Bible Prophecy on Target
By EARL COX09/12/2010 14:50
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Regeneration versus Reformation
The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will. (Prov 21:1)
Today’s believers are getting more and more involved with their country’s political scenario. While it is important that justice and right judgment or ruling be done (Psa 21:3), we have to engage with a crystal clear approach from the God’s perspective of sovereignty and not from the grounds of defeat. We ought to prioritize praying being the foremost action in relation to our faith in the Lord, not action roused up with a soulish (humanistic heart, mind and emotions) sense of doing what we perceive as right. Isn’t it strange that people would pour in much time, sweat and tears into the doing or fighting for justice but struggle to tarry for an hour with the Lord. We may be able to write long letters of protest to drum up support but beggars in articulating prayers although knowing that ‘my help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth’ (Psa 121:2)?
Are we more interested in reformation than regeneration? The former invokes changing or altering current deficiencies for the better while the latter speaks of rebirth (John 3:3) with eternal significance. Reformed governments with un-generated men ruling will eventually degrade to the first state. Regenerated kings and rulers will establish a nation (Prov 29:4).
Above all, the sovereign Lord seeks to return and establish His kingdom (2 Tim 4:1) to the Israel of God (Acts 1:6, Gal 6:16).
Monday, September 20, 2010
Yom Kippur: What does God want?
By SHLOMO RISKIN (jpost.com)Some thoughts I found helpful in jpost.com about this year's Yom Kippur. There has never been and never will be a people who have the great revelation of YHWH and yet with it bearing the most unthinkable suffering.
'From this perspective, the most striking image of Yom Kippur is the very last act of the High Priest in his Yom Kippur garb. He bathes a fourth time, puts on his white linen garments, and enters the Holy of Holies, the space sanctified with the overwhelming sense of the Divine Presence. Earlier, he had performed in that place a difficult and even trying sacrificial offering, his gift of fragrant incense. This time, he enters the Presence and stands there, without performing a divine service, without reciting a formal prayer. Then he leaves, bathes a fifth time, and dons the golden garments of the regular daily afternoon sacrifice.'
His solitary moment with God has ended; the magic of the special Day of Forgiveness is over. But what did it mean? What did he, and what do we, take out of that singular meeting with the divine, devoid of ritual or ceremony, at the conclusion of the most sacred day of the year in the most sacred space in the world? Let us for a moment re-visit last week’s commentary on the akeda. Abraham and Isaac walk a solitary walk during those three momentous days of performing God’s awesome commandment: A tense silence between father and son permeates the atmosphere, punctuated by brief, difficult and ambiguous words. The air is heavy with God’s unspoken command, heard only by Abraham, fearfully sensed by Isaac.
Let us now skip many generations, and perhaps we will understand why the divine command is ambiguous, why God used a word, olah, which could be interpreted in two ways. Rav Oshri, the rabbi of the Kovno Ghetto at the time of the Holocaust, wrote a book of responsa, Mima’amakim (From the Depths) based on his experience. One question came from a distraught father, whose only son had been taken for a kinderaktion – a 5 a.m. children’s round-up to the gas chambers of Auschwitz.
“I have a gold tooth,” wept the father. “The kapo will take it from me and free my son – but he will have to substitute someone else’s son to meet the quota. What must I do?” Rav Oshri tearfully responded that he could not give the father an answer. All that night, he saw the agitated man walking back and forth in front of his house. When the Rav walked out at 4:45 a.m., the tearful father could only say two words, Akedat Yitzhak.
He did not give the kapo his tooth.
Each of us must stand alone, in the fullness of our being, before God, and attempt to understand what God wants of us. What is the right path? Is it God’s voice we are hearing, or Satan’s? This is the meaning of the meeting between God and the High Priest – without ritual or formal prayer – at the conclusion of our Holy Fast.'
“I have a gold tooth,” wept the father. “The kapo will take it from me and free my son – but he will have to substitute someone else’s son to meet the quota. What must I do?” Rav Oshri tearfully responded that he could not give the father an answer. All that night, he saw the agitated man walking back and forth in front of his house. When the Rav walked out at 4:45 a.m., the tearful father could only say two words, Akedat Yitzhak.
He did not give the kapo his tooth.
Each of us must stand alone, in the fullness of our being, before God, and attempt to understand what God wants of us. What is the right path? Is it God’s voice we are hearing, or Satan’s? This is the meaning of the meeting between God and the High Priest – without ritual or formal prayer – at the conclusion of our Holy Fast.'
Friday, September 17, 2010
Wrestling Alone
And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled …….(Gen 32:24)
Most of us avoid conflicts, our natural tendency is to mitigate the pressure and not confront them head on. The Lord allows pressures to step into our life to reveal the true condition of our heart (Jer 17:9) that we may never know existed. It shouldn't surprise us that the issue at hand doesn’t move a hair in another but seems to be specifically tailored for us. Hence we have to purpose to be alone to wrestle it out with the Lord. Leave pastor, spouse and friend out of it, for its God’s personal and sacred dealing with us. Facing it alone will quickly wean and mature us.
Until the time that his word came: the word of the LORD tried him. (Psa 105:19)
In wrestling He wants to lay in iron our soul (Psa 105:18) so that His sovereign Spirit can take over. The sword of His word separates spirit and soul (Heb 4:12), for God is Spirit (John 4:24) and the communion is in His realm not ours. We glory on the outside (1 Sam 16:7), but His end is the strengthening the inner man (Eph 3:16). Willingness of spirit (Matt 26:41) doesn’t suffice in the day of adversity, but strength of spirit will define victory.
If we are willing to wrestle alone with Him, depleted of intervention of human hands the prevailing nature of Christ will be named upon us (Gen 32:28). Jesus has warned us of troubles ‘such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be’ (Matt 24:21), do the wrestling alone with Him now so in that day we can overcome because the marks are deep and permanent (Gen 32:31, Gal 6:17). There is resurrection after death, the cross precede glorification.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Hallowed Be Thy Name
יהוה
By Ps. Lee Shaw Ming
This Name was not meant to be forgotten!
Did you know that the Heavenly Father has a name? The surprising truth is that the Name of the Creator, יהוה is found 6,823 times in the original Hebrew Old Testament or Tanakh, more frequent than any other word, yet it was translated away and concealed by translators (translated to ‘LORD’, some translations like ASV 1901 uses Jehovah) who believed it was too holy to use. However, many names of the gods of the heathens were transliterated and preserved in the Old Testament (eg. Baal, Dagon, Moloch, Molech, Meni, etc …). Bear in mind that although translations of the original God-inspired Scriptures into many languages help to bring the word of God to the whole world, yet the translations and translators themselves are not considered God-inspired in the level of the original authors and Scriptures.
How important is it to know and to use the correct name?
Scripture leaves no doubt as to the importance of our Heavenly Father’s Name!
Note: The Hebrew letters for the Heavenly Father’s name יהוה (YHWH) known as the Tetragrammaton and transliterated as YHWH (generally pronounced as 'Yahweh', 'Jehovah' or 'Yehovah'), have been used throughout the original Old Testament in Hebrew. The Hebrew word יהושע (Elohim) has been translated into the English word 'God'. The Hebrew word 'Elohim' means 'Mighty One' or 'Most High'.
Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is His Son's name, if you know it? (Proverbs 30:4)
The following Scripture references speak for themselves...
I am יהוה (YHWH) that is My name: and My honour will I not give to another (name), neither My praise to graven images (Isaiah 42:8)
Sing unto Elohim, sing praises to His name: extol Him that rides upon the heavens by His name YAH, and rejoice before Him (Psalm 68:4)
You shall not take the name of יהוה (YHWH) your Elohim in vain, for יהוה will not hold him guiltless that takes His name in vain (Exodus 20: 7, This is the Third Commandment.)
Thy Name O YHWH, endureth forever; Thy memorial, O YHWH, throughout all generations (Psalm 135:13)
I will take the names of the Baalim out of her mouth and they shall no more be remembered by their name (Hosea 2:17 . 'Baalim' is the plural of Baal. Baalim = Lords)
I will declare Thy Name unto my brethren, in the midst of the congregation will I sing praise unto Thee (Psalm 22:22 . cf. Hebrews 2:12)
And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call on the Name of יהוה (YHWH) shall be saved (Acts 2:21 and Joel 2:32)
Therefore, behold, I will cause them to know, this once will I cause them to know my hand and my might; and they shall know that my name is יהוה (Jer 16:21)
who try to make My people forget My name by their dreams…, as their fathers forgot My name for Baal (Jer 23:27)
And there is no one who calls on Your name, Who stirs himself up to take hold of You; For You have hidden Your face from us, And have consumed us because of our iniquities (Isaiah 64:7: 7)
And from the New Testament...
I have manifested (revealed) Thy Name unto the men which Thou gavest Me out of the world…John 17:26 And I have declared unto them Thy Name and will declare it (John 17:6)
'Hallowed be Thy Name' Matthew 6:9
• The Hebrew Name of the Messiah, יהושע, Yeshua is the only Name by which He was known to His disciples.
What is His name and what is His Son's Name, if thou canst tell? (Proverbs 30:4)
• The name יהושע (Yeshua) literally means “יהוה (YHWH) is salvation”.
John 5:43 I am come in My Father's Name and ye receive Me not, if another shall come in his own name, him you will receive…John 12:13 Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the Name of יהושע…John 14:13-14 And whatsoever ye shall ask in My Name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye ask anything in My Name I will do it.
...for there is none other Name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved (Acts 4:12)
And when we all had fallen to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me and saying in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ So I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said, ‘I am יהושע (Yeshua), whom you are persecuting (Acts 26:14-16)
He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name (Rev 3:12)
Editor: Let us remember the name of our God and remember that He is the God of Israel, knowing that the Jewish nation is still the Israel of God. For יהוה hates divorce (Mal 2:16) hence 'God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew' (Rom 11:2) and 'But to Israel he saith, All day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people' (Rom 10:21) and continue to do so till this day.
יהוה
By Ps. Lee Shaw Ming
This Name was not meant to be forgotten!
Did you know that the Heavenly Father has a name? The surprising truth is that the Name of the Creator, יהוה is found 6,823 times in the original Hebrew Old Testament or Tanakh, more frequent than any other word, yet it was translated away and concealed by translators (translated to ‘LORD’, some translations like ASV 1901 uses Jehovah) who believed it was too holy to use. However, many names of the gods of the heathens were transliterated and preserved in the Old Testament (eg. Baal, Dagon, Moloch, Molech, Meni, etc …). Bear in mind that although translations of the original God-inspired Scriptures into many languages help to bring the word of God to the whole world, yet the translations and translators themselves are not considered God-inspired in the level of the original authors and Scriptures.
How important is it to know and to use the correct name?
Scripture leaves no doubt as to the importance of our Heavenly Father’s Name!
Note: The Hebrew letters for the Heavenly Father’s name יהוה (YHWH) known as the Tetragrammaton and transliterated as YHWH (generally pronounced as 'Yahweh', 'Jehovah' or 'Yehovah'), have been used throughout the original Old Testament in Hebrew. The Hebrew word יהושע (Elohim) has been translated into the English word 'God'. The Hebrew word 'Elohim' means 'Mighty One' or 'Most High'.
Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is His Son's name, if you know it? (Proverbs 30:4)
The following Scripture references speak for themselves...
I am יהוה (YHWH) that is My name: and My honour will I not give to another (name), neither My praise to graven images (Isaiah 42:8)
Sing unto Elohim, sing praises to His name: extol Him that rides upon the heavens by His name YAH, and rejoice before Him (Psalm 68:4)
You shall not take the name of יהוה (YHWH) your Elohim in vain, for יהוה will not hold him guiltless that takes His name in vain (Exodus 20: 7, This is the Third Commandment.)
Thy Name O YHWH, endureth forever; Thy memorial, O YHWH, throughout all generations (Psalm 135:13)
I will take the names of the Baalim out of her mouth and they shall no more be remembered by their name (Hosea 2:17 . 'Baalim' is the plural of Baal. Baalim = Lords)
I will declare Thy Name unto my brethren, in the midst of the congregation will I sing praise unto Thee (Psalm 22:22 . cf. Hebrews 2:12)
And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call on the Name of יהוה (YHWH) shall be saved (Acts 2:21 and Joel 2:32)
Therefore, behold, I will cause them to know, this once will I cause them to know my hand and my might; and they shall know that my name is יהוה (Jer 16:21)
who try to make My people forget My name by their dreams…, as their fathers forgot My name for Baal (Jer 23:27)
And there is no one who calls on Your name, Who stirs himself up to take hold of You; For You have hidden Your face from us, And have consumed us because of our iniquities (Isaiah 64:7: 7)
And from the New Testament...
I have manifested (revealed) Thy Name unto the men which Thou gavest Me out of the world…John 17:26 And I have declared unto them Thy Name and will declare it (John 17:6)
'Hallowed be Thy Name' Matthew 6:9
• The Hebrew Name of the Messiah, יהושע, Yeshua is the only Name by which He was known to His disciples.
What is His name and what is His Son's Name, if thou canst tell? (Proverbs 30:4)
• The name יהושע (Yeshua) literally means “יהוה (YHWH) is salvation”.
John 5:43 I am come in My Father's Name and ye receive Me not, if another shall come in his own name, him you will receive…John 12:13 Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the Name of יהושע…John 14:13-14 And whatsoever ye shall ask in My Name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye ask anything in My Name I will do it.
...for there is none other Name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved (Acts 4:12)
And when we all had fallen to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me and saying in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ So I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said, ‘I am יהושע (Yeshua), whom you are persecuting (Acts 26:14-16)
He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name (Rev 3:12)
Editor: Let us remember the name of our God and remember that He is the God of Israel, knowing that the Jewish nation is still the Israel of God. For יהוה hates divorce (Mal 2:16) hence 'God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew' (Rom 11:2) and 'But to Israel he saith, All day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people' (Rom 10:21) and continue to do so till this day.
Monday, September 13, 2010
The Guilt of Christianity Towards the Jewish People
Sister Pista
Evangelical Sisterhood of Mary, Darmstadt / Germany (an international and interdenominational Christian fellowship)
Considering the atrocities committed against the Jews in the name of Christ throughout much of Christianity's 2000-year history, how can we celebrate the millennium without first expressing our deep sorrow over the past in a spirit of repentance? By our unchristian attitude and behaviour we have brought shame upon the name of Jesus, making it offensive to His own people, the Jews … And so today it is our prayer that Christians all over the world will be inspired to commemorate the millennium with a service of repentance in a spirit of unity, acknowledging our common Christian heritage.
Sister Pista
Evangelical Sisterhood of Mary, Darmstadt / Germany (an international and interdenominational Christian fellowship)
After the horrors of the Holocaust were revealed, the question was raised: How could it have happened? The shocking truth is that the Holocaust was the culmination of centuries of hatred and violent persecution, often inspired by Christian theology.
I feel deeply convicted as a Christian but also as a German, for as early as the Middle Ages Jews were mercilessly killed by the thousand in German cities. Mother Basilea Schlink, founder of our community in Darmstadt, Germany, writes movingly in her book Israel, My Chosen People of how those who attack God's people attack Him, for Israel is the apple of His eye.
Considering the atrocities committed against the Jews in the name of Christ throughout much of Christianity's 2000-year history, how can we celebrate the millennium without first expressing our deep sorrow over the past in a spirit of repentance? By our unchristian attitude and behaviour we have brought shame upon the name of Jesus, making it offensive to His own people, the Jews … And so today it is our prayer that Christians all over the world will be inspired to commemorate the millennium with a service of repentance in a spirit of unity, acknowledging our common Christian heritage.
Drawn from Christian and Jewish historical sources in English and German, the following is a brief résumé of the horrific history of Christianity's dealings with the Jews -- dealings which paved the way for the Holocaust.
http://www.kanaan.org/international/israel/israel1.htm (Link to read more. Highly recommended)
Saturday, September 04, 2010
Ministering to Israel in Prayer
Christian brethren, do remember to pray for the Israel and Jerusalem (Isa 6:27) till the city of great King becomes the praise of all the earth (Isa 6:27, Matt 5:35). Paul strongly remind us not to ‘write-off’ the Jewish people for the Lord says of Israel ‘All day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people’ (Rom 10:21).Do we as the body of Christ share the same heart beat of God for He ever remembers the unbreakable covenant made with Abraham (Gen 17). We pray and we ask amiss (Jam 4:3) if our prayers are spent for our self, our ministry, our fame, our plans thinking that we fit YHWH's plan into our ours, while the converse is the correct protocol.
Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be saved out of it. (Jer 30:7)
The Lord will bring Israel one final time ‘to pass under the rod’ (Exe 20:37) to bring them into the bond of the new covenant (Jer 31:31) and bring them into the their own land cleansed of all uncleanness and idolatry, filled with His Spirit to walk in His statutes and judgments. The Lord will work righteousness into Israel that there will forever be peace, quietness and assurance (Isa 32:17) which the nation is not today, surrounded by enemies and living with daily threats to annihilate them.
After 'speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God' (Acts 1:3) the disciples understood of the restoration again of the Kingdom to Israel (Acts 1:6). Is there anything in the church today that has the latent power within us that can 'provoke them to jealousy' (Rom 11:11). In the forth coming days of Jacob’s trouble when the LORD will bring the Jewish people into the wilderness of the nations, can we, at that opportune time attained to the maturity in spiritual stature to represent YHWH to plead with them face to face (Eze 20:35).
We should not be sentimental about Israel but love the nation as the way that Yeshua (YHWH is salvation) would love them and neither should we take sides (Josh 5:14) for the current nation is not the Jewish nation of God’s intent. ‘For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest’ (Isa 62:1). Likewise, as we pray for Israel, we pray for the church and ourselves because we need to be a people and individuals of God’s intent. What then should be our prayers for Israel?
2. ‘…and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth’ (Isa 62:1), for in His light we see light (Psa 36:9). There need to be the breaking of the curse of having eyes that cannot see (Isa 6:10, Matt 13:15, Acts 28:27) for light is very important for seeing and it is in darkness that we can stumble. The gentile church must soberly remember that the blindness of Israel is temporal ‘until the fullness of the gentiles have come in’ (Rom 11:25) than ‘all Israel shall be saved’ (Rom 6:26).
3. ‘…and thy land shall be married’ (Isa 62:4). Pray that Israel will be ‘the branch of my planting’ (Isa 60:21), the work of God’s hands, that He may be glorified. This means that the nation will know that salvation comes not from peace negotiations nor help from her ‘lovers’ (Jer 30:14) who would eventually forsake her but help comes from YHWH out of mount Zion (Joel 2:32). How is God glorified? ‘Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples’ (John 15:8). Fruit not from self effort and the Israel of today is strong and self confident in the face of their enemies, for only the poor in spirit will inherit the Kingdom of God (Matt 5:3)
How long should be pray? ‘And give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth’ (Isa 62:7) for we the gentile church together with the remnant of Israel who are represented by the seven thousand who have not bowed their knees to baal (Rom 11:4,5) will be included together in the New Jerusalem (Rev 21:2)
Friday, September 03, 2010
The Shema
And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.
And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.
(Deut 6:5-9)
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