Summary of Bible references on the Rapture

Luke 11:1-8 -- Shameless audacity

11 One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord,teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” 2 He said to them, “When you pray, say: “‘Father, hallowed be your name,

Michael Jordan reminded people again and again that his hope when he first came to Chicago was that the basketball team in Chicago would be as respected as Boston, LA and Philadelphia. This is where our prayers originate, from a hope we have. He saw those other teams as the legacy, the fathers of faith, and he wanted his team to honored just as they were. This hope became a prayer that he lived out. Elizabeth’s prayer was concerning the “mother of my Lord”. She prayed that Mary would be blessed and that the “fruit of her womb” would be blessed. “Blessed is she that believed; for there shall be a fulfilment of the things which have been spoken to her from the Lord.” Mary prayed that the Lord would be magnified in her. She had a vision that although she was in a low estate, from henceforth all generations shall call her blessed. “Those who honor me I will honor” (1Sam 2:30). She proclaimed that He was doing mighty things. She proclaimed His mercy. He scattered the proud and exalted them of low degree. This is what it means to hallow the Lord’s name and this is the prayer that she lived.

your kingdom come.

Zacharias was focused on God who had wrought redemption and salvation. He praised God for His faithfulness in remembering the covenant with Israel. He prophesied that John would have a mission to go before the Lord to make ready His way, to give knowledge of salvation, and to guide our feet in the way of peace.

3 Give us each day our daily bread.

Scottie Pippen was ranked 2nd on the Bulls in scoring, 2nd in rebounding, 2nd in minutes played, 1st in assists, 1st in steals, and 6th in salary. He was 122nd in the league in salary. He was a hall of fame player, he played on the Dream team, one of the 11 best players in the league at the time, and he was undeniably underpaid. We aren’t praying to “get what is ours” we are praying for our daily bread. The reason Scottie was underpaid was simple, he had two people in his family in wheelchairs, and he had a very large family (11 brothers and sisters) depending on him. Therefore he signed a long contract (8 years) for $18 million to make sure everyone was taken care of. He was advised that this was a bad contract, but he felt in his situation security was the most important. Let’s keep our prayers simple, just to be given our daily bread. Everyone in his family said clearly that they had been given their daily bread. There are many, many athletes who go broke after having huge contracts. Scottie didn’t go broke because he knew from day one that this money had to take care of everyone.

4 Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.’”

The case with Scottie Pippen is very instructive. The owner knew he was being underpaid, but his principle was “once you sign a contract that is it, don’t come back to me”. So righteousness without any forgiveness. One might think the owner was righteous in sticking to his principles. Really? A few years earlier Jordan had retired to play baseball. The owner paid him $3 million a year which was not required in any contract, he said he did it because Jordan had been underpaid. This is hypocrisy. Pippen saw the hypocrisy and insult to him as a sin. How did he react? Scottie ruptured his tendon at the end of the 1997 season. He could have had an operation that would have had him ready to play on day one of the next season, but instead he waited till the summer was over. As a result he had to sit out for three months in the next season. ‘You don’t care about me, why should I care about you’? He succumbed to this temptation and that hurt everyone else on the team, not simply the owner. Righteousness without forgiveness, without mercy is very cold. Suppose the owner had gone to Scottie and said “I feel terrible about this contract, it is an embarrassment to me that you are so underpaid and it is giving others the impression I am stingy. Therefore I would like to renegotiate our contract if that is alright with you, for the sake of my good name.” Yes, he would have paid a few more million a year to Scottie, but everyone would have been much happier, his reputation would have been much better, and it is very possible they would have all been able to work out a deal where they won a 7th championship. When you take that attitude that you are righteous without considering forgiving others you will be led into temptation.

5 Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 6 a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ 7 And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need.

There is a wonderful example of shameless audacity with Jordan. He broke his foot, the doctor’s wanted him to remain out the entire season because there was a 10% chance he’d reinjure the foot. The owner didn’t want to take the chance, so Jordan went public making a big stink that they were just doing this to get better draft picks. Ultimately they relented. So even though the owner wouldn’t relent because of his friendship with Jordan, ultimately he did because of Jordan's shameless audacity. Another example of shameless audacity is Dennis Rodman. In the last season they were playing Utah in the championship. Dennis had to guard Karl Malone, a hall of fame forward. Dennis was also a hall of famer, but Karl Malone was the real deal and at the very top of his game. Dennis needed to grow, to expand, to become the “Rodmanator”. In the middle of the series he leaves, goes to Vegas and is seen with Hulk Hogan in a Wrestlemania show and was christened “the Rodmanator”. To leave without permission, skip out on practice during the championship was both shameless and audacious. This is why no other team would have anything to do with Rodman. But he upped his game and met the challenge. He also was praying that this team would be honored. When they won he told people they needed to respect this team. He lived that prayer even if he resorted to shameless audacity.

Luke 11:9-10 Ask, seek, knock

9 “So I say to you:

How many people miss this part? The rest of the promise is based on the shameless audacity He just talked about.

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

Ask
“Hi, my name is Cathy and I’m calling from Green Bay, Wisconsin. I think some of the most exciting answers to prayer are the ones that our children witness. Once while traveling with my two boys we stopped to stretch our legs and when we came back to our car it wouldn’t start. We were three hours from home and two hours from our destination and we didn’t know a soul where we were. After trying to start the car several more times, I looked over at my oldest son Tim who was five at the time and I said, "We need to pray and ask God to make our car start." After we prayed, I looked at Tim and I said "Well here we go." Would you believe the car started on the very first try. I wish you could have seen the look of surprise and wonder in my sons’ face. Because of that object lesson from heaven, he will never forget that God really does hear and answer our prayers. Whether for something very important or as simple as making a car start.” (http://www.2christ.org/prayer/)

Seek

“Hi, I’m Sandy Tivits from Worster, Ohio and in the fall of 1994, I was reading Dr. Dobson’s book, "When God doesn’t Make Sense" when I was diagnosed with a brain tumor. I was a single parent with two teenage sons and worked as a registered nurse at a job with no paid sick leave. Christians from many denominations started prayer chains and rallied around us. The surgery lasted 14-1/2 hours with my neuro-surgeon having no partner to assist him. My family was shocked with the news that I might not make it through the night and my dear friend Dianne gathered my small family in her arms in that waiting room and said "We’re going to pray right now." God knew all along that I was to be used as His vessel as He cradled me in His loving arms. He did answer those prayers. I was out of the hospital in eleven days and back to work in three months. He also saw fit to meet all of our financial needs during my recovery. My doctor tells me I’m a miracle; that I’ve been given a second chance in life.” (http://www.2christ.org/prayer/)

Find

“I’m Pamela. I’m calling from Greenville, SC and my ten year old son Robby got a black lab for his tenth birthday. Robby named him Ben. It was his best friend in life. He had him for about ten months and then the following summer, we went for a bike ride and he got hot and stayed under a shade tree and he didn’t come home. And we went looking for him a little bit later and we never saw him since. Tuesday in April of this year 1998, exactly ten months after Ben had been gone, Robby was doing the dishes in the morning and looked out the window and there’s Ben sitting there looking at the window. So, Ben is back now and Robby is just so thrilled. He said he prayed every day. He said the last time he prayed was the night before he came home. For ten months, he never stopped praying.” (http://www.2christ.org/prayer/)

Luke 11:11-26 Terrible as an Army with banners

11 “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

It was eye opening to me to see this verse. God gives us good gifts, He doesn’t give us snakes and scorpions. One time our church asked the young people to prepare and share a message. Each of us was given a portion to prepare and we had one week. I immediately went home and prayed in great detail over my portion that God would give me an experience that week that would help me make that portion real. Then the night before we were to share I went before the Lord “How come you didn’t answer that prayer?” He said “I did”. I was like, “what, where, when?” I had to think back over the week and one experience stood out. It wasn’t immediately obvious what the connection was to what I was sharing but as I prayed over it the Lord opened my eyes and gave me a whole new perspective on the verses I was covering. That helped me to “pray believing you will receive”. When the Bulls got Dennis Rodman that was a “good gift”. No other team in the league would take him, to any other team they saw him as a snake or a scorpion. First you pray, second you allow God to blow your mind with the answer to that prayer.

14 Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute. When the demon left, the man who had been mute spoke, and the crowd was amazed.

How? There is no details about this at all? But remember, Jesus ministry is the prototype, the second section is the multiplication of this prototype. So then did any other mutes get healed in the book of Luke? I am reminded of Zacharias. He was mute and I had an experience very similar to his, so let’s look at those and see if they help us with this case. Zacharias was a priest in the temple. He was wearing the Ephod and received a word from God that was for the people. However, he reasoned it away. In response the angel said that you won’t speak anything until you share this. Sure enough he was mute from that point until the minute his son was born. He was then able to speak. I also had an experience where I was sharing the gospel to a van load of my classmates in college. We had come to a very tense moment, and at that moment the Lord was inside of me saying “tell them they could die today”. Like Zacharias I also reasoned it away, refusing to speak. Then the Lord said “I don’t have time for you” and at that moment the driver pulled out to pass the car in front of us. He crossed the double yellow line and we were going up a hill. At that moment I hung my head in shame. I couldn’t say anything then because it would appear I was trying to distract the driver. As we pulled even with the car we were passing an oncoming car appeared at the top of the hill. We were all traveling around 65 mph. Everyone in that van was terrified, except for me, I was repenting. Now what was it that caused me to tell the Lord I would not speak what He told me to speak? No doubt it was rebellion but what caused it? I had received a doctrine, a doctrine that I tossed in the trash from that day, perhaps it was a doctrine of demons. This word is for us who are on team Jesus, headed to Jerusalem for the last dance.

15 But some of them said, “By Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he is driving out demons.”

In sports this is known as trash talking. You tell the Lord Jesus, the guy who walks on water and raises the dead, and makes the mute to speak that this is due to some false idol! OK, now it is on.

16 Others tested him by asking for a sign from heaven.

What?! Zacharias prophecy and the birth of John wasn’t a sign? Jesus being born of a virgin wasn’t a sign? Healing the mute, healing the kid with seizures, these aren’t signs? John the Baptist’s preaching wasn’t a sign? He drove out impure spirits, He healed many, He healed a leper, He healed a paralytic, He healed the Centurion’s servant, He raised the widow’s son from death, He raised a dead girl, He restored a demon possessed man. There are four categories of those that respond to Jesus. Mary receives the word by faith, Zacharias that receives the word but questions and needs to see the imprint of the nails like doubting Thomas, then you will have those that are superstitious and ascribe all kinds of voodoo explanations, and finally you have these arrogant ones that set themselves up as teachers who get to test you.

17 Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them: “Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall. 18 If Satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand? I say this because you claim that I drive out demons by Beelzebul. 19 Now if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your followers drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. 20 But if I drive out demons by the finger of God,then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

They have woken up the beast. No one is better at “posterizing” you than the Lord. He’ll humiliate them with their own kids who will judge them. He will humiliate them with his little finger. The kingdom of God is already come upon them and they are clueless, can’t see it.

21 “When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe. 22 But when someone stronger attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armor in which the man trusted and divides up his plunder.

It is time for the church to wake up. Who is the superpower today? There is no country on this planet where the people trust the leader the way Christians trust Jesus. 2,000 years ago Jesus said His kingdom was not of this earth, but during the Millennial kingdom His kingdom will be. At the end of this age God will come in and “take away the armor that this evil age has trusted in''. The economies will collapse, their currency will be worthless, their name and their word will be shame and disgrace. The US has shown greater regard for money and wealth than they have for their own people. That was quite obvious in the Mortgage crisis, that was obvious in the NAFTA agreement, and that is why we see protests all over the country. At the end of the age the Lord will plunder the nations. Jesus appreciates people and sees money as something to be used to help restore those who have been beaten and robbed by this evil age. The way of the world is to trust in the economy, to trust in their army, to trust in an iron fist. They value wealth, not righteousness, peace and joy. This approach has always led to collapse throughout all human history. In contrast the church values people, it values the souls of men. The country is nothing without its people. If you had a choice why would you choose a leader that would sacrifice you without a second's hesitation, over a leader who sacrificed Himself so that you could be saved? Our message is much stronger than anything the world has. It is time we overcome this evil age with the gospel. This journey to Jerusalem, it is an attack on this evil age.

23 “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

Oh yeah, there is one other group. The Rick Calipari’s of the world. Rick was a coach who knew not to say one word to Michael Jordan, wouldn’t even look at him for fear of provoking him. They aren’t asking for a sign. They are afraid to say one word. They definitely aren’t talking trash. So what about them? If you aren’t with Jesus, you are against Him. If you aren’t gathering, same as if you are scattering.

24 “When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ 25 When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. 26 Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first.”

There is a saying “terrible as an army with banners”. It isn’t “terrible as an army with a banner” but with “banners”. Every single year someone will win the championship, technically winning a championship is enough to make you a “champion”. But the real proof is if you can do it again. True, someone has to win a championship each year, but there is no reason that team would win it twice unless they were truly champions. How many have started well but didn’t persist, and they didn’t end well? Maybe “shameless audacity” was where they drew the line, they wouldn’t go that far. Maybe they weren’t prepared to be accused of casting out demons by Beelezebul. Whatever the reason, Jesus is Lord at the beginning of this age, and He is Lord at the end of this age.

Luke 11:27-43 The one that God will honor

27 As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out, “Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you.” 28 He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”

Mary heard the word and did it. Zacharias heard the word and ultimately did it. The apostles, the others, the witnesses, they heard the word and did it. There is a blessing on these ones, they are the children of God, Jesus is their big brother, He calls them friends.

29 As the crowds increased, Jesus said, “This is a wicked generation. It asks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah. 30 For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation. 31 The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the people of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom; and now something greater than Solomon is here. 32 The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and now something greater than Jonah is here.

The Queen of the South was a true seeker, she had heard of Solomon, didn’t believe it, but came to check him out. Sure enough she repented. The Ninevites were your prototypical sinners, and they saw Jonah and repented. This evil generation has the pretense to being seekers, they’ll be condemned. They pretend they need just one more sign and they’ll believe they will be condemned. They have provoked God to wrath.

33 “No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, so that those who come in may see the light. 34 Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are healthy, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are unhealthy, your body also is full of darkness. 35 See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness. 36 Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be just as full of light as when a lamp shines its light on you.”

We all have a certain light, an inspiration that lights our way. For some that light is darkness, how to scam and cheat others. I call this the Pinocchio effect. People who are liars develop an extra sensitive nose to detect liars. Consider the guy they made the movie “Catch me if you can” about. He had a heightened sense to detect counterfeiters. It works great to detect cheats, but it is useless at detecting the Lord of Glory. With every lie Pinocchio told his nose got longer, he could smell a liar. These three types of people are unable to see the Lord of Glory, it is because the light within them is darkness. Their eyes are not healthy.

37 When Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat with him; so he went in and reclined at the table. 38 But the Pharisee was surprised when he noticed that Jesus did not first wash before the meal. 39 Then the Lord said to him, “Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. 40 You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? 41 But now as for what is inside you—be generous to the poor, and everything will be clean for you.

They started it. They said he was casting out demons by Beelezebul, “Lord of the flies” or “Lord of the dunghill”. Their kids will be their judge, they will be posterized by the finger of God, they are liars, and now we learn they are filled with greed and wickedness. ‘Oh you need to wash your hands before you eat, how could you not wash your hands’? He responds how can you hope to sit at the table to eat with God in the kingdom with a heart full of greed and wickedness?

42 “Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone. 43 “Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the most important seats in the synagogues and respectful greetings in the marketplaces.

Our prayer “Father, hallowed be your name” while the Pharisees prayer was that their name would be hallowed. I teach in Brooklyn, in the inner city, and 80% of my students are boys. So I have heard this argument about who is the “GOAT”. When I was a kid no one wanted to be the “goat”, but now it is all they talk about. There are three candidates: Lebron, MJ and Kobe. So I listened to what MJ said. When he first joined the Bulls he said his hope was that this team would become a great franchise like Boston, LA and Philadelphia. You can tell looking at his face that he realized how it was shameless audacity for him to say such a thing. Then when he won the first championship he was so happy that he had joined the same club as Magic and Bird. Every time the Bulls won a championship he reminded Chicago of that hope that he had stated when he arrived. After the sixth championship he told Phil that “he had had faith” and he told Chicago that he loved them. He lived a prayer that his father would be honored. This life was a life of faith, hope and love. He saw that what he was doing was continuing a legacy of Bird and Magic. He was honoring his father. Then I listened to Kobe and he said he was offended by the question, he said what we see in him and the five championships LA got he received from MJ. He saw that his career was honoring those that came before him. With one short sentence the Lord demolished the entire “GOAT” debate. The life that these Pharisees were living was the expression of a prayer that their name would be honored. When I first was baptized Christians and the church were ridiculed and despised on the Rice campus. I was a freshman and they were of no account. My senior year the April fools issue of the campus paper had every article related to Christians and the gospel. What are you going to do about Jesus and the gospel became the focal issue on that campus. My prayer was that God’s name would be honored, it is a life time prayer. They asked Him for a sign and He is demolishing them. All this stupid “GOAT” debate asking for a “sign”. They keep pulling up these statistics trying to figure out which statistics will prove their point. Who honored their father here on earth? That is the one that God will honor.

Luke 11:44-54 Team Jesus vs Team Evil Age

44 “Woe to you, because you are like unmarked graves,which people walk over without knowing it.”

People who came in contact with them would be corrupted by them and made unclean. We have seen this in the history of the church. The worst example is this situation with the Catholic church where approximately 6% of all priests were pedophiles. The reason for this is that they had a doctrine of demons, that priests could not marry. As a result many priests had secret relationships (about 50% had sexual relationships), they weren’t pedophiles, but if their relationship became known they would be defrocked. So this doctrine creates an environment of secrecy. This is why they couldn’t deal with the pedophiles because if they did the entire house of cards would come down. Instead the Bishops would shuffle the pedophile priests around and secretly settle with those who had been abused. Instead of warning people that this person was a predator they simply move them from one parish to another. So they were like unmarked graves. They said He cast out demons by Beelzebub. They on the other hand had these demons hidden within them.

45 One of the experts in the law answered him, “Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us also.”

This debate about “GOAT” doesn't originate with the players, it originates with the media. They feed it, they stoke the fire, they are the ones that throw logs on the fire of this debate. Likewise how was it that the pedophile priests could be “unmarked”. There was an entire cottage industry set up where they settle these cases quietly, secretly, not allowing the records to go public. Lawyers were fully involved in the process and were fully culpable. In the movie Spotlight they point out that even the paper was culpable. Like they said if it takes a village to raise a child it takes a village to allow one to be abused. In the movie Spotlight the paper goes to the lawyer and says “we have two stories here which one do you want us to run? One story is about degenerate priests abusing kids, another is about lawyers turning pedophile priests into a cottage industry.”

46 Jesus replied, “And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them.

We are praying that God would give us our daily bread. Meanwhile the lawyers are giving us burden upon burden. The Dred Scott case is a wonderful example of how lawyers do this. The Supreme court ruled that all Americans of African descent were not citizens and had no right to sue. Living in a State where slavery was against the law was secondary to the fact that his ancestors were from Africa and therefore they ruled he would be a slave. The law was already in place, all they had to do was lift one little finger to say he was free because slavery was illegal in that state, they wouldn’t even do that.

47 “Woe to you, because you build tombs for the prophets, and it was your ancestors who killed them. 48 So you testify that you approve of what your ancestors did; they killed the prophets, and you build their tombs. 49 Because of this, God in his wisdom said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and others they will persecute.’ 50 Therefore this generation will be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world, 51 from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, this generation will be held responsible for it all.
It is a team effort. Think of the JFK assassination. Some people planned it, some carried it out, others strong armed the body of JFK out of the hospital so they couldn’t perform the autopsy there, some snatched up the car and cleaned it out of any evidence, but in the end you need some to sell the whole thing to the American people. They are all on the same team, they are all responsible for what they did. The Warren commission rubber stamped the assassination, they were every bit as culpable as those that pulled the trigger.

52 “Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering.”

Education in America has been set up to hinder those who would enter. If you are rich and part of the elite you get an inside track to going to an elite school. Separate but Equal was set up to hinder Blacks from entering. Jim Crow laws were set up to hinder Blacks from entering. But the fundamental battle is over preventing people from knowing the truth. It used to be only a few were educated enough to read the Bible, only a few had access to it. The printing press made a big difference. Once people began reading the Bible democracy came in. This ultimately led to the American experiment, people fleeing to this country because they were being hindered in their own country from knowing the truth. It was due to Hitler that the US ultimately became the center of knowledge. Scientists who fled from him came to the US.

53 When Jesus went outside, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law began to oppose him fiercely and to besiege him with questions, 54 waiting to catch him in something he might say.

It is time to stop being on the defensive. This is an evil age. Imagine a leader among the religion invites Jesus to eat at his house, meanwhile, secretly he is shuffling pedophile priests around, maybe even a hundred priests, and he is settling with the victims sweeping the crimes under the rug. Jesus doesn’t wash his hands before dinner and this religious man is shocked, how can you do that? Jesus responds, how can you invite me to eat with you and you haven’t even repented of these wicked sins? Your heart is filled with greed and wickedness and you think you can sit at the table with God? You want to learn how to pray? Your life is the expression of your prayer. Are you praying that your name would be hallowed, or are you praying that your Father’s name would be hallowed? Are you willing to have shameless audacity in your prayer or are you going to quit when people are mean to you? These ones who are attacking Jesus, they are speaking with a forked tongue. One tip is accusing Him of acting based on some secret evil, Beezelbul, the other tip is tempting Him to show them a sign that His ministry is all about glorifying Himself. They have a keen sense for picking up snakes and rats. But they are blind when it comes to seeing the Lord of Glory. It isn’t just the religious leaders, the lawyers, the word smiths, the political leaders, they are all part of the team “evil age”. We are on a journey with the Lord to Jerusalem. He is going to overpower the strong man, and the church is His army. This is the last dance. The Lord and the church are “terrible as an army with banners”. We have conquered and we are going up to conquer.

Luke 12:1-15 -- How to Interpret this time

12 In the mean time,

Sounds like today. In the middle of March, 2020 the city I live in was shut down and we have basically been practicing social distancing since that time. That’s more than 12 months, I feel like we are “in the mean time”; a gap in time between the previous age which is coming to an end, and what is about to happen.

when the many thousands of the multitude were gathered together,

Today, in this “mean time”, we have thousands of people gathered together on social media.

insomuch that they trod one upon another,

No doubt. On social media we have people stepping on each other every single day. That is after all what a viral video of a “Karen” is all about. This is what Cancel cultureis all about.

he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

Oh yes, a warning about Fake news. Hopefully by now we are all aware that much of what you read on the internet is fake and is intended to stir people up to outrage. Whether it is Russia, or China, or White Supremacists, or Antifa, etc. Every single group has an agenda. These messages, stories and videos are just like leaven. The way leaven works is that it bubbles, these bubbles cause the bread to become airy. A video going viral is like a bubble. Many of these protests look like the people are frothy.

2 But there is nothing covered up, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known. 3 Wherefore whatsoever ye have said in the darkness shall be heard in the light; and what ye have spoken in the ear in the inner chambers shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.

What a wonderful prophecy. It must have seemed impossible 2,000 years ago. In the 70s when I heard this prophecy I assumed He was talking about the Judgement seat of Christ. But now we have video cameras everywhere and police arresting a suspect in Minneapolis will be videotaped, uploaded to Youtube, shared on Facebook and viewed 100 million times by people all over the world. We are now in the fulfillment of this prophecy. In 1970 if you told me that a suspect in a counterfeit scheme died while being apprehended by the cops I wouldn’t have thought twice. But you see the George Floyd death and you get a very different perspective. Of course everyone remembers Ronald Reagan saying “We begin bombing tomorrow” as a joke when he thought the microphones were off. At the beginning of this age the Lord made this promise to us, and now at the end of this age we see it being fulfilled.

4 And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. 5 But I will warn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, who after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.

The gospel of Luke is talking about social revolution. You can’t go down this road if you are afraid of death. It is very natural to be afraid of death, so instead you have to get a vision of what you really need to be afraid of: the judgement seat of Christ. Everyone is going to die, some live for 80 years, some live less. Jesus died in his 30s, and yet for 2,000 years we are still poring over every word He ever spoke. He squeezed more life, more word, into those 30+ years than anyone ever did in 80. There have been many martyrs in these last 2,000 years. We don’t control when we die, the only thing we have control over is today, make the most of today.

6 Are not five sparrows sold for two pence? and not one of them is forgotten in the sight of God. 7 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not: ye are of more value than many sparrows. 8 And I say unto you, Every one who shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God: 9 but he that denieth me in the presence of men shall be denied in the presence of the angels of God.

Once you are truly fearful of that coming judgement your question should be “what do I do?” Confess Jesus Christ before men and repent for every time you denied Jesus in the presence of men.

10 And every one who shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy Spirit it shall not be forgiven.

Everyone says dumb things at some point in their life, even Ronald Reagan. Confess, repent, move on. But if you set yourself to be one with Satan in opposing the move of the Lord to the extent you are claiming He is casting out demons by Beelezebul, well, I told you “it is on”. You need to back that up. You will discover that you are now fighting against God. You have just said that people are forgiven and healed by Beelezebul, you have chosen a side that has no forgiveness and no healing.

11 And when they bring you before the synagogues, and the rulers, and the authorities, be not anxious how or what ye shall answer, or what ye shall say: 12 for the Holy Spirit shall teach you in that very hour what ye ought to say.

This is another wonderful promise, take it by faith.

13 And one out of the multitude said unto him, Teacher, bid my brother divide the inheritance with me. 14 But he said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you?

The whole Black Lives Matter movement gets caught up in so many dead ends. This whole push for reparations is just one example. This age is all about overcoming the evil worldly system and bringing in the kingdom in which righteousness dwells. There is a price to pay. If you get your reward in this age you forfeit your reward in the age that is to come.

15 And he said unto them, Take heed, and keep yourselves from all covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.

I used to be fascinated by these big houses, fancy cars, etc. But then watching what that really means to those that have them you realize it is just a fancy prison. They are like birds caught in a cage. To have a word of life that you can speak in season, at just the right time, that is true wealth.

Luke 12:16-40 The measure of this life

16 And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: 17 and he reasoned within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have not where to bestow my fruits? 18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, be merry. 20 But God said unto him, Thou foolish one, this night is thy soul required of thee; and the things which thou hast prepared, whose shall they be? 21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

Imagine you were a billionaire in January of 2020 and then you lost $400 million, maybe $800 million with the stock market falling. You could have changed thousands of lives, you could have literally saved people who were starving, about to be evicted, or unable to pay tuition. You could literally have 2,000 people show up to testify on your behalf at the judgement seat of Christ, but instead you tried to hold onto that money and ‘poof’ it is gone.

22 And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Be not anxious for your life, what ye shall eat; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. 23 For the life is more than the food, and the body than the raiment. 24 Consider the ravens, that they sow not, neither reap; which have no store-chamber nor barn; and God feedeth them: of how much more value are ye than the birds! 25 And which of you by being anxious can add a cubit unto the measure of his life?

“The measure of his life”. Isn’t that a great phrase? I suppose it refers to your legacy, only a legacy is the human perspective and “the measure” sounds more like God’s perspective.

26 If then ye are not able to do even that which is least, why are ye anxious concerning the rest?

This is just amazing. He is still talking about “our Father, hallowed be thy name” versus those that want the chief seats and most respected names. The Lord is still teaching us to pray and He is telling you that “anxiety” is the killer. We hope for things we don’t see yet, we must pray by faith, love is more powerful than knowledge. But, anxiety is a killer, it is not of faith, hope or love.

27 Consider the lilies, how they grow: they toil not, neither do they spin; yet I say unto you, Even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 28 But if God doth so clothe the grass in the field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven; how much more shall he clothe you, O ye of little faith?

Again I will repeat “but now the LORD said, Be it far from me; for them that honor me I will honor, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.” 1Sam 2:30 Let God clothe you. Trust Jesus, you can’t do better than that.

29 And seek not ye what ye shall eat, and what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind.

Doubt and anxiety, two killers to powerful, prevailing prayer. Do you know why we doubt? Because we are not aligned with God’s will. If you know God’s will and you know His promises and your prayer is aligned with that, you will not struggle with doubt.

30 For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: but your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. 31 Yet seek ye his kingdom, and these things shall be added unto you.

This is a continuation on His lesson on how to pray. He said “seek and you shall find”. You need to couple that with “seek His kingdom” and “seek ye not what ye shall eat and what ye shall drink”.

32 Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

Don’t be anxious, don’t be doubtful, don’t fear those that will kill you. This is God’s desire. He is going to make it happen. Look at how far we have already come.

33 Sell that which ye have, and give alms; make for yourselves purses which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief draweth near, neither moth destroyeth. 34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Do you know why so many people are screaming about reopening even though it doesn’t make any sense at all? Do you know why NY and the rest of the country shut down when we had 3,622 cases of Covid (March 15th) but are screaming that we have to reopen when we are approaching 5,000,000 cases? Their treasure is failing, the thief is emptying their bank account every day they stay closed, just like moths eating your clothes. They are revealing where their heart is. Wail, ye shepherds, and cry; and wallow in ashes, ye principal of the flock; for the days of your slaughter and of your dispersions are fully come, and ye shall fall like a goodly vessel. Jeremiah 25:34. In every pandemic the rulers and “shepherds” get slaughtered. The Black plague led to rebellion against the Catholic church and the Pope. It also ended serfdom. The great plague in London led to a parliamentary system of government. The beginning of democracy and the waning of the rule of kings. The Spanish flu led to an expansion of the middle class. What is Covid19 going to lead to? The Millenial kingdom?

35 Let your loins be girded about, and your lamps burning; 36 and be ye yourselves like unto men looking for their lord, when he shall return from the marriage feast; that, when he cometh and knocketh, they may straightway open unto him.

I just love some of these phrases. “Straightway open unto him”. It has been very clear from Christian forums that many were not ready to “straightway open unto him”. If you are all in you will immediately realize the Lord is heading to Jerusalem for the last dance.

37 Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them sit down to meat, and shall come and serve them. 38 And if he shall come in the second watch, and if in the third, and find them so, blessed are those servants.

What a wonderful promise. I have really dived into the news and social media and forums at this time. Everything is so confusing, trying to figure it out, looking at the prophecies, checking the public pronouncements with my own statistical analysis. Yet this is just one tiny little aspect, that so many are questioning this or that, trying to sow doubt or confusion. 2,000 years ago the Lord saw all of this, he saw those who would be sowing doubt and He gave us this wonderful promise. When I read verses like this I am just overcome, Jesus is Lord, there is no one like Him. Everyone else is distracted with the Antichrist, the mark of the beast, pre trib or post trib, and what is it that the Lord is focused on? Those servants who had their loins girded and their lamps lit and who opened to Him straightway.

39 But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what hour the thief was coming, he would have watched, and not have left his house to be broken through. 40 Be ye also ready: for in an hour that ye think not the Son of man cometh.

This is all the rage now. Would Hillary Clinton have had a better response to the pandemic? Past presidents are coming forward and saying they had a plan, they would have prevented this from happening. Biden and Obama are castigating Trump for not taking responsibility for this happening on his watch. If only they had known the thief was coming! So much for the NSA and CIA and all the other agencies which were supposed to warn us. Should give you pause to see so many Christians mobilizing to “Stop the Steal” when the Lord prophesied about this happening at the end of the age.

Luke 12:41-56 Make ready

41 And Peter said, Lord, speakest thou this parable unto us, or even unto all? 42 And the Lord said, Who then is the faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall set over his household, to give them their portion of food in due season? 43 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. 44 Of a truth I say unto you, that he will set him over all that he hath.

I have heard Christians say they don’t pay any attention to prophecy. You can’t know the day nor the hour, so what is the point? How are you supposed to know when to give them their food in due season? Simeon and Anna didn’t know the day nor the hour, that doesn’t mean they ignored the prophecies. They were ready, loins girded, lamps lit, and ready to open to the Lord the minute they saw Him. And they gave the people their portion of food in due season.

45 But if that servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and the maidservants, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken; 46 the lord of that servant shall come in a day when he expecteth not, and in an hour when he knoweth not, and shall cut him asunder, and appoint his portion with the unfaithful.

I will not dare to say this about anyone. Already I have been accused of a whole lot of things I have never said. It is Jesus who is saying this, not me! To beat the servants reminds me of Egypt and the foremen appointed over the slaves.

47 And that servant, who knew his lord’s will, and made not ready, nor did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes; 48 but he that knew not, and did things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. And to whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be required: and to whom they commit much, of him will they ask the more.

I like this term “made not ready”. The minute I realized this was the end of the age I began “making ready”. Other people are going stir crazy from being cooped up in their house for so long. I am so thankful for this time, it gives me a chance to “make ready”.

49 I came to cast fire upon the earth; and what do I desire, if it is already kindled?

Have you ever made a bonfire? It can take a full day to properly prepare for a good bonfire. Think of the fires we saw last year in California, Australia and Siberia as the fact that this bonfire has already been kindled. When you prepare a bonfire you don’t simply prepare the wood, you also prepare large vessels of water. Most people use this water to keep the fire from getting out of control, after they light the wood. Elijah is the only one I know of who used the water before the wood was lit.

50 But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!

Two competing pictures. Baptism is to immerse with water, similar to Noah’s flood, and a type of Jesus passing through death. However, we have been promised that God would not judge the world again with water but the next time it is with fire. Jesus proclaimed the judgement on this world. He was then immersed in 12 buckets of water. Not just dead but really, really dead. Rising from the dead kindled this fire. At the end of this age fire will fall from heaven, just like the bonfire that Elijah built.

51 Think ye that I am come to give peace in the earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division: 52 for there shall be from henceforth five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three. 53 They shall be divided, father against son, and son against father; mother against daughter, and daughter against her mother; mother in law against her daughter in law, and daughter in law against her mother in law.

The gospel of peace refers to peace with God, not the Satanic system. We are not here to make peace with those who rob widows' houses and for a pretense make long prayers.

54 And he said to the multitudes also, When ye see a cloud rising in the west, straightway ye say, There cometh a shower; and so it cometh to pass. 55 And when ye see a south wind blowing, ye say, There will be a scorching heat; and it cometh to pass. 56 Ye hypocrites, ye know how to interpret the face of the earth and the heaven; but how is it that ye know not how to interpret this time?

Atheists are the biggest hypocrites. I studied geology in college and in graduate school. Science is all about how to interpret the face of the earth. Atheists use science continually to dispute with those about the Bible. They love to claim that the account of Noah is not true until you present the scientific observations on the face of the Earth that confirm the account. Then it becomes clear they don’t care about the evidence, they play dumb. For example, how do scientists know that the flood waters were about 40 meters deep? You can calculate this from the ripple marks. The ripple marks from the flood were so big that we didn’t even know they were ripple marks until we flew over them in an airplane. How do they know that the meteorite that struck the Indian ocean was at the same time as the end of the last ice age and the time of Noah’s flood? Little sea shells from the bottom of the ocean were washed up onto Madagascar in the Tsunami, creating thousand foot high walls of sand called chevrons. We have carefully catalogued sea shells, we know how old they are and we know they are from the deep ocean. It is the same with this time, the Bible has many words concerning this time.

Luke 12:57-59 How to interpret this time -- This is your last chance to repent

Obadiah tells us when the day of the Lord is near. Mortgage crisis -- “too big to fail”, put that on the tombstone of the banks. Just like the boast concerning the Titanic, “the ship that even God could not sink”.

God will bring them down, He will rob them. He describes it saying “they will drink, and drink, and drink”. Because of the Covid crisis law courts are closed and there is a moratorium on evictions. Businesses aren’t paying rent, and people aren’t paying rent, so landlords aren’t paying mortgages. There is a saying “if you owe the banks $1 million you have a problem, if you owe them $1 billion the banks have a problem”. You think the Lord is going to sit by while they openly robbed widows of their houses and then the government bailed out the crooks?

The details are here: https://www.christianforums.com/blogs/obadiah-how-do-we-know-when-the-day-of-the-lord-is-near.62721/

57 And why even of yourselves judge ye not what is right?

I have come to the conclusion that state legislatures, governors, election officials, judges, federal legislators and even the Supreme court are being given one last chance to judge what is right.

58 For as thou art going with thine adversary before the magistrate, on the way give diligence to be quit of him; lest haply he drag thee unto the judge, and the judge shall deliver thee to the officer, and the officer shall cast thee into prison. 59 I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou have paid the very last mite.

Don’t wait till you are dragged before the judge. Go to Jesus now, “I was wrong, have mercy on me Lord!” This is what the Festival of Trumpets is all about. “Prepare to meet thy God”. Now is the time to repent, not at the judgment seat of Christ.

Everyone is sure that Trump and this election is not just dead, but really, really dead. Not good enough that they certified the election, not good enough that Trump conceded, no they also want to impeach him and declare him unfit for office. It almost reminds me of Elijah pouring water from 12 pitchers onto the wood he had arranged. The only thing missing is fire falling from heaven. Now if fire does fall from heaven this week and the people praying for justice are raised like Lazarus from the dead (type of the rapture) that would be different. Then I would agree that it was indeed like the story with Elijah.

How is it that ye know not how to interpret this time?

Matthew 24 -- Five signs of His coming

V.14 -- And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a testimony unto all the nations; and then shall the end come.

The gospel of the kingdom is preached to the whole world telling them to repent for the kingdom of the heavens is here. We learned in Luke 12:58-59 that these signs are a warning to repent before it is too late. Today we are seeing the gospel being preached in the whole world via the internet, Youtube, Facebook, Gab, Parler, and Rumble. The pandemic has played a vital role in pushing Christian fellowship online. 2,000 years ago it was a key step in the ultimate goal that the Father’s name would be hallowed on Earth as it is in heaven. How is it that you cannot see that the Pandemic is of God to force all the believers to go online for fellowship and for preaching the gospel. This is the ultimate fulfillment of this sign.

V. 15 -- When therefore ye see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place.

The basic understanding is that the temple is rebuilt and Antichrist is in the temple, which will signal the start of the Great tribulation. However, some have pointed out that this verse says nothing about rebuilding the temple, so technically the Holy Place could be in a tent. Others have pointed out that the temple can be a prefabricated building that is assembled very quickly. First, the foundation is already in place, that should cut the construction time by 33%. Second, you might get the largest construction crew in history to rebuild this, again cutting the time in half. Third, prefabricated buildings are much quicker to build. Finally, if they work 24 hours a day, six days a week, it could cut the time in half again. What might have taken six months could be done in one month. We are not there yet. First we have the peace treaty giving Israel authority over Jerusalem with a number of key countries. Second, they cannot dedicate the new temple without sacrificing a Red Heifer. It took many years to get one, but Israel now has two Red Heifers that the priests have certified. They are now ready to sacrifice this year. Finally, the abomination of desolation spoken of here stands in the Holy Place after the first rapture. This is like looking at a rocket on the launch pad, all systems are go, and countdown has already begun.

V. 27 -- For as lightning flashes in the East and is visible to the West --

CNN and the Gulf war was a dress rehearsal. That was the first example of lightning flashing in the East and shining unto the West. The signals are transmitted at the speed of light on fiber optic cables. The lightning is flashing in the East, but it is shining to the West. This is like setting up everything for the inauguration. When you see them setting up the stand for the President’s inauguration you know the day is near. In the same way the Earth has been set up for the news to be broadcast to the whole earth at the speed of light, this is a sign of the Lord's coming.

V. 28 -- Wherever the carcass is there the vultures will be gathered together.

Eagles and vultures are both in the same family: Accipitridae. During the first Gulf war all the vultures, all the birds of prey were arrayed against Iraq in the desert. Iraq was the carcass, the coalition forces were the vultures. In the desert a vulture circling in the air is a sign of a carcass on the ground. We are currently seeing the vultures circling the Middle East. When you saw them all gather together for the first Gulf war it was a sign of the end of the age.

V. 32 -- Now from the fig tree learn her parable: when her branch is now become tender, and putteth forth its leaves, ye know that the summer is nigh;

The fig tree is a national symbol of Israel, when the nation was reformed on May 14, 1948, that was a sign that the fig tree had put forth buds. The Lord said that this generation would by no means pass away. According to the Bible a generation is 70 years, 80 if it is strong. May 14, 2028 will be 80 years and if all is fulfilled by that time you would expect the seven years of the tribulation to begin seven years earlier. This is a sign.

The Rapture is not one of the five signs:

36 But of that day and hour knoweth no one, not even the angels of heaven, neither the Son, but the Father only. 37 And as were the days of Noah, so shall be the coming of the Son of man. 38 For as in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, 39 and they knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall be the coming of the Son of man. 40 Then shall two men be in the field; one is taken, and one is left: 41 two women shall be grinding at the mill; one is taken, and one is left. 42 Watch therefore: for ye know not on what day your Lord cometh.

He compares the rapture to the day that Noah entered the ark. You don’t know the day or the hour of the rapture, and when it happens it is now too late to enter the ark. Stop wasting your time with all this “pre trib”, “post trib” trivial debate. Noah prepared for that flood and when the time came He and his family entered the ark and shut the door. They warned the people, they were mocked and ridiculed, but then he was vindicated as a man of faith.

What is interesting is this, He says no one knows the day or the hour, but obviously Noah was preparing for that day and He was given a heads up a week ahead of time. The last seven years, the tribulation, is likened to the 70th week. So then we can liken the first rapture to Noah, no one knows the day or the hour, but when Noah enters the ark you know it is the last week before the flood.

All of these signs point to one thing, time is running out to repent.

2Samuel 19:1-8 -- Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation

Paul writes, "Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death" (2 Corinthians 7:10).

1 [a]Joab was told, “The king is weeping and mourning for Absalom.” 2 And for the whole army the victory that day was turned into mourning, because on that day the troops heard it said, “The king is grieving for his son.” 3 The men stole into the city that day as men steal in who are ashamed when they flee from battle. 4 The king covered his face and cried aloud, “O my son Absalom! O Absalom, my son, my son!” 5 Then Joab went into the house to the king and said, “Today you have humiliated all your men, who have just saved your life and the lives of your sons and daughters and the lives of your wives and concubines. 6 You love those who hate you and hate those who love you. You have made it clear today that the commanders and their men mean nothing to you. I see that you would be pleased if Absalom were alive today and all of us were dead. 7 Now go out and encourage your men. I swear by the Lord that if you don’t go out, not a man will be left with you by nightfall. This will be worse for you than all the calamities that have come on you from your youth till now.” 8 So the king got up and took his seat in the gateway. When the men were told, “The king is sitting in the gateway,” they all came before him. Meanwhile, the Israelites had fled to their homes.

The only way we can understand this story is if we lived it. Let’s suppose that this story of King David returning to Jerusalem after an insurrection is our experience. Jesus Christ returns as the conquering King, only problem is that many of the believers, many even of his own family had betrayed Him. To those believers the Lord’s coming is as a thief in the night. It is easy for us to see how that for those who stuck with Him even when He was disgraced and fled Jerusalem would be rejoicing. But, when the Lord returns at the time of the first rapture there will be many believers who are not taken. It will be shameful, it will be something that brings sorrow. If it is a godly sorrow those who are left will repent and prepare to meet the Lord. If, on the other hand it is a worldly sorrow like that of Absalom fleeing from David’s army, then it will lead to death.

2Samuel 19:9-43 David Returns to Jerusalem, 2nd time

9 Throughout the tribes of Israel, all the people were arguing among themselves, saying, “The king delivered us from the hand of our enemies; he is the one who rescued us from the hand of the Philistines. But now he has fled the country to escape from Absalom; 10 and Absalom, whom we anointed to rule over us, has died in battle. So why do you say nothing about bringing the king back?”

Absalom stole the throne and died in the attempted coup. To the people of Israel all of this stuff is taking place in Jerusalem, but the one thing they know is that David was their savior. It was confusing, Absalom promised them the world and told them whatever they wanted to hear while no one could deny that David was an adulterer who had gotten Uriah killed. The thing we have to realize is that all men are sinners, not one is righteous. Yes it is true that David sinned and as a result you shouldn’t trust him. He betrayed Uriah, who is to say he wouldn’t betray you. On the other hand you have decades of David delivering you from the hands of your enemies whereas Absalom has never done one thing for you. He has made many promises, but what has he ever done?

11 King David sent this message to Zadok and Abiathar, the priests: “Ask the elders of Judah, ‘Why should you be the last to bring the king back to his palace, since what is being said throughout Israel has reached the king at his quarters? 12 You are my relatives, my own flesh and blood. So why should you be the last to bring back the king?’ 13 And say to Amasa, ‘Are you not my own flesh and blood? May God deal with me, be it ever so severely, if you are not the commander of my army for life in place of Joab.’” 14 He won over the hearts of the men of Judah so that they were all of one mind. They sent word to the king, “Return, you and all your men.” 15 Then the king returned and went as far as the Jordan.

In 1Samuel we see a type of the rapture when Abigail is brought to David. Now in 2Samuel we see a second type of the rapture only this time everyone has some shame, something to repent of. This is how the gospel of Mark begins, with everyone repenting for the kingdom. This is a type of the second rapture.

Now the men of Judah had come to Gilgal to go out and meet the king and bring him across the Jordan. 16 Shimei son of Gera, the Benjamite from Bahurim, hurried down with the men of Judah to meet King David. 17 With him were a thousand Benjamites, along with Ziba, the steward of Saul’s household, and his fifteen sons and twenty servants. They rushed to the Jordan, where the king was. 18 They crossed at the ford to take the king’s household over and to do whatever he wished. When Shimei son of Gera crossed the Jordan, he fell prostrate before the king 19 and said to him, “May my lord not hold me guilty. Do not remember how your servant did wrong on the day my lord the king left Jerusalem. May the king put it out of his mind. 20 For I your servant know that I have sinned, but today I have come here as the first from the tribes of Joseph to come down and meet my lord the king.”

Right now there are people saying some very ugly curses against Christians and against those who have been standing against the theft of this election and against the censorship and against the things being done contrary to the word of the Lord. At the time of the first rapture they also will repent.

21 Then Abishai son of Zeruiah said, “Shouldn’t Shimei be put to death for this? He cursed the Lord’s anointed.” 22 David replied, “What does this have to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? What right do you have to interfere? Should anyone be put to death in Israel today? Don’t I know that today I am king over Israel?” 23 So the king said to Shimei, “You shall not die.” And the king promised him on oath.

Once again, godly sorrow leads to repentance, worldly sorrow leads to death. If the repentance is genuine it will lead to salvation, if not, then to death. You are not going to deceive the Lord Jesus. He knows the hearts.

24 Mephibosheth, Saul’s grandson, also went down to meet the king. He had not taken care of his feet or trimmed his mustache or washed his clothes from the day the king left until the day he returned safely. 25 When he came from Jerusalem to meet the king, the king asked him, “Why didn’t you go with me, Mephibosheth?” 26 He said, “My lord the king, since I your servant am lame, I said, ‘I will have my donkey saddled and will ride on it, so I can go with the king.’ But Ziba my servant betrayed me. 27 And he has slandered your servant to my lord the king. My lord the king is like an angel of God; so do whatever you wish. 28 All my grandfather’s descendants deserved nothing but death from my lord the king, but you gave your servant a place among those who eat at your table. So what right do I have to make any more appeals to the king?” 29 The king said to him, “Why say more? I order you and Ziba to divide the land.” 30 Mephibosheth said to the king, “Let him take everything, now that my lord the king has returned home safely.”

Again, more examples of people repenting when the Lord comes.

31 Barzillai the Gileadite also came down from Rogelim to cross the Jordan with the king and to send him on his way from there. 32 Now Barzillai was very old, eighty years of age. He had provided for the king during his stay in Mahanaim, for he was a very wealthy man. 33 The king said to Barzillai, “Cross over with me and stay with me in Jerusalem, and I will provide for you.” 34 But Barzillai answered the king, “How many more years will I live, that I should go up to Jerusalem with the king? 35 I am now eighty years old. Can I tell the difference between what is enjoyable and what is not? Can your servant taste what he eats and drinks? Can I still hear the voices of male and female singers? Why should your servant be an added burden to my lord the king? 36 Your servant will cross over the Jordan with the king for a short distance, but why should the king reward me in this way? 37 Let your servant return, that I may die in my own town near the tomb of my father and mother. But here is your servant Kimham. Let him cross over with my lord the king. Do for him whatever you wish.” 38 The king said, “Kimham shall cross over with me, and I will do for him whatever you wish. And anything you desire from me I will do for you.” 39 So all the people crossed the Jordan, and then the king crossed over. The king kissed Barzillai and bid him farewell, and Barzillai returned to his home. 40 When the king crossed over to Gilgal, Kimham crossed with him. All the troops of Judah and half the troops of Israel had taken the king over. 41 Soon all the men of Israel were coming to the king and saying to him, “Why did our brothers, the men of Judah, steal the king away and bring him and his household across the Jordan, together with all his men?” 42 All the men of Judah answered the men of Israel, “We did this because the king is closely related to us. Why are you angry about it? Have we eaten any of the king’s provisions? Have we taken anything for ourselves?” 43 Then the men of Israel answered the men of Judah, “We have ten shares in the king; so we have a greater claim on David than you have. Why then do you treat us with contempt? Weren’t we the first to speak of bringing back our king?” But the men of Judah pressed their claims even more forcefully than the men of Israel.

It is going to be a very tough situation. Suppose you are left behind. Why should anyone listen to you, if you truly knew the Lord and had truly been following Him and obeying His word you would have been raptured. But this doesn’t change the fact that new believers need the more mature ones to help them grow and that we need the fellowship of other believers to be able to stand and grow. So the key is to humble yourself. Realize that all men are sinners, yourself included, and that instead of ranking some people as more spiritual than others you need to now embrace all believers. You will soon learn that some people of no account in the world can minister life to you. You will learn to value the ministry of life over everything else.

Luke 13:1-9 -- Unless you repent, you too will all perish


13 Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 2 Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? 3 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.


A terrible human atrocity, the holocaust in Germany is an example of this. Some look at this event and say that the Jews who were in the camps were treated this way for the sin they committed. But the Lord makes it clear, instead this happened to warn all Jews that unless they repent and return to the Land and to God they too will perish.


1Kings 8:46 “When they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin—and you become angry with them and give them over to their enemies, who take them captive to their own lands, far away or near; 47 and if they have a change of heart in the land where they are held captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captors and say, ‘We have sinned, we have done wrong, we have acted wickedly’; 48 and if they turn back to you with all their heart and soul in the land of their enemies who took them captive, and pray to you toward the land you gave their ancestors, toward the city you have chosen and the temple I have built for your Name; 49 then from heaven, your dwelling place, hear their prayer and their plea, and uphold their cause.


The Lord’s goal with the holocaust was to cause the Jews to repent. As a result God brought them back to their dwelling place. This is what this “mean time” is all about, reflect on your sins and repent, return to God. This is very specific, they pray toward the land, the city and the temple. God has not answered this prayer until they are given Jerusalem back and are able to rebuild the temple. The obvious question here is what was their sin that Pilate did this to them? But the Lord doesn’t tell us, and I think that is because Pilate is not Lord, we don’t need Pilate telling us what to repent of. Jesus is Lord and He just told us:

12:47 And that servant, who knew his lord’s will, and made not ready, nor did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes;

The Lord has told us His will. We are praying that His will would be done, and we are required to make ready. If we don’t make ready we will be beaten.

4 Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”

Jesus is still teaching about prayer. “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive others that trespass against us”. The Jews trespassed against the Lord when they crucified Him. They suffered greatly because of this, the temple was destroyed and they were dispersed among the nations for 2,000 years ending in the holocaust. Hitler turned 6 million Jews into a peace offering. That suffering caused them to repent, God heard, and God forgave them. God forgives us as we forgive others. The US sinned when the twin towers fell killing thousands on 9/11. We attacked a country that had nothing to do with 9/11 destroying it. The people who orchestrated 9/11 played you. Many were not buying the idea that Saddam Hussein was behind an attack carried out by Al Qaeda. Saddam was a secular ruler, Al Qaeda was a fundamentalist jihadist group. So they lied about weapons of mass destruction. On CNN, Condi Rice said that "there will always be some uncertainty" in determining if Iraq is obtaining a nuclear weapon but said, "We don't want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud." They knew they were lying, which is why they sent Colin Powell to the UN. So how stupid do we have to be? The very day of the 9/11 attack Dick Cheney is already telling Richard Clark, the chair of the counter terrorism group, to blame Iraq. When it becomes clear that Iraq was not behind this do they then focus on who was? No they fabricate a lie about WMD’s so that we would attack Iraq. We were played. That is why more than 3,000 architects and engineers in the US have signed a petition disputing the official report. Those that were responsible for writing up the report have refused to respond to the criticism. Unless we wake up and repent of this sin, fabricating reasons to go attack innocent bystanders to promote the agenda of an evil age we will all likewise perish. We need to repent for the kingdom of God. Prepare to meet thy God.

6 Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. 7 So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’ 8 “‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. 9 If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’”

What about me? I had nothing to do with Jesus crucifixion, I was against going to war with Iraq. There are many who have not hurt anyone, what about them? Are they bearing fruit? If you aren’t bearing fruit why should you use up the soil? You would be more valuable as fertilizer and wood for a fire. Once again, reflect and repent, prepare to meet your God. “I didn’t do anything” is not a persuasive argument when you appear before the Lord.

Luke 13:10-17 Stand up Straight

10 On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, 11 and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” 13 Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.

Stand up straight. You are a fig tree of the Lord, you need to bear fruit. You need to stop being played by these evil rulers, so quick to go and kill and destroy some poor 3rd world country. You need to return to the land God gave you, the inheritance that God has given you.

Amos 2:4 This is what the Lord says: “For three sins of Judah, even for four, I will not relent. Because they have rejected the law of the Lord and have not kept his decrees, because they have been led astray by false gods, the gods their ancestors followed,

Yes, Amos enumerates six sins for why they will be judged. But he sums them all up in the seventh, you rejected the law of the Lord, you didn’t keep His decrees, and you were led away by false gods. Imagine some pastor being given a dream where he sees the coming judgement and wrath of God, the Lord tells him “brace yourself” and you interpret that to mean to move your investments to gold and to buy a gun! You don’t think you have been led astray by false gods? Stand up straight! “Brace yourself” means to set yourself to take up your cross and follow Jesus to Jerusalem.

14 Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath,

There is a contrast between those who are praying that the father’s name would be hallowed, versus those who want their own name to be respected. Keeping the Sabbath was all about revering God the creator. Releasing this woman from Satan’s bondage so she could stand up straight and praise God does that. It seems to me that only Satan would have an issue with that. Pride, ego, jealousy of others, this makes us one with Satan. No wonder God swore “lest they should enter my rest”. You want to enter the sabbath rest? Then your testimony must be “that it is no longer I that live but Christ who lives in me”.

the synagogue leader said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.”

Are we to believe that this woman for 18 years never came to the synagogue except on the Sabbath? Are we to believe the synagogue ruler was healing people who were bent over on the other days? It sounds so religious and pious, and yet in reality so hypocritical and mean. This is the leaven of the pharisees that Jesus warned us about. For close to ten months we have heard about how dangerous the pandemic is, how we need to shut down businesses, wear masks, shut down churches, stay home all to protect lives. It sounds so pious and concerned about people’s lives. But we now have 20,000 people swarming the border because Biden has promised amnesty. Is that really safe during a pandemic? For four years we heard that walls don’t work yet they surrounded the capitol with a wall? For six months we heard why you can’t send in the National guard to quell the riots and looting, yet they fill Washington DC with 25,000 troops? We heard for weeks how right wing supporters were going to storm all 50 capitols and riot, yet the only riots we saw were from ANTIFA in Portland and Seattle which the media didn’t cover. It is as though we are now in opposite world. We were told that Biden was not against fracking and yet the very first day he cancels a pipeline which put 11,000 people out of work and he cancelled fracking on public lands.

15 The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water?

Wow! They were treating people worse than beasts of burden in the guise of obeying God’s decrees. They are demanding that the schools are closed and kids are taught remotely, however, they are also opening schools for illegal immigrants. They want proof that you don't have Covid before you can travel, however, if you are an illegal alien they don't require that. What hypocrites. Not only do people learn to hate them but they ascribe this cruel doctrine to God, teaching people to hate God. This is the leaven of the pharisees. In the same way the American people are taught to hate what is going on and then they put the blame on these “right wing supremacists”.

16 Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?”

So the synagogue leader is teaching that the law concerning the Sabbath requires that we treat a child of Abraham worse than we would treat an ox? If we are out to glorify our own names we will become abusive. We will distort and twist the Bible to our own purposes. We will become hypocrites. The Lord is teaching that the Sabbath was a day of rest, therefore it is appropriate to release this woman from being bound so that she could have rest. That is how she will keep the Sabbath. Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath, how is it that this pious religious leader couldn’t see that?

17 When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.

Once they tried to oppose Him “it was on”. They accused Him of healing by Beelezebul, they were humiliated. They tried to get Him to show them a sign that He was a great prophet, to glorify Himself, and He says the only sign they will see is the sign of Jonah. He will be crucified and raised again. Not only so but just as Jonah protested in the streets of Nineveh for 40 days the protests in the streets would be the sign of His coming. The cross is where Satan was put to an open shame. Now they try to say that Jesus violated the law when in fact He fulfilled it, they were humiliated.

Malachi 2:7 “For the lips of a priest ought to preserve knowledge, because he is the messenger of the Lord Almighty and people seek instruction from his mouth. 8 But you have turned from the way and by your teaching have caused many to stumble; you have violated the covenant with Levi,” says the Lord Almighty. 9 “So I have caused you to be despised and humiliated before all the people, because you have not followed my ways but have shown partiality in matters of the law.”

One key aspect of the day of the Lord that many gloss over is that religious leaders will be humiliated and despised before all the people. What does the "fake news" refer to but the humiliation of the "prophets". CNN has seen their ratings drop 50%, that is a fulfillment of this prophesy. Youtube has deleted millions of dislikes of Biden's videos, that is a fulfillment of this prophecy. This also is the Lord’s goal. In the meantime the people will be delighted with Jesus and His ministry. It is such a repulsive act when leaders and rulers make evil good and good evil. On the other hand it is such a delightful act when these same rulers are humiliated and God’s people are released from bondage. We are seeing this in our day. Congress and the media are despised. They are hypocritical.

Luke 13:18-21 An imitation of the Kingdom of God

18 Then Jesus asked, “What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? 19 It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds perched in its branches.” 20 Again he asked, “What shall I compare the kingdom of God to? 21 It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.”

This is a really weird section. In the last chapter we were told to beware the leaven of the Pharisees. Their words were hidden, concealed, but Jesus promised that it would all be shouted from the rooftop. Here again the Lord says the kingdom of God is compared to a woman who hid leaven in the meal. The other weird thing is that mustard is a plant, not a tree. Mustard is a herb and generally would be a shrub in a garden. Also, if you were growing a garden it seems strange that you would want to have birds roosting in the middle of your garden, the opposite of the whole concept of a scarecrow. Which is also interesting because mustard is planted to repel insects, similar to a scarecrow being put in a garden to repel birds. The Jews celebrate the feast of unleavened bread so why would the kingdom be like a woman who hides leaven in the bread? On the other hand Jesus says the Kingdom of God is like this, it is comparable to this. That sounds good. To me the key to this section is that many Bible teachers teach that it is a non sequitur, just a miscellaneous teaching thrown in. I reject that interpretation. In my experience the Bible writers do not waste a single word, nor do they just throw stuff in there. So, if you are lost, go back to where you last had the trail and pick it up there. Beware the leaven of the pharisees, what does that mean? 1. It is hypocrisy. They will speak things in secret that they are embarrassed and ashamed of when they are shouted from the rooftops. This is why the woman “hid” the leaven in the meal. These are words spoken in secret. 2. They kill the body. It was the Jews that had Jesus crucified. He has already told us repeatedly He is going up to Jerusalem and will be crucified. He knows that they are the ones who will do it. He says don’t fear those who can only kill the body but after that are powerless. Their authority does not come from God who will judge, but from themselves. This woman bent over for 18 years is fully aligned with Jesus declaring that the lawyers bind heavy burdens on people but won’t even move a finger to help lift these burdens. 3. The trial of Jesus involved blaspheming the Holy Spirit, not just speaking against the Son. It is the Holy Spirit that will raise this temple up in three days. That was the key testimony in the trial. Likewise it is the Spirit that healed this woman that they are also blaspheming. The Holy Spirit would never do anything contrary to the decrees of God. So when you say that Jesus was violating the Sabbath it implies that He was healing by Beelzebub. 4. They are laying up treasure for themselves in this life and are not rich towards God. If this synagogue leader had been rich towards God this woman would have been healed prior to this. 5. They are not watching, instead they are allowing the Lord’s house to be broken into and plundered. This woman is a daughter of Abraham and yet the synagogue ruler has allowed her to be bound by Satan for these 18 years. He is talking about keeping the Sabbath and yet he doesn’t even recognize the Lord of the Sabbath. 6. They know the Lord’s will but aren’t doing it. He said to come and get healed during the other six days. He knows the will, he just isn’t doing it. 7 They are hypocrites, they know how to see when a storm is coming yet they can’t see that Jesus is coming. They should know how to interpret the time, but they can’t. Now we see all of this demonstrated in this account concerning this woman standing up straight. This is what the Lord warned us about when He said “beware the leaven of the pharisees”.

So why does Jesus say this is like the kingdom of God? He said it is compared to that, it is like that, but it isn’t that. Satan said that if you ate the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you would be “like” God. You wouldn’t be God, you wouldn’t be able to say “to me to live is Christ”, no that is the tree of life. Instead, you would be comparable to God, you would be wise, knowing good and evil. But sadly, you wouldn’t have the life that could stand up straight, instead you would be bent over by evil and that is how you would know evil and that is how you would become wise. They hide their words in the body of believers until everyone is affected, the whole lump is leavened. Second, they hold people in fear of dying. To live your whole life like that, afraid of them is like being bound by Satan and bent over. Third we just saw the synagogue ruler blaspheme the Spirit, the woman was healed after 18 years of being bent over and he says that this was a violation of the law. The Holy Spirit is not going to do anything that violates one jot or one tittle of the law, instead He will fulfill the law. It also exposed that this ruler of the synagogue was not rich towards God. Instead he had allowed the house of God to be broken into and Satan to bind this daughter of Abraham for 18 years. Also, he said to come on one of the other six days to get healed. He knows the will of God but he isn’t doing it. He is a hypocrite, he can’t see that this is Jesus, the Son of God who is coming. This religious ruler was a counterfeit bill, he was like the kingdom of God, he was comparable to the kingdom of God, but this was the leaven that the Lord warned us about. This is why many can teach that this depicts faith and the Spirit mingled with our spirit. It is like that, it does compare to that, but it isn’t that.

There is a garden, just like the Bible began with a garden of Eden. There is a man who planted this mustard seed, just like God planted all the trees in the garden of Eden. This man is imitating God. But the mustard plant is weird, it grows into a tree and instead of repelling pests it becomes a place for the pests to perch. What happened? Hard to say except what happened to the mustard plant is the same thing that happens to meal when you add leaven, it grows, it expands. Is it a good thing that this ruler of the synagogue has become such a big man he can tell others they can’t heal people and he can tell others on what days they can be healed? They want the chief seats, the big name, they are so full of themselves they even tell the Son of God He is wrong. They treat others worse than they treat their own animals. Is that really the kingdom of God or a cheap knockoff? What is social justice about anyway? Isn’t the real issue that the rulers have become abusive to the common man? Yes the Lord’s goal is to bring in the Kingdom, on earth as it is in heaven. But, part of that goal is to expose the counterfeit bill. I can perfectly understand why many people did not want Trump to be elected, makes perfect sense. I can also understand why 50% of the country does not think the election was rigged, though one would think that if they looked at the evidence themselves instead of letting someone else tell them what to think they would change their mind. But for three months you are told that Trump was going to try a coup, at what point do you realize they lied to you? 25,000 troops in the capitol and they won’t tell you why? How does a president get more votes than Reagan or Obama and yet on day one of his administration he is the most unpopular president in history? If they are so scared of this pandemic why are they opening the border to 20,000 people streaming across? If they are so terrified of the riots why didn’t they cover the riots in Seattle and Portland? The Lord’s goal is that we would know the truth, and little by little, day by day, you are seeing more and more people see the truth.

Luke 13:22-33 This is where we are headed

22 Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. 23 Someone asked him, “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?” He said to them, 24 “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.

Among the believers we have already seen the twelve, the others (70), the witnesses (500), those that are being fed (5,000), those that are being nursed back to life, and now we hear of those that try to enter into salvation but won’t be able to.

25 Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’ “But he will answer, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’

The Lord compares the rapture of believers to Noah entering the ark and then the door being closed. Once that happens many people will wake up and bang on the door, “Lord open the door for us”. The issue isn’t that they didn’t know all the doctrine concerning pre tribulation, mid tribulation and post tribulation rapture, the issue is that the Lord doesn’t know them and He doesn’t know where they are from. Isn’t that incredible? He knew the woman at the well, He knew who she was, He knew where she was from. When they brought a woman to Him caught in adultery He knew all the sins of those that brought her there and began writing them in the dirt. When He was invited to a Pharisee's house for dinner He knew what He was thinking. Throughout the gospels I am amazed at what He does know, sometimes we overlook how amazing are the things He doesn’t know. Think about it, this person thought that they also should be taken by the Lord, in their mind they are a pretty big deal. Can you imagine, some people that were of no account were taken by the Lord, and yet this guy who thought he was a big shot wasn’t?

Luke 12:6 Are not five sparrows sold for two pence? and not one of them is forgotten in the sight of God. 7 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not: ye are of more value than many sparrows.

These rulers and leaders were involved in selling people. They were involved in glorifying their own names with statues and glowing histories while these people are seemingly forgotten. Then it turns out that the Lord didn’t pay any attention to their history books, He has no idea who they are or where they are from. But that person you thought was of no account, the Lord knew them, He knew where they were from and what they had gone through.

26 “Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 “But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!’

Hold it! How does He know they are evil doers? He knows what they did, He just never approved it. He never authorized their actions. They may have blamed Him for what they did, but that was just evil. Maybe they taught that keeping the Sabbath was equivalent to treating people worse than an animal, reminds me of religious teachers justifying slavery because Noah cursed his son. Where did that come from, the pit of hell?

28 “There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out.

So much for having the best seat and the big name. There is one very interesting aspect to this. Christians teach that no one is thrown into the Lake of Fire until the Great White Throne judgment. Yet prior to the Great White throne judgement we learn that the false prophet, a man, is already in the Lake of fire. I suspect he was like these ones here, he was so good at deceiving others he had even deceived himself. He demanded to be judged at the judgement seat of Christ, so the Lord accommodated him and sent him to the Lake of fire early.

29 People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God. 30 Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last.”

This goes back to the question about “are there only a few that are saved”. There are only a few people that can have the best seat or the best name. There are only a few that can be first. But you don’t need any of that to be saved. You can have the last seat and the last name and wind up with the first name. Jesus is the first name, to be saved is to know Jesus and to call Him Lord. If you do then you will obey Him and if you do that He will know you and where you are from.

31 At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, “Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you.”

Why does Herod want to kill Him? It seems like He has been exposing the Pharisees and the lawyers, Herod was the king. There was a conspiracy, they all worked together. Prior to the holocaust the Pope signed a deal with Hitler to avoid persecution. Kings and religious leaders have worked together for thousands of years. 9/11 was an inside job by some in the US government. They could never have done that if those who investigated the crime didn’t rubber stamp the official account. In the Bible this kind of investigation would have been done by the levitical priests. Herod’s goal was to keep in power as King, to do that He had to be the puppet of the Romans, the Jewish leaders goal was to keep in power, to do that they acquiesced to Herod and the Romans. Exposing the priests would bring the whole house of cards down, so Herod needed to act.

32 He replied, “Go tell that fox, ‘I will keep on driving out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.’

Healing the bent over woman provoked Herod. The common people were being treated as beasts of burden so that the kings and rulers could walk around without lifting a finger. The elimination of serfdom weakened the kings hold on power, the parliamentary system weakened the kings hold on power, the expansion of the middle class weakened the ruling class’s hold on power. That is the Lord’s goal, bind the strong man and plunder His house. He likens that to the day of resurrection. The Declaration of Independence and the Emancipation Proclamation were two important steps toward this goal. Martin Luther King Jr. said "All tyrants, past, present and future, are powerless to bury the truths in these declarations". To God a thousand years is a day. To God it has been two days since the Lord’s crucifixion, it is now the start of the third day when we will rise from the grave with Him. It is time for us to stand up straight.

33 In any case, I must press on today and tomorrow and the next day—for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem!

We are heading to Jerusalem! That is the Lord’s goal, the city of peace. This is the necessary step towards the goal in “any case”. My salvation was one case, your salvation is another case, in every case our salvation from Satan’s bondage is there at the cross of Christ. This is where we are headed.

Luke 13:34-35 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord

34 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem,

City of Peace. The entire Bible has the goal that man would arrive at the New Jerusalem. It is a city of peace, the house of God, a city on a hill shining to all the nations. Man is a social animal, we live in cities. Out of millions of species on this planet you can count the number that live in societies of a million on one hand; basically humans, ants and termites. In fact there are only 18 species that live in groups larger than 100. You need differentiated jobs, you need people who take care of children that aren’t theirs, you need education, laws, and government. Of these 18 species only humans were not born with this in our DNA. Unlike ants and termites we need the word of God. The protests, riots, and people bent over is what happens when we try to live in these societies without the word of God. Satan turned the word of God into something cruel, that is the leaven of the pharisees. The cross of Christ makes the bitter water sweet, which is why Jesus said He would reach His goal on the third day. Why is it that our cities are not cities of peace right now? They need the cross of Christ.

Leviticus 26:21 And if ye walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto me, I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins. 22 And I will send the beast of the field among you, which shall rob you of your children, and destroy your cattle, and make you few in number; and your ways shall become desolate.

Jesus is Lord, He is sovereign over all. We have been told that walking contrary to the Lord will result in Him bringing plagues upon us according to our sins. That is the pandemic. Having wild beasts among us that rob us of our children is the gang violence we have seen on our streets. Destroying our cattle, that is our beasts of burden, the front line workers, so that we become desolate. This is a result of us walking contrary to God.

23 And if by these things ye will not be reformed unto me, but will walk contrary unto me;

The purpose of these things is so that we would repent and be reformed. Right now everyone is concerned about the pandemic, about the gun violence and riots, about the protests, and about the impact on the economy. These things have happened to wake us up, to cause us to repent, so that we could prepare to meet our God.

you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you,

So many blame the Jews for crucifying Jesus. At the end of this age we’ll see that all the nations are no better. They too will persecute the Christians and kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you.

30 And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your sun-images, and cast your dead bodies upon the bodies of your idols; and my soul shall abhor you.

Jesus loves you. People have ridiculed and despised those that preached Jesus love, so it is only fitting that since they abhorred Jesus that God abhors them. When you are abhorred by God and remember back to when you were loved by Jesus, maybe then you will repent.

31 And I will make your cities a waste, and will bring your sanctuaries unto desolation, and I will not smell the savor of your sweet odors.

The goal is that our cities would be a city of peace. They aren’t, they have not taken Jesus as Lord, they have not taken the way of the cross, and as a result they will become waste. God will also cause the sanctuaries to become desolation. Just like this synagogue ruler, they have spread the leaven of the pharisees and they have become a perch for evil birds.

32 And I will bring the land into desolation; and your enemies that dwell therein shall be astonished at it. 33 And you will I scatter among the nations, and I will draw out the sword after you: and your land shall be a desolation, and your cities shall be a waste.

We should all be aware of what the Lord did to Jerusalem. He said He would do this and He did it. This synagogue ruler taking issue with Jesus healing the bent over woman is evidence that they were walking contrary to Him. Of course the crucifixion of Jesus is the conclusive evidence.

how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. 35 Look, your house is left to you desolate.

34 Then shall the land enjoy its sabbaths, as long as it lieth desolate, and ye are in your enemies’ land; even then shall the land rest, and enjoy its sabbaths. 35 As long as it lieth desolate it shall have rest, even the rest which it had not in your sabbaths, when ye dwelt upon it.

Scientists have been amazed at how the entire earth has been given a rest. Animals are responding, pollution is down, the skies are clear, even the whales are rejoicing because the sea is much quieter.

I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’”

Once they accept that Jesus is Lord then Jesus will remember the covenant with them. This is the point of the end of the age. Accept the punishment for rejecting Jesus Christ. In the last chapter the Lord said we didn’t know how to interpret the time. In this chapter He makes it very simple for us. The purpose of the suffering is that we would repent, return to God and obey Him. So, is that what you see? Are people returning to God, humbling themselves, and embracing God’s word? No? Then we are not yet done with the suffering.

Acts 10:1-23 -- All things are made clean and new

1 At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. 2 He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly.

Here in Acts we learn how the church took this dramatic and revolutionary change. If you read this chapter and the ones that follow it is clearly not something that anyone saw coming. Many were outraged at Peter. The church has had few events this revolutionary. Martin Luther nailing his demands to the door of the church, not nearly as revolutionary as this. You can compare Peter and James discussing this to what Martin Luther did, but that is only a small part of the story. No, the only thing that I think comes close is Gandhi in South Africa. He said that the sermon on the mount had gone straight to his heart. Gandhi used Jesus' example. He did not tolerate injustice, greed, hypocrisy, or untruth. He confronted systemic injustice head on. He gave his life for God's reign of justice and peace, but he always did so through meticulous nonviolence. To me, the gospel going to someone who was a Hindu is the closest thing we have to what we are reading here. Notice that this man Cornelius is devout and God-fearing. He wasn’t Jewish, he wasn’t Christian, he was God-fearing. He was generous and he prayed to God regularly. There have been a lot of misconceptions about what the Bible teaches and what Christians teach on this. This chapter is very clear,

“I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism 35 but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right.”

Peter says this. Surely every nation includes South Africa and India. Surely Gandhi was one that feared Him and did what is right.

3 One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision.He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, “Cornelius!” 4 Cornelius stared at him in fear. “What is it, Lord?” he asked. The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God. 5 Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter. 6 He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea.” 7 When the angel who spoke to him had gone, Cornelius called two of his servants and a devout soldier who was one of his attendants. 8 He told them everything that had happened and sent them to Joppa.

This is a very specific vision, makes it clear they definitely got the right Peter.

9 About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. 10 He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. 11 He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners.12 It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds. 13 Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.” 14 “Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.” 15 The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” 16 This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven.

This was the vision that made such a great change in the church age. It is a great sheet containing all kinds of creatures. Not just the centurion, but all kinds, including a little Hindu man from India. This vision always reminds me of Genesis, only this is the new creation, all things have been made clean and new.

17 While Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision, the men sent by Cornelius found out where Simon’s house was and stopped at the gate. 18 They called out, asking if Simon who was known as Peter was staying there. 19 While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Simon, three men are looking for you. 20 So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them.” 21 Peter went down and said to the men, “I’m the one you’re looking for. Why have you come?”

This is a very interesting story, neither Cornelius nor Peter is given a full account. Cornelius is told the name and address of Peter, that is all. Peter is told they have come for him and that the Lord has sent them, but that is all. Nothing else matters. All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge dwell in Christ. Whatever the issue is, He is the answer. Having more and more of Jesus revealed to us is not a one time thing just for Cornelius, but it is the way of life for the apostle Peter.

22 The men replied, “We have come from Cornelius the centurion. He is a righteous and God-fearing man, who is respected by all the Jewish people. A holy angel told him to ask you to come to his house so that he could hear what you have to say.” 23 Then Peter invited the men into the house to be his guests.

In the next chapter a lot is made of the fact that Peter went into them and ate with them, which is not lawful. But nothing is made of the fact that they stayed with him. The law didn’t forbid Jews eating with Gentiles, instead it forbade a Jew eating food that was not kosher. To be kosher it had to be prepared in a kosher kitchen.

Acts 10:23-48 Overcoming Systemic Racism

The next day Peter started out with them, and some of the believers from Joppa went along. 24 The following day he arrived in Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. 25 As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet in reverence. 26 But Peter made him get up. “Stand up,” he said, “I am only a man myself.”

This story does a great job of conveying the fact that there is very little difference between these two men.

27 While talking with him, Peter went inside and found a large gathering of people. 28 He said to them: “You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile. But God has shown me that I should not call anyone impure or unclean. 29 So when I was sent for, I came without raising any objection. May I ask why you sent for me?”

This is a very clear reference to the dream. Peter realized that the unclean animals he had seen in the dream referred to people. He also realized that when God said not to refer to that which He had cleansed as unclean he knew that referred to the cross of Christ. Jesus' death paid the price for all people. Hence Cornelius and these gentiles were every bit as clean as a believer. The price has been paid for all of us, all you need to do is receive it.

30 Cornelius answered: “Three days ago I was in my house praying at this hour, at three in the afternoon. Suddenly a man in shining clothes stood before me 31 and said, ‘Cornelius, God has heard your prayer and remembered your gifts to the poor. 32 Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. He is a guest in the home of Simon the tanner, who lives by the sea.’ 33 So I sent for you immediately, and it was good of you to come. Now we are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us.”

Peter is going to speak to them on “the way of salvation”. How about for Gandhi, what was the “way of salvation” for him? How can he deal with the unrighteousness of apartheid in South Africa as well as the unrighteousness of imperialism of Britain in India? Some verses that made a very big difference to Gandhi were:

Matthew 5:38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on [your] right cheek, turn the other one to him as well. 40 If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic, hand him your cloak as well. 41 Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go with him for two miles. 42 Give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow.

This was the essence of non violent resistance, not “passive” resistance. Another verse that had a big impact on his ministry:

43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.

He realized that by loving his enemies he could convert them. He also saw Daniel in the Old Testament as a powerful example of non cooperation. The Lord said that you could move mountains through prayer and fasting. This is where he picked up the vision to use fasting. Also the verse

“be careful in nothing”

was a guiding light to him as well. The way of salvation is practical. It delivers us from slavery. In the Old Testament we see Israel delivered from slavery in Egypt. In the New Testament we are delivered from the slavery of sin.

34 Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism 35 but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right.

Have some faith. These protests will be accepted by God if the protestors fear God and do what is right.

36 You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. 37 You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached— 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.

He is Lord of all and He heals all who are under the power of the devil.

39 “We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a cross, 40 but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. 41 He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42 He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. 43 All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

These are the key points. He has been raised from the dead. There is nothing they can do to you that He has not already gone through. He has conquered death, the enemies you are facing are small by comparison. It all starts with forgiveness of sins.

44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. 45 The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles. 46 For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. Then Peter said, 47 “Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.” 48 So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.

We overcome by the blood and by the word of our testimony. When people hear you praise God there is no power that can stand in the way of you crossing the red sea. Today no one thinks twice about the gospel going to the Gentiles. We can hear testimonies praising God in every tongue on earth. Isn’t this what the BLM protests are about, the kind of institutional racism that existed in the Jewish religion at the time of Cornelius?

Luke 14:1-14 -- The worst seat at the feast.

14 And it came to pass, when he went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees on a sabbath to eat bread, that they were watching him. 2 And behold, there was before him a certain man that had the dropsy. 3 And Jesus answering spake unto the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath, or not? 4 But they held their peace. And he took him, and healed him, and let him go.

(Dropsy refers to congestive heart failure). Beware the leaven of the Pharisees. In the last chapter we saw the response of the ruler of the synagogue, in this chapter we see the response of the “silent majority”. In the last chapter we learned that the Lord’s goal includes exposing the hypocrisy of a corrupt counterfeit bill to the kingdom of the heavens. In this chapter we learn that “salt is good” at dealing with this deep state.

5 And he said unto them, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a well, and will not straightway draw him up on a sabbath day? 6 And they could not answer again unto these things.

According to the rabbinical law you were not supposed to pull an ox out of a well on the Sabbath. You were allowed to lower food and water down to the ox, but you had to wait till the next day to pull the ox out. They knew this, but then they also knew that this was a stupid rule. The ox doesn’t know it is the Sabbath. In the wild an ox falls into a well and can’t get out, that ox is going to die. So this ox is going to panic and may break a leg trying to get out. Imagine you were the ox, your owner sees you in the well, but just leaves you there! How cruel is that? You do all that work for him and he is just going to leave you to die? One person can’t pull an ox out, so they would need help. This is why they are all keeping quiet, they don’t want to admit that they do this in public, but they can’t deny it because everyone knows they do it. It is a stupid, cruel rule, no one obeys it, but they are afraid to say that. That is hypocrisy, that is the leaven of the Pharisees. They keep people in line with fear but no one believes them, they don’t obey them, they just don’t want to make waves.

7 And he spake a parable unto those that were bidden, when he marked how they chose out the chief seats; saying unto them, 8 When thou art bidden of any man to a marriage feast, sit not down in the chief seat; lest haply a more honorable man than thou be bidden of him, 9 and he that bade thee and him shall come and say to thee, Give this man place; and then thou shalt begin with shame to take the lowest place. 10 But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest place; that when he that hath bidden thee cometh, he may say to thee, Friend, go up higher: then shalt thou have glory in the presence of all that sit at meat with thee. 11 For every one that exalteth himself shall be humbled; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

This is what people are really afraid of, public humiliation. What did the Lord say, don’t fear those that can just humiliate you and after that there is nothing more they can do, rather fear Him who after you have died has the power to humiliate you for eternity. Why is it that people deny the Lord before men? They are afraid to be shunned and humiliated. The Lord is not teaching us how to be social climbers. You need to connect this account with the earlier point Jesus made(Luke 12:8-9). If you confess Jesus before men you will be shunned, you will be given the worst seats at their feasts. But if you confess Jesus before men then He will confess you before the angels, at the feast that He is going to give at the end of the age He will say “friend go up higher”. If you choose to start the feast in the most despised seat, the “Jesus freak” seat, then there is nothing they can do to you, but you give the Lord an opportunity to honor you.

12 And he said to him also that had bidden him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, nor thy kinsmen, nor rich neighbors; lest haply they also bid thee again, and a recompense be made thee. 13 But when thou makest a feast, bid the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: 14 and thou shalt be blessed; because they have not wherewith to recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed in the resurrection of the just.

This is how you lay up treasure for yourself (Luke 12:16-21). Man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things he possesses. If the US dollar is about to become worthless then you are in the exact same position of that rich man who died. Once he died the grain in the barn was worthless to him. He could have used it to give a feast to the poor and then when the Lord took him he would have had treasure stored up in heaven. During the tribulation our money will become worthless. But right now there are people who can’t pay their rent, can’t buy food. One minute you could have used that money to store up treasure in heaven, the next minute it will be gone. Give to those who cannot recompense you and then you will be recompensed in the resurrection. This is a tremendous investment opportunity for you, where thieves don’t break in, moths don’t destroy, a purse in heaven that faileth not.