministry that Jashuah gave me, namely, to prepare Him a well-equipped people. Throughout the 44 years, I was continually humbling myself before God so that He could fill me with the Spirit of His Son (Gal. 4: 4-7). Without His Spirit, I would not have been able to have my humble share in the preparation of this equipped people. It is “the people who are the saints of the most high” (Dan 7:27; 1 Pet. 2: 9-10).
I prayed a lot and waited for Him to lead me. Of course, there have always been different-thinking Christians, with whom I have peace and whom I love. Daniel 12: 3-4 spoke very strongly to me. My first calling was to be a wise man, part of those who would glitter like the brightness of the firmament. The wise virgins in Matt 25: 1-13 took extra oil in their vessels with their lamps as they waited for the Bridegroom’s coming. The foolish virgins did not. And because the Bridegroom delayed till midnight to come, when the night was at its darkest, the foolish virgins’ lamps died because of a lack of oil. The wise virgins’ lamps kept burning. They were also the only ones who could go into the wedding feast. Therefore, to be a part of the equipped people of God, you must have enough oil, enough of the fullness of the Holy Spirit, to carry you through if it is to become night in this world. Then, if the night is going to stretch, you will especially need patient endurance. This is where the Scripture in Revelation 3:10 comes in: “Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth”. The Bible commentaries I consulted here refer to the same patient endurance Jashuah had when He had to carry His cross under severe persecution and suffering. In the hour of trial that God is going to send over all the earth to test the inhabitants of the earth, we will need the same kind of endurance that Christ had. The commentaries I have consulted are very old and say very clearly that God did not promise to save us FROM these trials (Through a Rapture), but IN (amid) the trials-– while we are in the test—keep us in a miraculous way (interestingly, the 1953 Afrikaans Bible translation uses the word ‘in’ and not ‘from’ – “sal Ek jou ook bewaar in die uur van beproewing”). Like Daniel’s three friends were in the oven when it was heated seven times, and yet the smell of the smoke was not even on their clothes when they walked out without injury. But, there was a “fourth man” with them in the fire and it looked like the Son of God! (Dan 3:25). Do you believe it was Jashuah Messiah? I believe it! What would prevent you from having the same Son of God with you in the fire when you come to the hour of trial? Especially if He promises you in Isaiah 43 verse 2, that He will be with you in the fire!?
In Daniel 12: 3 it reads: “Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever” . For that was the reason why He gave us understanding: “And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life” (1 John 5:20). A wise man therefore knows the One Who is true, Jashuah Messiah. I realised very clearly that even though I would be educated and knowledgeable and have a human mind to think and try to explain all these Biblical writings, it would not help me. On the contrary, it would be a stumbling block for me. Although I would have the ability to reason with dissenters and even win debates, it would not benefit me either. How could I, with the human mind, with the thoughts of the flesh, think of God’s truths? Romans 8: 4-11 that compared two sources of thought, opened up to me: Either my carnal, human mind meditates on the truths in the Scriptures, or the Spirit of Christ. How can I, as a sinful, carnal person, think of the things of a Holy God? If I were to study science, as my passion was, I could do it with my carnal mind. But not in God’s things. Does Scripture not say, “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. But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. For “who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ”. Yes, we have the mind of Christ! But we must first be identified with Christ in His death regarding our own carnal thoughts, before the thoughts of Christ can flow through us. Because it is part of His resurrection life!
So when we talk about what the equipped people of God are going to look like, we will have to talk about them as 1 Corinthians 2 verse 13 says: “These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual”. Now you must first read 1 Corinthians 2: 1-12. And I can’t overstate how important it is that you read this passage! What is said in verses 3-5 is therefore my prayer and desire: That the Word of the cross (1 Cor 1:18) will always remain at the heart of my preaching (2: 2). That I would be so weak in myself, yes, even in fear and great trembling (verse 3), that “… my speech and my preaching shall not be with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God”. Also, I will speak the wisdom of God, which has been hidden for centuries, but will now be revealed by His Holy Spirit (verse 7). These are mysteries that no eye has ever seen or no ear ever heard, or that have not even entered the heart of anyone that God has prepared for those who love Him (verse 9). God will reveal it to us through His Spirit, to everyone who loves Him with all their heart, all their soul, all their mind and all their power (Matt. 22: 34-40).
From the above it is therefore very clear that, in order to get a revelation from God concerning the end times, you must know Jashuah, the True One, the Son of God, and love Him with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind and all your strength. Additionally you must love your neighbour like yourself. Knowing Him means knowing Him in the power of His resurrection. This only happens while you are conformed to His death. Now read Philippians 3: 7-14 and pray that God gives you insight into it. Did you notice that you will have to give up things that are important to you (verse 7, 8). Also, you cannot try to please God with a righteousness that comes through the law (your own good works), but only by believing in Him, that Christ is your righteousness (verse 9; 1 Cor 1:30). Then you can know Him in the power of His resurrection! But, it is conditional: “while I am conformed to His death ” (verse 10). Therefore, you will not be able to know Him in the power of His resurrection unless you believe that you were crucified with Him and that you no longer live, but that Christ is now your life (Gal. 2: 19-20). Then only can you know the True One!
And then you will be a wise man who shines like the brightness of the firmament! (Dan 12: 3). Then you can also face the future with great joy and expectation that nothing will separate you from His love, as Romans 8: 31-39 says. This Scripture is so freely sent out by ‘whatsapps’ to encourage people that nothing will separate us from God’s love. And this is truly a Scripture you should read. It is a MUST!
In 2 Cor 3: 7-9, Scripture emphasises that the ministry in the dispensation of the Spirit—that is, the time in which we now live after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit—will be far greater in glory than the glory in the time of the Law, or the time of Moses. If we look at all the miracles that took place during the time of the Law, it blows your breath away! Just think of the exodus from Egypt through the Red Sea! There was great glory. But now Paul says that the glory in the dispensation in which we now live will be much greater! Do you expect it? Or are you looking for an escape route—“The Rapture”. Don’t you think that if you have the same endurance that Christ had (Rev. 3:10), you will be able to go through the greatest trial with victory? Or do you not think that God is able to carry you through it? We do not look now at your abilities but at God’s. The question is not: “Can I endure such a tribulation?” Because then we discuss our capabilities. And Jashuah said, “Without Me you can do nothing” (John 15: 5). When He was on earth, He also said that He could do nothing without His Father (John 5:19). And as He is, we are in this world. (1 John 4: 17-18). Can you believe that there is a greater glory than God did in His day? Yes, this is what He is going to do at this time for those who believe in Him, even greater things than He did for His Son, Jashuah. Hear the words of Jashuah: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it” (John 14: 12-14). “Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?” (John 11: 40).
What we need is faith in God: “So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. “(Mark 11: 22-24). And if you want to say, “Lord give me more faith” (Luke 17: 5), Jashuah says, “Faith works through love” (Gal. 5: 6). So you need a deeper love relationship with God and with His Son.
26. To lead many to righteousness
The second part of my calling is to “lead many to righteousness” (Dan 12: 3). Because I went through many different disparate teachings about the end-time 44 years ago, I asked the Father: Father “here I am, send me” (Isa. 6: 8) for whatever you want to use me for. The equipped people of God will first come to Jashuah. He says in John 5: 39-40: “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life”. Several times, Jashuah invited the people to come to Him. Read John 7:37: Matt 11: 28. But no, they go to church and go to people to help them, but do not go to Jashuah. They do not want to come to Him to have life. Why not? They don’t want to!
A Christian living far from God, yet close to their church and their teachings and views, is now filled with anguish. This is not the case only now, with the outbreak of the Coronavirus. Through the years in which so many of the signs of the times have already been fulfilled, many wished that there was some way in which they could escape the distress. However, a deceptive teaching suited those who do not walk in a love relationship with God and His Son. That teaching is the doctrine of “The Rapture.” It suits them well because they do not need to be full of the Holy Spirit, nor have a love relationship with God that drives all fear out (1 John 4: 17-19). So they do not have to save oil for their lamps. They do not have to forgive those who have sinned against them, nor do they need to love them.
Scriptures such as Luke 21: 34 – 36, especially verse 36, have been widely used by preachers and book writers: “Watch therefore, and pray always that you may [b]be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man”. This same Scripture was, among other things, used by some preachers and writers of books to put me in a state of anxiety 58 years ago. Some used it again to soothe people in their hearing (2 Tim 4: 3). But thirteen years later, I began searching with all my heart to live close to God. And that desire has only gotten bigger and bigger over the years. As Colossians 3: 1-4 says: “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. If you live so close to Christ, He who is one with His Father, your life with Christ will be hidden in God. There will be nothing left to see from you. People will see Christ, and Him alone, when they look at you. Your oneness with the Father and His Son will be like the oneness between them (John 17:21). And it is this unity that will let the world know that Christ was sent by His Father! John the Baptist said, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30). And we know that he became so much less that he was finally beheaded (Matt. 14:10). If you were then to become less to such an extent, you would realise that there is nothing good in you (Rom 7:18). You would also realise that through your good works, the works of the law, you cannot obtain righteousness before God (Phil. 3: 9-12). Then you would discover Christ as your righteousness (1 Cor. 1:30). Then you would also realise that He has already worked in you eternal righteousness through His death and His sacrifice on the cross (2 Cor 5: 21; Heb 10: 10-18). Therefore, if you believe it, you can now call yourself a righteous one in Christ! Yes, a saint! For God has given you the right to do so in His Word.
27. Will your Father hide from you what He is going to do?
If you live in this love-unity to which I have referred in the above paragraphs, your Heavenly Father will say as in Gen. 18: 16-17: “And the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing?”” Abraham was called a friend of God (James 2:23). If you and I can also be called a friend of God because we love Him so much and seek to please Him in everything, He will also not hide from you when the day comes that He will send His Son back to this earth. Especially if you are more than a friend, you are His son / daughter! His own child! That is why I do not want to get involved in reasoning about the rapture, the great tribulation and all the things that the Bible scholars and academics have talked about so much. In the fifties we had the book of Dr. D R Snyman, “The Coming of Christ and the Coming Crisis” in our home. After that, many books came my way, and many sermons on this subject were also preached in the churches. When, for the first time in 44 years, I went on the Internet last week and Googled: “The Rapture of the Church”, I was shocked to see how many websites there are on these topics. And not to mention all the books that are available. As I read through these websites a little bit and I noticed the differences that exist between scholars, ministers and Christians in general, I once again experienced that immense dissatisfaction that prompted me 44 years ago not to study this subject. How can all these scholars, supposedly through one Spirit, the Spirit of God, hold such a variety of teachings and views? There should be only one Spirit and one opinion (1 Cor 1:10; Eph 4: 1-6; Phil 1: 27-30, Phil 2: 1-2).
28. What will the good Father do for His children?
In Matt 7:11, Jashuah asks His disciples: “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!” If you haven’t had children of your own yet, it may be harder for you to understand what Jashuah is saying here. Yet you can imagine a father’s love for his child. Will you, if you are a father of a child you love very much, allow that child to be caught unexpectedly by a traumatic event? “Never!”, your answer will definitely be. What if that child was nonsensical and naughty? Still, you wouldn’t allow him to go unwarned. You would protect him, ward off his evil and warn him in advance where possible. Why? “For the love of Christ compels us” (2 Cor 5:14). Now do you not think that the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of love (2 Tim. 1: 7), who will guide us in all truth (John 16: 13-15) and also proclaim the future things to us, will do the same for us? To also warn us in time and to prepare us for the day of Jashuah’s coming? The Name “Comforter” (John 14: 16-17, 26; John 16: 7) means “Someone who calls you to come and stand with him” (In the Amplified Classic Bible the Holy Spirit is called the ‘Comforter, Counsellor, Helper, Advocate, Intercessor, Strengthener, Standby’). In many great tribulations, persecutions and distresses, our loving Father called us and said, “My Child, come and stand here with Me, here with Me it is safe”. As He told Moses in Exodus 33:21, “And the Lord said, “Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock.” What a loving Father who is so concerned for His children. If we who are bad are fathers of “caring”, how much more is He, our heavenly Father who is good, a Father of caring?! He whose mercy is forever. This is His Name (Exod 34: 5-6; Ps 136: 1-26). Read what Job says about God’s care for him in Job 10:12.
29. Knowledge of His Love Is Needed
The knowledge that surpasses all knowledge is the knowledge of the length and breadth and height and depth of Christ’s love (Eph. 3: 16-21). And that knowledge fills you to all the fullness of God, the God who has the power to do “far beyond what we pray or think, according to His power working in us” (Eph. 1: 19-20). A lack of a deep and intimate love relationship with God our Father, and His Son, our Saviour, is the reason why there have been teachings that must serve as “lifebuoys” to give hope to the fearful Christians. “Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love” (1 John 4: 17-18).
It is therefore the love of God in your heart (Rom. 5: 5) that boldly replaces your fear of the day of judgment. Knowing that your Father loves you, you do not fear to meet His Son on His return. Nor do you fear the greatest tribulation that may yet come upon this earth. “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; your rod and Your staff, they comfort me” (Ps. 23). Daniel’s three friends were thrown into the furnace, which was warmed seven times, but they were fearless and did not care to die (Dan 3). And that was the attitude and experience of all who believed God. If you read in Hebrews 11, you might be embarrassed if you think that you still carry some kind of fear of the future inside you. How do you grasp a message that tells you that you are not going to enter into the great tribulation, while Hebrews 11:35 says that the people who were tortured did not want to receive deliverance, in order to obtain a better resurrection?
Unfortunately some of the meaning of the original Greek text of Revelation 3:10 was lost in its translation to English. The intended meaning from the Greek text is “to deliver thee out of, not to exempt from, the hour of temptation—the appointed season of affliction and temptation” (This is from a Bible Commentary I have – Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary on the Whole Bible, Deluxe Edition). Surely His purpose is to test you in fire like Daniel’s three friends, and you can get away without injury. Or as in the case of Stephen, where He allowed them to stone him and yet his face shone like that of an angel as he died. Read Acts 6:15 and Acts 7: 54-60. In both cases, God was glorified! And that’s what it’s all about. It is not about your and my protection, it is about glorifying God so that the world can know that He is God! “Do all things for the glory of God” (1 Cor 10:31). If you truly know Him and His Son, you will realise that it is not about you, nor for your sake, but for His glory (Ezek 36:32). I know this could lead to serious ‘intellectual’ debate but this is not a case for the mind but for the spirit. It is up to you to sit before your Father and ask Him to reveal the truth to you.
You can only gain knowledge of His love if you know Him personally. If you know about Him, it is not to say that you know Him. I know a lot about the Queen of England because I read a lot about her. But I’ve never met her. You can know a lot about Jashuah because you have read and studied the Bible over and over, maybe even have a doctorate in theology, but you may never have met Him. Therefore you do not know Him. To know Him is eternal life (John 17: 3). To be able to look forward to this end time where the wrath of God is burning all over the world against the wicked and those who disobeyed God, you must know Him. For He wishes that the fire were already kindled (Luke 12:49) and you also wish it because you have the mind of Christ (1 Cor 2:16). You must know Him so closely that His heart beats in your heart, that His thoughts and what is important to Him are equally so in your life, because you have the mind of Christ.
30. And when I perish, I perish (Esther 4:16)
The martyrs who perished in their millions during the Middle Ages were, according to history, excited to die for the sake of the Name of Jashuah. As I mentioned above, Hebrews 11 : 35 refers to people who were tortured and did not want to accept liberation in order to obtain a better resurrection. Are there degrees of resurrection then? When I look at the souls of the martyrs under the throne of God in Revelation 7: 9-17, I want to believe that some people will have a better resurrection than others, especially those who died for His Name’s sake. Read it yourself and then you decide on it yourself. As they were stoning Stephen, Jashuah rose as if to honour this man who died for His Name (Acts 7:56)! Other places in the Bible we read that Jashuah sits at the right hand of God, but here He stands! For the apostle Paul, dying was something he longed for (Phil. 1: 20-24). The reason, of course, was because life was Christ for him! (Verse 21). For Paul, this desire to live in his heavenly abode with Christ was a matter of his whole heart. Now read 2 Corinthians 5: 1-7 and also 1 Cor 15: 51-58. And it was not because he was afraid of a tribulation that would lie ahead, for he said so clearly: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13). And what traumatic experiences did he not go through? Read 2 Cor 6: 1-10. Then he also says: “…what persecutions I endured. And out of them all the Lord delivered me” (2 Tim. 3:11). And the reason Paul was able to say that was certainly not because he missed or escaped these persecutions and tortures, but that God kept him in the midst of those trials. After all, it was a promise from God in 1 Corinthians 10:13: “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it”. I quote only a few passages from Scripture, but if you are a reader of these testimonies of God’s faithfulness, you will have to testify that there was no one who had to go through a torture or trial where God and His Holy angels did not assist them to die in triumph and victory.
Why are the Christians of today so afraid of death? In the past centuries it was different. Is life no longer for them Christ as it was for Paul in Phil 1:21? Even today, it is not pleasant for Christians to be persecuted for the Name of Jashuah. They are striving everywhere to be popular in the world and to be accepted by society. But 2 Tim 3:12 says, “and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” Believing in Christ is a gift from God. But so is suffering for Him (Read Phil 1:29). At the time of Acts, they “rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer for His name” (Acts 5:41). How different are things today? The people of those days considered it an honour to suffer for the Name of Jashuah. They felt that they were considered worthy by God to suffer for His name. They could have escaped the torture if they had only listened to the chief priests requests to no longer speak in the Name of Jahshua (Acts 4:18; 5: 28-33). We have already read above what a wonderful moment it was for Jashuah when Stephen died for His Name, so much so that He rose at the right hand of His Father. Then I realised that it is not only glory for the believer, who dies or is tortured for the sake of Jashuah’s Name, but also for God and His Son. “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints” (Ps. 116: 15)
31. Do you belong to Yahweh?
Paul says in Rom 14: 8 “For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s”. In Isaiah 43: 1-2, Yahweh declares to you through a living Word: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine! When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you”. He says 365 times in Scripture: “Don’t be afraid”. For each day of the year a new promise: “Do not be afraid”. And many times He adds: “For I am with you”!
Have you ever read in Scripture where He says, “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?” (1 Cor 6:19)? The reason for that? Jashuah bought us for His Father (Rev. 5: 9 – read also Amplified Classic translation here). He bought us dearly with His blood (1 Cor 6:20; 7:23). We are His property (Titus 2:14). With us it is just not another religion. It is a matter of ownership. Jashuah who bought me for His Father. And I belong to Him. I am God’s child (1 John 3: 1), part of His family, His offspring (Acts 17:29; Mal 2:15).
32. Do you believe the Angels are there for you?
From a young age we have heard about our “Gaurdian Angels” and in even lighter words such as “the little angels that watch over you”. But the matter of the angels who are ministering spirits sent out to those who will inherit salvation is a great Biblical truth: “And of the angels He says: Who makes His angels spirits and His ministers a flame of fire; …. Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation? (Heb 1: 7, 14). Ps 103: 20: “Bless the Lord, you His angels, who excel in strength, who do His word, heeding the voice of His word!” Do you believe that? Do you believe that when you speak God’s Word, the angels, powerful heroes, fulfil and execute it? It is a wonderful journey through Scripture as the Holy Spirit lets you open up in various places and shows you what the ministry of angels has entailed throughout the ages. It is not only in the case of Daniel where the angels closed the mouths of the lions (Dan 6:22). You can just ask your Father to show it to you. And then you will become aware of the crowds of angels around you as you go to bed at night and when you are traveling in the day (Ps 34: 7; Ps 35: 4-6). Do you believe that the angels are at your disposal to fulfil the word of God for you? Do you believe that they were there in the past and will also be there in the distant future? Even if times were more difficult than now or ever before?
33. If He tests me
Job had enough reason, humanly speaking, to wonder if God had not left him. He did not know about the challenge God had given Satan when He gave him the right to oppress and test Job. Read Job 1. For the above reason, Job feels abandoned and rejected by God and he says in Job 23: 8 that he does not find God anywhere. Yet, he says, “If He tests me, I will come forth like gold” (verse 10).
Years ago, I worked for six months as essayer in a gold laboratory where I sometimes had to work at the furnaces in which we melted the gold. So I had to work in every section of the process by which we extracted gold from the rough stone-ore. Finally the piece of gold glittered out of the fire with the most beautiful shine! I had often wondered why I had to work there. But today I know: To get gold out of the rock, it has to go through a whole process, a process that eventually, and not just once, includes fire. Scripture says in Ps 12: 7 that “The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times”
Scripture says in Zechariah 13: 8-9 that two-thirds of the land will perish, and the one-third remaining will be brought into the fire and be refined and tested. We do not want to debate about the two thirds right now. Nor what country He is talking about and whether He is talking about the whole world. There are different Scriptures in Revelation that say that a third of the people perished. But I don’t want to talk about that now either. What is important, however, is the fact that large numbers of people will be exterminated by God’s fierce judgments, namely the sword, the famine, the pestilence and the wild beasts. Also through the fire of His wrath (Zeph 1:18). But what is most important now is the test of fire through which the remnant—the one-third—will pass (Zech. 13: 8-9).
Different places in Scripture speak of the remnant. In Isaiah 11 verse 11, He speaks of the remnant in the last days when “It shall come to pass in that day that the Lord shall set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people who are left”. In Rom 9:27 He says : “… only the remnant will be saved”. Rom 11: 5: “Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace”.
Many have been through trials with great victory and glory. (Like Stephen: Acts 7: 54-60). Paul says in 1 Cor 3: 13-15 that declares “each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.”
Peter tells us that it is imperative that we go through a fiery persecution, which serves as our trial, and that we thereby have fellowship with the sufferings of Christ, so that we may rejoice with joy in the revelation of His glory: “Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you , as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s suffering, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy”. (1 Pet 4:12-13). You must first read the entire passage in 1 Pet 1: 3-12. In verses 5-9, he writes about the “salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honour, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls”.
Now I’m going to ask you to read it again. Yes, I let you read a lot, but it’s your privilege. If you are a lazy reader, like most of us modern people who have become accustomed to social media, you are going to have a little trouble with this word I am writing to you! Right now we are going through a “lockdown” due to the coronavirus. For many people it is difficult to keep themselves busy, but if you love reading it is a great advantage—especially if you can read a living word that comes to you from the love-filled heart of your Father! And by the way, for me writing this, it is not a hassle but a great privilege. Now please read Romans 5: 1-5. Notice that Paul boasts of the glory of God that he could receive because of his belief that he was justified, not by his own human endeavours, but by the grace of God. And not only does he boast in the hope that he now has of God, but he also boasts in the tribulation, because the tribulation produces patience and perseverence, and the perseverence character; and the character, hope. And this hope is not in vain because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit whom He has given to us.
The reason God wants to test us is not to show how well we have performed but to prove His greatness and glory. The passage we read in 1 Peter 1 says very clearly that the trial of our faith is far more precious than gold purified by fire which will eventually perish! But the trial of our faith will never perish, because it is forever a proof to Satan and his evil powers (Eph. 3:10) what God is capable of doing through His Son, Jashuah Messiah.
Jashuah had to go through various tests to be declared as the Son of God. He was tempted by Satan in the wilderness for 40 days (Matt. 4: 1-11). His final test was in Gethsemane when He made known His desire for the bitter cup to pass Him by without Him having to drink of it, saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done” (Luke 22:42). As He had to go through many tests, we also need to be tested on different facets of our lives. And then to be declared as having passed! Ps 105: 19: “Until the time that his word came to pass, the word of the Lord tested him (Joseph)”. Deut 13: 3: “For the Lord your God is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.”
34. The Rapture Theory
You may feel offended if I call the rapture theory a theory. But my Heavenly Father spoke so strongly to me about the wrongness of that teaching, telling me that it is the view of men and not of Him: “This conviction does not come from Him who calls you.”(Gal. 5: 8).
God has been weighing light against darkness from the time of creation. He wants to prove that He is God, the Almighty Creator of all that is. No being in heaven or on earth is above Him. No authority or power or dominion can rule over Him. At the beginning there was nothing. There was also no darkness because darkness is not nothing, it is something. Then He made darkness, and then said, “Let there be light” so that the light might shine in the darkness. “And the Light shines on in the darkness, for the darkness has never overpowered it [put it out or absorbed it or appropriated it, and is unreceptive to it]” (John 1: 5 – Amplified Classic).
When Satan tempted the being God made in His image by offering him the tree of knowledge through his wife, Adam fell for it. On the face of it, this was a great defeat for the God of light. But, did the light fall before darkness? If God had not sent His Son into the world as the light of the world, to deliver Satan, the prince of darkness, a crushing defeat, it would be so. This would have meant that darkness had overwhelmed the light. But the weapons of light are much stronger than the weapons of darkness. Throughout the ages, there has been a weighing up of God’s weapons against Satan’s weapons.
When we were kids, we were at an arms-show held near our hometown, Heidelberg. I was so proud when I saw my country’s weapons! I believed that no country in the world could take us on in a war! This was obviously how I thought of, and perceived it, as a child! But now that I am a child of God, and He showed me that “The Lord of hosts musters the army for battle“(Isaiah 13: 4), I believe that there is no power or strength or dominance in heaven, down on earth or in Hell, resistant to the armament of Light. “God is light and in Him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1: 5). And when His Son came into this world, the One who is the image of the invisible God (Col 1:15), He said, “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12). How is a light tested more properly than in the dark? If you want to see how bright your lamp is, don’t test it in sunlight, but test it in the dark. Therefore, it must truly become dark on this planet earth, so that God can demonstrate whether His Son, as the light of the world, truly shines within you. “For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4: 6).
And how are a country’s weapons of war tested? It must first be brought to war and weighed against the enemy’s armies. And how will the full armament of God be tested—the full armour of which Scripture speaks in Ephesians 6: 10-19? Or have you never reported yourself as a warrior in this war between light and darkness? Read 2 Tim 2: 1-4 and then you decide whether to report as a warrior before God your Father, and Jashuah sitting at His right hand, He who died in your place. Or would you rather be ‘raptured’ before this war? Would you like to be taken away before the Almighty God could prove through you that His Son is the light of the world? Do you realise how long God and His Son have been looking forward to this day? Read Luke 12: 49 again. Do you realise how much He wants to demonstrate through you that He is God? Or are you also one of those to whom Romans 2:24 refers: “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you”? In Psalm 78: 9 is a word that puts the children of God to shame: “The children of Ephraim, being armed and carrying bows, turned back in the day of battle”.
It is clear to me that there must be a separation between those who are afraid and those who are filled with the heroism of their King Jashuah Messiah. Judges 7: 3 says: “Now therefore, proclaim in the hearing of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is fearful and afraid, let him turn and depart at once from Mount Gilead.’ ” And twenty-two thousand of the people returned, and ten thousand remained.” If I think that distress must grow even greater on this earth, darkness must descend even more upon humanity, then I am also distressed. But I know that God chose those who are weak to shame those who are strong, because what is weak with God is stronger than men (1 Cor. 1: 25-31). 2 Cor. 12: 9-10: “And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong”. How weak did Moses feel when he stood at the Red Sea and saw the Egyptians arriving? How weak did David feel when he walked with his shepherd’s clothing as a young boy to the experienced warrior, Goliath? The book of Hebrews in Chapter 11 has a whole list of these men and women of faith. Please read it so that you may realise that no matter how weak and distressed you feel, you will not be ashamed, and neither will God be who is relying on you to glorify His Name.
If I create the impression that I am full of bravery, and also full of myself, I can assure you that I have never felt as weak as right now. I now deal daily with people who lost their jobs due to this coronavirus lockdown. I experience their distress and powerlessness. And I love them and feel sorry for them. And I hear some of them say, “We only have one way out now: “The Rapture !”. My answer to them is, “Isn’t the time perhaps closer than we think when we will see the Bridegroom coming and we have no spare oil for our lamps? (Matt. 25: 1-13). And worst of all, we built a false hope on a false doctrine that told us that before the storms and tribulation came, we were going to be caught away in the Rapture. Has our Saviour not warned us everywhere not to be deceived? Quickly read: Matt 24: 4; 2 Thess 2: 3; 1 Jn 4: 1.
If ever there was a time when you must make sure that you, as a sheep of the Good Shepherd, know His voice, it is now (John 10: 1-5). You must be able to go to your Father yourself and ask Him if there is truly a rapture. Ask Him, if you can, if you perhaps sit in vain waiting for a rapture of believers which will not take place. It is not yet too late. “… He designates a certain day, saying in David, “Today,” after such a long time, as it has been said: “Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts” (Heb. 4: 7).
If you notice that you do not yet know the voice of the Lord, it is not too late. However, do not sit and rest on your laurels, but immediately go to Him with the request that He let you know His voice. In John 8:43, Jashuah says, “Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word”. “He who is of God hears God’s words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God” (verse 47). I have written a lot on this topic, but I only mention briefly that you really need to come to Jashuah as your personal Saviour. Not only to the Bible or Scriptures, but to Him, to know Him personally, to love and to obey Him. Also with the desire to know His voice because you love Him and desire fellowship with Him —not just to save you from problems and threats.
Somewhere on our website: “Stilles in die Land” I have a chapter or more written about it. Please find and read it.
35. Distinguish between those who serve Him and those who don’t
“Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us” (1 Cor. 5: 6-8). Verse 13: “Therefore “put away from yourselves the evil person””. Ultimately, the community of the saints, “The Church” (with a capital letter), will all be saints. Everyone will know God, small and great among them (Heb 8: 11-13). Over the years, many un-reborn and wicked people have seeped into the midst of God’s children. Galatians 2: 4-5 calls them: “false brethren secretly brought in (who came in by stealth to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage), to whom we did not yield submission even for an hour, that the truth of the gospel might continue with you.” Throughout the time of the apostles—the Acts period—they always sought to remove the smuggled-in false brethren from their midst, precisely because a little leaven made the whole dough sour.
But after the last apostles died, a new era began, in which many wrong elements poured into Christianity. I don’t want to talk about this now, but the history books are full of it. Many factions arose out of division, and the division was due to differences of opinion about Scripture. Where do the many Christian denominations come from around the world? It stems from human opinions and opinions about the Word of God—and that from one Bible! And everyone thinks his faith is right. A kingdom divided against itself will not stand (Matt. 12: 25-26).
God alone knows how to bring this highly-divided Christianity to a unity in Christ. And He will do it because His mouth has spoken it! After all, He gave His life for it (John 11: 49-52). The angels will play a major role in this, namely, to separate the wheat from the tares (weeds). Now you must first read the parable of the wheat and the tares (weeds) in Matthew 13: 24-43. NB : If you have maybe not read this at this point, I would urge you to do so. Did you notice that the angels would first bind the weeds into bundles and throw them into the fire? Then they will gather the wheat and bring it into God’s barn. It is very important to know that “tares” or “darnel” is a ‘poisonous grass’ growing among the wheat. And “The Explanatory Bible” in turn says that the farmers find it difficult to remove the “darnel” from in between the wheat and usually they grow it together until the time of harvest. That is exactly what our Bible says. And Jashuah says that it is the Devil who sows the weeds among the wheat. If we tried to remove it we would damage the wheat. The angels must do it. Oh how I tried to remove the weeds from among the wheat myself while I was still in the pastoral ministry. I can’t imagine being so stupid!
This work that the angels are going to do in the end times, the Scripture calls “The apostasy” (2 Thess 2: 3 – Read this in the Amplified Classic bible). How important it is that we call for this “apostasy” in prayer. It is the separation between the wheat and the weeds! If you are a true intercessor, you will be led by the Holy Spirit to pray earnestly for it. We cannot continue to live in such a mixed Christian population! The ‘Christian’ is so worldly and the ‘worldling’ is so ‘Christian’ that you can no longer distinguish one from the each other.
How many times have we in the congregation put up with people who have a form of godliness (2 Tim 3: 5), but do not know Jashuah at all. As Titus 1:16 says, “They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work.”
In previous sections we have already talked about the test of fire through which the saints will have to go. We also associated the fire with cleansing. But the cleansing of our sins can only be done through the blood of Jashuah (1 John 1: 7). Therefore, the purpose of the test of fire is not to purify the people of God, but to test their patient endurance, their perseverance (Rev. 3:10). This is what Scripture refers to in 1 Corinthians 3. Read from verses 9-23. This is very important. Note that the fire once again distinguishes between those who build on the foundation – (Christ) with “wood, straw and hay”, and those who build with things like gold, silver and precious stones. These are materials that will withstand the fire test, while the first group’s works will be devoured by the fire (verse 15). Perseverence is the ability to endure and be at peace during suffering. If you possess it you will be able to suffer for long periods and not get tired. You will never reach the point where you want Christ to come and “take you away”. His strength, which will work through your weakness, will always be there to enable you to persevere in the path of suffering you have to walk. He will uphold the promise that He will never test you above your strength or ability (1 Cor 10:13). If Jashuah speaks the Word of His endurance to you, you will have it just as John had it on Patmos (Rev. 1: 9). Note: Jashuah spoke the Word of His endurance (in other words, His ability to suffer) to John, and enabled him to endure suffering as He (Jashuah) endured it. Jashuah’s Word was John’s ability to have patient endurance. If Jashuah now speaks the same Word to you, you will also have the same patience and endurance that Jashuah had when He was so cruelly tortured, and also the same patience that John had on the island of Patmos. Now why are we afraid?
If you can bring anyone today from that “crowd under the throne of God”, who come from the “great tribulation” (Rev 7: 9-17), who amongst them can testify that God was not faithful to His Word; someone who can testify that God abandoned him when he was afflicted; someone who testifies that God was unjust by sending him through too much trial and torture? Do you think you will be able to find someone like that? No, and a thousand times No! Now why are you looking for a special permit to be raptured? Or is your fear of tribulation only because you do not have the faith that works through love (Gal 5: 6), the love that drives all fear out (1 John 4: 17-18)? Jashuah told us that He gives us victory over all the power of the enemy and that nothing will ever harm us (Luke 10:19).
The distinction between those who serve God and those who do not serve Him, as we have already read in Mal 3:18, is therefore the same cleansing as the weeds removed from the wheat, as Matthew 13: 24-30 and Matt 13: 36-43 says. It is also nothing else but the apostasy of 2 Thess 2: 3. The Amplified Classic Bible renders it as: “The great falling away of those who have professed to be Christians”. God’s purpose is to truly sanctify the people of the saints, in other words, to set them aside from all wicked influences. Do you remember the word “holy”= to set aside? As I have already said, throughout the New Testament era, the sanctification of the Church was as great a struggle just as it was through the Old Testament. To cleanse and sanctify the people was an epic war. The idolaters, their wicked neighbours, constantly beckoned to them. The young people constantly wanted to marry the godless. I am not even going to try to quote Scriptures on this. It is nearly throughout the whole Old Testament! In the time of the ‘First Church’ the temptations were there all the time. But after the death of the apostles, it only got worse. The Church of Christ ended up in the hands of many false teachers and they wandered far away. The word in 2 Pet 2: 1-22 (You do not need to read it thoroughly. Just scan-read it) came true. Also what Paul foretold in Acts 20: 29-32.
But now Christianity looks even worse. Everyone gives the impression that they are sincere and dedicated to serving God. God is believed and thanked almost everywhere. There is religious freedom in most countries and it is now so easy to be a Christian. There is persecution, but not at the scale of ages ago. Everywhere you hear Christian songs on social media and on TV. Christian articles are in many magazines. Yet, there is something that bothers me when I read 2 Tim 3:12. It says, “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution”. There are many Scriptures supporting the same. For some time now it has troubled me that the Church is no longer a persecuted church, but rather a popular church. As we studied Church history, we learned that when Christians were persecuted by the emperors in the centuries before the Middle Ages, it was a vibrant church with the life of Christ in them. Then came a time when Emperor Constantine became a Christian and instituted religious freedom. Many claim today that it was not a true conversion, but a move of Satan’s. Then the Church fell into sin and the life of Christ was no longer a feature of that church. The upright people and true children of God had to worship outside the established churches under severe persecution. They were characterized by holiness and purity, and by the fullness of the Holy Spirit.
Now, if the Church is as pious and religious as it seems, why is the apostasy necessary? Why should the weeds between the wheat be removed if the whole world is covered with wheat fields? Do you remember that the tares are a “poisonous plant that looks just like the wheat”? Do you remember that apostasy is “The falling away of those who professed to be Children of God all along”? So they all pretended to be children of God all the time, but they weren’t. It is they who are now apostatized from the Church. These are “people who have a form of godliness, but have denied the power of it” (2 Tim 3: 5). There are so many so-called “fruit of the Spirit” in Christianity, but is it real? Is it the fruit of the Holy Spirit or is it a counterfeit by the Antichrist? Is the great love that exists today in the ranks of Christians truly the love of Christ? Why doesn’t love push the large number of churches and denominations into a love- unison? If you love your brother like yourself (Matt. 22: 37-40), you want to be with him. You do not want to worship God separately, because you have one Father and one Saviour. The love of God is then supposed to urge you to give your life for your brother (1 John 3:16), how much more will you be urged, by your love for your brother, to lay down your church for him? If we are one, just as the Father and the Son (John 17: 21-22) are one, how can we still be content to worship separately from one another? If the glory that Christians experience in their religion today is truly the glory of God, why does it not make them one as the Father and the Son are, for that is the purpose for which God gave us His glory (John 17:22).
Isn’t this love and oneness supposed to be the proof that God sent His Son to this earth? Read John 17: 20-23. Isn’t that also the proof that we are His disciples? Read John 13:35. So one of the great things we need to be cleansed of is our division! Jashuah said that a kingdom divided against itself would not stand (Luke 11: 17-18). And if you are now one of the people who believe in the rapture, do you believe that Jashuah will come and rapture His bride while in such a divided state? If on this earth they could not worship God under one roof, how would they sit together in one heaven? The divided Bride will then not be a type or symbol of ‘The Wife of the Lamb’ (Rev. 19: 7). If the pastors and teachers do not strongly address this division and unlovingness in all the various churches, and promote the unity among believers themselves in love, we will be ashamed before Him at His Second Coming (1 John 2:28). But a human-organized unity won’t help. We will have to become ‘one in His hand’ like the bones of Ezekiel 37: 1-19. It is a work that can only be done by the Spirit of God if we pray for it unanimously, as on the day of Pentecost (Acts 1: 13-14; 2: 1-20). If we are truly baptized by one Spirit into one body, as 1 Cor 12: 12-27 says, we will truly be one of spirit, one of soul and one of opinion (1 Cor 1:10; Phil 2: 1-9). Consider the following question: Jashuah’s prayer in John 17: 19-26 was a serious prayer to His Father for the unity of His disciples— “… that they may be one, just as we are” (verse 22). Jashuah’s prayer was always answered as He rightly says in John 11: 41-42. How does the Church now expect a rapture in such a state of divisiveness, without Jashuah’s prayer ever being answered? If we are willing to accept that thát prayer of Jashuah will not be answered on this earth, how should I believe that mý prayer will be answered?
Do we not have to deal with the Antichrist who sits in the middle of the Christian church and presents himself as God / Christ? In other words, the form of Christ, in which the Antichrist sits in the Church and presents himself as God / Christ. And in doing so, he fulfils his evil ministry by becoming a substitute of Christ and by that, opposing Him. He therefore replaces Christ in order for the believers to stop looking for the true Christ, because they are satisfied, as they think, that they have found Him. I have somewhere told a parable of the artificial flowers, but I will tell it again: A man walks down the street to buy a bunch of flowers for his dear wife. On the way to the florist, a flower seller stands by the road and offers him a beautiful bunch of roses at a fair price. Always on the alert, because he is afraid of imitations, he looks at the roses on all sides to determine whether or not they are made of plastic. Still, they look like real roses to him and they smell so too. Very complacent he goes home with this bunch of “real roses”. He and his wife were both very happy about the roses until a flower expert came to tea with them, and the expert then commented on the flowers and said: “I hope now that I’m not going to hurt you if I say that nowadays they can fake flowers so seemingly genuine that most people do not notice it! But I think you have probably already found out?”. To their own embarrassment they had to acknowledge that they thought they were real! Did the Antichrist not really succeed in the same way so as to imitate Christ so perfectly that he even sits in the Church as Christ/ God without the Christians even noticing? Is this not what 2 Thess 2: 4 was referring to?
36. What are we to do now?
Many people ask me to pray for certain things. Then I realise that these are people who have heard the Word for so many years and are already supposed to know the voice of the Lord. But because they were busy with many other things that gave them more pleasure in life, or were more important to them, they never got to know Jashuah as their Shepherd, whose voice they should be able to hear. If it’s a newcomer, it’s a whole different matter and I would be happy to help. But for the rest, I usually say that I pray for them that Yahweh will lead them. Then they sometimes ask me, “What would you do in a case like mine?”
If you were to ask me today what I am doing in this year 2020, and especially now in this Coronavirus crisis, I would answer you as follows:
First and foremost comes my love relationship with my Father and His Son Jashuah. On my 75th birthday, I sat down in front of my Father one morning early and asked Him what He wanted to say to me? Then He told me to move from my people/country and family to the place He will show me (Gen 12: 1). In verse 4 He told me that Abram was seventy-five years old when God told him this. It was a big ‘birthday present’ for me but I didn’t know where to go. Then He said to me, “Come and sit at my right hand” (Heb 1:13; Eph 2: 1-7). Every morning, as early as possible, I go to my place where I can be alone with God. By the way, He also said to many people now with the lockdown, due to the Corona virus : “Come, my people, enter your chambers, and shut your doors behind you; hide yourself, as it were, for a little moment, until the indignation is past. For behold, the Lord comes out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity… ” (Isa. 26:20-21).
But I have not begun to seek God and His Son now for the first time in my life —because of the restrictions—I have been seeking Him from my youth, but now more than ever before. This does not mean that you should seek Him for so many years before He will reveal Himself to you. No, not at all. If you now seek Him with all your heart, you will find Him. But you must have a desire to know Him in the power of His resurrection and for that you will have to abandon many things (Phil. 3: 7-15). You will also have to strive to know the full measure of His love. It transcends all knowledge and leads to you being filled with all the fullness of God. Then you will also know and experience Him as the God who “has power to do far beyond anything we pray or think”. (Eph. 3: 16-21).
When I sit before Him, I adore Him, love and thank Him. And so, without reading the Bible at that point in time, and not asking Scriptures from Him, I spend time with Him and Jashuah in an intimate love-fellowship. The longer I can do it in the morning the better. Also, if I see how the day breaks early in the morning, I think that through this He assures me that He will never forget or break His covenant that He made with me through the blood of Jashuah His Son (Jer 33: 19-21). Then I thank and praise Him for constantly thinking about it. His covenant also entails that He will never turn away from doing good to me, and that He will rejoice in doing good to me (Jer 31: 31-36; 32: 38-42).
Also, I want to lay aside every weight (burden) (Heb 12: 1-2). You may be wondering what burdens I have. My heaviest burden is MYSELF “You are the burden” (Jer. 23:33 – Please read this in the Amplified Classic Bible). Let me say this in capital letters: I AM MY GREATEST BURDEN! Over the years, my flesh—my “humanity”—has become a heavier burden for me. Many people irritate me and I then criticize (judge) them in my heart, while Scripture says I should not judge, “for you do the same things” (Rom 2:1-5). “Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. 2 But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things. 3 And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God? 4 Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?”
This judgement sprouts from a lack of love. If you have read 1 Corinthians 13 then you should be ashamed, like I was always ashamed. How much do you endure from the one you love with a human love? You endure so much because they are your blood, or your loved ones. God’s love is a holy love (Greek – Agape), not a human love (Greek – Phileo). Every human being has love (Phileo) for some, for their own children or loved one, or maybe even just for themselves. God loves the whole world so much (Agape) that He let His beloved Son die for them. Then He punished Him in Hell for their sins. Rom 5: 5-9 “Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.”
God sends people along your path that are impossible to love, and then He wants you to love them as He loved you! Read John 13: 34-35: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another”.
There are still many burdens to bear. Do we realise how tired the flesh makes us? Two o’ clock in the morning I lay on my bed and talk to my Father and then the “Mind-traffic” flows into my mind. This phrase is going to become popular! David says, “In the multitude of my [anxious] thoughts within me,Your comforts cheer and delight my soul!” (Ps 94: 19 – Amplified Classic Bible). Paul says in Romans 8: 5-6 that the mind/thoughts of the flesh is death and in contrast he says that the mind of the Spirit is life. So to constantly think about the things of the Spirit (“the things above” – Col. 3: 1-2) also means that I walk in uninterrupted fellowship with Him and Christ. So, now that I was in His presence in the morning, I do not want to go out there and go on with my own program and my desires. If you are in a work situation where you can do nothing other than to carry out a worldly project, you do that work as if for the Lord. Just as I sat in His presence in the morning, so I want to walk in His presence all day, in the midst of a lot of work and people. I want to know His will in even the smallest of tasks of the day and still trust Him to guide me in His whole will through His Spirit. I do not want to do His will only because I am afraid and anxious that I am going to suffer harm or get into trouble.
It is also important to me that no form of fear or torment will enter my heart because it places a great burden on one’s soul and spirit! Even your body suffers because your knees become numb. And there are concerns about things that Jashuah said that we should not worry about. Such as worrying about what I will eat or drink or wear, as well as concerns about how long food will still be in the stores before the hungry masses empty them. Also fear that they will confiscate our homes and farms. To walk in fearlessness throughout the day and night, throughout my work, I spend my time constantly praising and thanking God for His love and telling Him how much I love Him. It is this love that drives out all fear (1 John 4: 17-18), because faith that move mountains works through love (Gal 5: 6). Also, thank Him constantly for all His promises that He fulfilled in Christ for us throughout the day and night. I also thank Him for His resurrection life, the same Spirit that raised Him from the dead, which is now living in me (Rom 8:11). I thanked Him early this morning that I was crucified with Him, buried with Him, and raised with Him from the dead, and therefore that I am now dead to fear. This is rebirth! This is the new life.
His Holy Spirit is faithful by continuing to remind me of His promises (John 14:26). So I do not contrive a form of escape from the furnace of fire which is now being warmed seven times on this earth. I rely on my God (Dan 3: 28-29) and on His Son Yahweh Lord of hosts, for whom no plan is unworkable (Job 42: 2). So, I don’t think of any rapture at all. I consider the things above, where Christ sits at the right hand of God (Col. 3: 1-4). My eyes are not fixed on the darkness that is rapidly descending upon this world, but my eyes are on Jashuah, the Leader and Finisher of our faith (Heb. 12: 1-2). He is the Light of the world (John 1: 4-9; John 8:12). He told us that the path of the righteous is like the “rising light that is becoming brighter until the full day” (Prov. 4:18). He also said that darkness will come upon the world, but the light of Yahweh will come upon us (Isa. 60: 1-3). Also, “at evening time it shall happen that it will be light” (Zech. 14: 7). Rom 13:12: “The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light”.
37. That is why it is very important to me to put on “The full armour of God” every day.
You will remember the chapter in Volume 1 on the “Full armour of God”? However, I am repeating it here because it is so very important! The Scripture in Ephesians 6: 10-20 that deals with this full armour of God is very important to me. Every day, early in the morning, I declare that I put on Christ, according to Romans 13: 14. Then I declare that I put on the full armour of God and I name every part of it. Christ is every part of it. But I will write about this in a later chapter.
Nowadays, with all the social media, and TV news stories, we can be so easily interrupted by the words of others causing us to be in a state of fear. Therefore, I try to avoid these things and keep my eye on Jashuah, and to carry His word in my heart and also speak it and thank Him for it. I also speak His word often by singing and praising Him. Col 3:16 “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord”. You can sing any song that the Spirit has put in your heart — the words as well as the tune.
However, there is a comfort (a false comfort??) for those who do not live close to God but continue as nominal Christians while being filled with all kinds of fear: That comfort is to believe in The Rapture! They do not have the Holy Spirit as their Comforter and therefore do not have the assurance that He will be with us until the end of the age (Matt. 28:20). What is this false comfort? The consolation is that: “Before the tribulation becomes too great and unbearable, Jashuah will take us away”. And, another great consolation is that all Christians, the whole Church, goes along with the rapture, whether they lived close to God or not. Is that true? In my young days as a preacher, when I first encountered “The Rapture”, it was not like that. You had to meet high spiritual standards to be able to go along with the Rapture. Now I’ve heard one theory that “the Great Tribulation” is only for the Jews who rejected Christ, and now they (Jews) have to accept Jashuah as their Messiah through a great tribulation—without the Holy Spirit. But the “Rapture people” also have no consensus on this! There are many rapture theories. Who are we to believe now?
Where is the catch of the lying spirit? 1 John 4: 1: “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” Take note that not only a few false prophets and deceptive spirits went out, but many. What would be the purpose of these false prophets and deceptive spirits with these lies? They want to reassure you that you are going to be caught up before the tribulation becomes too great. Therefore, it will not be necessary for you now to utilize every opportunity you have to seek your Father’s face with the desire to know Him personally, as well as His Son. And also no need to be full of His Holy Spirit. It is truly a “nice popular belief” that will soothe you in your hearing. Didn’t Scripture warn us against this? In 2 Tim 4: 3-4 we read: “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables”. I meet so many people who believe in the rapture but do not live close to the Father at all. The spirit (Spirit??) with which they are filled certainly does not take away fear from them, as 2 Tim 1: 7 says. Nor does that spirit fill them with the love of God (Read Rom. 5: 5). And there are many things in them that cannot be associated with a person filled with the Holy Spirit. We can surely say about the Christ who they confess: “But you have not so learned Christ” (Eph. 4:20). It gives the impression of “another Jesus”, “a different spirit”, and a “different gospel” (Read 2 Cor. 11: 3-4). And yet it is believed by them that such people will be caught up with the Bride of Jashuah in “The Rapture”?
You cannot be sure of tomorrow (James 4:14). You can only be sure about God, but not about tomorrow. Your trust is in Him but you do not know what His will is to do for you tomorrow. There’s an English hymn titled ‘I Know Who Holds Tomorrow’ that reads:
“Many things about tomorrow I don’t seem to understand,
but I know who holds tomorrow, and I know who holds my hand.”
One thing is certain and that is that it will take a very great miracle from Heaven to enable the saints to go through the great tribulation with victory until that morning when Jashuah Messiah arrives on the clouds in glory and victory, as the King of kings! Is it impossible for us? Definitely! But it is not impossible for the Jashuah who lives in us! He has given great glory and victory over the centuries to many martyrs, who were persecuted and afflicted for His Name. To Him, no plan is unworkable. But have you ever wondered if The Rapture will not be a matter of impossibility also? In an instant, millions of people from all over the world are being mystically changed and captured by Christ. Then they will be caught up from the sky, like with a giant magnet, and snatched to meet Him in the sky. It will take just as much a miracle as going through the great tribulation with victory! But the glory for His Name on the road of tribulation, and the experience of passing the test, is far greater than that of escaping the trials through the Rapture. I will write about this in the next chapter that I have already started. Please pray for that. Amen