Category Archives: Personal

Jesus is alive – back to life from death! Alleluiah!

Posted on by
Reply

At this time every year Nina creates a tableau for contemplating Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection. She’s inspired about what items to collect and arrange, usually including a rock with a central hole eroded by the sea and which we found on a beach. It serves as both the ‘skull’ and garden tomb of Golgotha. For example, the above display has a scarf as a ‘river of life’ flowing out of the empty cave/tomb below the cross. (In 2012 it gave an insight that I’ll share below.)

A slightly different display is set up each Maunday Thursday, the night of which Jesus and the twelve leading disciples ate Passover Seder early (see video explanation). Following the meal, one disciple betrayed Him by leading Temple guards to capture Him at night for trial by a ‘kangaroo’ court of Jewish leaders.  It was a foregone conclusion that they would demand authorisation of His death from Pontius Pilate, the Roman Prefect, or governor, of Judea.

If you’re unfamiliar with this true story and how it led to Jesus’ gruesome torture, death and burial followed by his amazing bodily resurrection and appearance to His disciples, read doctor Luke’s investigative account and the personal account of Jesus’ closest disciple John. (Later, a Jewish leader violently opposed to them but who encountered Jesus en-route to Damascus would write He was seen simultaneously by over 500 – 1 Cor 15:6)

A Bit of Theology

Jesus Christ died so that each of us may be forgiven for our sins. As a result of this new status, we now have direct personal access to God. As the Son of God, He suffered on our behalf as our ‘scapegoat’.  That is, Jesus took the place of death that we deserved because of our sinfulness, for the shedding of a sinless one’s blood was the only way our status could be changed for us to gain personal salvation. Apostle Paul put it thus to the Romans:

8But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through Him! 10 For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life! 11 Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. (Romans 5:8-11, NIV, see whole chapter.)

Now, when I was a new Christian I found that rather hard to understand – but it works! The theological term is ‘atonement’, or ‘substitutionary atonement’.  In bringing forgive-ness to the guilty, however, this can cause deep problems for those who’ve been the victim of crimes. After all, why should a killer find forgiveness by God? And what about the victim’s families, or the victim of abuse? They find it very hard if well-nigh impossible to forgive.

In 2012 I heard a Portsmouth prison chaplain address this issue with a concept taken from the criminal justice system: restorative justice. This involves active dialogue between victim and offender, plus reparation.  And it has a sound basis in  theology. How?

Jesus was a guiltless victim, directly of those who wanted Him killed, and indirectly of everyone’s ‘fallen state’ of sinfulness, which could only be rectified by His death.

And Almighty God, the Father, is a victim too. How? He’s victim of humanity’s rebellion against Him. For example and especially over the way religious leaders murdered His son – how they seethed with rage when Jesus denounced them! (read Luke 20:9-19).  So, every victim can find an identity and affinity in both God and Jesus Christ in their situation. Hence, they can receive God’s own ability to forgive because He will help them choose to forgive those who’ve harmed them. [Lack of forgiveness may be the only thing that hampers God – see Matt 6:14-15]

A Tableau in Time

During contemplation upon the tableau illustrated above, an insight dropped into mind that the Resurrection created a distinct point in the flow of, or perhaps even a change in, time itself. That is, the now termed ‘common era’ calendar is the medieval Christian one that counts years from the approximate birth of Christ as ‘anno Domini’. But in fact, a more powerful one would be the point at which things in heaven changed and thus affected our lives on earth and its ultimate role in God’s scheme of creation. This took place at the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, His revival to life from death itself.

That such a concept may be valid can be found in the discoveries about the material of the shroud in which Jesus was thought to have been carried and covered during His interment, known as ‘The Shroud of Turin‘. It is of astounding significance when examined from an understanding of quantum physics!  It can actually be regarded as a ‘singularity’, which is the term used for the starting point of the creation of the universe, or ‘Big Bang’. Don’t take my untutored word for this but consider particle physicist Isabel Piczek. She is also a monumental artist and award-winning figura-tive draughtsman. Consequently, her very detailed analysis of theories about how the shroud’s image was formed is fascinating and authoritative (see first of several detailed articles here).

This scientist’s conclusions about how the image was formed are astounding – it seems that the image of Jesus can only have been created by its hovering equidistantly above and below his reclining corpse. And furthermore, this necessitated the body’s levitation – perhaps not an impossible feat during the moment of resurrection power-blast? After all, the disciples had witnessed Jesus walking on water!

Dame Isabel succinctly summarises:

We have a piece of cloth and it leads us to a mysterious gate which opens for us, and it lets us see a completely different world, an extraordinary world with extraordinary laws.

You can consider these claims by watching this 19 minute video extract from the DVD The Fabric of Time (please bear with initial advert).

PS: the republished version of this post closes with a fascinating update and another investigation: He IS RISEN! Surprising Scientific Facts of Jesus’ Burial Shroud.

Confirmations of 2016’s prophetic words for a New Season

Posted on by
Reply

A week ago this morning, last week got kick-started before I was even awake! It was an eventful dream, which I’ll relate shortly.

In fact, someone had already tried getting in touch in connection with the dream! That may seem astonishing but this sort of coincidence isn’t at all unusual. ‘God-incidents’ always make me rejoice for we have a God of surprises.

When I got around to checking the weekend’s email one near the top of my in-tray was from the senior leader of Falkirk Full Gospel Church in Scotland, Thomas Harry. In view of what I’d dreamt his message stunned me!…It reads:

church

‘URGENT: Word for 2016 – New Season – Building on the Apostolic & Prophetic’

“I have attached an urgent word from the Lord that has had an overwhelming number of confirmations…regarding the new season we are in and ensuring we build on the biblical foundation of the Apostles and Prophets found in Ephesians 2:20.

“It has been confirmed by respected Christian leaders globally and the document includes 10 confirmations including from Catherine Brown, Sharon Stone, Cindy Jacobs, Peter Wagner & others.

“This will affect us all one way or another, so I felt it was vital I shared with someone like you. Most of us realize there’s a great move of God coming and the Lord wants to ensure we have our foundations and houses ready for this …’

“I believe it signals the biggest shift in the church since the reformation…”

I agree with Thomas that this prophetic consensus warrants church-wide circulation to leaders and congregations for serious consideration and weighing with the Lord.

To read the full document use this link to ‘Word for 2016…’ and scroll for downloading it as a Word or pdf document. More easily, however, read it courtesy of James Bailey with extensive comments on his Z3News by clicking here.

Thomas’ document begins:

‘The Lord has confirmed that the church as a whole has shifted to a new season and consequently we must build on the Apostolic and Prophetic foundation laid out in Ephesians 2:20. The attached document has been collated by Thomas Harry, through the leading of the Holy Spirit in order to communicate this word to the global church. Due to the urgent nature of this word, please circulate this to believers and leaders both here in the UK and beyond. I urge every believer and leader to take the time to read through this as it is certainly one of the most important words for the church in many years.’

I’m grateful to Thomas for kindly quoting a couple of items from this blog. Furthermore, we know from recent posts there are many more confirmations than those he quotes. (Not to mention the content of daily Lion Bites from Glasgow Prophetic Centre.)

Moreover, this blog’s A New Era for the Church lists over 40 prophetical promises made before November 2014 and building up over the following year; presumably leading to a tipping point!

A Revival-related Dream

The dream I’d had a few hours before reading his email was this.:

A crowd that I supposed had come from a church were milling around and confused. One man of some standing sharply accused me, “You’re not a Christian”.  Upon my addressing that issue the scene changed and time seemed to pass, as though the dream’s earlier part was about historical events.

At one point my spectacle lens is about to fall out and so I use my special screwdriver to adjust and tighten it. (This symbolises a change in clarity of vision in order to understand the dream’s meaning – and what was about to unfold!)

Then I find I’m looking into large hall inside a building – the ceiling’s not visible but I sense it’s open to the heavens(!) The distant walls resemble many side chapels in a large cathedral. One is noticeable and commemorates the period of Celtic saints in pre-Catholic British church.

Heather ClarkAnd NOW – actually whilst typing – I’m getting distinct ripples and chills down my neck as Heather Clark sings, “For the Lord our God He is holy…holy, holy, holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty…” in her distinctive rendition of Exalt The Lord. (‘Glorious Praise’ cd.)

The hall in my dream is jam-packed with excited believers, quite the opposite of the earlier scenes. Someone nearby holds his Bible to his mouth (signifying not only he will speak in accordance with scripture but also as led by the Lord; ie. with full prophetic anointing).  And so I understand he’s going to preach with a holy unction….

But then the alarm goes off!

The dream’s impact left a lingering impression. So I chuckled upon reading our morning prayer focus from Keep Praying and Bless. The day’s scripture is 1 Chronicles 16:29,

“Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His Name!

We decree that a day will come when every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord.

After the daily prayer of blessing for our family, friends, locality and that day’s particular city came its specific blessing:

“We bless the nation to receive a spirit of worship, to give glory and honour to Almighty God, that His Glorious Name be praised by all men.“

How appropiate – even more so when I read Thomas’ email.

May you too be mightily blessed…

Catholics speaking in tongues! The Spirit-filled movement of the 1960s

Posted on by
1

This informative post by RJ Dawson homed in on me upon its receipt because: 1) I too was raised Catholic and decided not to stay so in my teens. 2) Decades years later I was baptised in the Spirit at a meeting on healing convened by a group of Charismatic Catholics, Baptists and independents – it was so awesome and its effects lasted 50 days! 3) The date of that movement connects into details of a prophetic word for 2016 that I’ll be blogging about next…

Deeper and higher – and catch fire!

Posted on by
Reply

Lion_Roars_email_logo_HIGHERThese are the encouraging prophetical confirmations ‘coinciding’ with the 7th anniversary of writing and watching. They’re also related to an invitation and spiritual sighting of a huge blank scroll seen a week ago today and, as stated in closing the last post, are a personal directive:

DIVE DEEPER INTO THE WORDS OF GOD (Lion Bites Friday 26 Feb)

Still yourself and listen to your heart. Can you hear it cry out for more of the nourishing word of God, as a hungry stomach rumbles to be fed – or as a deer pants for the water?

If you dive in and read and listen to the word of God you will be rewarded. There is most certainly a need and a time for slow, careful study and quiet reflection (always!) but this particular urgency is to dive into new and deep places, reading longer passages and dining on larger portions. You will be rewarded and refreshed. If you can, read aloud, so that the words bless your mouth and your ears, as well as your eyes. Dive deep, swim into a new adventure in the word of God! There really are few things that you can possibly do in this world that will be more beneficial and radically transforming.

What are you waiting for?!

PS Why not start with Psalm 119, an epic celebration of the word of God?

Psalm 119:9-16 (but go on and read the whole Psalm!)
How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Praise be to you, Lord; teach me your decrees. With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth. I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches. I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.

“WHAT DO YOU SEE?” (Lion Bites Monday 29 Feb)

There is a deep place of revelation and a higher place of sight that God is pulling you up to in this time. Like Jeremiah, you will be one who sees the word of the Lord, interprets it and brings it into a place of action and application.

Where there has been hinderance with your spiritual sight, God now releases ease. Where a fog of confusion obscured what you saw, now there is a release of clarity and understanding. As you receive this anointing, God asks you, ‘What do you see?’ There are new revelations and insights that you have yet to receive that now you will.

But God also asks you, “Where do you need to look again?” There are places, peoples and revelations that you are being prompted to look at again through this new anointing. In the previous season, as you looked at these things, you may have missed some of what God was doing but now, as you look again, you will have a wider view and a higher perspective to see the fullness of what the Holy Spirit is orchestrating in this hour.

Receive the gift that God freely gives you; open your eyes and look at the new things but also look again, through fresh spiritual eyes, at previous things.

Jeremiah 1:11
“Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Jeremiah, what do you see?”
And I said “I see a branch of an almond tree.”
Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for I am ready to perform My word.”

And today’s Lion Bite returns to the subject of holy fire, what else:

THE ALL-CONSUMING FIRE

God has placed His fire around you; to those who seek Him it is a fire of love, warmth, protection and provision.

He desires that you would come closer to His fire, as if you were embracing the flames of love and feeding from Him – He is the fire. He is a holy fire that will consume all those things that would set themselves up against you, leaving you safe and in a place of his warmth and love.

All you have to do is say, ‘yes’ and draw ever closer in your worship and adoration. Let Him do the rest for you. Remember, He wants to give you more than you care to receive. He cries for you to surrender all, so that His fire is in you, as well as around you. He is an all-consuming fire.

Deuteronomy 4:24
For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.

Hebrews 12:28-29
Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.”

Lion-Bites-logo-2012Lion Bites are daily prophetic words published by Glasgow Prophetic Centre, and appear here with kind permission.

7th Anniversary of Watching

Posted on by
Reply

Courtsey StoonnDedicated to personal and cyber friends and readers who’ve followed my musings over the years – kindly bear with any repetition below.

On the last day of February seven years ago I emailed some friends in various churches about how I’d been stunned upon opening my Bible. Having been in touch about the previous year’s events in Lakeland, Florida, we continued chatting occasionally. However, my attention was suddenly directed to look at Biblical prophecies in much more depth.

We will see how this may be relevant to the previous post but first, in celebrating that date, let me repeat the opening of that two-part email (click title to read in full – and I hope the many links below don’t cause readers any scrolling problems):

The Endgame Is Now In Play Continue reading →

Coals of fire are being released for prophets – Lana Vawser

Posted on by
16

WOW! This word confirms and thus speaks directly into a dream of 11 days ago whilst attending the Awake conference (and which plugged into the podcast on Time). ALSO, for some reason this word was missing from my email notifications, although the next (Angels of Recovery) was in today’s in-tray! It was found by looking in my WordPress’ Reader folder, which I don’t always check upon blogging as I usually go straight to its admin desktop.

UPDATE 23 April 2020: stuck to home-page in view of latest comments below Continue reading →

Is this my exploding Bible’s 1,000th ‘piece’?

Posted on by
2

This month is the 7th anniversary of when my Bible exploded upon opening it!

Courtsey StoonnIn connection with a controversy over an outpouring of the Holy Spirit in 2008 in Lakeland, Florida, I’d encountered two conflicting claims about Jesus’ explanation of the parable on the end-time harvest of wheat and tares (Matthew 13:36).

So I went to check that scripture but, upon opening my Bible, I was hit by a deep excitement EXPLODING WITHIN as I heard,

“This is ALL about to be fulfilled!” 

I informed some friends and church leaders by email, reminded them about my earlier remarks on a sifting of the Church – and that Jesus had urged His disciples to look out for signs of the times (see The Endgame is now in play). On their questions about His return at the end of this Age, I noted Jesus stressing 7 times, “Watch…be alert…on your guard“ (Mark 13).

That was the start of my regularly writing about these matters. Just a few months later that decision was confirmed by a visiting prophet, and after a couple of years I went public with this blog in Nov 2011. (Sept 2011 was a turning point in UK according to Bill Johnson – as herein.)

Last Thursday I’d almost finished the previous post and, unusually, was able to dash it off on Saturday and continue with our weekend. But I spotted something! I don’t often look at the list of posts from WordPress’ working area or ‘desktop’ but I clicked from there into the listing and saw that post was the 960th of published posts.  Now I knew the blog’s menu has 60 static pages, and realised this latest makes a COMBINED TOTAL of 1,000.

Is it ‘coincidence’ that The most momentous world-changing events in 2,000 years?  is the ‘1,000th piece’ on this blog?  Or is it a ‘God-incidence’ confirming that the subject is especially significant in the Lord’s plans??

Most extraordinary, but it had to wait ’til I was back at my desk this morning. AND look at today’s Lion Bite “Suddenly I acted”  >

“I have spoken and now I am acting. My word has gone forth and now I am fulfilling”, declares the Lord. 

The detail of that prophetic word mirrors what pastor John Kilpatrick taught yesterday at CHP in USA about the importance and power of retelling testimonials of what the Lord has done, not only in scripture but in our own lives too.

AND more specifically, it reiterates detail of what his son, assistant pastor John Michael, shared about hearing the audible voice of the Lord, “speaking like an Englishman”

“Put Me into the middle of the wilderness you’re in”.

The Lion Bite has it: ‘…the Spirit of the Lord says that this is the day that He begins to manifest into your midst that which He has spoken…’

MOREOVER, along with that daily ‘Bite’ comes news of another prophetic word received yesterday that’s relevant to this post. It also includes an appropriate prayer for us:

“I pray that revelation will just explode in you about this!”  AMEN

LOL! And I was going to wait for the 7th anniversary of that first email on 28th February – good job I didn’t, methinks.

Thank you for 100,000th visit

Posted on by
4

RJBA special thank you to whoever’s about to make the 100,000th visit to my blog. The figure won’t appear anywhere other than in the stats page and I won’t exactly know when or who that will be other than very soon after this is published – if you’re a first time visitor please accept an especial mark of appreciation.

I also thank every regular reader for taking time and trouble to follow this blog and thereby encouraging me greatly, and definitely the Lord Himself for the many insights and puzzles we’ve noticed Him presenting for our enjoyment and edification.

I’d never have dreamt of such a possibility upon responding to the ‘shove’ to ‘go public’ 50 months ago (Nov 2011) – and definitely not when I started emailing a few dozen friends and church leaders about current events on 28th February 2009.

I opened The Endgame is Now in Play by telling about an almost ‘in your face’ explosion that happened upon checking a well-known verses of scripture.:

Dear Friends – further to Rev’d Bill’s recent request re Christian Freedom, may I offer some observations upon our times and, in another message, suggest a way forward?

Last year, I encountered two conflicting claims about Jesus’ explanation of the parable on the end-time harvest of wheat and tares (Matthew 13:36). So I went to check scripture but upon opening my Bible a deep excitement exploded within as I heard, “This is ALL about to be fulfilled” – WOW!!

Subsequently, my readership and other biblically-informed followers of current events will have noticed how that claim is being increasingly fulfilled.

A little over a year later I was blessed by prophecy teacher Isabel Allum discerning of me, “An impartation like Daniel had is going to come into you and you will start understanding the ‘riddles’ of the Lord in a different way – the gift of interpretation itself as Daniel and Joseph had is going to come to you and God is going to open up your understanding to hear from heaven”.

That enabling prophetical promise encouraged me to continue writing. AND I owe a deep thank you to my dear Nina for graciously accommodating my taking up our valuable time by tapping away in our ‘garret’.

Also, a great thank you to all my contributors; readers who comment and authors whom I re-blog or quote.

For those interested in statistics, the figures by averages would have you reading 2 posts and every 10 visitors looking at 23 items, as well as each post and menu page being read at least 100 times – and, at present only, almost every subscriber checking this blog daily!

Isn’t there a saying, “There’s lies, darned lies – and statistics”?

Fulfilled prophecy #5 – Return of a ‘prodigal’

Posted on by
2

“…Prodigal children will return to the front doors to once again embrace the awesomeness of God…” (Patrick Schatzline: 2016 – The Lord’s Joyous Shout)

And that’s exactly what happened as the old year 2015 got ready to draw its last gasp!

As the clock headed for 6 pm a fortnight ago today Nina’s mobile phone rang. It displayed an unknown number and so she thought it’d be another of those nuisance cold-callers selling PPI. Therefore, she declined it right away and put the phone down.

But within seconds it rang again. So she answered and heard a faint voice, “Mum, is it you? Are you there…?”  Nina hadn’t heard anything from and been unable to contact this lost daughter of hers for far, far too many years. This daughter was desperate. We phoned a few accessible friends for prayer support as we didn’t know what lay in store.

Nina tells what happened next in this email to a Vineyard pastor, Ginny, who’d previously prayed with her:

‘Twelve years ago, due to a tragedy in her life my daughter tried to kill herself as well. I have never heard from her or knew anything about her. I prayed every day to our Lord that she would one day come home  but I did pray that it would be better for her to know Jesus and then come back to me. At the end of November 2015 I drew a small heart, wrote her name on it, put it in the palm of my hand and lifted her up to God afresh.
‘Guess what, the telephone rang early evening on December 30th and it was E…, weeping that she wanted to see me. Needless to say my response was ‘Come’. She did get lost but Richard was able to meet her and she followed him home.
‘Then a scene took place that I have imagined many many times over 12 years –  I opened the door and she fell into my arms weeping. She stayed with us 24 hours, slept all night with no nightmares and best of all SHE KNEW JESUS. She had been praying to Him for about 8 years. We are in daily contact by texting and her first one to me said “Thanks for being my mum, I love you”!!!!!
‘This is as brief retelling as I could make it as I am still going through PMS – Post Miracle Shock.
‘Richard and I used to come along to Winchester on a Saturday evening and on one occasion you happened to mention prodigals and I started crying. You prayed for me and E…’s return. So you have been part of this miracle too.’

(Another aspect that retired pastor unwittingly played during E…’s return is told below.)

The evening’s weather was atrocious and E… had an hour’s drive in driving heavy rain in darkness and under glaring car headlights and street lights in towns. She parked to phone again just inside our town’s limits because she didn’t know how to get to our house. I was reminded of the parable of the prodigal son and how Jesus described the father seeing his adult child and setting off running to greet the homeward-bound ‘lost’ one. (This is also our heavenly Father’s nature, which is why Jesus used this parable to show what God is like.)

Prophecies

The way E… turned up on our doorstep and what happened when Nina opened the door fitted so precisely what the Lord had given Pat Schatzline.  I didn’t read that word he’d sent me direct until I’d blogged it. All I knew was its great importance and that I had to slot it into my very tight pre-Christmas schedule, as recounted in my footnote to his post – click link.  No wonder there’s a joyous shout from the Lord.

After we’d updated one of our prayer-partners she emailed by return,

“Extraordinary that I should receive this the day after your news! Scroll down to prophetic words about restoration of families.”

The section of Hugh & Ginny Cryer’s Culture Changers ‘ezine’ our friend’s referring to reads as follows (emphasis mine):

‘A number of people have written to us saying that they are following Lana Vawser,  At the beginning of this New Year I thought you might be encouraged by part of a word Lana gave in mid-November 2015 (Keys of strategy are turning…He is the key to your family).

“Joy will return to many homes again.   Laughter and honour is being restored. The time for unprecedented miracles in families has arrived.”  “Next year 2016 will be a year of many prodigals coming home!!!   He then began to share with me how He is doing a deep work in families right now and it is going to hit a point of celebration and increase next year. Next year will be a year of greater restoration of family!!! One of the waves of revival to be poured out across the earth is going to be released in unprecedented ways through the testimony of the restoration of the family unit”.’

The latest from Lana, Fire and Favour on Families, is mightily encouraging. Thank you Lord.

Hand and puzzle pieces - Anusorn p NacholSo the Lord is putting tangible pieces into the part of His invisible jigsaw that shows our lives. He directed Pat to email and Ginny to refer to prophecies about prodigal children returning and others have noticed too (eg. see Confirmation of prophetic word: holy winds of change).

It’s especially interesting that Nina’s daughter E… has a belief and prayer life without being in contact with any particular church. Some years ago Ginny, who’d ministered to Nina as above, was most astonished to learn direct from the Lord that ‘out-of-church’ Christians are very acceptable to Him. (Introducing Culture Changers in this post refers; see video at 10 minute mark.)

WHAT A TERRIFIC START TO THIS NEW YEAR!! Thank you Lord that 2015 began in a severely adverse way medically but ended with a miraculous celebration in restoring this mother and daughter to one other – and are now keeping in touch!

SO be encouraged, praise and thank the Lord that these contemporary prophecies are of Him and are quickly being fulfilled. More please Lord…

Update 21 Jan: E… has since reported her return has brought about a wonderful change in her own daughter and restoration in their relationship too. And so our 23 years old grand-daughter’s very happy now that all three generations are ‘family’ at last. So are we 🙂

SEE ALSO: Fulfilled prophecies (and answered prayers) 6: families

[Hand and Puzzle Pieces by Anusorn p Nachol, courtesy of Freedigitalphotos.net]

Serendipity strikes across the sea again

Posted on by
8

Yep – yet another ‘God-incidence’ showing we live and breathe in Him and by His Grace. Am still so grateful 26 years later: thank you for saving me Lord.

Upon checking my email earlier today I noticed these two heading up my blog’s in-tray:

51GZypJOzzL._SX324_BO1,204,203,200_Upon opening the first I find a re-blog of a post by Scottish-born Paul Eliot dedicated to Tim Shey, the High Plains Drifter whose pilgrimage on the roads of America reminded Paul he’s a stranger on the earth. Now that reminds me I was dreaming only hours earlier of looking at some crinkly terrain I knew was somewhere in mid-West USA (maybe ‘badlands’, Dakotas?).

But what hit me between the eyes was a reference in Tim/Paul’s post that relates to one I’m drafting for later today on the return of a prodigal.

And today’s encouraging prophetic word from Scotland connects not only into the Americans’ theme of the Presence but it also relates to the prodigal’s situation!…

LION BITES: ABIDE AND REMAIN

Come to me all who are weary, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Come away with me that I might refresh you – your body, soul and spirit.

Come and be with me, stay with me, abide and remain in my presence. I am all that you need. It is good to be still and know that I am God. Do not be distracted by the things of the world around you but instead come into my presence where you can look upon me, your strength and your song,

I am all that you need. I am your provider and I am your protector. I am your lover so remain here in me.

My child, remember who you are – an overcoming child of the Most High. All power and authority are given to those who abide in me.

John 15:4-5
Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.

Note: for more about the significance of serendipity read God-incidents page.

‘Eyes that burn like blazing fire…King of Glory, have Your glory…’

Posted on by
Reply

Great to see Lindell Cooley leading worship on Friday at 10th anniversary of Church of His Presence (here). Let’s go back in time to a most memorable evening in mid-2006 and join him and Kelley Warren somewhere in the Caribbean.:

Ever since then that praise song stirs my spirit, especially this rendition:

Read about that event in Holy lightning beyond ‘The Pond’ strikes in the UK! and, in case anyone asks, yes that’s Heidi Baker on the steps at the start of the video clip. Later that evening the Lord took Nina swimming underwater with Him despite being in severe pain from a spinal injury that had been mis-diagnosed on that holiday. She became officially registered as permanently disabled with wheelchair but the Lord healed her, as in her powerful testimony (here).

So ‘Yes’, JESUS HAVE ALL THE GLORY, YOU ALONE ARE WORTHY – thank and praise you Lord…

Advent True Story: part 2 – Night Visitor Breaks In!

Posted on by
Reply

(Continuing the personal account in commemoration of victims of terrorism and the 4th anniversary of both posts’ publication.)

That night of 14th September’s second visit was far more challenging than polite Peter’s chat –  this time it was life or death!

And I went back in time!

Stepping into my ‘time machine’ I found myself in a most unusual dream. One so lucid that, over twenty years later, it remains vividly etched within me. So it must be exceptionally significant.  Come back with me :

I find myself in the lounge of my childhood home and in front of the large casement window abutting one corner of the room.  I look up into the inky, dark night sky.

A small flotilla of large, wingless aircraft drifts slowly across from left to right at high altitude and I groan, “Oh…not that flying saucer nonsense. I must be dreaming!”  (Occasionally in dreams I’d be aware of dreaming and could change the scenario.)

I’m sceptical about the existence of UFO’s, but now another ‘fleet’ appears from the right and heads towards the first.

Now, the dream changes gear (rather, goes up a level) from the normal mixture of mental material > to that of absolutely convincing lucidity:

The ‘light goes on’!  In my ‘knower’, I realise the first fleet is demonic and the second is masses of angels under the command of Jesus Christ. (I did not believe in them, and regarded Jesus as one of many world teachers – I didn’t know Jesus appeared as the commander of the Lord’s host, or angels, to Joshua when outside Jericho. Here, I cannot see any individuals but have inner knowledge of the situation.)

I think I’m about to watch an amazing heavenly battle…but…OH NO!  Somehow, I now know Jesus has espied me far down below and is coming down directly towards me!

All I see is a distant bright light very rapidly getting brighter and larger as it drops down to my location, just like an airliner approaching a runway to land at night. 

Instantly, I realise my life has been one of sin that contrasts starkly against Jesus’ own holiness. Right away I realise what’s claimed about the Judgement is true – but mine is about to happen right now!

Beyond any doubt I realise my involvement in the occult was most definitely wrong. Consequently, I deserve the undesirable abode!

“My number’s up!” I groan, inwardly trembling in knowing I’m about to die at any moment and an invisible trapdoor I’m standing on will drop me straight into hell.

Uttermost mortal terror strikes and I dive right under the drop-leaf table in the other  corner of the room to hide from Jesus. But he knows where I’m hiding and swoops down straight through the wall at the side of the window to stand in my room and right beside the table!

Cowering under the table with my back turned towards him, I glance over my shoulder and see him from the waist down, his face out of sight above the table.

Most unexpectedly, somehow I have the courage to reach my hand out backwards to grab at the hem of Jesus’ robe…

As I tug, the event goes into yet another level of revelation regarding my childhood…

Then I awake! Thoroughly alert, further sleep eludes me!

The event reminds me of an evocative small picture that impressed me as a child – the return of Jesus Christ:

2ndAdventDiagm

Later I understand that my terror had been ‘the fear of God’ brought through his Holy Spirit in convicting me of my personal sinfulness (ie. wrongdoing) and, thus, preparing me to receive God’s grace (ie. undeserved favour).

Also,  what happened when I touched Jesus proves he’s intimately acquainted with the private details of my thoughts as a little boy.  The last moments of the dream show he will topple my childish concepts of him and thus hint at his replacing them with a sure knowledge of his true identity.

“The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love” (Psalm 111). Mercifully, he plucked me from the domain of darkness to bring me into his own and receive its blessings. I deserved none of that. Truly, Amazing Grace – how awesome and wonderful..!

The most remarkable, life changing dream I’d ever had. Therefore, over several months I carefully reconsidered all my New Age notions. Meditational and mystical exercises had resulted in my having some unusual, ‘psychic’ dreams, but none whatsoever like this!

The only remotely similar dream was that of an ‘altered’ state of consciousness known as ‘nirvana’, or bliss, where I’d been taken behind its alluring golden light.  However, ecstasy then turned to abject terror at the sight of an approaching hideous, devouring beast of blackness far worse than any nightmare!  (I didn’t take drugs.)  In this dream, however, fear had been overcome by Jesus himself and his wonderful mercy and love – and pervasive peace.

REALITY CHECK

Time now to take a reality check. We’ll find this story can be validated and in three ways! The first confirmation was to come from an unexpected source…as herein.

Advent True Story: part 1 – Day Visitor Barred

Posted on by
Reply

In Memory of all deceased and bereaved persons throughout the world who have been so tragically affected by Islamist terrorism this year. I pray this and the previous post will encourage visitors to this site to take their life and after-life more seriously, thereby accepting the free gift of life everlasting through Jesus Christ:

Sunday 29th November marked the beginning of Advent; a period of excitement  preparing to celebrate Jesus Christ’s birth in ancient Bethlehem, Judea – the First Advent. But in fact there’s more! The focus on the first Sunday of Advent is upon His promised return, the Second Advent. So it is also a time of waiting expectantly. I’m pleasantly surprised that the emphasis in secular Wikipedia’s Advent entry isn’t upon Jesus’ birth, but upon His return.

As stated in a recent post, events are increasingly aligning with the anticipated fulfilment of several ancient biblical prophecies of the Day of the Lord.  Commensurate therefore, this means the return of Jesus must also be rapidly approaching.

Many Moons Ago…

a messenger was sent on a mission to a village nestled where hills would have met had a river not burst between them. Here was the only crossing, a toll bridge, as this strong river wended its way eastwards between low hills, wooded on the north and arable on the south side, down the narrow valley and towards the country’s capital fifty miles downstream.

It was the sixth month of the final year, of the penultimate decade, of the last century, of the second millennium since the birth of Jesus Christ and the messenger bore an invitation to all who would welcome him.

Peter, a dark-haired young man, knocked upon my front door and asked if anyone would like to hear the world-renowned evangelist Billy Graham in Earls Court, London. We’d be conveyed by coach from our house! The fare from west of Reading? Nada, entirely free!

I turned down the offer but my almost-teenage son piped up that he’d like to go because a classmate had told him about it. So I said I’d take him.

Were it my choice, however, I most definitely would not have accepted. Experience had made me extremely wary of churchgoers. But never did I suspect my personal life hung on that moment.

Why the problem?

I was brought up in the Catholic Church yet attended non-secular state schools with their Anglican ethos. Back in the 1950s this was a sensitive issue. In those days many more attended church of one sort or another than today. Religious beliefs are a minor concern now, even though attendance at faith schools is prized for educational purposes.

Note well, I did not receive the required, proper Catholic education. What was gained was merely through church attendance – which doesn’t do anything when the services are in a dead, foreign language!

Sunday Mass involved a lot of liturgical Latin. So when English was spoken, this boy was able to comprehend a little from frequent snippets from the Gospels. I recall pondering how awesome it would have been to witness everything Jesus said and did.

Fifty years ago the hypocritical conflict between denominations was the reason I turned to ‘New Age’ ideals. In view of what Christian priests said and did then, how could what they  preached be true? Jesus commanded his followers to “love one another”. However, from my personal experience, as well as the historical facts, churches did not!

Also, they weren’t performing miraculous works similar to those Jesus did, as he said they would. So, churches were failing on both counts to live up to their founder’s commands. Although I was only a boy it was patently obvious that they missed the mark. Also, I strongly suspected they’d probably lost a lot of what Jesus had taught too.

So in my late teens I went looking for truth elsewhere and practised yoga, meditation and Eastern religions long before that became popular through the famous Beatles and their maharishi. In seeking deeper instruction and practical abilities I joined an ancient, mystical brotherhood. Thus, I gained direct knowledge of ‘higher’ esoteric teachings, including a belief in reincarnation and karma as well as experiencing invisibility and nirvana, the ecstatic state sought by Buddhists.

All this was before such New Age concepts became as popular and widespread as they became in the Hippy era. Twenty-odd years later I’d find myself attending an evangelical meeting!  Utterly unbelievable!

What happened?

So in those days I regarded most clergy as outmoded. Their preaching couldn’t compare with what I’d discovered in the New Age. So, you could imagine my astonishment upon finding myself agreeing with everything Billy Graham preached!  I was flummoxed!

Afterwards, as a follow-up, those who’d been on the trip were invited to an informal meeting at a local church. They explained we could have introductory teaching and discussion at home and I agreed to be on-hand for my son, but I wasn’t interested. Peter, as a youth worker, was assigned to help him but, in practice, he ended up discussing the material with me.

So, what went wrong?

The evening of Wednesday 14th September 1989, is Peter’s third visit to chat through a script about Christianity entitled Life. I hadn’t yet divulged my firm opinions to him, but this time he goes too far!

This session is on ‘Yoga, Eastern Religions and The Occult’ – all of which I knew about and been involved in since before Peter had been born!

Peter shows a diagram of two cliff-like objects facing one another. One represents heaven and the other, earth, with a large deep gap separating them from one another. Over this Peter then places an overlay depicting a large + sign over the gap. The horizontal ends of the + touch each object, thereby bridging heaven and earth. He explains that the cross of Christ is the bridge between both realms.

He then says the only way to God is through Jesus Christ. This statement implies my ideas are incorrect. Without giving the game away I gently question him on this. But he insists there are not many paths leading to the same supreme mind, or God.

What’s to be done with a young man half my age who unwittingly points out the error of my ways?

I think, “He doesn’t know what he’s talking about. How can he, who’s not done anything I know far more about…just how can he tell me it’s wrong?  He’s wasting my time!”

Peter’s ideas are not only mistaken but also intolerant. Before the end of the evening I’ve had enough!

So I bring our discussion to an early close, politely bid him farewell and excuse myself from any future meeting. As ever, Peter is most gracious about it – he smiles politely and goes on his way.

But little did I know that I may not make it through the night!    

Continue reading in part 2 >>

Do we choose our post-mortem existence?

Posted on by
Reply

Death, or ‘destiny’, it was my choice – but I didn’t know, and I’d chosen wrongly!

Thankfully, I was given the chance to choose again – yet once again flunked it!  How?

A young man who happened to share my birthday pointed out facts.  Yet I decided, quite deliberately, to ignore them and thus made the wrong choice.

Then another, very much older man, came like a thief in the night. This one showed me how those incorrect decisions bear consequences affecting my ‘after-life’ – if there is one!  After 26 years, that life-changing event is still vividly etched within me.

Maybe this sounds far-fetched or fictional, like Dickens’ A Christmas Carol where ghosts confront Ebenezer Scrooge?

However, please make no mistake. This has nothing to do with ideas or beliefs, faith or feelings, supposition or superstition. It has everything to do with plain, simple facts.:

The eventual outcome of our own life – our post-mortem existence – is a matter of fact. And this outcome lies with our own hands – it’s our choice!

A reader’s comments upon my provocative remarks on the massacre in Paris motivates me to continue re-visiting this blog’s earliest posts for the benefit of new readers and visitors.

So I’ll illustrate my above contention with a true, Advent-related story (part 1 published).

Sacred space in a busy world? – take a Quiet Day

Posted on by
2

Acorn Q-day2If you have a day to spare you may like to consider the next Quiet-Day at Acorn, Sacred Space in a Busy World  (click for details). Located near the A3 in East Hampshire it’s easily accessible from Surrey, West Sussex and London. Maybe it’s time for you to have a day out with Him?

Busy bashing my blog on Thursdays I’m giving up next week’s for time out with the Lord. As you may have gathered from Not blogging but…, it was well-worth my attending a recent day Quiet Day.

Acorn Q-day1That day’s focus was on how to sit, walk and stand, as Paul teaches in his letter to the Ephesian church. Additionally, I gained confirmation from the Lord about the blog’s theme at that time, plus some other personal scriptures. This subsequently bore fruit in reading and later discussing the Book of Daniel as a result of Nelson Walter’s thought-provoking blog, which I hope to cover soon.

I went on that day trying to put aside concerns about how to reschedule what was in the pipeline until the next week. From the outset I was amazed, so there wasn’t any need for concern. It all proved to be in the Lord’s hands for, as in Romans 8:28, He works out all things to the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.

[Graphics courtesy of Acorn Christian Healing Foundation.]

Monday Mirth – God loves drunkards too!

Posted on by
2

At 3.00 am this morning a man and his wife were awakened by a loud pounding on the door. The man got up and went to the door to find a drunken stranger standing in the pouring rain.

He’s asking for a push!

“Not a chance,” says the husband, “It’s 3 in the morning!” He slams the door and goes back to bed.

“Who was that?” asks his wife. “Some drunk guy asking for a push,” he answers.

“Did you help him?” she asks. “No, I didn’t, it’s 3 in the morning and it’s pouring with rain!”

“Well, you have a short memory,” says his wife. “You’ve forgotten last month when our car broke down and those two guys helped us? I think you should help him. And you..”, she says, “You should be ashamed of yourself! God loves drunk people too you know”.

Groaning, the husband does as he’s told, gets dressed and goes out into the pounding rain. He calls out into the dark, “Hello, are you still there?”.

“Yes”, comes back the answer.

“Do you still need a push?” calls out the husband.

“Yes please!” comes the reply from the dark.

“But I can’t see you. Where are you?” asks the husband.

“Over here – on the swing…” replied the drunk 🙂

[With thanks to the original, unknown source and to a local church maintenance team in So’ton. When I thanked our friend in person I grinned and reminded him the church was full of ‘drunks’ at its birth!! The incredulity and shocked look was amusing for, being an Anglican, he doesn’t appreciate what Pentecost must have been like! 

He was enlightened when I said the disciples were so full of the Holy Spirit that people thought they were drunk (Acts 2:13). However, telling of abundant joy and merriment experienced nowadays when He brings refreshing to those who invite and celebrate His Presence is beyond our friend’s comprehension, for the present.

I pray that everyone reading this amusing post will be thoroughly blessed by the fullness of the Lord’s Spirit…Amen.]

200,000 views – thank you everyone

Posted on by
Reply

RJBA personal thank you goes to whoever makes the 200,000th viewing of this blog today/tomorrow, when two particularly interesting posts are scheduled for auto-publication.

Thank you too to every visitor and to each of my regular readers and subscribers for encouraging me in waiting and watching for the Lord. It is heartening that each of 850-odd posts and menu pages have been seen so many times. (If you’ve not scanned through the menu bar perhaps you’d like to check it out and dip into some of its topics?)

TOP 10 posts by number of views since the blog was launched on 21.11.2011 are: Continue reading →

Not blogging but the Lord confirms the current theme

Posted on by
Reply

Puzzle in sky - Idea goAwestruck!  ‘Pieces’ of an ‘invisible jigsaw’ showered around me last Thursday. That’s the day normally spent blogging before weekends offline – but not so last week. Had it been as usual I’d have downloaded what’s in mind as a bridge between notes on two sessions by Neville Johnson. But the Lord more than made up for that in what He was to provide.

whitehill-chase-04Last Thursday was a day’s retreat with the contemplative focus being ‘Sit, Walk, Stand’ at the nearby Acorn Christian Healing Foundation. ‘Quiet Days’ are ‘an opportunity to lay burdens aside and to allow God to minister to your heart, mind and body through His Holy Spirit’.

But I went with an agenda! – to catch up on several scriptures quoted in my blogs that week. Yet it seemed wiser not to overlook and speed by them, thereby missing what the Lord may have for me. My reading covers many fronts and blogging takes a great deal of time, so those verses had been plucked and stuck down without proper assimilation in my mind and spirit.  I wanted to digest them decently in peace and quiet.

To say I was stunned by three events that day is no understatement – and what I’d fully intended blogging got amazingly augmented by the day’s events!

Before entering the chapel a few of us were looking at photos of paintings done during the recent creativity day. As the others chatted I had a sense of the Lord building upon  that centre’s purpose for its new season. Upon entering the modern chapel, however, this would be confirmed in a surprising way..

Holy Fire

Burning Bush at Acorn

My eyes almost popped out upon being seated when I saw the limb of a tree placed in the centre of the floor. In its midst was a flickering flame, albeit imitation, from a brazier placed within the branches.

The reason chaplain Elizabeth Knifton had dragged this old branch into the chapel (and swept up its consequential trail of bits) was because of what had happened during that Tuesday’s powerful service for healing. Then, she’d had a distinct impression of the Lord saying the ground they’re standing on is holy and, therefore, to remove shoes – as in Moses’ encounter with the Lord at the burning bush.

For my part, however, what I’d previously noticed outside and thus mused upon during a service several months ago had actually come about. Also, Elizabeth’s explanation of what happened and why she’d made this presentation reflected my earlier thoughts!

fire-angels_300wDuring that earlier service I’d seen outside a pile of logs trimmed from the surrounding woods in the grounds. It reminded me of Gary Beaton’s photo of a pile of smoking logs but which had apparently shown flame-like angels. I was prompted to pray that such a spiritual fire would come inside the chapel and become a beacon of light in the region.

Sit, Walk, Stand

Next, Elizabeth introduced her opening devotional talk based on Paul’s superlative letter to the church at Ephesus. In teaching about our posture of sitting with Jesus Christ in heavenly places she soon went into the heart of my intended introduction to Neville’s message on the urgent need for us to be ‘heavenly minded’!!

Beginning with, ‘For we are God’s handiwork created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared for us in advance for today’ (Eph 2:10) Elizabeth went to preceding verses, ‘God raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in heavenly places in Christ Jesus so that in coming ages He might show the immeasurable riches of His grace and kindness towards us in Christ Jesus’ (Eph 2:6-7).

I took particular notice that she connected verses from a different letter with this theme but which are personally relevant because they’re directly related to my testimony:

‘For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves’ (Col 1:13-14) – see Rescued from Satan by the Lord of Hosts.

Furthermore, the second pre-lunch message on walking in the Spirit not only mirrored the scriptures in my recent blogs but also referred at length to Enoch’s having pleased God by walking with him! (I’d underlined related verses in those posts.)

Personal Ministry

Flying up in the stratosphere after the morning’s events, a period of personal ministry brought the third major blessing of the day: although I was away from blogging it tied into what I would have written about – a heavenly perspective and becoming heavenly-minded. Wonderful how our Father knows our most intimate desires and thoughts, and fulfils them when aligned with His will.

After sharing my excitement with the Spirit-led chaplain and a ministry leader, these two handmaidens of the Lord prayed some scriptures over and into me. First, and perhaps most important are the verses describing the glorious visionary encounter Daniel had experienced, as in Daniel 10:10-21. (Very interesting this refers to the prince of Persia (Iran) and Daniel’s people, the Jews – demonic issues still continuing today!! AND I’d recently blogged with great difficulty about Jews searching for their true Messiah.)

Also with a relevant bearing are the vision of Isaiah (chapter 6) before the throne of God and his mission; Apostle John’s anointing as a visionary writer (Rev 1:10-19); a double reference to Joshua’s mission plus another from Exodus.

Confirmation of Scriptures

Teamwork by Franky242Although I’m used to frequent ‘God-incidents’ in my life and blogging, it’s impossible to become blasé. Such events are always surprising – and praiseworthy! The latest repeated and thereby confirmed the relevancy of scriptures and concepts blogged only days beforehand – AND of what would have been written that very day!!

Purely for information, they are:

  • rescued from dominion of darkness (re. 1st session & Colossians 1)
  • eagles gathering and prophetic gifting (re. personal refc to Book of Joshua)
  • the ‘army of God’, as in Joel (re. refc to Joshua and thus his army)
  • prophetic word to ‘invite My fire’ (re. logs & burning bush)
  • Enoch and Daniel as herein (re: ministry refc to Dan 10 vision)
  • Revelation and the ‘Age to Come’ (re: ministry refc to John)
  • meditation on Romans 8 (re: walking in the Spirit and Jesus)
  • Neville Johnson on Enoch, the bigger heavenly picture (re: Quiet day).

Continued in Neville Johnson 2: the ‘BIGGER picture’ of post-blood moon era.

Further Reading:

Apostle Paul’s remarkable ministry in Ephesus is covered in-depth by Keith Lannon in  Management of the Miraculous: Ephesus is Taken.  His introductory premise closes as follows (with emphases mine):

‘The depth and totality of the work accomplished by Paul in Ephesus, as well as rippling throughout the whole of Asia, was such that we know and can see that in the last book of the Bible, it was acknowledged in heaven as a work that was especially significant amongst the entire world-wide church at that time. I see it as if the entire life of Paul was a learning curve in lots of directions that led up to a period of ministry which by its shock and significance, changed the world at that time.  Paul had seen the sick healed before, but not on the scale of Ephesus. He had cast out demons before, but seen nothing like the witches and Wizards that were delivered in the former “City of Diana of the Ephesians”. He had pointed out people from the crowd before and ministered to them by the leading of the Spirit, but not as intense as in Acts 19. It was such an incredibly solid and comprehensive time of church building, that when the Lord Jesus gave John the apocalyptic prophecy of the book of Revelation, he only addressed the main seven church centres that were created and established by Paul’s work in this particular mission, at this time. No other church was mentioned or acknowledged by the risen Christ as He stood amongst the candlesticks. In fact, no other candlesticks were referred to apart from those in Asia. We are talking of serious culture and population impact with the gospel that is second to none in history, with a depth of foundation laying, and an awesome height of people/church building, that I am convinced has been unparalleled since. We are examining a period of missionary work that had heaven’s stamp of approval like none other….’

Images:

A personal recommendation

Posted on by
Reply

RJBDo you receive notifications from this blog on a weekly basis? If so, I’d like to ask you to consider receiving them upon publication, or at least daily.

Please check your schedule by clicking the link at the foot of this  post’s email to ‘Manage Subscription’. It takes you to WordPress’ Subscription Management page which shows Delivery Frequency for Richard’s Watch. I’d suggest that you ensure it shows ‘Daily’ or else ‘Immediate’.

If you change the frequency of receipt please be sure to hit the ‘Save Changes’ button. If unsure about frequency, you may wish to check your delivery schedule anyway.

The reason for my request is to enable you to receive some upcoming interesting posts  as soon as they’re published. Are you aware of what prompted me to start emailing just a few friends and church leaders in early 2009?  I explained my reason,

‘Last year, I encountered two conflicting claims about Jesus’ explanation of the parable on the end-time harvest of wheat and tares (Matt 13:36). So I went to check scripture, but upon opening my Bible a deep excitement exploded within as I heard, “This is ALL about to be fulfilled” – WOW’. (Parts 1 & 2 of The Endgame is now in play refer.)

For the next couple of years I regularly circulated two or three emails monthly. Events began to pick up speed in 2011-12 and, after I launched this blog, they escalated and then rapidly accelerated during 2014-15.

Therefore, you may wish to receive earlier, rather than later, blogs that may be useful in your monitoring biblically-related events as well as contemporary prophetical material.

Thank you so much for continuing to subscribe and reading/contributing whenever able to.

Richard

Why this September is special: Update 1- Judaism

Posted on by
Reply

THIS POST MUST BE IMPORTANT in view of today’s extremely ‘buggy’, tediously slow connections with WordPress blogging platform and my PC’s Internet Explorer and its own internal processes!  (Chrome couldn’t connect at all.) I haven’t had such difficult a day blogging in years!  I was going to have begun this morning after quickly adding a couple of paragraphs to the last post as it was already in draft.

In this tight time slotted in my birthday and our anniversary week this post, therefore, must needs be a potted summary of events. Now, I’m stopped from opening posts in other tabs as there’s no WP security certificate from Microsoft! Crazy! Something like this happened a couple of years ago in trying to blog about Iran. Then, my ISP got security conscious over content of some WP blogs. Maybe a new patch is the culprit? Seems to be working at last…And I don’t think it was simply to turn me outdoors into the welcome warmth and sunshine…

The first in this series of posts focusing upon this month has a schedule of events of which one reports: AND NOW IT HANGS!!!  Although that post is open in a tab for me to read and select text, I go to it and find screen is blank. (I can usually work across many open tabs) Grabbing laptop to work on and praying the Blood I see 3 tabs open but critical one has gone!  Try again…save…re-open tab…refusal…hang…  All I see is new blank tab at the top which later read ‘Certificate error’ – then a couple more of them appear! I just do not have time for this so let’s try laptop (it too didn’t work on default Chrome browser this morning). Even restarting PC results in failure to connect to WP and ‘IE stopped working’, so over to Chrome on laptop – kindly bear with me:

Sat 12th Sept – Recently, a  leading authority in mainstream ultra-orthodox Judaism, Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, has been giving clear, unequivocal messages the coming of the Messiah is imminent. He is urging Jews to make aliyah as soon as possible (which refers to immigrating to Israel), which is seen as higher spiritual action that can help usher in the coming of the Messiah. When asked about the timing of the Messiah’s arrival, Rabbi Kanievsky answered, “At the end of the Sabbatical year”. Several people have asked the rabbi to verify this, and he has given the same answer each time. This year is the Sabbatical year and it will end on the 29th day of Elul—which in the Gregorian calendar falls on Saturday Sept 12 (sic), 2015.

To appreciate this week’s news, in the new Hebraic Year 5776, please be sure to read that linked article in Breaking Israel News. Also, recall Zecharaia 12:10

10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son. (NIV, courtesy Bible Gateway.com)

Monday 21st – William Koenig’s World Watch Daily reports and links into an opinion piece in Jerusalem Post (which my security software now reports as being suspicious! It has not done that all week!). Chief Rabbis Besmirch Christian Embassy is an apologia about an establishment familiar to us: the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem and opens as follows:

‘It is regrettable that on Yom Kippur eve, our chief rabbis have again uttered offensive remarks, this time besmirching one of Israel’s most dedicated allies and ardent supporters.

‘Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi David Lau and his Sephardi counterpart, Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, have issued an extraordinary condemnation against the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem (ICEJ), accusing it of missionary activities and calling on Jews to boycott its 36th annual global Succot gathering in Jerusalem. The pro-Israel ICEJ was established in 1980 and is an extension of the Evangelical branch of Christianity.

‘Over the past half century, we have witnessed an exponential intensification in the Evangelical movement’s attachment to the Jewish people and Israel. This has coincided with the dramatic erosion of support for Israel from the Left and liberal sources…’

Apparently those leaders of Jewry have been beguiled and misled, like the chief priest of Jesus’ day was shoe-horned by fanatical Pharisees and Suducees – and it’s said ‘Ha Mashiach’ is coming! Isi Leibler provides a concise, instructive account of the working relationship of ICEJ with the Jewish people in Israel along with detail of last year’s Feast of Tabernacles, which was addressed by no less than Israel’s President as well as its Prime Minister! Isi fittingly concludes,

‘It is disgraceful that the Chief Rabbinate failed to verify the false allegations made against the Christian Embassy and slandered those who represent Israel’s greatest friends in the world. The chief rabbis’ churlish action shames the Jewish people, and they should apologize and withdraw their scurrilous accusations.

‘In the meantime, I have every confidence that Israelis will continue to welcome our Christian friends and express appreciation for their support. Succot is traditionally recognized as the festival on which gentiles are invited to Jerusalem, and we should be gratified that during these difficult times, Christians from all over the world will gather here to express their solidarity.

‘Indeed, we should echo the sentiments expressed by then-chief rabbi Shlomo Goren who, in 1981, blessed the Christian Embassy Succot gathering with “Bruchim habaim b’shem Adonai” – “may all of you who have come here be blessed in the name of God”.’

Tuesday 22nd – Joel Rosenberg reveals the major story untold by mainstream media: Since last Yom Kippur, millions of Jews have begun searching for the Messiah, and for atonement of their sins!! His detailed post covers not only this news but also the meaning of Yom Kippur, as well as his personal testimony of discovering the true Messiah’s identity.

To give us a handle to grasp the enormity of this ‘sea-change’ Joel outlines some more personal history:

‘When my father, who was raised an Orthodox Jew in Brooklyn, discovered in 1973 — after a careful study of the Gospel According to Luke — that Jesus of Nazareth is the long-awaited Jewish Messiah, and received the Messiah by faith, my father thought he was one of the first Jews in history who believed this. He had never met a Jewish believer in Jesus. He had never heard of such a person. And in 1973, there were fewer than 2,000 Jewish people on the planet who were followers of Jesus.

‘But today, some 300,000 Jews around the world are followers of Jesus. And millions of Jews are searching for the Messiah and thus reading the Hebrew prophecies, and comparing them with the writings of the New Testament, and trying to decide whether Jesus really is the Messiah we have desperately longed for over so many centuries.

‘Today, on Yom Kippur, you can watch short videos of Jewish people explaining how they met the Messiah.’

Therefore, I trust my readers will dig into these stories to read the full facts. Also, let’s remind ourselves that perhaps the most revered rabbi of modern times, Yitzak Kaduri, is said to have met and provided the identity of the Messiah to his followers – see Who are the Jewish people expecting?

This has been the most extremely bedevilled post I’ve blogged and needed on-going prayer. So I trust and pray you will be able to receive, read and be blessed.

PS. I was able to complete this in IE11, saving with long delays. In trying to use Chrome the connection refuses to let me log in saying the completed ‘Field is empty’  CRAZY!!! But then, what am I blogging about but the sacred purpose of our heavenly Father: the recognition of His Son by His Jewish people.  Amen – let it be so Lord.

NOW (Thursday) that it’s actually published I’ve been able to check and amend typos with normal ease and speed!!  Is that not evidence of the existence of the evil ‘prince of the air’ and its stooges?  (Friday: just a spot-check whilst out & about and everything’s running as normal – so why was everything playing up y’day just coincidental? What do you think?)

Related Reading: (Part 2 of 3) Devilish plot to pre-empt the Bible’s ‘end-game’ – also covers similar weird blockages and ‘coincidences’ when trying to blog about Iran.