2 of 3: devilish plot to pre-empt the Bible’s ‘endgame’

Posted on Thursday, 26 March, 2015 by Richard Barker

Thank you to this week’s visitors and subscribers in helping me with this post, which has been in preparation as and when possible throughout this month. Your interest in one of last year’s posts enabled me to a draw it to a specific conclusion, as you’ll read below.

UPDATE 5/5/15: Tony Puccio has reminded me of a dream in July 2013 of a spinning top in connection with the Devil speeding up events – Vision of a Spinning Top.

Continued from 1 of 3: the ‘End-game’ gets ramped up another level

In that post’s History cycles around I covered events in 2009 directly relating to today’s ‘hot potatoes’: US appeasement of Iran on nuclear energy and president Obama making Israeli PM Netanyahu the ‘bogeyman’ against discussions, as well as other nations dismay with USA. (See previous post for latest developments.)

That part summarised a reason for the increase in worldwide troubles lying in tactics to delay, or better still, to prevent the return of Jesus Christ to reign and rule on earth. This way, maybe Satan avoids his fate of not only being defeated but also being thrown into the lake of fire, as prophesied in The Book of Revelation. I gave evidence for this strategy by way of events; or ‘pieces’ that had popped to mind as though being placed into the Lord’s invisible jigsaw

In fact, the week of 16 -21 February was unusual. It was as though a physical cycle of events intertwined with the non-physical, or spiritual, one I was sensing. ‘Bells were ringing’ and I was ‘buzzing’ and aspects of the cycle are still bubbling away, as will be explained in Part 3.

My attention had been re-directed and thoughts unfurled to point to a possible counter-strategy to the Bible’s End-times scenario! Menacing events are not only escalating but also accelerating rapidly! (And I’m now reminded of the urgent word Neville Johnson brought last year about Yom Kippur 2014 being ‘a cut-off in God’s timeline’.)

In mulling over all that I was ‘prompted’ to dig into my first emails on End-time events and found items relevant to what’s happening these days, as well as to what another blogger posted that same week. (It’s related to what kick-started my interest in End-times! And last week I noticed another relevance!)

The first draft of this post had become too bulky so it got split into two parts. In closing part 1 of 3 on history repeating itself, I said a forgotten idea kicked around in an old email had just popped up in the previous fortnight.

That idea is the subject of this second part.:

Pre-empting End-times prophecies

Snippets of detail and other’s disclosures about today’s Sunni vs Shiite (ISIL vs Iran) war in Iraq reminded me of an aspect of Biblical events that’s been unfolding for years.

August 2010

Asking Could This Weekend Change The World? I referred to Iranian leaders’ plans to hasten the appearance of their ‘Hidden Imam’ (aka ‘Mahdi’) by bringing nuclear conflict to the Middle-East. I quoted security analyst Ryan Mauro and Israeli PM Netanyahu on “an apocalyptic cult controlling atomic bombs”.

At that time Russia was about to get Iran’s first nuclear reactor at Bushehr operational ahead of the internationally agreed schedule. In the above email I commented,

Once that happens the balance of power in the region tilts completely as all Sunni Muslim States in Persian Gulf will have to turn away from a weak USA and kowtow to an extremist Shiite regime – ONE THAT HAS THREATENED TO ANNIHILATE ISRAEL and will have the ability to carry out its intentions and achieve Hitler’s goal far more efficiently and effectively. Both Iran’s President and supreme spiritual leader anticipate an apocalyptic war heralding the appearance of their crescent-moon god’s Mahdi (accompanied by Jesus!) and bringing peace to a world that’s come into the ‘house of submission’ [ie Islam].

The good thing about this is that all the rational Sunni Arab leaders are wanting America and/or Israel to take out the facilities (as they did with Iraq’s and Syria’s reactors). But Israel would have to go it alone as Obama wouldn’t commit to action. Debka’s sources report an Iranian phantom fighter and unidentified drones crashing nearby and into the reactor buildings.

[Since assuming office president Obama forced US Middle-Eastern policy into a U-turn. And so strategic US influence in the region has all but vanished: see last footer below and latest on Egyptian navy defending Gulf of Aden and Red Sea. Also apropos the email, early this month a rumour surfaced about him having ordered the shooting down of Israeli jets over-flying Iraq to attack Iran’s reactor, as here.

The Middle-East nuclear race is now under way. Last week BBC interviewed Saudi Prince al-Faisal on their deep unease (since Obama took office) over Iran being allowed to have nuclear energy and develop weaponry. Consequently, Saudi Arabia is planning to build its own nuclear power plants. Also, this week Reuters reports Jordan has signed a contract for Russia to build them a nuclear power plant.]

In view of my preceding remarks I wanted to ‘bounce’ the following off my contacts,

I recall a speaker saying satan is attempting to bring forward End-Time events in order to nullify God’s schedule and thereby wrong-foot God. His logic, perhaps, is to avoid his demise in the Lake of Fire? The revelation Jesus received from God and which He gave to John states that will happen after He returns and defeats Satan. Prophecy points to this being centred on Jerusalem and the Jews will at last recognise Jesus as their true messiah.

The latter part served as a scriptural reminder and, I shared my thoughts on how such a pre-emptive aim could be achieved. Only lately have I since revisited this notion:

The obvious way out of this [scriptural] scenario is to ensure there are no Jews whatsoever left alive for Jesus to come back for and, if Jerusalem is still standing, then its population should be followers of a false god. Indeed, Hasan Nasrallah, head of Hezbollah (Party of God!), wants all Jews to come to Israel because that makes it so much easier to despatch them in one fell swoop!!

[As al-Qaeda activity had died down and was mainly active in central Asia, persecution and removal of Christians from the Middle-East didn’t figure in my conjectures.]

The world is now faced with precisely the above scenario – many others recognise it and are now warning in-depth about it!

Reluctantly, I mused upon those possible tactics in the latest Paws 4 thought. Within days the appalling martyrdom of Egyptian Copts in Libya supported my ideas. As said before, had it not been for that week being half-term, thus delaying Nina’s surgery, I would have overlooked all these things. Their cyclical relevance would have gone unnoticed too.

My covering note to Joel Rosenberg’s re-blog about this butchery led into a two-part outline of historical evidence for our enemy’s tactics. However, the heart of the matter is directly relevant to this theme and had to be addressed later – as herein.

Kindly forgive and bear with me in the following vile quotations, which are included only as an informative necessity. Also, the Lord loves these people and weeps over their wicked actions. They need our prayers – read Canon J.John on how. Also, remember apostle Paul had been the first to hunt down Christians. Let’s pray these murderers will have just as thorough and an awesome conversion experience as did Paul.

Revelation 13

Courtesy Victor Books, The Bible Reader’s Companion by Lawrence O. Richards (1991)

1st Account

Joel’s report of the Libyan atrocity refers to one murderer’s videoed remarks, as reported by AP in Cairo. It reminded me of Revelation chapter 13’s prophecy of a demonic beast rising out of the sea, and the above modern illustration, because the villain declared:

“All crusaders: safety for you will be only wishes, especially if you are fighting us all together. Therefore we will fight you all together,” he says. “The sea you have hidden Sheikh Osama bin Laden’s body in, we swear to Allah we will mix it with your blood.”

It’s another example of Islamists brainwashed by ‘the myth’. Moreover, we see Satanic control of their irrational beliefs. The reference to ‘sea’ and a dead leader’s body and believers’ blood is redolent of Rev 13:1-10 (credit BibleGateway).:

Then I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name. ²Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority. ³And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast. ⁴So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?”

⁵And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months. ⁶Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. ⁷It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. ⁸All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

⁹If anyone has an ear, let him hear. ¹⁰He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity; he who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.

I submit this is strongly suggestive of today’s re-emergence of Islam’s original spirit that directed its founder and followers to attack, conquer and subjugate neighbouring territory and peoples. (He personally led 27 battles and planned 39 others. No wonder his disciples squabbled madly over succession! Compare this with Jesus and his disciples!)

The beast from the sea has a direct similitude to the third of the four beasts in prophet Daniel’s dream-vision (Dan 7:6). On page 658 of Unlocking the Bible David Pawson speculates this ‘leopard’ represents the Arab world – not in Daniel’s days but today.

In Daniel Revisited also, Mark Davidson considers the description links the beast from the sea to those of Daniel 7, which has a four-winged leopard. He makes a most pertinent observation about the symbolism of leopard on page 215:

“The lion will give chase to its prey but the leopard will stealthily wait and watch until it finally pounces…the prey is totally surprised”.

This describes exactly how Islamic terrorists operate.

2nd Account

Raymond Ibrahim’s background and qualifications in writing The Al-Qaeda Reader give him a unique advantage in discussing Islamist terrorism. In Libya’s War on Christians he reveals another eschatological implication, as reported in Coptic Solidarity’s account of the lead executioner boasting of savagery and hatred of the cross of Christ:

“Oh people, recently you have seen us on the hills of as-Sham and Dabiq’s plain [Syrian regions], chopping off the heads that have been carrying the cross for a long time. And today, we are on the south of Rome, on the land of Islam, Libya, sending another message.”

Their other account quotes: “We will fight you until Christ descends, breaks the cross and kills the pig” (all eschatological actions ascribed to the Muslim “Christ,” Isa).

As the instruments through which his authority over mankind was broken, Satan hates the Cross and Blood of Jesus Christ. Recent events nearer to home gives an example of this, as in my covering note about Wales in re-blogging Justin Abraham’s tribute to John Paul Jackson.

The area of the Preseli Mountains has a reputation for witchcraft and the occult. Such practitioners have objected to the presence of a large cross and requested its removal. The objection is that it nullifies their powers. The cross’ location in solid rock astride the shoulder of ‘The Hill of Angels’ displays the Lord’s direction in furnishing and installing it in the consecrated grounds of the prayer and retreat centre at Ffald-y-Brenin.

Therefore, the absolute hatred of the Cross of Christ and Christians is entirely spiritual and demonstrates their god definitely is not the same as the Lord Almighty, Father of Jesus Christ – and ours too! As apostle John warns in his first letter:

“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.” (1 John 4:1-3 NKJV, per BibleGateway)

Analysis

Joel Rosenberg summarises this apocalyptic pre-emptive plot in his abridged version of What does ISIS want? To usher in the End of Days by Graeme Wood (click here for his in-depth article). Some of Joel’s points are as follows:

ISIS and its supreme leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, is consumed by a Radical Sunni Islamic version of eschatology, or End-Times theology.
US president and senior team do not see this, and this is one of the most serious mistakes they are making. We cannot defeat an enemy we refuse to define. I realize eschatology is a topic foreign — even bizarre — to most political, military and intelligence officials.
But to truly understand what ISIS wants, and how far they are willing to go to get it, our leaders absolutely must study and understand it.
One of the most intriguing and disturbing developments of our times is that we now have two nation states — the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Islamic State — driven by adherents to apocalyptic, genocidal forms of End-Times theology.
The Iranian leaders hold to a Shia brand. ISIS leaders hold to a Sunni brand. But both are driven by a belief that their messiah is coming and judgment with him.
The Iranians believe they must lay the groundwork for the messiah (Mahdi) to come and build his caliphate or kingdom. ISIS isn’t waiting. They have launched a jihadist rampage to build the caliphate now, so that the Mahdi will come soon.

A Vision

About 2007-8, two friends living on opposite sides of the globe – Paul Keith Davis and Neville Johnson – had the same vision on the same weekend as the other did of all hell being let loose. (Teaching series In the Days of Noah, disc 1.)

Happily, the vision did not end with darkness for, according to Paul Keith, the Lord said,

“I am sending messengers of My Face” and He told me there are angels that have stood in the Presence of Almighty God from the beginning of time that have waited for this generation. There is a holy heavenly host that has been waiting for this generation for this hour for this confrontation. They have been especially prepared… I looked up and I saw a door being opened in Heaven and I saw a flood of angels from heaven who had stood in the Presence of God since the beginning of time. I saw them coming and teaching people in their bedrooms. We have to respond to the level of darkness and evil coming to this generation ‘in like fashion’.” (Courtesy Justin Abraham)

A Prophecy

In the middle of preaching, English evangelist Nathan Morris prophesied from the Lord for 2012: Setting the stage for the End-Times. He opens very notably with,

“For lawlessness will abound as nations and their leaders meet together to try and make alliances and make allegiances seeking peace. They shall seek peace, but shall not find it – they shall seek peace, but shall not find it! This will cause many to cry out for resolution but it shall still elude them for a time for further unrest will be their reward.

“For even in 2012 there shall be great events that will change the course of this world, as you know it! For as many pour out their resources to find solutions of peace, another crisis will drain them of knowledge and resolution.

“For I would know that My people would hear My voice, that I am setting the stage for that which I have foretold in My Word and it will quickly and swiftly come to pass. For the days are coming when the lawless one shall be revealed and the son of perdition shall take his stand.

Conclusion

There’s indisputable evidence for the Islamist impetus to bring worldwide calamity and to eradicate Christianity, thereby preventing fulfillment of the prophetic timetable, as outlined in the Bible.

Those above accounts show the falsehood of Islam’s belief in recognising Jesus, but as the Muslim Mahdi’s underling! Pew Research Centre stated in 2012 that well over half, and over 2/3 in some countries, the Muslim world expects the return of Jesus within their own lifetime. Their 2010 results for the number of American Christians expecting Jesus’ return was much lower and very mixed!

Now, as for the would-be usurper of the Almighty’s throne trying to pre-empt His plan and timetable for the End-times, it’s worth noting something that happened whilst polishing off this post’s latest draft. AND, it’s thanks to you my readers and visitors for pointing me towards the conclusion the Lord may want me to draw…

Some old posts keep showing up in the Popular Posts listing. One was ‘top of the pops’ over Mon-Wed and I thought of reminding myself of its content. It’s Neville Johnson’s urgent word brought last August about a cut-off date in God’s timeline. The Lord told him,

“Neville, it is over – there is no more extension of time!”

This prophetic declaration and decree, as well as holy scripture, supersedes anything the father of lies is scheming and doing. In no way could he possibly pre-empt the Lord’s end-game! The Almighty – not the creature – calls the shots!

This timing is completely the Father’s prerogative. Neither Jesus (when He was on earth) or the angels know the schedule for His return. (Mathew 24:36 and Acts 1:7 refer.)

Although this may not be the definitive or final word on this issue, most importantly, we know we’re on the winning side – thank and praise you Jesus!

You may be interested to read about the difficulties in publishing this post, as reported in What’s weird about writing about Iran.

In Part 3 we will look at the Lord’s use of American leaders for his End-times purposes.

An insight into global satanic strategy – part 2

Posted on Saturday, 21 February, 2015 by Richard Barker

Timing in publishing this follow-on, 700th post is exceptionally fascinating not only for its confirmation in directly related news from Washington but also in other details. I will explain in next post; meanwhile, may you too be blessed with insights as you read:

Continuing from Part 1 let’s consider further the revelatory ‘jigsaw piece’ found whilst musing upon satan’s strategy to avoid the Lake of Fire. It came whilst reading specialist historian Paul Crawford’s Four Myths About The Crusades. His solid, illuminating essay on president Bill Clinton’s unsound premise to his remarks on the 9/11 attack also apply to Barack Obama’s recently equating Christianity to Islamist butchery of Christians. Paul’s paper exposes falsehoods behind and adroitly disposes of the following:

Myth #1: The Crusades represented an unprovoked attack by Western Christians on the Muslim world.
Myth #2: Western Christians went on crusade because their greed led them to plunder Muslims in order to get rich.
Myth #3: Crusaders were a cynical lot who did not really believe their own religious propaganda; rather, they had ulterior, materialistic motives.
Myth #4: The Crusades taught Muslims to hate and attack Christians.

Part 1 of this post briefly summarised Myth #3 and I concluded:

“The period of the Enlightenment with its liberal intellectual and philosophical attitudes nourished a growing rejection of religion, agnosticism and atheism. So a jaundiced view of Christian scripture and history developed. Thus, the Western intelligentsia began to put a twist upon the Crusades.”

His paper deserves to be studied in full and in view of its importance in this part I shall quote more extensively, adding emphases where appropriate:

The Muslim Attitude to the Crusades

Dr Crawford begins answering Myth #4 by stating part of the answer lies in that for Myth #1 – ie. Muslims had attacked Christians for centuries ever since the inception of Islam. His answer to the first myth succinctly summarises what was happening, as itemised on 7 pages by Dr Bill Warner on Political Islam, and which show that ‘jihadic’ attacks and strategic advances occurred on average every 5 years for 460 years!

Paul continues by stating Muslims “needed no further incentive to continue (jihad). But there’s a more complicated answer here…”.

“…until quite recently, Muslims remembered the crusades as an instance in which they had beaten back a puny western Christian attack…(One) of Lawrence of Arabia’s letters (describes) a confrontation during post-World War I negotiations (over) a case for French interest in Syria going back to the crusades, which Faisal (later Faisal I of Iraq). dismissed with a cutting remark: “But, pardon me, which of us won the crusades?”

He goes on to state that before WW1 most Muslims had a similar, if any, attitude to the Crusades,

“…that is, when Muslims bothered to remember them at all, which was not often. Most of the Arabic-language historical writing on the crusades before the mid-19th century was produced by Arab Christians, not Muslims, and most of that was positive…There was no Arabic word for “crusades” until that period, either…It had not seemed important to Muslims to distinguish the crusades from other conflicts between Christianity and Islam…As Carole Hillenbrand has noted, “The Muslim response to the coming of the Crusades was initially one of apathy, compromise and preoccupation with internal problems”.

“The first Muslim crusade history did not appear until 1899. By that time, the Muslim world was rediscovering the crusades — but it was rediscovering them with a twist learned from Westerners.”

At this point our author has introduced a new angle: the influence of modern European schools of thought. This was covered in Part 1 of this post for the purpose of leading into an appreciation of how Muslims’ attitudes towards the Crusades changed radically in the early decades of the 20th Century. As Crawford explains:

“At the same time, nationalism began to take root in the Muslim world. Arab nationalists borrowed the idea of a long-standing European campaign against them from the former European school of thought – missing the fact this was a serious mischaracterization of the crusades and using this distorted understanding as a way to generate support for their own agendas.

“This remained the case until the mid-20th century, when, in Riley-Smith’s words, “a renewed and militant Pan-Islamism” applied the more narrow goals of the Arab nationalists to a worldwide revival of what was then called Islamic fundamentalism and is now sometimes referred to, a bit clumsily, as jihadism.

“This led rather seamlessly to the rise of Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda, offering a view of the crusades so bizarre as to allow bin Laden to consider all Jews to be crusaders and the crusades to be a permanent and continuous feature of the West’s response to Islam.

“Bin Laden…is no more accurate in his view about the crusades than he is about the supposed perfect Islamic unity which he thinks Islam enjoyed before the baleful influence of Christianity intruded. But the irony is that he, and those millions of Muslims who accept his message, received that message originally from their perceived enemies: the West.

“So it was not the crusades that taught Islam to attack and hate Christians. Far from it. Those activities had preceded the crusades by a very long time, and stretch back to the inception of Islam. Rather, it was the West which taught Islam to hate the crusades. The irony is rich.”

Conclusion

The last leads Paul Crawford ‘back to the present’ in asking how much of president Bill Clinton’s Georgetown speech of 2001 was accurate, especially his emphatic assertion that the story of the Crusades was “still being told today in the Middle East and we are still paying for it!”.

“This is the most serious misstatement of the whole passage. What we are paying for is not the First Crusade, but western distortions of the crusades in the nineteenth century which were taught to, and taken up by, an insufficiently critical Muslim world.

In drawing everything together, this specialist in the history of the Crusades offers his opinion:

“The problems with Mr Clinton’s remarks indicate the pitfalls that await those who would attempt to explicate ancient or medieval texts without adequate historical awareness, and they illustrate very well what happens when one sets out to pick through the historical record for bits—distorted or merely selectively presented—which support one’s current political agenda. This sort of abuse of history has been distressingly familiar where the crusades are concerned.

Thank you Paul Crawford for such an excellent examination and clarification of a crucial current issue. (Paul is an Associate Professor at California University of Pennsylvania – also see his bio at Queen Mary University of London, and The Intercollegiate Review.)

The Diabolical Spin

Clearly, as shown above, the “Father of Lies” has been spinning his worldwide web of deceit, to which a surprising confirmation has been given this week and will be revealed in the next post.

Out of the post-Reformation intellectual freedom that eventually led to the rejection of most Judeo-Christian values, was born an anti-Christian mind-set that deliberately warps any spiritual understanding. It eventually affected not only traditional Christian beliefs but also associated historical facts.

Into his engineered ungodliness Satan could sow seeds of disbelief to twist and poison intellectual integrity. This serves his strategy to disunite and weaken Christianity further by falsified history harnessed to intellectual dishonesty and arrogance to belittle, blame and persecute the church of Jesus Christ.

“But Jesus…”

UPDATE: current security concerns led to a relevant development upon this thesis, as revealed in Anti-terrorism summit confirms this week’s insight.

MORE: this theme develops further in 1 of 3: the ‘End-game’ gets ramped up a level.

[‘Hand Holding Puzzle Piece’ by Ponsulak, courtesy Freedigitalphotos.net]

An insight into a global satanic strategy – part 1

Posted on Thursday, 19 February, 2015 by Richard Barker

A nuance new to me of our enemy’s tactics has come to light which seriously affects politicians’ and public’s perceptions. As in the caveat to Paws 4 thought, it’s a topic I’d much rather not blog about, but current events require this information to be shared. It should help you to understand the huge, beguiling deception blinding national leaders.

An “aha!” moment instigated continuation of those musings. Long-standing readers may recall, like my friend and fellow End-times teacher-author ‘Neil Mac’, that ‘jigsaw pieces’ occasionally bring revelation ‘out-of-the-blue’.

After popping a small ‘piece’, the last link, into my brief comment to the re-blog of Joel Rosenberg’s post on the war against Christianity, it struck me that link is part of an ‘invisible’ jigsaw. Not exactly as depicted in this photo by Ponsulak, it seemed like I’d inserted a ‘piece’ into a large puzzle, part of which covers Islamist actions.

To the first ‘puzzle pieces’, or links to comments on US National Prayer Breakfast, I added two more on the Crusades. It was upon later reading the last of these four at leisure that I was struck by it’s being like a piece connecting one area to another (rather like Salvatore Vuono’s picture here).

That ‘piece’ connects the modern revival of Islam in all its original barbarity that overflowed from Arabia 1,500 years ago with my musings on the Devil’s plot to avoid the Lake of Fire. Now, it’s not the fact that this phenomena is part (5) of my historical evidence, but more the facts emerging from further analysis that brought a better perspective.

Historical Evidence cont’d

In those musings we considered just a few events to support my thesis that satan is the source of anti-Semitism and Christian disunity. There’s a ‘rationale’ to such a strategy. Nowadays,we’re brainwashed into ignoring the historical facts behind Christianity’s massive reaction 920 years ago to 460 years of jihad – widespread strategic attacks and invasions. That is, it all started 1,380 years ago – and ISIS/ISIL want the whole world to regress not improve! (Hence, my re-blog’s link to Dr Warner’s itemised listing.)

Also, militant Muslims, backed by mendacious academics in Western universities, use that twisting of historical facts to pretend they’re victims of the Crusades: but in actual fact, Muslims came out as the winners!!

What is deeply disturbing is the fact that presidents Clinton and Obama were duped, or else wallowed in self-imposed ignorance, about the Crusades – and displayed this in public! My readers in the States will be aware of the outcry following Remarks by the President at National Prayer Breakfast in Washington on 5th February when Mr Obama said, and I underscore the cause of the issue:

“…we have seen violence and terror perpetrated by those who profess to stand up for faith, their faith, professed to stand up for Islam, but, in fact, are betraying it. We see ISIL, a brutal, vicious death cult that, in the name of religion, carries out unspeakable acts of barbarism…and claiming the mantle of religious authority for such actions…[examples of sectarian wars] a rising tide of anti-Semitism and hate crimes in Europe, so often perpetrated in the name of religion

“So how do we, as people of faith, reconcile these realities…operating alongside those who seek to hijack religious for their own murderous ends?

“Humanity has been grappling with these questions throughout human history. And lest we get on our high horse and think this is unique to some other place, remember that during the Crusades and the Inquisition, people committed terrible deeds in the name of Christ. In our home country, slavery and Jim Crow all too often was justified in the name of Christ…”

To his credit the President didn’t refer to deep anti-Semitism that had riddled European churches since the ‘early Church fathers’ and led up to the Holocaust. (Reformer Martin Luther was renowned for his strident, ungodly dislike of Jews!)

Even so, cluelessness masks deep disingenuity over the recent anti-Semitic murders of French and Danish Jews, as Elliot Abrams (Senior Fellow at the CFR and just one among myriad experts) pointedly questions and explains, Why can’t the White House see Terrorism and anti-Semitism? (see his linked lead-in post too).

Franklin Graham, outspoken son of Billy Graham, took issue with Obama’s comments, as emphasised above. On his Facebook page the evangelist sought to correct them:

“Today at the National Prayer Breakfast, the President implied that what ISIS is doing is equivalent to what happened over 1000 years ago during the Crusades and the Inquisition. Mr. President–Many people in history have used the name of Jesus Christ to accomplish evil things for their own desires. But Jesus taught peace, love and forgiveness. He came to give His life for the sins of mankind, not to take life. Mohammad on the contrary was a warrior and killed many innocent people. True followers of Christ emulate Christ—true followers of Mohammed emulate Mohammed.”

A fortnight later Franklin asks about the butchery in Libya,

“…In a statement the White House even called the 21 Christians who were beheaded “Egyptian citizens,” refusing to identify them as Christians. The truth is–their barbaric murderers openly said they killed them because they were “people of the cross.” Why is the President seemingly continuing to protect Islam and refusing to open his eyes to the truth?” (emphasis added)

The essential point, as in several earlier posts, is to compare the founders of both faiths – that of Islam just doesn’t, and cannot, bare comparison with Jesus.

William Koenig’s perspective on this as an accredited journalist at the White House and editor-in-chief of World Watch Daily is worth noting too:

“An important point to remember is that President Obama’s speeches have a specific audience or audiences in mind. At the National Prayer Breakfast…he equated the Christian (ie. Catholic) Crusades with radical Islam’s brutality. Moreover, he neglected to contrast the sacrificial love of Jesus Christ, who came as the Savior to the world, with the brutality of Mohammed, who attempted to dominate and terrorize the world…

“What did Muslims hear? A Muslim apologist who happens to be the President of the United States, and who calls himself a Christian, lectured Christians not to be on a “high horse”. He equated horrific Muslim violence with Christians who resorted to violence in two specific periods in history.”

This furore comes as no surprise. I questioned the President’s claims to be “a student of history” in his 2009 Cairo speech, which benefitted the Muslim Brotherhood. To the very deep disquiet and legitimate suspicion of many Americans, the MB since infiltrated and became too influential within the US administration, as lawyer and author Joseph Klein recently maintained in Obama Bolsters the Brotherhood.

Also refer to Tuesday’s article by Ephraim Karsh, professor emeritus of Kings College London, on White House Delusions, Islamist Realities, wherein he tells what happened after Cairo. UK readers will find relevant material by searching on ‘Cordoba foundation’ and ‘UK islam and democracy conference’ by Global MB Watch.

‘Four Myths About The Crusades’

Historian Paul Crawford’s above-titled article is the revelatory ‘jigsaw piece’ referred to above. It was first published by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute in 2011, but I found it through the Catholic News Agency. It gave me a new perspective into another tactic used by the Devil against Christianity. This scholarly paper should be recommended reading for every serious student of history; click to read in full.

The author, a specialist teacher of medieval history, opens by referring to Bill Clinton’s speech in 2001 where he, like Obama, excused the perpetrators of 9/11 by comparing them to medieval crusaders!

Crawford’s well-reasoned and illuminating essay exposes the falsehoods behind and adroitly disposes of:

Myth #1: The crusades represented an unprovoked attack by Western Christians on the Muslim world.
Myth #2: Western Christians went on crusade because their greed led them to plunder Muslims in order to get rich.
Myth #3: Crusaders were a cynical lot who did not really believe their own religious propaganda; rather, they had ulterior, materialistic motives.
Myth #4: The crusades taught Muslims to hate and attack Christians.

What opened my eyes to a nuance in the devilish scheme to avoid the fiery lake was a scenario cloaked within the facts underlying Myths #3 and #4, for which the scholar’s opening gambit to the first (#3) reads:

“This has been a very popular argument, at least from Voltaire on. It seems credible and even compelling to modern people, steeped as they are in materialist worldviews. And certainly there were cynics and hypocrites in the Middle Ages…

“In the modern period, there were two main European schools of thought about the crusades. One school, epitomized by people like Voltaire, Gibbon, and Sir Walter Scott, and in the twentieth century Sir Steven Runciman, saw the crusaders as crude, greedy, aggressive barbarians who attacked civilized, peace-loving Muslims to improve their own lot. The other school, more romantic…saw the crusades as a glorious episode in a long-standing struggle in which Christian chivalry had driven back Muslim hordes. In addition, Western imperialists began to view the crusaders as predecessors, adapting their activities in a secularized way that the original crusaders would not have recognized or found very congenial…”

Free from church controls, the Enlightenment’s intellectual and philosophical liberality nourished a growing rejection of religion, agnosticism and atheism. So a jaundiced view of Christian scripture and history developed. Consequently, Western intelligentsia put their own twist upon the Crusades.

Part 2 will look at how this diabolical spin generated Myth #4; that the Crusades taught Muslims to hate and attack Christians – and the implicit activity of the “Father of Lies” in avoiding his ultimate demise.

[‘Hand Holding Puzzle Piece’ and ‘Puzzle’ courtesy Freedigitalphotos.net]

Paws-4-thought: devilish plot to avoid the Lake of Fire

Posted on Wednesday, 11 February, 2015 by Richard Barker

“…for we are not unaware of Satan’s schemes”. (Apostle Paul’s second letter to the early church in Corinth, Greece)

It isn’t a popular topic and is one I’d rather overlook, but this has to be said in view of recent and current events. The notions behind my musings may not be new to some of my readers.

The enemy of our souls, that ancient dragon and deceiver, will eventually be thrown into a fiery lake along with his false prophet, the beast, death and Hades, plus anyone whose name isn’t recorded in the Book of Life, as is foretold in the twentieth chapter of The Apocalypse.

Afterwards, a new earth will appear and the new Jerusalem will descend from a new heaven, because the old ones have passed away. But before all that, those evil ones will have been defeated upon the return to earth of “The Word of God”, as described in part of an end-time vision Jesus gave Apostle John:

¹¹Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. ¹²His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. ¹³He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. ¹⁴And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. ¹⁵Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. ¹⁶And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written:

KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. (Rev 19:11 NKJV)

Satan’s Strategy?

It may be presumptuous of me, but it seems there’s a verse in each of the Old and New Testaments that Satan could be using to thwart God’s plan for his eventual demise.

Could his strategy be to prevent Jesus’ prophesied return? If he were to achieve that, then what’s foretold in scripture just wouldn’t be able to happen!

However, in view of the facts that Jesus defeated him at Calvary and then ascended to sit at God’s side as His only begotten Son, how could Satan achieve such a goal?

Answer: by ensuring the reasons for Jesus Christ’s promised return have been nullified; that is, no longer exist.

OT Aspect

When Jesus ascended to heaven from the Mount of Olives the gathered disciples were told by two men in white linen that He’d return in the same fashion (Acts 1:9-12). This would comply with the prophecy of the Day of the Lord given to Zechariah, which states in part…

For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem…^³Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations, as He fights in the day of battle. ⁴And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east….Thus the Lord my God will come, and all the saints with You. (Zech 14:2-5 NKJV courtesy BibleGateway.com)

Therefore, which people will be there? The descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob – the Jews, with whom God has an everlasting Covenant. So, to prevent that Satan could cause people to eradicate them by genocide; that is, by wars, massacres, pogroms, holocaust, politico-religious ethnic cleansing. Hence, Islamist regimes’ goal of wiping the Jewish state of Israel from the map. (Some mullahs want all Jews to be gathered there so they can be more easily destroyed!)

Thus, once all Jews are removed from the land there’d be no point at all in Jesus returning for a people that don’t live there!

NT Aspect

But Jesus could return to snatch away, or ‘rapture’, the Christians into heaven anyway, as Paul foresaw, for that above OT verse says He will return with all His saints. But if all the followers of Jesus are no longer fit to be His bride then they’d be useless and He wouldn’t be able to use them. Hence, the snake insinuated itself into Christendom, got churches to unwittingly promulgate false teachings and lose the Holy Spirit’s anointing and powerful inheritance of the first disciples.

Better still, the devil could scheme to destroy and wipe them out too! Then there’d be neither Jew nor Christian left for Jesus to return to earth. He might as well stay up in heaven and let Satan continue to rule the roost on earth

So, as stated in Revelation 12:17, Satan immediately began “to make war on those who obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus”.

Perhaps the easiest and most subtly unseen way of doing that is the Machiavellian strategy of ‘divide and rule’; that is, disunity. Get these ‘little anointed ones’ to fall out and dispute doctrine, let them build and rule over man-made institutions instead of being filled by the Holy Spirit and led by Him.

But even better, get them to hate and turn on one another, then wage war upon and kill fellow believers and thus disobey not only Jesus’ own command to them to love one another (John 13:34-35), but also His prayer to Father that they be one in them both (John 17:20-26) so the world would believe God had sent Him. And so Satan’s tactic is to render these foundational points of Christian discipleship null and void.

And on top of that, if Satan can get Christians to despise and turn against the Jews then he’s laughing, he’s ‘home and dry’ – we will have done his job for him!! And better still, why not make everyone else in the world hate Jews too? Even better, create a religious scripture that justifies, commands and honours killing them.

Doubtless, the Devil thinks prevention of the fulfilment of holy writ is practically guaranteed! Let’s consider some evidence for these claims:

Historical Evidence

1. The opening quotation refers to a matter on which Paul was advising church leaders. About 20 year after Jesus’ ascension a rebellious conflict grieved leaders and believers of that early assembly in Greece. They reacted severely but Paul cautioned forgiveness and comfort. Otherwise it would allow Satan to take advantage of the discord within the church (New Spirit-filled Life Bible notes). NKJV has Paul’s guidance; “…I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ, lest Satan should take advantage of us, for we are not ignorant of his devices“. (2 Cor 2:11)

2. Another devilish tactic that has persisted is mentioned by the author of the Book to the Hebrews: “Exercise foresight and be on the watch to look [after one another], to see that no one falls back from and fails to secure God’s grace (His unmerited favor and spiritual blessing), in order that no root of resentment (rancor, bitterness, or hatred) shoots forth and causes trouble and bitter torment, and the many become contaminated and defiled by it (Heb 12:15 Amplified Bible).

3. 300 years later, in post-conversion zeal, Emperor Constantine turned against Jewish opposition to Christianity. Being empowered as the official religion it dominated that empire’s territory and Sylvester, the bishop of the Catholic church in Rome, withdrew its long-standing brotherly support of churches led by the ‘desposyni’ (“the Lord’s blood-kindred”). Thus began centuries of official anti-Semitic indoctrination and persecution, the fruit of which appalled me when a child upon hearing my devout Catholic mother referring to Jews as “Christ killers”. So we can understand how the strong undercurrent of anti-Semitism in Europe enabled Satan to complete one phase of his strategy: the infamous Holocaust.

4. Yet the Bible calls Christians to live as peacemakers (Matthew 5:9), and we are to pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6).

5. 1,500 years ago along comes a new religion that invades other lands, tramples upon their culture and persecutes and kills anyone who thinks differently; including Jews and Christians. (Other than refer you to website The Religion of ‘Peace’, I’m not citing any details because those familiar with the subject will already be well informed.)

6. Britain has a mixed history of treating Jewish residents, including persecution during 12th-13th Centuries. After returning in 16th Century they integrated well into one of the most tolerant countries in Europe (Virtual Jewish Library). However, during the last century there’s been noticeable anti-Semitism in diplomatic circles, and in the military during the British mandate to govern the Palestinian territories. However, of the latter, honourable mention must be given to two distinguished British officers:

Lt. Colonel John Henry Patterson, commander of the British Army’s Zion Mule Corps at Gallipoli in 1915 and in 1918, after becoming 38th Kings Fusiliers, they served under Gen. Allenby in driving the Turks out of Palestine (source). Israeli PM Netanyahu personally presided at the re-interment of his ashes last year. Patterson had been a very close friend of his late father, as well as of Israel’s first two Prime Ministers Ben-Gurion and Eshkol. (Click image for more)
Major General Orde Charles Wingate DSO, creator of special behind-the-lines WW2 units (later became the SAS) operating in Abyssinia, North Africa and Burma, where he formed the famed ‘Chindits’. His template for this had been in training the Haganah during 1936-39, which later became the IDF (source).

7. Anti-Semitism in todays’ media and traditional churches in Britain, as in Archbishop Welby’s speech against it and silencing of anti-Zionist Stephen Sizer.

These musings soon developed further as An Insight into a Global Satanic Strategy and then into a 3-part mini-series on the biblical ‘End-game’ (click for Part 1).

“…the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.” (Rev 12:12)

[All Bible quotations courtesy of Bible Gateway.com]

God Is With Us

Posted on Saturday, 27 December, 2014 by Richard Barker

This blessed me on the morning it was published because I’d been contemplating Apostle John’s description of Jesus ‘in the Beginning’ at the opening of his first epistle and in his gospel account.

As He is...so are we

And His Name shall be called Immanuel. God is with us!

The incarnation is the single most beautiful and inviting thing to have ever happened in all of history. That the God who we kept distant, broke through our preconceived notions and obliterated our false views of Himself. We denied Him access to ourselves yet came inviting us to Himself.

He came wrapped in humanity as a faithful High Priest. In order to present us spotless, blameless and without reproach. He wrapped Himself in what was our fall in order to raise us up together where we first came from. In Him was LIFE and that LIFE was the LIGHT of men. He came running like a Father of long lost sons. Running to embrace everything unembraceable. He came to restore back the DNA of our Father. He included us in His relationship with Father and Holy Spirit. He welcomed…

View original post 442 more words

Does a spiritual yet political trend link USA to Britain?

Posted on Tuesday, 11 November, 2014 by Richard Barker

Are subtle changes in the British and American political scene afoot, and is there a spiritual link between them?

Could a positive trend relating to revival come from the ‘mother’ nation to its ‘adult child’? A trend that includes a rebellious, corrective ‘fight-back’ from Christians!

Reading a few remarks on the US mid-term election results, comments upon our fuel prices and on the Labour party leader’s about-face, a provocative notion popped into mind. Just like one of my loaves it began to rise, and my premise is submitted for what it may be worth. Now it’s out of the ‘oven’ and not half-baked, I’d value your tasting and opinion, so kindly bear with me.

Let’s bite and chew upon these facts as they emerged over weekend 7-9th November:

1. Rick Joyner’s prophetic bulletin arrived whilst I was drafting POTUS’ party pummelled and, although I’d only skimmed it, his careful consideration of the results was evident. He’s of the opinion the GOP now has a mandate from the people – but not necessarily so, because turn-out was low with Democrat supporters staying away in droves. One could, however, argue they couldn’t care less, or that their own president’s policies are so chronic his voters are against him. Moreover, the mandate comes from many who are sufficiently concerned about state of the Union to express this by their vote.

Rick suggests two main questions need answering very quickly with the new Congress:

Will Republican leaders lead with the resolution needed to fulfill their mandate?
Will President Obama now work with Congress to make the mandated changes or will he become an obstructionist President? (Do leopards change spots? RB)

He refers to Bill Clinton’s wise course of action after a mid-term rebuke as shown in his working with Republicans and their ‘Contract with America’. Incumbent Obama has the same choice but, “If he doesn’t get the message and act accordingly, it will get very ugly, and impeachment will not be off the table for the abundance of crimes committed by his Administration”. (Now where did I blog about that? – ah yes, on 4th June 2013.)

Rick comments upon voters’ main concerns as revealed in exit polls and I noted nearly half (45%) saw the American economy as an issue. In recommending how GOP should proceed, he refers to Joshua’s defeat at the battle of Ai and how he learned to prevail and concludes:

To effectively deal with the threats to our existence that are still gathering against us, it is imperative that we throw off the extreme devotion to political correctness that has blinded us from seeing or confronting some of the biggest threats…

After elections that seemed to go in our favor, Christians and conservatives have often relaxed. Some would just go back to sleep. If that happens now, it can prove fatal…

“This election was a great victory, but it is just the beginning of getting America back on course. This is no time to let up, and this is no time to become arrogant.

[FYI: Rick Joyner is a founder of ‘a grassroots movement to unite, mobilize, equip, and activate Christians to be the salt and light they are called to be by engaging in the great issues of our time from a sound biblical worldview’ known as The Oak Initiative. Its rise was rapid across all 50 states and over 50 nations worldwide, as well as attracting over 300 Christian leaders.]

2. Friday’s Eye View From The White House from William Koenig connected right into Rick’s remarks about Clinton. He opens from his personal, frontline coverage with header; Defiant Obama Completely Misses the Point of His Political Party’s Shellacking (transl: ‘thrashing’)

I was at President Obama’s White House press conference Wednesday afternoon. As I listened to him explain what happened in the 2014 mid-term election, I thought, “Does he really not understand that this election was a shellacking about him and his failed agenda? Is he that far removed from reality or in total denial?” This was one of the largest political defeats in modern election history at all levels of government, both national and state.

But Obama refuses to take responsibility despite the fact that his political party did not invite him to do any national or local political campaigning, which he said he loves to do…

As Obama’s yet to learn from the 2010 fiasco, as in this from BBC on ‘shellacking’, the chances of his now changing attitude seem negligible!

Bill’s review continues with quotations from leading left- and right-wing journalists who hammer Obama’s denial and defiance of sweeping GOP gains in the Senate, House and governorships. He also quotes National Review’s article on the Democrats in States Legislature sinking to levels only known prior to the Great Depression!!

3. The most surprising element of Bill Koenig’s ‘Eye View’ is on Christians’ decisive role in the Democrats’ demise! Political involvement by churches in the US is regarded by Brits as an American peculiarity, probably because of our centuries of politico-religious conflicts and state-established Anglican church presided over by the monarch. Yet we need to be aware and appreciate what’s happened…

The Faith & Foundation Coalition report upon a post-election survey showing, ‘Self-Identified Conservative Christians Comprised Record Share of the Electorate, Backed GOP Candidates by 8 to 1 Margin’. Bill quotes FFC founder Ralph Reed,

Their share of the electorate exceeded that of the African-American vote, Hispanic vote, and union vote combined. Religious conservative voters and the issues they care about are here to stay. They will be equally vital in 2016. Politicians of both parties ignore this constituency at their peril.

It’s instructive to note the Christian share of the vote was almost 1 in 3 and that those who identified themselves as believers voted as follows:

conservative – 82%:12% GOP:Dem (approx 52.4% GOP vote-share)
evangelical – 82%:18% GOP:Dem (constitute 23% electorate)
Catholic – 70%:30% GOP:Dem (constitute 9% electorate)

4. On Saturday I read about the reasons UK motorists are being ripped off and this cast doubt on claims about the state of the US economy being a major factor in the election results.

In his Business Comment, Allister Heath explains horrendous tax rates are the real reason why petrol is still so expensive and that international oil prices are directly connected to the petro-dollar. This is only one reason why falling prices are not quickly reflected in pump prices. A drop in price can be cancelled out by weak value of sterling against US dollar, as is happening today. “The value of the pound has slumped to a 14-month low against the dollar, partly as a result of strong employment figures from the US.”

Costs at the pump are hiked up by fuel duty and value-added tax totalling 63.4% of retail price. [At 1.60 £/$, petrol at just under £1.25/litre = $2.00. So 1 gallon here costs £5.68 = $9.10 : that is, $7.60/gallon (US).]

So, I thought this commentator’s remark ran contrary to US exit-poll reasons. Of course what really counts is voters’ personal perception and experience of economic realities. It is another thing for economists to look at leading indicators showing the US economy is now strengthening (eg. Guardian’s Trevor Williams, Calm down financial markets; the message on UK and US growth is good).

5. Then in the same paper I espied an op-ed’s strap-line ‘Sooner or later a line has to be drawn – and anti-Semitism is surely a good place to start’. Dan Hodges’ Politics has become detached from morality opens on Tory strategists’ ideas to counter UKIP’s poaching conservative voters. Apparently, UKIP Leader Farage did a deal with a notorious extremist leader of a far-right Polish party who admires Hitler and denies his involvement in the Holocaust. But the author changes tack, as follows…

After the week’s reports of challenges to Ed Miliband’s leadership of the Labour party, it is noteworthy that Dan writes, “This week a voice was raised against anti-Semitism. It was that of Ed Milibrand…on his Facebook page (he said) ‘We need a zero-tolerance approach to anti-Semitism in the UK and reaffirm our revulsion to it in all its forms’…”

Not so laudable as it seems, because its belies his 3-line whip preventing Labour MPs’ free vote in the motion favouring a Palestinian state (see MPs ignore Koranic scholar’s warning). Miliband’s ardent support for Palestinian goals seems mutually exclusive to any concerns over anti-Semitism and, by inference over anti-Israel sentiment.

Dan exposes the hypocrisy of Milband’s insistence upon a ‘zero-approach’:

A clear and principled statement. Except, it wasn’t a clear and principled statement, but a statement born of political calculation.

A week earlier, Miliband had received a high-profile rebuke from Labour supporter Maureen Lipman. “Just when the anti-Semitism in France, Denmark, Norway, Hungary is mounting savagely, just when our cemeteries and synagogues and shops are once again under threat”, she wrote in Standpoint magazine, “in steps Mr Miliband to demand that the government recognise the state of Palestine”.

Lipman’s comments, in particular her concern about the Labour leader’s silence over anti-Semitic attacks, were quickly echoed by other senior members of the Jewish community.

So 24 hours later that silence was suddenly broken. Reporters at the Jewish Chronicle and Jewish News were phoned with quotes condemning a recent attack on Luciana Berger, the Jewish Labour MP. And a couple of days later, Miliband’s Facebook article appeared.

H O L D O N – wot woz zat?

Suddenly, I sense an invisible jigsaw again taking shape…

A corrective trend?

I’d closed my previous post by quoting Apostle Paul on the futility of our mocking God’s ways and precepts, as in the earliest document of the New Testament. Also, I related it to the acceleration in applying that law as recently taught by Neville Johnson.

So now I’m suddenly struck, not by the Labour’s leader’s expedient about-turn, but by the fact of his leadership being challenged that week – see How Labour rebels turned on their leader. This isn’t at all surprising as a consequence of the party’s deep decline in Scotland.

But there may be another dimension to all this…a provocative notion springs to mind: I’m struck by the possibility he may be reaping what he’s sown against Israel.

Now, where did I note a similar party political upheaval before? Answer: Alex Salmond and his failed personal ambition to persuade Scotland to vote for leaving the UK! As a result, he stood down from leadership of the Scottish Nationalist Party.

Moreover, in blogging on Salmond’s possible Islamist stance, I noted he’s vociferously anti-Israel. Perhaps the Lord ensured he reaped his reward for what he’d sown against His people? And perhaps the most appropriate time was an election/referendum?

After the ground was shaken from under the Scottish First Minister, the notion popped into mind that this may the reason it’s starting to shake under Ed Miliband’s feet too?

And it’s happened in the very same week for POTUS and the Democrats! Obama mocked the Lord God throughout his tenure, has been against Israel and displays personal animosity towards its Prime Minister (click image to read why). As the renowned investigative journalist Daniel Greenfield now blogs at ‘Sultan Knish’, The Democratic Party’s Civil War is Here.

Also, lest we forget, two Christian leaders prophesied about Benjamin Netanyahu being elected into office for more than a single term, one as far back as 1980 (as told here). Therefore, he is the Lord’s man for this time in Israel’s history.

To summarise:

the above political leaders have made declarations and decisions in varying measure inimical to the well-being of the Jewish people and Israel and have then come a cropper. It’s quite possible the Lord is now taking them to task for that.

That this Galatians 6:7-8 action has started in the UK before the USA, where the sowing of defective seed has been extensive, may be related to the fulfilment of prophecies for the British Isles and what the Lord is already doing here.

That is, it’s necessary to correct UK’s ungodly situation first – or because the spiritual atmosphere is opening – in order for the harvest to ripen as people awaken to the Lord.

Whereas in the States, an enormous spiritual schism had opened up across the nation (as seen by Chuck Pierce in 2008) which will need extensive repair with repentance, or face an increase of the judgement that’s already come upon it. Comparatively, the USA may therefore be further down the line for revival than the UK yet be blessed by what he Lord will do here.

Hence, the mid-term elections and the possible consequential actions could be a vital corrective action for the sake of America’s spiritual well-being. Perhaps that trend has already started here in the UK and will come to affect the USA too?

That concept was voiced in March by Charles Shamp about the British Isles,

“Whether we are discussing the First and Second Great Awakenings…God has always seemed to release the fresh movement of the Holy Spirit on these Islands that has gone on to affect the entire earth.

“My love for Church history and the moves of the Spirit caused me to recognize that what took place within these nations directly affected America and the move of the Spirit in my nation.

“Although we are an ocean away, we are connected in the realm of the Spirit, and as the song of Heaven would arise over the UK, it would carry all the way to the shores of America and revival would begin to come forth in these United States….” (read full word here)

[Hand Pressing News Icon by Watcharakun and Puzzle in Sky by Idea Go are courtesy of Freedigitalphotos.net]

What have Paul Keith’s video and Mary Magdalene got in common?

Posted on Tuesday, 4 November, 2014 by Richard Barker

To God alone be the glory for this true story…

Join me as I meander along my musings and, as we wend our way, watch out for.:

a modern movie and its location
a medieval English abbey
a lost Renaissance painting
a legendary epic voyage
the earliest Christian letter
a new appreciation of prayer.

Except for the first, the rest took me by surprise the weekend before last. As pieces of an ‘invisible jigsaw’ they’d fallen into view like fresh snow.

Our long weekends off from weekday busy-ness start on Fridays, and a couple of Fridays ago we enjoyed strolling around Chichester city centre in warm sunshine. Eventide, we relaxed by catching up on an iPlayer movie recommended by our eldest daughter…

‘THE WAY’

This movie written and directed by Emilio Estevez is most engrossing and stars Martin Sheen (aka ‘West Wing’s US President Bartlett) as an irascible American doctor, Tom. He goes to southern France after losing his son (Emilio Estevez) who had an accidental death after having set out on “The Way of St. James” (see map).

Rather than returning to the States, Tom wants to honour his son by completing the journey on his behalf. But he doesn’t expect the profound impact this trip has on him. The Way tells the story of his near-500 miles hike to Santiago de Compostela in north-western Spain.

The route is one of many to one of the oldest of pilgrimages sites in Europe. I recalled learning about its connection with Reading Abbey upon researching the abbey’s history Founded in 1121 by king Henry I, this English abbey was also one starting place for the Camino de Santiago, and is reputed to have the remains of St James’ hand as a relic. (My researches began in my office overlooking the ruins of the abbey’s mill, and are as copied here.)

So this movie had a personal, albeit indirect, relevance – but more was to come on the ‘morrow…

LOST PAINTING FOUND

The very next morning I found buried inside Saturday’s paper some interesting facts about a ‘centuries-old art history mystery’ –

Caravaggio’s original ‘Mary Magdalene in Ecstasy’ has been discovered in a private European collection, the world’s leading expert on the Renaissance master has claimed.

The Telegraph: photo credit La Repubblica

Although the 1606 painting has been copied several times, historian Mina Gregori says the original has finally been found. The Telegraph’s Andrea Vogt says this expert won’t reveal which country it is in but can confirm that when she first saw the 100 by 90cm oil on canvas in the owners’ home, she had no doubt. Andrea reports, Gregori called the find a “marvellous addition” to the art world. The 80-year-old scholar and authenticator said seeing the original with her own eyes was a career highlight: “I think after all these years, I deserved it”.

This article rang a bell deep in long-forgotten memories of my pre-Christian interests because:

The painting refers to the legend in which Mary, living as a hermit in a cave in southern France near Aix-en-Provence after Christ’s death, was overcome seven times a day by “the delightful harmonies of the celestial choirs”.

That reference, especially about an ecstatic trance, would connect with remarks I was yet to hear on the third day, and thus start seeing a part of this ‘invisible puzzle’. But we should first consider the importance of this biblical person.

Mary Magdalene was the first to see Jesus alive after his burial in the garden tomb and so many, including Pope Benedict, regard her as an “Apostle to the Apostles”. She was the sister of Martha and Lazarus, whom Jesus brought back from the dead and was to later become Bishop of Cyprus. This family are reputed to have been of royal blood and owned estates in and around Jerusalem as well as at Magdala near the Sea of Galilee, where the younger sister Mary lived and is said to have fallen into a sinful life. Jesus is thought to have frequented one or other of their premises whilst travelling with dozens of disciples.

This blessed woman became deeply devoted to Jesus after deliverance – no wonder she later sat wrapt in His teaching instead of helping her sister. On that need Jesus remarked, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:38-42 emphasis added).

Hence, Mary Magdalene is patron of contemplatives and Caravaggio’s painting reflects an outcome of her desire and her Master’s promise.

(Thank you to ‘Joe Catholic’ for also pointing out Mary is a model for penitent sinners. Also see this informative rebuttal of modern Catholic biblical scholarship.)

Next, I dived into my library and dug out a book bought in 1971 during my investigations into early Church history.:

THE COMING OF THE SAINTS

This book by John Taylor, first published in 1906, is replete with source references and combines history and legend to portray the earliest Christian missions into western Europe (Spain, France and Britain). It helped me – a non-believer – learn about the early church’s transmission of Jesus’ original teachings. In my story, I explained my desire to find out why churches were not doing what Jesus had done, as promised in John 14:12, as well as how much of His teaching had been lost.

The editor of this book’s 1967 reprint answers complaints about mixing written records and local legend, saying the book shows they substantiate one another and dovetail together. “Of particular interest are the references culled from churches founded by the saints who were companions of our Lord during His ministry”, maintains Gladys Taylor.

She writes her namesake gathered evidence from a pilgrimage made to the French churches, and other countries, and thus produced impressive proof of their antiquity.

From top: grotto cave of St Mary Magdalene; church of Les Saintes Maries; crypt of St Martha at Tarascon (J Taylor 1901)

One chapter summarises the Life of St Mary Magdalene complied by Rabanus Maurus (776-856 AD) – a manuscript copy of which is lodged in Magdalen College Library, Oxford. In his closing years he was Archbishop of Mayence (Mainz, Germany).

First however, I needed to re-remind myself of the book’s main thesis. Its first chapters examine the known historical events, and those behind the scenes, at the close of and after Jesus’ life. Taylor thus adds detail to scripture’s narrative and he posits a list of disciples additional to the apostles, deacons and the family of Jesus. In addition to considering the ‘home-base’ of Capernaum, he lists names of followers from the house on Mont Zion and the city of Jerusalem, and towns of Bethany, Emmaus and Jericho.

Then Taylor covers some early missionary journeys not covered in Acts of the Apostles, noting Dr Luke’s historic account does not refer to the evangelical mission in Sardinia and Spain of John’s brother James. The only reference to James after Pentecost is his death at the hands of Herod in Jerusalem in 44 AD (Acts 12:2). His remains are said to have ended up centuries later back in Santiago de Compostela. Hence, pilgrimages to his shrine, as mentioned above.

Persecution following Apostle James’ martyrdom led to the dispersal of many disciples from Jerusalem. (This was about 10 years after that led by Saul of Tarsus.) Tradition of Provence, southern France, has a number of them being bundled into a boat without oars or sails somewhere near Mount Carmel and set adrift. They’re reputed to have been Lazarus, Joseph of Aramathea, Maximin (leader of disciples after the apostles, and friend committed to the care of the Magdalene) as well as a favoured four: Martha and Mary, Mary wife of Cleopas and a third Mary (Salome) and others.

However, I was interested in checking John Taylor’s reference to the correct James at Jerusalem. Was it John’s brother, or Jesus’ brother James who later led the Jerusalem church and wrote a brief epistle. It is James’ historic ruling at the first Church council that enabled non-Jews to associate with the Church without having to comply with the Mosaic laws their Jewish brethren had before coming to Christ.

So to clarify, I wasn’t so interested in Mary Magdalene as wanting to check out what Paul wrote to the Galatian churches about his post-conversion history. I recalled mention of church leaders he met when in Jerusalem, as well as Luke’s account of those meetings (Acts 15)

Written circa 50 AD Paul’s letter is the first and therefore the oldest, canonical Christian document and earlier than the Gospels. Therein Paul tells what he did, where he went and how he learned the Gospel of Jesus by direct, personal revelation; that is, not from any original disciple or apostle:

¹³For you have heard of my former conduct in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it….¹⁵But when it pleased God…¹⁶to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood,¹⁷nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went to Arabia, and returned again to Damascus. ¹⁸Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and remained with him fifteen days. ¹⁹But I saw none of the other apostles except James, the Lord’s brother. ²⁰(Now concerning the things which I write to you, indeed, before God, I do not lie.) ²¹Afterward I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. ²²And I was unknown by face to the churches of Judea which were in Christ. ²³But they were hearing only, “He who formerly persecuted us now preaches the faith which he once tried to destroy.” ²⁴And they glorified God in me.

Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and also took Titus with me. ²And I went up by revelation, and communicated to them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to those who were of reputation, lest by any means I might run, or had run, in vain. (Emphases added)

SUNDAY VIDEO SESSION

The next day, Sunday, we wanted more teaching and chose to watch the Paul Keith Davis and James Levesque video discussion I’d blogged about.

In arguing for the supra-natural abilities and dimension required to bring in the harvest that meets the heart of God, “as it is defined in scripture”, Paul Keith maintains this is for those who walk with God in realms of glory and demonstrate the supra-natural. He defines and explains this relating it to Jesus’ own ability (from 27:00 on video).

Then he tells of his mis-perception of Jesus’ prayer life (at 30:35) and surmising what it had been like after a long day ministering and teaching and travelling on foot – and then go pray and spend hours in prayer…thinking,

“…what a disciplined life!” says Paul Keith.

“No, you totally misunderstood My prayer life!” the Lord said.

“He said, “My prayer life was My reward!”

“The Lord’s been showing me how, at the end of the day, after He did everything He was supposed to do, He went out into the wilderness and He was released into the Presence of the Father!

“Just think about that for a minute…after a hard day could you go pray 5 hours…? No? Think of it as this:

“James, go spend 5 hours standing before the throne of God, go spend 5 hours in the Presence of your Father – let Him download on you, let Him refresh you, restore you.

“That’s why Jesus could pray all night! He lived under an open heaven and when He went to pray – as soon as He quieted His flesh – He was standing in the Presence of His Father, standing before the throne of God, getting refreshed and learning what the Father wanted to reveal.”

An exceptionally instructional and fascinating teaching. At 41:30 he considers this was how apostle Paul spent lengthy periods with the Lord before he ever met any disciples and apostles and moved into any ministry.

Consequently, having considered that the day before I was ready for what he said!

CONCLUSION

This insight on Jesus’ prayer life is the common denominator between the discussion on video and Mary Magdalene, who spent lengthy periods immersed in God, as had Jesus.

Paul Keith’s insight doesn’t detract from but enhances the model prayer Jesus gave his disciples, as recorded in Matthew 6:5-15. And it magnifies Jesus’ personal prayer to our Father in John 17. It’s no wonder this Mary went so deep yet so high in contemplative ecstasy – will we?

(Remember to, “First seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness…” – Matt 6:33).

Furthermore, from apostle Paul’s explanation this kind of intimacy was the norm in the earliest years of “The Way”, as the fellowship was known before the term “Christian” was coined at Antioch. (See Acts chapters 18-24, especially vv 24:18 and 22.)

Also, Paul Keith later refers to the event on the road to Emmaus, about which and without any prior intention I’d inserted a remark just before publishing the latest blog before that weekend!

Therefore, that weekend is yet another example of ‘God-incidence’ (footnote refers).

By the way!

A couple of days later upon opening up my Bible to find where I’d got to, I found at the second turn the beginning of Luke chapter 8 staring up at me. There from the left-hand column just beside the volume’s spine I just couldn’t miss these words:

Now it came to pass, afterward, that He went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with Him, ²and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities — Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons, ³and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for Him from their substance.

Later, upon reviewing and adjusting the draft of this piece, I decided to refer to the first name for the group of believers as followers of the way of Jesus Christ; the way of life He taught and demonstrated as “The Way, The Truth and The Life”.

Then when I’d done and re-read the draft I realised I’d gone FULL circle – starting with the movie ‘The Way’ I’d ended up by including scriptures on ‘The Way of Jesus’ !!

Furthermore, an email arrived about that time which opens as follows.:

Truth, we find, is stranger than fiction. Some things that happen to us when in relationship with Christ no writer could make up. And I am amazed continually at what our God does in my life and in this world…(continue here)

Could the Lord be getting our attention to pray the way He does?

+ + + + + + + + + + + +

Footnotes:

Image: Flying puzzles by Nokhoog Buchachon, courtesy of Freedigitalphotos.com

Jesus & Mary fable:

My pre-Christian activities made me well aware of stories around Le Tresor Maudit, the cursed treasure of the Knights Templars, said to have been hidden for centuries but discovered by a parish priest. He spent a fortune on re-decorating a church in Rennes-le-Chateau and building a tower, both of which were dedicated to St Mary Magdalene.

Readers may know of it through bestselling The Da Vinci Code, which is based on serious research published in 1980s as The Holy Blood and The Holy Grail. This source’s authors referred to fables about Jesus and Mary’s relationship, which I’m reliably told were then used as a deliberate advertising ploy for marketing purposes.

Consequently, that earlier book became a bestseller. The businessman who gave me The Invisible Hand (see Welcome) sold mail-order books and he told me his own copywriter had worked with HBHG authors and so he knew about its publisher’s sales slant.

Years later, I learned of another reference work by an expert on royal genealogy who claimed the fables were correct. But his analysis of scripture was unreliable, as I could demonstrate in his misquoting The Secret Gospel of Mark. Therefore, how could his claims hold water? (Details on this blog at The Magdalene Legacy – a Critique.)

God-incidence:

I refer to coincidences that are more than serendipity (happy, fortuitous chance events) as ‘God-incidences’, for they seem to have been arranged with a clear purpose in mind. We may not always know the reason but there’s a distinct thread connecting two or more events that are closely related in time: an “aha” moment

Frequently I’m amazed by those which involve scripture and occur one day after another and sometimes even 3 or 4 consecutive days, and always from different sources. I liken God-incidence to completing a jigsaw puzzle and it seems the Lord is stressing the importance or relevance of something. So they get my full attention, as happened in the above account. (See main menu for fuller exposition.)

Vision of a lion – the four faces of God

Posted on Monday, 8 September, 2014 by Richard Barker

To continue Paws 4 Thought on Ffald-y-Brenin about the frightening vision of a lion and as promised at the close of ‘Nuggets’.:

To recap briefly, let me set the scene…

Ffald-y-Brenin

In his blogspot of 2011 David Pike writes about the 1,500 year Christian history of the mountain upon a shoulder of which Ffald-y-Brenin nestles.:

“I find it very interesting that the place God chose as the location for the centre is on the side of Carn Ingli – the Hill of the Angels. It was so named because it was where 6th century Celtic saint Brynach who came from Ireland and settled in this area used regularly to ascend the mountain and spend time there communing with God. The people of the local community he served were clearly aware that his times of fellowship with God were special and supernatural times, and so the place got its name.”

“Roy and Daphne [the centre’s managers] are aware of this connection, and draw inspiration from the way the Celtic saints served their communities out of a deep and personal communion with God in which a regular rhythm of prayer is a key feature.

“In the meanwhile, the level of Holy Spirit activity at Ffald-y-Brenin has increased in the last months, especially after a pastor from Africa visited the centre to come and pray for God’s blessing on his nation. After some time alone in the chapel, he came to see Roy, looking somewhat startled and wide-eyed. He wanted to know for how long there had been a lion in the chapel.

“A lion had appeared while he was praying, and had stood on the natural rock that is the centre-piece of the chapel, actually part of the mountain on the side of which the centre is built. It had faced in each of the four directions of the points of the compass, and roared in each direction. The man was shaken to his roots! Since then [2011] there has apparently been an intensification and a deepening of the effect of the power of God in Ffald-y-Brenin.”

Reading that whilst blogging upon return home, I noted his closing reference and used it as my closure to my account of the Christian retreat centre:

“There’s a lion’s roar going out of Pembrokeshire right now. I feel it will be heard to the ends of the earth, in all four directions in the coming days.”

In doing so, I noted his reference to ‘all four directions’ also relates to the worship at last month’s ‘Days of Wonder’ gathering in Cardiff.

There, the worship band declared the holy name of the LORD in its original Hebrew and done as practised by the priest in the holy of holies in the Temple. Each consonant of His Name, as revealed to Moses (in King James’ English, “Yehovah” – Exodus 6:3), was declared in turn whilst facing each of the cardinal points of north, east, south and west.

The Four Faces of God

God is One, yet Three in One, and reveals Himself in four main aspects, as John Bickersteth & Timothy Pain write in The Four Faces of God (Kingsway Publications, 1992).

The authors explain why God is represented by four creatures, four colours, four offices and four offerings in the Old Testament; why we celebrate Christmas one way when the Bible presents it in four; why there are four different Gospels, each with their traditional emblem.

They explain that, in the Gospels, “Matthew wants his readers to obey the king; Mark hopes his readers will allow His servant to serve them; Luke asks his readers to follow the perfect man; John writes about life, light, love, truth and glory so that his readers will love and believe in God’s glorious, light-bearing, life-bringing Son.”

The grounds for these scriptural concepts were enthusiastically taught by one of the elders at Tilehurst Free Church (Baptist), where I found the Lord had put me after He saved me. When an anti-Christian I’d vowed, “I wouldn’t touch Baptists with a barge pole, ‘cos they’re such Biblical bigots”. But I didn’t know God has a huge sense of humour and, as related in my story, was stunned to find myself at a Billy Graham event in 1989.

A few weeks later I rejected the Gospel but nearly died that night. After being personally rescued by Jesus himself, I decided to attend the church but couldn’t find out what sort they were. Unbeknown to me they were going through a crisis of whether or not to allow the charismatic gifts. Some went returned to the parent church but the ministers at TFC taught the Bible solidly and learned about and equipped members in using Holy Spirit’s giftings. So, it was as Smith Wigglesworth had foreseen – the proper balance of Word and Spirit in church. I was in the right place at the right time Thank you Lord.

I’m not going into the book in any depth, just providing an overview to reinforce my main point. After considering the Gospel writers different emphases upon Jesus’ mission, the authors look at the four-fold Jesus, the four-fold Gospel, four-fold discipleship, four-fold prayer.

Old Testament ‘fore-shadowings’ are considered in-depth, first by means of the names God gave to describe His person, the main ones being:

Yahweh Sabaoth – ‘LORD of Hosts’

El Elyon – ‘God the Most High’

El Shaddai – ‘The Almighty’

El Qodosh – ‘The Holy One of Israel’.

After elaborating upon his mentor’s work, Pain considers Israel’s four-fold Messiah – “your God, your king, My Servant and the man”. Then, as in Isaiah – “Wonderful Counsellor”, “Mighty God”, “Eternal Father” and “Prince of Peace”.

They then consider Ezekiel’s vision of the four living creatures ‘of human form but the sight of them was like the glory of God’! These were later recorded in the revelation that came to Apostle John, but for 2nd and 3rd century theologians, Ezekiel’s vision is ‘the clinching and most important four-fold fore-shadowing of the four Gospels‘.

Those authors, however, don’t refer to what Ian Clayton elaborates upon the faces of God, eg. as in Genesis 17:1

And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I [am] the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. (KJV)

The original Hebrew of Gen 17:1 reads as follows (emphases added):

And he-is-becoming Abram son-of ninety and nine years and he is appearing Yahweh to Abram and he-is-saying to him, I El Who-Suffices walk-you! to faces-of me and become-you! flawless…

Apparently when the high priest declared the name of Yahweh as the ‘Tetragrammaton’ or four Hebrew consonants – ‘Yod’, ‘Heh’, ‘Vav’, ‘Heh’ – they not only turned towards all four cardinal points and sang out each consonant, but also imagined one of those faces of God in turn being before them.

You cannot imagine the effect of this sound during our worship. No wonder we went heaven bound ‘into orbit’ at that gathering in Cardiff…!!!

According to Ezekiel’s vision, the four living creatures each have faces of a man, lion, eagle and bull. It’s thought they’re like that because, being constantly before Him, they reflect all the Lord’s facial characteristics.

Hence, my amazement at learning about the African pastors’ vision at Ffald-y-Brenin of a lion roaring to each cardinal point.

Later, I will write how the Almighty’s personally descriptive name directly reveals Jesus’ fore-ordained sacrifice on the cross.

A closing thought: the cross of Calvary is also four-directional. like compass points!

Footnotes:

See Vision of Glory Firestorm and Four Faces of God, and Why I’m Writing for information on the personal revelance of the eagle.

In notes accompanying his painting Four Living Creatures, renowned prophetic artist James Nesbit states,

We have had the privilege of being in countless worship gatherings where we have joined with the voices of the four living creatures and twenty-four elders for hours on end…

(To read more click image to enlarge, and here to access James Nesbit gallery)

Top/closing images credit: Discerning the Times – the Return of the King is Near – ‘African Lion Roaring’ credit: Best stock pictures – ‘Preparing for the Roar’ credit: At The Father’s Feet

Paws-4-thought: on revival and ‘down under’

Posted on Monday, 8 September, 2014 by Richard Barker

A country at the far side of the world has quietly made its presence known whilst I blogged about our regenerating trip to Wales.

In Prophecy of a roller-coaster ride… I included remarks by Justin Abraham,

“Just back from a ballistic incredible time in OZ and NZ. Things are heating up! We are seeing early signs of the great turning of the tide everywhere.”

Events organised by Justin in Cardiff and by our church outside Guildford both featured New Zealander Ian Clayton.

Then, after finishing my last post on Wales by hinting at a connection between FFald-y-Brenin and ‘Days of Wonder’, a highly pertinent item pops into my mail – The Return of The King! Why pertinent? It refers in-depth to the Lion of Judah!

And where’s that come from? New Zealand.

Are these facts and their timing just coincidental? Has my talent for noticing possible connections made an unwarranted supposition? Or maybe, just maybe, there may be some truth in my surmising:

could New Zealand be the Land of ‘New Zeal‘ ?

It so happens that the above was drafted before going offline for long weekend. Now this morning, the lady who blogged about the roller-coaster writes these fascinating thoughts:

I think the ‘close at hand’ is even closer at hand now. This last month things have been shifting and being set up for an outpouring in several areas. It’s not just one. I see a field planted with several different vegetables. They may not all be harvested at the exact same time but I see growth in various stages. Many areas coming to fruition in succession.

Thank you my brothers and sisters, may you be mightily blessed.

[Image of New Zealand map on flag by Taesmileland, courtesy of Freedigitalphotos.net]

Paws-4-thought: Ffald-y-Brenin and a prophetic promise

Posted on Wednesday, 20 August, 2014 by Richard Barker

Let’s linger in south-west Wales before continuing on our journey to tell about the Days of Wonder gathering in Cardiff. Would you spend some moments to muse with me over a few things?

Offered a refreshing cup of tea upon arrival at the Newport Links hotel, Nina took it to seats looking down to the beach. There, she met a fellow guest who, it so happened, had returned for dinner from Ffald-y-Brenin. Clearly a ‘divine appointment’, and Jane and Nina chatted away as only those who’ve got an exceptionally special person in common can do.

The clean atmosphere of the Newport area plus its fascinating house of prayer at Ffald-y-Brenin made a deep impact which still affects us two weeks later, even though we were visiting friends and not participating in its daily prayer rhythm. Although my 2013 post on Revival in Wales and the Outpouring in Cwmbran briefly referred to this place, I hadn’t done any background reading whatsoever prior to our trip.

Years ago I wrote a paper for Reading churches on its Abbey’s history and the town’s Viking period and battles in 870s AD with the future king Alfred the Great. So, I was also aware of the history of the ancient British Celtic Church, especially in its Northumbrian king Oswald’s treaties in 630s AD at Dorchester-on-Thames with heathen Mercian king Cynegils and the Roman Catholic missionary Birinus. Earlier studies had taken me into the history of the early British church. (For example, 6th century historian Gildas posits the Gospel’s arrival in the later years of Tiberius Caesar’s reign, circa 40 AD. In AD 177 Eleutherius of Rome wrote to king Lucius in answering how to conduct himself as a Christian in the kingdom of Britain.) However, all that past information was deeply submerged in the recesses of my mind.

I came to South Wales in blissful ignorance to enjoy a refreshing short holiday.

So, what I blogged earlier in the 2nd part of my ‘regenerating week in Wales’ was a very basic personal impression. However, as I completed it I realised some details would help readers who are interested in the retreat. So I copied in extracts from the Trust’s website. Also, just after publishing it I got a nudge to search on Google and immediately noticed a blog I’d quoted previously on Wales in the historically erudite Diebach-welldigger.

Therefore, I scanned David Edward Pike’s personal account of The Grace Outpouring and quoted his closing remarks on a roaring lion – without having read it in full.

Imagine my surprise upon doing so at leisure later. Here are details not only about the origins of Ffald-y-Brenin but also on 6th century Celtic saint Brynach’s time spent on the mountain its built upon. Which is why that place is named ‘The Hill of Angels’.

Over the mountain road from Ffald-y-Brenin to Fishguard we stopped for lunch up on the col and walked up to the tor shown above, from which the top of Carn Ingli may be seen in the distance. It was a good place from which to speak out blessings to family and everyone in the area.

Diebach’s account of the retreat centre refers to a couple of supernatural events I wish to draw your attention to. One is on the solitary cross and its origin.

The other event is the lion that appeared to a pastor from Africa in the beehive chapel and the reference to the four points of the compass. I wish to refer to the significance of that when blogging about the Days of Wonder gathering in Cardiff. Peculiar as it may seem to those who have no grid for the supernatural, I can attest that a huge lion was seen to walk through our local church. Only when a visitor reported having seen it did I know I wasn’t imagining it!

Also for those who wish to know more, I recommend a fellow reader’s travelogue on his St David’s to Leominster Prayer Walk. This is apposite to Pembrokeshire as well as in connection with my remarks in A spiritual slant to the Olympic torch’s route, viz:

I was intrigued to learn from a fellow reader of an encouraging encounter with some Welsh Christians during his hike from Newport, Wales to the Lizard in Cornwall . This group had been in contact with people involved in new age etc and had been told “such groups were aware something was going on in the spiritual realm”!!

Mark’s call to the prayer walk was directly connected to the London 2012 Olympics, which are related to the Queen’s Silver Jubilee about which I wrote several posts on the prophetic significance of the Jubilee Bells.

Yet of particular interest is his reference to his key prayer theme on the walk as being confirmed by the restoration of St David’s shrine in the very year of his walk, AND this is identical to the ‘unexpected hint’ from Matt 19:28 referred to in part 1 of our journey. Also, Mark writes that the statue of David has a dove by his shoulder and his holding a Bible, which signifies the combined foundation of the Word and the Holy Spirit, which is also the message of Smith Wigglesworth’s prophetic vision.

About a prophetic promise

Of all the hundreds of prophetic words I’ve blogged about, only one has resulted in a hostile response and slanderous slur upon my character. It relates to the report from Roger of what happened during one of the prayer times at Ffald-y-Brenin when it was considered that Jesus is “calling the Anglican church out of Lazarus’ cave”.

I had intellectual reservations yet it seemed right in my spirit, and it’s timing fell in with a related vision that had come to an Anglican Ordinand on retreat with several others. So I reported it, but a visitor to this blog challenged it. Now there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that and I respect everyone’s opinion and gave it serious consideration.

Yet my explanation was rejected and the report scorned by that bibliolater; ie. someone who thinks their interpretation and application of scripture is sacrosanct. His reference to what Jesus said at Matthew 24 and assumption it means me, indicates his grasp of scripture is not as sound as it could be. That is, he uses eisegesis not exegesis. That is, there’s an incorrect inference because the plain meaning isn’t taken into context either then or as applied to now. [Thank you The Bishop Dr. for the excellent explanation, What’s with those “Gesis” brothers?]

This critic doesn’t follow Jesus’ instruction about not judging and condemning another. In my opinion it’s wiser to let the Accuser of the brethren do its own dirty work – and if what I reported is actually a work of the Holy Spirit, that soul has possibly committed an unforgiveable sin.

Therefore, I can only conclude satan is very unhappy with this claim about the Anglican Church. Consequently, that prophetic promise on ‘Lazarus cave’ may well be from the Holy Spirit. Having now been to Ffald-y-Brenin and sensed the brooding presence of the Holy Spirit there, I am even more confident of the validity of what Roger shared on revival within England’s established church.

What’s more – this isn’t the first instance of our adversary’s use of heresy hunters over revival in Wales, as noted in this post about Chuck Pierce’s prophetic word on Wales.

A validation?

What may we expect for evidence that the Anglicans are ‘reviving’ or coming out of a tomb, like Lazarus when Jesus called him forth?

Perhaps one noticeable change would be the reversal of centuries of anti-Semitism practised for centuries by the traditional, established churches – and as promulgated by ‘replacement theology’ (the false idea that God no longer has any covenant with the Jews because the new one instituted by Jesus Christ has superseded it).

So let’s take serious note of remarks by leading blogger, His Grace Cranmer. In Welby: “Israel has the same legitimate rights to peace and security as any other state“, he writes,

When did you last hear an Anglican bishop, let alone the Archbishop of Canterbury, support Israel’s historic and legal rights? When did you least hear a bishop of the Church of England advocate militarised self-defence as the only rational path to peace when confronted by murderous Jew-haters who conceal their bombs below hospitals, their rockets in clinics, and their guns and grenades in schools and mosques?

In drawing Anglicans toward a better understanding of His work with the Jews – exactly as Jesus’ friend Lazarus would have well known – then perhaps the Lord really is reviving this part of His body, as not only surmised upon Archbishop Welby’s enthronement (New era for the Church refers) but also as heard recently during the regular prayers at this renowned retreat in South Wales.

Now, come for an awesome time in Cardiff >>

Paws-4-thought: ‘coincidence’ points to a coming revival?

Posted on Monday, 21 July, 2014 by Richard Barker

Mulling over Saturday’s post regarding Plymouth and how ideas popped into mind, then later upon catching up with GodTV celebrations, I believe my spirit may be sensing a modern prophecy is coming into fulfilment. It’s serendipity yet again. (For a brief introduction to this Biblical principle see In the right place at the right time.)

In Winnipeg, Canada, 53 three years ago this Friday, Tommy Hicks had hardy fallen asleep when,

…the vision and the revelation that God gave to me came before me. The vision came three times, exactly in detail…

I was so stirred and so moved by the revelation, that this has changed my complete outlook upon the Body of Christ, and upon the last end-time ministry.

The greatest thing that the Church of Jesus Christ – that has ever been given to the Church – lies straight ahead. It is so hard to help men and women to realize and understand the thing that God is trying to give to His people in the end-time. (Emphases added)

If you’ve not yet followed the link I provided, visit Colin Winfield’s web-page and then his link to the pdf version of Tommy Hicks’ Vision. It is a most remarkable insight into the preparation of the unblemished Bride of Christ for the ‘great tribulation’. Colin comments upon testing its conformity with Scripture, and I cannot but ask if this scenario includes a cleansed, revived Anglican church, possibly as prophesied here?

I am truly humbled by this account being thrust to my attention separately by two sisters in Christ who have the same name, albeit spelt differently. The first L was mentioned in my musing upon the spiritual significance of Plymouth; ie, her vision of a giant bore a resemblance to what Tommy had seen. Time constraints, however, didn’t allow me to revisit his vision before writing.

But what I didn’t know was one of my readers had already been directed to that vision! Upon reading the blog on Plymouth this second L immediately responded she’d been praying on Thursday with her pastor,

…and I had brought my A1 board of Smith Wigglesworth’s (of) 1947, but as I am praying this out from where I believe we are, it ran into Tommy Hicks’ vision of the giant and the ordinary ditchdiggers and washerwomen – this has greatly encouraged me. [See below for SW’s vision]

A huge thank you goes to both ladies, my sisters in God’s family.

Therefore, I cannot but conclude that the Lord is definitely drawing our attention to the deep importance of that vision. In view of other words about this ‘new season’ and the urgency to Advance the Kingdom now! then the time really is ‘now’!

A song of victory is in the air

At the Summer celebration Nathan preached strongly about maintaining our spiritual boundaries and ‘landmarks’ because the church has given ground to the demonic. The next day his message was on the need to ‘contend not pretend’ for the faith.

On this, today’s Lion Bites from Glasgow Prophetic Centre is highly apposite:

Song of Victory

There is a new song arising in the people of God, it is the war cry of conquered ground.

There have been many battles of the season over the same piece of ‘ground’. Many have wondered why the battle has been so long and why it has kept them from the greener pastures their eyes have seen.

Many have wondered and asked, ‘Why am I still here fighting the same battle?’

This has formed a useful training ground for the people of God and they have grown in faith, in endurance and in maturity. But it is now time for conquering and completion – and so the new song of conquered ground will arise.

The Lord is establishing secure boundaries for the ground that has been fought over. The Lord is placing His seal over areas of contention because His saints are transitioning now over the battle ground that has been won.

Will you sing your song of victory in faith today, in faith that the Lord is moving on your behalf and that the battle has been won?

Psalm 68:1
May God arise, may his enemies be scattered; may His foes flee before him.

SO, let us note and weigh these things, and take action…

Footnotes

Smith Wigglesworth’s Prophecy of major move of the Holy Spirit in Britain (1947).

Two preliminary phases have already happened, so be prepared for the full move! Likewise for the word delivered 40 years later to David Minor in NW USA – Two winds coming to the Church.
Further insights on this revelation was given to American evangelist, Lester Sumrall, “…I see the greatest revival in the history of mankind coming to planet Earth…every form of disease healed…”. (Revival Prophecies for the British Isles)
In 1995 I was standing alongside SW’s prayer-partner Revd Norman James when he had a similar vision of UK that Wigglesworth had – he was left speechless!

An insight into the supra-natural

Posted on Friday, 2 May, 2014 by Richard Barker

My previous post may have perhaps puzzled, or perturbed, some readers? Lately, I’m not writing so much on Biblically relevant news as on the prophetic and more upon the supra-natural, such as subtle linkages, dreams and even visitations.

This culminated in items on three well-known closely connected prophets; Paul Keith Davis, Bobby Conner and the late Bob Jones. Prior to publishing I’d been mulling over the material for several weeks, especially over the dream about Bob.

Let me share a scriptural insight on this more contentious issue for those who prefer to keep to what’s black and white, as printed in the revealed Word of God. Continue reading →

The Babylonian aspect of the Church’s ‘New Era’

Posted on Friday, 21 March, 2014 by Richard Barker

This title is ‘puzzle’ theme number ‘8’, which I challenged readers to ascertain from an ‘invisible jigsaw’.

It refers to the dichotomy between the old and new elements within the full spectrum of the Church’s traditional, evangelical and charismatic styles. This ‘Babylonian aspect’ also means many churches and believers may not desire to move into the new era, or new season, prophesied in recent years – which is already happening. Note that ‘new’ is not what many secularists may surmise!

I trust all will become plain as I explain.

Also, we’ll find that a weekday conjecture was to become weekend confirmation!

‘Theme 8’ is inherent in the data, or stylised ‘jigsaw pieces’, of detailed prophetic words that were separately brought on opposite ‘sides of the pond’ by Dr Sharon Stone and Revd John Kilpatrick. Although I’d sensed it whilst musing upon An Invitation to the Threshing Floor it’s fitting for this theme to be logged with Paws 4 Thought because that’s when it opened up. Also, as stated, those were very brief first thoughts for I was getting a sense of timing, a ‘kairos’ moment, from what Sharon brought. And that’s only to be expected with the gift of prophecy.

The ‘pause for thought’ gave some background about the priest Ezra because Sharon had opened by referring to the 4th chapter of his Old Testament book. On that Tuesday I’d read about Ezra in a primer on Hebrew and decided to share some information. In fact, upon reflecting upon the Threshing Floor Invitation, I had a sense of how what had happened in those days, over 2,500 years ago, is also applicable today!

It’s as though a gigantic cycle has gone around, not in a repetitive way but like a spiral. This allows for advancement through lessons learned and what’s to be achieved as well as the differences between the ancient Hebrews and modern Christians. I’m of the opinion time proceeds not in a linear fashion but like a slowly turning corkscrew that opens and closes events.

It all needed mulling over with the Lord. So I wrote a brief bit, intending to write more fully later. I nearly did so a couple of days later, the Thursday, but instead drafted thoughts on the perceived threads linking several topics I’d just blogged about.

Double Aspect to Ezra

Writing about Ezra’s major contribution in producing the early Bible, I was struck by his double relevance to today’s ‘new era’ for the Church. It seems directly related to the historic return of the people of God from captivity in Babylon to Jerusalem. Here’s Sharon’s opening words:

“In Ezra 4 we see a resistance to the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem. We have been in that “season of hindrance”. Thank God we are now coming out!

“There is a New Generation that is now leaving captivity into ruling with the manifestation of the power of God (signs and wonders). Abraham, Issac and Jacob are the generations leaving captivity. This is not just one age group…”

These words cover both aspects of ‘hindrance’ connected with the Exile. That of being deported and held in captivity, and that of being prevented from building when released home. Let’s take a brief historical detour.:

Towards the close of the Jews’ 70 years exile the Persian king Cyrus, conqueror of the Babylonian empire, was directly inspired by God to issue an edict. This permitted the exiles to return in 538 BC and rebuild the destroyed city and temple of Jerusalem.

The first returning group under Zerubbabel began work but, although started, rebuilding the Temple was delayed because of local opposition. It got under way when God raised up the prophetic ministries of Zecharia and Haggai to inspire and direct the work. NB: Ezra 5 clearly indicates the importance the Lord attaches to the prophetic office, and thus implies its fundamental necessity in this new era of the Church.

Almost 60 years after the first group, Ezra himself returned with the next lot to bring more funds and valuables from King Artaxerxes to enhance the Temple worship. Commissioned by the king, Ezra appointed leaders and he began a reforming spiritual leadership to re-establish the place of the Books and the Law, now written in a new alphabet.

So, Sharon opens our Invitation to the Threshing Floor for the anticipated harvest of souls by referring to believers having come out of a ‘season of hindrance’. This is corroborated by John Kilpatrick’s ‘video word’ on Redefinement, the first part of which is about believers being released from bondage! [This word came to him upon waking in mid-February and was published the Friday after my own musings.]

The Invitation continues, not with reference to the rebuilt Temple, but to its foundation over 400 years earlier! This is to connect spiritually with the original site of the location of the altar for the first Temple built by David and Solomon.

Therefore, I submit there are two significant and gigantic spiritual ‘opposites’ in our invitation, both of which relate to Ezra’s foundational activity.

JERUSALEM: Ezra’s compiling existing books and writing them in a new alphabet signifies today’s necessity of a better appreciation of and deeper revelations into the canon of both Testaments (and perhaps even the Apocrypha?).

That is, we may expect a revelatory empowerment of Spirit and Word to manifest and not only re-invigorate the Church but also empower us to do what Jesus did, especially the ‘greater works’ He promised (John 14:12). This will be obvious to the ‘New Generation’ of believers, and necessarily so,

For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. [Hebrews 4:12]

This is clearly implicit to The Invitation because it doesn’t just dwell upon the rebuilding and renewing our belief at a much higher level. It brings our focus right back to when the Lord instructed where the ‘Holy of Holies’ should be located – the threshing floor of the Jebusite Ornan on Mount Moriah, reputed to be where Abraham offered up Isaac. This is where king David was required to establish a house for His Presence.

Therefore, as the Jews went back to the centre of their belief and life, so too are Christians now required to go back to the very centre of ours – to Jesus and His Words. But more than that, in re-turning to Him in person it needs be devoid of Churchianity! It also means we will have access to heavenly realms and see our Father as Jesus did.

It is a getting back to base: scripture and Saviour. Also, to preparing for when the Bride will be full of the Holy Spirit so the New Jerusalem will manifest on earth (Rev 21 and 22).

BABYLON: Many Jews remained in Babylonian territory because of their accustomed prosperity and the uncertain prospects in a poorer land, of which they probably had only dim memories. They weren’t slaves but had favour with the king and influence in the land. Is that not like too many modern church institutions and ministries?

They’re not fully focused upon the author and perfector of our faith, much less open to Holy Spirit’s presence. Some are even in bed with false doctrine and reprobate worldly values!

Consequently, I disagree with Bible scholars who interpret ‘Babylon the Great’ as meaning the Roman Catholic Church alone.

‘Babylon’ is synonymous with ‘confusion’ especially of a spiritual nature. Jane Hamon in The Cyrus Decree writes,

Every idolatrous system of this earth, every spirit of false religion, every occult form of power had its beginnings in Babylon. The city of Babylon was built upon the foundations of rebellion against God: pride, independence and humanism (the belief that man is God).

Therefore, the Babylonian aspect of the ‘new era’ in the Church’s history represents the world’s influence upon those parts of the wider church that have deserted their ‘first love’, Jesus Christ, and taken on board the non-values of a decadent and immoral society.

Consequently, the prophetic invitation to God’s Threshing Floor indicates a distinct winnowing, a sifting, a separating out of the ‘Babylonian’ church married as a spiritual adulteress to the world, and the Bridal ‘remnant’ who’s focussed upon Jesus.

Previous Prophecies

As recounted in 5 years Ago Today: the End-game is Now in Play, my first writing upon End-times referred to,

“my previous remarks about a sifting of the Church – in preparation for a rapid ‘sHifting’?”

So I had that in mind during my first reflections upon the Threshing Floor Invitation, as well as chapters 18 and 19 of The Apocalypse of John (Book of Revelation) foretelling the downfall of ‘Babylon the Great’, which is described as a ‘harlot’.

Also, I recalled that after launching the Prophecies hub of this blog I found a prophetic word from 1992 about that entity’s existence within the Church, as recounted by Colin Winfield in The Separation of the Bride and the Harlot.

Concluding Confirmation

The above musings were confirmed within days on the Sunday with what John Kilpatrick brought under a strong anointing. Teaching upon ‘Season of suddenlies’, he prophesied that God’s redefining of churches involves “a shifting“. This will result in a radical difference between the two kinds of believers and churches – in my terms, those in worldly ‘Babylon’ and the ‘New Era’ Spirit-led ‘remnant’.

That separation and shifting is happening NOW!

Theme 9

Details of this theme will follow soon. The blog listing shows it in parenthesis because it’s a very personal connection. Together with its proceeding blogs, I was amazed that it’s even more astonishing than the weird mix-up over the blog’s second anniversary.

Reading that Nov ’13 post and it’s follow up will prepare you for theme 9, but let me tease you to just wait a while…

There’s much to ponder deeply my friends.

Postscript:

Revisiting Colin Winfield’s website I noticed the latest; 2014 Consecration with an accompanying file Thoughts at the Beginning of 2014. The last is supportive of my contention above, as in the following which bear my emphases, but please read the whole piece for yourself:

‘As we look at that which goes by the name of ʻChurchʼ we cannot see many who are hearing the Lord, or if they are, they so often wrongly interpret what is being said, or apply to others what really is Godʼs word to themselves. Most are still following their traditions and what they have known in the past. Men still consider men to be their leaders when Jesus said that only Christ was to be their Leader. Man is following ʻmanʼ and not the Lord. The true sons, those who are led by the Spirit, are hard to ﬁnd….

‘What is necessary is to move to higher ground and gain the life of Christ. It is not only that direct relationship with Jesus we need but also that close fellowship with our Heavenly Father….

‘The call is to come unto the Lord Jesus Christ and be separated unto Him, and Him alone. Let us flee to the mountain, that secure place of being hid in the very life and nature of the Lord Jesus Christ. The time has come for judgement to begin with the household of God. We are the temple of God (1Cor.3:16 and 2Cor. 6:16) and the Lord is already cleansing His temple…

‘The warnings have been sounding for many years as Pentecost was coming to its end. But let us recognise the door has closed on that period of church history and let us look towards the soon coming Feast of Tabernacles, that place of fulness the whole Church must enter…’

PPS: If references to Jewish Feasts surprise you then I recommend learning about their relevance to the Church on Colin’s website or in John Kilpatrick’s four in-depth sessions on The Feasts of The Lord – Recognising God’s Appointed Times.

[Puzzle in Sky by Idea Go is by courtesy of Freedigitalphotos.net]

Parts of an ‘invisible jigsaw’ point to a bigger picture

Posted on Thursday, 20 March, 2014 by Richard Barker

In Enjoy puzzles?… I challenged readers to discover an eighth theme hidden within recent postings on this blog. The aim was to imagine these main themes as pieces of a jigsaw puzzle and to try to fit them together.

It was intellectual rather than a physical puzzle. Also, there was no design by which pieces could be matched and fitted together. Furthermore, they wouldn’t form into a complete mental picture because there’d probably be some gaps.

The idea was to develop discernment in considering the data within each piece’s ‘design’ as well as to appreciate the timing of their appearance – like perceiving and mentally handling chunks of information within an invisible matrix.

So, it was a trifle tricky but my intention was to convey a sensing of invisible links between those several blogs in order to get insights into the much bigger picture.

Anyway, here’s my own interpretation of how the puzzle could be started:

For information, jigsaw pieces as individual blogs are listed below with shorter titles and main themes underlined. Numbering assists seeing which is which (especially if the title isn’t obvious) and the connecting ‘lugs’ of each piece.:

PK Davis remembers Bob Jones – 1 & 2
Jesus‘ word to the Church (Bride) – 3 & 4
Winds, floods and earthquake – 5
Floods, Jones and Burt’s prophecy – 2, 5 & 6
5 years ago “The End-game…” – 1
Jesus jealous for His Bride – 3 & 4
My King is coming – 3
Can you hear the Lion roar? – 3
Floods and threshing floor – 5 & 7
P4T: rains and threshing floor – 5, 7 & 8?
The Lion roars! – 3 (& 9?)
Arthur Burt’s daughter – 6
Season of suddenlies and shifting – 1, 7 & 8?

My question is; to what could numbers 8 and 9 refer? The answer to the first follows in the next post.

Prophecy can involve teamwork

Now and again I’ve mused upon fulfillment of Biblical prophecy being similar to completing an immense ‘invisible jigsaw’, as may be read on the Jigsaw tag.

The Holy Bible is the design’s template and global events form the pieces which can be ‘seen’ falling into place. This concept in its finality is ably conveyed in Thanunkhorn’s image ‘Puzzle Globe and Book’, copied by courtesy of Freedigitalphotos.com

A knowledge of scripture and personal revelation from the Holy Spirit helps born-again believers gain insights into how, when and where the pieces fall into place.

We also have the advantage of being able to have insights weighed, tested and confirmed by leaders who are not only blessed by Holy Spirit’s gift of prophecy but also have access to those recognised as authentic prophetical voices.

In view of the scriptural fact that even accurate prophets prophesy only in part (1 Cor13:9), their words are augmented by prophetic fellowship under the headship of Jesus Christ, whose ‘testimony is the spirit of prophecy’ (Rev 19:10).

So, prophetic data shared and insights gained through the above postings have all come through sanctified yet separate teamwork; in this instance they are William Smith, Paul Keith Davis, John Kilpatrick, Bob Jones, Arthur Burt, Jane Hamon, Sharon Stone and Emma Stark (as with the 8 pieces below! God-incidence?).

Teamwork Solving a Puzzle by Franky242; courtesy Freedigitalphotos.com

Thank you Lord and praise your holy name.

ANOTHER PIECE ADDED: see Confirmations of latest prophetic words on the UK

Enjoy puzzles? Then try this ‘invisible jigsaw’!

Posted on Friday, 14 March, 2014 by Richard Barker

Stretch your intellect and imagination to complete this jigsaw. Although invisible it’s not imaginary, because its material content really exists.

Divine data downloads as gently as snowflakes. As insights, or revelatory notions that drop into mind, they seem independent until sticking together like flakes. In fact, they get plugged in, a switch is thrown, the connection made and my inner light bulb starts flashing!

Then I perceive they’re really like jigsaw pieces. Each fits somehow, somewhere, into an invisible jigsaw puzzle, the overall design of which is beyond my ‘ken’. Last week’s downloads do fit snuggly together! Someone looking over my shoulder whispers what sequence I’m to slot them together. Only as I do that, like moving in faith, does a new, unseen design start to appear. I could almost handle it and discover its intricacies…

The challenge

Would you like to try this puzzle? It’s not as complicated as may seem at first. As in a ‘whodunnit’, clues need to be assessed to identify actors, locations, sequences of activities and inks before a crime mystery can be solved.

We’re avid fans of the tv series Death in Paradise set in the Caribbean. The climax always features Detective Inspector Goodman puzzling over the many clues garnered from investigations, as shown on the team’s whiteboard. Each episode, he stares for ages until getting a flash of inspiration on how the invisible threads link every piece together and solves the puzzle. He tests his theory by confronting suspects and the unequivocal solution enables the criminal’s arrest.

Shall we tackle our ‘invisible jigsaw’?

The Jigsaw Pieces

Our novel jigsaw is like a tapestry but we can’t see the design from our perspective underneath the fabric. We can see differently coloured threads and sewing according to instructions we grasp only that part of the tapestry in our hands. Yet it’s not impossible to guess the eventual design that’s being created.

In our jigsaw each piece displays information upon one or more obvious themes. These pieces are recent posts on this blog, as listed below with shorter titles and main themes underlined. Numbering helps us to see them (especially if the title isn’t obvious) and the connecting ‘lugs’ of the pieces.:

PK Davis remembers Bob Jones – 1 & 2
Jesus‘ word to the Church (Bride) – 3 & 4
Winds, floods and earthquake – 5
Floods, Jones and Burt‘s prophecy – 2, 5 & 6
5 years ago “The End-game…” – 1
Jesus jealous for His Bride – 3 & 4
My King is coming – 3
Can you hear the Lion roar? – 3
Floods and threshing floor – 5 & 7
P4T: rains and threshing floor – 5, 7 & 8?
The Lion roars! – 3 (& 9?)
Arthur Burt‘s daughter – 6
Season of suddenlies and shifting – 1, 7 & 8?

Like any pictorial jigsaw, we can fit most matching pieces together. First, we select the single numbers and put them down. Next, pieces with two numbers, or two lots of data and, where possible, we can connect one cluster with another and leave them on the ‘board’. As with a real jigsaw puzzle we see pieces that have bits of an image, fit them together and then connect with other images. It may help by drawing your own Venn, or ‘bubble’, diagram showing logical relationships.

Please note, we won’t get a completed jigsaw in this exercise, just joined pieces. Were we to look at previous posts we’d get more clusters joining up.

Can you see how we can fit them together? For example 2’s are about Bob Jones, 3’s and 4’s about Jesus and His Bride, 5’s about the recent flooding, etc..

But what does ‘8’ represent? Can you solve that from the puzzle? If so, then please comment below. (Regret no prize other than that of satisfaction.)

The answer is hinted at in Paws 4 Thought and links what downloaded last week, like the pieces dropping out of the sky as illustrated above. In my opinion, it’s to do with the link between Dr Stone’s words about the threshing floor and an aspect of the new season the Church is moving into. But what, or who, is it?

See Parts of an ‘Invisible Jigsaw’ Point to a Bigger Picture for my illustrated solution to the above ‘puzzle’

Some may say it’s contrived to claim connections, or I’ve published selected material in a way that lends itself to being linked! Let me assure you that, much as I prefer to write posts in an orderly manner, what’s in the pipeline often gets delayed because topical events are more relevant for publication, as on this occasion. I couldn’t get this item out in time for close-down last weekend. Nevertheless, what happened over that weekend was also to prove a piece of this ‘invisible jigsaw’!

It’s all like an open door, or rather a time-tunnel connecting a Biblical template with what’s soon to happen. But just what is that template? More about that soon…and hope it’s not too big a tease?

Also, I will reveal how the unknown theme ‘9’ relates to the invisible hand behind our invisible jigsaw.

I trust that ‘grasping’ this puzzle’s pieces will develope a discernment of likely, hidden links between events.

Thank you

James Hughes knew nothing of my week-old plans on this puzzle but I’m grateful to him for unwittingly confirming that intention. I gave him a draft hardcopy of John Kilpatrick’s prophetic words and he said it’s all “like a jigsaw”. I laughed and confided my attempt at describing an invisible jigsaw in another item, to which he responded with 1 Corinthians 13 verse 9:

⁹For we know in part and we prophesy in part. ¹⁰But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away…¹³And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. [NKJV per BibleGateway]

[Image of Flying puzzles by Nokhoog Buchachons: credit Freedigitalphotos.net]

Paws-4-thought: Dr Stone on the rains and the threshing floor

Posted on Tuesday, 4 March, 2014 by Richard Barker

I trust most readers can appreciate and weigh words said to be from the Lord and, thereby, check with scripture and how what’s been delivered ‘sits with’ their own spirit and the Holy Spirit. For what it may be worth, I humbly submit my brief thoughts on the words about the ‘Threshing Floor’:

Also, I’m suspecting a sense of ‘timing’ in what Sharon has delivered. This isn’t so much from its relevance to the record-breaking extreme weather but more from a possible link to what was written recently on this blog.

Ezra

First, the reference to Ezra relating to this prophecy is interesting. His priestly role in writing the revealed word of God is second only to that of Moses. He is credited with accurately transcribing the Pentateuch’s Old Hebrew, borrowed from the seafaring Phoenicians, into square characters of the Hebrew alphabet based upon the Aramaic alphabet. That was the language spoken by the Jews during their captivity in Babylon and upon returning to Jerusalem over 2,500 years ago. About 70 years before that the lost Book of the Law from Moses’ time about 700 years earlier had been re-discovered in the Temple.

After the discovery the Jews were taken into captivity and their teacher and spiritual leader Ezra devoted himself to studying the five books of Moses. He organised their compilations into a single entity, was inspired to write scripture and started the process of replicating God’s Word through a school of scribes (Sopherim). The original meaning of that Hebrew word is ‘people who know how to write’ – and count. Numeracy was vital because they counted every single letter in many different ways in order to transmit the Word as exactly as possible. That target was achieved to almost 100% accuracy.

Hence, the significance of commencing this current prophetic word with reference to Ezra’s book.

The Threshing Floor

Although not quoted, the words Sharon brought are directly related to John the Baptist’s description of Jesus’ mission, as Matthew recounts:

“…I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹²His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” (Matt 3 NKJV, BibleGateway)

Later, Jesus refers to this truth in the parable of the wheat and tares (weeds identical to wheat until the grain appears). He explains it as follows:

“He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. ³⁸The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. ³⁹The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels.

⁴⁰Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. ⁴¹The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness ⁴²and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” (Matt 13 NKJV, BibleGateway.com)

This parable is one of three ‘coincidental’ repetitions from 5 years ago that I mentioned in Friday’s blog. Fascinating that it’s re-surfaced at this time. Perhaps the Lord may be stressing its relevance for the coming season? In 2008 the leader of a ministry in which I served had taken other leaders to task over quoting that parable as a reason for not correcting Todd Bentley during the Lakeland outpouring. I was uneasy with how this issue was being handled and with the mishandling of this scripture in criticising others. So I found Paul Keith Davis’ insights into the parable to be most helpful. (Should you be interested, a brief version appears in An End-Time Strategy.)

Also, a brief paper by David Reagan on The Threshing Floor is informative reading.

Satan’s Strategy

“We must know the wiles of our enemy” is a very sound reminder. Even those familiar with deliverance ministry may fall foul of these ways that distract us from our prime purpose of knowing God and following Jesus’ command to love one another, thereby honouring our brethren.

Romans 13

Lastly, another scripture of special personal significance is Romans 13. This is pertinent to my encounter with Jesus, as I was to discover a long time afterwards. It features in the liturgical readings assigned for the First Day in Advent, which is about Jesus’ return. The verses Sharon quoted from Romans 13 were those which deeply encouraged me upon finding and reading my late mother’s Missal for that date – click on image to view. [To understand the relevance read the conclusion of my testimony.]

Continued in Parts of an ‘Invisible Jigsaw’ point to a bigger picture and in The Babylonian aspect of the Church’s ‘New Era’.

On wild winds, flooding and an earthquake

Posted on Thursday, 27 February, 2014 by Richard Barker

“…And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” (Gen 14:20)

The above led into Tuesday morning’s daily prayer for the nation from Keep Praying and Bless. (We’ve continued using this intercessory paper published for the Olympic Torch relay of 2012). As though answering my thoughts about following the previous day’s post on Bob Jones, that verse was followed appropriately by:

We decree that the Church in the British Isles will be delivered from old mindsets and will walk in the new mantle God is placing on His Bride, for a time such as this.

It also fitted with a private issue over religious legalism. We then prayed a set, specific blessing and the Aaronic blessing for a couple of towns, followed by the day’s blessing.:

We bless His Bride to be washed with the water of His Word and to be filled with the law of the Spirit of Life.

That reflects the second part of a prophecy through Smith Wigglesworth (as here), which has been implemented by the Baptist Union’s acceptance a few years ago of applying the Word with the Spirit. I trust, therefore, you’ll bear with my musings before covering prophetical aspects. There are sound reasons for my confidence in how the Lord has led me in all this. So I trust you will be encouraged in what follows below and in the next post published in tandem with this one.

I’ve wondered what’s Lord’s view of, or influence upon, the severe storms and extensive deep flooding across England, with the west taking the brunt of the violence. Is it climate change? Are these events at all prophetic? There was even an earthquake between Wales and Devon (click map for details)! is it a sign of a Hebrews 12 ‘shaking’?

It’s no surprise that the Met Office forecast of a ‘drier than normal’ winter was utterly wrong! At least we’re not alone – in Slovenia thick blankets of ice killed many trees and caused more flooding (thanks Kim).

Today’s news is that it’s officially the “Wettest winter for England and Wales since 1766”, according to early Met Office statistics (click map for report’s details).

In fact, I’d surprised myself by not being judgemental over the storms in assuming it’s all the ‘wrath of God’!

Upon taking a walk a couple of weeks ago I impulsively decided to listen to Paul Keith Davis’ cd The Days of Noah. Speaking mainly from Hebrews 11 and Matthew 24, he adds, “Light is accelerating and so is darkness…there’s a body of knowledge coming that’s essential for us (the church) to survive”, and refers to Isaiah 60 on the deep darkness covering the earth versus the light of God’s people.

I noted his stressing that Noah had been “warned about things not yet seen…” and that, had he not had the spirit of revelation, he too would have perished in the Flood. Also, Noah honoured his great-grandfather Enoch who “walked with God” and was father of the oldest person, Methuselah. He was given that name because Enoch said, “When he dies it will come” for he already knew about the Flood, which came almost 1,000 years later. Keith had read in Jewish teaching that the deluge started 7 days after Methuselah died. (For fascinating details see Dr Chuck Missler, The Gospel in Genesis.)

That’s as much as I heard on my walk for I had to linger over those ideas. The reference to a prophecy being fulfilled after a person’s death particularly stuck in mind because I’d been mulling a similar one over in connection with Gabriel’s message. (That’s yet to be concluded but now I see how this information makes that not only easier to grasp but also gives a Biblical basis for connecting prophesied events with a person’s passing.)

Who is to blame for the storms?

Upon my return home, an email from someone whose views I respect urged calling the nation together to repent because we’ve spurned Him, and seek God’s forgiveness. He posits that demonic incantations officially broadcast in closing the 2012 Olympic Games acted as a curse to flood the land and affected our weather. Thus, the violent storms hitting Britain could be a foretaste of chaos to come unless there’s a spiritual change in our national life. Yet, if that’s so, why was last year’s weather not unusual? (Met Office 2013 annual report refers.)

That all needed mulling over. I had reservations because it imputed a greater power to paganism than the hundreds of Christian prayers and declarations made in the lead up to the Games, especially afterwards at the National Day of Prayer at Wembley. And what about the nationwide ringing of Jubilee Bells and declarations to negate ungodly, cultic Olympic prayers? (See ‘2012’ in blog Library.)

Also, I recalled Dr Sharon Stone received a word from the Lord on a specific, spiritual meaning to Hurricane Sandy that indicated a turning point in Church history. It would also point toward a shaking of reprobate American society and the necessity of turning to Jesus! She did not, however, speak judgmentally.

There was also a personal dream of warning that I’d had about weather and so I wasn’t so sure about the spiritual nature of the storms. Quite a bit to weigh and pray…

In addition, we hear in Monday’s video about two hurricanes arriving in Mobile, one that stopped as directed by the Lord, and the other satanic one smashed along the coast.

Prophecies on the 2014 Storms

So in parallel with this post, I will offer what I believe is significant information on this topic from Kathie Walters, who prophesied in 2012 not only about the Queen’s Jubilee Bells, but who also directly connected it to Arthur Burt’s prophecy of 1937. (See It’s Time to Ring Out Those Bells!)

Also, we will learn from her about the link with the late prophet Bob Jones!

> > cont’d here >

Bridge over ‘The Pond’

Posted on Wednesday, 8 January, 2014 by Richard Barker

Once or twice in 2013 I blogged that a theme or principle taught on a Sunday morning in our fellowship in Surrey, England, was also covered in depth, or referred to, during that afternoon’s viewing of the morning service live from Church Of His Presence in Mobile, Alabama. Being 6 hours ahead of US Central Time we ‘attend’ CHP as online members. Sometimes, the reference in CHP would be the next Sunday but even so, this has happened more times than I can recall. (They too had a failed heating system in the rented hall and thus had to meet in very chilly conditions on the same day.)

These churches are not officially associated and the only connection is ours as ordinary members. (Apostolic cover of our local Well Church International is from South Africa’s Christ Of The Nations, and we’re also linked with fellowships in Norway and Germany. Our local leaders are well aware, however, of pastor John Kilpatrick’s ministry in the Brownsville aka Pensacola and The Bay Revivals.)

A cynic would consider both pastors to be in ‘cahoots’; ie, colluding over material. But that’s nonsensical because the content of their preaching is always individualistic. Of course the principles and scriptural comprehension are in accord, but the way they’re taught clearly demonstrates integrity and independence of thought. As the pastors in question are 1/4 of the earth away from one another on opposite sides of the Atlantic, and as their notes are confidential, there’s little chance of a very busy leader of a big American church knowing that morning’s unrecorded sermon at a small fellowship in a Surrey school. Unless, that is, they’re hearing the same thing from the Lord!

Therefore, references to a day’s specific teaching topic or principle is more than merely coincidental. Surely it must be Holy Spirit’s leading, connecting believers as though by an invisible bridge spanning the ocean, or ‘pond’!

When I was a new Christian I discovered one way our heavenly Father would often get important points across to me was through reading or hearing a scripture repeated. As this would be in close sequence, often on three consecutive days, it would ‘sink in’. On the first repeat I’d think, “I read that only a short time ago”. And when repeated again I’d react, “Hey, that’s funny! What’s going on?” and take note.

After a few such synchronous events I started to learn the Lord’s putting His finger on something for me – like the proverbial hammer hitting a mule’s head to get its attention! In fact, I humbly submit to you that it’s become a kind of spiritual gifting.

Last Sunday, the first of 2014, was one such occasion. Pastor Lindi Masters brought a few prophetic words from various ministries for our edification. Soon, 6 hours later from Alabama, pastor Kilpatrick repeated Lindi’s main point and then proceeded to fulfil one of those words. Intriguing, is it not?

The next couple of posts will reveal details of Sunday’s sessions, starting with Prophecies for 2014…

[Image credit: Endless Bridge by Evgeni Denev, Freedigitalphotos.net]

Did my triple warning about Iran affect WordPress connections?

Posted on Thursday, 28 November, 2013 by Richard Barker

Publishing this and the previous post proved arduous. In telling why, it may cross your mind I could be getting a tad paranoid – but actually it’s funny; yet perhaps there’s a grain of truth buried away here…

Was what I was trying to write about so revelatory that another ‘invisible hand’ came in causing chaos to connections?? Perhaps it’s not such a daft idea, you know.

Guess what I was writing about the previous time this happened! The very same topic – Iran, and its leaders’ policy to bring about their notion of End-Times!! Oh, that’s just a coincidence. Well, what are the odds of such a cross-connection between two lots of technical trouble; in addition to the other oddities that occurred recently?

For the record these are the previous posts: Joel Rosenberg’s Iran leader: We must prepare for the ‘End-Times’, my Iranian leader’s End-Times declaration which appeared after Sharanelle Clark’s Getting ready for His return. (For anyone wishing to check my claims see my original support request and covering mammoth one of 373 posts.)

HA…in hindsight it really is amusing. Fortunately, I’d started drafting on Monday but noticed links were taking several seconds longer than normal to connect and load on-screen. The next day, however, when writing about the three times on which I’d written about Iran and Jerusalem the new paragraphs were lost as the system failed to save. It seemed doing that caused my connection to crash. So it became an arduous and time-consuming task to get the additional material completed because I couldn’t check what was actually getting saved onto the server. It was as though another invisible hand had started playing mayhem with UK internet connections to WordPress servers to the great annoyance of users (see today’s support forum).

Yet when it was published late Tuesday afternoon my stats shot through the ceiling to almost double the daily average. Thank you readers and visitors. If you’ve not yet had opportunity to read it then here’s the link > The Invisible Hand re-appears!

Updates on the Iranian nuclear situation

For those who’d like to keep informed about developments there’s a mass of informed opinion about the Geneva arrangements. In addition to mainstream media reports and rolling news on World Watch Daily, here are links to articles I’ve found of interest.:

Heavenly open doors and ladders

Posted on Monday, 28 October, 2013 by Richard Barker

In opening her second teaching service on The Season of Open Doors at The Well church yesterday morning, Minister Lindi said there’s been an acceleration in recent months not seen before. And that’s happening today! Over the weekend I mused over last week’s material and browsed recent years of my prophetical papers. Lindi had quoted a word from Kathie Walters, whom I’d read on the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Bells (here). So I wanted to find her latest online today.

My notes of the teaching were sparse as my pen had dried up so I wanted the quotation in full. First, I attended to the weekend’s email and noted one new blog was relevant to material I’d been reviewing! So I reblogged Tony’s dream on ‘security blanket’. Only afterwards did I find and read Kathie’s latest Heavenly Ladders and Tables, and then noted it seems to relate well to that dream for she writes,

There is a mighty move being stirred – many great callings being released. But God is sending a great spirit of LIBERTY because we have to hear God for ourselves. It’s a wake up call for people who already think they are awake. It’s a new calling for many people who think they have nothing much to offer. God wants to break that box you have put yourself in or you have allowed others to put you in. (emphasis added)

Our minister’s teaching on how to move through opened spiritual doors was based upon Genesis 31:3-13 ‘Now arise’. Stressing amongst other things, our need to let go of past pain, self-reliance and self-imposed limitations, she led us into understanding freedom in the Lord by quoting Kathie’s prophetic word and references to Wilberforce and, as we’re connected to the Isles, the Hebrides’ Revival. Now, in reading her full account, I notice how an encounter by one of Kathie’s friends links into my reader’s dream of this weekend, as follows:

I am not sure what the total significance of that encounter is but I know it was monumental. Keys are being given to those who have been crying out to see the religious slavery broken off of God’s children. Keys to set the captives free, both saved and unsaved. The new Abolitionists are arising who will do whatever is necessary to loose the bound and oppressed.

Lindi, however, obviously didn’t have time to refer to Katie’s trip around the UK and to visions of ladders into the heavenly realms and ancient gates being opened. (Not that it mattered for several of us had distinct impressions of the Lord opening gateways, as happened during worship times with Joann McFatter when New Zealander Ian Clayton was here – sessions may be heard here.)

The Impact

BUT what a totally unexpected – yet welcome – impact all this has made upon me. Why? I’d been mulling over dis-believers’ claims about Chuck Pierce on Wales for, although not a regular follower, I recalled a couple of accurate predictions he’d made. I dug out and scanned my sparse collection of prophetical papers, as well as my note pad. There I came across a few words prophesying changes in England.

In particular I noted how Chuck’s words in 2008 and Christen Forster’s in 2012 seemed to pivot around what Bill Johnson had said about the Kingdom in England and the date of 1st September 2011 as “the day things changed in the UK” (here).

Therefore, I updated my Library today and then checked whether it was worth including that recent word on Liberty from Kathie.

Her remark, “I saw many ladders and tables being put in place” struck my spirit. Why? Its similarity spoke into my dream of 3rd September 2011 of things coming down from the heavens to various places in England for ‘setting up’ the Kingdom, as recounted in Father, Let Your Kingdom Come.

Hence, my being dazed – and dazzled – by these downloads!

Should you wish to read it, the new material is indicated with dates/numbers in red in my Library and its sub-page A New Era in the Church.

May the Lord bless you with His Spirit of wisdom and of revelation.

	Richard Barker on The Lord’s declaration o…
	Yellowyarrow on Jigsaw Pieces PS: a personal f…
	MARY K. DULLFORCE on The Lord’s declaration o…
	MARY K. DULLFORCE on Greenland and America’s…
	Richard Barker on Jigsaw Pieces PS: a personal f…
	Richard Barker on Jigsaw Pieces PS: a personal f…
	Yellowyarrow on Jigsaw Pieces PS: a personal f…
	MARY K. DULLFORCE on Trump, Tea, 2020 election and…
	Richard Barker on Prophecies on Jesus’ hol…
	MARY K. DULLFORCE on Prophecies on Jesus’ hol…

Richard's Watch

Looking for the signs of Jesus' return

Tag Archives: #Musings

2 of 3: devilish plot to pre-empt the Bible’s ‘endgame’

An insight into global satanic strategy – part 2

An insight into a global satanic strategy – part 1

Paws-4-thought: devilish plot to avoid the Lake of Fire

God Is With Us

Does a spiritual yet political trend link USA to Britain?

What have Paul Keith’s video and Mary Magdalene got in common?

Footnotes:

Jesus & Mary fable:

God-incidence:

Vision of a lion – the four faces of God

Paws-4-thought: on revival and ‘down under’

Paws-4-thought: Ffald-y-Brenin and a prophetic promise

Paws-4-thought: ‘coincidence’ points to a coming revival?

Song of Victory

An insight into the supra-natural

The Babylonian aspect of the Church’s ‘New Era’

Parts of an ‘invisible jigsaw’ point to a bigger picture

Enjoy puzzles? Then try this ‘invisible jigsaw’!

Paws-4-thought: Dr Stone on the rains and the threshing floor

On wild winds, flooding and an earthquake

Bridge over ‘The Pond’

Did my triple warning about Iran affect WordPress connections?

Heavenly open doors and ladders

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Footnotes:

Jesus & Mary fable:

God-incidence:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Song of Victory

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: