Strengthen What Remains

Strengthen What Remains

Surely this phrase brings to mind Revelation 3 in the letter to the church at Sardis. Verse 2 reads: Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God. 

While in prayer the other day I asked the Lord what He wanted to say to me. He spoke: “Strengthen what remains.” I know this scripture in its context which led me to a gasping, “Oh know” as my mind was flooded with thoughts from Revelation 3's Sardis. Its context immediately anchored my thoughts melding them with what the Holy Spirit had spoken. However (and thankfully), immediately another thought flowed through my mind “don’t add to My words” watermarked with a scripture from Luke 22.  

We all know that things have shifted since early January of 2020. We have both the election and Covid-19 to thank for this. Then there is our porous southern boarder, Afghanistan, the national debt, rioting, looting, shootings, harassment of peace-loving people, and on the list goes. Yet, there is another realm at work, the spiritual realm, where both the evil and the Holy are at work. Whatever the outcome of all the world's upheaval both God and Satan are using this time to promote their agendas. (There will be a day when the purposes of God allow and even empower the rise of the antichrist.) 

Now back to the title of this blog. 

Remember when Jesus told Peter (you is plural, so this was spoken to all the apostles) that they would be sifted? It is found in Luke 22. Satan demanded permission to sift the apostles and Jesus implied He granted him permission to do so. (Aren’t you glad he has to ask God for permission?) The word sift is from the word sieve. A sieve holds back the larger items and lets the smaller particles flow through. In the Luke 22 scripture Jesus uses the example of wheat being sifted. And even though Satan had in mind to destroy the apostles faith,  Jesus had already prayed for them. He knew what was coming. He was using Satan's sifting for His very own purpose. This is the backdrop the Holy Spirit gave me as He said not to add to His words "Strengthen what remains."  

What remains in you that was given by God: your vision, your gifts, your passions? These are the things to strengthen. Let the other stuff fall by the wayside. Don't pick them back up. They are dead weight. A hinderance to what God has truly given to you. Someday we will really stand before the King of kings to receive a reward for things done in the body. In that day you'll be glad you left the dead things behind.

And how about your church? What things that used to soak up finances and time have become far less important? Let them drift away down the river of irrelevance. 

As I write this, I know that some of His church in 20/21 has become more spiritually lethargic and dull. Wow (!) this not a time to be dull and lethargic! If this is you, get back in the battle, you have become a prisoner of war. Some likely need to hear the entire scripture: Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God. 

But for those of us that this word speaks to, set aside some time to ask the Lord what remains, if you don’t already know. Know that it is God Who has removed things that are like dead wood in your garden. Don’t try to carry forward what God has marked as dead. Then strengthen by the power of the Holy Spirit what has remained through this season of sifting. Let the Lord fully blow the chaff from your wheat. 

…let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith… Hebrews 12 

Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified. 1 Corinthians 9  

Sometimes as we walk through life God brings a season of reset. 

This is such a time.

Living Well in Hard Times: Part 1

Living Well in Hard Times: Part 1 

A few years back I was chatting with one of my dearest friends. At the time we were both struggling with selling our houses. They had been on the market far too long. For years we have prayed together sharing deep private matters of our lives and our family’s lives. Most times the Holy Spirit would interact with us as we prayed and chatted. I remember this one time in particular because it rocked me as the words came out my mouth. 

“We just love the world too much. That is why we care so much about our lives and our stuff.” 

This was truer than I even realized at the time. Hebrews 11 talks about phenomenal people of faith of whom the world was not worthy. All the people of Hebrews 11 lived with eternal priorities. God says of them: 

All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. 14 For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. 15 And indeed if they had been thinking of that [country] from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is, they desire a better [country], that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them. Hebrews 11:13-16 

These Hebrews 11 people had their feet on the earth, but their heart lived somewhere else. They saw beyond this age, welcoming the promises from a distance – that is, seeing into the next age from this age. That is faith. Faith sees the things God says as reality even when they are not yet manifested (verse 6). Don’t miss the last sentence of verse 16: Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them. Abraham left everything for this City—the Millennial New Jerusalem—the City with foundations whose builder and maker is God (Revelation 21). And God says that He has prepared this City for those who see and live beyond life in this world, for it is said of them that they seek a heavenly country. These scriptures, and others like them, reveal the eternal purposes God has for Israel and Jerusalem. No wonder there is such fierce demonic activity surrounding Israel in our time! It is the spiritual manifesting through the natural. 

Having eternal eyesight gave the Hebrews 11 people courage in intense circumstances. It gave them courage to obey when obeying was costly. Hebrews 10:34 says they accepted joyfully the seizure of their property, knowing that they had a better possession and a lasting one. Consider these extremes from Hebrews 11: verses 32-38 exhibit the victories of their faith and the utter vandalism of their lives because of their faith—those of whom the world was not worthy! 

And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, 33 who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. 35 Women received back their dead by resurrection; and others were tortured, not accepting their release, so that they might obtain a better resurrection; 36 and others experienced mockings and scourgings, yes, also chains and imprisonment. 37  They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated 38 (men of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground. Hebrews 11:32-38 

Can you imagine what Noah went through? God tells him to do something no one would understand and probably mocked him for, because he found favor with God and was righteous (Genesis 6). It wasn't for a week or a year either, it was 100 years he endured their ridicule. This was in the midst of extremely wicked people, so wicked that God wiped them ALL out. Yet in the midst of this environment Noah continued to build and prepare for what was coming (Genesis 6:13). 

Everything about Abraham’s promise centered on Isaac, and yet Abraham willingly offered him. He reasoned that God was able to raise Isaac form the dead. Abraham was taken to the extreme point of losing everything to obey. Abraham offered his promise over to death that he might see that promise receive life.

And of Moses that he chose rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, 26 considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward. Think about Egypt’s treasures. Egypt was wealthy and powerful, however, Moses considered the REPROACH of Christ more valuable. Moses lived for the eternal knowing the value of the eternal kingdom far outweighed anything Egypt could offer. This bookmarked his place in Hebrews 11. 

Others foreclosed on this life choosing rather a better resurrection. What gives people the strength to do this? It is all in what we see and what we value. If we love this world and our stuff we will not have the spiritual fortitude to endure. 

Would your choices fit in Hebrews 11? 

By faith she chose to be a stay-at-home mom, knowing that the value of raising her children far outweighed a Coach purse or a new house. 

By faith he chose the job that paid less, because it please God. 

By faith he spoke the truth in the midst of God’s enemies knowing the power of the Gospel could save them, but may cost him his job. 

By faith she gave her last $10 to the poor.  

The list could go on and on. Not all, if any, of our faith choices are earth shaking. But they reveal who we are and where our eyes are fixed. Living with eternal eyesight gives us courage and endurance in this life. There may come a day for us here in the USA where we too will have to accept the confiscation of our property.  

Will it be said of us that we did it joyfully?

 

 

It Speaks, But to Whom?

 It Speaks, But to Whom?

Over the years I have heard many different people’s perspectives on the OT Law and our obligation to it. Whether we are talking about the Law referring to the 10 Commandments, the complete OT, the Torah (Pentateuch), or simply the Law and the Prophets, people’s perspectives differ. Theologians likewise differ. Some of my friends and/or acquaintances brood over certain Jewish feasts or traditions. Some keep the Sabbath out of duty, while others out of festivity celebrate feasts such as Purim and Tabernacles. What are the NT’s requirements regarding the Law? 

The other day I was reading Romans and came across this Scripture: 

Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God. Romans 3:19 NASB

The word translated Law (nomos), which is capitalized in the NASB, is a generic term meaning law. It could be moral law, the law of sin and death, the Mosaic Law, the Law and the Prophets, or the whole of the OT, or some other law. Just which law or Law is determined by its context. In Romans 3:19 above “Law” is capitalized in the NASB because the context clearly denotes specific law that is associated with the Old Testament. The scriptures that proceed it are from Job, Psalms, Proverbs, and Isaiah, so we must admit that the Law here is more far reaching than the Mosaic Law or the 10 Commandments. However, it must include them due to verse 20. As we juxtaposed verse 20 with Romans 7:7 below, where the 10 Commandments are clearly portrayed, we undoubtedly see the correlation: 

…because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law [comes] the knowledge of sin. Romans 3:20 

…I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, “YOU SHALL NOT COVET.” Romans 7:7 

Whichever Law is discussed here in Romans 3:19 (and believe me commentaries are all over the place), a definitive conclusion can be made that the statement “whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law” is referring to the Jew as the one who is under this Law. To paraphrase then, it would read, “whatsoever the Law’s requirements are, it is only speaking to the OT Jew who is under that OT Law.” Hebrews 8:13 goes so far as to say that the Old Covenant is obsolete.  

Ok take a breath and let’s move forward to get where I’m heading. 

Dear Christian, you are not an OT Jew. Therefore, what the Law says, it is not speaking to you, as it did to the Jew. You, if you are in Christ, you are free from the Law. Free—I mean really free! But that is not where it ends.  

1 Timothy 1:8 says that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully. The Law is detrimental, however, if one uses it illegally. It will wrap you up into a condemnation ball if you mishandle it. Worse yet, it can lead you astray from the grace that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Paul says in Galatians 5:4 that those who seek to be justified by law (any law) have been severed from Christ and have fallen from grace. Paul also equates works of the Law with the flesh—not with faith and not with grace (Galatians 3:2-3). There is benefit to the Christian in the Law:  

For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction [to teach us], so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. Romans 15:4  

Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction [warning, admonition], upon whom the ends of the ages have come. 1 Corinthians 10:11  

Furthermore, the OT gives us great insight into the character of God and His interactions with man. Insights into creation, sin, God’s protection of His people, His absolute sovereignty; there are types, prophecies, prophecies regarding our age and Messiah. Israel's history, the Psalms, and God’s supremacy from beginning to end is all beautifully displayed in the pages of the OT. Reading about David and his exploits, his ravished heart for God, his sin, and his calling as a little shepherd boy all give us hope. There’s Abraham and his many failures turned to being the friend of God. And as Hebrews 11:32 confesses: time will fail me if I tell of the rest. 

We do see ourselves in the pages of the OT. As we read it, it speaks to us too.

But we cannot—we must not—find our rightness-with-God there. There is only one place to find that and His Name is Jesus Christ. 

For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. Romans 10:4

 

 

 

 

A Lot in There

A Lot in There 

My husband and I have adopted a new saying, “There is a Lot in there.”  It came about after a Bible study on Genesis 13. In Genesis 13 we read that Abram returned from Egypt with Lot and all their stuff to the place between Bethel and Ai—to the place where Abram had built an alter to the Lord and called on His name. Egypt seems to have been out of the perfect plan of God for Abram. And it seems he returned to the place he knew God had met with him before. Conjecture, of course, as to why Abram returned to that place in particular. 

Due to strife between Lot’s and Abram’s herdsmen the two decided to part company. Abram, though God had promised him Canaan, offered Lot first choice. Verse 10 and 11 reveal a great deal about Lot: 

10 Lot lifted up his eyes and saw all the valley of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere-- [this was] before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah-- like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt as you go to Zoar. 11 So Lot chose for himself all the valley of the Jordan, and Lot journeyed eastward. Thus they separated from each other. Genesis 13:10-11 

Hadn’t Lot heard about the wickedness of Sodom? Yet he moved so close to Sodom that he eventually ended up inside the city. Why? Because Lot looked with his eyes and chose for himself. He didn’t ask God. I find verse 10 quite telling. The name Zoar means “insignificance.” As Lot looked at this beautiful land, God was saying that it really was like passing through Egypt into insignificance (like the land of Egypt as you go to Zoar). Egypt often typifies worldliness. Choosing by what we see instead of by the Holy Spirit’s leading is worldly and leads to insignificance—spiritual insignificance, that is. Yes, it may look like the Garden of Eden, but if God isn’t leading you there then don’t go. You too may end up first pitching your tent close to Sodom and then ending up inside. The end of this story for Lot is very sad. He lost his wife and everything he had. His moral compass seems lost as well. Chapter 19 says that Lot ended up in Zoar, then from there he moved into a cave. The story further deteriorated from there. 

Both Abram and Lot ended up with beautiful land, though through different means. God gave Abram the land of Canaan. Canaan was so lush that Numbers 13 says the spies brought back clusters of grapes so large they had to carry them on poles. Quite a land. The difference was that Abram asked God while Lot saw and chose.

Abram, when he returned from Egypt, returned to the place he knew God had spoken to him. Lot really never returned. His feet were there but his heart was not. Revelation 2 states that the remedy for the Church of Ephesus was to repent and do the things they did at first. They too had to return or become insignificant, meaning their candlestick would be removed. Maybe you’re at a point where you too need to return.  

Make that choice today. 

Don’t end up like Lot. 

My Holy Spirit Inbox

My Holy Spirit Inbox

Often, whether through a picture or a whisper from the Holy Spirit, names and images  pop into my mind’s eye. I call this my "Inbox." Years ago I recognized that this is a way in which the Holy Spirit speaks. Throughout the years I have prayed for many people whom I have never met as the Lord dropped them into my inbox. I can still see some of them. Usually they are only with me for a few hours or days, though some I have remembered in prayer for years. A couple times I have heard an address without a city (2118 2^nd St), a phrase (Kettle Kids for Andrew’s Journey), or a phone number without an area code. One was Dan 609-6009 way back in the early 2000s. I tried to call this number using close-by area codes, but to no avail. I finally decided that if God had wanted me to call Dan, then He would have given more information. I still remember Dan and wonder if I’ll meet him on the other side. 

One woman comes to mind. She is wearing a brilliant cobalt blue wrap, woven with gold designs. I see her hiding from her pursuers in the night. She is peering from behind a rock wall as she awaits a moment where she can flee. I have carried this woman in prayer for years. 

Then there is Linda. I saw a young blonde Linda, probably approaching 30, stuck in her little red car after she’d had an accident. Her legs were all curled up; she had passed out behind the steering wheel.  

Sometimes people from my past all the sudden come to mind. Not just by way of a thought, rather an invasion into my thinking. Kind of like when a commercial jolts a movie as it stops in an unlikely place. It is totally out of the blue and undeniable. Most of the time it is someone I haven’t thought about for decades. Yet there they are invading my thoughts.  

The last one hit me just the other day as I was planting trees in my yard. Her name is Chahani Rose or Shahani Rose. At first I just thought, “oh that’s a pretty name.” But then after a few moments it dawned on me that it was the Holy Spirit leading me to pray for her. Never had I heard that name before.  

Sometimes I know exactly how to pray for the people the Holy Spirit brings to me, while other times I don’t. In such cases I just pray according to what I see best I can. If He wakes me up in the middle of the night to pray, I store it in my phone so I can remember the next day. The Lord awakened me with the lady in the cobalt blue dress with urgency to pray for her. 

I encourage you to pay attention to thoughts that seem out-of-nowhere. If you are a Christian who has learned to yield your thoughts to the Holy Spirit, then these are likely the Holy Spirit leading you to pray.

Jesus, Your Church Needs Help!

 Jesus, Your Church Needs Help! 

cliparting.com/free-sick-clipart-40041/

One of my kids asked what I thought of the statement “we pray from a place of authority.” Apparently this statement was part of the message at their church tonight. Let’s talk about this statement. 

Do we pray from a place of authority? Many scriptures are probably running through your mind as you read this. Scriptures that mention that we are seated with Christ in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6) and that we have authority because Jesus gave it to us (Luke 10:19). Hebrews 4 says to come before the Throne of grace boldly. But is this really where the initial statement is taking us? 

Nope. 

Think about it again in the context of prayer “we pray from a place of authority.” Prayer is to Someone—God. We pray to God. Do we have a place of authority before God? Is it right doctrine to believe we do? When we pray we are petitioning God, hopefully according to His will, but even if we are just presenting our requests, we are not in a position of authority before God—He is God. Sounds kind of mixed up, doesn’t it? 

Jesus didn’t presume to have authority when He prayed. He painfully said, “Not My will but Yours be done.”(Luke 22:42) Furthermore, probably the greatest display of prayer is Jesus praying to the Father in John 17. There is not a hint of an authoritative position from Jesus. He simply was talking to and asking the Father. 

Even now as I was scrolling through posts on facebook I saw this from a prominent prophetic voice—someone who is a regular at conferences (at least was before Covid-19): “God wants to use you to transform the world back into its original purpose.  Which means you're really powerful.” My reply: Kind of looks like it is God Who transforms the world back to its original purpose and is really powerful:

Isaiah 65:17 “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former shall not be remembered or come to mind.”

Isaiah 66:22 “For as the new heavens and the new earth Which I will make shall remain before Me,” says the LORD, “So shall your descendants and your name remain.”

2Pe 3:13 Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. 

Note the difference? Even when God uses us in His purposes, the power is of Him working through us, as 2 Corinthians 4:7 says: But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. 

We—the Charismatic Church—really have a problem. The understanding of the Church, maybe not the whole church, but the Charismatic Church is way off plumb. It’s very sad. She needs teachers to teach the foundations of the Word of God. Psalm 11:3 If the foundations are destroyed, What can the righteous do? 

No wonder our nation is such a mess. 

The Church is a mess.  

I have heard all about You, LORD.

I am filled with awe by Your amazing works.

In this time of our deep need,

help us again as You did in years gone by.

And in Your anger, remember Your mercy.

Habakkuk 3

 

A Most Disturbing Scripture

 A Most Disturbing Scripture 

Read this section of scripture slowly, then read it again: 

…the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, 10 and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. 11 For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence [operative power] so that they will believe what is false, 12 in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.

2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 

This section of scripture is embedded in the context of the second coming of Christ. Verse one initiates this context: “…with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed…” 

God Himself actively sends an influence (Greek: operative power) to those who would not love the truth.¹ 

He does this for two reasons:

1.    that these people (who would not love the truth) will believe a lie (some translations say “the lie”); 

2.    so that God may judge them.

Why does God judge them?  For two reasons:

1.    they refused to love the truth;

2.    they took pleasure in wickedness. 

This is extremely disturbing and intense! 

Let’s dive into these scriptures deeper: The word, a "mystery," is not something unknowable. Rather, it is what can only be known through revelation, i.e. because God reveals it (Strong’s). Also the word truth <225> is directly related to Jesus and the Holy Spirit.¹ These followers of the antichrist are not just believing some sort of lie, they are believing and following “the lie.” The lie may refer back to Genesis 3 where the serpent lied to Eve. Though it quite obviously relates to an exchange—to something from Jesus Christ—since anyone who believe in Jesus (the Truth) will receive salvation. These people do not receive salvation, rather they receive judgment. God only further solidifies their choices by sending them the operative power of deception. He gives them over to their ways. 

Truth, real truth, matters and it matters whether or not we believe it. In these days it is easy to see how a deluding influence could happen. The media and governments working together with spiritual forces to deceive the people. 

Last night in Bible study were looked at Eve’s deception in the Garden. Isn’t it interesting how little she got wrong and how huge the ramifications were. One little phrase “or touch it” was all that was added to what God had said. Did she touch it then think, “Oh I didn’t die. God must have lied.” But that isn’t what God said. He never mentioned touching it. She was off only a little, or was she? 

Let’s be lovers of truth—The Truth incarnate and His truth. What we believe matters. What we believe about the Bible matters more. What the Bible actually says matters most (quote from Confronting the Wind). 

¹John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth <225>, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”

John 16:13 “But when He, the Spirit of truth <225>, comes, He will guide you into all the truth <225>; 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.”

One Woman—Four Views: Part 2

One Woman—Four Views: Part 2

The Woman is the Constellation Virgo and Jupiter is the Child 

Please read One Woman—Four Views: Part 1

There are four dominate views of Revelation 12’s woman: The woman is:

1.    Israel: past and/or present

§  Mary representing Israel—Israel’s descendant.

2.    The constellations Virgo and Jupiter is the child

3.    The Bride of Christ: all the church or part of the church

4.    A synthesis of all the faithful throughout history

5.    And finally, my thoughts. 

The Woman is the Constellations Virgo

Seriously, I have not wanted to write this blog and have been putting it off. I just cannot find much credit to this view, so I feel it a waste of my time. However, to be thorough it must be addressed, since it is one of the prominent views. 

Introductory thoughts:

1.    All of Revelation following chapter 4:1 is an experience John is having while in heaven—the heaven where God’s Throne is:

     After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, “Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.” 2 Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne. Revelation 4:1

2.    There are two signs in Revelation 12: the woman with child and a great fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads.

3.    Part of Revelation 12’s storyline takes place in heaven (a sign appeared in heaven) and part on the earth (the dragon was cast to the earth and pursued the woman, the earth helped the woman). All is being seen by John while “up here” where God’s Throne is.

4.    The two signs in chapter 12 are “video clips” mirroring activity taking place on the earth. We see in the dragon the spiritual masterminding of governments and powers on the earth to pursue the woman. Ephesians 6 tells us that we fight against rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

5.    Revelation 12 takes place right at the beginning of the 3-1/2 year tribulation. Revelation 12:6 (Then the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days.) is not the rapture of the church. The rapture is at the end of this 1260 days and before the most dramatic of God’s judgments—the last 30 days that Daniel prophesies. (Daniel 12:11 “And from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination of desolation is set up, there shall be one thousand two hundred and ninety days.”)

That said, let’s get on with Virgo and Jupiter. 

Here is the deal: will the constellations align so that a case could made that there is a woman (Virgo), a child (Jupiter), the moon under the woman’s feet, the sun somewhere in the picture, and somehow throw in the 12 stars? Yeah, with a sledgehammer, but it can be done. Obviously, since many have. This sledgehammer alignment takes place regularly—not every year, but it is in the earth’s regular orbit. 

Furthermore, Revelation 12’s heavenly act doesn’t end with the woman and her child. There is a whole scenario, almost like a play, taking place scene by scene. No one I've read or heard addresses the sign of a dragon who waits in hungry anticipation for the male child to be born. Which constellation is the dragon anyway? There isn’t any constellation for him and they all leave out verses 4 about his tail sweeping stars out of the sky. The dragon pursues the woman after the child is snatched up to heaven. So now we have Jupiter totally out of the picture, Virgo with her star-crown, sun clothing, and moon platform running into a heavenly desert? (That must be a meteor shower to behold!) See how it all breaks down? The constellation theory just doesn’t work. 

Nevertheless, Genesis 1:14 states that the lights in the heavens are for signs, seasons, days, and years. So let’s look at Genesis 1:14-19: 

Then God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; 15 and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so. 16 Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also. 17 God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18 and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 So the evening and the morning were the fourth day. 

(As a side note, I think it’s funny that God created light before He created the light bearers.) The heavenly lights are for signs, seasons, days, and years. For example Israel’s feasts were centered on the lunar orbit. I also find it funny that when blood moons fall on Jewish feasts people get all out-of-sorts about it; they write books, prophesy, and preach about a new thing God is doing or the end of the world. All because the blood moons were on a Jewish feast, when all Jewish feasts align with the moon. 

Joel along with Acts 2 both describe end-time signs in the sun and moon: “I will show wonders in heaven above And signs in the earth beneath: Blood and fire and vapor of smoke. 20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD.” 

There will be more signs in the heavens before the Lord Jesus returns, however it won’t be Virgo as the woman of Revelation 12. 

Below is a fantastic article discussing the constellations Virgo as the woman in Revelation 12. This article is concise and informative:  

https://answersingenesis.org/astronomy/stars/what-will-happen-september-23-2017/

An Echo or a Voice?

An Echo or a Voice?

Today is January 8, 2021.

The election is over. 

The prophets were wrong.

Who do we listen to now?

There is a problem in the church. Is it with the prophets? Why yes it is, however it is with all of us. We are ALL supposed to hear the Holy Spirit. We are ALL supposed to be a voice. We are all able to hear Him firsthand. And when we do that makes us a voice. A voice for the Holy Spirit. He speaks to people and they in turn speak out what He is saying. We are supposed to recognize His voice whether from Him directly or from His people.

ALL the prophets missed the Covid-19 virus and ALL the prophets missed the election chaos. ALL the prophets missed 2020! It looks like God does do things without revealing it to His servants the prophets after all^1. Who do we listen to now? The One we should have been listening to all along: The Holy Spirit. 

It is time to go back into your closet and return to the Lord. We have been distracted with life. We have let weeds and thorns grow up and choke us. Everything it seems matters—but some things matter most. What will He say to you on that day? That day you stand before Him Face to face? On that day I don’t want to be talking to a Stranger, do you? 

John the Baptist was a voice. He recognized God. He recognized the Holy Spirit descending upon Him. Think about all the other voices that John must have been hearing—from the religious leaders to the people. And think about the OT Scriptures John must have been perusing over. Yet he was able to hear and see God. Why? First of all John lived differently. He lived in the wilderness away from the people. Does that mean we leave the city to live in Wyoming? Of course not. But we must not be of the world nor love the world. We are citizens of a different world—people of His Kingdom.

Secondly, John ate differently. He ate locust (yuck) and wild honey (not so bad). We too, if we want to be spiritually alert and sharp, we too must eat differently than the world. Jesus said: “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.” (John 4:34) Jesus also said that He is the bread of life. What we eat determines to a large degree our fitness. It’s time to choose locust and wild honey. It’s time to be a voice of one crying in the wilderness, because we recognize Him.

¹ His servants the prophets: Many believe this scripture in Amos 3:7 is still for today: Surely the Lord GOD does nothing, Unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets. But let’s shine a light on it in its context. This scripture is embedded in a direct word to Israel saying: “… O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying: 2 you only have I known of all the families of the earth…” If we are going to isolate verse 7 declaring that God only does things when He reveals it to His servant the prophets, then we too must believe that Israel alone are His people. See how that works? Yeah, me either.

What is the truth then? In John 16 Jesus states that all His people can and should hear the Holy Spirit:

“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. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. 15 All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.”

We don’t need to wait for the prophet as they did in the OT. NT prophets have their place, but they not take the place of each of us hearing the Holy Spirit for ourselves.