The Endtime-messenger

LUKE (Chapter 24)-The glory of the risen Christ (active) in the new man

2011-11-10T00:56:00.000-08:00

Part III

The life in the holy of holies of the marriage child of God.

We have come to the last chapter of the Gospel after Luke, and this chapter, according to the characteristics of the Tabernacle, we must view in the light of His Shekinah glory. It was the light of His divine glory (and the proof of His perfect presence), that at the time was present between the two cherubim on the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant. This light depicts the light of the love of God that, by Jesus' atonement, will work in the complete person – after body, soul and spirit – unto the full revelation of His justice in the sanctified person, and to the glory of His sweet and unsurpassed Name! Let us fervently desire the effect of this perfect light of God in our heart and life (Matthew 5:6), until we will be perfect in Him, as it is written: "...every one (disciple) that is perfect shall be as his master" (Luke 6:40b).

Should there be among you who think that fullness in Christ here on earth cannot exist, then you detract from the Word of God (Colossians 4:12; Matthew 5:48; John 17:23; 2 Corinthians 13:11), which tells us that He will build a church without any "spot or wrinkle" (Ephesians 5:27). Never in the history of the church this was realized, how wonderful members of the Church, especially in the beginning, might have been (see a.o. the book of Acts). But in the end-time, which we have already entered into now, the (perfect) Bride of Christ (namely the New Jerusalem) will be formed! By the powerful effects of the Word and the Spirit of God this Bride(church) will be led into the fullness of and in God. She will be brought to this (divine) perfection in order to be able to experience the divine miracle of the Marriage of the Lamb; namely the actual union of Jesus – the living Bridegroom, the Lamb of God – with His Bride living on earth, namely the then perfected Church (members) which is (are) called hereto (Revelation 19:6-10). And all that will take place on earth (Luke 12:36)!

But the Marriage of the Lamb is an event which is hidden from the world. Therefore the divine Bridegroom will not (be able to) be seen by the worldly person, but they will know who the Bride (namely the woman married to the Son of God) is, and this is because of the Shekinah glory of God, which will seen in and through her being and actions (Revelation 12:1; Psalm 45:14-16; Isaiah 60:2). And this glorious Bride(church), although in secret on account of the persecutions by the then present political world-church of the end-time (Revelation 17:1-9), the Latter-Rain-Revival (i.e. the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the end-time – see Joel 2:23-32; a revelation of Him as the revealing light of God), which will then go over all the world; will lead in the omnipotence of her heavenly Bridegroom; as is also written in Obadiah 21: "And saviors shall come up on mount Zion to judge (and to recover) the mount of Esau (= type for the carnal Christian); and the kingdom shall be the Lord's."

In this Bride(church) the Word of God, which we can find in Ephesians 3:18-19, will have been realized: "(that ye) 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." Then all the weak and imperfect, all that is man's own, will have been destroyed (brought to nought) by the victory of His resurrection power in our heart and life. Then God will (be able to) work in and through us, and we will be able to completely serve Him with a all-encompassing love and subjection! Then the wonderful waves of God's love and power will go through us to lead carnal man – who, in the end-time, will have been brought to the extreme form of unrighteousness by satan (Ezekiel 22:25, 29) – to faith and true repentance unto God, as a divine triumph; God's last triumph of the end-time!

God calls you and me now to go into His promise of this end-time; for He wants us to be part of His Bride(church) and the Marriage of the Lamb! Let us open our hearts for this and continue to walk in the "circumspection of the righteous" (Luke 1:17), so that God can work His way in our heart and life, and He will be able to fulfill His almighty works of grace in us unto the honor and glory of His divine Name! "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us (namely the way of the cross unto the killing of the "old me"), Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God" (Hebrews 12:1-2).

Spiritually seen, in this end-time we will enter an impressive time, even if it will entail a complete process of the cross (i.e. a complete dying to our old ego) as far as our "flesh" and our body is concerned; whereby we will experience increasing oppression and resistance. God's Church will have to be detached from all earthly-minded life; and it will have to grow unto the perfection of the heavenly-minded life (Haggai 2:7-10).

Let us look at this last chapter of the Luke Gospel in the light of what was written up before. It is good to put the following, for the sake of order: Now that – by the death of our Lord Jesus Christ – the sin offering for the sin of man was made, in heaven, thus with God, an ETERNAL redemption of sin and death is fulfilled (Hebrews 9:11-12). Now this victory over sin by Jesus Christ, our High Priest, must, here on earth, still be assigned to all, who have repented unto Him, have confessed their sins, and who have given themselves over to Him in faith (Hebrews 9:14-15). After all He alone, with the help of His anointed as His spiritual instruments, will build His Church by the Holy Spirit (Matthew 16:8; Psalm 127:1-2; 1 Corinthians 3:9-15).

CLICK HERE if you want to read this study (Chapter 24) – that is to long for the Blog.

By E. van den Worm

LUKE (Chapter 23) - The seven blood steps of Jesus Christ, which let to the fulfillment of His sacrifice on the cross of Calvary.

2011-10-10T06:15:00.000-07:00

Part III
The life in ‘the holy of holies’ of the marriage child of God

1^st blood step:

Jesus before Pilate, as His (earthly) judge.

23 verse 1-7: "And the whole multitude of them arose, and led him unto Pilate. And they began to accuse him, saying, We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, saying that he himself is Christ a King. And Pilate asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And he answered him and said, Thou sayest it. Then said Pilate to the chief priests and to the people, I find no fault in this man. And they were the more fierce, saying, He stirreth up the people, teaching throughout all Jewry, beginning from Galilee to this place. When Pilate heard of Galilee, he asked whether the man were a Galilaean. And as soon as he knew that he belonged unto Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who himself also was at Jerusalem at that time."

The accusing crowd of chief priests, elders and scribes – with a growing number of followers among the disappointed people; disappointed, because this Messiah did not meet their expectations of divine invincibility – led the captive and shackled Jesus to the Roman judge Pontius Pilate, who was also the representative of Rome. Their (false) accusation was that Jesus would have forbidden to pay taxes to the emperor, and with this they stirred up the people against Him. But their main accusation was that He called Himself Christ, the King. And whoever called himself king, rebelled against the emperor of Rome. Therefore Pilate questioned Him on this point. But Pilate understood all too well – because Jesus Christ did not act in secret, and Pilate must have known of the sermons of this Man – that the issue was a religious conflict among the Jews themselves, and that they had handed Him over to the judge out of spite and jealousy. That therefore was the reason Pilate wanted to release Him, saying: "I find no fault in this Man!"

When Pilate, however, heard that Jesus was born in Galilee, he thought to be rid of this "dirty matter" by sending Jesus on to the judge over that area, namely king Herod, who "happened to be" at Jerusalem.

2^nd blood step:

Jesus handed over to the curiosity and the mockery of Herod.

23 verse 8-12: "And when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceeding glad: for he was desirous to see him of a long season, because he had heard many things of him; and he hoped to have seen some miracle done by him. Then he questioned with him in many words; but he answered him nothing. An the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused him. And Herod with his men of war set him at nought, and mocked him, and arrayed him in a gorgeous robe, and sent him again to Pilate. And the same day Pilate and Herod were made friends together: for before they were at enmity between themselves."

Herod hoped to be surprised by Jesus with a "show" of His power. Therefore he was glad, when Jesus was handed over to him. He had heard so much about His wonderful power, and even thought that He might be John the Baptist, who was brought back to life by God (see Matthew 14:1-2). Because of his curiosity he spoke much with Jesus, and asked Him many questions, but the Lord Jesus did not answer him by a single word. Therefore Herod became angry and mocked Jesus, together with his soldiers. He also showed Jesus his contempt by putting a shining purple garment on Him (Mark 15:20 and John 19:2). After that he sent Jesus away, back to Pilate. Yet Pilate's action by sending Jesus to him, pleased Herod. Was there enmity between them at first, from that time on they were friendly.

3^rd blood step:

Bar-Abbas preferred over Jesus.

23 verse 13-25: "And Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people, Said unto them, Ye have brought this man unto me, as one that perverteth the people: and, behold, I, having examined him before you, have found no fault in this man touching those things whereof ye accuse him: No, nor yet Herod: for I sent you to him; and, lo, nothing worthy of death is done unto him. I will therefore chastise him, and release him. (For of necessity he must release one prisoner unto them at the Passover feast.) And they cried out all at once, saying, Away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas: (Who for a certain sedition made in the city, and for murder, was cast into prison.) Pilate therefore, willing to release Jesus, spake again to them. But they cried, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. And he said unto them the third time, Why, what evil hath he done; I have found no cause of death in him: I will therefore chastise him, and let him go. And they were instant with loud voices, requiring that he might be crucified. And the voices of them and of the chief priests prevailed. And Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they required. And he released unto them him that for sedition and murder was cast into prison, whom they had desired; but he delivered Jesus to their will."

Pilate wanted to release Jesus, because he found Him not guilty. And because it was the custom that a prisoner received remittance for punishment during the Passover feast (i.e. the memorial festival of Israel's exodus from Egypt by God's hand, whereby the Passover lamb was slaughtered), Pilate therefore tried to release Jesus at the Passover. Pilate therefore asked the people: "Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ?" despite the fact that he knew they had handed over Jesus because of spit and jealousy (see Matthew 27:17-18). But the people, stirred up by the chief priest and rulers of the people, demanded increasingly violently His crucifixion (and thus the release of Bar-Abbas).

Jesus is the Son of God the Father, Who is in heaven; while Bar-Abbas means "son of the father". Bar-Abbas was a murderer and rioter, and therefore his action tells us which father he was a son of, namely "the father from the depth" thus the devil. The people preferred this son of the devil over the Son of God; the rioter and murderer they preferred over the Savior, while He had done nothing but deeds of love among them. And, because Pilate, the Roman judge, could no longer control the very rebellious people, he handed over Jesus unto a true "people judgment” (which means that the people, instead of the judge, sentenced Jesus)...

CLICK HERE if you want to read this study (Chapter 23) – that is to long for the Blog.

By E. van den Worm

LUKE (Chapter 22) - The 7 introductory blood steps which led to the atoning sacrifice of Jesus on the cross of Calvary

2011-09-10T10:29:00.000-07:00

Part III

The life in ‘the holy of holies’ of the marriage child of God

Luke 22 verse 1-2: "Now the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh, which is called the Passover. And the chief priests and scribes sought how they might kill him, for they feared the people."

The Passover feast was near. And it was predestined that Jesus should give His life at this feast for a world lost in sin and guilt. For, this feast was established by God (see Exodus 12:1-28), and pointed to the Sacrifice of Jesus Who, as the Lamb of God, would (voluntarily) give His life to reconcile God with man.

The forces of darkness – which then were mainly active in and through the priests and scribes (the religious leaders of the Jews in those days) – tried to capture and kill Jesus in a crafty way. Reason for this was that these chief priests and scribes feared the people, because they people (still) followed Him, because they saw in Him their political Messiah. They did not see Jesus as the Savior of their souls, but mainly as a political leader, and thus as the one who would rescue and deliver them from the Romans' rule.

As we know the high priest of Israel was not allowed to enter the Holy of holies of the Israeli Tabernacle without blood (of a sacrificed animal), and without his censer, wherein the prescribed (by God) incense burned. This also was only allowed once a year, namely on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16). Having arrived in the Holy of holies the high priest had to sprinkle the blood of the sin offering (i.e. the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the Israelites) seven times; first on the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant, and then seven times in front of it. These sprinklings symbolized the seven introductory steps of Jesus, which led to His sacrifice on the cross; as well as the seven actual steps which led Him to His death (on the cross).

1^st introductory blood step:

Judas' betrayal

Luke 22 verse 3-6: "Then entered satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve (disciples). And he went his way, and communed with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray him unto them. And they were glad, and covenanted to give him money. And he promised, and sought opportunity to betray him unto them in the absence of the multitude."

Satan could, of the twelve disciples, use the disloyal Judas (as an instrument) to capture Jesus without rebellion. Perhaps Judas never had a (truly) repentant heart; or perhaps he gradually became entangled in the nets of the (idolatrous) mammon; for he managed the money and therefore was responsible for the finances of this core of Jesus' disciples. However sad, it is unfortunately a fact that he betrayed His Master for money – namely for thirty silver pennies, the price for a slave. And he promised the chief priests, etc. that he would seek a "good" opportunity to have Jesus captured without rebellion, without the common folk noticing anything.

Let us (be willing) to learn a lesson from this, that we being warned against the crafty temptations of satan, who tries to capture us too in the nets of the mammon, are delivered from the (often strong) desire for earthly goods and riches. Let us (be willing) to see the danger of idolatrous effects, possibly formed by material things (such as money and goods) and/or people (such as husband, wife and/or children). Let us realize that they may create a separation between us and our Savior-God. For, as is also written in 1 Timothy 6:10, hunger for money is the root of all evil. And this is, because in this world everything (and almost everybody) is for sale for money.

2^nd introductory blood step:

The Passover: God's only way to salvation, which, in the Father's heart, was already established at the foundation of this world.

Luke 22 verse 7-13: "Then came the day of unleavened bread, when the Passover must be killed. And he sent Peter and John, saying, Go and prepare us the Passover (meal) that we may eat. And they said unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare (it); And he said unto them, Behold, when ye are entered into the city, there shall a man meet you, bearing a pitcher of water; follow him into the house where he entereth in. And ye shall say unto the good man of the house, The Master saith unto thee, Where is the guest chamber, where I shall eat the Passover (meal) with my disciples? And he shall shew you a large upper room (room on the top floor) furnished: There make (it) ready. And they went, and found as he had said unto them: and they made ready the Passover (meal)."

Here are a few more symbols we may take to heart. The question was put where Jesus wished to eat the Passover (meal). The Lord linked up the finding of this place to some marks, which were prophesied in advance: At entering Jerusalem they would find a man, bearing a pitcher of water. A pitcher filled with water is the symbol of our repentant life, a life now (completely) devoted to God. The Passover (meal) therefore was to be celebrated in a heart and life which has turned (sincerely) to God. And, here is a man bearing a pitcher with water. In those days this did not occur often. Usually it was a woman carrying that.

The master (good man) of the house would show them a large, furnished upper room. This large, furnished upper room is the symbol of the heart which is (completely) devoted to God. Thus: we are to eat the Passover (meal), now Communion, with a heart that is turned to, and devoted to, God. We must keep our heart (with all diligence) from everything that is not good (Proverbs 4:23); we must keep our heart for Jesus and His gracious works.

Luke 22 verse 14-18: "And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him. And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this Passover (meal) with you before I suffer: For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves: For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come."

Jesus would eat the Passover lamb for the last time in the way, established by God in the Old Testament, and drink wine therewith, as is still customary today; for soon Jesus Himself, in and by His sacrifice on the cross of Calvary, would form the great Anti-type, whereby is meant the spiritual reality, whereof all others form a shadow. "Purge out therefore the old leaven (= symbol for sin), that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us" (1 Corinthians 5:7).

The Kingdom of God would, by His resurrection, ascension (to heaven) and by the (Pentecostal) power of the Holy Spirit, break through (begin) in the hearts of those children of men who (truly) turned to Him. In and by the Holy Spirit, this Passover will bring us in close union with His death and resurrection; make us "one planting" with them (Romans 6:5); whereby NEW and divine LIFE can be poured out into the hearts and lives of all He, by His sacrifice, was able to grant grace (Revelation 3:20b). These works of grace He put as a divine promise in the sacrament (means of grace) He was about to establish, namely the sacrament of the Communion; a promise He would confirm by the shedding of His own blood.

Luke 22 verse 19-20: "And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament (covenant) in my blood, which is shed for you."

It is a renewal of the divine blood covenant God made with Abram (as mentioned in Genesis 15), and the (divine) works of grace of which at the end of this period of grace (i.e. in the end-time) will be so miraculous, that God will be able to realize and fulfill His great mystery – of which Revelation 10:7 speaks, and whereby is meant the revelation of His Bride(church). Then He will be able to celebrate the Supper of the Marriage of the Lamb (Revelation 19:9). This Supper precedes, and is a preparation unto, the Wedding. This is to prepare the Bride as a (divine) channel, as a (divine) instrument in His hand to gather in the last, great harvest of souls. After this harvest of souls (see Revelation 14:14-16) and after the Millennium the eternal Marriage of the Lamb will take place (Revelation 21:1-27). God then will have created a Bride for Jesus, the heavenly Bridegroom, that the eternal divine marriage feast be celebrated.

Luke 22 verse 21-23: "But, behold, the hand of him that betrayeth me is with me on the table. And truly the Son of man goeth, as it was determined: but woe unto that man by whom he is betrayed! And they began to enquire among themselves, which of them it was that should do this thing."

Luke brings this revelation of Jesus after the establishment of the (New Testament) Communion. The other gospel writers, namely Matthew, Mark and John, place this revelation of Jesus after the eating of the (Old Testament) Passover lamb, but before the establishment of the (N.T.) Communion.

The fact that someone shares the O.T. Passover or the N.T. Communion unworthily tells us, that not everybody who eats the Communion bread and drinks the wine, shares the Kingdom of God in truth. But everybody has to examine himself scrupulously, as we can read in 1 Corinthians 11:28-29: "But (first) let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body". But this Word also tells us that there might be traitors among those that share the Communion, especially "at the last hour", when people will be possessed by satan, because of which they (a.o.) will suffer from an increasing persecution mania (Revelation 9:1-12)!

CLICK HERE if you want to read this study (Chapter 22) – that is to long for the Blog.

By E. van den Worm

LUKE (Chapter 21) - God’s justice is like a two-edged sword, it brings to the (sincere) believer full grace, but judgment to all others

2011-08-10T04:19:00.000-07:00

Part III
The life in ‘the holy of holies’ of the marriage child of God

Viewed in the light of the Israeli Tabernacle, this chapter shows us the symbolism of the two tables of the Law, with on it the ten Commandments, which were hidden in the Ark of the Covenant. They depict the full justice of God, represented in the ten Commandments, although this "full justice of God" will, of course, only be revealed to us in the full (and thus complete) Word (viz. the bible) of the LIVING God. We can read about these perfect ten Commandments of God for the Kingdom of heaven (on earth) in Matthew 5:17-48; 6:1-34 and 7:1-29. This Word of God is like a sharp two-edged sword (Hebrews 4:12). It brings about full grace and it forms a power of God to make into children of God (John 1:12) for those, who, by acceptance of this (divine) Word, have turned repentantly unto God and have given over their lives to Him, beside having a sincere faith in the Word of the cross and in His omnipotence to plant this Word into us. But for all the unwilling, the disobedient, the unrepentant, and the sinners, however, it forms the full and terrible judgment of a wrathful God. We can read in John 12:48: "He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day." And in Hebrews 10:31 we read: "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."

This full (and eternal) Word of God – which will be revealed to us by the Spirit of God in ever increasing measure in the last days (see Revelation 14:6) – will bring God's (Bride)church to the fullness of Christ in these last days. We can read this a.o. in Hebrews 9:11-12 and Ephesians 5:27: "But Christ... brought about (or obtained) an eternal redemption" ... "that He might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish." This victorious Word of God is a fact in heaven, but here on earth it must still be realized in the hearts and lives of believers, who have repented unto Him. And, as we all (could) know, the Church of God has never reached this level in the course of history; even if her image in the initial period of Christianity is to be called very wonderful indeed. But, in the end-time, God will clothe His (Bride)church with the "Bridal adornments" of perfection and justice (Revelation 12:1; 19:7-8), and take her in unto the Marriage of the Lamb (Revelation 19:9), according to the promises in His Word. It should be clear to everyone that the spiritual condition of the (Bride)church must hereto be brought to that condition of the heart of the poor widow in the first verses of this chapter.

21 verse 1-4: "And he looked up, and saw the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury. And he saw also a certain poor widow casting in thither two mites. And he said, Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all: For all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God: but she of her penury (poverty) hath cast in all the living that she had."

In her deed this woman acted out a total offering, she gave everything that she possessed to God, to her Lord and Savior. God will find the same inner disposition in the end-time, in the heart of His (sincere) children, namely a total subjection; whereby He can bring them in His perfect, eternal redemption, and, spiritually seen, He can envelop them with the (divine) garment of spotlessness, wrinklelessness, holiness and blamelessness! "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ" (Ephesians 1:3).

But over those who are and remain unwilling – namely the disobedient, the idolaters and all, who wish to remain in sin – the judgment, in the fullness of God's wrath, will come of a righteous God. And this God's judgment – in and over this world – means that the demonic forces of "the spiritual wickedness in high places" will be loosed more and more, so that the people of this world will be handed over to the destructive powers of satan, in whom the wicked (and sinful) person likes to remain. These people will then have to experience the harshness, cruelty and evil of him they (consciously or not) chose for their master.

Characteristic of these judgments of God are statements like: "Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates" (Revelation 9:14). Hereby is meant the unleashing of demonic angels upon mankind; angels who will pour out in increasing measure their calamities and destruction on humanity! The Euphrates or Frath is a river which flows at the garden of Eden, and is symbolic for mankind. (Compare: Revelation 9:14 with Revelation 7:1-3 and Revelation 16:12).

As the destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman commander-in-chief Titus, which was predicted by Jesus – and which was the result of the unbelieving, unrepentant Israelites of Jesus' days – took place around the year 70 after Christ, so also will the judgment predicted by God be poured out over the unrepentant part of His House (Church), and over the unbelievers, in the end-time.

21 verse 5-6: "And as some spake of the temple, how it was adorned with goodly stones and gifts, he said, As for these things which ye behold, the days will come, in the which there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down."

21 verse 7: "And they asked him, saying, Master, but when shall these things be? and what sign will there be when these things shall come to pass?"

When His disciples asked Him for the specific signs which would mark these days of God's judgment – signs which also will introduce His return – He gave them the following as the very first sign:

21 verse 8: "And he said, Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name saying, I am Christ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them."

In the end-time satan will produce a great multitude of imitation spiritual workers. He will give them a (false) anointing which will imitate the divine work in Jesus. Yes, they will even perform wonders and signs; but they are wonders and signs of the liar (2 Thessalonians 2:9). And these "angels" of satan, pose as "angels of light", act as if they are real workers of God, and this is because they scorched their consciences "as with a cauterizing iron” In Matthew 7:22 we read how astonished the people were about their (eternal) damnation by God. For, although we here deal with laborers of the Lord, who digressed in sin and unrighteousness, they kept their calling. For the Spirit of God is able to (continue to) work through such people, while He passes by their personal salvation. We also notice this in the words of the Lord, which we find in Revelation 3:17b: "...and (thou) knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked". Compare these texts regarding the false laborers also with 2 Corinthians 11:13-15.

"Christ" means "anointed one", namely the anointed of God unto the labor for Him. But these people, namely those of 2 Corinthians 11:13-15, are false Christ’s, false anointed ones; for they were anointed by satan, but pose as "angels of light". Therefore God, as judgment, allows the strong delusion, because they did not accept Him – in Jesus Christ as God's redeeming, purifying and sanctifying power. We can also read about a similar judgment of God in Romans 1:18-32. And in 2 Thessalonians 2:10b-11 we read: "...because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie". The same story one finds in the Old Testament, in 1 Kings 22:19-22.

It will be these (false) laborers which will deceive those great multitudes of people, and catch them in their nets (Matthew 24:11 and 24). The tragic result will be that this crowd of people will be gathered as weeds in the end-time, to be bound up at the time of harvest in order to... be burned (see Matthew 13:30).

Therefore let us rather be led by the true Holy Spirit of God, Who always leads us out of sin by His purifying, sanctifying and justifying works! So, the end-time is a time wherein two spiritual movements run parallel. The first spiritual movement is that of the Holy Spirit of God, Who reveals His redeeming, purifying, sanctifying and perfecting works in full-Gospel power in His own, and Who, as a result, will create a perfect Bride(church), which will be God's instrument in the restoration of the Church and at the worldwide revival in "Latter Rain Power" (i.e. the Holy Spirit revival of the end-time, as a.o. prophesied in Joel 2:23-30). The second movement, perhaps in looks more spectacular, is that of satan, which also brings forth wonders and signs, but then of the liar! The result of this will be the false (and politically minded) world church of the end-time, about which we can read in Revelation 17, 18 and 19; also called the hidden Babylon or the "Great Whore", which will prepare the anti-Christian path of the person of the antichrist. Warned by the Word of God, let us watch and pray that we too be not entangled in the snares of these – for un-anointed eyes – hidden, anti-Christian works, of this satanic power of hidden unrighteousness.

Another form of divine judgment we will come across in the last days of the present-day world in increasing measure and eventually worldwide in extent, is that of war, and also of rebellion against governments of state!

21 verse 9-10: "But when ye shall hear of wars and commotions (revolutions), be not terrified: for these things must first come to pass; but the end is not by and by. Then said he unto them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom."

The red horse of Revelation 6:4, the horse which is the symbol of war and revolt, will then have been loosed upon a world averse to God. Revolt against state authorities is used more and more to, under pressure, realize certain political and social goals. More and more wars and revolts in ever increasing measure make today's world seem like one great powder keg. When all this will take place, like we see it now in today's world, then the Lord comforts His children with above word of Scripture: "Be not terrified, for I have everything under control". And in Psalm 91:7-8 we read: "A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked." And further in verse 10: "There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling (house)."

This judgment of God will only pass us by if we remain in the center of the will of God, Who is our hiding place. As there can only be that wonderful calm in the eye (namely the center or heart) of a raging and an all-destructive whirlwind, so will God also let His own hide in the shelter of His omnipotence, when His judgments of war and revolt are raging around us!

21 verse 11a: "And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences..."

This really is relevant in our days. The violent death (symbolized by the black horse of famine, also as a result of economical recession; and the pale horse of death, in Revelation 6:5-8) will bring an abrupt end to many lives by natural disasters, such as earthquakes and famines; while also very contagious diseases, which will travel all over the world, will make many victims among the world population. But, despite all those terrible judgments the almighty God demands of the destroyer (sent by Him): "Hurt not the oil and the wine!" (Revelation 6:6b), whereby is meant: "Do not damage my sincere children, who had themselves led by the oil of the Spirit and who have been washed in the wine of My blood!" A different form of judgment of God we find in the following words:

21 verse 11b: "...and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven."

In Revelation 6:12-14 we read: "And I beheld when he (the Lamb of God) had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. (We see the same thing when we sit on a train. Then it seems as if the trees on either side of the train flash by; but in fact the train races on, and the trees stand still. The same way the earth will be moved from her place, possibly by a collision with a meteorite, while the stars stay in their places.) And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places."

Enormous catastrophes, great disasters as a result of (very) far-reaching changes in nature and in the universe, as it were make a clean sweep in order to prepare this earth for that wonderful and divine era, called the Millennial Kingdom. For in this (divine) Kingdom the sun will shine seven times as strong as it does now (Isaiah 30:26), because of which there will be no more night (Zechariah 14:6-7). It goes without saying that man and beast with a body of flesh and blood cannot live in that Kingdom, and God will have to create a nature of a totally different composition. It will be a paradise in the full glory of God!

Another form of God's judgment we find in the persecution mania and the demonic oppression which then will rule the world. An ever increasing anti-Christian spirit will take possession of all disobedient and unrepentant people, besides increasing satanism. All this will pave the way for the global acceptance of the antichrist as ruler of the world.

21 verse 12-19: “But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name's sake. And it shall turn to you for a testimony. Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall answer: For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist. And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake. But there shall not an hair of your head perish. In your patience possess ye your souls."

CLICK HERE if you want to read this study (Chapter 21) – that is to long for the Blog.

By E. van den Worm

LUKE (Chapter 20) - The life of the bride of Christ will be in deep and perfect UNION with God

2011-07-10T04:23:00.000-07:00

Part III
The life in ‘the holy of holies’ of the marriage child of God

We must view this chapter in the light of the Ark of the Covenant (also called the Covenant chest) which stood in the Holiest of holy of the Israeli Tabernacle. The lid of the Ark (or chest) is called the "mercy seat", where also the two cherubim (statues of angels) stood. This lid with the two cherubim was formed from one lump of pure gold. The two cherubim and the mercy seat are symbolic for our almighty God. The mercy seat as the type for the Son and the two cherubim as the type for the Father and the Holy Spirit. This lid forms a complete and well-closing unity with the chest itself, which, although made of acacia wood, was covered with leaf gold; which points towards the Bride(church) of Christ; who seen from the outside is living in deep and perfect union with God in His threefold revelation. It is a union which is emphasized by the two stone tablets of the law, the ten commandments (type for the inward workings of the justice of the Father-God); and the gold cruse with manna (type for the inward workings of the mercy of the Son of God); and also Aaron's staff, which had budded (type for the inward workings of the omnipotent union with the Holy Spirit of God), which were in the Covenant chest. These three objects depict the deep inner union of the Bride with the almighty God. A description of these are to be found in Exodus 25:10-22 and Hebrews 9:3-5. It is like the Word says in Matthew 9:15 that we must live in this dark world as "children of the Bride chamber" (literal translation from the Greek), namely in absolute union with Him alone!

Christ, the High Priest, lives in deep and perfect UNION with the Father, and acts exclusively after the will of His Father.

Luke 20 verse 1-8: "And it came to pass, that on one of those days, as he taught the people in the temple, and preached the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes came upon him with the elders, And spake unto him, saying, Tell us, by what authority doest thou these things? or who is he that gave thee this authority? And he answered and said unto them, I will also ask you one thing; and answer me: The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then believed ye him not? But and if we say, Of men; all the people will stone us: for they be persuaded that John was a prophet. And they answered, that they could not tell whence it was. And Jesus said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things."

In the previous chapter we saw Jesus, urged by the holy (and purifying) fire of His Father, cleanse the temple of the Jews – because they, by their (unholy) desires for material gain, traded even in the temple, thus in God's house – in order to restore this temple in its original purpose, that it be a house of prayer again.

In this temple He clearly acted as someone with power, much to the irritation of those who had the leadership. In their eyes Jesus' behavior was very inappropriate. The piqued and furious chief priests and elders, who had ignored this trade, and who most probably profited from it themselves, demanded that the Lord Jesus give them an explanation of His behavior; they wished to know who had given Him the authority for this action. The Lord, however, only was willing to answer their question if they would answer His counter-question. He associated the problem raised by them with the baptism of John. For, if they believed this baptism to be of God, then they would also heed what took place at Jesus' water baptism, whereby a voice from heaven testified: "Thou art my beloved Son, in Thee I am well pleased" (Luke 3:22). Then they would have known that He acted in the authority of His heavenly Father. But, because of their cunning considerations, of which we read in above (bible)verses, they said: "We do not know whence this is (viz. the baptism of John)". Therefore the Savior did not inform these (spiritually) digressed leaders either that the fire of God's holy wrath urged Him thereto.

Our Savior had (and has) no other desire than to always live in deep and perfect union with the Father. "As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me (i.e. who partakes of the holy Supper [symbol of the eating (sharing) His flesh and blood], whereby we acknowledge to also want to die to our old, earthly-minded life), even he shall live by me" (read John 6:57-58). The same way we are to live in deep and perfect union with our Lord Jesus.

The Lord Jesus lived in such deep dependence on the Father that He testified: "...The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise" (John 5:19b). "I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me" (John 5:30). "For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me" (John 6:38). So, too, are we to live; in the same dependence and servitude to our Lord Jesus Christ. Never should our will be done, but always His!

God's laborers must serve Him in deep union with, and devotion to Him and in His (perfect) love.

Jesus wanted (and still wants) all God's laborers to work with the same love, devotion and sense of unity as His. How far from this perfect image, however, were the spiritual leaders in Jesus' days! He showed their deep (spiritual) deterioration, their works full of egocentric motivations and their rebellion against God in the following parable.

Luke 20 verse 9-17: "Then began he to speak to the people this parable; A certain man planted a vineyard, and let it forth to husbandmen, and went into a far country for a long time. And at the season he sent a servant to the husbandmen, that they should give him of the fruit of the vineyard: but the husbandmen beat him, and sent him away empty. And again he sent another servant: and they beat him also, and entreated him shamefully, and sent him away empty. And again he sent a third: and they wounded him also, and cast him out. Then said the lord of the vineyard, What shall I do? I will send my beloved son: it may be they will reverence him when they see him. But when the husbandmen saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, This is the heir: come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours. So they cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him. What therefore shall the lord of the vineyard do unto them? He shall come and destroy these husbandmen, and shall give the vineyard to others. And when they heard it, they said, God forbid. And he beheld them, and said, What is this then that is written, The stone (symbol for Jesus) which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner (viz. an indispensable cornerstone)?"

These (spiritually) digressed laborers of God's vineyard served themselves instead of the Lord. They wanted to profit (a lot) from their "religious" labor. They passed over the most important goal, namely to bring people to repentance, subjection and obedience to God; and instead thereof they pursued selfish goals, such as material gain and power, a good position, honor and applause among their fellow believers.

They silenced the prophets which were sent by God in a despicable manner! And finally they crucified God's only Son, God had sent them! Therefore God took away His "vineyard" (here: His work field) from them, and brought them into judgment. Because of this judgment (a.o.) Jerusalem was destroyed and burned by the Roman armies. Many of them were killed, or sold as slaves and banished from their home and land. Palestine (present-day Israel) was to be trodden upon (and thus taken possession of) by the gentiles through the ages, until the time of the end of this present world...

God then gave His "vineyard" to His people, (spiritually) born of the gentiles, from all the nations of this world, among which also the ten "lost tribes" were and still are (see note 1 on page 3). These new people He made into a Dwelling Place of God in the Spirit (Ephesians 2:22), of which He is the Cornerstone (verse 17) and the Foundation, upon which this spiritual building rests. In other words: He was able to have a relationship with these people, in such a way that He has been able to live and work in and through them. And when the Jews would repent they would be added unto them (Romans 11:11-29).

Luke 20 verse 18: "Whosoever shall fall upon that stone (symbol for Jesus) shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder."

Whosoever does not accept the Son of God, will stumble on Him, on this "Stone"; that person will come under the crushing judgment of God! And when God's judgment falls on them, then He will (have to) crush them! "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God!" (Hebrews 10:31), "for our God is a consuming fire!" (Hebrews 12:29). But this same fire of God can cleanse us (completely), and is merciful to all them who truly repent unto Him and who, by faith in Him, give themselves over to Him, to from then on live in deep union with Him, and to serve Him sincerely. That our spirit always serve Him and be devoted to Him!

CLICK HERE if you want to read this study (Chapter 20) – that is to long for the Blog.

By E. van den Worm

LUKE (Chapter 19) - God’s (royal) priests know an absolute devotion to their King

2011-06-10T04:25:00.000-07:00

.Part III
The life in ‘the holy of holies’ of the marriage child of God

Worldly-mindedness must be a victory gained for a laborer of God.

By nature man is worldly-minded. Therefore an unbeliever can only perceive the visible and material things with his senses. Their senses are blind to the supernatural things, the spirit realm. Their intellectual capacity, their "common sense", is based only upon these sensory perceptions. This therefore is the reason they could never find God and the supernatural things with their intellect alone. However, their spirit is capable, once they (start) to believe the truth regarding this spiritual world and the supernatural things of God, to make contact with God and His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, Who can deliver them (completely) from all forms of bondage to tangible (and thus visible) things and from a way of life which is solely focused on this earth. Through faith the born-again and now spiritual person can receive a completely new existence from God, as well as divine powers and inspirations from the Holy Spirit for the life and the ministry he is called to. In 1 Corinthians 1:30 we read the following: "But of Him (i.e. God) are ye IN Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us: wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption."

We know that our Lord Jesus Christ, by His sacrifice on the cross of Calvary, brought us in the first place redemption. The "redemption" (from sin and guilt) therefore does not take place by one act or another, but by a person; namely by the second revelation form of God: the Son of God. Yes, all divine works of grace are given to us in and by Him, and this therefore is the reason John, in his first general missionary letter, writes: "He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life" (5:12)!

Again: Only Jesus can deliver us from all material bonds, from all earth-bound acts and from all emphasis a man may put on the treasures of this earth. And not only this, but He also gives us an ETERNAL treasure in the knowledge of Him and in the relationship with Him, whereby we receive that (divine) love, peace, and joy, but also His divine strength to be able to live in that divine justice and mercy. "Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and they exceeding great reward" (Genesis 15:1b), whereby is meant that God wants to be our Protector, and wants to be an eternal Possession unto us.

"Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung (garbage), that I may win Christ" (Philippians 3:8). In this light we must view the new standpoint Zacchaeus had taken regarding earthly possessions, after our Lord Jesus had found him and granted him godliness.

Luke 19 verse 1-9: "And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich. And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature. And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house. And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner. And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son (of the generation) of Abraham."

Here is Zacchaeus with a strong desire to see Jesus. God had drawn him unto Himself because He knew his deepest being. For, no one comes to Jesus unless the Father has drawn him (John 6:44).

In order to be able to see Jesus properly Zacchaeus had climbed a wild fig tree... That was very appropriate, for his life, too, was like that of the wild fig tree: wild through sins and stubbornness. That was also the reason Jesus asked him to come out of that fig tree. When Jesus calls us unto Him, we, too, must humble ourselves in confession of our sins that He deliver us from them. And when we obey then He will become to us a Deliverer (of sin and guilt). "If the son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free (of sin and guilt) indeed" (John 8:36).

Let us, too, experience personally that Jesus Christ is our Deliverer; because the burden (and the power) of sin has fallen off us! We first must believe in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus, and also that this was done personally for us. We also must believe in Jesus' omnipotence to deliver us (completely) from sin. That is the legal side (the promise) of our redemption. Then, by God's work of grace, the deliverance, as a real experience, will come over us. This is the realistic side of our deliverance. First there was faith, now reality.

As Jesus' disciple Zacchaeus laid his life on the altar of burnt offering to die to his old life. So his old publican life, a life full of stinginess and deceit, could be burned to ashes by God; because of which Zacchaeus was renewed, and was called a son of Abraham, a son to whom salvation was brought by God's work(s) of grace.

Luke 19 verse 10: "For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost."

Jesus said to Zacchaeus that He was to stay in his house that day; the same way Jesus, after He delivered us from all earthly lusts, comes to make His dwelling within our heart and life.

He had freed Zacchaeus from the idol mammon; and the same way He will free us, if we sincerely want to, from each idol and each idolatrous attraction of sin, fear and worldly-mindedness! When He enters into our heart and life, the spiritual death (and thus satan) must go. "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death" (Romans 8:2).

A true laborer of God receives from Him the spiritual ability (such as gifts, powers, etc.) to – in and by Him – work with Him.

Luke 19 verse 11-13: "And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear. He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy (do business with this) till I come (back)."

Jesus was near to Jerusalem and His disciples thought, that He was about to rule as a King over the earthly Jerusalem. Therefore He told them the parable of a King-to-be, Who first had to leave for a distant country (namely heaven) to receive the Kingship there (from His Father), to return afterwards as a ruling King. This king-to-be (future king) had ten servants. The number 10 in the bible is the number of fullness (perfection); all His servants throughout all ages are meant here. (Compare: "The Kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins" – see Matthew 25:1a). Each servant He called unto Himself, received a pound, symbol of the divine gift (the revelations of the Spirit – see 1 Corinthians 12:1-11), to be able to really serve Him.

19 verse 14-27: "But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us. And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds. And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities. And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds. And he said likewise to him, Be thou also over five cities. And another came, saying, Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin: For I feared thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up that thou layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow. And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow: Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury (interest)? And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him the pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds. (And they said unto him, Lord, he hath ten pounds.) For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him. But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me."

In order to receive a ministry in the service of the Lord, we need the divine gift of sharing His anointing – namely the revelation of the indwelling Spirit of God – in order to build and perfect the Church. But, before there can be any talk of the revelation of the indwelling Spirit of God, God's Spirit must first be able to come and live in His temple, His dwelling place, whereby first the body of the believer is meant. We can read this in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 "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? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's". The Lord also warns us in John 15:5b "...for without me ye can do nothing!" Nothing regarding the eternal things of God. We are only co-workers with God (1 Corinthians 3:9). He determines the work we are to do in Him. Us fits an eternal: "What would You, Lord, that I do?" (Luke 17:10).

The great line in this labor (in, by and for God) we find in Ephesians 4 verses 11-13: "And he (God) gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists, and some, pastors and teachers; (1) For the perfecting of the saints, (2) for the work of the ministry, (3) for the edifying of the body of Christ: (4) 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 Holy Spirit's work, in and through God's laborers, must bring the Church of the LIVING God to unity of doctrine (namely: knowing the real truth concerning God's plan of redemption, renewal and perfecting of mankind), and by the knowledge of this unto union with God (namely: knowing Him, because He is IN us, and we IN Him) until "the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ" in all is reached, whereby is meant the perfection in Christ; where Ephesians 3:18-19 speaks of: "(that ye) may be able to comprehend with the 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."

CLICK HERE if you want to read this study (Chapter 19) – that is to long for the Blog.

By E. van den Worm

LUKE (Chapter 18) - The purification of the holy place in order to come to “the end of all flesh” (Part 7)

2011-05-10T00:59:00.000-07:00

In and by Christ, we must be willing to be cleansed of the sin of prayerlessness.

In the chapters 12 up to and including 17 we have seen how the sin lodges in the deepest and finest fibers of our be-ing; and this goes for every Christian! But we also know that our Lord Jesus Christ, by the offering of His body on the cross at Calvary, once and for all brought deliverance from all sins and powers of sin (Hebrews 10:10b; 1 Peter 2:24). By this sacrifice He gave us the way unto life, that we might escape all sin and darkness and might have communion with God, because the veil – which indicated the separation between God and man in the Tabernacle, and was (and is) point-ing to our sinful flesh – was torn because of the offering of His atoning death (Hebrews 10:19-20; Matthew 27:51a); whereby the (direct) contact with God became possible again for each person who believes in Jesus and His sacrifice for us.
In the light of the Israeli Tabernacle we must see these chapters in the sign of this veil, torn for us (which points to Jesus Who gave His life for us). We, too, must, willingly and thankfully, undergo this "way of the cross", namely the breaking down of our old, sinful life – by the inner, powerful workings of His Spirit and blood – that Romans 6:5 become a living reality in our life: "For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection".
We will now have a closer look at the last one of all sins a Christian must be delivered from. This sin, to un-anointed eyes, may seem small, but for God it is a very great obstacle, for because of this He cannot grant us the fullness of the glory of His nature; namely union with His holy, true and merciful Being. For sins, however small in our eyes, sepa-rate us from our God! "But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear" (Isaiah 59:2). The indicated last sin is the sin of prayerlessness. For it is a matter of the highest urgency to put all of this sinful being of ours completely in the hands of our faithful Redeemer and Savior. With David we must pray: "Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting" (Psalm 139:23-24). If we sincerely desire this He will investigate our entire being and show us our sins and shortcomings, that we feel them as a burden, because of which we all too eagerly would lay them down at His feet; that He wash us clean in His precious and dear blood! Then we will experience His deliverance in our heart and life and will shout for joy before His countenance, because we will know by then that we are freed from the pressure and demonic compulsion of sin. For, "if the Son shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed (of [the power of] sin)" (John 8:36).
Let us now see how we must come to God in prayer, and which obstacles there are (may be); because of which our prayers shrink to quick prayers. Yes, because of which we even go through life prayerless, (thus without God)... Despite the fact that this subject was already discussed at length in Chapter 11, it appears that the Holy Spirit finds it necessary after all to touch on it again here.

We must pray with perseverance until we receive an answer.

Luke 18 verse 1-8: "And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint (spiritually); Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not (help her) for a (long) while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long (is patient) with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find (true) faith on the earth?"In this parable we are confronted with a widow who goes to the judge to seek justice, because her opponent did her wrong. But the judge was unjust and would not hear her. But, this widow clung to this judge like a bulldog. And, being wearied by this persevering woman, he finally administered justice. By this parable the Lord wants to teach us to display the same kind of perseverance in our prayers, until, in answer to our prayers, we are granted grace by our God.
We must put the sins the Lord showed up in our conscience at the foot of His cross; confronting God with the promises of His own Word. Let us thus, filled with a sincere desire for God's justice, pray unto God with perseverance, pleading with Him to, after His own holy promise, answer us because we are willing to be completely cleansed, and want to become as pure as He is. And we are to continue praying until He fills us with jubilant faith by the assurance that He heard our continual prayer. If we remain faithful to Him, we shall find that He leads us in the full answer to our sincere prayer. For, He wants to make us pure, as white as snow, as white as white wool (Isaiah 1:18)!
(Very soon) there will be a time when Christians with such persevering prayer life will be persecuted. The "wise ones" among them will be led away (and kept in) the wilderness (see Revelation 12:6 and 14), but the "foolish ones" among them (the remnant of her seed – see Revelation 12:17) will have to go through the Great Tribulation, because they have not reached the fullness of Christ. And during this Great Tribulation they will be killed by the antichrist (see Revelation 11:1-2; 20:4). When Jesus thought of this, He sighed: "But when the Son of man cometh, shall he find (true) faith on the earth?"
We often still sin by showing the opposite of persevering prayer; maybe because we are (too) soon disappointed if our prayer is not immediately answered. This might also be the reason why our prayers often shrink to quick prayers. Let us pray the Lord for just such a persevering heart as the widow's in above parable. Does not nature teach us that no new life will come without patient pregnancy and labor pains? Likewise that NEW LIFE of God shall not be given us without this patient waiting (expecting) and the labor pains, whereby the wrestling prayer is meant, as Jacob did (see Gen-esis 32:24-26)!

We must pray with a penitent heart.

Luke 18 verse 9-14: "And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather (more) than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted."
Both prayers remind us of the offerings of Cain and Abel (Genesis 4:3-5). Like Cain offered the (best) fruits of his harvest to God, so this Pharisee pleaded on the ("good") works of his righteousness. And like Abel, especially because of his awareness of sin, only pleaded on the blood of the substitute offering of the sacrificial animal, so this publican only prayed to God for grace because he was aware of his sinful state.
Because of the added word "rather" (in our bible translation) by the translator (verse 14) the impression is created that the Pharisee who prayed so haughtily, was also justified by God. But this is impossible, for such a haughty prayer will never receive God's approval and blessing, just as Cain did not receive it! We, too, should never appear before God's face with a "holier-than-thou attitude" with regard to our fellow brothers and sisters. Were we not all pulled out of the mire of sin? Not for nothing it is written that the one who thinks to be standing (strong, spiritually), must watch out that he does not fall himself. Is not everything, that is really good, really righteous, really noble and really loving, from Him? Would it be right that we exalt ourselves regarding the things which are not of ourselves, but which were given to us by God's grace? It is Jesus Christ, and Him alone, Who should receive all honor and glory. For, when we spread the fragrance of (divine) righteousness, then this is not of ourselves (otherwise it would be selfrighteousness), but it is the fragrance of the Rose of Saron (see Song of Solomon 2:1), whereby is indicated Jesus, our heavenly Bridegroom, Who by His grace will flower (and grow) in us.
Let us always be willing to stand before our God in a "Lazarus condition" – namely "begging" for spiritual food, that we grow spiritually, whereby He will be able to let us walk in and by His grace – but never with (spiritual) pride, such as that rich fool in the parable of the "rich man and poor Lazarus in Luke 16:19-25, who, because of this, opened his eyes in hell!

We must pray like a child.

Luke 18 verse 15-17: "And they brought unto him also infants, that he would touch them, but when his disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them unto him and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein."
Just like a child we must believe everything concerning the Kingdom of God. We must have the faith and trust a child has in its parents. How happily and trusting a child can be when someone promises it something. Our relationship with God, too, must be one of childlike dependence and affection. For, a child blindly trusts that which its father says or promises. "My father said it and therefore it is so!" When we have such a heart's condition with regard to our heavenly Father, we will receive all the promises from God!

We must watch that our possession and all other matters which relate to this earthly life, do not form an obstacle in our prayer life.

Luke 18 verse 18-30: "And a certain ruler asked him saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit ETERNAL LIFE? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God. Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor thy father and thy mother. And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up. Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me. And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich. And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. And they that heard it said, Who then can be saved? And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God. Then Peter said, Lo, we have left all, and followed thee. And he said unto them, Verily, I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, of wife, or children, for the kingdom of God's sake, Who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting."Although Jesus Himself was the Son of God, and thus (a part of) God Himself, yet He put Himself in the same position as a human being. He came to this earth as the "Son of man", and therefore called Himself not good, but said that God alone (in the true sense of the word) is good.
And although this rich ruler, from his youth up, obeyed the law of charity, yet he felt he was missing something in order to inherit ETERNAL LIFE. God did not give that commandment in the Old Covenant (namely the ten commandments according to Exodus 20:1-17, and Deuteronomy 5:6-21) to His people in order that they be saved by that law (otherwise Jesus' sacrifice on the cross of Calvary would not have been necessary); but that His people, by that law, come to humility (subjection, meekness) and awareness of sin; that they by way of symbolic animal sacrifices which all point towards the great sacrifice of Jesus, God's Lamb, still receive His grace.
In order to obtain this meekness Jesus had to point out to this rich ruler the sin, which, without him noticing it, had him in its grip, namely his worship of the mammon (i.e. the god [idol] of money and possessions); his preference of the mammon. For the security of his earthly life he did not draw on the rich source of God's works of grace – which already fell to God's people in the Old Covenant through animal sacrifices – but from the awareness of his (earthly) wealth, his great amount of money and his possessions. How completely different it was with wealthy Abraham, who did not trust in his possessions, but who expected the city of God, with the firm (and thus trustworthy) foundation, of which God Himself is the Architect and the Builder (Hebrews 11:10; Revelation 21:10-27).
The spirit of this "rich" ruler had to be loosed from this great bondage to money and things. And, because he thought he had to do this in his own strength, he went away disappointed. The disciples, too, thought the same and uttered their disappointment with the words: "Who then can be saved?" But Jesus had said, also to this "rich" ruler: "Take up your cross!" (Mark 10:21). But these words of Jesus they then did not yet understand. Only when, after Jesus' death and resurrection, the Holy Spirit had come down in His Church – whereby the gifts of the Spirit of a.o. wisdom and knowledge (regarding God's Word) were revealed (see 1 Corinthians 12:4-11) – could (and can) the depth of this word of grace be understood. For it is only through obedience to the commandment: "take up your cross" – whereby is meant that we must die to our old and sinful ego and lusts, and this is only possible through His Spirit's works of grace, our repent-ance and our faith in His blood which was shed for us – that we can be delivered from all (sinful) works, bands and lusts of the flesh. It goes without saying that we must readily and gratefully accept these divine works in our heart and life. But not only this; the believer must also be willing to share the NEW (resurrection) LIFE of the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ, and be willing to lead a life in union with Him; as the head has with the body; as the bride has with her bridegroom!
Jesus stressed the (often) idolatrous bond of money and material possession by saying: "...it is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." In other words: this demonic force is very strong. There are not many rich people who would prefer the wealth of Jesus over their earthly possessions! Therefore Jesus says here that the chance of a camel going through the eye of a needle is greater than a rich man (spiritually seen) coming loose from his riches. (The "eye of a needle" is the small door opening beside the large city gate. When this large city gate was closed at night, this small door was opened and guarded.) Let us pray that God be especially gracious to such people that their eyes, too, be opened unto the riches of God's grace, which we may find and receive in the Lord Jesus Christ!
Once they are delivered from (the power of) their earthly possessions, they too will be prepared to serve the Lord Jesus, and be willing to dedicate their possessions with joy to the service of the Kingdom of God! And we must thank and praise God for such a changed human life, for it is His work in the heart and life of (us) people!

CLICK HERE if you want to read this study (Chapter 18) – that is to long for the Blog.

By E. van den Worm

LUKE (Chapter 17) - The purification of the holy place in order to come to “the end of all flesh” (Part 6)

2011-04-10T04:58:00.000-07:00

In and by Christ, we must (be willing to) be cleansed of all sinful words and actions which may be exchanged from man to man. We must live in that abundant love of God, whereby we, too, become merciful and gracious towards our neighbor.

This new chapter discusses the irritations and temptations our old nature can cause in the heart and life of our brothers and sisters in Christ. In and by Christ, we must be (willing to be) delivered from our old nature, especially from all actions and/or words which give cause to irritation and temptation; wherewith we may offend our brothers and sisters, and whereby their progress (or growth) in God's Kingdom may be hampered or prevented.

Luke 17 verse 1-2: "Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come! It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, then that he should offend one of these little ones."

By "one of these little ones" the Lord Jesus means a sincere child of God; a person (large or small, young or old) who, like a child, knows that he is dependent on the Father in everything. The Lord Jesus not for nothing depicted His greatest Gospel preachers as little children: "And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me" (Matthew 18:5). "Whosoever shall receive one of such children in my name, receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me, re-ceiveth not me, but him that sent me" (Mark 9:37). Compare also with Luke 9:48. "And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward" (Matthew 10:42). "Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven" (Matthew 18:10). By "their angels" is meant "the born-again spirits, of God’s children which serve God" All being well the believing person who is truly born again of God, must be just as humble as Him, Who said: "...and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart" (Matthew 11:29). When Jesus, our heavenly King, was here on earth, He did not walk as a Prince in Palestine (the present-day Israel), but as a humble Servant of God the Father, with as His only and greatest desire: to save sinners for eternity. How very differently, strayed far from this divine example, many Christians and preachers, who preach God's Word, walk among their fellow believers and neighbors today! Let us not bring to irritation and temptation our neighbors, and certainly not those "little ones" (namely our brothers and sisters); whereby we, as it were, bring them to resentment and sin. That is also the reason why God says that for such believers it might be better "that a millstone were hanged about their necks and they be cast into the sea"; whereby is meant that it would be better that such unbelievers (possibly by force) be removed from the fellowship (the congregation of brothers and sisters; the church), that they no longer hinder or block the others' way to salvation, holiness and justice. Not for nothing God says: "Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm" (1 Chronicles 16:22; Psalm 105:15). "For he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of His eye" (Zechariah 2:8b). Christ would rather see the opposite of the (sinful) attitude which causes sin and temptation in the Church; namely the fruit of the Holy Spirit, which must grow to fullness in the NEW MAN; this is the true fellowship! For love towards our brothers (and sisters) is the characteristic of being children of the Lord Jesus. "A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to an-other" (John 13:34-35).

In and by Christ, we must (be willing to) be delivered from all spitefulness.

According to the Lord, the first attitude which causes sin among fellow believers is spitefulness or implacability in spite of the fact that the other, guilty party possibly already asked for forgiveness.

Luke 17 verse 3-4: "Take heed to yourselves: if thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him."

For the Lord proclaims a gospel of reconciliation. "To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation" (2 Corinthians 5:19). He, Who paid for us an unpayable debt, wants us to live in the same spirit towards each other. He wanted to express this in the parable of the unmerciful servant; which we can read in Matthew 18:23-35, and which ends with these words: "And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses." Does not "the Lord's prayer", the model prayer the Lord gave us, teach the same thing? "And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors" (Matthew 6:12). The Scriptures then continue in the verses 14 and 15 with: "For if ye forgive men their trespasses, our heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." We serve a merciful God, Who wants His children to be merciful as well as a result of the mighty, inner workings of His Spirit. "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy" we are taught by one of the basic rules of Jesus' sermon on the mount (Matthew 5:7). This is why He also gave us the parable of "the good (merciful) Samaritan" in Luke 10:25-37. His express demand with regard to His children is: "Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful" (Luke 6:36). Returning to our subject we see the reaction of the disciples, who, on hearing His teaching, answer with:

Luke 17 verse 5-6: "And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith. And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamore tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you."

Indeed, no man can fulfill this rule for living in his own strength. By his faith in God, he must be justified in such a way, that he can do this, for "the just shall live by faith" (Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11, Hebrews 10:38). Faith in God and in His wonderful promises make possible the impossible!

In and by Christ, we must (be willing to) be delivered from all conceit/vanity that we ourselves are quite something already.

If there is something that upsets the relationship between brothers and sisters, it would certainly be the irritating sin of pride: namely thinking we are a lot more than others.

Luke 17 verse 7-10: "But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat? and will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink? Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow (think) not. So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done (only) that which was our duty to do."

When we, by the grace of our high God, may serve because He called us (personally and for that "special" task), let us then not imagine to be better or more spiritual than the other, "common" brothers and sisters; thinking to be "bood buddies" already with our God, and already belonging to the group of His "chosen confidants"! It would suit us, saved sinners, to "condescend to men of low estate" (Romans 12:16b); for how easy "the old man" within us, if he is not yet completely destroyed by the inwardly working power of the Spirit, would rise again, and destroy all the spiritual work of the Holy Spirit in us. Let us therefore follow the advice of Jesus, and say to ourselves: "We are unprofitable servants; for we have only done that which was our duty to do." One day all weakness and all our sinful "flesh" will have died (off) by His workings in us (1 Peter 2:24), and we then could live and walk entirely in His resurrection power. Even, or especially, when we are truly humble of heart and expect everything from Him, then we, by faith (and that correct state of the heart), could now already say jubilantly: "...we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is" (1 John 3:2). All glory to God for this!

CLICK HERE if you want to read this study (Chapter 17) – that is to long for the Blog.

By E. van den Worm

7 steps a convert has to take on the road: The HIGHWAY of Gods GRACE

2011-03-24T03:01:00.001-07:00

We are not carried on this road. This justification does not happen automatically, but we must go this Way of the Cross voluntarily, although we will be led by His Spirit (see Romans 8:14).

Step 1: We must believe:

in the accomplished work (His death/resurrection) for us;
that He (His Spirit) is almighty to share His victory with us;
in the preached/spoken Word of the Cross (see Romans 3:21-26).

Step 2: We must meet Him/go to Him (see Matthew 11:28-30, Isaiah 1:18)

Step 3: We must receive Him in our hart /life in order for Him to work His accomplished work in us through the washing in His blood: through His baptism with His fire (see Matthew 3:11-12, Revelation 3:20).

Step 4: We must be willing to die to our old sinful nature (see Luke 9:23-25, Malachi 3:1-3, 1 Peter 2:24).

Step 5: We must hunger/thirst for the NEW LIFE[1], the Christ-like nature, the Godly nature, He wants to give to us until (we reach) perfection (see Matthew 5:6, Philippians 3:10-14, 2 Peter 1:3-4, Ephesians 4:13).

Step 6: We must follow Him obediently on this road (see John 3:36).

Step 7: We must separate ourselves from all sin and temptation and must be willing to walk circumspectly in this world (see 2 Corinthians 6:14-18, 2 Corinthians 7:1, Luke 1:17).

By E. van den Worm

[1] See - on our website www.endtime-messenger.com - our Bible-study "LUKE - The book of the NEW MAN in Christ".

7 steps a convert has to take on the road - The HIGHWAY of Gods GRACE (PDF for printing)

LUKE (Chapter 16) - The purification of the holy place in order to come to “the end of all flesh” (Part 5)

2011-03-10T01:52:00.001-08:00

..

In and by Christ, we must be willing to be delivered from all unholy desires for earthly things (such as: money, unholy sex, fame).
This chapter, too, we are to see in the light of the veil (i.e. the curtain that separated the Holy Place and the Holy of holies) of the Israeli Tabernacle: hereby is meant the breaking off of all (powers of) sin in our flesh – by the union with His body that was broken for us, and His blood that was shed for us – in the strength of the Holy Spirit.
We will now have a closer look at those sins, which will always reveal the (sinful) flesh by the unholy desire for (much) money and property; for unholy and unrestrained sexual experience and for receiving fame and honor (thus applause) from people.

In and by Christ, we must be willing to be cleansed of all Mammonish idolatry.
The Scriptures start with the greatest and most committed sin: namely the desire for (much) money, riches and possessions. It is the dance around the gold calf, the worship of the mammon, which is done in many ways and in all intensity in this world... The Scriptures warn us emphatically for this: "For the love of money is the root of all evil..." (1 Timothy 6:10).
Luke 16 verse 1-8: "And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods. And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward. Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed. I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. So he called every one of his lord's debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord? And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty. Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore. And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light."
The Lord here pictures the way of life of a dishonest steward. He was a man who had no difficulty using his lord's money for himself. But these dark practices of his were discovered, and his lord dismissed him and asked him to account for his stewardship. But, being self-centered and unjust, he looked for a way to still be able to provide for himself, after his dismissal, if in a dishonest way... He even made his lord's debtors accessories to his dishonest practices, that he might blackmail them later, when he would be pressed for money, with the papers they themselves signed in hand. He did this for the purpose that these debtors might not deny him the necessary money as part of the loot, for fear to be accused by him of being accessories to the deceit. And that lord praised the well thought-out action of that dismissed steward, whereby he insured the future for himself.
The Scriptures then make a comparison and compare the action of the children of this world regarding their future, with that of the children of God. And the Scriptures conclude that worldly people insure themselves more carefully of a "good" (earthly) future than the children of God do regarding their eternal future. Children of God should manage their finances as carefully and honestly as possible, yet with a "loose hand" as well; that hereby neither the "100 measures of oil", namely the 100% ministry in the Spirit they owe their heavenly Father nor the "100 measures of wheat", namely the 100% ministry of the Word, are influenced unfavorably. The child of God should rather spend his money on the labor of the Lord. And those who receive this money will thank God for the (generous) gift and pray for the mercy and blessing of the Lord for the (generous) giver. This last thing is said in different words in the following verse:
Luke 16 verse 9: "And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations."
According to the Lord the being of the mammon (as it is the god of the money) is unrighteous and in practice we also notice this to be so. Often "trade" in essence is swindle; one often competes with one another in a dishonest manner, and one recommends things as being "fantastic", while one would not want to buy them oneself. The stain of unrighteousness clings to money... Therefore the Lord advises us to rather make friends with this "unrighteous mammon". Whereby is meant that we had rather, by means of gifts from a loving heart, act in such a way with our money that, if we should be in need (this is: when we, spiritually seen, are lacking towards the Kingdom of God), God will be gracious towards us to call us (again) to repentance and to His mercy. It goes without saying that such a child of God could still be lost if he does not want to respond to God's gracious call to repentance.

Luke 16 verse 10-13: "He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon."
God here compares two things with each other, namely the earthly possessions and the heavenly (and thus divine). Money and goods on the one hand, and the divine, heavenly gifts on the other. He then calls the gold (or money), thus everything that is meant by the unrighteous mammon, "least" in the life of a child of God! And so it has to be! God, His Word and His labor, working in and through us by the Spirit, must be for us "much" (namely the most important) in our life, and finances "least" (namely the least important). If, however, we are unrighteous (thus dishonest) in finances, then we are clearly (still) bound to mammon, and the Lord then cannot (and will not) let us share His spiritual gifts and riches. The Lord has also made us stewards over all the money he entrusts us with. The money belongs to this world, because it is necessary for buying and selling; it is not something special which belongs to the Kingdom of God. Therefore the Word says that money is "that which is another man's"; that we, who subjected our heart and life to Him and His Kingdom, must spend well. If we are dishonest in money matters, then He will not give us the portion in Him, He already gave to us in His Word. For if He would entrust those heavenly and divine matters to us, then we – because we have not yet been delivered from this mammon, from the unholy desire for (more) money and possessions – would use these (divine) powers for ourselves, and not for the good of His Kingdom. If we still have such a wrong (namely self-centered) condition of the heart, then another (in this case satan) will be ready to give us his spiritual powers and anti-anointings. Let us therefore heed this warning! Therefore it is very necessary that we, as children of God, show our preference, strongly and keenly, with regard to our God Who blesses all, with regard to our Savior; while we must use "the filthy lucre" with a loose hand. We cannot serve God and mammon.

Luke 16 verse 14-15: "And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him. And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God."
"Love of money", as we already saw, is "a root of all evil!" For it is an all-controlling longing for (more) money... With the Pharisees this dark desire was firmly rooted in their heart, because of which they were a bad example as religious people and leaders of the Jews of that time. But God is not to be linked up to the gold (with the love of money in a human heart), because the darkness has not a single part of the Light (2 Corinthians 6:14).
Woe that servant of God who falls by the stealing-in of the mammon. For, when one has received special gifts of the Spirit, such as that of healing, then great amounts might be paid in collections. And instead of spending these collections, with a wise heart, on the building up of the Kingdom of God, such "laborers of God" build themselves villas (with all the frills), and also see to it that they have large bank accounts... They began in the Spirit, but they clearly end (up) in the flesh... Let us not follow them. Let us watch ourselves that we do not long for (more) money, for this is an idolatrous and magical power. Only when we are sincere and steadfast in the Lord, the mammon (i.e. the [idol] god of money and possessions) cannot get us in his power.
When a religious leader (clearly) is guilty of an idolatrous form of love of money, and is accused thereof, then his reaction may often be like that of the Pharisees in Jesus' days: "They derided (scoffed at) Jesus!" in answer to His accusation, in an attempt to justify themselves (verse 14). And "self-justification" is a form of pride..., which was the reason the Lord said: "Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God."

CLICK HERE if you want to read this study (Chapter 16) – that is to long for the Blog.

By E. van den Worm

The 10 fulfilled (perfect) New-Testament Commandments of the Kingdom of Heaven ON EARTH

2011-02-24T06:54:00.000-08:00

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Firstly:
The 4 laws in relationship to the neighbour:
1. Love your brother in Christ with the love of Jesus (see Matthew 5:21-26).
2. Love your wife/husband with the love of Jesus (see Matthew 5:27-32).
3. Do not deceive your neighbour, love him/her as yourself (see Matthew 5:33-37).
4. Love your enemy as yourself (see Matthew 5:38-48).

Secondly:
The 3 laws in relationship to God:
5. Show your love for God in your offerings (see Matthew 6:1-4).
6. Show your love for God in your prayers (see Matthew 6:5-15).
7. Show your love for God in your fasting (see Matthew 6:16-18).

Thirdly:
The 3 laws in relationship to the old man to which we must die:
8. Die to your own "I"-life in relation to money and material goods (see Matthew 6:19-34).
9. Die to your own "I"-life in relation to your interrelationships with others (see Matthew 7:1-12).
10. Die to your own "I"-life in relation to all spiritual labor (see Matthew 7:13-29).

By E. van den Worm

NOTE:
See – on our website http://www.endtime-messenger.com/ – the interesting Bible study with the same title. CLICK HERE

The 10 fulfilled N.T. Commandments
(PDF for printing the 10 laws)

LUKE (Chapter 15) - The purification of the holy place in order to come to “the end of all flesh” (Part 4)

2011-02-10T03:50:00.000-08:00

A threefold parable of God's redeeming love.

In and through Christ we must be willing to be delivered of every spiritual mistake and self-will in the service of the Lord.
How often children of God follow their own sinful heart, and that they act willfully while serving their Lord and Savior. Many Christians often do not ask themselves, whether they do walk and act in and by the Spirit of the Lord. How often is the Lord not saddened by the stubborn actions of many a child of God, because, tempted by one's own deceitful heart, one over and over again tries to justify oneself before God and men.
Strikingly the Lord Jesus Christ tells us in this chapter, by means of three parables, of a spiritually mature laborer, and child of God, who also acts so willfully (and thus wrongly), but – we must give God alone all thanks for this – also of His redeeming love, whereby he is found again and brought back home (with God and His Church), because he let himself be found by that divine love!

The first parable: The lost sheep.
Luke 15 verse 1-7: "Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him. And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them. And he spake this parable unto them, saying, What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbors, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost. I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance."
We read here about the redeeming love of the Son of God. In this parable the relationship between shepherd towards sheep is discussed. Some two thousand years ago the Savior gave His (earthly) life on the cross at Calvary; but now, by His resurrection in the NEW (divine and eternal) LIFE, He is united in the spirit with His spiritual Body, namely the Church, and all its members. He now is, for all eternity, united with humanity in the spirit, with all who have accepted Him in their heart as their Lord and Savior.
What is a shepherd without sheep; what is a head without the body? By (physically) dying and rising the Son of God, by His (Holy) Spirit, has become the Head of the Church, His (spiritual) Body. What is a vine without its branches? What is a bridegroom without his bride? By His death and resurrection, which brings us (and all who are willing) redemption – He forever entered into this wonderful relationship with those who sincerely believe. He sought this union with the (believing) person; this union is given Him (by the Father), and the joy over this must have been so immensely great that He was fully prepared to suffer the shame and death on the cross; and because of which He was able to meet this suffering courageously. He is the Prince of Life, but He put Himself under the heel of the prince of death to save mankind. He (voluntarily) surrendered to the power of darkness, to satan. Satan is (and remains) His enemy, but He voluntarily put Himself under his heel to save you and me, His Church, His Body and His Bride, by sharing the human body, vulnerable to sin (He, as the Son of man on earth, had a will of His own). The joy of these (spiritual) riches, He knew, would be great for Himself as well as for His Bride(church)!
The sheep in this parable is not a lamb, but a mature sheep in a (special) group of a hundred! This has a deeper meaning, for the number 100 can be divided in 2 x 50, whereby the number 50, seen in biblical light, is God's code for the infilling with the Holy Ghost. These two groups of 50 sheep refer to God's children and laborers of the so-called "Former Rain" (whereby is meant the first outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost; see Acts 2:1-4), and those of the so-called "Latter Rain" (whereby is meant the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the end-time), which now is about to break through. Therefore, to keep it brief: this sheep belongs to the Bride-church. Thus, it is a Christian, filled with the Holy Spirit of God; a Christian belonging to the "elite corps" of Jesus! What made this sheep withdraw from the flock (the Church) and from its Shepherd? It had tasted the sweet relationship with Jesus; it had the sweet guidance to the green pastures of God's Word, to the very quiet waters of the comforting communion with the Holy Spirit. What made it draw away from Shepherd and flock? What was the reason? Slowly, ever so slowly, and undetected by the unwatchful eye, the poison of sin penetrated little by little the heart, once purified by the blood of Jesus. By the cleansing in the blood of the Lamb of God, this heart used to live in fervent devotion for Jesus and His Kingdom. Clearly a fiery "first love" was present. But by the almost imperceptible penetration of sin that (spiritual) fire was quenched... Because of it the sheep inwardly went through a straying from the only and right way, so that it did not feel at home with the Shepherd and the flock. The self-willed ego-life again flourished... and because of it, it reached the point that it separated itself from the Shepherd and the flocks... All kinds of causes could be mentioned for this, but in fact they were all caused by a three-headed monster, namely by the (sin)monster of lust. This monster tempts with... a beautiful man and/or woman, and sinful enslavement to sex; with (pursuing) riches, or the worries and many activities of (daily) life; a self-willed labor for Jesus or pride; a desire for honor, fame and the applause of people.
We are not told why this sheep drew away from the Shepherd and the flock. What we do know, is that this three-headed monster will try carefully and resolutely to sneak into hearts which are devoted to God. And if it is successful, the self-centered life, in different areas of life, will surface again, and before one realizes what is happening, one (again) is a prisoner of some lust which leads to sin! Slowly, but surely, this force of sinful lust will then come and dwell in that life, and will force the human spirit to satisfy this lust; because of which the person, who at first was a servant of justice, now again has become a servant of sin.
One could also become disloyal to the Lord by following (the will of) another person, while that will in essence is contrary to the will of God. And that person could be: an essentially apostate minister, a friend, one's own husband or wife. One could also idolize the minister, one's own husband, wife or child, or another person, with the sad result that one automatically strays from the Savior because of this. For, if we no longer love Jesus Christ above all and everything (else), if we no longer give him the (seat on the) throne of our heart, but give that place to something or someone else, then all mercy will (have to) leave us, and we will lose the bond with His Holy Spirit and His Word. Then we will separate from the Shepherd and from the flock.
Nowadays we see many separate from the flock; they no longer visit the congregations. And, most assuredly, even if they claim the opposite, they have left the Shepherd. Their heart no longer is the property of Jesus; their heart does not have the first love for Him anymore, for if that were so, they, in spite of everything, would be found in the circle of the flock and, above all, at His feet.
Drawn away by lust and self-will the sheep strays further and further from the Shepherd and the flock, and becomes increasingly more entangled in the thorns of the wilderness of this life. But, alleluia (praise ye the Lord), there is One, Who came to seek that which is lost; the rescue operation initiates from Him, from Him personally. It comes forth from the compassionate heart of the Shepherd: "He leaves the ninety-nine and goes after that which is lost, until He finds it!" The Spirit of the Lord seeks for the lives of those who once belonged to His flock. He seeks them with His searching love: He calls them with a wonderful Word of grace. He goes to them, He approaches them, He calls them; He calls those whose hearts have almost been totally destroyed by sin. Blessed that sheep that responds to the call of the Shepherd. So many believers were lost in the wilderness of the earthly life. Some used to preach the Word full of fire themselves; namely the news of Him, Who died for us on Calvary, in order to give us a NEW LIFE here on earth, and ETERNAL LIFE in the Kingdom of God. But many did hear the call of the Shepherd (again), but did not respond; they stayed away and were lost forever! But this sheep was blessed, because it responded to the call of the Shepherd! It bleated, it called for help! Glory to Jesus! "And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me" (Psalm 50:15).
Beloved, that is how it is when we respond to the call of that almighty Shepherd of Love. When we do, and in all sincerity say: "Yes, Lord, here I am, the lost and strayed sinner!", then He will put us upon His shoulders. We do not have to take care of the homecoming, He will do that for us. He will rectify what we have spoiled (botched), without any reproach, if we confess our sins to Him (Proverbs 28:13). He it is Who will take us back to the safe circle of the flock (the Church of the Lord), whereby we will be one of the 100 (2 x 50) again. Glory to God's great mercy! He it is Who carries us upon His shoulders, Who fills our heart with new joy and courage, whereby we receive strength to fight in the life of the cross (i.e. the dying process of our old life), and to enter into His Kingdom. It is Jesus Who will restore all things for us, when we again accept Him in our heart, because for Him all darkness must disappear. Then that same first love will be kindled again which made David exclaim: "For by Him I have run through a troop (with Him I will defeat [the army of] the enemy); and by my God have I leaped over a wall!" (2 Samuel 22:30; Psalm 18:29). It is God's mercy when this first love is kindled (again) in our heart and life, but this first love must burn in each laborer of Jesus! O, that first love, the love for Jesus, that love that is so needed and necessary, also for the labor for Him. But, this first love must go together with the "fear of God", whereby is meant the fear to again stray from God into the desert of sin of this life; the fear which keeps us alert to shut every little door and chink to satan that might cause us to stray again.
Beloved, let us maintain that first love. It burns in the hearts of those who have just discovered the great love and mercy of Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross. But do you still have this first love? For with all, who are not alert enough, who do not walk in the fear of God, this first love will gradually disappear, because of the powers of those monsters of lust and self-will. Therefore we must see to it that we remain in this first love, in the ardent love for Jesus. We must continue to feel this burning longing for Jesus in our heart and life. Even after thirty, forty or fifty years. For, however long we have walked (in faith) with Jesus during our earthly life, this first love must lead us, and must be the basis of our everyday life. This first love must be the motivation of all our labor, of all our speaking. It is the love wherewith we love God with all our heart, with all our mind, and with all our strength. It is by this love that we can reach the final phase of our sanctification and our justification; whereby we will also experience that perfect love towards our neighbor; yes, even towards those who hate us! It is by this love for Jesus that we will stand as conquerors on the shores of the crystal sea (see Revelation 15:2).
This sheep then again returned to the flock; this child of God fortunately came back again in the circle of his brothers and sisters; in that circle where he can love his Lord and Master and can serve Him, because he has been delivered from all self-will and sinful lust!
Glory to Jesus!

CLICK HERE if you want to read this study (Chapter 15) – that is to long for the Blog.

By E. van den Worm

A closer look at Christ’s Second Coming

2011-01-24T04:13:00.001-08:00

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Introduction:
When we talk about the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, we must realize that there are (in succession) an INvisible and a visible Coming.
The INvisible Second Coming is the (hidden) coming for the Bride(church); this is the so-called "wise-virgin" part of the true believers.
The VISIBLE Second Coming is the coming on the clouds, when every eye shall see Him in His full glory as King and Lord, also the eyes of those that pierced (or rejected) Him.

The VISIBLE Second Coming
In my opinion the following Bible texts all relate to the VISIBLE Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. And, from the context of the following Bible texts we can learn that the visible Second Coming will take place AFTER the Great Tribulation and BEFORE the beginning of Christ's Millennium of Peace.
The resurrection of all true believers who passed away (or died) in Christ in the course of the ages until the end of the Great Tribulation (see Revelation 20:4), will also take place AFTER the Great Tribulation, but BEFORE Christ's Millennium of Peace. Nowhere in the Bible do we read that there is a resurrection of the righteous BEFORE as well as AFTER the Great Tribulation.
Also one and the same event is meant by the trumpet mentioned in several texts below; viz. the trumpet of Revelation 11:15. Here again one reads that Christ's Kingdom (i.e. the Millennium of Peace) starts AFTER the sound of this trumpet (and the great voices in heaven – see also 1 Thessalonians 4:16).

1 Thessalonians 4 verse 15-17:
"For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them (the resurrected righteous [i.e. the believers]) in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord." (namely 1,000 years with the returned Lord ON EARTH)

Matthew 24 verse 29-31:
"Immediately AFTER the tribulation (the Great Tribulation, see verse 21) of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man (thus this is the visible Second Coming) coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."

1 Corinthians 15 verse 51-52:
"Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep (NOT all ‘pass away’ or ‘sleep in the Lord’), but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible (AFTER the Great Tribulation), and we (that are left alive from [and thus AFTER] the Great Tribulation, because God saved them – see Revelation 12:6, 14) shall be changed."

Revelation 1 verse 7:
"Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen."

Revelation 10 verse 7:
“But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound (with the seventh, and thus last, trump), the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.”

Daniel 7 verse 13-14:
"I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom (thus His dominion starts with His [visible] Second Coming on the clouds when the 3½ years of the Great Tribulation wherein the Antichrist reigns is past!), that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed."

Revelation 11 verse 15:

"And the seventh angel sounded (with the seventh, and thus last, trump); and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever."

Where and with whom shall He reign?

Revelation 5 verse 10:
"And (the Lamb) hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth."

Revelation 20 verse 4-6:
"And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God (i.e. the martyrs that died for the sake of Christ down through the ages), and which had not worshiped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands (these can only be the true believers which have to suffer a martyr's death in the Great Tribulation, because BEFORE the Great Tribulation the matter of this beast [i.e. the Antichrist] that must be worshiped, and the mark of the beast, are not raised); and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the FIRST resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years (on the earth)."

Thus 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 clearly refers to the VISIBLE Second Coming as the coming on the clouds is the VISIBLE Return. This we could clearly read in above Bible verses.

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

By E. van den Worm

LUKE (Chapter 14) The purification of the holy place in order to come to “the end of all flesh” (Part 3)

2011-01-10T03:36:00.000-08:00

In and through Christ we must be willing to be delivered from the noxious terrestrially and worldly minded view(s) of life.
This new chapter deals with the fatal, worldly influence(s) in the life of Christians; an influence which is experienced by the body (verses 1-6), the spirit (verses 7-11), and the soul (verses 12-24). It is the influence which is exercised on each worldly minded person (and thus also on each worldly minded Christian) by the spirit of this world; by the (demonic) forces in the air, whereby, in our human nature, from birth, there is rebellion against God and His will. And because of this influence by the tempting and deceiving forces going forth from satan, many Christians are reduced to spiritual death, to a life without God and without rules, because the power coming from satan fills them.
But God wants to cleanse us from every sinful lust in our natural spirit, soul and body, which this demonic worldly spirit seeks to manipulate by means of its temptations and deceits. That is also the reason why He says to us: "Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, 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..." (2 Corinthians 6:17-18; compare also Isaiah 52:11 and Revelation 18:4). And, if we really do what He asks of us, He will fill us with His nature and Spirit, so that we will be (or become) truly children of the almighty God.
At the end of this chapter (verses 25-35) He advises us to, carefully and with discreetly, accept the purifying and sanctifying working of His power of grace, because it is solely this way of the cross – namely the way we, in and through Christ, must go in order to (completely) die to (the powers of) sin within ourselves – which will lead us to the blessed presence of the fullness of His Spirit in us.

The spiritual death brings sickness in the body.
Luke 14 verse 1-6: "And it came to pass, as he went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath day, that they watched him (closely). And, behold, there was a certain man before him which had the dropsy (or oedema). And Jesus answering spake unto the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath day? And they held their peace. And he took him, and healed him, and let him go; and answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the Sabbath day? And they could (or rather would) not answer him again to these things."
The spiritual death reveals itself here in the dropsy (oedema; this is a sickly [abnormal] accumulation of fluid in the body) of that person, who was also invited into the house of the chief of the Pharisees. The same way the spiritual death can reveal itself in all kinds of sickness in our body, and weaken it, sometimes unto death. But Jesus came to deliver us (completely) from this spiritual death and from all its effects in our body, soul and spirit. And He will heal us, if we surrender to Him (completely), so that we will experience that wonderful rest (of the soul) which is in Him (see Matthew 11:28-29). But, in order to be (completely) healed by Him we must have completely mended our ways and turned away from all the old and sinful things in our heart and life. Also there must be, besides faith in Him, the desire to be (completely) delivered from all influence(s) of the spiritual death, which also causes sickness.

The spiritual death brings pride and the desire for honor and/or fame in our spirit.
Luke 14 verse 7-11: "And he put forth a parable to those which were (also) bidden, when he marked how they chose out the chief rooms; saying unto them, When thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest room; lest a more honorable man than thou be bidden of him; And he that bade thee and him come and say to thee, Give this man place; and thou begin with shame to take the lowest room. But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room; that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher: then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee. For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted."
The Lord here tells us a parable of someone, who was invited to a wedding feast. So are we all invited to the marriage feast of the Lamb of God (Revelation 19:6-10). Every worship service or (public) expression of our faith must be seen in the light of this spiritual feast.
Man finds himself, by nature, and thus under the influence of the spiritual death, very important and, at any occasion, loves to assign himself an important place. This, unfortunately, is also the case at all religious occasions, where one loves to be seen, and heard. Positions in the Church, which were taken this way, whereby one was driven by pride and the desire for honor and/or fame, unfortunately disturbed and/or ruined many gatherings already; sometimes to the extent that congregations were torn apart thereby... When do we learn to subject to that mighty guidance of God's Spirit? When will the sincere plea live in our heart which only asks: "Lord, what would You have me do?" On the other hand many spiritual leaders are also guilty of stubbornness (self-will); of the (often strong) tendency to rule and of short-sightedness, whereby they, and not the Spirit of God, have the say-so.
All those, who by their willfulness, and thus driven by pride or the desire for honor and/or fame, have taken in (or even won [by fighting for it]) positions in the Church of God, or who were called by people or by themselves (and so not by God!) to hold certain positions in the Church, and thus act in their own will, always oppose the Spirit of God, and by doing so harm the Body of Christ! Is it not Christ alone Who is the only Builder of the New Jerusalem (Hebrews 11:10; Psalm 127:1-2)? Therefore we all are to be called by Him alone, in order to be used as living instruments in and by His building Hand (1 Corinthians 3:10)! Is not Christ alone the only Good Shepherd (John 10)? Therefore all, who are called by Him to the pastoral function, should only be living extensions of His shepherd heart!
The satan, who is the cause of the spiritual death within us, always holds out the false hope to us of a great ministry in the Church and in the world. Let us therefore learn to recognize the voice of satan, and rebuke him, in order to (be able to) take in a lowly place at His feet, giving Him all the glory; to (be able to) hear His loving commands there concerning our ministry in Him, that we perform those in His strength (Romans 12:3). This way we shall learn to honor each other; namely the anointing which (also) works through our brother and/or sister. We shall also learn to esteem others more than ourselves (Philippians 2:3). If we have the sincere desire in our heart to serve Him, and if He has also called us personally thereto, then He shall lead us also personally to that position (appointed by Him) in Him. He will personally prepare us to (be able to) do good works (see Ephesians 2:10). As Christians we should not use our elbows; but God will remove all obstacles personally! In this way He also put David on the throne of Israel. The Word of God is applicable here: "He that believeth shall not make haste" (Isaiah 28:16)!
Should we, however, fill a position in the Church of God while we have not been called to it, and led by the Spirit of God, then we could, if we have a winning human personality, draw many to us and captivate them, but because of us these will, during their earthly life, not become "citizens of heaven" (by which is meant a life of complete subjection and devotion to God). For this is something only the Spirit of God can do. And if we are not called, we miss the so needed anointing of God, because only His anointing can work strongly and with power in the hearts of the audience, whereby they, should they really want this, could be (completely) delivered and renewed by His power. "For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted."

Because of the spiritual death our soul will crave worldly possessions.
Luke 14 verse 12-14: "Then said he also to him that bade him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbors: lest they also bid thee again, and a recompense be made thee. But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: and thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just."
Here the Lord describes what the motives of the soul are, that is ruled by the spiritual death: such a person is looking for a reward. Such a person likes to receive in return, in some form or another, what he gave the other. Only when we act in the opposite way, will we be deemed holy by the Lord, because it is proof that we have been renewed by Jesus and His Gospel. The NEW LIFE within us is not looking for a reward, but, prompted by the love of God, will give without any desire to receive something in return.
From the above it becomes clear what an enormous difference there is between the desire for (more and more) worldly goods, and the sincere desire for more and more of the Bread (i.e. the spiritual food) of the Kingdom of God. As we can read in the following verse, one of the listeners to Jesus made an allusion to this during the meal in the chief of the Pharisees' house.
Luke 14 verse 15: "And when one of them that sat at meat with him heard these things, he said unto him, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God."
And, as we can read below, Jesus took up the remark and showed, how all desire for the Bread of the Spirit could disappear gradually, even from the heart of the children of God, when they, by not being alert (enough), have allowed the spiritual death into their life. Then the possession of (many) earthly goods may seem more important to them than eating of this divine banquet, whereby is meant the union with the Lamb of God at His Marriage feast.
Luke 14 verse 16-24: "Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many: And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready. And they all with one consent (in agreement with each other) began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them (try them out): I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. For I say unto you, That none of these men which were bidden (first) shall taste of my supper."
With the supper described above, the great Supper of the Marriage of the Lamb is symbolized by the Lord. It is a prophetic type thereof. Here the appalling fact is expressed that those that were invited to this supper, at the time that the Marriage of the Lamb will be celebrated, will have more interest in their possessions in this world, than in the partaking of this (divine) banquet. They give greater priority to worldly goods than to the spiritual and divine.
Those that are (will be) invited to the Supper of the Marriage of the Lamb are children of God; they are the ones who were cleansed in His blood and filled with His Holy Spirit. But we see what will happen in the end-time under the influence of the (ever) increasing unrighteousness: the love for their Lord and Savior, with many, will cool because of the (often unconsciously) permitted intrusions of the spirit of this world (Matthew 24:12). Therefore, especially in this end-time, we must fight sin in all its forms, so also worldly-mindedness, with fire and sword; in order to keep those outside the gates of our heart! (James 4:4). The prophecy of the parable of the five wise and the five foolish virgins (Matthew 25:1-13) tells us, that the spirit of this (present) world will have such a great effect on all of the Kingdom of God (namely on all ten virgins), that it will entirely fall asleep (spiritually)!

CLICK HERE if you want to read this study (Chapter 14) – that is to long for the Blog.

By E. van den Worm

God’s victors of the end-time

2010-12-24T03:12:00.000-08:00

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)

2010-12-10T06:40:00.001-08:00

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

2010-11-24T03:01:00.001-08:00

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)

2010-11-10T01:31:00.001-08:00

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

2010-10-24T02:53:00.000-07:00

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

2010-10-10T08:50:00.000-07:00

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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

2010-09-24T01:38:00.001-07:00

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)

2010-09-10T00:36:00.001-07:00

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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

2010-08-24T01:15:00.000-07:00

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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

LUKE (Chapter 9) - Like a divine shewbread in this world (Part 1)

2010-08-10T01:11:00.000-07:00

This part teaches us to keep God’s Word of protective grace on the table of our purified and sanctified heart!
In the previous chapter we had a close look at the servant, namely the priest of the Lord, being a glowing candlestick in this dark world to bring to others the light of God's truth unto their salvation; now we will see that the life of the priests, God's children, themselves are as many wondrous signs in this world by their relationship with Jesus Christ, the Bread of Life. Their life, in the light of the Israeli Tabernacle, should be like a "shewbread". In the Holy Place of the Israeli Tabernacle stood "the table with twelve shewbread". Know, that 12 is the symbolic number of the Church, which should be the revealed fruit (or: the result) of the Holy Spirit. A "life like a shewbread" therefore means: a life, where in the glory of God is revealed. Chapters 9 and 10 must now be seen in the light of the twelve shewbread.

The prayer life, the true gauge of our spiritual hunger.
Beloved, we cannot be a shewbread in the world by our own strength. We must give Him access into our heart. And He will only come into our heart and being when we truly long for Him, and seek Him with all our heart... (Jeremiah 29:13). There also must be found a willingness in our heart to obey Him; a subjection of our whole being, whereby He can make us obedient. These are the conditions for being able to be baptized with His Holy Spirit. Only the wish to be baptized, without the act of seeking Him in prayer, which is characterized by a total surrender, in this case will not help you much further. Not for nothing it is written: "Ask ye of the Lord rain in the time of the latter rain..." (Zechariah 10:1a). The true gauge of your longing for the Lord is your prayer life. How much time do you spend daily on the seeking and admitting of Jesus? How much time do you spend on seeking contact (communion) with Him? You should add up the times of struggling, seeking prayer until you found contact (communion) with that great Shepherd (i.e. Jesus); until you actually reached the spiritual Rock (i.e. Jesus), on which you, together with Jesus, could build your spiritual house (Matthew 7:24); you will then discover how much you truly long for Jesus; in what measure you truly want to be used by Him.
I know, you all long for (more of) Him, but you are prevented by all kinds of things, and these things are as many fruits of the increasing iniquities, such as: watching TV too much, and looking at the wrong TV programs; reading novels or gossip magazines; maybe even lust-arousing (pornographic) literature; the desire for more (or more beautiful) material possessions, whereby and wherefore you have to work overtime. You see, the things which keep us away from Jesus, and from prayer, can be of different sorts! The devil will do his utmost to keep you from praying; because nowadays he is weakening the prayer-life by tempting you with all kinds of worldly things, just as he made that fruit in paradise desirable to Eve. He will take away that "continual sacrifice" – namely the continual dedicated prayer based on His finished work on Calvary (Daniel 12:11; 2 Corinthians 4:10-11)! Because of the sin of this prayerless or prayer-poor life (1 Samuel 12:23) we could never have communion with Him, and because of this we could never come to the status of "shewbread" in this life.

We must become wondrous signs in this world by communion with Jesus Christ, the Bread of Life.
Luke 9 verse 1-6: "Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases. And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick. And he said unto them, Take nothing for your journey, neither staves, nor scrip (travel bag), neither bread, neither money; neither have two coats apiece. And whatsoever house ye enter into, there abide, and thence depart. And whosoever will not receive you, when ye go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet for a testimony against them. And they de-parted, and went through the towns, preaching the gospel, and healing every where."
He called the twelve disciples unto Himself – namely the apostles sent (out) by Him; but here these apostles represent all the laborers of Jesus, high and low. Before sending them away He first gave them a portion of spiritual power over all demons and sicknesses (Luke 10:19). Here, they had not yet received the baptism with the Spirit, but they acted in the power of God which, as it were, was transferred unto them. The laborers of the Lord, from the time after the first Pentecost outpouring (see Acts 2:1-4), must act in His Name, under the guidance of the indwelling Holy Spirit.
Essentially it remains the same: a child of God, by his communion with the Bread of Life, is put in this world as a wondrous sign! And it is only by this communion, and solely under His express guidance that he can fulfill the great mission, which is written in Mark 16:15-18, because the Spirit of God alone is the Binder and Looser of sins and powers of darkness! "And I will give thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." (Matthew 16:19). Compare this with Matthew 18:18. So all satanic powers and forces had to fall back before the apostles, and so all powers and forces of the (spiritual) darkness will still make way before each child of God, that is willed with the almighty Spirit, as long as he only does what the Spirit commands him to do. Do you then under-stand that the words of such a child of God are binding and loosing; that the preaching of such a person is binding and loosing; that such a ministry is binding and loosing? For the Spirit of God Himself is then active in and through His servant!
How wondrous such labor in the Spirit is, when the life of God's servant has been completely crucified, and the Lord does not find any resistance anymore. In the end-time God will bring part of His Church to such a position. This then will be God's Bride(church), namely that part of the Church which was willing to follow Him... in such a Bride-church; and, spiritually seen, they will be indeed "without spot or wrinkle"!
Verse 3 says: "Take nothing for your journey, neither staves, nor scrip (travel bag), neither bread, neither money..." Nothing was to be taken that could support them (could help them). They were to completely depend on the omnipotence of God; there had to be faith which leaned completely on the almighty Sender. Verse 4 says: "And whatsoever house ye enter into there abide..." When someone of a town, wherein is preached, has accepted the Word, and offered the preacher lodging, and thus hospitality, then that preacher should not move to someone else's house, because e.g. that house might be more comfortable; for so the love of the first one is rejected. And such behavior would not go with the Spirit of the Sender, and is unworthy of a laborer of the Lord! Verse 5 urges even to "...shake off the very dust from their feet..." of the towns that are not willing to receive God's laborers. There is not to be any relationship between God's laborers and those who reject His Word.

Luke 9 verse 10-11: "And the apostles, when they were returned, told him all that they had done. And he took them, and went aside privately into a desert place belonging to the city called Bethsaida. And the people, when they knew it, followed him: and he received them, and spake unto them of the kingdom of God, and healed them that had need of healing."
The corresponding verses in the other Gospels tell us, that the apostles had returned to the Lord with great joy, on account of the miracles they were able to perform during their mission, because the Spirit of God was being revealed.
The Lord then took them to an area near Bethsaida, and He departed alone to a desert place. This way He wanted to teach His disciples, that after that release of divine power, dedicated, humble prayer was needed... for the restoration of a person's spiritual inner being. When a servant of God was allowed to act so wonderfully in His Name, it is a good thing when that servant, after such a powerful service, retires in the shadow of the cross; the place he belongs to, together with all other believers whom Jesus has won out of the world (Luke 17:10).
There once was a preacher who was wonderfully used by the Lord. He was used so wonderfully, that he... sometimes had problems with his ego. He testified, that, after having been used so wonderfully, he needed many hours in prayer in order to arrive again at that humble subjection to God, wherein the Lord could use him.
Of ourselves we all are unprofitable servants (Luke 17:10), because all activity should be guided by Him alone. He is the only Builder of the New Jerusalem (Matthew 16:18; Psalm 127:1-2)! He is the only One, Who could form Christians into real and (spiritually) mature children of God. He is the only One, Who could make His children into perfect saints of God! After such a servant of God has retreated with Him, there will be new labor in Him again for him Therefore we read, that the people returned to Him afterwards. The Gospel was brought to them, and He again healed the sick. Labor and prayer should always alternate. If there is much work, then many prayers should go before, and many prayers should follow! The spiritual "battery" must be recharged again and again.

CLICK HERE if you want to read this study (Chapter 9) – that is to long for the Blog.

By E. van den Worm

Jesus, the Son of man (a Son of David), the Lamb of God

2010-06-24T03:08:00.001-07:00

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The great sacrifice of the Lamb of God for the salvation of the world, lost in sin
Isaiah 53:1-3 "Who hath believed our report? And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not."
Thus begins the prophecy of Isaiah, 700 years before the birth of the Messiah, about the sacrifice that, at the crossing point of the ages, the Lamb of God must bring to rout the sin of man. Here God's Spirit utters His grief about the indifference, the insensitivity, and the contempt of mankind, lost in sin, and especially of Israel; in the eyes of God this is an all-encompassing event at the crossing point of the ages for the salvation of mankind, here called "dry ground". Something of God sprouts here into one root of His prophetic Word, which has come alive, and which He declared immediately after the fall (into sin) of the first human couple.
Genesis 3:15 "And I will put enmity between thee (satan[1] and his power of sin) and the woman (Eve and repentant mankind, which is to be born of her), and between thy seed (all unrepentant men that are inspired by satan) and her seed (all penitent people that turn to God); it shall bruise thy (the sin serpent's and the power of satan's) head, and thou shalt bruise (hinder) his heel (the heel tendon; the walk of the people who have repented and allow themselves to be led by the inspiration of God's Spirit)."

1) The Son of man (the incarnation of God's Son, a Son of David)
That "root" in Isaiah 53:2 is the incarnation of the Son of God, Who went out from the Father for this purpose (John 16:28) and came into Mary's womb to unite Himself with her ovum, thus bringing forth the Son of man.
Romans 1:3-4 "Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead."
After the flesh He is the Son of man, a Sprout (Descendant, litt. a Sperm) of David (a sinful man), of Mary. This is why we read in Romans 8 verse 3:
"For what the law could not do (namely the justification of man), in that it (the law) was weak through the (sinful) flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness (Greek: homoioma) of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh."
The Greek word "homoioma" means copy, equality (of sinful man).
Hebrews 2:17-18 "Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like (Greek: homoioma) unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted."
Hebrews 4:15 "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."
God, and also God's Son, cannot be tempted with evil (with sin) (James 1:13), but the Son of man could, because He, after the flesh, was a descendant of the forgiven sinner David. Hence, after His soul, the Son of man experienced temptations of His flesh, but He overcame them all and kept His blood pure.
Hebrews 10:5 "Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body (David's flesh) hast thou prepared me."
Thus, the Son of man was made sin for us from His birth (2 Corinthians 5:21) and bore our sins in His body. He was therefore killed on the cross for our sins.
During His earthly walk He had a human will, which is contradictory to God's will.
John 6:38 "For I came down from heaven (and became Man), not to do mine own (human) will, but the will of him that sent me."
Would He have been only God's Son, as in the case of His earthly revelation form as Melchisedec at the time of Abraham (Hebrews 7:1-3), then only God's will would have been in Him, and He would never have been able to be tempted with sinful temptations, because the Son of God, not mixed with fallen, carnal man, never could be tempted. Let us honor the Word of God, as concerning this "being the Son of David", and not stubbornly take away from or add unto it, thus defiling God's Word.
It was in order to save us that the Son of man made Himself so vulnerable to temptation and sin; yet He remained without sin. He had to be a member of the sinful human family, representing mankind, in order to be able, in their place, to pay for the sins of man. But men in Jesus’ time seeing Him, did not esteem Him. He was despised by them, and rejected, and only desired by few; this according to Isaiah 53:2-3.

2) The Lamb of God.
The heavenly Father made Him a sin offering for the human sin.
Isaiah 53:4-7 "Surely he hath born our grieves, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. all we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and e was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the laughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.”

3) His death and the 3 days and 3 nights.
Matthew 12:40 "For as Jones was three days and three nights in the whale's belly: so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."
Isaiah 53:8-10 "He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for he transgression of my people was he stricken. And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand."

4) The resurrection.
Acts 2:23-27 "Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved: Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope: Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption."
The pains of death were loosed for Him. The body suffers no pain when dead, but the soul does The Lord Jesus was in Hades, the domain of death, for three days and three nights. Jesus said to the murderer, who repented unto Him on the cross, "Today you shall be with Me in paradise" (Luke 23:43). This must have been through the Holy Spirit, be-cause Jesus, at that time, was in Hades in the body. It is written in Acts 2:26-27: "...My flesh shall rest in hope, ...and thou wilt not suffer thine Holy One to see corruption". Thus, His body was not to see corruption (decay); this would have set in on the fourth day, and He arose after three days and three nights. In verse 27 it is also written: "Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell (Hades)...". This verse also tells us, that His soul was in Hades for three days and three nights.
Acts 13:32-35 "And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers, God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee. And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David. Wherefore he saith also in another psalm, Thou shalt not suffer thine Holy One to see corruption."
Because man is a unity after spirit, soul and body, so it is with Jesus, the Son of man. His Spirit, the Spirit of the Son of God, also had to go into Hades. Hence the Son of God and the Son of man must be born again of God. The Son of God, before His incarnation, was born of God in the eternity of the past.
Micah 5:2 "But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be Ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting"
Now that He dies in the unity of the Son of man, He must be born anew of God. Hence it is written:
Hebrews 5:5b "Thou art My Son, today (i.e. with His resurrection from the dead) have I (the Father) begotten (made to be born) thee (the Son of man)." (See also: Psalms 2:7b; Acts 13:33b; Hebrews 1:5)
In the depths of Hades at first a small Godly Light was inflamed, Which gradually became larger and larger. What tu-mult that must have caused in satan's domain! Then the Son of man arose as the victorious Lion of Judah, went up to satan and snatched from him the keys of death and hell.
Revelation 1:18 "(I am the First and the Last): I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death."
Now He can deliver all souls, which repent unto Him, from the prison of sin and death, and lead them into His eternal life.
Ephesians 4:8 "Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity (of sin) captive, and gave gifts (of forgiveness, redemption and renewal) unto men."

5) The ascension, His task as Highpriest at the right hand of God in His throne.
Hebrews 9:11-15 "But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance."
Having risen from the dead, and ascended into heaven, the Lord Jesus as God's High Priest, seated at God's right hand, can now deliver many from the power of satan and sin, and bring them into the eternal glory with Him, and, them being sanctified, He can lead them to our Father God in the highest heaven.
Isaiah 53:11-12 "He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors."
To God be all glory!

Amen.

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.

Jesus, the Son of man (a Son of David), the Lamb of God.

LUKE (Chapter 8) - Like a sevenfold candelstick for God

2010-06-10T03:31:00.001-07:00

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Part II:

The life in the HOLY PLACE of the resurrection person

Introduction
In the previous chapters of the study of luke, we saw how the priest of God was formed; namely out of sinners, lost in sin and guilt. For Jesus was willing to cleanse us, who were sinners, in His blood, and to renew us in and by His Spirit. In Chapter 7 we saw, that in Christ we may be resurrected into NEW LIFE.
In this Chapter we shall have a close look at the different kinds of priestly labor we may perform in and by Him after having been anointed for it by Him. We will discover that we have been saved by Him in order to save others! We will also discover that this labor, in its totality, makes God's light to shine as by a sevenfold, gold candlestick which was also to be seen by those who, deliberately coming out of the Forecourt, entered that Holy Place.
This candlestick consisted of a shaft (one arm with a foot on which the whole candlestick rests) in the middle, and of six branches, which come out of the shaft by twos. That shaft and those branches together give a sevenfold light. The same way the spiritual candlestick of God (namely our testimony in and by the Holy Spirit) today gives its sevenfold light in this dark world for the glorification of the wonderful Name of God. So a child of God, cleansed in the precious blood of Jesus, and renewed in and by the power of the Word and the Holy Spirit, must walk in priestly service in this world; in order to proclaim to that same world the sevenfold light of God's glory, and to reveal it. Let us have a closer look at this sevenfold Light, in sequence.

1. We must deny ourselves things and be prepared to bring sacrifices in honor of Jesus
Luke 8 verse 1-3: "And it came to pass afterward, that he went throughout every city and village, preaching and shewing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God: and the twelve were with him. And certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils, And Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others, which ministered unto him of their substance."
We see here, as the first light of God's candlestick, the willingness to bring a sacrifice for the use of the Gospel of God... We see here women willingly going with Jesus, Who is the Word of God, Who proclaimed His Father's Word, namely the Gospel, the Good News. They took care of all the material and financial things He needed for this. The life of each servant of God should be like this. Everything he possesses materially, should be dedicated to the increase of God's Kingdom.
There is a clear characteristic in the life of a servant of God: he is not stingy for the work of Jesus! His purse is always open for the work of his Lord. He even put all his belongings in Jesus' hands. When you see someone who is stingy with regard to Jesus' work (think of the biblical "tithe"), then you know such a person is not yet born again. Which is not to say, that a servant of God is wasteful with his money, but the Lord has full control over it. Jesus knows that His children still need money in this world for all their activities.

2. We must dedicate our life to Jesus, and labor in honor of Him alone.
A servant of God is a revealer of the Word, a proclaimer to the world of the Gospel. God's Word must be heard from his mouth. He must be a sounding board of God, that is always ready (and thus pure); an open and not a clogged channel.
Luke 8 verse 4-15: "And when much people were gathered together, and were come to him out of every city, he spake by a parable: A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it. And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it. And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be (mean)? And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand. Now the (explanation of the) parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away. And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with (daily) cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection. But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth (spiritual) fruit with patience."
Here we see a sower sowing seed. The Lord explained that the seed is the Word of God that is proclaimed to the world. The Word of God comes forth from the heart of the Father. And it is God's servant, who in prayer must be open to this and having received it must sow this Seed into the hearts of the people.
Elsewhere in Scripture we read again, that the Word is the Sword of the Holy Spirit. Therefore it is the Holy Spirit, Who must wield this Sword, and neither you nor me... Again: we should not wield the Word; it is the Holy Spirit within us, Who through us must wield the Word. Then it will be a Sword. To what purpose? For the destruction of bonds of sin and powers of sin. The Word must cause the souls of the people to want to die to bonds of sin, and must deliver them from the powers of sin. But if we are not willing to be delivered, then this Sword will be judgment to us! But when we are prepared to see the evil within ourselves – by the Word revealed to us; and when we are prepared to lay our (old and sinful) life in the hands of Jesus Christ, our Lord, then this Sword of the Spirit will kill all sin in us and... deliver us from all works of satanic powers in our life (Romans 8:2).
Seen in this light, who do you think the Sower is? It is God's Holy Spirit, Who works in and by His servants... He builds the Kingdom of God! He alone is the Builder of the Kingdom of God and of the temple of our heart (Matthew 16:18; John 15;:5; Psalm 127:1-2). We are merely channels; human channels in His hand, through which the Word may flow which must come directly from the heart of the Father; and for which we pleaded, wrestling in prayer before His throne. It is His bread, the Bread of life, which we must pass on in His Name. And this Word, this Seed, is mighty Seed, which must be sowed by Him Himself working through His servants. In this parable are mentioned four cases of reception of this Seed (namely the Word) in the heart, and only in one case this event has eternal value!

CLICK HERE if you want to read this study (Chapter 8) – that is to long for the Blog

By E. van den Worm

The Church at Laodicea

2010-05-24T09:35:00.001-07:00

The apostle John’s prophecy of Jesus’ returning in the Spirit communing in the end-time in the midst of His seven Churches
In the Book of Revelation, chapters 1-3, we read about Jesus' invisible coming in the end-time, in and by the Holy Spirit, in the midst of His seven churches. He then comes to bring his Church, which has strayed and fallen asleep in sin, and typified here in seven different types of churches, unto sincere repentance, unto restoration and actual victory over satan[1] and sin.
We will now look at His Word directed to the last of the seven types of churches of the end-time, namely the church at Laodicea.

In the grip of mammon
Laodicea is a church of the so-called "rich countries", thus also of the Netherlands.
Revelation 3:14-16 "And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth."
Jesus here presents Himself as the true and faithful Witness of the situation of the church of Laodicea, whereto we also belong.

The wandering state of the Church
1) She is lukewarm, not hot/on fire and reprehensible in the eyes of Jesus: "I shall spue you out of My mouth".
2) Wrongly, she deems herself blessed by God because of her material wealth.
Because of the temptation of being able to gather material riches this Church forgot the next Word of God, which warns us:

Matthew 6:19-25 "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness (itself)! No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for you body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?"

Who or what reigns in your heart?
Proverbs 4:23 "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life."
What are you looking for in this life? If the mammon, the idol of the lust for money, lives in your heart, and your eyes are filled with, and are focused on, wealth; when your heart trusts in money, bank accounts or material possessions, or when it longs for them, then the Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ is no longer in your heart, even if you go to church regularly, perform religious acts, and speak and sing of Jesus Christ.
Your conscience has then been scorched by the mammon, and you do not recognise your real spiritual state.
Revelation 3:17 "Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked."
You do not know that spiritually you are "miserable, wretched, poor, and blind, and naked". It is God's grace if the light of the Holy Spirit comes over you, and you then discover, who you really are spiritually, and that that material wealth is not a blessing from God.

Search yourself closely: Who or what reigns on the table of our heart? Is it the Lord Jesus, an idol, or our own "I"? Which lusts reign in your heart? Is it money? Material wealth? Is it sex, or power, or the greatness of this worldly life? These then are as many idols, and we have left our first love. If we really seek eternal life, which Jesus Christ offers us, then we are to make a definite choice in this life; namely we must be willing to love Him above all, even above our own life; and we must be willing to follow Him on His road, the way of the cross, to God, our Father.
Luke 14:25-27 "And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them, If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple."
We must love the Lord Jesus Christ above all, He must fill our heart and life; and no earthly desires, no matter how beautiful, which become idols in our heart and life.

What more does the sinner have to do?
The Lord Jesus comes unto the Laodiceans with the following advice:
Revelation 3:18-19 "I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent."

1) We are to buy this new life of God, and pay for it with our old, sinful life, which must be burned to ashes by the fire of the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 3:11-12 "I indeed baptise 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 baptise 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."
We read here of the advice, John the Baptist gives us, to open our being for the baptism in the Holy Spirit and fire, that the threshing floor of our heart be purified of sins, and He give us, in its place, the divine life, His heavenly divine riches.
In Revelation 3:18 we read, that He does not only want to give this divine wealth, this heavenly gold, but also the while clothes of His holiness, a divine and holy life here on earth in and by His power.
2) We must also search diligently for this new life (Revelation 3:19),
3) and repent sincerely thereto of all sin, and flee the sinful circumstances.
4) We also must open the door of our heart for Him, of He knocks at its door to enter.
Revelation 3:20 "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me."
We see that Jesus stands outside the Church of Laodicea, and that we are to let Him in personally, because we have a free will, which He will not torpedo.
Once we have let Him into our heart and life, He will have supper with us; this means: He will share with us His death and resurrection, His victory over sin and satan. Then we, too, shall be conquerors through Him over sin and satan, already here in our earthly life.
Revelation 12:11 "And they (the victors) overcame him (satan and power of sin) by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony (whereby also others will share this victory); and they loved not their (earthly, sinful) lives unto the death (until it is completely dead, already here on earth; so that they may live without spot or wrinkle, faultless; see Ephesians 5:27, already here on earth).”

The victors' reward
Revelation 3:21-22 "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. e that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches."
He then shall share with these His lordship/dominion in His Millennium, and crown us with authority. He will also clothe these, outwardly and inwardly, with divine glory.

Let us keep in mind this hope of glory.
Amen.

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 Church at Laodicea - The wandering state of her - In the grip of mammon

LUKE (Chapter 7) - The Lord Jesus Christ, our resurrection power in every way

2010-05-10T07:40:00.001-07:00

In case of illness
In the light of the Israeli Tabernacle we, in this chapter, have arrived at the brass laver and the door to the Holy Place; objects, which respectively tell us of the actual dying (off) of the old man, and the resurrection in the NEW LIFE, which becomes ours through and in the Lord Jesus Christ, by the baptism in water and in the Holy Spirit; and by the growing together in the Spirit with the Lord Jesus Christ, in His death as well as in His resurrection (Romans 6:3-12).

Luke 7 verse 1-10: "Now when he had ended all his sayings in the audience of the people, he entered into Capernaum. And a certain centurion's servant, who was dear unto him, was sick, and ready to die. And when he heard of Jesus, he sent unto him the elders of the Jews, beseeching him that he would come and heal his servant. And when they came to Jesus, they besought him instantly, saying, That he was worthy for whom he should do this: For he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue. Then Jesus went with them. And when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him, Lord, trouble not thyself: for I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof: Wherefore neither hought I myself worthy to come unto thee: but say in a word, and my servant shall be healed. For I also am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say unto one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turned him about, and aid unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And they that were sent, returning to the house, found the servant whole that had been sick."

Here we see a case of resurrection from a sickbed of someone who was sick unto death, by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. It was a Roman centurion's faith. Today, one might translate this rank with "captain". This image, the faith of a pagan centurion, is like a prophecy (prediction) of the entering in of paganism into the Kingdom of God. He believed in the Lord Jesus Christ as being the One, sent by the Father with powers (of attorney) in the Spirit of God. This faith became obvious by the words he spoke. He said... that he, too, had a commander over him, and soldiers under him. He would receive an order, and would execute it by giving his subordinates the necessary commands.
He compares this situation with the ministry of Jesus. The Father in heaven sent His Son, and the Son defeated the enemy, the power of darkness, by His Spirit-filled Word. The Spirit of God executed Jesus’ orders for healing, which were in the Name of the Father unto wonders and signs and unto fulfillment of the whole Word of God. Jesus would also banish the darkness and the power of sickness from the life of this centurion's servant, who was very dear and valuable to him.
By God's grace this centurion had this faith, and Jesus marveled. Jesus had not found such wonderful faith, not even in Israel, God's people. He found this faith in a heathen! Glory to God!
We receive faith by grace, it is a gift from above. By this given faith the centurion saw in Jesus the Messiah, the One sent by the Father; and he saw that the omnipotence of the Spirit was available to Him. Therefore he said, in different words: "Lord, just speak, say a word, for the Spirit of God will do it!" Now this is what it is all about: We should not believe because we see wonders and signs, but we must believe in the Word of God! This must be the foundation upon which our faith rests. We should act in faith because God said so!
The Word declares to us, among others: "Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved!" (Joel 2:32; Acts 2:21; Romans 10:13). Anyone, who comes wholeheartedly to Jesus and calls on Him for help in his need, and asks Him to come into his "house", will receive spiritual health and ETERNAL LIFE; he will receive resurrection power. Therefore call on Him in the day of trouble, and He will deliver you from that situation of power (Psalm 50:15).
In case of miserable circumstances.

Luke 7 verse 11-17: "And it came to pass the day after, that he went into a city called Nain; and many of his disciples went with him, and much people. Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her. And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not. And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother. And there came a fear on all (here: a wave of awe went through all of them): and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited his people. And this rumour of him went forth throughout all Judea, and throughout all the region round about."

The death of her only son, who was also the breadwinner, caused the widow of Nain to be plunged in miserable circumstances. In that time there were no social laws in Israel, like we now know in our country, whereby such people are taken care of financially. The Lord saw her sorrow and cares, and was moved with inner compassion for her. The resurrection power of the Son of man, which soon was to be confirmed by His death and resurrection, caused a complete turnabout in the circumstances she was in. He walked up to the bearers of the bier, on which the dead man lay, and touched it. Majesty and authority went out of the Prince of Life. Moved by awe for the Man, Who performed so many miracles, the bearers put down the bier. And He said: "Young man, I tell you, get up!" He had restored her son to the old mother, and had banished all darkness from her dejected mind and life! To God be all glory!
Moved by His great compassion for sin-sick humanity, whereby it might be in such stormy and dark circumstances, the merciful God throws us His "life jacket" in His Word! "Cast all your cares upon Him, for He careth for you" (1 Peter 5:7). "Be careful for nothing, but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God" (Philippians 4:6). ”Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be move." (Psalm 55:22). We must learn to give Him access to all our troubles, in everything that burdens us down, and He will do all these things! Praise be to God! He not only gives us NEW LIFE, but, as we have seen, also healing and deliverance from all deep pits of life.
He saves His servants from all doubts the evil one prompts.

Luke 7 verse 18-30: "And the disciples of John shewed him of all these things. And John calling unto him two of his disciples sent them to Jesus, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another? When the men were come unto him, they said, John Baptist hath sent us unto thee, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another? And in that same hour he cured many of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits; and unto many that were blind he gave sight. Then Jesus answering said unto them, Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached. And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me. And when the messengers of John were departed, he began to speak unto the people concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness for to see? A reed shaken with the wind? But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they which are gorgeously apparelled, and live delicately, are in kings' courts. But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet. This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger (i.e. John) before thy (Jesus') face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he. And all the people that heard him, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John. But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him."

Here the evil one caused a wonderful servant of God to doubt and to come into great difficulties: he was captured by Herod and was to spend the rest of his days in the dungeon, in the midst of enemies. Some faithful disciples, however, came to visit him... The great prophet of God was caused to doubt because of these circumstances... Because of the bitter circumstances his wonderful focus on Jesus was obscured. See how powerful the evil one can work, even in the life of such a servant of God. Therefore, beloved, if doubts arise in your heart, by whatever causes, act as John did: because of his imprisonment, he sent others to Jesus. In fact, he went to Jesus with his doubts. We too should confess the doubts, with which the evil one holds us in bondage, to Jesus; that He clear our faith outlook, and keep it fastened on Him again. And He wishes nothing else, but to clear and strengthen our faith outlook, that therefore we might (again) share Him, His resurrection power and glory.
Jesus did this to John in this way, who heard the testimony concerning Jesus from his disciples; namely he heard of His redeeming and saving power, of His proclamation of the gospel to the poor in spirit, and the message that the Kingdom of God had come near.
When John's disciples were on their way back to him, Jesus did not rebuke John for his doubts, but He even confirmed the divine calling of John as a prophet of God. He certainly was no reed shaken to and fro by the wind of oppression; neither was he a bad servant looking for his own profit, clothing himself in rich garments; but he was a great prophet; the angel God sent before (or ahead of) His Messiah. Yes, of all those born of women, no one was a greater prophet than John the Baptist.
In the Kingdom of God, when it is revealed, all doubts will vanish. There even the least (the lowliest) will have a ministry, more wonderful than the one John had. What a wonderful future awaits all of God's children!
But the Lord did not only refer to the ministries in eternity, but also to the ministries of the Kingdom of God, which are hidden in the hearts of the New Testament believers. After all, if the wonderful ministries in the Old Testament were led and prompted by an outward anointing, so the ministries of the New Testament were led and prompted by a God, Who dwells IN His children. Jesus' words: "He that is least in the Kingdom of God is greater than he (i.e. John)" count as a prophecy of a future servanthood to God which was still hidden then.
He is only the Lord of Resurrection for all sincere believers.

Luke 7 verse 31-35: "And the Lord said, Whereunto then shall I liken the men of this generation? and to what are they like? They are like unto children sitting in the marketplace, and calling one to another, and saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned to you, and ye have not wept. For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine; and ye say, He hath a devil. The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners! But wisdom is justified of all her children (who accept this wisdom)."

The generation of Jews Jesus lived amongst, He compared with "children sitting in the marketplace..." In the marketplace one buys and sells, one seeks one's own profit... It is the spirit which also dwells in the worldly man: "every person for himself... and God for us all!" Seeking for the greatest possible profit; becoming as rich as possible! "Marketplace believers" therefore are believers who remain worldly and carnal. They, in fact, are believers whose faith is death, because God will not have anything to do with them as long as they are not willing to leave the world (behind).
Such believers remain "sitting in the marketplace"; remain in the world, and they will build their house of faith and religion in that world, which is fruitless and sinful. They are full of criticism of each other: "We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned to you, and ye have not wept..."; but they are blind towards their own lost cause: namely their remaining seated in the marketplace of this world... Such believers have no part in the Kingdom of God, in God's works of grace; therefore they also rejected God's prophet, John the Baptist – the forerunner of the Messiah – and called him a devil; therefore they also rejected the Son of man, and called Him "a gluttonous man, a winebibber, a friend of publicans and criminals..." This last one, in their haughty and self-deceiving eyes, was disgraceful!
But God, Who Himself is supreme Wisdom, in His actions of mercy has been justified by His real children; for the existence of redeemed sinners who have been brought into God's salvation, testify of God's supreme wisdom which He displayed in the execution of His plan of salvation.

CLICK HERE if you want to read this study (Chapter 7) – that is to long for the Blog

By E. van den Worm

The time of preparation for the marriage of the Lamb of God

2010-04-24T02:51:00.000-07:00

Matthew 25:1-4 "Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bride-groom. 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."
The parable tells us about the "kingdom of heaven", that is God's kingdom on earth, i.e. the Church. In the last days it will experience a preparation for Jesus' return as Bridegroom of His Church. Everywhere will be heard the cry "Maranatha, Jesus is coming back!"
This coming of the Lord Jesus as Bridegroom of the Churchbride is not His visible return on the clouds of heaven, for this return unto the establishment of the Millennium of Peace will only take place after the anti-christian period. This return will be invisible in and by the Holy Spirit.

God's great promises
Scripture promises us great things when the Spirit of Jesus Christ has been able to adopt us as members of the Bride of the Lamb, has been able to add us to the spiritual body of the Bride of the Lamb of God.
1. He then will make us blameless, without spot or wrinkle, and holy.
Ephesians 5:25-27 "...as Christ loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish."

2. This state of holiness, into which the Spirit of Jesus Christ will bring that part of the Church chosen hereunto in the last days, will cause them to escape the grave as they then have become sinless; for people die because they are sinners.
James 1:15 "Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death."
Romans 6:23 “Death is the wages of sin”
As this part of the Church will then have been made without sin, physical death will also escape them, and they will be changed at an appointed time, and put on immortality (1 Corinthians 15:51-52). This is the glorious hope of all, who have been adopted as members of the Bride of the Lamb,
3. Besides the putting on of great divine glory and strength.
But there are wise ones and fools in the Church of the last days. The wise ones, half of the Church, take with them, besides oil in their lamps (for it is a time of spiritual darkness) also oil in their vessels, namely in their hearts. Oil is the type of the Holy Spirit. Taking oil in the vessel, in the heart, spiritually means: preparing oneself for sanctification; the foolish do not do this. They do wash their sins in the blood of the Lamb, and because of this they have become virgins; but they do not seek sanctification and continue to lead worldly lives.
In this time the opposing satanic power puts the Church into a spiritual sleep.
Matthew 25:5 "While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept."
The prophecy of Jesus Christ reads: "They all slumbered, the wise… and the foolish virgins, and fell asleep!" And if anyone should know this, Who better than Jesus Christ, the Divine Word of God Himself.
Joel, too, prophesied this spiritual sleep of the Church for the end-times, and of the Church's "locusts" because of the slumbering sin and tolerance due to the spiritual sleep (Joel 1).
Ephesians 5:14-18 "Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit (of Jesus Christ)."
The Word says "Arise from the dead", wake from the sleep of sin, be delivered from the bonds of your sins by the power of Jesus Christ, and by His blood; and be filled with His redeeming Spirit, with His resurrection power.
Matthew 25:6-7 "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."
This voice that calls out "Go out to meet Him" (Matthew 25:6) means, that we are to rise up from the sleep of death by God's grace, and that we must let His Holy Spirit prepare our hearts and lives for His invisible return as Bridegroom, that He might prepare us for the marriage, and make us blameless, without spot or wrinkle (Ephesians 5:27).

This call of the Spirit will cause a general reveille (awakening).
Matthew 25:7 "Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps."
They all prepared spiritually for the coming of the Bridegroom, but we read in this prophecy that only half, the wise part, will be adopted as members of the Bride of Lamb, because only they will reach the state of spotlessness.

We must prepare spiritually for this Coming
A child of God once had a vision of an colossal giant. He was lying on the earth and was bound with many worldly bonds of sin by the powers of darkness, and was powerless to get up.
The visionary saw, that he stretch out first one hand, then both hands, to heaven in a cry for help to God. He then received strength and slowly stood up, while the powers of darkness around him fled. He then beat off the dust and the glory of the Lord fell upon him.
He did this in obedience to God's call.
This voice of the Spirit, calling out to us, we also find in Revelation 19 verse 9:
"Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb... These are the true sayings of God."
Partaking (in the spirit) of the supper of the Marriage of the Lamb is sharing the death and resurrection of the Lamb of God, that we might take part in the marriage of the Lamb of God, being without spot or wrinkle.

This call to participation is personal and one may hear it sooner than the other.
We also see in the prophecy of the prophet Daniel in Daniel 2:31-35 and 44-45 that complete deliverance of the power of sin takes place personally and gradually, namely in the time of the ten kings of the restored Roman Empire (the ten toes of Nebuchadnezzar's statue), in the time of the ten kings of Revelation 17:12-13.
Daniel 2:31-35, 44-45 "Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth. And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom (God's Kingdom on earth), which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people (except to God's people, His divine Israel), but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain (of sin) without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure."
Here one stone is loosed, cut off, completely delivered from sin, from the mountain of sin without hands (without human help). Some think that this one stone is the Lord Jesus Christ, but this is a wrong interpretation, because Jesus Christ, in His life on earth, was never bound to the mountain of sin; moreover, this is an event of the end-time, of the time of the ten kings.
Thus, this stone has to be a sinner from the end-time, who by his faith in the finished work and in the power of Jesus Redeemer, is brought in Jesus' victory; thus overcoming satan and his power of sin, whose heart is cleansed of the chaff of the old person; whereafter he by the power of the Word shares this victory with many others: a mountain of completely delivered Christians, without spot or wrinkle: the Bride of the Lamb of God.
Revelation 12:11 "And they (the victors) overcame him (satan and power of sin) by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony (whereby also others will share this victory); and they loved not their (earthly, sinful) lives unto the death (until it is completely dead, already here on earth; so that they may live without spot or wrinkle, faultless; see Ephesians 5:27, already here on earth)."

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

By E. van den Worm

The Endtime-messenger

LUKE (Chapter 24)-The glory of the risen Christ (active) in the new man

LUKE (Chapter 23) - The seven blood steps of Jesus Christ, which let to the fulfillment of His sacrifice on the cross of Calvary.

1st blood step:

Jesus before Pilate, as His (earthly) judge.

2nd blood step:

Jesus handed over to the curiosity and the mockery of Herod.

3rd blood step:

Bar-Abbas preferred over Jesus.

LUKE (Chapter 22) - The 7 introductory blood steps which led to the atoning sacrifice of Jesus on the cross of Calvary

1st introductory blood step:

Judas' betrayal

2nd introductory blood step:

The Passover: God's only way to salvation, which, in the Father's heart, was already established at the foundation of this world.

LUKE (Chapter 21) - God’s justice is like a two-edged sword, it brings to the (sincere) believer full grace, but judgment to all others

LUKE (Chapter 20) - The life of the bride of Christ will be in deep and perfect UNION with God

Christ, the High Priest, lives in deep and perfect UNION with the Father, and acts exclusively after the will of His Father.

God's laborers must serve Him in deep union with, and devotion to Him and in His (perfect) love.

LUKE (Chapter 19) - God’s (royal) priests know an absolute devotion to their King

LUKE (Chapter 18) - The purification of the holy place in order to come to “the end of all flesh” (Part 7)

LUKE (Chapter 17) - The purification of the holy place in order to come to “the end of all flesh” (Part 6)

7 steps a convert has to take on the road: The HIGHWAY of Gods GRACE

LUKE (Chapter 16) - The purification of the holy place in order to come to “the end of all flesh” (Part 5)

The 10 fulfilled (perfect) New-Testament Commandments of the Kingdom of Heaven ON EARTH

LUKE (Chapter 15) - The purification of the holy place in order to come to “the end of all flesh” (Part 4)

A closer look at Christ’s Second Coming

LUKE (Chapter 14) The purification of the holy place in order to come to “the end of all flesh” (Part 3)

God’s victors of the end-time

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

The prophecy of Ethan, the Ezrahite

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

The 7 characteristics

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

Turn (away) from your evil ways

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

The hope of divine glory

LUKE (Chapter 9) - Like a divine shewbread in this world (Part 1)

Jesus, the Son of man (a Son of David), the Lamb of God

LUKE (Chapter 8) - Like a sevenfold candelstick for God

The Church at Laodicea

LUKE (Chapter 7) - The Lord Jesus Christ, our resurrection power in every way

The time of preparation for the marriage of the Lamb of God

1^st blood step:

2^nd blood step:

3^rd blood step:

1^st introductory blood step:

2^nd introductory blood step: