THE DAYS OF AWE (Part II): WHAT TO DO

John Paul Jackson, before his death once wrote that the Church should:

... declare sacred and solemn assemblies of repentance and corporate fasting in many parts of this nation — a time set aside for rending our hearts before God.

“Now, therefore,” says the LORD, “Turn to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.” So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the LORD your God, For He is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness; And He relents from doing harm. Who knows if He will turn and relent, And leave a blessing behind Him — A grain offering and a drink offering For the LORD your God?
Blow the trumpet in Zion, Consecrate a fast, Call a sacred assembly; Gather the people, Sanctify the congregation, Assemble the elders, Gather the children and nursing babes; Let the bridegroom go out from his chamber, And the bride from her dressing room. Let the priests, who minister to the LORD, Weep between the porch and the altar; Let them say, “Spare Your people, O LORD.” — Joel 2:12–17

During these uncertain days 

(i.e. wars and rumors of wars with China; rumored alliance between China and Russia, rumored alliance between Russia and Iran; rumored intention of ISIS or Russia to invade the US, and what does that mean for us as the Philippines is seen not only as a former colony and once upon a time a very member of the United States, and now still an ally of the US and an opponent of China in the clash for territories; warnings of earthquakes in our country; stock market slump; growing ranks among those who do not believe in God and who promote immorality and perversions etc)

 when we are surrounded by the enemies of God who seem to grow in power and influence, corporate fasting and prayer is a must.

The above verse in Joel resonates so loudly in the current season we are in that I was moved to post something about it. Blowing the shofar trumpet seems to point at Yom Teruah (Rosh HaShanah) or the Feast of Trumpets,wherein the trumpet blasts are sounded. This was very recently on the 13th of September and may have concluded on the 16th because of the delayed sighting of the new moon.

After this sacred assembly is the ten days of AWE (currently now) wherein we are taught by the ancients that this is the time to repent and mend our ways in preparation for the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), a day many Messianic scholars believe to point to the day when Jesus returns to earth and sets foot on the Mount of Olives, a day when all the nations mourn because it is a time of judgment.

We also learn that scriptures seem to point to Rosh Hashanah as the day of "opening of the books" - where God looks over the accounts of the people. This is the court in session. After ten days, on the Day of Atonement, this is judgment day and the sentences shall be meted out. We shall see these prophetic events come to pass soon enough. Note that the Day of Atonement (the tenth of the  month of Tishri) is the only day where fasting is required of the assembly.

In the meantime what are we to do? Right now I am doing my own fast and praying for God's mercy on the Philippines. That we may be shielded for what is coming and that God "may count us worthy to escape." My prayer and desire is to see the Church in the Philippines come together in unity to do what God bids us during the Lord's set times and appointments. Can we fast and pray anytime? Of course! But to deliberately ignore the Lord during the seasons where He has expressly commanded us to come before Him is questionable. How can we justify it when God commands it in scripture? What possible consequences will there be?

My desire is to see the Church in my country recognize God's set times that we may come together in unity and synergy. I believe when this happens we shall be able to tap into the Lord's Glory Zone where revival, miracles and outbursts of power can happen.

This is my prayer!!!

FOR SALE: BLOOD SPATTERED ISRAELI FLAG

Images from IsraellyCool and the Times of Israel

(Note: Amazon has recently taken down the products due to public outrage)

Since when was it acceptable for an e-commerce site to market blood spattered flags of a nation?

Given the issues that Israel has endured for decades, if not centuries, it's obvious that these products deliver a straightforward antisemitic message.

These are the signs of the times, people. The world is closing in on their enemies so much so that one Jewish survivor of the Holocaust recently remarked to a tele-evangelist that the current times "seem like 1938."

If you're sitting their clucking your tongues and feeling sorry for Israel, then I hate to say it that we're in the same boat too. As an active participant in social media, I have felt the frenzy and hatred of the secular world directed not just Israel, but at Christians too.

I've been on the receiving end of verbal persecution the moment I say anything that disagrees with an atheist or homosexual worldview. Their vitriol and anger is almost mind blowing. When I was right in that verbal conflict it was hard for me not to imagine being physically ripped to shreds had I been present with this baying mob. It's hard to understand until you've been in such an exchange yourself.

I had a recent argument with someone I had hoped was my friend. Unfortunately we got into a misunderstanding. I said something that offended this man concerning a matter that involved him and his ex-Filipina girlfriend (he is a British national and a self proclaimed "freethinker" i.e. atheist) and he blew up in my face, accusing me of all sorts of things.

What did I say that offended him? I said something like, "don't feel too bad about your ex..." And he lost his temper, even if he did acknowledge I might have been well-meaning. Unbelievable? But it didn't stop there. As soon as he started working up a rant directed towards me and my country, he started mouthing a diatribe of how hypocrites hide behind religion and that God and the cross was [expletive].

Jesus said, if the world hates Him, they will hate us too. You will start to see who's who when you follow where Satan's anger is directed. (hint: Israel and anything connected with the body of believers). Satan doesn't waste his energy. He only has a third of the angels at his disposal and so he only ever directs his efforts at the real enemy. As they will treat Israel, so will they also treat us, the church.

The sad thing is even now, the church is divided amongst itself. The church and Israel are also divided. I know many Bible believing christians who surprisingly still believe that the current nation of Israel is the synagogue of Satan! I kid you not. This is the enemy's doing. He wants to prevent us from banding together in unity and power.

The moment we stand together under the Messiah who can stop us? But this is not the case. The church doesn't agree, some people in the church reject Israel, and Israel still has a body of people who have yet to receive and believe in their Messiah, Jesus. And yes there are many Jewish people today - some I know personally! who relentlessly blaspheme the cross.

Is it any wonder then that John the Apostle saw in his vision that the Antichrist was given the power to overcome the saints? 

THE DAYS OF AWE

As I am writing this, we have just concluded the Jewish new year, Rosh Ha Shanah, or the Feast of Trumpets, and the world is now right smack in the DAYS OF AWE, the ten days leading up to the holiest day of the year: Yom Kippur or the Day of Atonement.

If you have been a believer all your life and you don't know what this is about and are ready to dismiss it - don't. Your very future may depend on it.

Jonathan Cahn blowing the shofar. Image from Shofarcall.com

After watching the stock market drama in my country and all the other events here and around the world from the beginning of 2015 up to the present, I have been struck with awe. In a few short months since January, I have learned so many things that have turned my whole belief system around.This changes everything that I'm bound to do in my life from now on. I will try to summarize what I have found:

1. God has a CALENDAR and He wants us to use it. (Or rather 2 calendars, depending on how you look at it) It's not our Gregorian calendar, but it's the Jewish calendar that starts and ends around  April/May (the start of the sacred calendar year or the season of the spring festivals in Israel) or Sept/Oct. (the start of the civil calendar year and the season of the fall festivals in Israel). Why should God follow the Jewish calendar? In the first place, is God not Jewish? Did He not dictate the culture, laws and government of Israel? Didn't He choose Abraham's seed and dictate to Moses how the nation should be run? The thing is: He also decreed specific dates and set times in a calendar year.

God has always set Israel as a light over the world and the keeper of His word, and until we realize and accept this we will not be able to understand the mysteries that are spilling out right now from the Holy Spirit. Most of the mysteries in the Bible remain a mystery to the gentile church because they fail to realize that the Bible was written in the Hebraic mindset, using plenty of Hebraic idioms, context in terms of Hebraic history. A lot is lost in translation.

When you hear Christians say "In God's own time" or "things will happen in His time" most of the time people say this at face value but don't really know what it means. Here's what it really means:

The shocking thing is God really does have a set, precise period. He has a start date and cut off, appointed days and hours and even seasons within the year or appointed years in a cycle of years wherein He opens the heavens and visits the people. These are the set times to bring in either blessing or judgment both to individuals and to the nations. And these are set times you can actually plot in your own calendar!

We Christians who have been living in the dark about the ancient ways and paths need to learn these and realize that God never changes. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and He is coming back soon. This is why He has released all these things for our awareness at the present time for our subsequent preparation.

So why doesn't my church or pastor or D-Group leader know anything about this? Why didn't my mom tell me about this? One reason is that few churches give enough importance to the Old Testament and believe that the Old Testament is "FINISHED (i.e. could mean unnecessary)." However few people really understand this other than the Messianic Jews because we are living in a world that is under the spirit of the Anti-Christ. And that spirit:

"... shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws." - Daniel 7:25

Sometimes we don't even think of how crafty and really smart our enemy is. We forget that Satan was a citizen of heaven and understands the things of God more than we do. If someone like that hates you with his very spirit, don't you think he will hide knowledge from us to cause us to stumble?

This isn't even a secret knowledge. It's all in the Bible. But for the most part the church has chosen to ignore it.

The other argument that one frequently hears about this topic is: THAT'S NOT FOR US. ALL THAT TALK IS FOR ISRAEL.

We are grafted into Israel. (Romans 11:24) In the millenial kingdom we see that the Lord will require the nations to follow the set times and divine appointments. God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. (Numbers 23:19)

John MacArthur set an eloquently worded argument why we should accept the things of Israel are only for Israel. He might be right or partially right or wrong. I'll post his quote - which I also find personally persuasive - when I find it and you be the judge.

However at this juncture my sentiments lean towards believing that this Biblical calendar is crucial for us gentiles and not just for the nation of Israel. We may not fully understand it or how to follow it or utilize it now but still we need to hold it in high regard and keep trying until we come to greater understanding.

Why is this important to us? Because there is a time and a season for everything (Ecclesiastes 3:1). We do certain things according to their season, and if we don't know what season it is, we will not be able to do what God intends for us to do.

Furthermore, the most awesome thing is that this calendar charts the holy Sabbaths of the Old Testament. Now we have seen how the spring festivals of Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits and Pentecost all fulfill the life and death of the Messiah down to the specific day and hour (I'll post links later, thanks to Pastor Mark Biltz).

I am very inclined to agree with many scholars that the fall feasts of Trumpets, Atonement an Tabernacles are prophetic of Jesus' second coming. To celebrate them would be to go through the drill of the rapture, the second coming, the judgment seat and the establishment of the millennial kingdom. Such strong reasons to uphold them!

If this is truly the case, we have no excuse of not celebrating these high holy days - these holy convocations unto the Lord. To say that they are fulfilled in Jesus and have lost their use is somewhat problematic. Why do we keep baptizing people in water and eating a flat piece of bread to remember the last supper then if all these things are finished in Jesus?

"They are finished in Jesus" is a highly problematic argument, and I don't know its origins. But one thing's for sure: it serves to dissuade us from celebrating the Lord at his appointed times - times that He has declared that the heavens open for special blessing!

I'll talk more about this calendar at length and what I personally discovered (besides what you might have already heard and read from its advocates) it in another post.

2. Now is the time to understand RHEMA and LOGOS and to heed both.

This is another one of those things that our English Bibles have lost in translation.

Very quickly: "There are two primary Greek words that describe Scripture which are translated “word” in the New Testament. The first, logos, refers principally to the total inspired Word of God and to Jesus, who is the living Word. Logos is found in John 1:1; Luke 8:11; Philippians 2:16; Hebrews 4:12; and other verses. The second Greek word translated “word” is rhema, which refers to the spoken word. Rhema literally means an utterance (individually, collectively or specifically). Examples are found in Luke 1:38; 3:2; 5:5; and Acts 11:16." Read more here.

A lot of arguments have  been made over Logos and Rhema. Based on my understanding, Logos is scripture (the written Word of God) and Rhema is the personal word uttered to people by God Himself.

Examples of Rhema are dreams, visions, prophetic words spoken by the Holy Spirit to people with prophetic gifts, and so on. This is not as dubious as it sounds. Most Christians are familiar with the 700 Club. Do you recall that part when the TV hosts pray over the viewers and they receive a word of knowledge about who is getting healed of what and so on?That's one example of Rhema.

Joel 2: 28 (and repeated in Acts 2:17) says:

“And it shall come to pass afterward
That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh;
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
Your old men shall dream dreams,
Your young men shall see visions.
29 And also on My menservants and on My maidservants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days.

Do you believe we are in the last days? I certainly do. If you do then the above quote refers to us! If you don't then that's another argument and you can stop reading here.

I have been taking note and writing down my dreams which have proven prophetic. I may write entries about those next time. And I know I'm not the only one, neither is this mode of communication available to Christians alone! Muslims like ex-Muslim and Christian convert Nabeel Qureshi report the same phenomena among Muslims, and if you recall, Pharoah and Nebuchadnezzar - both pagans - had prophetic dreams as well, but they required the help of someone who had the gift of dream interpretation.

There are good ministries out there that help in the understanding and interpretation of dreams. One of those is Streams Ministries International. God still speaks to people in dreams. There is nothing in scripture that says God has stopped using this mode of communication to us. If we disregard our dreams, we are neglecting a very crucial source of Rhema.

I also believe in listening to God's prophets. God had prophets speaking to the people in ancient times - and guess what. He still uses them to talk to us now!

The weird thing is a lot of churches don't believe in the prophetic voice because many believe in cessationism or the belief that the gifts of the Holy Spirit have ended when the Bible was completed.

I have yet to find a verse that supports that but in my 4 decades of exposure to Christianity, I have never seen such a verse.

However I have seen:

Romans 12:6-8New King James Version (NKJV)
6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; 7 or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; 8 he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

1 Corinthians 12:8-10New King James Version (NKJV)
8 for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same[a] Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 

From these verses it is very clear that prophecy is not the same as teaching or preaching the Word from the pulpit. They are two different things.

There are some people I hold in high regard, such as Pastor John MacArthur of Grace Community Church, who believes in cessationism. I don't agree with him. That doesn't mean I don't respect him and haven't learned anything from him. I credit him as my spiritual mentor in my teens and early 20s.

But in the body of Christ, people are gifted in one thing or the other. God didn't pour all the gifts on one individual. He has made us interdependent with one another. I remember John Macarthur arguing for a pre-trib rapture because he says that otherwise, why would God not tell us how to prepare for this period of trouble in His Word?

If MacArthur believed that prophecies have not ceased and God is the same now and forever, he would notice that God has put Rhema in the mouths of many godly men and women alive in the world today who has talked a lot about PREPARATION.

Frankly, I don't doubt these people are any different from the Old Testament prophets. Many of the words of these modern day prophets have come true, some have not. Does it make them false prophets? I don't think so. Ezekiel and Daniel have written a lot of things that have yet to be fulfilled. The funny thing is these modern day prophets are also enduring the same kind of scoffing and persecution the Old Testament prophets themselves have endured.

It is history repeating itself.

I'm not going to make sweeping statements. I hope to come up soon with a table of prophecies some prophetic voices have proclaimed in our era, how they resonate with scripture and how they have been fulfilled and are being fulfilled.

Can the enemy use dreams as well? Can there be false prophets? Of course! We need to be vigilant and test everything against the Logos or the holy scriptures, but that doesn't mean we should throw the baby out with the bath water. God will speak in any of the avenues He has chosen and the sheep will hear His voice.

3. Most of us are ignorant of the Old Testament. We should stop being ignorant.

I'm one of those people. Most of the time if you start off with a part of a verse from the New Testament or the proverbs or the popular books like Genesis and so on, chances are I can easily finish that sentence in one beat. But the Old Testament? Do you want me to recite a verse from Habbakuk or Isaiah or Jeremiah, or Malachi? GOOD LUCK  na lang.

I read through the Bible once from start to finish but I never did it again. I admit. I know squat about the Old Testament.

And so are many Christians. This may prove to be our undoing: God's people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.

Many times I hear a quote from the Old Testament, and something hits me through my gut when the verse suddenly comes alive and speaks to my current situation. Then I say: Why have I never heard of that verse before???

When Paul said

2 Timothy 3:16
All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

and

Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do. 

 ....he was not referring to his own letters written to the  churches. He was referring to what we call the Old Testament.

One of the most popular proponents of the Torah Code was Chuck Missler. He was not of course the founder and author of this discovery but he has studied it deeply and shared it to my church one occasion when he came as a visiting speaker. The Torah codes for me are proof that we must take the OT more seriously than we have, even if it is very difficult to understand.

I believe that God has allowed the Torah and the prophets to be difficult to understand because we can only come to this understanding when the gentile church returns to its roots - the Hebraic way of understanding scripture which we can learn from the believers in Israel, especially the Messianic Jews. God wants us to be united to our Judeo origins and to our brothers and sisters in Israel. This union is what God desires:

Ephesians 2:14

He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, 15by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, 16and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross.

 I believe that there is so much power that the Church has yet to tap and yet we cannot do it because we are still in the dark. We don't know God's word. Sure we may know a PART of it. But for the most part we have ignored the revealed, supernatural and powerful word of God spoken to the ancients.

DON'T UNDERESTIMATE PRAYER

I remembered one thing the pastor said during last Sunday's service, and that is

we should not underestimate prayer. 

There are so many things to do with the Christian life like: serving, volunteering, joining, signing up, giving, evangelizing, etc. that we forget that one of the most important if not the most important thing to prioritize is to pray. Even Jesus called the temple a House of Prayer (not a house of evangelizing, a house of missions, a house of charity, etc.)

Last night on the front page news, I saw the story of a British missionary and his El Salvadorian wife who lost their baby in a messy set up. My heart melted inside me. I hate news about human trafficking, abused, kidnapped or lost children. Even though I didn't know this couple I broke down in tears and prayed to the Lord to rescue this baby.

I showed the story to my little girl and told her to thank the Lord that she is safe with her family. I just can't imagine parents in that situation. I cried over the McCanns many times. I can't bear such thoughts and I am never grateful enough to God for safe children.

Imagine my surprise to see the updates this story the next day. The child who was believed to be intentionally exchanged in an attempt to abduct a white child in a Latin American country was immediately returned to the rightful parents, three months after the child went missing.

Since the parents are Christians I don't doubt they had communities hunching over in prayer for them. And the prayers were heard. If you were one of those praying earlier then you should know your prayers were among those that were heard and answered.

This is not the first time I've seen God answer prayers. Both in my life or in the life of other people or even of strangers that I only hear of in the news! In simple things and in complex things, God answers prayers.

During these difficult times I myself have humbled myself in prayer with my child many times and asked the Lord to provide our needs. So many times this prayer is immediately answered and I tell the good news to my expectant little one. We both rejoice in thanksgiving, and she is taught an important lesson.

I know sometimes this is not always the case. Sometimes God does not answer prayers or not answer them immediately, which is just as important an issue and has a place for discussion and study. Those moments have a place in God's plan. These are not reasons to lose hope or to stop praying.

Keep in mind the parable of the Widow and the Unrighteous Judge:

The Parable of the Persistent Widow

18 Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, 2 saying: “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. 3 Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’ 4 And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, 5 yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’”

6 Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said. 7 And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them?8 I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” New King James Version (NKJV)

WHAT I BELIEVE IN

Jesus reading scripture 

from (Franco Zeffirelli's "Jesus of Nazareth")

Caveat: As I study God's word, I have encountered many issues or "lessons" that are a little bit too hard for me and for many people, but they are things that cannot be ignored because of their very presence in the Bible. One of the reasons I started this blog was to document the things that God brings to my attention, and through diligence and study try to process what God wants me to learn and apply in my own life. A lot of the things I write about here are lessons in progress - meaning they are things that I have recently discovered from my life and God's word, but unless otherwise stated, my conclusions about them are not yet final because I am still in the process of studying them and putting them to the test.

Furthermore these issues are not easily resolved. Many of them have long been debated (some for decades, others for hundreds of years) and considered unconventional by many mainstream churches. If I bring them up in this blog it is because it has some bearing in my life and the Lord has burdened me with it. So I do not propose to be the final authority in any difficult issues but I will only be documenting whatever light the Lord gives me. I am aware of the vast number of opinions that differ in each denomination and church. People interpret differently according to their background, the level of truth they have obtained, and their own personal biases.

But we have all been called to learn God's ways and abide by them. Thanks to the presence of the Holy Spirit, God will guide us into all truth.

I don't believe that people who disagree on interpretations of some topics in scripture (as long as they are not core doctrine that deal with the essence of the Christian faith) should be automatically be branded as "false teachers." I believe that God has given different people different measures of faith and understanding and each person has a gift and calling. We are not called to be isolated islands but we were made for interdependent relationship. Each member of the Body of Christ has a piece of the puzzle and we all need to come together to see the big picture.

I also believe God may have intentionally obscured certain teachings (such as the interpretation of the Rapture and the end times) in order to hide the understanding of these things from the Evil one.

Therefore many of my entries in this blog are either personal testimonies, private observations or my personal investigations into things that God lays on my heart. I humbly present them to any reader who may stumble upon this blog and I welcome any comment and feedback from members of the Body of Christ in an effort to arrive at greater truth.

However there are some hardline truths that I hold on to and these are the following:

The Bible is the inspired, inerrant and infallible Word of God. The Bible is alive and a supernatural work of God, who has used various writers throughout millenia to create this body of work.

I do also believe that there are modern publishing houses that tamper with this truth by printing out inaccurate versions. You can look at this link for more information. In fact there are many tabulated lists all over the Internet that list all the instances of how words and verses from the Bible have been removed from the King James and tampered with in modern day versions. I am just sharing some data and evidence and will let you be the judge.

I am not saying that the King James Bible is the only good Bible out there (the only "original text" is the one in the original language - Greek, Hebrew or Aramaic) nor am I judging other people for using other versions. I only have this to say: like the Bereans, we must give ourselves over to diligent study of the truth for the Devil is a deceiver, a faithful adversary, and he's desperate to do anything in these end times.

I believe that Yeshua Hamaschiach (Jesus Christ/ Isa/ Iesu/ Hesu Kristo) is the Son of God, born of a virgin, came to earth in the body of a man, was crucified, died and buried, and on the third day was resurrected.  He has returned to heaven to sit at the right hand of God and shall come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe that the Lord is One God. There are three persons in one: the Father (YHVH) the Son (Yeshua) and the Holy Spirit (the Ruach Hakodesh).

Israel is the Lord's nation and it is the church's time clock. The church should bless Israel, pray for her peace, and support her as the country that is holding down the fort till the Messiah returns. When we do that God has said that in that there is a promised blessing. Genesis 12:3

I believe that Israel is comprised of the Jews presently residing in Israel now and the other people of Jewish descent scattered all over the globe today and who are aware of their heritage, blood line and origins.

The other ten tribes of Israel have been lost in the previous diasporas and have been assimilated all over the world. It is debatable who these ten tribes are and I cannot propose to know that much about them. There are other more trustworthy scholars who have studied this matter at length. I only know and believe what God reveals in Revelation about the 144,000 children of Israel in Revelation 7 & 14.

I believe that all believers in Christ are grafted into the Olive tree that is Israel. Romans 11.

I believe in a God who is the same yesterday, today and forever. I believe that the God who parted the Red Sea, who gave dreams to Pharoah and Joseph, who enabled power in Aaron's rod, and who performed miraculous healings, casting out of demons and the raising of the dead is still the same God today. I believe in the supernatural and that God still acts powerfully in this dimension and that we are called to war in this dimension. Ephesians 6

I believe in a judgment after death. Hebrews 9:27

I believe that we are living in the last days. 2 Timothy 3

I believe that there will be a supernatural move of God in the last days and that all believers must position themselves to receive the fullness of the movement of God. Acts 2 & Joel 2

WHAT IS SPIRITUAL WARFARE?

(WHAT IS SPIRITUAL WARFARE? PART 2)

In my previous post I gave an overview of spiritual warfare. You must realize and accept that you are born into a fallen world that is in a state of war and that you are at war with malevolent things in the heavenlies who will do all they can to turn you away from God and damn your soul to hell.

Furthermore after accepting you are in a state war, the next step is to prepare: survey the terrain, know the enemy, assess your army and the weapons at your disposal.

Essentially we have three enemies, and as such we must do three things:

• We war against powers and principalities in the heavenlies; thus we need to know their tactics.
• We war against the evils of the world system; we must be strong in our principles so that we will not conform.
• We war against ourselves; we must know our strengths and weaknesses and be able to tear down strongholds that are keeping us from seeing and walking in the truth.

I'll continue on general things you need to remember about spiritual warfare:

3. The third thing you have to remember is that your number 1 weapon is the Word of God, which is the Truth. There are two kinds: Logos and Rema. Logos is the written, inerrant Word of God in the Bible and Rema is the revelation that the Holy Spirit speaks directly into you. The revealed word of Rema should always be in harmony and agreement with the written word of holy scripture. If there is a disconnect, you need to check what spirits you've given an open door to and might be speaking to you.

Using this weapon is simple - read holy scripture and saturate in it, and go out and do what you understand out of it. It doesn't matter if you don't understand a whole lot. The more you read and with faith obey, the more the Spirit of God will give you light to understand.

The more you cleave to godly men and women of God in fellowship, then you'll have other people help you understand it. You can also download and listen to godly teachers with a media ministry and listen to their testimonies and preaching. God has used many of these teachers to speak to people who otherwise have no one to minister to them or to teach them. I recently discovered the sermons of the late David Wilkerson who used to preach at Time Square church in New York. He has already left this earth to be with the Lord but he's one of the most anointed and powerful preachers I've ever heard in all the decades I've listened to gospel teachings. Share his sermons to your friends and family and listen to them yourself.

4. Your priority is to protect yourself. You protect yourself by keeping clean. Later I'll talk more about the Weapons of Our Warfare which includes a discussion on how purity is power. But for now what you need to understand at the most basic level is that you can't go out and wage spiritual warfare and save your family and other people much less your community or your city if you can't even protect yourself. A maimed or critically wounded (or dead) soldier is no good. So your first priority is to make sure that you are saved, protected and clean.

"Ephesians 4:27: Neither give place to the devil." If you give him a finger, he's going to want your arm. If you give him your arm, he'll pull your whole body and soul into hell. 

Demons feed on sin. The bigger sin, the stronger they get. You starve them and they won't be interested in hanging around you that much. God will deal with your big sins. Later as you continue to walk in the Spirit, God will also deal with your small sins. Philippians 1:6 "He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it."

5. Your responsibility is your family. We only have so much control or influence over others except ourselves and the people who believe in us. But we wield a great power over our young children. If the Lord has gifted you with a child, you have been appointed steward over that child. That child is dependent on you and up to a certain age - you are the only God that child will ever know. You represent God to that child.

Children are empty white canvasses, and parents are painters. If you are a parent you can paint anything on that blank canvass. You can take that young heart and mold it in the fear and admonition of the Lord. The family is the very basic building block of society, a social unit instituted by God himself. If you do your job in the home and turn that child's heart towards God, that's one child who will grow up into a productive and beneficial member of society whom God will use to bring solutions to the world and not add problems to it. 

You are that child's protector, nurturer and teacher. You are the master of your house and the children you raise are little servants whom you are raising to serve God when they come of age. 

Luke 12:42 "Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season?" You need to feed your children the Word of God in due season - that is when they are young and pliant and not wait until they are adults and are hardened by drugs and the cares of this world. There is a reward waiting for all parents who watch over the children that the Lord has given them to raise. 

This is my story in a nutshell: I am an only child to two loving God-fearing parents. My parents were enticed by money and when I was around 9 years old, they went away to another country to work and kept away for 5 years. During those 5 years the devil got to me and I learned to go astray in all possible ways. Even though I had guardians over me, the devil knew I was an open target, and that's what he did.  From that day my parents left me over to the care of other people my life changed forever. The damage that it did to my family was so deep the wounds are still being felt to this day. I became an adulteress, a fornicator, rebellious, exposed to witchcraft and all sorts of things that it only took the grace and power of God to save me. 

We are a protective covering over our children. We are the first line of defense against evil. If you really need to be away from your children and your spouse put a cap on how long it should be and make every effort to be with them as quickly as possible.

6. You have been called into the Great Commission. There was a time when I used to think that evangelism was the job of missionaries or the pastor or just the church workers. It's everyone's job. How you are are called to it is between you and God but if you understand the principles behind it, it will encourage you to be so ever involved.

When you win people for Jesus you are conquering territory for the Lord. If by whatever effort you make you turn one person away from sin and turn him to the Lord, and that person in turn wins other people for Jesus, and those people pay it forward and multiply in number, you are doing your part in growing the kingdom.

If these people have the truth of God in their hearts they will not adulterate, fornicate, take drugs, and live holy lives and teach their families and friends to do likewise. If you see a community where people fear God, you will see the outward effect. When your church evangelizes government leaders and those leaders come away with a fear of God in their hearts they will enact good laws, they will rule with righteousness and fear. They will influence more people to turn to the Lord.

When a whole nation moves in unity under God, that nation is under God's protective covering. Judgment is turned away from the land, and the Lord keeps their enemies at bay. In the book of Jonah, Jonah preaches  to the city of Nineveh. The whole city heeds the warning, and repent in sack cloth and ashes. They are saved from a terrible judgment.

Why do we engage in evangelism? The whole land has to come under God for the protection of that land. Under God, that land will prosper.

So in a nutshell = being right in the Lord, making sure your family is in order, and cooperating with your church and doing what you can to engage in the Great Commission to win your country for Jesus is spiritual warfare. 

My country is not perfect but it is the only country in the world where divorce is not legal. A lot of people oppose this and I understand them. But this law is one of the most palpable signs that the Philippines is a country that holds the institutions of God in high regard. In other christian communities in the world they debate about the value of circumcision and yet in my country circumcision is standard practice for all male children regardless of the parents' beliefs. Christian influence is strong in television, print and social media.

We are also known as the "only Christian nation in Asia." That may be true, and yes we do have a strong Christian population in the country. But going to a church and calling yourself a Christian doesn't mean you are one. However considering the strong church presence and influence here I pray that God will continue to show his mercy on us.

My prayer is that the church in the Philippines will wash its robes in the blood of Jesus and purify its ways that God may give us more power and dominion to conquer greater territory for the Lord. And when we do that this nation will not come under God's judgment. Judgment begins in the house of the Lord - 1 Peter 4:17.

Meanwhile, America's Supreme Court has very lately declared same sex marriage legal in all 50 states. Celebrations have been staged in support and recognition of this act all over the world. The Harbinger is one book that talks about America's impending doom because it is increasingly turning its back on God. Will God bring judgment on that land? Will repentance and a faithful remnant stay terror and judgment away from that nation? We will see the answers to these soon enough.

It says in the Bible that there will come a time when iniquity will abound and judgment will come to all on the face of the earth. Because of the wickedness of man we can't stop this ultimate end from arriving. If a people act in unity for their nation that judgment can be deferred. Nevertheless we are commanded to engage in the Great Commission because when we bring the gospel to every listening ear on the planet, we hasten Christ's return.

STATE OF WAR

(WHAT IS SPIRITUAL WARFARE? PART 1)

Have you ever seen the movie the Ghost Busters? If you're too young to remember it, you can look at this site. It's a comedy about four unemployed guys who put up a ghost removal service and run into all sorts of goofy but dangerous scenarios, including one that almost catapults them into the end of the world. Think Spirit Questors (a local parapsychology/ paranormal experts group), fire fighters and astronauts rolled into one. The four characters who save the day have cool pest-control outfits, helmets and awesome ray guns used to point and shoot at slimy monstrosities.Ultimately they come up against the most dangerous character there who comes in the form of a beautiful demon-possessed woman. There are demons running around, portals opening up, inanimate objects coming to life and monsters messing around with human lives.

It's just a movie. But it also sounds like stuff you read from the the book of Revelation. Like stuff from people who suffer from paranormal manifestation.

Such things are indeed real in our world today, and will even become more so as we approach the end.

People think of movies like these at the mention of "spiritual warfare." We tend to think that spiritual warfare is a high-impact thriller, drama and horror movie rolled into one.

So is this what spiritual warfare is? Yes and no.

I'll keep it simple.

Spiritual warfare involves a state of war against:

- demons and evil spirits
- the world system
- your own self

People think that spiritual warfare is like the Ghost Busters movie. That's just one part of it. In the list above, the most important element you war against is yourself. When you use the Spirit and the Word of God to open your eyes to truth in order to put away a faulty world view, wrong principles, erroneous ideas, and deceiving beliefs then you will not cooperate with the world system and you will not open doors to demons and evil spirits. And when you do that, you don't do actions or cultivate habits and a kind of lifestyle that will damn you and the people you influence to hell.

When you lose the battle against yourself, then you're in critical danger. You've given up sacred ground to the enemy. You'll be needing help from other people to purge the evil out. That's when the scenario turns into a thriller-horror-drama.

So at the very core, spiritual warfare is battling against yourself because the battle starts in the mind.

THINGS TO REMEMBER

1. "Spiritual warfare" denotes that there is a battle going on (Ephesians 6:12). So that's lesson no. 1. We are in a state of war. The natural world merely reflects what is going on in the heavenlies. Why do we have wars, political conflict, ISIS, drug abuse, rebellion, the break down of families, crime and erosion of morals? It's because we are at war.

God did not create evil but he gave his creatures free will. With that free will Lucifer rebelled against the Lord (Isaiah 14:12) because he thought that he deserved worship and that he could "be like the Most High." When he was cast out from heaven (Revelation 12:7), his wrath has turned towards us because we are God's Beloved. God loved us so much (John 3:16) that even when we made a mistake, He provided a way out for us (1 Corinthians 10:13). He has given us the sacrificial atonement of Yeshua the Messiah (Romans 3:25). Unbelievers don't understand this sacrifice and mock it because they don't understand it. But at the very core of this act was a legal transaction. God used His own blood to redeem us. He had to take the rights away from Satan who became the ruler of this world because that authority was transferred to Satan when Adam sinned against God.

Through Christ's death and resurrection, the blood debt has been paid and now the rights to this world is reclaimed by Jesus (Revelation 11:15). But Satan continues to sit on the throne of this world as a usurper (2 Thessalonians 2:4) until the day the true and rightful king wrenches the seat of power away from him. On that day the Lord will save His people. He will heal the land and set up His kingdom to rule the earth (Psalm 72, Isaiah 11).

It sounds like a powerful plot for a Hollywood blockbuster. It'll make a great movie yeah? But unless you understand that this is our reality and not fiction you will not be able to wage against the powers and principalities. You have to understand what the real deal is because the war is invisible. What we see in our surroundings - Israel under attack, the persecution of Christians, laws that defy the Lord and desecrates his laws - are mere symptoms of what's going on behind the veil.

We are in perpetual war with wicked forces in the heavenly realms whose sole purpose it is to ruin your life and get you to turn your back on God and damn your soul to hell for all eternity. Satan hates us because when he fell, he is damned for eternity (Revelation 20:1-10). But when mankind fell, Jesus redeemed us with his blood.

He hates us because Satan has seen the beauty and purity of heaven and he knows he can never return there. He hates us because weak, mortals like us through the blood of Jesus have been given the power to become the sons of God (John 1:12)  and to inherit eternal life.

2. The beings we are going up against are NOT benign.  No matter how friendly you might imagine these creatures to be, they are not. They are not guardians, friendly ghosts, home spirits, elves (duwende) or whatever it is your imagination is making them out to be.

This reminds me of a story. I know of two women. One of them has a third eye. She can see spiritual beings through the veil and her daughter has the same - dare I say - "gift." Let's call her Lady A. One time, Lady A and a group stayed at an old ancestral house in the province. In the old houses the bathrooms are extremely large to make room to bathe several children all at once. It was an interesting and creepy old house and despite the number of rooms, all the guests huddled together in one room for the night. Lady A went to the bathroom to wash and change clothes. She put on her pajamas and when she straightened up to face the mirror, an evil-looking child (when I asked her what it looked like she just said - "maldita") twisting her neck and contorting her face was looking straight at her from the mirror. She was out of there in half a second and had to wait till the morning to retrieve the underwear that she left behind.

Meanwhile Lady B does not have a similar gift but Lady A claims that she can see a spiritual entity residing in Lady B's old car. Lady B believes this entity is a "bantay." In local parlance it means a guardian.

Now whether this entity is truly a guardian or not is up for debate. But it is worrisome that Christians or people who profess in God are quick to judge a spirit without testing it. As for Lady A's experience in the old house, this is a classic example of the nature of such entities.Some may pretend to be benign but they are not. At its worst, they exhibit malevolence; at best they are mischievous.

They seek to provoke fear into the heart of people. If not fear, the aim is to deceive (make you think it is benevolent so you will open your life to it or let your guard down), to enter your life, and have some form of influence that will lead on a sinister path.

In my younger days when I was a rebellious teenager, I was constantly harassed by these creatures. For all intents and purposes our house was definitely infested and these beings found a portal through my room and gained strength in my anger towards my elders. In the night they would torment me and in the daytime they would vanish that I would question myself whether these things were real at all. But they didn't just bother me each night. They increased strife, discord between the people at our home, put hatred and suicidal thoughts in my mind and increased my predilection towards depression. When God rid me of them the symptoms also disappeared.

continue to WHAT IS SPIRITUAL WARFARE? PART 2