Tag Archives: Prophecy

What’s Wrong with the Parable of the Fig Tree Prophecy?

32 “Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. 33 So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near—at the doors! 34 Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away. (Matthew 24:32-35 NKJ)


Numerous Bible teachers, including Chuck Smith, founder of the Calvary Chapel Church network, and Hal Lindsey, author of The Late Great Planet Earth, have interpreted Jesus’ words of Matthew 24:32-34 as a prophecy about Israel. 

Their collective prophetic teachings state that the budding of the fig tree in verse 32 refers to Israel becoming a nation in 1948. The people born in 1948 and the years afterward would then be the generation that would see the return of the Lord. Each teacher figured a generation was forty years.

Thus, 1988 was the projected year of Jesus’ return, but alas, Jesus did not return as prophesied.

Rather than admitting their error, Smith, Lindsey and most of the other Bible teachers stated that their mistake was not in their premise about Israel, but rather in their assuming a generation was forty years long. They decided a Biblical generation was really seventy years. 2018 was supposed to be the new predicted year for the return of Jesus. 

And when Jesus did not return in 2018, these teachers doubled down again and stated a Biblical generation was eighty years. Therefore, these teachers are betting 2028 is the year when Jesus will return.

Will a hundred years be the next guess for these teachers?

Okay! Let’s do some checking for ourselves.

29 Then He spoke to them a parable: “Look at the fig tree, and all the trees.30 When they are already budding, you see and know for yourselves that summer is now near. 31 So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near. 32 Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all things take place. 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away. (Luke 21:29-33 NKJ)

The fig tree parable is presented in Matthew 24:32-35, Mark 13:28-31 and Luke 21:29-33. All three are similar except Luke states, “Look at the fig tree, and all of the trees.”

By adding the words – and all of the trees – Luke removed the emphasis on fig trees and placed it on the rest of the words Jesus spoke in the four verses. And what was Jesus referring to in the four verses? All of the prophetic words He spoke in Matthew 24:4-31.

The Apostle Paul had a similar problem with the Church in Thessalonica in that they were confused about when the Lord would return. He answered their fears by writing:

Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition (2 Thessalonians 2:3 NKJ)

Paul listed two things had to happen before Jesus returned:

            1. Christians falling away from their faith (the great apostasy).

            2. The antichrist is revealed to everyone.

Did Jesus mention the falling away of believers and the revealing of the antichrist in His Matthew 24 discourse?

And at that time many [believers] will fall away, and they will betray one another and hate one another. (Matthew 24:10 NASB)

Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation [antichrist] which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place—let the reader understand (Matthew 24:15)

The Apostle Paul’s words agree with the prophetic words spoken by Jesus in Matthew 24.

So, it looks to me like we need to lay our easy-peasy formulas down and follow what Jesus said:

Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. (Matthew 24:42 NKJ)

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Filed under Antichrist, Day of the Lord, Falling Away, jesus

Jesus, Baseball and a Bat

All new Christians need an inner desire to be the best believers they can be for our King and the Kingdom of God. This must be a part of our spiritual makeup. The driving force for our desires must be the Holy Spirit. As far as our natural bodies, they will resist all efforts by the Holy Spirit and attempt to weave fleshly attitudes and pride into our spiritual makeups, thereby weakening them. 

One of the Holy Spirit’s main jobs in our lives is to separate the chaff in us from thew spiritual wheat as we walk with the Lord. 

In a perfect vacuum, the Holy Spirit would successfully guide and help us put down all of our fleshly desires, especially pride and lust. We would be overcomers in every situation. Yet, none of us live in a perfect vacuum, we live on earth, which is controlled by the god of this world − Satan.

I had a simple dream as a young believer, which should have helped me in understanding my walk with the Lord. 

In it, I stood outside a major league baseball stadium, but all of the entrance gates were locked shut. The crowd inside the stadium roared for its favorite teams. The excitement stirred me to hunger for being a part of the action.

I banged on the gate with both hands. The gate finally opened and I entered, not to sit in the grandstands with the crowd, but instead, I was escorted onto the playing field to be a member of Jesus’ team.

There I stood in the outfield, wearing a new white home team uniform with a baseball hat on my head and a glove on my left hand. I looked around at the beautiful green grass, the reddish infield dirt and the gigantic stadium. It was such an exhilarating feeling, knowing I was a member of the team.     

Then, like a little boy, I took off running around the outfield. Here and there, helter-skelter, I didn’t care what others thought and ran around the outfield in my excitement, kicking up my heels. I noticed numerous other players in the outfield, doing much the same thing. We all ran around, waving our hands in the air and yelling like a bunch of sugar intoxicated kids.

Now, mind you, the game was going on.

A baseball would fly or bounce into the outfield every so often, but because we were all just aimlessly running around, we couldn’t catch any of them. The best we could do was chase after a ball and wait for it to stop rolling. One of us would pick it up and toss it back toward the infield to a waiting infielder. We outfielders then reverted back to aimlessly running around.

The team somehow promoted me into the dugout to be used for offensive purposes. I was no longer dressed in a glorious white uniform, but instead, I was a wooden baseball bat, hanging on a bat rack with numerous other ones.

A bat, I thought. I’m just a bat! All of my preparation and training has prepared me to be just a wooden bat. How can this be important?

With two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning and the score tied, Jesus readied Himself to bat. He walked over to the rack and chose me as His bat. He walked up to the plate with me in His hands.

The pitcher, Satan, threw a hundred miles per hour fastball on the first pitch to Jesus. The Lord timed the pitch perfectly and smashed it high over the center field fence. He hit a walk-off, game winning home run.

Jesus headed for first base on His home run trot and tossed me − His bat − into the dirt. The crowd stood, cheering and praising Jesus for the victory, but as for me, I laid there, doing nothing and saying nothing.

A batboy came, picked me up and placed me back on the bat rack, waiting to be used sometime in the future by Jesus again.

This simple dream reveals a game within a game whereby we believers move from immaturity to maturity, ending in deaths to our own selfish desires. We are then used by the Lord Jesus to defeat the purposes of Satan.

I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. (Galatians 2:20)

(Excerpt from my memoir, The Hunt for Larry Who, an Amazon eBook.

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Filed under Christianity, Dream, Prophecy

Wolfgang’s Views on Russia-Ukraine Conflict

Wolfgang Simson posted the following on Facebook:

RUSSIA’s APPETITE FOR THE UKRAINE IN KINGDOM PERSPECTIVE

Tell a bear to stop eating meat and become vegan, because it is “in and green.” What would that bear do? Probably have you for breakfast…

The biggest challenge for anyone trying to grasp what is going on around the globe has always been this: If you don’t understand God, you won’t understand the world. Most of the Western media outlets trying to report on “Bloody Putin” versus “Oh So Holy NATO” entirely miss this. Same is true for the Russian-controlled press, just the other way around. 

A prophetic friend of mine, John Mulinde of Uganda, once said – and I call that Kingdom truth # 1: “God preaches through geography.” 

In his insightful book, “Prisoners of Geography“, journalist Tim Marshall describes Russia as a prisoner of its own vast – and vulnerable – geography. He portrays Putin as someone who goes to bed praying: “Why, God, did you not put some mountains into Ukraine?!” Russia has always been most vulnerable towards the Western flatlands – and will forever try to protect its imperial interests there.

On a mundane level, the cultural West often conveniently “forgets” to mention that, as the Soviet Union went bust in 1989, they made a deal with NATO to completely withdraw from East-Germany against the NATO-promise that they will not extend NATO eastwards. Russia kept that deal, NATO absolutely did not. So, Russia – no choirboy in that matter itself – has been betrayed and is agitated.

And if you come too close to a dangerous and hungry bear, setting up a tent right in front of its lair, what will be the outcome? Peace and cozying up? No way, Norway, a country trapped right in between a rock and a hard place.

The Kingdom truth # 2 is: Russia is a prisoner of an imperial spirit placed in it by God himself. 

The world has seen its sequence of “Age of Empire” -Jesus calls it the “Kairos of Nations” (in Lk 21:24). Daniel 2 and 7 introduces four creatures that are the hallmark or Totems of four empires that will come and rule on the earth: The “lion with wings like an Eagle”, Babylon; the bear, Medo-Persia; the leopard, Greece; and a mutant-monster chimera, Rome. 

These empires are given a time window to be imperial as a corrective and pedagogic measure of God, after his own people had rejected his rule over them (1 Sam 8:7). God simply said: You, my own people, reject me to be who I am, King of kings? OK, then as a homework for the next couple of thousand years, y’all learn what it is to be under the fist of global empires that will fill the God- & King-shaped void. Then you will say: Oh my God, we would have better submitted to you than those brute colonizers!

Kingdom truth #3: These empires still exist; their imperial spirit is still alive, although they are coming swiftly to an end in our very days. If you are just following the beasts, you will see that the first empire (Babylon), is still alive in the “Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation” with Henry the LION and the EAGLE as its original double-totem (yes, remember Hitler). It does not take much prophetic acumen to see “Russia the Bear” as an heir to the Medo-Persian bear-spirit. And, for the sake of completion, the British Empire, with originally a LEOPARD, not three lions, in its flag, is a continuation of Greece under Alex the Great. And what is left of the USA is nothing but a Roman Empire Spirit gone West – and now soon going South (as in: falling apart). Watch it.

Kingdom Truth #4 is that Russia, called names like Magog, Gog, Thogarma or Mesech (see Ez 38 + 39, and don’t forget Rev 20:6) has a gaff in its cheek, a hook, a leash placed there by God himself (Ez 38:4). The bear is God’s bear and will dance to God’s flute.

Kingdom truth #5: The bear was told by God: “Eat much meat!” (Dan 7:5). Just as every animal on our planet has a divine thought and intention that created it and gave it persona, God makes nations to do the same: To be vessels for good or bad, holy or unholy. Does the pot have the right to tell its potter: Why did you make me like this? No. But it has the right to ask: WHAT is my purpose? And God would answer: You are carrying a partial Kingdom truth as a narrative and message about a world that ran away from me. You are whom I made you to be. And a bear is not a pussycat!

Although most bears actually like being a bear, to be a voracious and devouring bear is not the prettiest and most romantic of animals. Remember that most of the current “Russian population” (in inverted commas because most “Russians” are actually not ethnic Russian) is probably fed up by Czar Putin and his bloody wars (like Afghanistan or Syria). 

This is why many in Russia will now turn away from the empire mindset that traps a man like Putin – and start looking for a better framework for their future, a better allegiance than with Soviet Union 2.0. And this search mode will lead many to the discovery that yes, there is exactly such an empire – totally loving, benevolent, powerful and meaningful – under the wise rulership of a Czar of czars. And this empire is called The Kingdom of God, and it is ruled by Jesus the Christ. 

Be ready, therefore, for a huge Kingdom harvest in Russia of many who are getting tired of PK – Putin & Kyrill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, running in circles.

Now let’s land on earth again after all these Kingdom perspectives and remember the very earthly truth that what is Russia today actually started in Kiev, as a loose federation of Slavic States called “Kievan Rus,” along the Dnieper River in what is todays – Ukraine!

(Wolfgang Simson is the author of Houses That Change the World.)

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Free eBook Copy of “A Black River”

Advertising blurb:

“I had a vision that showed a black river flowing out of America’s inner cities, filled with black apostles and prophets. Their moral characters were at a level never before witnessed in America.

“No longer would believers have to gaze back at John Wesley, Jonathan Edwards, Charles Finney, D. L. Moody, Billy Graham or whomever for examples of godly men because these black apostles and prophets would raise the bar of godliness to a level approaching the character of Jesus… This is the generation of men that America has been longing to see. (Excerpt from Chapter 13 of “A Black River”)

God is never late, but He sure misses lots of opportunities to be early. This is especially true for Black Americans who have suffered through four hundred years of oppression and discrimination while chasing the American dream. The years have all merged themselves together into one long day of weary hopelessness. 

But now at last, hope arises. The same God who looked upon Israel’s captivity in Egypt, is looking down on the Black Americans living in our nation’s inner cities and is preparing to act.

How? What? Why? 

“A Black River” is one of the most important ebooks published in 2021, especially for those believers hungering for revival.

To receive your free eBook copy, just go here.

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Filed under African-American, America, black people, Books, Christianity, Church, Prayer, Publishing, Race wars, Racism, Self publishing, Writing

The Great Debate on White Supremacy and Jesus

(A Fictional Short Story)

Harvard’s Spangler Auditorium was filled to capacity. A few people stood at the back of the auditorium, but the fire marshals limited the number to a hundred standing-room-only people. Fortunately, the event was also live-streamed to the whole Harvard community.

The Harvard Crimson labeled the debate: “A Black firebrand professor debates a stuffy white Christian dean on white supremacy in the Church.”

The Black firebrand professor was Dr. Isaiah Rashad, head of racial conflict in America and author of four books, dealing with white supremacy. His scheduled opponent was Dean Jonathan D. Edwards from the Dallas Theological Seminary.

The curtain went up, revealing a podium at center stage with three people sitting behind it: one Black man, one Asian woman and one white man. The woman stood up and walked to the podium.

“Good evening,” she said. “My name is Dr. Clara Chung. I will be the moderator for this debate. I first want to announce a change in the debate. Dean Edwards tested positive for COVID this afternoon and offers his regrets for not being able to be here. The East Coast Vice President for Business Men’s Fellowship and owner of eight restaurants – Harvey Whitman – has graciously offered to take Dean Edwards’ place.”

She paused to check her notes.

“The rules for the debate are simple because there really aren’t any, except each must treat his opponent with the highest respect. Thus, they have the freedom to roam wherever they choose in their dialogues. Each may make an opening statement, not to exceed thirty minutes. After that, it will be an open debate format.

“Because of a coin flip, Dr. Rashad will speak first.” She turned around toward the two men behind her. “Dr. Rashad, the podium is yours. “

Dr. Chung sat down while Dr. Rashad walked to the podium. Rashad looked more like an athlete than an academic with broad shoulders and long cornrow braided hair. His muscular arms bulged inside his tailored black sport coat.  

“Thank you, Dr. Chung,” said Dr. Rashad. “And a big thank you to Harvard University for putting on this debate during black history month. I am proud to be a part of Harvard’s faculty, knowing our university desires to be at the forefront of racial changes in America.”

He stood at the podium with the microphone in his hand.

“In 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, ‘The most segregated hour in this nation is Sunday at 11:00 am. Interestingly enough, a few months before King’s statement, a Gallup poll showed that one in seven Americans believed there was a biblical basis for the separation of races.

“Does anyone seriously believe anything much has changed over the last sixty years?”

Rashad wove the sad American Church narrative from our nation’s early slavery beginnings to the present time. Over and over again, he pointed out how white supremacist attitudes fueled skepticism and resistance to true peace between the races. 

“Today’s white Evangelicals are more concerned with checking all of the right boxes without considering that true repentance means more than just saying, ‘We’re sorry.’ It means being willing to walk through the valley of transformation so that both races arrive at true reconciliation, even if that takes twenty to thirty years or more. It’s only then we will see a lasting peace.”

Dr. Rashad looked at his watch, nodded his head to the audience and walked back to his seat.

Dr. Chung walked to the podium.

“Mr. Whitman,” she said, “it is your turn.”

Whitman stood up and slowly walked to the podium. 

If the outcome of the debate depended on looks and charisma, Harvey Whitman was at a decided disadvantage. Short, bald, ten pounds overweight and a meek manner certainly did not play well on most stages, especially following someone like Rashad. 

Whitman picked up the handheld wireless microphone and walked back and forth across the front of the stage with his head down and his eyes almost closed. He said nothing for a few minutes. The crowd moved restlessly in their seats.

Then, he stopped and spoke. “Dr. Rashad accurately laid out the problems facing the American Church with its racial issues. I only disagree with him on one point – that it will take twenty to thirty years to work through these problems. And I will prove him wrong in the next twenty minutes.”

He stopped walking and looked toward the crowd to the left of him. He pointed with his left hand.

“Right over there, about twenty rows from the front, is a young woman named Tina Andrews. Tina, would you please stand up? Don’t be shy! The Lord has something for you.”

A young black woman stood up. 

The crowd gasped. How could this man know Tina’s name?

Whitman paid no attention to the crowd and said, “I feel that Lord has just shown me that you received some bad news yesterday. Is that correct??

Tears dripped down her face as she nodded her head.

“The Lord is going to heal you of cervical cancer right now in Jesus’ name.”

The woman screamed and fell over backwards into her chair.

Whitman moved to the center of the stage and pointed into the crowd.

“Denzel Martin, stand up.”

No one obeyed his command. The crowd looked around.

“Okay, that would be Denzel Martin at 227 Eighth Avenue, Apartment 2. Do you want me to give out your phone number, too?

A black man stood up, shaking his head.

Once again, the crowd gasped and murmured aloud, wondering how he knew Denzel.

“You just flunked your vision test to be a pilot in the Air Force, right?” Whitman said.

The man nodded his head.

“The Lord is going to heal your eyes right now in Jesus’ name.”

The black man fell over backwards into his chair.

“Denzel, go have your eyes rechecked tomorrow. They will be better than 20/20.”

Whitman called out the names of eight more people over the following fifteen minutes. He accurately told them their problems and then prayed for their healings.

“Has everyone noticed that I have only prayed for black people tonight?” said Whitman. “Okay, have any of these black people cared about my skin color? No! They were just happy that someone was able to walk in the spiritual gifts to help them out of some major problems in their lives.”

Whitman walked to the front of the stage and looked at the crowd with blazing eyes.

“We can debate. We can talk. We can write. We can do all of this and more, but this will take years to unravel all of our racial problems. Or we can learn how to walk in the gifts of the Spirit and do miracles for each other. If we learn how to do this, it will break down whatever barriers are holding us back in a short period of time. Do you realize this is what Jesus did? Shouldn’t we do the same?”

Dr. Rashad walked over and hugged Whitman.

(Just so everyone knows: I modeled Harvey Whitman’s spiritual gifts on the ministries of William Branham and Paul Cain.)

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Filed under black people, Christianity, Church, Healing, Prophecy, Racism, Short Story

Can the American Church continue to ignore Jesus’s and Paul’s warnings?

Eusebius, an early Church historian, stated that Matthew wrote his Gospel in 41 A.D. If this is true, then maybe the Apostle Paul had already read Matthew’s book when Paul wrote his second letter to the church in Thessalonica in 52 A. D.

At the time, the Thessalonians were facing severe persecution and needed to be encouraged by Paul. But also, the apostle wanted to derail a false teaching that the day of the Lord had already come. This false teaching undermined Paul’s words in his first letter to the Thessalonian believers.

Paul countered the false teaching by stating:

            Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of  the Lord had come. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, (2 Thessalonians 2:1-3 NKJ)

Paul gave two specific events that had to occur before the day of the Lord occurred: (1) the falling away of professed Christians from their faith and (2) the Antichrist is openly revealed for all to see.

Now, where did Paul get this information? Did he receive it solely through the Holy Spirit or was he also inspired by Matthew’s Gospel?

It’s just an interesting possibility that we’ll probably not know until we arrive in heaven. But look what Jesus said in Mathew’s Gospel:

            And at that time many will fall away, and they will betray one another and hate one another. 

            Therefore, when you see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place—let the reader understand (Matthew 24:10, 15 NASB)

Even though Jesus and Paul warned us about the great falling away, what is the American church doing to prepare their congregations ahead of time?

90 – 95% of America’s Evangelical churches are not teaching on the end times or the Book of Revelation. This becomes even sadder when one considers that Jesus admonished us to understand the end times in Matthew 24:15.

In the weeks ahead, let’s take a look at what we can do to prepare ourselves for the end times so we do not end up being casualties in the “great falling away.”

(Continued in Part 2) 

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Our unfulfilled promises from God may be our parachutes during America’s freefall into calamity if we only…

https://thechart.blogs.cnn.com

“You have six months to a year to live. Not much can be done for you. Sorry!” proclaimed a surgeon to his cancer patient.

None of us ever want to hear these words, but Glen, a close friend of mine did hear those words just a few days ago. 

What Glen did after hearing the surgeon’s message was a game changer for him and can be a valuable lesson for all of us.

            In those days Hezekiah became mortally ill. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, came to him and said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Set your house in order, for you are going to die and not live.’” (2 Kings 20:1 NASB)

King Hezekiah was the King of Judah who did what was right in the sight of the Lord, much like King David did. He would have been about 39 years old when Isaiah prophesied these words to him.

Isaiah was one of the most accurate prophets in all of the Bible. So, his message was a death sentence to Hezekiah. It would have been understandable for Hezekiah to give up, lie down and await his impending death.

But Hezekiah did not do that!

            Then he turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, saying, “Please, Lord, just remember…and Hezekiah wept profusely. (2 Kings 20:2-3 NASB)

King Hezekiah humbled himself and asked the Lord to remember his journey with Him. 

His prayer was answered almost immediately.

            “Return and say to Hezekiah the leader of My people, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your father David says: “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I am going to heal you…And I will add fifteen years to your life… (2 Kings 20:5-6 NASB) 

By putting the Lord in remembrance, King Hezekiah added fifteen years to his life. Not bad, right?

What did Glen do?

Glen’s first words were: “That’s the doctor’s report, not God’s report!”

Then, Glen reminded the Lord of his near-death experience with COVID in January of this year. Glen was in the hospital for over a week, hovering close to death, but it was at this time that the Lord spoke to him, giving him insights and promises for his life. Glen wrote pages of stuff about his experience.

“God is not going to allow me to die after speaking to me in January,” Glen proclaimed.

What Hezekiah did and what Glen did and is doing, we can do the same!

If you are like me, we have promises from the Lord that are not fulfilled as yet. So, we can remind the Lord of His promises for our lives. It’s up to Him to make His promises come to pass, not us. 

And trust me on this: God will bankrupt heaven – if He needs to do so – to fulfill His promises for our lives. COVID, other diseases and pestilences, famines, earthquakes and whatever are nothing compared to His faithfulness.

            And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon…and it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. And he came by the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus…then he took Him in his arms, and blessed God, and said, “Now, Lord, You are letting Your bond-servant depart in peace, according to Your word…” (Luke 2:25-29 NASB)

God will make our crooked ways straight for our lives if we walk with Him and remind Him of His words, just as He did for King Hezekiah and Simeon and Glen.

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“I’m Mad as Hell and I’m not Going to Take it Anymore!”

(“Network” (1976 movie starring Peter Finch as Howard Beale.)

            A few weeks ago, I had a vivid dream in which I saw Americans struggling with today’s COVID issues. Masks. Six-foot distancing. Vaccines. Possible vaccine passports. All of us felt so frustrated with the foolishness and hype attached to these issues. We just wanted to return to normal.

            But next in the dream, I saw new strains of COVID hitting our nation. The foolishness and hype ramped itself up again with new government mandates as politicians hoped to remain in control of each outbreak. Everything happened quickly but the politicians always seemed to answer all questions with: “Let’s follow the science.”

            Then, in the dream, new plagues and pestilences hit America. 

            No longer were a mere 1 – 2% of the people dying from the diseases, but now, 10 –   20% were dying. Pharmaceutical companies, scientists, the media and politicians threw their hands in the air. They no longer had answers. Chaos and hysteric pandemonium reigned throughout America! 

            I felt so overwhelmed in the dream. There seemed to be no hope.

            The dream finally ended.

Maybe your first thoughts upon reading about my dream is: “God wouldn’t allow that to happen! He’s a God of love. This guy must have had a bad pizza experience.” 

            And the Lord God of their fathers sent warnings to them by His messengers, rising up early and sending them, because He had compassion on His people…. (2 Chronicles 36:15 NKJ)

Like many of you, I am frustrated with the administration, our governments and the media. I feel – with rare exceptions – these institutions have mishandled COVID 19 and its various strains.

But at the same time, I also realize the Lord God Almighty has allowed the administration, various governments and the media to be set in place for this time period. This is the hand we are dealt with by the Lord and how we play it out may well determine the life and death outcomes for many people. Maybe even our children and grandchildren!

So, at the very least, pray about my dream and ask the Lord for discernment.

If you feel the Lord has told you to ignore the warning, God bless you. 

If you believe my dream is a warning from the Lord, then you have two options:

            #1. Accept this dream as a warning, but then do nothing to prepare yourself and your loved ones. (The five foolish virgins.)

            #2. Accept this dream as a warning, and then prepare yourselves through prayer, fasting and studying the Word. (The five wise virgins.)

My first bit of advice is:  don’t waste your time being angry at the administration, our governments or the media. Forgive them and pray for them. Channel your energy and passion into seeking the Lord.

(More on this in the future, but if you missed my article on being political dropouts, you can read it here.)

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Filed under America, Calamities, Christianity, Coronavirus, End-Times, Kingdom of God, Prayer, Prophecy

Let’s Be Political Dropouts

https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2016/02/08/if-youre-indifferent-about-reading-this-article-it-may-be-genetic/

I had a vision in the first month of 2021 in which I saw a train speeding across the plain states. Somehow, I knew the train represented America. 

My perspective changed in the vision and I saw hundreds of miles ahead of the train. There I saw a deep gorge, but the bridge over the deep chasm was out. The train was heading toward disaster!

My perspective changed again in the vision and I was inside the train. There I watched Christians preoccupy themselves with attempting to change the train’s engineer and crew to their viewpoints or if that didn’t work, to set in place a new engineer and crew. It was loud and competitive! A few people had divine insights about the disaster lying ahead of the train and attempted to warn the Body of Christ, but their seemingly mere whispers were drowned out by the louder voices concerned with the engineer and train crew.

I then felt the Holy Spirit ask me: “Do you want to board the train and attempt to warn people? Or do you want to spend your time preparing for the upcoming disaster?

I chose the latter.

The vision ended.

            “Politics is one of the Church’s worst problems. It is her constant temptation. The occasion for some of her worst disasters. It is a trap set for her by the prince of this world.” (Jacque Ellul)

Whether we like it or not, America’s government and political system is a part of the world system which is under the rule of Satan. This system is fueled by lust, greed, pride, selfish ambition, contentions and idolatry. To ever think that we could somehow clean up this system is foolhardy for us believers to even consider.  This won’t happen until the seventh trumpet is blown and the angel announces, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and He shall reign forever and ever!”

Yes, we should vote for good, moral men/women to represent us. This is our civic duty and I believe the Lord endorses our efforts in carrying out these obligations.

But…

I believe the Church needs to wash its hands of ever endorsing a political party or any candidates. Let each believer make up his or her mind without any judgmental attitudes from churches or its leaders. Period.

Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers are not called to be cheerleaders for political parties or politicians. Their callings are to help equip believers for service in the Body and to help bring us into maturity so that we are able to walk in unity and full knowledge of our Lord.

Most unbelievers think Christians are nothing more than Trump supporters and Republican voters. They can’t see Christ in us because our political clatter and partisan stances overwhelm them.

Let’s return and do the simple words of Jesus:

             But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness… (Matthew 6:33)

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Bill Britton’s “The Harness of the Lord”

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The author of this allegory was Bill Britton (1918 – 1985). He adapted it from a vision he received during the 1950’s:

I SAW THE KING’S CARRIAGE 

On a dirt road in the middle of a wide field stood a beautiful carriage, something on the order of a stagecoach but all edged in gold and with beautiful carvings. It was pulled by six large chestnut horses: two in the lead, two in the middle and two in the rear. But they were not moving, they were not pulling the carriage, and I wondered why.

Then I saw the driver underneath the carriage on the ground on his back just behind the last two horses’ heels working on something between the front wheels on the carriage. I thought, “My, he is in a dangerous place; for if one of those horses kicked or stepped back, they could kill him, or if they decided to go forward, or got frightened somehow, they would pull the carriage right over him.” But he didn’t seem afraid for he knew that those horses were disciplined and would not move till he told them to move. The horses were not stamping their feet nor acting restless, and though there were bells on their feet, the bells were not tinkling. There were pom-poms on their harness over their heads but the pom-poms were not moving. They were simply standing still and quiet waiting for the voice of the Master.

THERE WERE TWO YOUNG COLTS IN THE FIELD 

As I watched the harnessed horses I noticed two young colts coming out of the open field and they approached the carriage and seemed to say to the horses: “Come and play with us, we have many fine games, we will race with you, come catch us.” And with that the colts kicked up their heels flicked their tails and raced across the open field. But when they looked back and saw the horses were not following they were puzzled. They knew nothing of the harnesses and could not understand why the horses did not want to play. So they called to them: “Why do you not race with us? Are you tired? Are you too weak? Do you not have strength to run? You are much too solemn, you need more joy in life.” But the horses answered not a word nor did they stamp their feet or toss their heads. But they stood, quiet and still, waiting for the voice of the Master.

Again the colts called to them: “Why do you stand so in the hot sun? Come over here in the shade of this nice tree. See how green the grass is? You must be hungry, come and feed with us, it is so green and so good. You look thirsty, come drink of one of our many streams of cool clear water.” But the horses answered them not so much as a glance but stood still waiting for the command to go forward with the King.

COLTS IN THE MASTER’S CORRAL

And then the scene changed and I saw lariat nooses fall around the necks of the two colts and they were led off to the Master’s corral for training and discipline. How sad they were as the lovely green fields disappeared and they were put into the confinement of the corral with its brown dirt and high fence. The colts ran from fence to fence seeking freedom but found that they were confined to this place of training. And then the Trainer began to work on them with His whip and His bridle. What a death for those who had been all their lives accustomed to such a freedom! They could not understand the reason for this torture, this terrible discipline. What crime had they done to deserve this? Little did they know of the responsibility that was to be theirs when they had submitted to the discipline, learned to perfectly obey the Master and finished their training. All they knew was that this processing was the most horrible thing they had ever known.

SUBMISSION AND REBELLION 

One of the colts rebelled under the training and said, “This is not for me. I like my freedom, my green hills, my flowing streams of fresh water. I will not take any more of this confinement, this terrible training.” So he found a way out, jumped the fence, and ran happily back to the meadows of grass. I was astonished that the Master let him go and went not after him. But He devoted His attention to the remaining colt. This colt though he had the same opportunity to escape decided to submit his own will and learn the ways of the Master. The training got harder than ever but he was rapidly learning more and more how to obey the slightest wish of the Master and to respond to even the quietness of His voice.

And I saw that had there been no training, no testing, there would have been neither submission nor rebellion from either of the colts. For in the field they did not have the choice to rebel or submit, they were sinless in their innocence. But when brought to the place of testing and training and discipline, then was made manifest the obedience of one and the rebellion of the other. And though it seemed safer not to come to the place of discipline because of the risk of being found rebellious, yet I saw that without this there could be no sharing of His glory, no Sonship.

INTO THE HARNESS 

Finally this period of training was over. Was he now rewarded with his freedom and sent back to the fields? Oh no. But a greater confinement than ever now took place as a harness dropped about his shoulders. Now he found there was not even the freedom to run about the small corral, for in the harness he could only move where and when his Master spoke. And unless the Master spoke, he stood still.

The scene changed and I saw the other colt standing on the side of a hill nibbling at some grass. Then across the fields, down the road came the King’s carriage drawn by six horses. With amazement he saw that in the lead, on the right side, was his brother colt now made strong and mature on the good corn in the Master’s stable. He saw the lovely pom-poms shaking in the wind, noticed the glittering gold bordered harness about his brother, heard the beautiful tinkling of the bells on his feet — and envy came into his heart.

Thus he complained to himself: “Why has my brother been so honored, and I am neglected? They have not put bells on MY feet nor pom-poms on MY head. The Master has not given ME the wonderful responsibility of pulling His carriage, has not put about ME the gold harness. Why have they chosen my brother instead of me?” And by the Spirit the answer came back to me as I watched: “Because one submitted to the will and discipline of the Master and one rebelled, thus has one been chosen and the other set aside.”

A FAMINE IN THE LAND 

Then I saw a great drought sweep across the countryside and the green grass became dead, dry, brown and brittle. The little streams of water dried up, stopped flowing, and there was only a small muddy puddle here and there. I saw the little colt (I was amazed that it never seemed to grow or mature) as he ran here and there across the fields looking for fresh streams and green pastures finding none. Still he ran, seemingly in circles, always looking for something to feed his famished spirit. But there was a famine in the land and the rich green pastures and flowing streams of yesterday were not to be had. And one day the colt stood on the hillside on weak and wobbly legs wondering where to go next to find food and how to get strength to go. It seemed like there was no use, for good food and flowing streams were a thing of the past and all the efforts to find more only taxed his waning strength.

Suddenly he saw the King’s carriage coming down the road pulled by six great horses. And he saw his brother, fat and strong, muscles rippling, sleek and beautiful with much grooming. His heart was amazed and perplexed, and he cried out: “My brother where do you find the food to keep you strong and fat in these days of famine? I have run everywhere in my freedom, searching for food, and I find none. Where do you, in your awful confinement, find food in this time of drought? Tell me, please, for I must know!” And then the answer came back from a voice filled with victory and praise: “In my Master’s House there is a secret place in the confining limitations of His stables where He feeds me by His own hand and His granaries never run empty and His well never runs dry.”

And with this the Lord made me to know that in the day when people are weak and famished in their spirits in the time of spiritual famine that those who have lost their own wills and have come into the secret place of the most High into the utter confinement of His perfect will shall have plenty of the corn of Heaven and a never ending flow of fresh streams of revelation by His Spirit. Thus the vision ended.

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