Category Archives: Personal

“You shouldn’t be at our school!”

Posted on by
Reply

Whilst playing with my pals one of them suddenly stops, eyeballs me hard and scolds me, “You shouldn’t be at our school – you should be at the one Cat’licks go to!”

I’m stunned into silence.

I can’t recall my response other than distress.

Upon reflection it’s possible I denied the accusation outright. I’d like to have responded, “So what? It’s where my parents want me to be!”

Such a riposte, however, would have plugged straight into something worse – parental conflict!

We three 1955-6

On Southport beach in mid-1950s

CONFRONTATION

It’s mid-1950s and the reality of the Protestant vs. Roman Catholic divide hit me hard. My friend’s tone clearly implied a stigma to being in the wrong Christian denomination.

Equally hard was my parents’ disagreement over my own schooling. My dear, devout mother wanted to follow their church’s rule that Catholics send children – even of mixed marriages – to a Catholic school. But father wanted me to have the better education provided by the more reputable of two local, state schools – the RC one had a very low pass rate for the 11+ selection exams for grammar school. When dad was a boy his mother took him daily to 8am Mass. Later life taught him the value of a sound education – and my much older cousins in mother’s family were already at college or university.  So, a week or so before my fifth birthday mum walked me the half-mile to Alexandra Park Primary School in Edgeley, Stockport.

Thus, I was brought up in the Roman church yet attended non-secular state schools with their Anglican ethos. Back in the 1950s this was a sensitive issue. In those days a lot more people attended church of one sort or another than today. Religious beliefs are a minor concern today, although attendance at faith schools is now prized purely for educational achievement. Sadly, most of today’s populace are religiously illiterate.

Therefore, I didn’t receive the ‘mandatory’ Catholic education. Religious knowledge, as little as I gained, came through state school and Sunday church. As far as from the latter was concerned, it wasn’t much because services were conducted in a dead, foreign language – Latin!

Kindly bear with me in relating how my situation affected my teenage and adult life’s journey into eventual freedom:

AN OUTSIDER

At the time of the confrontation I’d been happily playing on bikes with two boys outside one’s house.  We three Johns aged 10-11 years had been classmates through primary school, yet I always felt an outsider in my living over 1/2 mile from school. Most of our school lived a lot closer and so, when old enough to go to their homes on my own, I was pleased to be with seeing more of these friends.

But the real issue of this confrontation was in making me fear the prospect of losing the friendship I’d grown up with!  Somehow details of my family’s church must have slipped out whilst chatting, or had I been seen going there? ‘Top of the class’ John seemed to see it as a stigma! The reality behind a difference of opinion at home hit me hard – it was a reality in the outside world too!

Me 1956-7My earliest adventures in coming home alone from school were in walking the longer route via the local library on the far-side of school. And it was a place to explore and dig around in.

It came as a special favour when I was allowed to cycle to friends’ about half a mile away.  Soon I began to relish the independence of exploring the rabbit warren of suburban side streets on my bike – plus learning how to read maps. Later, I’d take my bike and explore for miles around, far away from the main thoroughfares – I avoided those because an older boy had been killed there and I’d seen another have an accident in front of me (he survived).

The only classmates from my local streets were girls. We lived nearer to another school attended by most other ‘baby boomers’ on our patch. But its pass rate for the secondary level of Grammar School was much lower than ours. This meant the boys I’d grown up with on ‘my block’ didn’t have quite the same schooling. So I was piggy-in-the-middle between two peer groups and didn’t feel fully accepted by either.

At school I was one of four boys named John. Such a bore. I decided to start using my first name from the start of the next school year. So on the first day in the new class, a week or so before my 8th birthday, our new teacher went around the class asking our names. At my turn I replied, “Richard”. Everyone was shocked. Some called out, “No, he’s John!”.

Miss Jackson was kind enough to ask me about this and found my reason sensible and said she respected my wishes and favoured the name. From that time on I’ve always been known as ‘Richard’.  At home, however, mother and her family refused to make any change because they’d always called me ‘John’.  Maybe it was because it means ‘beloved of God’. Also, being her first-born boy she’d hoped I’d become a priest – arghh, perish the thought!  Nevertheless, that’s come true in a way because all believers in Jesus are priests (1 Peter 2).

So thank you Lord for the two who brought me into the world and loved me greatly.

CHURCHES IN CONFLICT

At church, children were not sent out of the Mass into Sunday school but were expected to sit quietly through 45 minutes of Latin liturgy and unintelligible sermon.

It was hard for youngsters but my mother had a small book with Latin on one page and English on the opposite – a Missal. As soon as I could read she’d urge me to look and follow – but being artistic I took far more notice of the small pictures displaying the Gospel theme of each Mass.

As Gospel and Epistle readings were in English I caught snippets, and recall thinking it must have been wonderful to see everything Jesus said and did – I would have liked to have been there and met him.

Now my school and home friends attended, or were familiar with, churches. I asked to go to theirs as it was only along the road from our house. “No, ‘cos they’re Congoes,” was mum’s retort and she’d stress, “We go to the church Christ himself founded!”.

‘Congoes?’, I thought that was in Africa so maybe it was a church for pygmies! But in the 1950s we had few Africans in our northern town although our doctor was a West Indian. [‘Congo’ was her term for Congregationalist.]

A year or so later I got through to Grammar School, where Catholics and Jews could opt-out of the Anglican-style morning assembly. But I didn’t opt out and attempted to convey the impression I was non-Catholic.

Unlike today, cooperation between churches was a rarity fifty years ago. Hypocritical conflict between denominations drove me towards ‘New Age’ ideals. It bothered me that IF all churchgoers believe in the same Jesus Christ, WHY were they bitterly opposed and not friends? Jesus himself commanded believers to love one another!

Also, they weren’t working miracles similar to those of Jesus, as he said they would. So, churches had failed on both counts to live up to his commands. Although I was only a boy, it was obvious they’d badly missed the mark. Also, I suspected they’d lost a lot of what Jesus had taught. How could what priests and preachers say and do, be true?

Consequently, I started searching elsewhere for the truth > >  (next).

[Bible quotations are by courtesy of BibleGateway.com]

[RETURN to overview: “Jesus Freed Me!”]

INFO: original instalments (2013)

  1. No 7 and my journey into freedom
  2. “You shouldn’t be at our school!”
  3. Searching for truth leads me into captivity
  4. The last day of my life came ‘like a thief in the night’
  5. Rescued from Satan by The Lord of Hosts
  6. The real Truth delivers me from captivity
  7. Confirmations of the reality of my visionary encounter.

Number 7 and My Journey into Freedom

Posted on by
Reply

This blog post is more like ‘which came first, the chicken or the egg?’  The above title may be back to front because it began as My Journey To Freedom and Number 7. I trust you too will be encouraged by my explanation of that conundrum.

Here’s what happened.:

A friend who organises social breakfasts asked me to tell my story about becoming a Christian. I guess she’d dipped into it on this blog – yet that’s only a brief bit. But how can I deliver the whole lot in speech and not as script? On top of that, when editing my original account I found nostalgia took me down a ‘rabbit hole’ and wasted time.

Only then did I do what I should have done at the outset – ask myself what I wanted to say. I’d put the cart before the horse! I now jotted the main points and was surprised to find there’s 7. Now that’s encouraging for it suggests everything’s ok. Nina thought so too when I did a test run with her. Now please note, we’re not the sort of folk who look for meaning, symbolism and significance in things, although we appreciate the possibility.

[Readers of long standing may note my interest in coincidences arises after events, not in expectant anticipation or forecasting future connections. My discernment of links in ‘God-incidents’ possibly arises from my training in scientific observation and analysis as a disinterested participant. It’s claimed ‘fact is stranger than fiction’, which is why I’ve always tended to steer away from novels. Furthermore, after laying down my ‘old self’ after rebirth in Christ I’ve also avoided my past interests.]

HAH! Upon finalising my Tuesday’s talk I now find its crib-notes done as l a r g e print total 7 pages! What else! What other quantity should I have expected?

In the Bible number 7 is symbolic of divine perfection, and I believe this is understood in other cultures too. Time is measured in units of 7 days – the calendar week. Genesis, the Book of Creation, states everything was created in 7 days with the last being when God was satisfied and rested upon completing His work of creation.

If the concept of a weekly cycle is applied to that of the year then 1/7th equates to 52 days and a ‘design purpose’ for the year’s seventh 1/7th could be that of resting before another cycle starts. That had been in mind in Pause 4 thought when musing about having unexpectedly arrived at the close of a personal cycle. So, it made sense to take a more relaxed pace over August and September and await any changes.

PRINCIPLE OF 7 AND MY JOURNEY

Now, a few weeks later, ‘7’ has got my attention once again and so I take notice and new notions drop into mind like inspired potions infused from ‘above’. As my task is to talk about my past, it is as though a door has opened for me to see and walk through in my spirit. Whilst writing, I recollect the Hebrew date for this ‘new year’ not only signifies an open door but is also shaped like a 7; although as the 4th letter of Hebrew alphabet it denotes No. 4. (Not mentioned in The door to a ‘new season’.)

My first thoughts were:

  • 7 years are said to complete a growth cycle, as in ‘Seven ages of man/woman’.
  • so it’s appropriate to consider seven’s multiples, 14, 21, 28, etc, as cyclic too.
  • major changes or significant events happened on or around the 7th, 14th & 21st anniversaries of my Christian walk.
  • my personal life took hugely significant changes of direction at each 3 x 7 years, ie. every 21 years and around my birthdays. Number 3 denotes completion and unity.

These notions were confirmed last night when I learned the 7th letter of the Hebrew alphabet is Zayin (pronounced ZAH-yeen) and then read John Parson’s comment,

Since Zayin represents both the number 7 and a sword, it is not surprising that it is used to divide or ‘cut up’ time into units of sevens (The Letter Zayin, emphasis added)

Perhaps you’d like to check all this yourself and see if it may apply to you too?  Only a couple of days after realising the significance of those aspects I heard a contact-lady at our online US-church mention a couple of major traumas in her family life. I noticed they were seven years apart. (She’s since confirmed having had personal insights on this – thank you W.)

In addition to the above link, more information may be found on Biblical Numerology at Christianity.About.com. and on the Biblical Meaning of the Number Seven at The Bible Wheel.

So which came first, my journey or several number 7s? Of course, objectively I noticed all the events before, during and since gaining my freedom. Recognising they’re linked inextricably with number 7, then I must conclude the spiritual principle was the active and persistent power orchestrating those events, as in the scale of 7 musical notes.

Thus, 7 came, and comes, first.

Should you wish to continue reading about my journey into freedom, please click here  for its first ‘leg’ or installment.

INFO – installments of original (2013):
  1. No 7 and my journey into freedom
  2. “You shouldn’t be at our school!”
  3. Searching for truth leads me into captivity
  4. The last day of my life came ‘like a thief in the night’
  5. Rescued from Satan by The Lord of Hosts
  6. The real Truth delivers me from captivity
  7. Confirmations of the reality of my visionary encounter

[Images courtesy of Stoon at Freedigitalphotos.net and Melissa at Definingwords.com]

An ‘invisible jigsaw’ falls into place…

Posted on by
6

How does one describe a conviction of seeing things falling into place?

Since 1st August I’ve been in the last 1/7th of my personal year. Genesis states that on the seventh day God rested from His work of creation. So we have the concept of a Sabbath day, whereupon its best to rest – as Jesus said, it’s designed for us. In past times, land was allowed 1 year out of 7 to lie fallow and recuperate

As a boy my personal 7/7th coincided with the main annual school holidays. Each new school year would coincide with my own new year.  In recent years I found it includes the Hebraic ‘head of the year’ or new year, Rosh Hashanah, and came to appreciate its special significance to all God’s people.

Whilst attending a Rosh Hashanah celebration the Lord blessed me with a continuous open vision as the rabbi taught us about creation. I’ve now realised the 3 subsequent  7/7ths have also blessed me with memorable insights as we approach and enter the holy ‘Days of Awe’.  In 2011 it involved a word about the Kingdom being set up in the UK and which had been declared that same day by Bill Johnson at a Revival Alliance Gathering – for details see Father, let Your Kingdom come.

RA 2012 - 1

Much more came at – and after – the Alliance meeting in late August 2012.  I’d hoped to  have had time to tell about it other than a passing allusion in Back to School, but not so.  The most memorable event was when the sound desk supervisor reported they’d had trouble monitoring the extra instruments and voices that suddenly came through the sound system!

RA - Martin SmithWe’d noticed mobile coloured spot lights up in the ceiling swinging rapidly in time to the worship too.  The invisible musicians can only have been an angelic host, as stated in  musician Martin Smith’s description. It is also covered in Anita Mathias’ report on Dreaming Beneath the Spires and RA 2012 Facebook page. For a full flavour of that ‘Spontaneous angelsong’  and superb worship times, visit Grace Media. [The footnote below has a link for this year’s  gathering.]

Author TE HannaThis year there’s much material to mull over, as hinted at the close of Jesus and Israel. Meanwhile, be blessed with some things that may prepare you for what I want to share since receiving Ian Clayton’s teaching in mid-August.  A lot of it is relevant to the church’s ‘New season’.  Theologian and blogger T.E.Hanna recently posted some short pieces  that plug into what I’m chewing over. So click onto these and check for yourself:

  1. “We are called to be revelators” – How Christianity Makes a Better Muslim
  2. “Our very design was to reflect the glory of the Great King throughout the midst of His creation” – 3 Glorious Reasons Why Heaven Misses the Point
  3. “We had all established our God-turf and drew a line in the sand. You would be accepted by us, so long as you first looked like us”  – The Myth of Unity: How What Draws Us Together May Actually Be Drawing Us Apart

TE has the gift of making theology easy-peasy so may I suggest you take time to read and have a handle for what I want to write about soon?

Finally and to clarify; the jigsaw that’s falling into place is a personal one and thus not the same as the worldwide Invisible Jigsaw I referred to a few months ago.

Images from ‘Revival Alliance 2012 Live’ cd are courtesy of Haven Church and details for Revival Alliance 2013 in November may be found here. Hand and puzzle pieces image is reproduced by courtesy of Anusorn P Nachol at FreedigitaIphotos.net

Who’s watching who? A crowd of witnesses!

Posted on by
Reply

Are you athletic – unlike me! – and enjoy running and other track events? Perhaps you’ve run in a marathon?  Do you have a school age child and support their sporting activities and events?  All participants in any sport and of any age enjoy being cheered and encouraged by onlookers – especially when the finishing line’s coming up!

I was reminded of that by Paul Keith’s conversation with Rick Joyner, as well as with Bobby Conner in April. Did you watch those videos (here and here)?  In my experience, Rick’s comment about the connection between what happened to him whilst writing a book and events in the Toronto Blessing is insightful.

All three men refer to Apostle Paul describing his faith in and work for Jesus Christ as being like running a race:

…since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,  2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  (Emphases mine)

What was the reason behind this description?  The preceding part of the letter to the Hebrews is a detailed reminder of the hope and great faith of the heroes of the Old Testament.:

39 And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise,  40 God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.  1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by… (Hebrews 11:39-12:2 NKJV)

On camera, the three modern-day prophets discussed not only the scriptural meaning of the ‘cloud of witnesses’ but also alluded to some examples of their having been seen today. It is a fascinating part of their discussion that I’d urge you not to overlook, and maybe revisit.

I know some believers may struggle with this as it seems contrary to the OT prohibition against consulting mediums and witches (here). That is, there’s a presumption that any experience of the ancient witnesses is the same as necromancy; ie. contacting the dead. But not so!

The reason for the prohibition against witchcraft, sorcery and necromancy is to protect God’s people from contact with and affliction by evil spirits.  Those activities attempt to manipulate not only people but also demonic spirits by summoning them from their realm into ours. Seeking contact with spirits and deceased persons is very costly for it comes with dangerous personal consequences.

We know that God is not God of the dead but of the living. Those who died in Him are still alive, although not in a fleshly body, as can be inferred from Jesus’ reference to  Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Matthew 22:31-33).

If someone accidentally happens to encounter one of the heavenly saints then it is certainly not mediumship or necromancy. It is a gracious event initiated by God in allowing such a contact. Would critics say Jesus’ meeting with Moses and Elijah was necromancy? (see Matthew 17) Surely not!

A personal encounter

Let me share what happened at our church mid-week meeting a few months ago.:

We were discussing Exodus and I popped upstairs to get my annotated Bible. The stairwell leads directly into the lounge and as I descended to the bottom steps I felt as though I’d walked into, or rather through, something – like when you’re not looking where you’re going and bump into someone, and then look at them in surprise. Our leader noticed my glancing with a startled frown at the wall and sensed someone’s presence.

I reported the brief, finer details of what I’d sensed to our minister, who advised this is happening more often, especially where folk worship and discuss the scriptures, as one of her family found in Mozambique. This makes eminent sense because the patriarchs were intimately involved with the Lord and must have known of His plans for the far off future when His Kingdom will come in fullness upon the earth.

In view of the increasing acceleration toward that time the ‘cloud of witnesses’ must be getting more and more excited – exactly like people cheering competitors toward the finish.  Just like last year’s Olympics!

I pray this post gives another morsel to chew upon and digest, rather than spit out. And please take another bite…

Note: See White Dove Ministries’ webinar archive for more on the cloud of witnesses.

One Day At A Time

Posted on by
Reply

Thank you so much for this encouraging personal insight Bill. It was our motto during disability too. So our repeating it to suffering brethren comes with not only our firm assurance from adversity but also Jesus’ promise to never leave or forsake us. May He favour you immensely.

Bill Sweeney's avatarUnshakable Hope

At the beginning of this trial, so many people, mostly long-time Christians, would advise me to “Just take one day at a time.” I’m sure that every one of these wise people thought they were the first to give me this sage advice. Of course, I always acted as if they were the first to give me that advice and I politely thanked them. (If you are one of those that offered me this advice 16+ years ago, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you that a hundred people already gave me that same advice).

To be honest, even though a hundred people repeated this “Take one day at a time” cliché to me, I really didn’t understand at that time exactly what it meant. Like so many clichés, I think people throw them out to fill dead air space in awkward moments when they have nothing else to say. But…

View original post 571 more words

UpdateS on UK WordPress problems

Posted on by
Reply

Thurs 8 Aug: no further problems for me although some UK bloggers still have issues. Over 60 users raised over 300 posts on the central thread started 3 weeks ago (Support Forum thread and engineers’ report). This indicates the seriousness of these problems. Continue reading →

Mentoring Day part 1 – apostolic/prophetic alignment and surprises!

Posted on by
5

Let’s first consider these verses in chapter 4 of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians (NKJV):

4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. 7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.  8 Therefore He says: “When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men.”…11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

In his ardent teaching upon the benefits of apostolic/prophetic alignment for churches,  Jerome Joseph stated pastors and teachers have been leading church for a season, but this new season needs them to align to, and thereby be strengthened by, the apostolic and prophetic ‘ascension’ gifts.

It is time to move away from adherence to a local church/pastor/priest, for that is a form of idolatry which is past it’s ‘sell-by’ date. And that is not of God.

It is time for an uncompromising, ruthlessness for righteousness and God’s gospel to be expressed throughout the body of Christ. When the Commander-in-Chief speaks through the apostolic/prophetic we should obey Him – we’re not a peace-keeping ministry but a militant calling.

Before that hour’s solid teaching I’d taken my seat after worship. Out of the corner of my eye I’d sensed a long grey, vertical shape whiz down the aisle invisibly carving a deep furrow through its carpeted floor!  I thought it was like an ice-breaker but upon analysis thought it may be an axe or adze being swung. (See next post for correct answer!)

These photos may help you gain an impression of the impact I sensed – imagine the ship without its white superstructure and the motion of the other’s prow through ice.

Coffee break

Fresh CoffeeOver coffee afterwards I chatted with a couple of fellow attendees. One mentioned she’d been praying with friends the previous evening because of a recommendation (here) for a prophetic word from Kim Clement relating to the Book of Esther.  It was about wicked Haman’s fate being applied today. So, I filed it away mentally for reference (as here), but along with the above impressions, it proved to be related to what Dr Stone was about to teach!

This was the first of three references to the Book of Esther that I drew attention to in respect of the video on the Welsh Outpouring. The second and fullest occasion was when Sharon taught about a new level of being able to decree and overwrite what’s going on with this nation’s legislature. The foundational principles are contained in the book of Esther, as indicated in the last post, and continued in Mentoring Day part 2.

Meanwhile, please visit Dr Stone’s website to learn what the Lord gave her that very morning about very important Apostolic Prophetic Decrees Over the UK.

Postscript to ‘Note on Christian prophecy and the Apocalypse’

Posted on by
Reply

For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him… (2 Chronicles 16:9)

For a little amusement but, more importantly, to show how God enables believers to encourage one another, let me share with you what happened in writing the above-titled post (here).

Let me stress this > I never intended writing anything about the Book of Revelation, or Apocalypse! It’s far too large a subject – and there’s lots and lots of other material to cover. But I didn’t know or suspect that the Lord had a surprise ‘up His sleeve’!

Fridays to Sunday are ‘long weekends’, so I go online on Saturdays to scan only pre-media news and run off a weekly report. A fortnight ago, I spotted a media interview with Joel Rosenberg about Syria.  As it was timely and it’s very quick to repost in WordPress, I quickly ‘re-blogged’ it (here).

Only afterwards did I think the difference in opinions conveyed in the media piece may not be understood by readers unfamiliar with scholarly views on the Bible. So, some explanation was in order.

It needed a bit of quick homework, so I dived into trusty David Pawson’s book. This wasn’t an easy post to write, and longer than usual. After some revisions I wanted to acknowledge his work – and when doing so I recalled a friend’s excellent sessions a few years ago on the Book of Revelation.  So, at the very last minute I included Neil too – and after hitting the ‘publish’ button I wondered what he’d make of it.

He responded the next day:

Hi Richard – A note of encouragement to you (for I have been greatly encouraged by God through you)…

My friend goes on to say that, as a result of being “apprehended” (Phil 3:12) to write some more about Biblical prophecy, he slowly started doing so a couple of weeks ago…

…then your recent Blogs came in as absolute confirmation – I show a few paragraphs below to give you a flavour of why I was excited by the “Coincidence” (on Damascus).  Not only that, but I see I was “Mentioned in Dispatches”, which was like confirmation on confirmation!!…

I agree with this concluding opinion,

I will describe how the prophecies about Jesus’ first coming, written hundreds of years before the event, must have seemed gobbledygook to the people of the time when they were written.  It is only after the event that we can see what the prophecies mean.

Thank you Neil and praise the Lord for this practical demonstration of just one of the ways He watches over and works in and through His people – it is for His glory, not ours.

Footnote to interview with Asiya Nasir MP

Posted on by
3

“The Christian Church is very fast growing in Pakistan. Pentecostals are growing more. Churches are full. There are not enough places to put people. People are trying to set up new churches. People are bringing their friends, giving room for prayer in houses.” Asiya Nasir

The above closing remarks in Asiya’s interview in the previous post are of personal interest because of what I learned several years ago about the fruit of the ‘Toronto Blessing’ in bringing Muslims to Christ in Africa and Asia. In an email a couple years ago I mentioned the work of Iris Ministries and ‘LH’ in this regard.  The Baker’s well-known ministry was radically changed for Mozambique, but Randy Clark also cited a Norwegian’s secret missions to Pakistan as ‘fruit’.

There Is MoreAside: Randy is one of the most humble men of God we’ve been blessed to meet and hear several times. The Lord had promised to open Randy’s eyes when he preached in Toronto Airport Church in January 1994 – the Lord showed up too!  This Baptist pastor from St Louis stayed to preach for the first 42 days of renewal and refreshing that lasted about twelve years. Dubbed as ‘The Toronto Blessing’ it was a powerful, joyous visitation that revealed the Father’s heart of love. However, it perplexed those Christians who think Holy Spirit’s power and gifts ceased after the First Century! (Randy’s personal account is in: There Is More: Reclaiming the Power of Impartation)

In May 1994, young Norwegian Baptist pastor Leif Hetland met pastors who’d returned from Canada at Holy Trinity Brompton in London (home of renowned Alpha Course). On page 164 of There Is More, Randy writes,

“Leif was very skeptical (sic). What he was hearing about Toronto seemed weird. (Upon return) to Norway they were shocked to find that the anointing had been imparted to them. Renewal immediately broke out in their church and many people experienced dramatic healings…etc”.

Regrettably, a leading elder quenched the Holy Spirit’s move. However, a year later the paths of Leif and Randy crossed by ‘divine appointment’ and the latter delivered a powerful prophetic word, of which the gist was, “You are a bulldozer…going into areas that have been untouched”. (See Global Mission Awareness site for fuller words.)

However, this got overlooked until a year or so later during a long recovery from a car accident. In the book, Leif describes what soon happened:

I began to sense a tremendous, supernatural burden for the unreached in the world. There are over 70 million people in Arab nations who have never heard the name of Jesus! I knew I was supposed to be going where no one else was going…

At the end of ’96 a friend of mine invited me to go to Pakistan with him. I realized this was confirmation of Randy’s word. That was the start of many trips to Pakistan where we’ve seen thousands upon thousands healed and saved. By the grace of God, I’ve now been to over 72 countries, many of them Muslim and some of them Communist…

I’ve seen every kind of miracle you can imagine – tumours dropping off, creative miracles where missing parts are restored, blind eyes seeing, everything. God is revealing His glory! Through the revelation of His glory, His goodness and compassion, hundreds of thousands are coming to Christ in areas that are officially closed to the gospel.

Praise the Lord – and Leif isn’t the only anointed evangelist who’s been to those closed countries.

In and out, and all about

Posted on by
Reply

Richard in Dartmouth, DevonA brief note to say last week and this are very busy with minimal time spent on-line. My blogging focus has been on something special but it remains in draft for automatic posting later. This is because a more pressing matter needs priority attention as the next posting (click to read). NB: my schedule may delay moderating comments from new contributors.

Prophetic praise and worship

Posted on by
1

Courtesy of James Mark Long, www.propheticartists.comSomething ‘weird’ happened after writing that last piece. In fact, I’d intended tackling a higher priority of fulfilling a promise to respond to comments I’d made on another blog.  But I thought – or maybe was reminded!  – it was more important to cover  the prophetic word Lydia delivered in worship. So I blogged about that instead and finished by midday in time for lunch and our preparing for a church group meeting here that afternoon.

When all assembled were refreshed and had chatted, pastor circulated a hand-out that she wanted us to consider – Prophetic Praise and Worship….what a ‘God-incident’!

In my opinion, its following fast on the heels of the morning’s matter underscores and confirms the accuracy and importance of the prophetic word I’d only just written about.

Here, with permission, are some of that paper’s pertinent points for your edification:

First, for any believer who’s uneasy with prophecy, here’s the scriptural warrant for its incorporation into worship – NIV quotations:

The Prophetic Nature of Praise and Worship

1 Samuel 10:5-6 “After that you will go to Gibeah of God, where there is a Philistine outpost. As you approach the town, you will meet a procession of prophets coming down from the high place with lyres, timbrels, pipes and harps being played before them, and they will be prophesying. 6 The Spirit of the Lord will come powerfully upon you, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person.

2 Chron 29:5 He stationed the Levites in the temple of the Lord with cymbals, harps and lyres in the way prescribed by David and Gad the king’s seer and Nathan the prophet; this was commanded by the Lord through his prophets.

Revelation 19:9-10 Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” And he added, “These are the true words of God.” 10 At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers and sisters who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For it is the Spirit of prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus.”

Therefore:

  1. The word of God that testifies about Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy,
  2. The testimony that Jesus gave through His life style is in the Spirit of prophecy,
  3. The testimony we give of Him in praise and worship is in the Spirit of prophecy,
  4. As we testify about Him in praise and worship the Spirit of prophecy is released.

Characteristics of Praise and Worship

  1. It is vital in the preparation of the Bride for the great day,
  2. We must be willing to go with the flow of the prophetic anointing and expect it in our worship services,
  3. Prophecy means: communicating under divine inspiration by…
  4. speaking/singing out what Holy Spirit is saying to the Church – listen!
  5. scripture exhorts us to desire the prophetic gifting:

1 Cor 14:1-3  Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy.  2 For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to people but to God. Indeed, no one understands them; they utter mysteries by the Spirit. 3 But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort.

Num 11: 26-29 … Yet the Spirit also rested on (Eldad and Medad), and they prophesied in the camp.  27 A young man ran and told Moses, ‘Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.’ 28 Joshua son of Nun, who had been Moses’ assistant since youth, spoke up and said, ‘Moses, my lord, stop them!’ 29 But Moses replied, ‘Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!’

The Language of Prophetic Praise and Worship

  • The language of love; the Bridegroom wooing the Bride and her response to Him
  • The song of the LORD, the Bridegroom and the Bride
  • Psalms, hymns and spiritual songs
  • Flowing in the gifts of Holy Spirit
  • Proclamation of salvation, redemption, victory, glory, power etc of the Trinity
  • Proclamation of judgement and victory over Satan
  • Proclamation of future events – as by Lydia on Sunday; Julie Meyer in October.

[Courtesy of Heart After God Ministries, Rev Ron and Lindi Masters, South Africa. Lindi moved into international ministry some time after Ron went home to the Lord.]

A break from blogging and a few points to ponder

Posted on by
Reply

A brief word to thank every subscriber and visitor for dropping by and to inform you I’ve started refurbishing a sizable chunk of our ground floor (including relocating the weird phone wiring). I expect to be offline, therefore, for a couple of weeks but would like to offer some points you may wish to ponder, as am I…

First, after having posted Invisible Jigsaw I was struck by the exceptional suitability of that image because I’d written the piece and then thought a diagram would be useful – if I could find one!  In fact, my first wording had referred to the difficulty in finding such a ‘logo’, and that it was delaying launch of the blog. I didn’t have a specific date in mind, only knew I needed to get a move on as I’d sat on it for too long. (My testimony explains the relevance of launching the blog by December 2011.)

Courtesy of Thanunkorn at FreeDigitalPhotos.netAgain I didn’t expect to find anything like a glass jigsaw but dipped into Free Digital Photos’ website. Amazingly, I soon espied an exact match for the concept I’d just written about! Also, the image’s open but blank book reminded me about an insight that God has an as yet unknown book to follow the Book of Revelation, as though it’s beyond the Bible’s rear cover (as told herein). It describes the world when His Kingdom has been established in its awesome fullness with mankind’s saviour, Jesus Christ, reigning as King of Kings.

Also, it’s intriguing that I’d intended writing about Tony’s two dream/visions but didn’t get around to it until last week – which is when another reader, Sally, had already received a download of insights whilst completing an actual puzzle!  I appreciate the details Sally.

Upon return I’d like to comment about Paul Keith Davis and Bobby Conner ‘webinar’. What’s remarkable about those two friends is they are scripturally scrupulous as well as having supra-natural sight and sensitivity. Have you watched that video yet?

May the Lord be with you and keep you and your loved ones…

[Credit for the jigsaw image goes to Thanunkorn at Freedigitalphotos.net]

Invisible Jigsaw

Posted on by
3

INVISIBLE JIGSAW was this blog’s original title, but the present one was impressed upon me for launching by Advent 2011 – yet it’s a good fit  for why I’m writing. But both titles  work, for God is working globally to perform His will: it can be likened to His placing massive, states-wide, jigsaw-shaped pieces onto the earth and dropping them into our times – like completing an invisible jigsaw puzzle.  He and the heavenly hosts are the only ones who can see it – unless we can penetrate the veil…

The name of this invisible jigsaw puzzle is, ‘Thy Kingdom Come!’

I’d forgotten completely about all that until a new-post advice for a contributor’s blog popped into my email’s in-tray.  This was the latest of Tony Puccio’s dreams/visions: When you come Together…The Body of Christ. Therein, he writes.:

1 Corinthians 14:26 NIV ‘What then shall we say, brothers and sisters? When you come together, each of you has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. Everything must be done so that the church may be built up.’

The Lord showed me a vision 02/26/2013 and in this vision I saw people gathered around an oval table. The table was low to the ground so that you had to sit on the floor. The people I saw sitting there around the table each had a piece of a puzzle. As they all worked together, the image  on the puzzle began to take shape and when they were finished, the picture was of Jesus Christ. He was the center of the meeting. Each one had to do his part in finishing the puzzle and it was not left to one person to do the work of the group. This is how real relationships are built and what church done Jesus’ way should foster.

This is church.

The only reason for the gathering of believers was to re-assemble the body of Christ with each part, ie., the foot, the hand, the eye, etc. doing its part so that the church, Christ’s body on earth may be edified and that Christ may be glorified.

They did not gather because of a charismatic leader, I.e., a pastor.

They didn’t gather because of church programs.

They didn’t gather because of the worship team.

I then rebogged that post with this comment:

This….was delivered by ‘God-incidence’ just now to my email’s in-tray.  It’s so very appropriate because, after waking this morning, I was contemplating how the Lord connects and reveals things to me as a thread or ‘train’ of scripture, teaching, thoughts and insights – but the idea of their also being pieces of a jigsaw dropped (appropriately) into mind!

A couple of days later Tony was given a follow-up, which is as follows:

I had a dream 02/28/2013. In this dream I saw a huge crayon. What was unique about this crayon is that it had no wrapper on it and the crayon had a multitude of colors the first being white.  This is significant because in light, white is the presence of all colors, and, we are to walk in God’s light and in so doing, But if we live in the light in the same way that God is in the light, we have a relationship with each other. And the blood of his Son Jesus cleanses us from every sin. (John 1:7) Even though white is the presence of all colors in light it is the absence of all colors when it comes to pigment. 

I saw this crayon color everything white, pretty boring, I know. But the only way to get to the next color in the crayon was to totally use up the white. Even though the crayon contained all these colors white was the only on visible. I then saw the colors in the crayon separate and when this occurred things began to take on a whole new look. Colors were mixed and reds and whites became pinks, other colors were paired with each other and provided contrast. While the white in the presence of light represents our fellowship with one another and the Lord; the pigment represents the physical aspects of color. In fact, in pigment, white is the absence of color. I believe that the colors in this dream are representative of people’ s personalities and characteristics all of which were apart of the crayon but until separated into their respective individual colors they remained hidden from view.

In my previous posting, I mentioned people coming together each having a puzzle piece and that the completed picture of Jesus was dependent upon the cooperation of the individuals gathered. So it is with the crayon in my dream. We must realize that none of us have the capacity to draw and color the picture by ourselves. We need the cooperation of the body….a description of this provided by Oksana who blogs under the name Talitha Kum [and may be found in commentary to Part 1 on above link].

In my humble opinion, these are exceptionally significant and related to how the Lord is building His Church in this ‘new season’, as at the close of my previous post.  There are a few issues on this, however, which I’d like to address soon – perhaps over a cuppa?

[Jigsaw image is courtesy of Thanunkorn at FreeDigitalPhotos.net]

America’s ‘Date of Infamy’ repeated – once again!

Posted on by
4

Dates around 19th April have been noted as having a high probability of historically significant, ominous events, as in last week’s terrible tragedies in the USA.

interfrc-waves.jpgThe period immediately following the vernal equinox, starting the northern hemisphere’s Spring season, is when a lot of nature comes back to life. It generates a cycle of growth and harvesting, followed by decay and sowing as a transitional period. Cycles of agricultural,  economic and social activities are, therefore, closely related to the natural and solar cycles, which are not only annual but also may show ‘harmonics’ of longer time periods.

William Koenig, ‘watcher’ in the White House, has previously reported about the new Spring season.:

…Paradoxically, it is when man often incites war (and the end of many lives).  Nowhere has this remained more constant than in the histories of America and Israel. In short, I have termed the date of April 19 (sometimes extending to the days surrounding it) as the ‘date of infamy’ for America…(E. Hadik)

Background

For the benefit of readers unfamiliar with my previous posts on cycles and possibly not sure why such a topic is covered herein, let me explain:

About 12 years ago I was introduced to the work of William Koenig and understood how it connected into theories of ancient and modern Middle-Eastern history I’d noted before becoming a Christian. In this blog’s Welcome I refer to The Invisible Hand, the author of which attempted to foretell what would happen by 1992 through Russia’s activities – but along came the fall of Communism!  Thus, its conclusions were faulty but I recognised the validity of a substantial part of that author’s argument. [Something more relevant happened anyway – the 1991 Madrid Peace Conference leading to 1993 Oslo Accords, all under American presidential direction and involvement – synopsis here.]

Years later, after receiving better tuition, I resumed my investigations and kept friends updated of trends by email. During the same period Bill Koenig was checking out the theories of financial trading analyst Erik Hadik. (These are based upon economist W.D. Gann’s understanding of Biblical principles.)

The first month after launch, this blog was devoted to explaining why I’m ‘watching’ as a result my encounter with Jesus Christ. This was followed by reading Bill’s findings and I covered those uncanny predictions in Points to Ponder: 2011-2012.  In September, Bill ‘hit the nail on the head’ by asking if the 11th anniversary of 9/11 would be yet ‘another historical day’? – it was! (See here)

April 2013

On 5th April, Koenigs’ Eye View From The White House gave another overview from Hadik and listed nine events in American history that happened on or around 19-20 April.

Beginning with the date the revolutionary war against Britain started (19 April 1775, as here) April 19-20, and a few days on either side, has pinpointed many events in the US of great ‘civil unrest’ and/or domestic terrorism, including:

  • April 19-21, 1985  —  ATF raid on Covenant of the Sword and the Arm of the Lord (CSA) (linked to the Oklahoma City bombing a decade later)
  • April 19, 1989 — Explosion on the USS Iowa (possibly sabotage/suicide)
  • April 19, 1993 — Waco/Branch Davidian raid by FBI/ATF
  • April 19, 1995 — Oklahoma City Bombing (RB: also re. 17 April ’13 explosion)
  • April 20, 1999 — Columbine High School massacre
  • April 20, 2010 — Deepwater Horizon (BP) oil leak in Gulf of Mexico (RB added)

We can now add 15th April for the bomb outrage at the 2013 Boston Marathon.

The latest Update and Commentary covers the accumulation of events throughout last week. I recommend, therefore, taking time to study Bill Koenig’s account, and to read of the ‘coincidental’ birth date of two historical persons – what a surprise!

Should you wish to catch up on events, see Joel Rosenberg’s How It Went Down…

Boston-Saudi Connection?

A lot of focus has been upon the suspected bombers being of Chechen origin but in the middle of the mayhem an injured Saudi ‘person of interest’ was held for questioning. Yet after an unscheduled private meeting between President Obama and Saudi Foreign Minister this student was deported back to S Arabia. WND reported on the Wednesday morning ‘that the ‘Saudi student Alharbi shares the same last name as a major Saudi clan that includes scores of al-Qaida operatives…’.

The previous day, Debka reported their sources indicated links with a Saudi/Al Qaeda terror cell. With more information, Debka later reported the two brothers as the latest in a sequence of double-agents who turned against USA. As usual, Debka reports provide a high measure of rare facts with well-informed speculation.

Iranian Issues

This is added as a footnote.  No direct connection is to be inferred with last week’s events. Bill Koenig links his reports to Hadik’s Earth in Transition – A.B.C. (Iran) paper dated November 2011. These cover non-solar related cycles of tectonic activity and forecast increasing disturbances across the mountainous ‘Alpide belt’ stretching from Europe to Indonesia. The Inside Track Report: Earth Disturbance Cycles paper states,

“…an accelerating sequence and an evolving ‘creep’ of earthquakes that point to one conclusion: Iran is due for multiple, massive earthquakes in the next 1-3 years …”

In this regard, his email received last week refers to news of 7.8 and 3.6 magnitude quakes.:

“The nation of Iran has suffered two MAJOR quakes in a single week… and many other smaller quakes surrounding these two.  As explained in October & November 2011, Iran has been experiencing an accelerating frequency of earthquakes for over 80 years!

 “As also explained 18 months ago, three distinct series of earthquakes were ‘creeping’ across Turkey, Pakistan & Afghanistan – all targeting Iran for ‘massive earthquakes’ in the 2012–2014 time period.  As detailed for the last few years, I feel strongly that one of these quakes could trigger a ‘nuclear incident’, similar to what took place in Japan in March 2011. The April 9, 2013 quake hit the same town (Bushehr) as their nuclear reactor!!”  [See The Times of Israel 6th June 2013 for details of leaked reports.]

In the West we will not know the full effects of these quakes. But when we recall the goal of Iranian leaders to wipe Israel from the map and we understand that the Living Lord God can act sovereignly to protect His people without human assistance, then just perhaps He’s intervening to change the deadlock in nuclear arms discussions?

“God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform” (William Cowper).

What do you think, my reader?

‘Outside the box’ and at the ‘cutting edge’!

Posted on by
2

Cream TeaCream tea – so scrumptious and yummy I wish we could all gather around and grin as we share it and catch up with what happened Wednesday. First thing, I went for morning coffee with a friend from our prayer ministry days. We had not had chance to meet until now.

Before meeting ‘Alan’ however, a local mutual friend, ‘Brenda’, had contacted me with  reservations over Tuesday’s post in view of her work with those suffering depression, as well as dementia. Quite rightly, her objection was that the writer’s list mixed up the sin itself, (eg. selfish or violent behaviour, idolatry and rebellion) with the result of that sin (eg. depression, fearfulness etc).  Consequently, the message lost its impact and was tactless as the latter results can also arise from medical causes and conditions. Hence, my withdrawal of that reposting.

In view of this, it was fascinating how Wednesday morning and afternoon unfolded! With Alan, we discussed how we’d become Christians and, after having seen Nina bring a resurrection message at Brenda’s breakfast group last week, it was hard for him to think of her as having been registered permanently disabled!  (Read her account here.)

But I was more amazed to learn what had happened to Alan many years ago when a virus affected his brain stem.  It caused significant cerebral and neural damage that has left some minor tell-tale signs.  Although one would hope for, even expect, the Lord to heal fully, my friend can testify to how often Jesus has over-ridden those handicaps on occasions. (Likewise with Nina, twice whilst confined to a wheelchair and when praying for the sick whilst in the high dependency unit!)  For Alan, it meant he’s usually unable to take the lead role in ministry, except for the times when the Lord ‘overshadowed’ and directed him. Also, he alluded to times when the condition brings an understanding beyond the ‘mental frame’ of one’s brainbox!

As we and our wives are trained in the nuances of prayer ministry, we recognise it can, however, limit us to working within a prescribed discipline or procedure. And, of course, our own medical situations enable us to empathise and minister to those who are facing situations we’ve overcome or been brought through by the Lord. All this suggests a rich, fruitful field for further discussions.

Then in the afternoon’s house group meeting, Nina asked about our minister’s previous reference to healing one’s DNA. Lindi explained this as a personal revelation from Holy Spirit that enables us to perceive the DNA’s coding and how it’s been affected by our personal and generational history: ie. our inherited physical and spiritual well-being. As this is intimately connected to our individual creation then it also needs to be brought to our heavenly Father to be dealt with before His throne: to which Christians have right of access through the Blood of Jesus Christ.  Our minister gave an example of how this unusual methodology can work in practice.

Hopefully, both person’s accounts are an indication of ‘cutting edge’ insights coming to the wider church that may eventually help those suffering under the medical effects of issues. As Brenda maintains, it’s essential to keep Jesus Christ in the centre and our eyes on Him because such ministry and healing come under His authority and power.

Recall of ‘Recall Notice’ – an apology

Posted on by
Reply

Yesterday I withdrew Tuesday’s humorous presentation about sin in order to avoid any unintentional offence to those struggling with depression or fear, Christian or not.  I’d ask anyone who may have been offended to accept my sincere apologies. My reason for re-posting was because it reinforced Steve Hill’s item. Even so, a couple of insights on those issues arose during conversations yesterday and which I’d like to recount over ‘tea’ later.

As that post’s informative footer was unrelated to the original item I’m re-publishing it.:

John McTernanRegular readers of this blog will be aware of my high regard for John McTernan’s work in not only monitoring Biblically relevant news but also giving an almost scientifically documented examination of how political actions to do with Israel can affect national well-being. (See his blog at Defend/Proclaim the Faith.)

as-america-has-done-to-israel8In As America Has Done to Israel, John provides personal insights about the Great Hurricane of 21 September 1938. Known as ‘The Long Island Express’, this rapid, immensely destructive storm happened three weeks after the largest Nazi rally outside Germany took place at Camp Siegfried  near Bellport, New York.  Between those dates, Germany’s Chancellor Adolf Hitler brought down the Czechoslovakian government whilst the American president turned his back upon that nation and the Jews. Soon afterwards, the Great Hurricane headed straight for and flattened that offensive site!  (For more details click on book’s image.)

Please also see my coverage of John’s opinion in The Biblical significance of Sandy, the 2012 repetition of 1938’s scripturally significant hurricane.

Is the ‘Petrus Romanus’ prophecy of God? – continued

Posted on by
2

John 17 records that, after praying for His first disciples, Jesus asked His Father,

“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word;  that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me…”

It’s fitting for us to bear that prayer request in mind as we continue our conversation on the new Pope Francis and the alleged Malachy prophecies of the Popes.:

Fresh CoffeeAs we get a fresh Cuppa I introduce a friend who’d joined us at the start of our chat. Bill’s an itinerant preacher, teacher and author (of   Feasting on The Father). We met years ago at a weekend’s worship and fellowship in Portsmouth for those blessed by the Toronto Refreshing, or associated with the Toronto Airport fellowship. ln turn, I introduce Kenny,  who convened our chat, as well as a regular contributor to my blog, Tony from Tucson.

Bill and I have kept in touch and he admits to not being a great ‘end times’ follower. He tells us his priority is to,

“…follow the desire of my heart to go into all the world and disciple the nations. To see the church of which Jesus is the Head, grow in the reality of righteousness and holy, joyful separation from the spirit of this age and world. To see us become more blatantly passionate pursuers of King Jesus, passionate lovers and servants of one another and healers of a broken, fear-filled world. From this, I believe, will come the unfolding of the end times, however that unpacks.”

“Yes agreed,” I reply, “Along with many others I believe the worldwide Church is moving fully into doing the greater works Jesus indicated; and in our becoming ‘Sons of God’ at the same time persecutions intensify. We can’t be too literal and precise in dating end-times but simply watch for the signs, as Jesus said. [Luke 21:36]

“We both know many within the Roman church who are truly born-again, faithful lovers and followers of Jesus. Unlike a number of non-Catholics I’m not against Rome, the Papacy or its new …”

“My spirit,” interjects Bill, “Registers that despite all the man-made stuff, this beautiful, compassionate man is of God for this time, and I pray he grows in demonstrating the reality of the Gospel before the eyes of the world”.

“Amen!” we all say…

Kenny adds, “In your first mention of Pope Francis, Richard, you blogged about having read of this Roman Catholic prophecy in your ‘old life’. Tell us more!”

“Well I must admit,” I reply, “That and some other things have put me in a bit of a spot – an unusual one. And it could prove God wastes nothing in our lives, even our days as unbelievers. Everything gets redeemed. So here goes…

“In 1970s I read a book on the possibility of getting outside time. One chapter covered the Prophecies of the Popes, or visions that came to the Archbishop of Armagh, later canonised as St Malachy.  If it were an accurate prophecy, I guessed it would place the reign of the pope sitting at the end of his list as being about 60 years in the future. So, I probably wouldn’t be alive at that time. BUT the future has arrived – much sooner than anticipated. Hence, my personal interest. Also, my experience brings some insights for you.

“For those who’ve just brought their first Cuppa, let’s briefly…

“Recap…

“The whole thread of posts about the new Pope was triggered by a friend’s email which gave the 12th alert about God doing a new thing. I had a mental image of God putting a piece of an invisible jigsaw into place.  ‘Invisible Jigsaw’ was my blog’s original name!  But that didn’t happen ’cause I couldn’t find, or create, a suitable graphic design.

“Having been ‘redirected’ from what I’d intended writing, I had a distinct sense this ‘new thing’ may be related to the change in popes. Furthermore, I wondered how it might apply to St Malachy’s mottos. Then whilst writing, an insight suggested the Roman catholic church is to be returned to Jesus’ original purpose – back to the blueprint!  I had a sense, therefore, of a huge cycle but not returning to exactly what it was 1,980 years ago – more like a progressive spiral turn…

“So, what I was getting is radically different to anything sensationalist conspiracy or the  doomsday merchants presume the Malachy prophecies mean. After writing that blog, I was amazed to immediately come across an analysis that lent some credence to my notion…and more stuff came to open up a broader perspective…”

Bill leans forward, “Nevertheless, the first thing that struck me about Shane Schaetzel’s piece was the ‘error of isolation’. His emphasis on it being a catholic word for catholics alone flies in the face of us being one body, one people, one building, one bride…”

“Yes, that’s so, but maybe the fire in a Catholic in the Ozarks is that of a relatively new, fervent convert, as well as being brassed off with the sensationalist hype displayed in the video that opens his piece.  I didn’t bother watching it ’cause I wanted Shane’s own ideas and not be distracted.”

“I don’t want to cover Shane Schaetzel’s detailed examination of the prophecies in great depth, but here’s my ‘take’ on several points..:

Review

1. Shane is reasonably well-informed and tries to be objective. Some of his argument, however, is confused and biased by Roman Catholic exclusivity. He fails to understand non-Catholics’ interest in an ‘obscure’, ‘alleged’ and unverified prophecy. But in fairness, his claim of their inconsistency in rejecting the more legitimate aspects of Catholicism is quite reasonable.

2. I agree in his stressing context – ‘You simply can’t pluck out one particular prophecy, isolate it in a vacuum, and then come up with your own interpretation that has no connection to the overall narrative of all Catholic prophecies’.

There must be not only a witness in our own spirit of what is from Holy Spirit but also a confirmation, or thread, of similar from other prophets and fits the tenor of scripture. [For example, see review prophetic words on new move of God.]

3. To put the Malachy prophecies into proper context, therefore, Shane provides an example from 14th Century’s remarkable ‘Worthy Shepherd Prophecy’.

This speaks of an unexpected, major restoration for the papacy “by about twelve years after the millennium have passed”, and closes with reference to a renewal in faith and restoration of the Church. Shane also notes, “As coincidence would have it….They both coincide perfectly with the time period we have just entered”.

This priest displays unfamiliarity with God-incidence in a prophetical perspective! He does not grasp its importance and brushes it aside as simple ‘coincidence’.  ‘By the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established’ [Deut 19:15 NKJV] may also be applied to prophecy. This must have been in Paul’s mind when directing believers in prophesying, per 1 Cor 14:29-33.

4. After this consideration, Shane proceeds to discuss the attributes, character and work of ‘Peter The Roman’.  I’m especially interested in his perceiving a return of that church to its first purity, as surmised in my 4th point on Pope Francis – and which took me by surprise.  And this harmonises with prophecies about new, historical moves of God in Europe. [See prophecy #11 herein.]

5. I’ve commented on Shane’s blog about the Petrus Romanus prophecy’s reference to judgement, and he kindly replied. [Comments at the foot of his analysis refer.]

I disagree on two counts with his conclusion that an archbishop such as Malachy would have plainly stated the ‘dreadful judge’ is ‘Jesus Christ’, if that’s who he meant. First, the description ties in with and thus may allude to the scripture about all believers standing before the ‘bema’ judgement seat of Christ in 2 Cor 5:9-11, namely:

9 Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. 11 Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are well known to God, and I also trust are well known in your consciences. (NKJV emphases added)

Secondly, the reference reminds me of the Orthodox concept of Christ Pantocrator, or almighty judge. The typically Roman concept of a Christian secular leader rescuing the church is inappropriate, as may be surmised from Europe’s current state. Furthermore, the Malachy motto is about persecution, which accords with OT prophet Daniel’s ‘little horn’ waging war against, not judging, the saints. [Daniel 7]

6. Shane draws to a close by taking issue with ‘Fundamentalists’ and mainline media’s translation of ‘persecutione extrema’ as ‘final persecution’. He claims they’re wrong to do so:

It’s supposed to be translated as “extreme persecution,” but for some reason people are mistranslating it as “final persecution,” which changes the entire meaning of the text, giving the reader the impression that Saint Malachy was talking about the end times, when the Church is supposed to go under the “final persecution” of the Antichrist.  But that isn’t what this text says!

He implies they’re using Malachy’s prophetic motto to support their own particular brand of Biblical prophecy. Let’s look at the text again, courtesy of Wikipedia:

In perſecutione extrema S.R.E. ſedebit – Petrus Romanus, qui paſcet oues in multis tribulationibus: quibus tranſactis ciuitas ſepticollis diruetur, & Iudex tremẽdus iudicabit populum ſuum. Finis. This translates as follows:

In the final persecution of the Holy Roman Church, there will sit – Peter the Roman, who will pasture his sheep in many tribulations, and when these things are finished, the city of seven hills [i.e. Rome] will be destroyed, and the dreadful judge will judge his people. The End.

Shane also provides a photocopy of this part of the original for scrutiny purposes, and to make his point.  [I note this copy’s omission of ‘er’ from ‘pfecutione’, and correct printing of letter ‘s’ in its regular, medieval typeface.]

Now here’s where I part company with Shane.  As a child I hated Latin – got it at church and in class at grammar school. But I can now appreciate it and show Shane’s ‘coup de grace’ translation is, at best, not iron-clad and, at worst, incorrect. He attempts to use Latin to demolish end-times proponents’ claims that the Malachy revelations fit in with their eschatological opinion.

However, Shane mistakenly confuses the meaning of Latin ‘extrema’ by translating it from English, instead of from Latin. That is, he states ‘extrema’ means ‘extreme’ and, thus, is not the same as ‘final’, as supposed by Protestant eschatologists.

Now, Online Etymological Dictionary defines ‘Extreme’ as early 15c, from Old French extreme (13c), from Latin extremus “outermost, utmost, farthest, last”.  Oxford English Dictionary also has the origin of ‘extreme’ in Middle English, via Old French from Latin extremus outermost, utmost. [My pocket-size Collins Gem Latin Dictionary has the very same definitions.]  Can’t these translations of ‘extrema’ (feminine ‘extremus’) of ‘utmost’ and ‘last’ also be taken as meaning ‘final’?  Shane Schaetzel thinks not!

Therefore, ‘final persecution’ is a correct translation of ‘persecutione extrema’.

This does not change the entire meaning of the text, as he thinks, but gives legitimacy to an ‘end-times’ description. That is, the St Malachy prophetic mottos may well refer to the closing days of this era in history. [See comments on Shane’s blog about this point.]

Conclusion

“In my opinion, Shane Schaetzel’s analysis is worth perusal by students of eschatology. There is a seventh aspect over which he makes much ado that I want to address – ie. Catholic prophecies. In view of my earlier connections, I’d like to offer an insight or two over a Cuppa sometime soon.

“It seems we’re reaching a conclusion that the ‘Petrus Romanus’ prophecy could be of God…How say you?

“Perhaps we could discuss the other indicators on a later date?”

Is the ‘Petrus Romanus’ prophecy of God?

Posted on by
2

“I really, really didn’t mean to do that!” confess I to Kenny, just after meeting him for morning coffee at the cyber-cafe.

“What do you mean? The PS?” he asked, referring to the reason for his invitation.

“No! I mean the whole thing…I’d already started something else the day before. So Iast Thursday I was going to finish and publish it.  There was a sense of unease…I couldn’t put my finger on it…but it was to do with my last blog, What’s God up to?”

“I’m all ears!  Give me your take on the situation, especially that bit you recommended –  I’ve read it”, prompts Kenny.

Coffee BreakWe carry the coffee and yummies I’d ordered to our table by the window. It just so happens, Tony turns up, as do you too, my reader. So bring your Cuppas over and join us for a chat – we may be some time…

(Excellent timing, my wife has just called out, “Coffee’s ready!”.)

“Now Richard, tell us about last Thursday.”

I begin by saying I observe ‘cyber-silence’ over our 3-day weekend, and evenings too.

“So, on Thursdays I try to finish what’s on-hand from the week. I start as soon as I can after 9.30 am, but last Thursday it was sunny and warm for once and a bit of shopping needed to be done first.

“I’d got a newspaper but didn’t dig into it as I was quite late getting online, and a couple of unusually long calls interrupted this. So I was a couple of hours behind and had run out of steam. Now this is quite unusual, I’ve not yet had writer’s block!  I’d planned to follow up my last post with more on God’s ‘tsunami’.  But I was completely blank. It had dropped into my brain’s ‘pending’ tray!

“How do you guys start your day online? I glance at headlines on World Watch Daily and Debka headlines, as well as three other blogs that don’t drop posts into my in-tray, as well as scan and ditch 20 or more emails.

“There was one email sharing a download a friend had received from the Lord. Now that really plugged me in!  We’d met Bob and Lyn a year ago, found not only were we on the same wavelength but also that they knew of my friend John’s mission in Ghana as well as Paul, who directs HOTS in Bath.

“At that time, Lyn shared bits she’d sensed about naval preparations for war and I gave her details of serious activities in the Med and Gulf.  I know her sensitivity to Holy Spirit and have high regard for the new items on grave international matters. An inexplicable 2 hour difference in her alarm clocks confirms, to my mind, the great urgency stirring in her spirit. Part of what Lyn received is, “Behold I do a new thing”.

“In an instant, lack of drive disappeared. I was galvanised into action!

Courtesy Watcharakun at Freedigitalphotos.com“Next, upon scanning just a few headlines I knew what to blog. Like in this image, it was as though the Lord had put His finger on a headline to draw my attention to the alleged Malachy prophecies.  I honestly didn’t want to go there! As well as what I’d already started (Is God baring His arm?), a number of ideas have been lodged too long in my ‘pipeline’.

“Also, I didn’t want to do anything that was connected with my pre-Christian life or stray away from Biblical matters.

“I asked the Lord, if it’s not out of order to cover this, please bless what I write. I typed out new thoughts as they sprang to mind, which is not my usual way at all.  Later in the day, when all’s done and dusted, I hit ‘publish’.

“Next – again for no particular reason – I dug into Google for anything else on this news. It seems the Lord directed me to yet another about Malachy’s visions, but by a Catholic priest.  Upon reading his sound report, I was pleasantly surprised to find he, too, viewed the motto for Pope Francis positively – unlike evangelical commentators!  Hence my adding a postscript to the post.”  (See Is Pope Francis ‘Petrus Romanus’?)

“What do you think?”

We kick this around between us. I add there was a clear sense of satisfaction, which is quite rare, and which also left me with a distinct sense of peace. Despite initial setbacks everything just flowed. Thus, that impetus did come from God.

“So this all arose out of a word from the Lord about ‘a new thing’?”

“Yes. And on Saturday I saw Gillan had picked on this from a very different aspect and I commented about this on his blog. But then I questioned myself, checked through my blog for prophetic words on this matter and wrote about them.”

“Everything since last Thursday’s item on Pope Francis has been unscheduled, never on my ‘to do’ list!”

Kenny kindly reminds me, “What’s your take on ‘Catholic in the Ozarks’ or Shane Schaetzel’s,  The Pope, the Antichrist and Peter The Roman?”

“Let’s top up our Cuppas and I’ll tell you. Then we may figure out if Malachy’s visions came from God”.

Click to continue > >

Chatting over morning coffee…

Posted on by
1

… at a garden centre with ‘C’ yesterday covered some points about this blog. So, if you too had thought of them you may like this paraphrase of our chat.:

First

As a subscriber to this blog my long-time friend had opportunity to see the reblog from God and Politics I’d posted only earlier that morning. So, his first remark was,

“Praiseworthy as it is, what’s Christians Against Poverty got to do with your blog? Your by-line is Looking for signs of Jesus’ return…?”

My answer was; Christians need to be aware that the sociopolitical spectrum acts not only as a backdrop to but also as indicators which validate prophesied signs. ‘Aware’, that is, of global and, especially, Middle-Eastern events lining up to fulfill prophecies of  two or more millenia ago. [This one of the major planks demonstrating the distinctive authority and reliability of Judeo-Christian scripture.]

More importantly, to prepare ourselves for our role in the return of the King of Kings, Christians should be concerned about, if not actively improving, the political and social scene. Thus my blog covers not a few Parliamentary-related issues, which is where my cyber-friend Gillan’s work is particularly important.  It’s also a way of taking an evangelical stand, as evident from  his comments upon my reblog,

 …It’s great to be able to share this sort of news telling people about the Gospel in action.

Furthermore, I recounted for the first time to my brother the open vision on the state of the nation with which I’d been presented in 2004. I’d heard the Lord’s observation and intention about Britain. Validation of the vision resulted in my later emails encouraging friends to take a stand upon the emerging Rock, Jesus Christ.  [For full details click on Comments upon the collapse of Society.   Recognised prophetical voices had already spoken of a global shaking, as well as a sifting within the wider church per Hebrews 12 – click for related posts in this blog.]

Secondly

I took the opportunity to share with ‘C’ how the Lord ‘communicates’ whilst I’m blogging. Although I’ve got a long list of material and try not to be deviated, other things often grab my attention, as though being presented to me!   So, I was very pleased to find this suitable free image from a quick google search.

By way of illustration, I told ‘C’ of inexplicably spotting an old, unread email and knowing it should go in Monday’s Newsmix. Without vetting it as normal however, I’d inserted it after just a cursory scan. Only afterwards in  taking a hardcopy ‘to lunch’ did I find it to be an ideal choice.

Such discoveries can often be inter-connected, as though the Lord is sewing a thread in a tapestry. (Hence, the ‘train of thoughts’ on Abiding in God’s Word.)

Thirdly

‘C’ was most uneasy, to put it mildly, to have learnt from this week’s posts about the US President’s unusually radical Cairo Speech.  He expressed surprised at a June ’09 date of my reference because I’ve blogged for only 15 months. So I said my old emails had been inserted for reference purposes (see About).

DSC_4610edAlso, reflecting upon Raymond Stock’s conclusion I’d realised it echoed the opinion of Sir  Winston Churchill in 1899 about the unchanging, dangerous nature of Islamic fanaticism. [Source; The River War unabridged 2-volume edition. I quoted from this under the sub-head ‘Yes and No, Prime Minister’ following on from my thoughts on PM Cameron’s comments on Al Qaeda.] This increasing irrationality was recognised over 110 years ago and too many leaders have failed to learn the lessons of history. According to the well-known proverb, they’re certain to repeat its mistakes!

BUT…

How does it all fit into last November’s prayer request and prophetic word for President Obama? The Lord has all things under His hand and I’m suitably chastened to recall He expects us to pray for leaders.

So, our prayer blessing and decree for yesterday morning is quite fitting.:

The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life (Proverbs 14:27)

We decree that the reverential fear of the Lord will fall upon those who are in positions of authority in our nations. We bless the fountain of life as it flows through the corridors of power, bringing life and refreshing wherever it flows. [Courtesy: House of Glory: Keep Praying and Bless]

Amen.

A really good morning coffee

Posted on by
Reply

DSC_0210-1edBit slow off the starting blocks this morning – Kitty jumped all over us at 4am as the local fox must have been nosing around the path behind our back garden. With a surname like ours, perhaps she thinks she’s also a guard dog-cum-cat?

After defrosting a freezer we went to our local shops 5 minutes walk away and were pleased to find the long-closed greengrocery had re-opened. Great to be able to get better fruit and veg in dedicated shop instead of over-priced, poorer quality food in supermarkets. (We’d take a weekly drive to nearby towns for visiting their greengrocer.)

Upon return and winding up the PC it was time to catch up on daily digital mail. Cartoons have always caught my eye. So first was Kenny T’s Morning Story and (vintage) Dilbert and today’s Three Brothers was so very appropriate as a modern version of the parable of the talents and initiative.

Couldn’t help but respond with a comment and, whilst I jotted it, Nina called, “Coffee’s ready”. We treated ourselves to very light and tasty Danish apricot pasties – also known as; ‘yum-4my-tum’!  I don’t always get a daily paper but, on impulse, used a voucher for the Telegraph. Naturally it’s front page cartoon first – and Matt brings hilarity, as ever!

With coffee and munch I flick-scan the newspaper’s contents and am AMAZED to find that last night they covered my main topic of yesterday’s blog, as you’ll see from copy below, or read digital version with comments here.: Continue reading →