And behold a throne, the 24 elders. Revelation 4:1-11.

 We closed our 'quick' look at Revelation chapters 1-3, with this, “those who have ears, let them hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches.” He is not just talking to the Pastors, who have some form of authority over the congregants; he is talking to you and me as well.

There is a problem, we are lukewarm, to the point that God will vomit us out of His mouth, but it can be fixed, and you fix it by being proactive and telling people that He is coming soon; here are the signs and you need to prepare your heart to greet Him. (You do this by accepting Jesus to be your life.)

Let's assume the rapture has taken place; therefore, the common but logical assumption is that the church is now with Jesus, in the heavens.

Revelation 4:1 CJB “After these things, I looked; and there before me was a door standing open in heaven; and the voice like a trumpet which I had heard speaking with me before said, "Come up here, and I will show you what must happen after these things.”

What happens next?

No one with a sound mind can tell you how rapidly any of these events will take place. They can't tell you because the rapidity is NOT laid out in scripture; this, however, plays into a problem we have, as we tend to see these biblical events/stories in 15-minute increments, and there is nothing to say it must happen that way.

Revelation 4:2-3 NASB “Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne. (3) And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance.”

When I went through my introduction, I believe I mentioned that the Revelation was a very Jewish book. If I did not, then I am telling you now. If you wish to understand it, you have to try to think like a Jew, and the primary source of information is still today, the Old Testament. When the Jews heard these words that we see in Revelation 4:2-3, their thoughts turned immediately to Ezekiel's writings. It would help if you also kept in mind that they had NO Bibles (no scrolls) and NO chapters and verses. The passage selection was the Rabbi’s option and was read in the Synagogue that Saturday and rehearsed throughout their lives, hopefully building it into your memory.

So, what did Ezekiel give them?

(Ezekiel 1:26-28 NASB) “Now above the expanse that was over their heads there was something resembling a throne, like lapis lazuli in appearance; and on that which resembled a throne, high up, was a figure with the appearance of a man. Then I noticed from the appearance of His loins and upward something like glowing metal that looked like fire all around within it, and from the appearance of His loins and downward I saw something like fire, and there was a radiance around Him. As the appearance of the rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the surrounding radiance. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell on my face and heard a voice speaking.”

Just for fun, Sardius and Jasper have a very similar look, with a coloration much like fire, and in many cases are often aggregated in nature. Now it gets interesting.

Page one.

Revelation 4:4 NASB “Around the throne were twenty-four thrones; and upon the thrones, I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white garments, and golden crowns on their heads.”

I struggled for years to understand what I read in Revelation 4:4. This drive to grasp what we see here motivated me to sit through three sermons of a seven-week series, given by a former Pastor, on Revelation. When he got to the elders, he merely said, the twenty-four elders are the church, and quickly moved on with no further explanation. I had had enough, and I quit this pastor and that church.

Several years later, I heard Pastor John MacArthur teach on this very thing, but this time there was an explanation and, it made sense. Let me try to explain it to you.

This is essentially what John MacArthur said about the elders.

“Their joint rule with Christ, their white garments (Rev_19:7-8), and their golden crowns (Rev_2:10) all seem to indicate that these twenty-four represent the redeemed (Rev_4:9-11; Rev_5:5-14; Rev_7:11-17; Rev_11:16-18; Rev_14:3; Rev_19:4).”

Let's see if these passages that Pastor John gives us define the church as the elders.

Revelation 19:7-8 NASB "Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready." It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.”

When we look back at Revelation 4:4, we see them “clothed in white garments.” I give you a portion of Esther's story, for it demonstrates that the linen, made from flax, is white.

Esther 1:5-6 NASB When these days were completed, the king gave a banquet lasting seven days for all the people who were present at the citadel in Susa, from the greatest to the least, in the court of the garden of the king's palace. (6) There were hangings of fine white and violet linen held by cords of fine purple linen on silver rings and marble columns, and couches of gold and silver on a mosaic pavement of porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl, and precious stones

And there is in Ezekiel a description of how the Levitical priests were to be dressed.

Ezekiel 44:15-17 NASB "But the Levitical priests, the sons of Zadok, who kept charge of My sanctuary when the sons of Israel went astray from Me, shall come near to Me to minister to Me; and they shall stand before Me to offer Me the fat and the blood," declares the Lord GOD. (16) "They shall enter My sanctuary; they shall come near to My table to minister to Me and keep My charge. (17) "It shall be that when they enter at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments; and wool shall not be on them while they are ministering in the gates of the inner court and in the house.

And though you may not feel like it, this passage from Ezekiel applies to us, at some point, as Jesus did this through His actions on the cross.

Revelation 1:6 NLT He has made us a Kingdom of priests for God his Father. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.

Page two.

There are always those who resist the truth, and I did tell you to look to the Old Testament for confirmation, so I give you Exodus 19.

Exodus 19:5-6 NLT Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to me. (6) And you will be my kingdom of priests, my holy nation.’ This is the message you must give to the people of Israel.”

It is looking more like these 24 elders are the church with every passing minute.

Both Exodus 3:16 and Deuteronomy 31:28 speak of the elders being gathered before Moses. As a young man, I went to a Katherine Kuhlman meeting at the Angelus Temple in Los Angeles. When the doors opened, and we were right at one of the doors, the crowd pushed hard so they could get up front, next to Ms. Kuhlman. In this crazed state, we had to get an old lady off the ground so that she did not get trampled. Imagine all Israel trying to get to Moses. From reading the Bible, it is evident that God is inclusive, and no one will be left out. I still struggle to grasp how WE are a part of this group of elders unless they represent us.

I am going to be painfully honest here. I have NEVER felt included in anything until I met Jesus. Sadly, the imagery that I have of heaven is frequently tainted with these broken thoughts. Needless to say, my self-esteem has been shot full of holes. Thankfully, God found me and did not leave me there. I fight hard against the enemy when he comes against me with thoughts of nonacceptance, and I choose to adjust my thinking. So, all this talk about 24 elders, from a broken point of view, lends itself to false pastors who had stood before their congregations and bragged about the cost of their suit or where they can go to eat. Others don’t brag about their premier passes to Disneyland; they merely show you the pictures of their frequent trips and exclusive vacations. These, according to Satan, will most likely be the elders because of the many books they have written, and they, just like here on earth, will be pushing people like me around once again. That kind of negativity makes me think, why would I want to be there. But, I know that those who were able to be first down here will NOT be first in heaven, as they have already acquired their reward, which will burn up at the Bema seat of Christ.

Matthew 19:30 NLT "But many who are the greatest now will be least important then and those who seem least important now will be the greatest then."

As for the Bema seat.

2 Corinthians 5:10 NLT For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body.

1 Corinthians 3 tells us that all our works or actions will be tested with fire; so, if you are putting your faith in fancy suits, places you can eat, or premier amusement park passes, they will burn, and you will be left with yourself and Christ.

1 Corinthians 3:13-15 NLT But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value. (14) If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward. (15) But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames.

Page three.

Revelation 4:4 tells us that they have golden crowns on their heads.

Revelation 2:10 informs us that we will be given a crown of life, but it sounds like an “if-then” statement that includes painful testing and death.

Revelation 2:10 NASB 'Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.”

This verse has no mention of a golden crown, but there is always that possibility, and I will remain open to it.

Zechariah 3:5 speaks of a turban.

Zechariah 3:4-5 CJB "who said to those standing in front of him, "Take those filthy garments off of him." Then to him, he said, "See, I am taking your guilt away. I will clothe you in fine robes." I said, "They should put a clean turban on his head." So they put a clean turban on his head and gave him fine robes to wear, while the angel of Adonai stood by."

The Word Study Dictionary defines the turban in this way: “It indicates a headpiece often worn by persons in authority in the ancient Near East. It was created by folding long pieces of cloth around a person's head. It was worn by the high priest of Israel (Zec_3:5). It is used figuratively of righteousness (Job_29:14). People considered it a valued luxury in some cases (Isa_3:23). Zion is described as the royal turban or diadem of the Lord (Isa_62:3).”

This turban may well be the crown; however, Revelation 4:4 is particular about it being a golden crown.

In the Psalms, David speaks about what Jehovah had done for him.

Psalms 21:1-3 NASB For the choir director. A Psalm of David. O LORD, in Your strength the king will be glad, And in Your salvation how greatly he will rejoice! (2) You have given him his heart's desire, And You have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah. (3) For You meet him with the blessings of good things; You set a crown of fine gold on his head.

David has always been spoken of as an analogy of our own lives and God's love for us.

Psalm 8:5 is talking about Christ, but aren't we in Christ when we accept Him?

Psalms 8:4-6 NASB What is man that You take thought of him, And the son of man that You care for him? (5) Yet You have made him a little lower than God, And You crown him with glory and majesty! (6) You make him to rule over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet,

If we are in Him, then it just makes sense that we get to share His crown. Now, before you get too locked into this crown and the attitude that may be associated with it, look at this.

Revelation 4:9-11 NASB “And when the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying, "Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed and were created.”

Page four.

I attended a church where the elders, who were the only ones who could or would pray for you, frequently spoke of adding more jewels to their crown. Apparently, they ignored the fact that these elders cast their crowns before the throne.

We are NOT told what becomes of those crowns after this, so don't worry about it.

Perhaps the better question is, where did these Elders come from?

If I am thinking Jewish, then I did not hear elders, I heard the Greek word presbuteros. This word presbuteros was used of the Sanhedrin, and for many, just saying that word leaves a bad taste in their mouths. It was “the supreme council of the Jewish people, in the time of Christ,” and it played a role in Jesus' death and the persecution of the early church. None of this fits the occasion, so I must be looking for some other definition.

Matthew 19:28 may fill the momentary void, as I scramble to find a correlation with the elders in the Old Testament.

Matthew 19:28 NASB “And Jesus said to them, "Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”

Now, I will admit that I try to be conscientious about context when explaining a biblical concept, so I must admit that the context lends itself to a conversation Jesus had with Peter, a Jew, and a disciple. The response that Jesus gave to Peter could be construed to be exclusive to the disciples; I might agree with you if Jesus had not said these words, “you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne.”

Haven't we who accepted Christ followed Him in the regeneration; and, isn't He NOW sitting on that Glorious Throne?

The short answer is yes.

Titus also addresses regeneration.

Titus 3:5 NASB “He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,”

We were regenerated by the washing and renewing of the Holy Spirit; this happened when you accepted Christ, and it continues throughout this walk here on earth. This Idea of washing also appears in Paul's letter to the church in Ephesus, where he tells us that it is the Word of God that sanctifies and cleanses us. But there is one more aspect of Paul's statement that should take your breath away, and that this cleansing by the Word has one specific purpose, “that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.”

Ephesians 5:25-27 NASB “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.

Obviously, there is no mention of elders in Ephesians 5, but it is Jesus who, in a sense, reintroduces us, as the church, to the Father.

Page five.

In this first letter to the church in Thessalonica, Paul addressed their fears that they had been left behind – well, that is one way of putting it, and it is a good one. Here is what he said.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 NASB (13) But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. (14) For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. (15) For this, we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. (16) For the Lord, Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. (17) Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. (18) Therefore comfort one another with these words.

It is obvious to me that Jesus will come back and retrieve us, and there we will sit with Him at the throne of God.

 

An introduction to the Revelation.

 I felt that I needed to dive into the Revelation once again. I think that the pressing need for me has everything to do with our rapidly changing global environment; that, and the fact that so many of the video bloggers are seeing the same thing, I see - Jesus is just moments away from gathering the church to Himself.

The Revelation spells out several things, but one of the dominant messages is that God is about to pour out His wrath upon the nations and the Jews.

Notice how there is no church involved in that wrath, and that migration of the church from the earth is where I want to start this study.

It is not that I feel the backgrounds of the churches are not essential, but they have been, in my book, beaten to death. All I need to say is this, if you have ears to hear, then hear this, we are living in the age of the Laodicean church, and as such, we have been spewed out of His mouth.

'So because you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. (Revelation 3:16 NASB)

This lack of consistent stance or position on scripture, in our churches today, is deplorable and will only worsen. We, as a nation, are done.

Considerations as you dive into the Revelation.

Most important and vital to your understanding of the Revelation is found in chapter one, verse one.

The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John, (Revelation 1:1 NASB)

Take that verse apart, and you get this.

• It is the Revelation (the apokalupsis – the uncovering, unveiling, or, if you will, the disclosure) of Jesus Christ.

Is there anything about those three words that indicate that this message is coded and not meant to be understood? And yet, to many, it does seem like it is coded and anything but understandable. I mention this because one of my pastors preached that very concept.

• which God gave Him.

Since I know that this was all revealed to John in a vision, I might assume that the “Him” could be John, it is not. The NirV puts it this way, “This is the revelation that God gave to Jesus Christ.” Now, why would Jesus not know precisely what the Father was doing? What I just asked is a rhetorical question because, except for one piece of information (the exact timing of the rapture of the church,) the Father has held nothing back from the Son. The entirety of the message was then given to John and he has given it to the churches. [If you do not understand, I am trying to provide you with some clues that might help your understanding.]

Operating on the understanding that this phrase “which God gave Him,” is referring to the Apostle John, it is important to know that John no advantage over us excluding one thing, he was able to physically feel the love and intimacy of and with Jesus Christ. John got to witness the character of God. But keep in mind that John, almost exclusively, lived off of oral history and presentations of the Old Testament that were given from the Synagogue. We can understand this, as there was very little that was written, and the information that was was written on scrolls made of parchment or skin.

Page one.

• and communicated it by His angel

I want to tell you that this angel is Jesus, but I am not so sure. There is a reasonable assertion, referred to as a Christophany, where Jesus showed himself to humans before His birth, but it was described as the Angel of the Lord. There are 49 verses throughout the Old Testament to back this up. One of the first comes from Genesis 16:7, where the angel of the Lord finds Hagar by a fountain in the wilderness. Here, angel is the Hebrew word malak. The Word Study Dictionary tells us that it is “a masculine noun meaning a messenger, or an angel. The term often denotes one sent on business or diplomacy by another.”

The phrase “of the LORD” is simply the word y^ehōwāh - self Existent or eternal one. We tend to pronounce it Jehovah. Dr. J. Vernon McGee tells us this is the Lord Jesus Christ before His incarnation, and he is not alone in his understanding or belief.

Since we know that the LORD sent angels, such as Gabriel and Michael, to deliver messages to people, then it is easy to accept that assertion now.

• to show to His bond-servants

John wrote down everything he saw in this vision, unlike me, who did not write down anything I saw in my vision concerning my own life. However, I remembered that Jesus was there and that I saw the end of this journey, and it was filled with joy.

The idea of being a Bond-servant is an important one, as it is an admission that I, the human, am not in charge, but He is.

We see the Apostle Paul saying this of himself.

Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God (Romans 1:1 NASB)

James, Peter, and Jude all confessed that they too were bond-servants, so we stand in good company.

The phrase bond-servant is the Greek word doulos and has a literal meaning of being a slave. In a qualified sense, it is one who is in subservience or subjection, much like a slave.

Are we slaves?

In reality, we still have our free will and can therefore choose NOT to follow after Jesus Christ and these laws that are written upon our hearts. Having chosen to follow Him, I would not consider anything else; and have, therefore, put myself in subjection to Him. Since making that decision, I have never felt more loved.

How this should affect you is in your decisions to test the mercy and grace of God.

I used to sit with a group of men; the leader called our meeting place the man cave. Apparently, for some, this meant pushing the boundaries of God's grace. The problem with such excesses arises when we read things like we see in Galatians chapter five, which tells us that we have self-control, or James chapter three, which speaks about controlling your tongue so that you don't set everything on fire with it.

But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things, there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. (Galatians 5:18-25 NASB)

Page two.

Fascinating how verse 18 opens this treatise by saying, “if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law,” (as in the Mosaic law;) and yet we are, for the law is now written upon our hearts. The presumption then is that you have not put yourself under subservience to Jesus Christ, and therefore, not subject to the Law of the Spirit.

Just in case you don't wish to buy into the idea that the law is written upon your heart, have a look at
2 Corinthians 3:2-3.

You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men; being manifested that you are a letter of Christ, cared for by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.
(NASB)

The other thing to cling to as you read through this book is that the Revelation is the only book of the Bible that has a special blessing upon it. But to be honest, it does come across as an if-then statement.

Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near. (Revelation 1:3 NASB)

Some interpretations convey the idea of those who read to others. Having lived my life, it was not until the Holy Spirit came into my life and filled me, that I had any desire to speak to others about this Jesus I serve. But even at that, I have come to learn that my gifting is to teach. In those moments I am reading, but only because it is a necessity as I know that most of you will NOT read, even as you sit in church.

The “if-then” portion shows up when you read where it says, “and heed the things which are written in it (the Revelation.)

I believe that a portion of this blessing comes when you put what the book says into action. What I mean is, teach clearly what this book says, and make sure those you teaching, understand it.

If you have not had this “life-saving” vaccine injected into your body, I would like you to consider a few things.

 I recently began, over a two-week period, to do what I know most will NOT do, and that is to research what this vaccine is intended to do and is it safe. What I came up with is an eight-page assessment, that answers most of the questions I have, and hopefully will answer questions for you.

As a side note. If you have already taken the vaccine and not yet experienced any of these “side effects” then I say congratulations. Some have asked if they have taken the mark of the beast by doing this. The short answer is NO, but by your actions, you demonstrated a lack of faith in the God who saves. Think about that, you, by taking whatever is in that shot you received, think that man has just saved and made you immune to future COVID attacks on your body. The problem with that thought process is that “they” have been telling that the inoculation does NOTHING to prevent you from obtaining COVID, nor does it prevent you from giving someone else the COVID. If that is the case, then why are they giving you an inoculation?

You, especially if you already got your first shot and think nothing happened to you, might be interested to know that you beat the odds as of February 4, 2021, there have been 653 deaths directly related to COVID19 injections. Did they die immediately? No, some died within hours, while others took days, but it could be determined that their death was directly related to the injection.

One of the biggest issues surrounding this COVID 19 vaccine is the question, are there any side effects?

The information immediately following is from Moderna's website unless it is in parenthesis, then it is mine.

Let's attack this from the argument's point of view, as I have heard many of these.

• I am doing this because I want to be safe and to keep the world safe.

The problem with that, starting with the mask, which has been pushed as a “safety feature,” is that it does you NO good whatsoever. Unless it is an N95 mask, which in itself has safety drawbacks, the box your mask came in will tell you that the mask is NO help with biohazards. By the manufacturer's own admission, the vaccine will not prevent you from getting the virus; and in fact, the vaccine makes you a carrier of the virus, nor does it prevent transmission.

• Will the vaccine prevent me from getting the Covid 19.

“The vaccine works by teaching your immune system how to recognize and fight the virus that causes COVID-19, and this protects you from getting sick with COVID-19.”

The obvious logic is that you are being given a dosage of the COVID-19, so how can you think you can escape the disease. The problem is that the mRNA vaccine is using relatively new technology and was NEVER tested on humans. As Moderna puts it, this is an mRNA Prophylactic Vaccine.

End, page one.

mRNA Prophylactic Vaccines. “We designed our prophylactic vaccines modality to prevent or control infectious diseases. Since we nominated our first program in late 2014, this modality has grown to include nine programs, all of which are vaccines against viruses. The goal of any vaccine is to safely pre-expose the immune system to a small quantity of a protein from a pathogen, called an antigen so that the immune system is prepared to fight the pathogen if exposed in the future, and prevent infection or disease.”

Pay attention to the words they use, like “the goal.” What if prevention is NOT the goal? The people advocating the vaccines are the same people that have expressed the need to have 350,000 people die per day in order to reduce the population down to 500 million.

What does mRNA do?

“mRNA produces instructions to make proteins that may treat or prevent disease.”

Note the words “that may treat or prevent disease.” I suppose it all depends on who pays the bill, such as The World Economic Forum, that determines what the treatment will do.

Treat is a thinly veiled word, stated to convince you that they have your best interests in mind.

“Recognizing the broad potential of mRNA science, we set out to create an mRNA technology platform that functions very much like an operating system on a computer. It is designed so that it can plug and play interchangeably with different programs. In our case, the "program” or “app” is our mRNA drug - the unique mRNA sequence that codes for a protein.”

Since you will have to get occasional updates, then I suppose they could change the program at any time. What then will be the result?

“Generally, the only thing that changes from one potential mRNA medicine to another is the coding region – the actual genetic code that instructs ribosomes to make protein. Utilizing these instruction sets gives our investigational mRNA medicines a software-like quality. We also have the ability to combine different mRNA sequences encoding for different proteins in a single mRNA investigational medicine.”

In this last sentence “they” have just told you that the vaccine has the potential to affect various functions in your body.

“mRNA medicines aren’t small molecules, like traditional pharmaceuticals. And they aren’t traditional biologics (recombinant proteins and monoclonal antibodies) – which were the genesis of the biotech industry. Instead, mRNA medicines are sets of instructions. And these instructions direct cells in the body to make proteins to prevent or fight disease.”

They just told you that this vaccine directs every cell in the body to copy the COVID-19 spikelet they just inserted into your body. You have now become the producer of COVID-19; and, they have told you that the mRNA can be instructed to fight you or benefit you.

From an interview with Dr. Lee Meritt

“they have made Mrna that will reproduce this human-made spikelet in every cell in your body. You are actually creating the pathogen in your body with the first dose of their vaccine. The vaccine produces something called immune enhancement, autoimmune enhancement, or antibody dependent enhancement.

Let's talk about antibody-dependent enhancement for a moment.

The mRNA regimen changes your genetics and takes over the immune system. The entire body is now the host for the virus thanks to this added protein, and you effectively have no natural antibodies. The vaccine now potentially sees your own organs as an enemy; therefore, you will need continuous updates to survive and you will have a permanent lifetime dependence on this new, governing body – the New World Order. Moderna has made statements to this very effect.

End, page two.

Back to Moderna

Overcoming Key Challenges

“Using mRNA to create medicines is a complex undertaking and requires overcoming novel scientific and technical challenges. We need to get the mRNA into the targeted tissue and cells while evading the immune system. If the immune system is triggered, the resultant response may limit protein production and, thus, limit the therapeutic benefit of mRNA medicines.”

Triggering the immune system is something that Doctors admit they don't fully understand. This triggering is like releasing a waterfall of destruction called a Cytokine Storm. In short, this is when your immune system becomes deadly, and thus producing horrific results in a variety of people. I strongly suggest you go to this website and read about the Cytokine Storm.

https://www.health.com/condition/infectious-diseases/coronavirus/cytokine-storm?utm_source=emailshare&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=email-share-article&utm_content=20210209

“We also need ribosomes to think the mRNA was produced naturally, so they can accurately read the instructions to produce the right protein. And we need to ensure the cells express enough of the protein to have the desired therapeutic effect.”

If this does not happen, then the body, which has just had its immune system replaced, can and will attack anything it thinks is a foreign body, like a pregnancy, and kill it.

From https://www.fredhutch.org/en/news/center-news/2020/12/covid-19-vaccines-transmission.html

We get an article BY SABIN RUSSELL / FRED HUTCH NEWS SERVICE, entitled “Vaccines stop COVID-19 symptoms, but do they stop transmission?”

“...the problem: The giant, successful studies that determined that both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines were an astonishing 90%-95% effective in preventing disease cannot completely answer the question of how they worked.”

• One person challenged my wife by saying, my vaccine came from Johnson & Johnson, which uses DNA not mRNA.

I found this information on https://www.chop.edu/centers-programs/vaccine-education-center/making-vaccines/prevent-covid

“People make mRNA all the time. In our cells, DNA in the nucleus is used to make mRNA, which is sent to the cytoplasm where it serves as a blueprint to make proteins. Most of the time, the proteins that are produced are needed to help our bodies function.”

End, page three.

Again, the italicized wording is my commentary.

One of the first things I ask is, can I trust Johnson & Johnson, which has been forced to pay millions in lawsuits over asbestos in their baby powder; perhaps not. So I look to the science where this source is using an almost identical explanation as Moderna gives when they define how the mRNA works. The bottom line, it is the same thing.

“mRNA vaccines take advantage of this process by introducing the mRNA for an important protein from the virus that the vaccine is trying to protect against. In the case of COVID-19, the important protein is the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.”

• What are the side effects of the mRNA vaccine?

Sadly, most people will not read and research and therefore do not know what the side effects are. Still working from the chop.edu site. 

“Side effects from both mRNA vaccines are caused as part of the immune response to the vaccines. In some ways, the more vigorous the immune response, the more common the side effects. The most common side effects from the mRNA vaccines are: Fatigue, Headache, and Muscle aches.”

But had you been paying attention, you would know that the intent is for the vaccine to bypass the immune system, because the immune system apparently does not work well with this “novel” vaccine, possibly even preventing it from working adequately for them. Many have developed Bell's Palsy, cranial bleeding, difficulty breathing, paralysis, and a wide variety of reactions that they do NOT want you to know about, including appendicitis attacks. You will NOT find this information if you search through any of Google's products as they have been scouring the internet to remove condemning evidence.

If you want to understand Bell's Palsy a bit more, a related website may help. - https://www.techarp.com/science/pfizer-covid-19-bells-palsy/ carries an article posted by Dr.. Adrian Wong, entitled: Does The Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine Cause Bell’s Palsy?

“Side effects occurred during the first week after vaccination, but were most likely one or two days after receipt of the vaccine. Side effects were more frequent following the second dose and more likely to be experienced by younger, rather than older, recipients. In the clinical trials side effects occurred at varying rates, for example only about 1 to 20 of every 100 people had a fever.”

You should know that there is a mandatory 15 minute observation time. Why would they have to do that if the product is safe? The obvious answer is because they know many will have issues and some will be deadly. Most problems have started at the 20-minute mark. Realistically, you are not going to get a straight answer from any Google source, therefore I recommend DuckDuckGo and pull up https://www.americasfrontlinedoctors.com/vaccines/.

End, page four.

From UPI.com - https://www.upi.com/Health_News/2021/01/22/CDC-10-life-threatening-reactions-linked-with-Moderna-COVID-19-vaccine/3371611335050/

CDC: 10 life-threatening reactions linked with Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, By Brian P. Dunleavy.

Below is typical of the standardized answers you get.

Jan. 22 (UPI) -- Ten of the more than 4 million people in the United States who received the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine through Jan. 10 experienced a potentially life-threatening side effect, according to data released Friday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“The side effect, anaphylaxis, is a severe allergic reaction that can occur within seconds or minutes of exposure to an allergen. Symptoms of anaphylaxis include a skin rash, nausea, vomiting, difficulty breathing and shock. In most cases, it can be treated quickly with the "epi pen." Nearly 1,300 given the shot as of that date reported side effects as a result. All but 53 of these were considered minor, non-allergic reactions to the vaccine, such as swelling at the injection site, the CDC said. That figure includes the 10 cases of anaphylaxis, as well as 43 other allergic reactions that include itchy skin, rash, itchy sensations in the mouth and throat, sensations of throat closure and respiratory symptoms such as shortness of breath, according to the agency. The 10 cases of anaphylaxis all occurred in women who received the shot, half of whom had a history of having a reaction to a vaccine and all but one of whom had medication allergies, the CDC said. The women ranged from age 31 to 63, and all but one began to experience the symptoms of anaphylaxis fewer than 15 minutes after receiving the shot, the agency said. All 10 were treated with the epi pen, which contains the drug epinephrine, and all are believed to have recovered fully, according to the agency.” “Vaccine facilities are also urged to be prepared to treat patients for anaphylaxis and have epi pens available in case they are needed.”

While the standardized propaganda claims that only 10 people were seriously affected, in reality, as of 02/04/21, there have been 653 cases where the vaccine targeting COVID19 has been used and the patient has died. You can find this information at Med Alerts.org https://www.medalerts.org/vaersdb/findfield.php?EVENTS=ON&VAX=COVID19&VAXTYPES=COVID-19&DIED=Yes

Lifesite website - https://lifesite.kartra.com/page/covid19vaccine gives us this information.

FDA: Death, heart attacks, stroke, blood disorders all possible side effects of the COVID vaccine
A slideshow presentation compiled by the FDA in October contains an extensive list of possible side effects which are to be monitored in conjunction with administering a COVID-19 vaccine.

Pfizer COVID jab warning: No breastfeeding, avoid pregnancy for 2 months, unknown fertility impacts A safety instructions document published by the UK government states 'For women of childbearing age, pregnancy should be excluded before vaccination'

End, page five.

The priest who participated in trials for unethical Moderna vaccine dies suddenly
The vaccine uses the ‘aborted fetal cell line HEK-293' in the ‘fundamental design of mRNA technology, their Spike protein and in the research, development, production, and testing.’

Coronavirus vaccine trial volunteer dies in Brazil
The volunteer was 28 years old and taking part in AstraZeneca's vaccine trial.

I hope you get the general idea. If I cling to the propaganda, they say, you will be like all the other sheep going blindly to the slaughter.

"The vaccine is not expected to have long-term negative effects for a few reasons:"

"First, most negative effects occur within 6 weeks of receiving a vaccine, which is why the FDA asked the companies to provide 8 weeks of safety data after the last dose.
Second, the mRNA in the vaccine breaks down pretty quickly because our cells need a way to stop mRNA from making too many proteins or too much protein. But, even if for some reason our cells did not breakdown the vaccine mRNA, the mRNA stops making the protein within about a week, regardless of the body’s immune response to the protein."

Perhaps this is one of the reasons for second and third vaccinations. By the way, just this morning, 02/12/21, Johnson and Johnson CEO claims that you will likely have to get update shots every year.

• Once I have been vaccinated against coronavirus, am I exempt from lockdown restrictions?

“Everyone will still need to practice recommended public health measures for a while because it will take some time to slow or stop the spread of the virus. Two factors are important for understanding why: While the vaccines appear to be highly effective at preventing disease, it might not prevent asymptomatic infection, meaning vaccine recipients might still be able to get infected, but not have symptoms and, therefore, unwittingly spread the virus.”

Why is it that lockdown restrictions will have to continue for a while; because this vaccine has nothing to do with you gaining your freedom or immunity, the purpose has always been to restrict, monitor, and control your actions. Allegedly, “they” will be looking for a herd immunity response. In reality, there are a number of things that must happen, including a massive population reduction, and a new global economy.

This next paragraph speaks to herd immunity.

“Scientists estimate that to control COVID-19, about 7 or 8 of every 10 people will need to be immune. Given that the U.S. population is more than 330 million people, this means that almost 250 million of them will need to be immune to reach this goal. If we had to rely on infections alone to stop the spread of COVID-19, between 1 million and 5.4 million people would die on the way to 250 million people becoming immune.”

End, page six.

“For these reasons, there will still be some period of time during which other measures, such as masks, social distancing, and other public health measures, will be required to slow or stop the spread of the virus. And, because we won’t know who might still be able to be infected after vaccination or previous illness, everyone will be asked to comply.”

Note how this ends. Everyone will be asked to comply. It will NOT be an option. Non-compliance will be dealt with by incarceration in detention compounds. Do any of you remember FEMA camps?

• Do you know if the COVID-19 vaccines contain live virus?

We are still dealing with second-hand information the chop.edu website.

“None of the early vaccines (those by Moderna, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, or Johnson & Johnson) are using live weakened versions (similar, for example, to the measles, mumps, rubella, or varicella (chickenpox) vaccines). Moderna’s and Pfizer’s are mRNA vaccines, and AstraZeneca’s and Johnson & Johnson’s are non-replicating vectored vaccines. You can learn more about the different types of vaccines being tested in the response to “What types of COVID-19 vaccines are being tested?”

For a definition of non-replicating vectored vaccines, I went to the website:https://www.nature.com/articles/s41563-020-0746-0

“For COVID-19, several viral vector, nucleic acid-based vaccines, and antigen-presenting cells are in (pre)clinical development (Fig. 1). Viral vector vaccines consist of a recombinant virus (that is, the viral vector), often attenuated to reduce its pathogenicity, in which genes encoding viral antigen(s) have been cloned using recombinant DNA techniques. Vector vaccines can either be replicating or non-replicating. Replicating vector vaccines infect cells in which the vaccine antigen is produced as well as more infectious viral vectors able to infect new cells that will then also produce the vaccine antigen. Non-replicating vector vaccines initially enter cells and produce the vaccine antigen, but no new virus particles are formed. Because viral vector vaccines result in endogenous antigen production, both humoral and cellular immune responses are stimulated. One advantage of these viral vector-based vaccines is therefore that a single dose can be sufficient for protection, as in the case of the vesicular-stomatitis virus-based Ervebo vaccine against Ebola virus 11.”

The explanation from nature.com explains that the virus is weakened to reduce the power of the infecting agent. Try telling me again how there is no virus being injected. But there is something we are missing in this conversation, and that is a direct reference to COVID 19 because I am beginning to get the impression, that, as one theorist explains, they are giving us an injection spiked with HIV – human immunodeficiency virus. If that was the case, it is no wonder people are reacting strangely after injections. This also feeds into the planned depopulation.

End, page seven.

“For efficient uptake of the construct into cells, injection needs to be followed by electroporation. After uptake into cells, the vaccine antigen is expressed from the DNA construct. mRNA-based vaccines work on the same principle as DNA vaccines, except that the first steps (nuclear translocation of the DNA construct and transcription into mRNA) are bypassed. Self-replicating RNA vaccines are likely to induce protective immunity using a lower dose because more vaccine antigen is expressed per cell12. Since mRNA is not very stable, these constructs include modified nucleosides to prevent degradation. A carrier molecule is necessary to enable the entry of the mRNA into cells; lipid nanoparticles are most commonly used. Nucleic acid-based vaccines induce a humoral and cellular immune response, but multiple doses are required.”

electroporation -is the action or process of introducing DNA or chromosomes into bacteria or other cells using a pulse of electricity to briefly open the pores in the cell membranes.

Initially, this idea of electroporation did not make sense, especially if thousands are lining up in their cars at Dodger Stadium, that is until it occurs to me that this could easily be achieved through 5G antenna arrays and associated cell phone usage. Welcome to the New World.

One of the statements from Pastor JD Farag was that the vaccines used fetal tissues from aborted babies; this, in turn, created a challenge as the manufacturers deny this statement and governmental agencies are in concert. I did a search through DuckDuckGo (because Google will probably block you from finding this information, and it led me to https://www.nebraskamed.com/COVID/you-asked-we-answered-do-the-covid-19-vaccines-contain-aborted-fetal-cells

Here is what they said.

• Do the COVID-19 vaccines contain aborted fetal cells?

Answer from infectious diseases expert James Lawler, MD

“No, the COVID-19 vaccines do not contain any aborted fetal cells. However, Pfizer and Moderna did perform confirmation tests (to ensure the vaccines work) using fetal cell lines.”

“But it's important to have the full context: Fetal cell lines are not the same as fetal tissue. Fetal cell lines are cells that grow in a laboratory. They descend from cells taken from elective abortions in the 1970s and 1980s. Those individual cells from the 1970s and 1980s have since multiplied into many new cells over the past four or five decades, creating fetal cell lines. Current fetal cell lines are thousands of generations removed from the original fetal tissue.”

This is nothing more than doublespeak, and the answer is yes, fetal cells were the originating source.

Are the fetal cells a game-changer as far God is concerned? Well, we are told in scripture that murdering our babies is an abhorrence in God's eyes. 

A slight shift in thinking.

If you have taken the vaccine, you have not taken the mark of the beast - the logic behind this is valid since the beast does not show up until 1260 days into the time after the church is removed from the earth, then what have you done? You have broken down internal barriers so that you will comply with further demands for submission more easily, and many of you will probably cave when the beast demands we all take a mark. 

Seems rather hopeless, doesn't it? But it isn't if you have your hope anchored in Jesus Christ. I put my faith in Him and chose to follow Him. This is called a relationship and makes me a part of Christ's body - the church. Many call themselves Christians, but they are willing to slaughter babies, so I would disavow myself from people like that and pursue a relationship in which you get to know the nature and character of God through His Son. This relationship is my guarantee of forgiveness and salvation from the coming wrath of the beast system that is coming. 

Should you choose to do your own thing and ignore this Jesus I speak of, you will find yourself stuck here during this horrific time called God's wrath. Just know, this wrath was NOT meant for you, but God gave you the freedom to make your own decisions and so here you are. Follow after God anyway. You will have to grow a backbone because they will demand that you deny this Christ or have your head cut off, but consider that He will accept you into the kingdom, where you will be loved forever, and there will be peace.

Against such, there is NO law. Galatians 5:22-23.

A Christian brother recently brought up the fruits of the Spirit; that day, the item that stuck in my mind, and has been there for weeks, was self-control.

Self-control speaks to me about the multitude of times that I have been restrained by the Holy Spirit, thereby preventing me from doing something stupid, illegal, or deadly. Almost a month after that conversation, my pastor, Jack Hibbs, integrated the fruits of the Spirit into his teaching this last Wednesday evening, 2/3/2021. I felt impressed to share some insights with you.

Galatians 5:22-23 NLT But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, (23) gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

I used the NLT because it directly infers that the Holy Spirit produces this fruit in us, in contrast to the fruit as seen in the NASB, which could be thought of as something I could merely pick off a tree when needed.

Just seeing these words “as something I could merely pick when needed,” as though these fruits are not mine, accosts me.

Pastor Jack spoke about the Holy Spirit in two ways.

First, the Holy Spirit is the one who brought you to Jesus Christ, and therefore, comes into you when you receive Christ. Jack Hibbs says that this is the baptism into Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit. 

I suppose the logic to this comes from the fact that God is: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; and that the soul, having asked Jesus to come in, now belongs to God, and therefore, the Holy Spirit. A roundabout way of saying this is that by inviting Jesus into my life, I am and have invited the Holy Spirit into my life.

(Think about this. Jesus, just before He went to the Father, said, 

John 16:7-15 NASB "But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. (8) "And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; (9) concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; (10) and concerning righteousness because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me; (11) and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged. (12) "I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. (13) "But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. (14) "He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you. (15) "All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you.

Look at John 16:7-15 NASB above, for it says, that when He, Jesus, leaves the earth, the Holy Spirit - the comforter will come. The implications of this are that the interactions with man are fully enveloped in the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit acts and responds just as Jesus did, for He did nothing without hearing from the Father.)

An example of what I just said about the Holy Spirit coming into our lives could come from Paul’s address to the church in Rome, which you can see in Romans 2:14-15.

For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, (Romans 2:14-15 NASB)

To say, “their conscience” can just as easily be stated, their spirit. The person indwelt by the Holy Spirit is then directed accordingly. The problem is that the majority of us think that whatever good thing we did was our great idea.

To be honest, I don’t thoroughly understand this teaching of how the Holy Spirit is instantly a part of every believer, although it makes sense that God would be looking for a way to regain those He has already paid for through the cross. Not being able to grasp this concept most likely comes from seeing so many, over the years, stumble back into the darkness; this is especially disturbing when you know that the verses before and after the reference in Galatians above tell you why you do what you do. The answer to the problem, every time is to admit that you just did what you wanted to do, change your ways, and get yourself into the Word. Scriptural references speak of receiving of and from the Holy Spirit.

Peter said to them, "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:38 NASB)

but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth." (Acts 1:8 NASB)

In both of these instances, Receive is the Greek word lambano and means to take hold of.

When Peter, in Acts 2:38, instructed the large crowd that upon repenting and being baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, they would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit was he telling them that they would receive the power and speak in other tongues?

I do not try to put God into a box anymore, nor do I try to control how God uses the box I assigned to Him or what is inside; so, to be honest, I do not know what parameters God was operating in that day.

In Acts 1:8, we see Jesus speaking to the disciples, of which there were many. He said, they would receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon them; this is entirely different for the disciples, as they were already followers of Jesus, however, without the apparent infilling of the Holy Spirit; that came later as they waited, in that room, as told.

Galatians 5:22-23 speaks directly about the Holy Spirit being in us, so for the sake of argument let's say you have received the gift of the Holy Spirit in your life and you are very much aware of that through evidence. That evidence, for me, exhibited itself by Him talking to me in conversational tones with frequency.

Paul tells us “ the Holy Spirit, produces this kind of fruit in our lives.” Those fruits look like this.

• Love,
• Joy,
• Peace,
• Patience,
• Kindness,
• Goodness,
• Faithfulness,
• Gentleness,

and

• Self-control.

Nothing deserves to go un-discussed but the Holy Spirit spoke to me rather pointedly along the line of self-control.

Pastor Jack, in that Wednesday night message I spoke about, talked about meeting a young man at the grocery store, in which Pastor was recently shopping. The young man recognized him through the mask and asked if he could speak openly with the Pastor. He then told the pastor that he was living a life that was displeasing to God and what could he do about it? The bottom line answer was to get yourself into God's word. Do not pursue Christianity or religion, but pursue a relationship with the Father; in other words, get to know Him intimately.

Self-control seems to speak of one who rejects God and tries to fix things themselves; that is not the case here. We are dealing with the Greek word egkráteia which means Continence, temperance, self-control.

TEMPERATE means moderate; not excessive. 

CONTINENCE, is to withhold; but also means the restraint which a person imposes upon his desires and passions; this includes sexual passions and lewd pleasures.

Now, this one thing alone would save many of us from a world of grief, and should, if we are listening cause us to wonder why are we doing things we don't want or need to do.

Paul said this very thing, and if there was someone who would understand what this passage in Galatians 5 is saying, it would be him.

For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand, I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin. (Romans 7:18-25 NASB)

Simply put,

I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. (Romans 7:19 NLT)

There is an answer.

Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind, I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin. (Romans 7:25 NLT)

It almost seems hopeless but there is Jesus. I work hard at living a life like Christ, but occasionally I choose to react inappropriately, and I am not talking about lewd acts, I am talking about anger and rage. The thing that caught my attention that Wednesday night as I watched Pastor Jack, was the tail end of Galatians 5:23. There it says,

There is no law against these things!

Those things are the fruits of the Spirit, not your spirit, but God's Spirit – the Holy Spirit, and it is He - the Holy Spirit, that is growing those fruits inside of you.

On your own, you are a hopeless cause. I know, you think you have got it all together, but you don't, and sadly, you know that. I suppose that knowledge and the fact that you keep running from God makes you rather pathetic. Let me know how it works out for you.

Instead of struggling, turn your life over to Jesus Christ and receive His free gift of the Holy Spirit.

A sincere and unqualified faith. 2 Timothy 1:5.

 It seems that I have been in 1 Timothy for months, and I need a break, but as I sit here pondering whether to go on and dive into 2 Timothy, which has a wealth of depth in it, my heart feels a strong need to jump back into the Revelation. This compulsion to study the Revelation once again has much to do with the political agenda, the globalists and their efforts to reduce the surface population (as Scrooge said,) and the overall violent nature of the environment in which we live.

Having said all that, I took a quick dip into one verse in 2 Timothy, so here goes.

I am calling up memories of your sincere and unqualified faith (the leaning of your entire personality on God in Christ in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness), [a faith] that first lived permanently in [the heart of] your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am [fully] persuaded, [dwells] in you also. (2 Timothy 1:5 AMPC)

In my mind’s eye, I see myself writing to Christians, who, like myself, have had to endure false teachers and therefore ended up with some tainted ideas about God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. After almost 15 years of looking into the Word of God and growing with you, I find I have readers all over the world. If there is one, the problem is that I don’t know you, so how could I call up memories of you?

I would, however, know you if we, through, say, battle, have come to build a bond, a bond which demonstrated your real heart, your courage, willingness to endure hardships, and proven that you have my back as I have yours.

How do we know Paul had Timothy’s back?

I thank God Whom I worship with a pure conscience, in the spirit of my fathers, when without ceasing I remember you night and day in my prayers, And when, as I recall your tears, I yearn to see you so that I may be filled with joy. (2 Timothy 1:3-4 AMPC)

Along with so many others, this young man was always on his mind, and he constantly prayed for Timothy.

But what specifically did Paul think about?

The sincere and unqualified faith that Timothy demonstrated. Having spent some time in the faith movement, where faith is primarily evidenced by your “Godly” reaction to negative issues, this can include a simple cold, a horrific injury, or financial matters. A man I admired, upon hearing you describe what was going on in your life, would immediately approach you and ask, may I pray for you. In my mind, this is a demonstrated faith, which has NOTHING to do with results.

Alright, let’s talk about expected results for a moment. What did Jesus say to his disciples?

“These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” (Mark 16:17-18 NASB)

If you have believed in Jesus’ name, then things should and will happen.

• They will – cast out demons.

• They will – as the ERV states, speak in languages they never learned.

  I have primarily understood this to be languages that the Holy Spirit gives me, and there have been many. The problem I had and many have spoken of similar experiences, is that some ancient person (and some would say that I am now one) who would speak out in their “tongue” to the church body would hover about you and essentially tell you what sounds to make. For years I floundered in that backroom experience and did not understand anything about it; that is until I read this passage.

  But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, (Jude 1:20 NASB)

  After hearing about this, I understood that I was building myself up, on the inside, by praying in the Holy Spirit; this understanding had nothing to do with impressing people or scoring more points to improve my position in heaven.

• They will - lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.

  Our command, directive, admonition, is to lay hands on the sick; and then what happens to them? They recover. The Word Study Dictionary tells us that recover means to have and hold, implying continued possession. Ah, but hold what? The obvious answer would be that to which you held before but now, no longer hold, such as health. Within the faith movement, many hold on to wealth; they stake this claim based upon God’s promises to Abraham and his descendants. I suppose we forget that much of Abraham’s wealth was wrapped up in sheep and camels, so enjoy that.

  If I may, this command does not imply that the result has anything to do with our actions or faith. Of course, it takes faith to open your mouth and ask that person if you could pray for them, but beyond that, the action that takes place in the life of the sick person falls entirely upon God’s mercy.

  One last thing. If I wanted to thwart God’s plan to heal, and therefore, touch people’s lives, then I would do something so drastic that just the mention imparts fear and separates the “believers” from those who need help. Can you now see how something like a human-made creation, such as COVID 19, which has everyone cringing in fear, attempting to sterilize their hands at every turn, maintaining a minimum of six feet away from others, and wearing a mask over your nose and mouth could further impair your sense of reason and ability to communicate while adding to your fear.

• What does scripture say?

  But now, thus says the LORD, your Creator, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine! “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, Nor will the flame burn you. (Isaiah 43:1-2 NASB)

  Yeah, well, I noticed that the COVID 19 escaped His attention, there in Isaiah, so now what?

  For this reason also, God highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11 NASB)

  And while this may be a shock to your system, COVID is nothing but a name, and it too will bow its pathetic knee to the name of Jesus.

  The unbelievable aspect of these statements is how quickly we as followers of the living God have forgotten how much He cares for us and who we are.

Since we only know about Timothy based upon Paul’s words, how do we comprehend what Paul is trying to say in his description of this young man?

Note that I used the Amplified Bible; I did so because it expounds, with accuracy, about the alternative meanings of the Greek and Hebrew, and that is what they have done here. So it is the passage itself that reveals the key in the success of young Timothy, as this sincere and unqualified faith is “the leaning of your entire personality on God in Christ in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness.”

I asked my wife to read this and tell me if I made any sense. I do this because I know I am prone to type faster than my mind can crank out the words and leave out entire descriptive sentences. She did just that and then asked me why I included anything about Benny Hinn.

I may or may not have expounded upon a video log by Chelsi Bedell in a previous post, in which she described going to a “Christian conference.” After a short time, the audience was introduced to Benny Hinn (apparently, the speaker is the son-in-law of Benny.) I have been aware of Benny Hinn for years now, and I always thought the man was nothing less than a religious charlatan who raked in money from little old ladies like my mother.

Since Paul told Timothy to speak to those who had money about how it was a trap and not to love it, I can see where some of Benny’s problems came from. He divorced the wife he swore he would never leave in 2010 and for many in the religious world, this is an unbearable injustice. I have since learned that he remarried Suzanne three years later. From: www.ugchristiannews.com “Benny explained how his ministry schedule affected his marriage. “In my case, it was family and the stress of ministry and being too busy. I didn’t pay attention to Suzanne’s pain. That’s what caused our problem. And then Suzanne having to struggle with what was happening to our family,” he added...” It goes on, but having spent some time in recovery, I do not see any ownership of what happened, so I still don’t trust the man.

Chelsi Bedell told us that Benny said coming to Christ is easy; remaining a Christian is difficult. Chelsi said, I knew there was something wrong with this man immediately, and there may be, but that is not the point here. Having looked at what Paul said about Timothy, I can see how Benny, and so many more of us, are NOT leaning our entire personality on God in Christ in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness.

Honestly, that is a mouthful. It is much like going to a buffet - if you can still find one. There are so many choices, things I rarely get to eat, and I want a piece of everything. Yes, this is a bizarre way of relating to this life we signed up for when we became Christians. Upon learning of things, such as the fruits of the spirit - self-control or patience, I want it all, along with the potential changes they can bring to my life, I want it all now.

I cannot remember being able to take in more than a couple of God’s menu items at any one time, and, though, over time, I have become better at this leaning into God, there is never some aspect of life that I don’t mess up. A generalized way of saying this is, I sin, in little ways, frequently, but then so do you, so don’t get all judgmental on me. Some would say that I deserve to burn in hell’s flames for sinning, but they forget that OUR debts were wholly paid for on the cross of Jesus. However, his act of putting himself on that cross did not give us automatic freedom; we had to accept it by faith.

As used by the Amplified Bible, the word absolute, to define Timothy’s devotion might be a stretch, as Timothy lived in the same world I live in, and he too was broken by sin. At best, I can see Timothy, just like me, working at it daily.

Hopefully, someone out there looks at your life and says, “when without ceasing I remember you night and day in my prayers,” I remember that God is working in your life in unique ways. I know you don’t always see it, as you are standing so close to the flame, but it’s there. You had my back when I needed it, and hopefully, you realize that I had yours.

This God we serve is larger than anything we can understand, and since you cannot measure the ever-expanding universe, it is safe to say that His mercy is like that, unsearchable and overwhelming at times. Trust me, here on this earth; we will never be able to wrap our minds around that mercy.

Do everything you can to place yourself so deeply in His love that the world disappears; Enoch did that very thing, and he walked off the earth and into the Father’s arms.

I long for the day, and it will come sooner than you think.