God’s victors of the end-time

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The restored (re-established) concept of God’s offer of mercy brought to us by the Lamb of God.
Revelation 6:1-2 "And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. And I saw, and behold a white horse; and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer."
The Book of Revelation knows three kinds of judgements of the Lamb of God:
• The seven seal judgements;
• The seven trumpet judgements;
• The seven vial judgements.

These judgements are coming more and more severely over the world of sinful mankind. In principle these judgements are meant to make mankind see that they are to sincerely repent before God of their sins, if they are to be spared God's judgement.
Isaiah 26:9b "...for when Thy judgements are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness."
At the beginning of this sermon we read about the first seal judgement, and God's Word says in 1 Peter 4:17 the following:
"For the time is come that judgement must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?"
Thus, the first seal judgement is meant for the Church, the house of God, for the repentance of the Church. This is to happen by the preaching of God's Word (will). But this Word was damaged by satan[1] from the beginning; it was weakened by human and satanic influences. For only the pure Word of God is mighty and powerful to bring redemption and sanctification to sinful, repentant mankind.
Thus, this first seal judgement is meant by the Lamb to re-establish/restore the spoken word, the Word of Truth, in order that it is brought in the power and according to God's intention and views/insights. The Word of God that convicts sin, and God's offer of mercy that is offered to mankind in and by the finished sacrifice of the Lamb, must be preached clearly in the Church first.

As already mentioned, satan wanted to damage the Word of God from the beginning, so that it could not have the effect God meant it to have. Satan sealed the roll of Scripture with seven seals. They are seven great sinful bonds, that keep mankind from understanding the true meaning of God's Word because of their by sin darkened thinking. The Lamb, and only the Lamb, can and must break these seals one by one, so that God's Word can be understood clearly again by repentant mankind.
Thus, the first seal that is to be broken brings about the recovery of the understanding of the powerful divine Word, of the divine gospel of redemption. Every recovery happens slowly because of the wrong insight of the Word. He begins to shine His light of judgement in the Church, so that converts might come to Him, and He could grant them mercy and proclaim to them the Word, the Word of the cross; and to make them into conquerors/victors by and in the power of His Word and Spirit, in order that He could use them later as heralds of this victory over sin and satan.
For this purpose He re-introduces the Baptism in the Holy Spirit in the Church, which in this vision of John's on Patmos, is typified by the white horse, the power of God, which God's laborer and servant is to wear.
Much is taught wrongly about this white horse and its rider. At first one was taught that this rider is Christ Himself, but this rider still had to overcome in the end-time, while Jesus Christ already won the victory over satan on Calvary almost 2000 years ago.
Then, one is taught, again wrongly, that this rider is the antichrist. This, too, cannot be true, as the white horse in scriptural sense typifies God's power and righteousness. Besides this rider was crowned with the victor's crown, and he rides conquering and to conquer, while the antichrist, from God's point of view, is anything but a conqueror.
Ezekiel 21:25-27 "And thou, profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come, when iniquity shall have an end, Thus saith the Lord God; Remove the diadem, and take off the crown: this shall not be the same: exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high. I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him."
He (the antichrist) here is called the 'prince of Israel', because he maintains to be the returned Christ, the King of Israel.
The true meaning of this white horse and his rider is, that here the victors of the end-time are pictured. Here God's servant of the last days is pictured, who stands and goes in the victory over sin and satan which he gained by being planted together with the victory of the Lamb, with His death and resurrection (Romans 6:5).
This is the reason we do not see an arrow here, no weapon of attack, for the battle against satan was fought by the Lamb 2000 years ago, and the victory was won and the debt of sin paid for. But he holds forth the true Word of God, typified here by the bow, triumphantly. In this way he lifts up the Word of the cross.

CLICK HERE if you want to read this study – that is to long for the Blog.

By E. van den Worm

[1] We write the word satan not with a capital, as it is not a name, but a word meaning opponent or adversary, accuser.

LUKE (Chapter 13) The purification of the holy place in order to come to “the end of all flesh” (Part 2)

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The rejection of unrepentant Judaism – until the time of the end.

The majority of the Jews and their leaders in Jesus' time lived an unrepentant life.
Luke 13 verse 1-5: "There were present at that season some that told him of the Galileans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galileans were sinners above all the (other) Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all (other) men that dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish."
Here the Lord reproached the Jews in His days for their un-repentance... Not only the Galileans, that were slain by the sword of Pilate, but all Galileans were sinners. Not only were those inhabitants of Jerusalem, who were buried by the fallen tower of Siloam, sinners, but all inhabitants were! This does not mean, that the Jews of Jesus' days were not religious. They most certainly were! But their religious practices and actions came from their (sinful) flesh; they did everything by following their self-will. And, even if the works of the flesh seem right in the eyes of men, they are always diametrically opposed (and thus contrary) to God's will. For God wants us to turn to Him with all our heart (and soul), so that we may be open to His works of grace; that we come to the true purification and sanctification of our life and inner being. If this is a spiritual truth today, in the days when Jesus walked on the earth and lived among men, it was exactly the same! We must therefore be willing to be delivered from our self-will! For this self-will is always at war with the will of God; even if sometimes, superficially, it seems to agree with God's will (Romans 8:5-8)!

A life without sincere repentance is unfruitful for God's Kingdom.
Luke 13 verse 6-9: "He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground? And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down."
In above text God the Father is pictured as the owner of a vineyard, and that vineyard is the world. And in that world He had planted a fig-tree, and that fig-tree is God's symbol (of the twelve tribes) of Israel. The dresser of the vineyard here is the symbol for the Lord Jesus Christ.
The three years that the owner (i.e. God the Father) waited for the fruit of the fig-tree (i.e. Israel), are an indication of God's offer of grace to Israel. In the Old Covenant time this happened through the shed blood of sacrificial animals; and in the light of the New Testament it is an indication of God's offer of grace (in the first place to the Jews – see Note 1 on page 3) in and through the sacrifice on the cross (and the shed blood) of the Lamb of God. All bloody sacrifices of the Old Testament pointed to the perfect Lamb, and thus the perfect sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. After all, He was to spend three days and three nights "in the heart of the earth", when He fulfilled that offering (see Matthew 12:40).
Our conversion and our belief in God's perfect sacrifice and in the omnipotence of Jesus, His Son, is a necessity for God, and the only way to bring about a NEW LIFE of spiritual fertility within us (and to develop it). His works of grace had to do that for the Jews in those days, and must do it for us also today. However, this is only possible when there is a sincere longing in us to surrender all self-will to Jesus Christ; a desire to be completely delivered from our self-will. Just as Jesus Christ was killed on the cross (and had to be killed) for our sins, so too must we covet (and pray for) this process of the cross in our thinking, heart and life, whereby we express the will that we too are prepared to completely die to our old and sinful ego, to our sinful "flesh". When the Lord sees this sincere desire in us, then it shall be done in our life, so that all thoughts and desires, all our actions and walk, etc. which are not according to His will and pleasing, be de-stroyed, over and over again.
The fig-tree (type of a religious Jew) bore no fruit, but only leaves. And leaves only serve the life of the tree itself; but fruit serves the reproduction, and serves the life of others. A religion according to one’s own view therefore is always ego-centric, and will always seeks one's own advantage and honor, even if this is often hidden under beautiful show moti-vations. It is only the love of God, planted in the purified heart of man, which brings forth eternal fruit.
We also see from this parable, that our Savior is very patient, and that His sole purpose is to grant us grace (still). That therefore was the reason the dresser of the vineyard (type of the Lord Jesus Christ) requested another year's respite of the owner (type of God the Father). He wanted to give extra care to the tree (type of the religious Jew) by digging around the tree, and fertilizing it. As you can see, we have a wonderful (and very gracious) High Priest, Who prays and intercedes for us with God, and Who wishes to bring us to repentance by allowing trials in our life, and Who wishes to put His pre-cious Word in our heart. These trials and this Word of God must convict us of our un-repentance, and of our self-willed attitude; they are to cause us to repent and surrender to Him, that He cleanse us of all dead works, and of all sinful thoughts and desires.
We see the same patience with regard to the Jews of those days in Israel. The judgment of God did not follow immediately after the rejection and crucifixion of the Son of man. God waited approximately another forty years, and during that period the Gospel of His grace was proclaimed among the Jews. It was only around the year 70 B.C. that God's judgment was fulfilled over this nation. Then the city of Jerusalem was burned down by the Roman armies, and many were killed by the sword. The survivors were exiled from their country... and were scattered over the whole earth!

The Pharisee, the false laborer, came into being by the unrepentant life of the Jews at the time.
Luke 13 verse 10-17: "And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself. And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity. And he laid his hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God. And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that Jesus had healed on the Sabbath day, and said unto the people, There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day. The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering? And ought not this woman, being a daughter (of the line) of Abraham, whom satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years (already), be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day? And when he had said these things, all his adversaries were ashamed: and all the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him."
We see a woman, who, because of a decease in the muscles, had become very crooked, and had been bent down for eighteen years already, and was not able to straighten herself. It is the same with sin within us. It can bind us in such a way, that we cannot but sin. The same way the drunkard is driven to his strong liquor; the junkie to his needle; the whore-hopper to the whores; the adulterer (and thus married man) to his mistresses; the gambler to the gambling house! It (sin) then has become such in that life, that one cannot do without it anymore (and often does not want to either). How far a person who follows (likes to follow) his own will, in whichever way of life, can be driven away from the (complete) freedom of sin and bondages we (can) have in Jesus Christ, our Savior. Therefore, beloved, it is important that we obey Him in all things! Let us therefore seek Jesus at all times, that He, through our faith in His sacrifice on the cross, make it possible for us to – in and by Him – be completely free from every sin and every bondage. He will deliver us from all bondages, just as He did that for that woman on that Sabbath. It was Sabbath, when Jesus delivered her. The same way we, too, will be (completely) delivered by Jesus, when we are and remain in that Sabbath of faith – by the which are meant the rest in faith and the subjection wherein we expect everything from Him – because by His death on the cross He brought about eternal redemption from all works of darkness for us (Hebrews 9:12).
Just as Jewry by its un-repentance brought forth Pharisees, so you and I will be hypocrites in all labor for Jesus if we do not repent to the depth of our heart (and soul) in order to (be able to) receive from Him all the necessary works of grace in our heart and life. The Pharisees occupied themselves, zealously, with useless religious acts, whereby they eventually ruined themselves more and more, because these religious acts had nothing to do with (the service and subjection to) the LIVING God; with the result that they were kept in bondage of (the power of) sin. The Pharisees were, and continued to be, money grabbers and were desirous of the honor (and appreciation) of people! You can see how dangerous a religion can be when one follows (or likes to follow) one's self-will; for one only deceives oneself!

CLICK HERE if you want to read this study (Chapter 13) – that is to long for the Blog.

By E. van den Worm

The prophecy of Ethan, the Ezrahite

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About the perfect New Covenant in Christ Jesus implied in Psalm 89.

Psalm 89 verse 15-18:
"Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance. In they name shall they rejoice all the day: and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted. For thou art the glory of their strength: and in thy favor our horn shall be exalted. For the Lord is our defence; and the Holy One of Israel is our king."

This is a prophetic Word, taught by Ethan, the Ezrahite. For the Old-Testament believer lived on divine promises, which he had not yet obtained in his earthly life.
Hebrews 11:39-40, "And these all, having obtained a good report (of God; that they pleased Him) through faith (in God's promises, Word), received not the promise (of God); God having provided some better thing for us (of the New Covenant), that they without us should not be made perfect (we are to teach then in Jesus' Millennium, and are to lead them to perfection in Him)."
Let us look at these verses in Psalm 89 in the light of the end-times.
Psalm 89, verse 15a: "Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound (of the perfect, true Word of God)..."
In the end-times the eternal Gospel will be proclaimed.
Revelation 14:6, "And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven (the kingdom of heaven on earth, which is the Church), having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people."
It is only by this Gospel that sinful man can be brought into the perfect salvation, and into the perfect rebirth of God, and so to walk in God's light.
God's Gospel knows the teaching of grace, of forgiveness of sins by the repentance of the sinner and by his washing in the shed blood of the Lamb of God; but also the teaching of the perfection, the perfection in Christ. This doctrine will only be fully taught, understood and accepted in the end-times.
The so-called "foolish virgins"[1] of Matthew 25:2-3 only accept the teaching of grace of God's Word, the forgiveness of sins by the washing in Jesus' blood.
The "wise virgins"[2] also accept the teaching of perfection of the Gospel, the perfecting sanctification in and by the power of the Spirit. The teaching of perfection is, amongst others, expressed in Ephesians 4 verse 13:
"Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (the full nature of Christ)."
Psalm 89, verse 15b: "...they (the Christians) shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance."
These Christians shall then, in perfect purity, delivered from all darkness of sin, live, walk and work in the light of God's Spirit.

His sudden, INvisible return in the Spirit.
This return of Jesus Christ shall first be introduced by His Spirit of sanctification[3], Which shall reveal Itself as fire in order to deliver those, who have accepted Him as such, completely from all sin.
Malachi 3:1-4, "Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap: And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in former years."
The first Angel is God's Spirit, Who, through His anointed servants, prepares God's people to open themselves willingly for His purifying fire.
(In the end-times) the Church has been lulled into a spiritual sleep by satan[4] (see also Joel 1:1-20).
Matthew 25:1-7, "Then shall the kingdom of heaven (here on earth) be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh: go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps."
When, in the end-times, the Word of God is preached in the full light of the Spirit, there will be a general wakening in the Church from this sleep of sin (both the foolish and the wise shall spiritually awake; verse 7). Thereafter the Spirit of Jesus Christ shall reveal Itself as a purifying fire in all the willing, in all who truly love Him.
Matthew 3:11-12, "I (John the Baptist) indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."
This fire of the Holy Spirit shall burn up all the chaff (the old, sinful life) that is on the threshing floor of our heart. We must suffer this purification patiently. Then He shall build His divine Christ-nature in us; let us share in the marriage of the Lamb; unite Himself in and through His Spirit with His Bride.

The characteristics of the Christ-life of the Bride of the Lamb.
1) Continuous joy and divine righteousness characterize her then, when she experiences the marriage or union with the Lamb.
Psalm 89, verse 16: "In thy name shall they rejoice all the day: and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted."
Revelation 19:6-8, "And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints."
2) Divine glory and authority will then characterize her.
Psalm 89, verse 17: "For thou art the glory of their strength: and in thy favor our horn (strength) shall be exalted."
Participation in the marriage will further give the Bride of the Lamb divine glory and power. She will be clothed with the sun of God's righteousness, and will be crowned with the crown of twelve stars of the Holy Spirit.
Revelation 12:1, "And there appeared a great wonder in heaven (i.e. the kingdom of heaven, namely the Bride[church] here on earth); a woman (i.e. the wife of the Lamb) clothed with the sun (type of the Father), and the moon (type of the blood covenant of the Son) under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars (type of the Holy Spirit)."
During and after the marriage she will be glorified with the sun dress of the Father's righteousness. She stands on the moon, the blood covenant of the Lamb, and she is crowned with the crown of twelve stars of the Holy Spirit. This divine glory will also be seen and experienced by the people around the Bride of the Lamb.
Isaiah 60:1-3, "Arise, shine: for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising."

3) Her Christ-life is also characterized by complete divine protection against satan.
4) Finally she will – "at a point in time" – be changed, and her body shall put on eternal divine glory.
Psalm 89, verse 18: "For the Lord is our defence; and the Holy One of Israel is our king."
Zechariah 2:5, "For I, saith the Lord, will be unto her (the Bride of the Lamb) a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her."
Let us therefore meet this hectic end-time, full of satanic injustice, revelations of obscure (occult) powers and great divine judgments, with good courage in the protection and glory of our almighty God.

Amen.

By E. van den Worm

[1] See – on our Website http://www.endtime-messenger.com/ – the study: “The 5 wise and the 5 foolish virgins and their destiny in the end-time”, from E. van den Worm.
[2] See note 1.
[3] See - on our Website - the study: "Sanctification", from E. van den Worm
[4] We write the word satan not with a capital, as it is not a name, but a word meaning opponent or adversary, accuser.

The prophecy of Ethan, the Ezrahite - PDF for printing

LUKE (Chapter 12) - The cleansing/purification of the holy place in order to come to “the end of all flesh” (Part 1)

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Seven "Christian" demons or "holy" devils.
"When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out. And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first" (Luke 11:24-26).
Through faith in the Word of God and in the shed blood of Calvary a man (re)turns to the Lord Jesus with all his heart, and by the Word of God, in the power of the Holy Spirit, the demon dwelling in him, which he had mostly obeyed, is cast out. Alleluia! So this man's inner being was completely cleansed in the blood of Jesus, and, in due time it was garnished with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. This man became a Christian.
But this exorcised demon of worldly lust, of worldly desires (1 John 2:16), that used to dwell in him, returns because it longs to live in its former "house" again. But this person, in whom this demon used to dwell, now has been cleansed spiritually; he now is a Christian obedient to the Word, and even baptized with God's Spirit! And, one would expect that such a worldly spirit like this demon, which is very rebellious and hostile towards God, would find no more entry into the life of this Christian. But, if it would succeed, it could defile this life again with its presence, so that the Spirit of God would eventually have to leave this person. But then this demon would have to act very, very cunningly! For this person does not want to behave in an unchristian way. And, because this demon knows it, it will tolerate that Christian behavior. But, it goes away to get seven other demons to help it to stalk and repossess the "house" (namely the heart) it used to live in. These seven other demons are more cunning that the first one. The first one is very rebellious towards God, but the others act in a sneakier way. All seven of them wear a white, "Christian" robe. And this robe gives them a "Christian" look, whereby they are accepted easier by Christians. In this way the old demon returns to this Christian, hidden amongst these seven "Christian" demons.
Unfortunately (too) many Christians think that, after the (inward) renewal by the Word and the Holy Ghost, nothing can happen to them anymore. God Himself delivered them from the "old man" after all, they think. Let us study more closely the work of these seven "Christian" demons, one by one. God's Word revealed them in Luke 12.

The first demon: the "Eye of men".
The first demon is called "Eye of men", and it is all too eager to point out fellow brothers and sisters, neighbors, or people we work with at the office or at the factory, and it whispers in our ear:
"Now that you have repented you must behave like a Christian, for it is written that as a Christian you must labor worthy of that repentance. So, especially see to it, that the people you see daily, do not see you play around. Wrong words and/or deeds, you tend to do in weakness. Therefore cover these carefully, and show yourself as a tough follower of Christ. If you are alone or in strange surroundings or abroad, where no knows you, then it does not matter."
Brother and sister, do you hear these whisperings in your ear too? Then rebuke this demon "Eye of men". Bind it in the Name of Jesus, and cast it out in that same Name, in outer darkness where it belongs! Have nothing to do with "Eye of men". You only have to heed the (all seeing) eye of God! You have not repented unto people, but unto God. It is not your attitude towards people which is decisive, but it is your attitude towards God. We should please our Lord Jesus Christ in everything.
This demon distracts us from our wonderful Savior, and draws our attention to the people. If we let ourselves be deceived by it, then our Christian life will be a game of hide-and-seek between you and your acquaintances, between you and your brothers and sisters. Therefore God's Spirit will have to leave you, because you cannot hear His divine voice, which wants you to focus your whole being on your Redeemer and Savior, anymore. And this Christian demon of hypocrisy will take possession of your heart and will dwell in it in the place of the Holy Spirit. This "Christian" demon in us will see to it that we wear a "Christian" mask when we are near acquaintances, but especially in the presence of the leader, and in the (congregational) meetings. You will behave just like the Pharisees and the lawyers. And because you have become so keen on what people think of you, it goes without saying that you will seek the honor, and thus the appreciation, of people, for in their eyes you want to be a good, blessed Christian. And this praise of people will see to it, that deep in our heart, the old pride we have come to detest so when we repented, will rear its head again. It was because of pride in the Pharisees that they took the prominent seats in the synagogue and loved the greetings in the markets.
Again, brother and sister, do not let yourselves be deceived by "Eye of men", for one day, on the day of judgment, every person will know what you thought in the depths of your own heart; or what you spoke, even if it was in your inner room.
Luke 12 verse 1-3: "In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, in-somuch that they trod one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven (symbol of sin that spreads) of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known. Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops."
Let us see to it that we be delivered from "Eye of men", before we are called to justice; otherwise it shall be our accuser before God and let Him know that you have always obeyed and served it!

The second demon: "Fear of men".

Luke 12 verse 4-7: "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. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him. Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings (coins of little value), and not one of them is forgotten before God? But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows."
The second demon is called "Fear of men". It will see to it that you will see your unconverted neighbors as giants, having a finger in many pies; whom you are to fear. This same demon influenced ten of the twelve spies of Israel (see Numbers 13). It also is all too eager to incite our tongue, that unruly evil, to gossip and other evil (see James 3:1-18). Let us see what all it whispers in our ear:
"Be very careful to whom you proclaim the gospel; for you know that God's Word speaks of "casting pearls before swine", and that these swine can turn around and tear you to pieces... Such people do not understand you anyway, and you will become an object of mockery and scorn, and surely you don't want that; what a disgrace that would be! Be very careful that you do not talk too much to people about the gospel; they might call you a fanatic (namely a religious fanatic), or even religiously deranged! Imagine them telling your boss. You most certainly would come into his bad books! No, always be sober about witnessing for Jesus. The Holy Spirit will send people to you, who (like) to listen to you, and ask you to tell them more about the gospel. I think it would be better to be quiet about it yourself. For this way you will always be accepted by people. Why should you make more enemies than is necessary? The Lord chose you to hear, and accept, the gospel... and you are saved thereby. That is wonderful! Certainly the Lord will also draw others He has chosen thereto. After all He said: "Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit will it happen!" So leave it to His Spirit, do not do it yourself... Rather testify, if that is what you want, in the church, among your brothers and sisters; they at least will understand..."
This way "Fear of men" will draw away your attention from (the ALmighty) Jesus; and will show you the power and might of the worldly people; and also their unrepentant attitude. But, my brother and sister, do remember this well: our testimony of Jesus should not in any way be dependent on that. We are to completely focus on the Holy Ghost! We must labor according to His will, and testify in His strength. He (i.e. the Holy Spirit) will then glorify the Lord Jesus through us. He will not bring people to us, but will lead us to people and places where we must speak in the Name of Jesus, and testify of Him. Even if this person is our boss at work or at the factory; even if they are highly placed people. We must not (and may not) be ashamed of the gospel! Shame for Jesus and His gospel message is the deceitful poison "Fear of men" pours into our hearts. For we (must) know that the Holy Spirit, in all circumstances and with all people, will give us wisdom and thus the right words in our mouth; but for this our attitude must be like that of every Christian, namely that we are saved to save others. We must learn to understand the gentle prodding of the Spirit at this point, and learn to develop the gifts of ministry given to us. So He will lead us on our way (of life) in the first place to always be a witness of Jesus through our conduct, but also, at His command and with His guidance, testify of Him.
Finally, the demon "Fear of men" can put so much fear to testify in our heart that we, because of this fear, not only will be quiet about our faith, but that we even will deny our Savior, when the people ask us about our religious denomination!

Luke 12 verse 8-9: "Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God: But he that denieth me before men shall be denied before the angels of God."
Let us therefore never again look to people, but only focus on the Lord Jesus. We should not (want to) be men pleasers... but God pleasers! Let us plead with Him prayerfully to fill us so with His Holy Spirit, that God's Word be in us like a fire that will blaze up in us into an unstoppable flame of love unto salvation and healing of souls. And, if we are thus on fire for Him, He will make us irresistible witnesses by the great compassion for souls He has poured out into our hearts. All power and love to witness, all gifts of ministry come from the Lord Jesus Christ. It is because of that that He told His disciples to stay in Jerusalem until they would have received the power to witness from above; and this power and gifts (of ministry) we will only receive when we are truly filled with His Holy Spirit.
When we have received the baptism with the Spirit – and this is only really so when the biblical seal of new tongues proves it – then let us not leave it there, but ask God's Holy Spirit for more anointing and power to testify of Jesus, that we, without resisting Him, can be send out into His field of labor on account of the loving urge of the indwelling Holy Spirit. And this, purely and solely for the salvation of lost souls and for the edification – namely increase, in numbers, but especially in spiritual depth – of the Body of Christ.
Not only will "Fear of men" keep us from speaking, so that we hardly or not dare to testify of Him to this humanity which is becoming increasingly more sinful; but it may get to the point that we deny our beloved Savior, when socially higher placed persons inquire after our denomination; most certainly if this may cost us our job (or worse). We also may be so filled with intense fear by it towards people (who think differently), that we finally may join the mockers of the gospel. At first we will join in the laughter, but in the long run we will mock as well... It is something the Lord will never forgive, because this is an unforgivable sin: namely the sin against the Holy Spirit! In the light of the grace of Jesus one will then have trespassed in the Holy of holies...

Luke 12 verse 10: "And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven."
A permanent hardening will take place in such a heart, and there will not be the slightest form of remorse, and in his heart no desire will arise for a restored relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.
"Fear of men" will be especially active in times of persecution. Before these difficult times will begin, let us already have learned to walk in His fullness and according to His wonderful Word and infallible guidance, expecting everything from Him. So that, when, and in whichever way, earthly or spiritual foes make our life miserable for us, He will deliver us out of these troubles.
Luke 12 verse 11-12: "And when they bring you unto the synagogues, and unto magistrates, and powers, take ye no thought how or what thing ye shall answer, or what ye shall say: For the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say."


CLICK HERE if you want to read this study (Chapter 12) – that is to long for the Blog.

By E. van den Worm

The 7 characteristics

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The 7 characteristics of a true and anointed servant of the Lord Jesus Christ and member of the Bride of the Lamb in the end-time

What Scripture says about this:
1. They bring to the Lord as a burnt offering, all of their old, sinful life.
Isaiah 61:8 "For I the Lord love judgement, I hate robbery for burnt offering; and I will direct their work in truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them."

They hate their old, sinful life wherein they are bound, and give it to the Lamb of God that they be completely delivered from it by the divine sharing in His death on Calvary; this being brought about by the washing in His shed blood and the purifying power of the Holy Ghost's fire. God hates the robbery for burnt offering. This means, that we should not surrender in part unto redemption, but wholly. His true servants live up to this and strive for perfect sanctification by the Holy Spirit of the Lamb of God; of our Lord Jesus Christ.

2) Then the Lord Jesus will call such true servants to partake of the marriage supper of the Lamb, and they will obey His voice.
Revelation 19:9 "And he (the messenger angel of God to the apostle John) saith to me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God."

For the rest of their life they will then continually partake of the Lamb's marriage supper-table. This means that they preserve their salvation by the Lamb by continually bearing about in their heart His dying (see 2 Cor. 4:10-11).

3) Then the Lamb will accept them as future members of His Bride and will prepare them hereto.
Luke 17:34-37 "I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken and the other left. Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together."

He will gather them as members of His active Body.

4) The spiritual burning of the Holy Ghost's fire will then purify them and completely free them from sin.
Not only forgive, but also free them from their bonds of sin.
Malachi 3:1-4 "Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap: And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, and they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in former years."

Levi is the tribe of Israel serving the Lord in His tabernacle and temple, and symbolically stands for the true, anointed servants who serve the Lord as bringers of the Word.
If they are sanctified they will be able to bring God's Word as a pure offering in righteousness to the Church. Judah and Jerusalem are symbolic for the New-Testament Church of the Lord. By this fire and the spirit of sanctification God's servant is made faultless, without spot and without wrinkle (see Ephesians 5:27); and he walks and works as a perfect conqueror over satan and sin (see Revelation 12:11). He will prepare and use such persons as true Gospel preachers and teachers in the world, and will mark them among the workers as such by their charisma and anointing.
Isaiah 61:9 "And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring among the people: all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which the Lord hath blessed."

5) He shall clothe them with the garments of salvation, with the robe of righteousness, and with His divine nature (2 Peter 1:4).
Isaiah 61:10a "I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness;..."

Revelation 19:8 "And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints."

Psalm 45:13-15 "The king's daughter is all glorious within: her clothing is of wrought gold. (And outwardly:) She shall be brought unto the king in raiment of needlework: the virgins her companions that follow her shall be brought unto thee. With gladness and rejoicing shall they be brought: they shall enter into the king's palace."

6) When the marriage has taken place, He will adorn His Bride with divine glory and authority.
Isaiah 61:10b "...as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels."

Revelation 12:1 "And there appeared a great wonder in heaven (i.e. the kingdom of heaven, namely the Bride[church] here on earth); a woman (i.e. the wife of the Lamb) clothed with the sun (type of the Father), and the moon (type of the blood covenant of the Son) under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars (type of the Holy Spirit)."

a) The sun stands for the justice and glory of the Father;
b) the moon for the Lamb of God and His blood covenant, wherein the Bride of the Lamb stands;
c) the twelve stars for the omnipotence and authority of the Holy Ghost, with which she is crowned.
She then is clothed with all the glory of God. Great power, knowledge and wisdom of the Holy Ghost is then put onto God's true, anointed servant, preparing him so for his final battle and labour in the Lord.
He will gird on (equip) them inwardly and outwardly with the whole armour of God.
Ephesians 6:10-13: “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in the high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”

7) When the marriage (the union with the Lamb) has taken place He shall use His servant as His instrument worldwide
in order to
1) restore the Church, which has deteriorated because of satan; and
2) to bring about the worldwide revival, whereby the harvest shall be innumerable (Revelation 7:9; 14:14-16).

Isaiah 61:11 "For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations."

CLICK HERE if you want to read this study – that is to long for the Blog – further.

By E. van den Worm

LUKE (Chapter 11) - Our life must be a lovely fragrance (namely as of incense) before God’s countenance

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In the light of the Israeli Tabernacle we must see this chapter in the sign of the altar of incense. For the altar of incense is the place where we, in prayer and worship, come to God and His Christ.
When we have read all chapters so far, we have seen the divine ascent (by the which a higher spiritual level is meant) in the heavenly Tabernacle. We went from the sevenfold candlestick, which typifies the revelation of God's Good (Gospel) Message in the power of the LIVING Christ, to the table with the twelve show loaves, which speaks of communion with this powerful (and LIVING) Word of God, whereby the sinner changes into a child of God, into a show loaf of and for God, in this sinful world. By this experience of the indwelling Christ and His mighty, inner workings, the child of God comes to true worship of his great Redeemer and Savior; of his great Lord and God, with which we then (in the spirit) have come near to the altar of incense. And every time the revelation of His Word in us becomes more wonderful and glorious, we come to a deeper experience of communion with Him, which goes together with an increasing dying to self; whereby we come to glorious worship of our Savior and God.
In this way we become acquainted, over and over again, and in increasing measure, with this divine triangle in the holy place of His spiritual tabernacle: namely with the candlestick, the table of show loaves, and the altar of incense. It is this divine triangle which sanctifies us by the power of His blood, His Word and His Holy Spirit. It is also this divine triangle which – when we will have finally been completely freed of all flesh (namely of all our sins and our sinful nature) – will let us, through the veil, into the perfect life of God's Holy of holies. And this perfect (and thus holy) life God's Bride(church) must already have here on earth in order to be able to experience the wedding feast with her heavenly Bridegroom, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Part I: How we must come to God in prayer
11 verse 1-2a: "And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples. And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name."

1: We must come to Him in absolute acceptance of His Fatherhood, in obedience and respect for Him. In the very first place our altar of incense (in the spirit) must be characterized by worship of our great God and His, for us, so lovely Name.
In those days, when Israel's high priest had to enter the Holy of holies once a year, at the Great Day of Atonement, he was to do this with in the one hand the blood of sacrificial animals (for the atonement of sins), and in the other hand the smoking censer (Leviticus 16:12-14). This incense is symbolical for our worship. Before everything else, we must come to Him with praise and worship!
We will not look at seven points in total, to see how we can come to Him in (and by) our prayer-life. We saw that the first point was: come to Him in worship, namely in surrender of our sinful being on the basis of the shed blood of Lamb of God.

2: We must come to Him with absolute acceptance of His divine lordship.
11 verse 2b: "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth."
We do not come to God to, in the first place, ask Him for something, but we come in the first place to Him to give ourselves to Him. "Thy Kingdom come." Where? Deep within our own heart. "Thy will be done." Where? Again, deep within our own heart, in our own life! For, God must be able to, after His will and pleasing, be King (and thus Lord – Ruler) in our own heart and life, that He fulfill His will – in and through us – just as He can do this in heaven!

3: We must come to Him pleading upon His blood.
11 verse 3: "Give us day by day our daily bread."
We know that this "bread" does not only refer to the bread in the literal sense, wherewith we feed our body, but also and in particular, to the spiritual food, which is the "Bread of Life". For this "Bread of Life" is His flesh – the true spiritual food – and His blood –the true spiritual drink– (see John 6:51-58). And this is called the Word of the cross, by the which is meant His sacrifice on the cross for us (for the atonement of sins). Therefore we must look upon His finished work on Calvary, and plead upon His (atoning) blood, but we also must form one planting with this atoning sacrifice of His, whereby is meant that we, too, must be willing to completely die (off) to our old, and thus sinful, life (Romans 6:5; 2 Corinthians 4:10-11).
As we now know, Israel's high priest was not allowed to enter the Holy of holies without this atoning blood (of sacrificial animals), just as he was not allowed to enter without incense. If he did, he would be killed – just like Nadab and Abihu, Aaron's sons (see Leviticus 10:1-2), were slain by God's judgment.
"Give us day by day our daily bread". So we must come to Him, daily cleansed by His blood, and daily sharing, in the spirit, His dying on Calvary. This is what we need from Him day by day.

4: We must come to Him confessing all our sins of the past (and with all our needs).
11 verse 4a: "And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us."
As well as confessing our sins God must be able to find in our heart the willingness to forgive others, who are indebted to us. And it must be such a willingness, that when they come to us for forgiveness for their crime, we (in the same moment) will be able to do so with all our heart. As children of God we should not harbor any grudges and/or hatred against anyone, whatever they may have done (or still do) to us. We must have forgiven them in our heart already, so that when they come, we, urged by God's love, will be able to grant them that forgiveness (Mark 11:25-26).

5: We must develop a sincere desire to be (completely) purified and sanctified by Him.
11 verse 4b: "And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil."
Herewith are meant the needs of the future; the time lying before us. Prayerfully ask the Lord to put a deep longing in your heart for complete purification and sanctification; it is a prayer very pleasing to God. This will lead us to a life wherein we will be completely free from (the power of) the evil one, whereby we also will be completely free from sin, and from the power of our sinful flesh and our sinful lusts! The plea: "Deliver us from evil" means: "Father, deliver us (completely) from all dark desires, so that the evil one and his temptations will have no hold over us anymore; because our sinful flesh and our sinful lusts will be dead completely through Your works of grace." Then our flesh can be no playground for the evil one anymore! He wants to take us there; and this will also happen if our heart is sincerely aimed at this.

6: We must come to Him with perseverance and boldness.
11 verse 5-8: "And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him? And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee. I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth."
We must come to Him with the same perseverance and the same boldness as this shameless friend. God will then give us what we desire (after His will and pleasing). We may come to God and boldly claim His promises, given in His Word.
This friend asked shamelessly for three loaves; and these are symbolic for the perfection in God! He is the type for the sinner who comes to God and claims His promise of perfection in Him... in order to, in the fullness of His nature and being, be able to serve others in the midnight hour; in the hour when the dark forces will rule (as never before)... He asked for the three loaves in order to stand (and persist) as a pillar of God in the midst of the storms of this age – storms of unrighteousness, because the majority of humanity live without norms and values, without God and His law – to be for others in this world as God's channel of salvation and NEW LIFE!

CLICK HERE if you want to read this study (Chapter 11) – that is to long for the Blog.

By E. van den Worm

Turn (away) from your evil ways

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Leave the dimension of darkness
Ezekiel 33:11 "Say to them, says Adonai YaHWeH, I do not rejoice over the death of those who are evil, but I do rejoice in the conversion of their lifestyle. Turn away, turn away from your evil ways, for why should you die, o House of Israel?" (literal translation)
Repentance is an act of will of man, when he turns to God, and is willing to leave his sinful ways. However, it is not merely a deed at the beginning of a life, that seeks renewal through God; but it is an attitude of life for each new day thereafter. We live in a world, wherein the evil one reigns; a world which is under the strong influence of the inspiration, work and management of the evil one and his forces.
Ephesians 2:1-3 "And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others."
Ephesians 6:12 "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."
Previously, we all thought, lived and worked in the lusts of our flesh, doing the will of the flesh and of thoughts/ideas of our own.
Romans 8:6-8 "For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God."

Sins in thought lead to sins in words and to sins in deed
Therefore we could not think and live in the flesh, and at the same time want to live the Christian life: going to church and praying. This is an impossibility, because the true Christian life is a different spiritual dimension than carnal living, thinking and working.
Life in the Spirit and according to His will is the dimension of the light, while carnal living is the dimension of darkness, without God. Therefore the Lord does not hear and see them if he prays unto Him.
Isaiah 59:1-2 "Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated (in dimension) between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear."
Therefore the world does not understand us and considers us odd, weird and mad. Therefore: do not leave the dimension of light, and continue to endure living in, and being repentant unto, God.
1 John 1:7 "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin."
Our spirit must continue to walk in the light of God's dimension, but we, in the body, still are in this world and its dimension of darkness. Therefore we are to walk circumspectly, and must wash our feet continually in His blood; because, involuntarily, we come into contact with sin.

What do we have to watch out for?
1. In the first place our thinking is defiled, and it must be washed in His blood immediately, because sinful thoughts will become sinful considerations of the heart, and we will thus be stained with that sin. If we remain in the light of God, we will remain in His Spirit and in His love.

1 John 2:10 "He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him."

2. Our spirit and soul must continue to walk, live and work in the dimension of light in the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, and must avoid the dimension of darkness.
2 Corinthians 6:14-18 "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty."
1 Corinthians 7:1 "Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman."

3. We must take care that our tongue not speak anymore according to the world's thinking.
Matthew 12:36 "But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgement."

4. We must also watch not to walk anymore according to the flesh and in the lusts of the world.
1 John 2:15-17 "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever."

a) The lusts of the flesh lead to the sins of the flesh, to sinful lusts, which lead us to idol worship, to sexual sins. Others again make their belly their idol, and live to eat.
b) The lusts of the eyes lead to the sins of the soul, to craving material things, and to money madness, to mammon worship; to living in luxury.
c) The sinful lusts of the spirit lead to haughtiness; to lust for power; to pride of life; to sinful, woman’s vanity.

Let us therefore take care not to walk in these regions of the dimension of darkness, but continue to walk in the dimension of God's light. Let us therefore practise the circumspection/caution of the righteous.
Let us walk in the spirit of John the Baptist, of whom is said in Luke 1 verse 17:
"And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."
Therefore, continue to think, walk and work daily in the way of life of the repentant unto God. This way we could faithfully obey Him, and continue to walk on the highway of mercy. Then He shall lead us into His heavenly holy place, already here on earth.
Hebrews 4:14-16 "Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need."
In this way the High Priest, our Shepherd, shall, by His Holy Spirit, lead us step by step inwards into the heavenly holy place of God, to our heavenly Father.
John 14:6 "Jesus saith unto him (Thomas), I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me."
He is the only Leader, Who leads us unto eternal life; He alone is the Truth; He alone leads us towards our Father-God, to the almighty, merciful and holy YaHWeH.

By E. van den Worm

Turn (away) from you evil ways

LUKE (Chapter 10) - Like a divine shewbread in this world (Part 2)

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Communion with the Bread of Life brings mission in divine holiness
We see here that unity with Jesus results in holy labor. The number 70 (10 x 7) topologically stands for “perfect holiness”. Thus spiritual labor in perfect holiness is involved here. If, in the first shewbread (Chapter 9:1-11), we saw that our labor must be in the strength of the Holy Spirit (and this, of course, goes for ALL labor in Him), expressed there in the number 12; here we see which spiritual level our labor, in the power of the Holy Ghost, must reach; namely that of perfect holiness.

The number 7 in God’s Bible always points to the end-time, namely to the moment the period of God’s grace (a 2000-year period), wherein we are (still) living now, will be closed. Prophetically this tells us that during the last worldwide revival of God’s latter rain (this is the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the end-time), of which we now already have received “the first drops”, a service in such holiness will be revealed; a service in God’s full justice and power, to which Obadiah 21 refers: “And Saviors (namely God’s anointed) shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau (herewith are meant: worldly Christians); and the kingdom shall be the Lord’s.”

Luke 10 verse 1-2: “After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come. Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth laborers into his harvest."

Let us reflect for a moment on this “therefore” of the Lord. There are only few believers who are willing to work for Jesus with complete dedication of self. It is written, “The harvest is great, but the laborers are few!” As a result of His saints’ prayers, Jesus could bring about a change in this. He could make devoted laborers of repentant sinners, should they really want to; and draw them out of their social jobs to come and work in His Vineyard. Please note: we should not emit ourselves! We should not imagine that we be called, for such an imaginary calling never brings us Jesus’ nec-essary cooperation, namely the anointing of the Spirit, Who must do the work through us. We must be called by Him! And even if we are called and sent by Him, then we still must scrupulously follow his guidance through prayer contact with Him.

There are also different kinds of calling. The one is called to be an evangelist, the other a teacher, yet another a local shepherd, and the next a prophet; and, in the near future, during the worldwide revival of the great latter rain, we will see again apostolic callings. Apostles are the pillars of God’s Church here on earth; “all-round” laborers who will have the general leadership in the power, wisdom and love of the Holy Spirit.
Besides these five great callings we also find the smaller callings of “help” in the spiritual Body of Christ; these are helpers who, amongst others, must help the local shepherd to fulfill his pastoral service, such as: elders, deacons, youth group leaders, Sunday school teachers, choir members and leaders, musicians, typists and printing assistants, etc. We cannot push ourselves into such a calling. Should we do so, we would find out that it does not “work”, because God denies us the necessary anointing and devotion! It is God’s Spirit alone, Who can make us fruitful, in whichever spiritual labor; it is also God, Who determines for us the nature of the calling, because He, as no other, knows our heart. We may have a desire to serve the Lord in a certain calling; but a desire is not a calling (1 Timothy 3:1). However, each calling basically knows the human desire to be able to work for Jesus. But it always is the Lord alone, Who sends (forth) His laborers into His Vineyard (Mark 4:13).

Luke 10 verse 3: “Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves.”

In this short command “Go your ways”, which the Holy Spirit gives, and will give, to His “emissaries”, lies a mighty force to send out, which urges the called to work for Jesus, irresistible drawn by His divine love; even if this labor takes them into circumstances which are not pleasant or comfortable, yes, which even might be dangerous! “Lambs” need the Shepherd; they do not have strength in themselves; their strength is that Shepherd. For when the wolf comes, then it is up to the shepherd to resist and chase off the wolf... Do not imagine that you are strong or clever enough to defeat the wolf, the satanic power, which reveals itself in the worldly person. It is God’s anointing in you which must do it through you! Never forget that you, as Jesus’ laborer, are up against a well organized, spiritual power of darkness, of spiritual evil (demonic forces) in the air which have the present world in their power, and which (in greater or lesser measure) lead all worldly people (Ephesians 6:12). But on the other hand we should also never forget that the Lord Jesus said: “...be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33b). In and by Jesus we will win the victory over the powers of the world and of hell! But this also shows us how important it is for this spiritual battle, to be equipped by Jesus with the full armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-20). The stronger God’s servants are clothed with God’s Spirit, the stronger the resistance of hell will be revealed in the attitude of the worldly person. This is the reason that Jesus warns us for the danger of wolves.

CLICK HERE if you want to read this study (Chapter 10) – that is to long for the Blog.

By E. van den Worm

The hope of divine glory

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Ephesians 1:17-20 "That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places."

When Jesus starts to work in our sinful human nature with His Spirit, we shall first be born again of God and will experience a divine relationship with Him. Then the first spark of life will be ignited in our sinful nature. Thereafter He will baptize us in His Spirit. Generally we then will speak "in tongues" when He has made His abode in us. Scripture also teaches that He first will come and live in our body.
1 Corinthians 6:19 "What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?"
But man does not only exist of a body; he especially is soul and spirit. Thus, God's Spirit must be able to take possession of our inward man, and this is a sanctification process.

1. The first Work of the indwelling Spirit
Now the point is that we should put our old nature continually and willingly in the baptism of fire of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, that our old nature may die at His hand, and the new nature of Christ may grow freely to maturity. This is the first work of the indwelling Spirit of Jesus Christ.
Matthew 3:11-12 "I (John the Baptist) indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."
This divine fire must purify the threshing floor of our heart of all sin, of al the old, sinful life, of all the chaff (the old man), that the pure grain of the new life remain. This is the first work, that the Spirit of God will do after the experience of the baptism in the Spirit, if we submit willingly to Him; we must want, desire, this.
Romans 6:3 "Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?" (this applies to the baptism in water as well as the baptism in the Spirit)
John 16:8 "And when he (the Holy Spirit) is come, he will reprove the world (the worldly mentality, also that of the convert) of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgement."
This chastening (purification) work of the Spirit must result in our absolute sanctification (see the sixth work of the indwelling Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ).

2. The second Work of the indwelling Spirit
He not only wants to cleanse us of sin, He also wants to strengthen us against satan's[1] further attacks and temptations.
Ephesians 3:16 "That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man."
Isaiah 9:5 calls Him "Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God."

3. The third Work of the indwelling Spirit
He also wants to give you new divine life.
Titus 3:4-7 "But after that the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life."
Galatians 5:22 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith."
Ephesians 3:17-19 "That Christ (the New Life) may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God."
This New Life must grow (as all that lives grows) to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4:13). (See the fifth work of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.)

4. The fourth Work of the indwelling Spirit
He also wants to share with us His anointing, that we might help Him with the proclaiming of the Gospel to the salvation of others.
Acts 1:8 "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."
Then He shall give the ones He called ministries and gifts to the edification of His Church, that they might help Him therewith, as He Himself will build His Church. These gifts and ministries must increase and result in the perfect ministry. In Scripture this is taught in the increase of the talents (Matthew 25:20-23).

5. The fifth Work of the indwelling Spirit
The Spirit will further make His faithful perfect here on earth already.
Colossians 1:27-29 "To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: Whereunto I also labor, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily."

6. The sixth Work of the indwelling Spirit
He shall also sanctify His faithful disciples here on earth that they could sin never again, although living in the midst of a sinful and angry generation.
1 Thess. 5:23 "And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the presence (literal translation) of our Lord Jesus Christ."
1 John 3:9 "Whosoever is born (and bred) of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born (and bred) of God."

7. The seventh Work of the indwelling Spirit
Further the Spirit of Jesus Christ shall glorify His faithful disciples here on earth already; He will clothe them both inwardly and outwardly with the glory of the Bride.
Revelation 12:1 "And there appeared a great wonder in heaven (i.e. the kingdom of heaven, namely the Bride[church] here on earth); a woman (i.e. the wife of the Lamb) clothed with the sun (type of the Father), and the moon (type of the blood covenant of the Son) under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars (type of the Holy Spirit)."
Romans 8:30 "Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified."
Isaiah 60:1-3 "Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising."

8. The eighth Work of the indwelling Spirit
The Spirit of Jesus Christ must also grow in us until we are completely submerged in Him (1 Corinthians 12:13).
Ezekiel 47:1-5 "Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar. Then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward, and led me about the way without unto the utter gate by the way that looketh eastward; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side. And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the waters were to the ankles. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; the waters were to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through; the waters were to the loins. Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over."

9. The ninth Work of the indwelling Spirit
He is given to us by the Father as an eternal indwelling Friend, Counselor, and Lord.
John 14:16 "And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever."
Isaiah 9:5 calls Him "Wonderful, Counselor, everlasting Father".

By E. van den Worm

[1] We write the word satan not with a capital, as it is not a name, but a word meaning opponent or adversary, accuser.

The hope of divine glory