I Have Decided to Follow Jesus-No Turning Back

1 Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you,
2 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 Christ had come.
3 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
II Thessalonians 2:1-3

They have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness
II Peter 2:15

Looking all around us, we see signs of the birth pangs of the Great Tribulation all across the globe. Even those that do not profess Christ have been saying that we're living in the "last days."

We look to Israel, and know that the Word of God tells us that she represents our time line of things that are soon to come.

Before Jesus comes to retrieve us, we're told that there will be a great falling away from Him.
Falling away in the Strongs Exhaustive Concordance is #646 in Greek, it means defection, apostasy.

Apostasy in Websters means: a total desertion of or departure from one's religion, principles, faith, party, cause, etc. defection, renunciation.

In the encyclopedia I find: the total rejection of Christianity by a baptized person who, having at one time professed the Christian faith, publicly rejects it. It is distinguished from heresy, which is limited to the rejection of one or more Christian doctrines by one who maintains an overall adherence to Jesus Christ.

Before Jesus comes for His Bride, THIS WILL HAPPEN. I'm determined that I'll not be among those. In Jesus' Name.

That makes me remember Hebrews 10:35, 36
35 Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward.
36 For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise

Hebrews 12:1
Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us

Matthew 24:13
But he who endures to the end shall be saved.

Endure in the Strongs Exhaustive Concordance #5278, Greek means: hypomeno and it means:
to remain
to tarry behind
to remain i.e. abide, not recede or flee
to preserve: under misfortunes and trials to hold fast to one's faith in Christ
to endure, bear bravely and calmly: ill treatments

Remember the old hymn "I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back, no turning back." I say YES YES YES, that's ME.

We're told in Hebrews 3:6
but Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.

I WILL HOLD FAST MY CONFINDENCE AND THE REJOICING OF THE HOPE FIRM TO THE END.

Hebrews 3:14 says:
For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end

Hebrews 4:14
Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast confession.

I Corinthians 15:58
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

Galatians 6:9
And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.

We have much to look forward to. We have a GREAT REWARD with the Lord, and we're NOT going to turn back, or fall away, in the Name of Jesus.

If we have done anything to reproach the Lord or compromise our walk in HIM, we have I John 1:9 that says:
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

We must do like David did and call out to the Lord saying:
Psalm 51:10-17
Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit. Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners shall be converted to You. Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, The God of my salvation, And my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, And my mouth shall show forth Your praise. For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart--These, O God, You will not despise.

Hebrews 10:23
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.

Father, strengthen our resolve to serve You. HELP US to call out to You and set our feet firmly on YOUR WAY, Your paths. Help us to choose LIFE. We KNOW that in YOU is life everlasting, we choose life and not death. In Jesus' Name.

Honor the Blood

This article is from Osterhus Pub. House and is used by permission.

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Honor the Blood

The Lord compares the intense battles of the Christian life with floods. “When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him” (Isaiah 59:19). A flood comes in waves -- wave after wave. It mercilessly battles whatever is in its way. Sometimes the sinister buildup is evident. At other times it comes unannounced in a tidal wave. It is out to do damage. The frantic efforts of men to stop it are more often feeble than effective.

The flood strategy of the archenemy, satan (personally, I choose not to capitalize his name, do not want to give him any recognition at all, not even with grammar. Sharon), is to leave a wake of destruction, to make debris out of God’s design. He made a shambles out of David’s morals. Peter was swept off his feet by waves of worldly fellowship as he warmed himself at the enemy’s fire, by blasphemy, and by outright denial of his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Demas was submerged in his love for the world. The same satanic strategy is successfully used against the saints of today. His “wiles” and “darts” are innumerable.

Floods referred to, in connection with the enemy, cover a wide area of satanic intrigue. They are vile and vicious. satan, their instigator, is a murderer. He is out to kill. He wrecks family love. He divides husbands and wives. He attacks the human body. He robs the mind of sweet peace. Anxiety, fear, worry, hate, jealousy, and vain imaginations are just a few of his methods of breaking down the spiritual and physical life of the saint of God.

There is no saint, weak or strong, who goes unnoticed by the destroyer. satan’s “flood” approach is no match for soulish ingenuity. The strongest efforts of resistance will crumble under the force of hell’s fury when met by any other than God’s way.

BLESSED REMEDY

“The Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.” What is that “standard? It is blessed Calvary. The accomplishment of the shed blood of Christ on the cross can meet any raging ”flood” emergency in the spiritual life of the believer at any time, anywhere and successfully deal with it. It is the effective answer to all of satan’s onslaughts.

There must be a personal application of the blood of Christ in order to stem the tide of spiritual destruction in the life of the child of God. It was said of Moses that, “Through faith he kept the Passover, and the sprinkling of the blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them.” (Hebrews 11:28). It is a personal matter. “The blood shall be to you for a token” (Exodus 12:13). The blood applied by sprinkling, was all that was required for peace of mind and rest of heart. It took away all fear of the destroying angel. It was not mere interest in the blood, nor belief in its power, nor appreciation of its worth that availed. It was the applied blood that counted. Truth was translated into action. So it is with the blood of the Lord Jesus. It is effective against satanic floods when applied by faith. A proper application of His blood to a given situation, if the believer is operating from a cleansed position, always brings deliverance. It never fails.

The blood of animals used in the Jewish sacrifices was symbolic. It had no power in itself. A type resembles the antitype but is inferior to it. It presents a figure of the real. It is a shadow of the substance. The blood of animals did not have power to cleanse, shelter, or preserve. The slain lamb of the Old Testament was a picture of the slain Lamb of God of the New Testament. By observing the various rituals, the Old Testament people of God were testifying to their faith in the coming Messiah whose blood would redeem and sanctify them. What is the New Testament counterpart of these Old Testament ceremonies? They made much of the blood. How do we make much of the blood? They covered many things with the blood of animals. How do we cover many things with the blood of Christ? These are important questions. As we look with the eye of faith we can see much blood in the tabernacle ministry in the wilderness which was a pattern of the church which is His Body. As Christ, the Head of the church, looks at us individually and corporately does He see His blood honored?

“And they overcame him [satan] by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives until the death.” (Revelation 12:11). The Holy Spirit, Who is the Infallible Teacher, will make real to each one, His way of working this “mystery” of the wonder-working power of the blood of Christ, to meet every thrust of satan. In this verse He was given three general guide lines.
1.) The basis of our power and authority over all the enemy: “the blood of the Lamb”
2.)The word of our testimony. This is the practical application of our belief in “the blood of the Lamb.” When the conflict is close and fierce with the Adversary, our testimony will be directed to him. Jesus practiced this truth. Under the protection of the blood of Christ and with the authority vested by Christ Himself, unafraid and unflinchingly notify satan that he is a defeated foe, that he has no right or power in a given situation because you are moving against him and his activity with the “standard” provided by God, the precious blood of Christ. God will keep His part of the covenant. Our responsibility is to “sprinkle the blood.“ It is God’s part to deliver.
3.) All aspects of the self-life must be reckoned “unto death” if satan is to be defeated. The redeemed saint who is cleansed from sin must become a selfless saint in order to become a victorious warrior.
When these three premises are met, then the child of God is able to exercise his heritage of spiritual authority. The unlimited power of the blood of the Lord Jesus will be loosed.

Some successful warriors that I know take this simple stand of faith, “I cover my home with the blood of Jesus to protect occupants and possessions from any influence, satan, that you or your evil spirits would try to excert. I bring to bear the power of the blood of Jesus to bind you.” It is also helpful to remind him that that God said that what we “bind on earth” He would “bind in Heaven.” The applied blood of Jesus always calls his bluff. He was stripped of his power at Calvary. He is utterly helpless against the blood of Christ.

As God built a hedge around Job, which limited satan, so today He will do the same for any child of God who applies the blood to a given situation. The blood is the hedge that stops the destroyer. It is possible to be so hedged in by this blood-protecting wall that nothing can happen to you which is not God’s absolute will. This is true in any area of your life. This principle can be applied to travel, to loved ones, to possessions. It is not a ritual. It is a living experience.

“For the life…is in the blood” (Leviticus 17:11). This is saying that blood contains life. It is also stated in John 6:53, “Then said Jesus unto them, Verily, verily I say unto you, Except ye eat of the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.” It is a quickening power. We are not only to be sprinkled with it outwardly, but we are to receive it inwardly, to drink it. This appropriation of applied blood inwardly and outwardly will bring life to an individual, to the home, and to the Body of Christ. The lack of appropriation will bring spiritual desolation and death.

BLESSED AVAILABILITY

The “precious blood” is made available. It is within reach. Hebrews 9:12 points out the heavenly access of Christ’s blood, “….by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.” It was through His blood He cleansed the heavenly things and entered the holiest on our behalf, “It was therefore necessary that the pattern of things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us” (Hebrews 9:23-24)

The blood of Jesus is not a dead substance. It did not dry up on the cross of Calvary. It is enlivened, activated, and potent through the Holy Spirit. It was the “Eternal Spirit” (Hebrews 9:14) who enabled Jesus to shed His blood and present it in Heaven. The same “Eternal Spirit” brings the living reality of the blood of Jesus to the saints on earth. “And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one” ( I John 5:8 ). The Spirit and the blood are witnesses here on this earth the ways of the world. How can this be explained? The answer is found in John 19:34, "But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water." Water is a symbol of the Holy Spirit. When Jesus was crucified "blood and water" flowed together. there was a mingling of the blood of the Lord Jesus and the person of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is omnipresent. Therefore, He is able to bring the reality of the blood of the Lord Jesus right into a present need. He brings it into the range of the saint so there can be a "sprinkling of the blood" of the Lord Jesus.

BLESSED RESULTS

The scarlet thread in the window of Rahab, which was typical of the blood, was a sign that she and her family and her possessions would be saved from judgment( Joshua 2:18-19 ). Rahab had a responsibility. She had to put the scarlet thread in her window and gather her relatives and possessions back of it. It worked. When the fortified city of Jericho was destroyed, the blood completely protected the property and people. God kept His promise to all who, by an act of their own faith in it, put the token of blood on the houses of Egypt, (Exodus 12). Not one person back of that applied blood was harmed. They had two responsibilities -- to put the blood on their houses; and then keep back of that blood. This exercise took away their fears and frustrations and gave them peace, strength, and Divine deliverance. The safety of the saints is behind the blood of Jesus.

God calls it "the blood of the everlasting covenant" (Hebrews 13:20). The principle of protection behind the blood for the Egyptians and for Rahabs is for us today in I Peter 1:2, Christians are described as "elect...unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ." It is evident that "obedience and the sprinkling of the blood" are intermingled. "Obedience" is our responsibility. In "sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ" we experience the mighty power of the blood of the Lord Jesus in cleansing, safety, and deliverance.

The blood of Jesus is the answer to that unsurmountable problem, that heart-breaking experience, that nagging worry, that pulsating anxiety, that awful fear, that nerve-wracking environment or any other spiritually debilitating experience. There are those who are bound by satan's shackles. The Eternal Spirit, through the blood of Jesus, is the Great Deliverer. Both in Egypt and Jericho, the blood token was to be displayed when help was needed, or help would not be given. If they would have just believed the Word and not been obedient in using the blood sign, all would have been lost. The blood of Jesus, to be effective, must be applied by faith, sprinkled by faith.

BLESSED POSSIBILITIES

The scope of the "sprinkling of the blood of the Lord Jesus" is very great. It is not limited to people. It can be applied to things. "Moreover he sprinkled (likewise) with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry" (Hebrews 9:21 ). "For when Moses had spoken every precept...he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water....and sprinkled both the book and all the people, saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you: (Hebrews 9:19-20). It was applied to the two side posts and the upper door post of the Egyptian houses (Exodus 12:7). "And Moses sprinkled the blood upon the altar round about." (Leviticus 8:24).

God told Moses to apply the blood in the consecration of the priests who were to minister to the people of God. "The ram of consecration...Moses took the blood of it, the thumb of the right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot." (Leviticus 8:22-23). This was also done to Aaron's sons. The "everlasting covenant" dictates that all of us constantly need this covering. A blood-covered ear is needed to "hear what the Spirit sayeth to the churches." A blood-covered thumb is needed to render service to lost humanity and the Body fo Christ. A blood-covered foot is needed to consistently walk in the Spirit.

The Lord has made the saints of today to be "kings and priests unto God" (Revelation 1:6). the total person needs the total covering of the blood of Jesus to become a normal, effective Christian. His blood not only redeems but it also sanctifies, "How much more shall the blood of Christ....purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?" (Hebrews 9:14). The unsanctified ear will be dominated by the inner voice of self. The unsanctified hand will reach out to satisfy the fleshly appetites. The unsanctified foot will delight to walk in the ways of the world. These are the three great avenues of approach which satan makes to the human race -- inflate the ego, satisfy the flesh, and love the world. Jesus was victorious in all three such attempts as recorded in Luke 4:3-10. Christ makes His victory possible for all saints who trust His Spirit to apply His blood. The Spirit and the blood are inseparable. In Leviticus 8:30, “Moses took of the anointing oil [symbol of the Holy Spirit], and of the blood which was upon the altar, and sprinkled it upon Aaron…and upon his garments.” There was a mingling of the oil and blood in the consecration of the priests. There are a mingling of the Spirit and the blood for cleansing and sanctifying all Christians who desire to be effective “priests unto God.”

There are bound ones among the people of God. Zechariah refers to them as “prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water” (Zechariah 9:11). God promised to deliver Jerusalem’s exiled people from their foreign captivity (Babylon) by “the blood of thy covenant.” Jerusalem represents the people of God, His Body. . Babylon represents the religious systems of men. God wants His people out of dead, dry formal religion. The way out is through the blood. Make much of the blood of Jesus. Honor the blood. The systems of men will crumble and the “spiritual habitation,” the Church which is His Body, will triumphantly emerge.

Do not limit the power of the blood of Christ to what you understand. There is no greater mystery in the Christian life than the worth and power of His blood. Apply it by faith. Be a child of God who practices the “sprinkling of the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.” Sprinkle it anywhere there is evidence of pressure, tension, or any kind of satanic effort to thwart the complete will of God in your life. God wants it for a witness, “And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things…” ( Hebrews 12:24 ). Praise the Lord the blood speaks!!!!

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Osterhus Pub. House, 4500 W. Broadway Minneapolis, MN 55422
Toll Free 1-877-643-4229. This tract costs $8 for 100. $24 for 500; $36 for 1000. Shipping & Postage: Add 30 percent (not only 30 cents)

The Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel May 14, 1948

The following article, "The Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel, May 14,1948", was retrieved from the May 2010 edition of The Revival Call, published by the End Time Handmaidens and Servants International. Their site can be found by clicking the link, or, if you wish: http://www.eth-s.org/

I am using this by permission.

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On May 14, 1948, on the day in which the British Mandate over Palestine expired, the Jewish People's Council gathered at the Tel Aviv Museum, and approved the following proclamation, declaring the establishment of the State of Iswrael. The new state was recognized that night by the United States and three days later by the USSR.


This picture is of David Ben-Gurion reading the following declaration on May 14,1948

ERETZ-ISRAEL [(Hebrew) - the Land of Israel, Palestine] was the birthplace of the Jewish people. Here their spiritual, religious and political identity was shaped. Here they first attained to statehood, created cultural values of national and universal significance and gave to the world the eternal Book of Books.

Afer being forcibly exiled from their land, the people kept faith with it throughout their Dispersion and never ceased to pray and hope for their return to it and for the restoration in it of their political freedom.

Impelled by this historic and traditional attachment, Jews strove in every successive generation to re-establish themselves in their ancient homeland. In recent decades they returned in their masses. Pioneers, ma'pilim [(Hebrew)-immigrants coming to Eretz-Israel in defiance of restrictive legislation] and defenders, they made deserts bloom, revived the Hebrew language, built villages and towns, and created a thriving community controlling its own economy and culture, loving peace but knowing how to defend itself, bringing the blessings of progress to all the country's inhabitants, and aspiring towards independent nationhood.

In the year 5657 (1897), at the summons of the spiritual father of the Jewish State, Theodore Herzl, the First Zionist Congress convened and proclaimed the right of the Jewish people to national rebirth in its own country.

This right was recognized in the Balfour Declaration of the 2nd November, 1917, and re-affirmed in the Mandate of the League of Nations which, in particular, gave international sanction to the historic connection between the Jewish people and Eretz-Israel and to the right of the Jewish people to rebuild its National Home.

The castastrophe which recently befell the Jewish people - the massacre of missions of Jews in Eruope - was another clear demonstration of the urgency of solving the problem of its homelessness by re-establishing in Eretz-Israel the Jewish State, which would open the gates of the homeland wide to every Jew and confer upon the Jewish people the status of a fully privileged member of the comity of nations.

Survivors of the Nazi holocaust in Europe, as well as Jews from other parts of the world, continued to migrate to Eretz-Israel, undaunted by difficulties, restrictions and dangers, and never ceased to assert their right to a life of dignity, freedom and honest toil in their national homeland.

In the Second World War, the Jewish community of this country contributed its full share to the struggle of the freedom-and peace-loving nations against the forces of Nazi wickedness and, by the blood of its soldiers and its war effort, gained the right to be reckoned among the peoples who founded the United Nations.

On the 29th November, 1947, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution calling for the establiswhment of a Jewish State in Eretz-Israel; the General Assembly required the inhabitants of Eretz-Israel to take such steps as were necessary on their part for the implementation of that resolution. This recognition by the United Nations of the right of the Jewish people to establish their State is irrevocable.

This right is the natural right of the Jewish people to be masters of their own fate, like all other nations, in their own sovereign State.

ACCORDINGLY WE, MEMBERS OF THE PEOPLE'S COUNCIL, REPRESENTATIVES OF THE JEWISH COMMUNITY OF ERETZ-ISRAEL AND OF THE ZIONIST MOVEMENT, ARE HERE ASSEMBLED ON THE DAY OF THE TERMINATION OF THE BRITISH MANDATE OVER ERETZ-ISRAEL AND, BY VIRTUE OF OUR NATURAL AND HISTORIC RIGHT AND ON THE STRENGTH OF THE RESOLUTION OF THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY, HEREBY DECLARE THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A JEWISH STATE IN ERETZ-ISRAEL, TO BE KNOWN AS THE STATE OF ISRAEL.

WE DECLARE that, with effect from the moment of the termination of the Mandate being tonight, the eve of Sabbath, the 6th Iyar, 5708 (15th May, 1948), until the establishment of the elected, regular authorities of the State in accordance with the Constitution shall be adopted by the Elected Constituent Assembly not later than the 1st October 1948, the People's Council shall act as a Provisional Council of State, and its executive organ, the People's Administration, shall be the Provisional Government of the Jewish State, to be called "Israel".

THE STATE OF ISRAEL will be open for Jewish immigration and for the Ingathering of the Exiles; it will foster the development of the country for the benefit of all its inhabitants; it will be based on freedom, justice and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel; it will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespctive of religion, race or sex; it will guarantee freedom of religion, conscience, language, education and culture; it will safeguard the Holy Places of all religions; and it will be faithful to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations.

THE STATE OF ISRAEL is prepared to cooperate with the agencies and representatives of the United Nations in implementing the resolution of the General Assembly of the 29th November, 1947, and will take steps to bring about the economic union of the whole of Eretz-Israel.

WE APPEAL - in the very midst of the onslaught launched against us now for months - to the Arab inhabitants of the State of Israel to preserve peace and participate in the upbuilding of the State on the basis of full and equal citizenship and due representation in all its provisional and permanent institutions.

WE EXTEND our hand to all neighbouring states and their peoples in an offer of peace and good neighbourliness, and appeal to them to establish bonds of cooperation and mutual help with the sovereign Jewish people settled in its own land. The State of Israel is prepared to do its share in a common effort for the advancement of the entire Middle East.

WE APPEAL to the Jewish people throughout the Diaspora to rally round the Jews of Eretz-Israel in the tasks of immigration and upbuilding and to stand by them in the great struggle for the realization of the age-old dream - the redemption of Israel.

PLACING OUR TRUST IN THE "ROCK OF ISRAEL", WE AFFIX OUR SIGNATURES TO THIS PROCLAMATION AT THE SESSION OF THE PROVISIONAL COUNCIL OF STATE, ON THE SOIL OF THE HOMELAND, IN THE CITY OF TEL-AVIV, ON THIS SABBATH EVE, THE 5TH DAY OF IYAR, 5708 (14TH MAY, 1948)

David Ben-Gurion

Daniel Auster
Mordekkai Bentov
Yitzchak Ben Zvi
Eliyahu Berligne
Fritz Bernstein
Rabbi Wolf Gold
Meir Grabovsky
Yitzchak Gruenbaum
Dr. Abraham Granovsky
Eliyahu Dobkin
Meir Wilner-Kovner
Zerach Wahrhaftig
Herzl Vardi
Rachel Cophen
Rabbi Kalman Kahana
Saadia Kobashi
Rabbi Yitzchak Meir Levin
Meir David Loewenstein
Zvi Luria
Golda Myerson
Nachum Nir
Zvi Segal
Rabbi Yehuda Leib Hacohen Fishman
David Zvi Pinkas
Aharon Zisling
Moshe Kolodny
Eliezer Kolodny
Eliezer Kaplan
Abraham Katznelson
Feklix Rosenblueth
David Remez
Berl Repetur
Mordekhai Shattner
Ben Zion Sternberg
Bekhor Shitreet
Moshe Shapira
Moshe Shertok

If there is not a war on, it's a bad job for you

"If you leave people as you found them, God is not speaking by you.
If you are not making people mad or glad, there is something amiss with your
ministry. If there is not a war on, it's a bad job for you." (Smith Wiggleswworth 1859-1947)

Mr. Wigglesworth must be my favorite of all the patriarchs that I've studied. A general in the Lord's army, and a faithful example in the Body of Christ.

In this mans ministry there were miracles, people raised from the dead, I believe 16 times, including his own wife, people falling under conviction of the Holy Spirit...unto salvation, with only his presence. He moved and lived and had his being in the Lord. He would not go more than 15 minutes without consuming some portion of God's Word and carried a Bible with him wherever he went.

He was not moved by man fear, He LOVED God and put Him FIST in his life. Did not live in any way that would be a reproach to the Lord.

He said, ".....If there is not a war on, it's a bad job for you." He knew that anything that we are faced with, tormented by, that brings oppression, disease, sickness, anything that is stealing, killing or destroying in our or anyone elses life is authored by satan. He knew that if ANYONE is going to be delivered or set free, healed, etc....it was going, and is STILL going to take warfare. Warfare against the author of such things.

The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
John 10:10

Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
Luke 10:19

"And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; "they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."
Mark 16:1`7, 18

"Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
"If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.
"If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.
"By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.
John 15:5-8

Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.
John 14:12

So are we?

Are we abiding in the vine, doing the works that the Lord commissioned us to, while we are OCCUPYING in this planet? This is a war zone, we're to be occupying here as His ambassadors.

"If you leave people as you found them, God is not speaking by you.
Are we leaving people as we find them? Are we making a difference, in the lives of people, for the Kingdom of God?

If you are not making people mad or glad, there is something amiss with your ministry.
If we are addressing the issues we know and see in our own lives and those we come in contact with...recognize them as being authored from the stealer, killer and destroyer, it will either make the devil MAD, or make the folks GLAD that there's HELP on the way.

If there is not a war on, it's a bad job for you."
If we are not geared up, suited out in the armor that the Lord provided for us, to make a difference wherever we go, then we're not carrying out the very specific orders from our Commander and Chief.

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Father, I ask You to HELP US to be, in this life, what you have called us to be. HELP US to walk and live and move and have our being IN YOU, the VINE. I ask You to help us with Holy Ghost Boldness, with the confidence that we have in Your Word. You've let us to know that we are to OCCUPY until You come for us. We are in a war zone, and we're to OCCUPY. In Jesus' Name.

The Dream

The following article, The Dream, was retrieved from the May 2010 edition of The Revival Call, published by the End Time Handmaidens and Servants International. Their site can be found by clicking the link, or, if you wish: http://www.eth-s.org/

I am using it by permission. This speaks of events that we read of in Revelation, the end time, and part of what we are to expect to take place.

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The Dream
by Michael Moldea, the grandson of Dumitru Duduman, the Lord's messenger to America from Romania. Brother Dumitru has gone home to be with the Lord, but his grandson carries his prophetic mantle - Editor

I Thessalonians 5:4-6, "But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober."

I Thessalonians 5:8, "But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation."

I had a dream last night, and if not for the specific instruction to share what I saw, I would have preferred to keep it to myself. I had gone to bed late, having waited for my wife to get home from work. After seeing that she had arrived home safely, and saying my prayers, I fell into a restful sleep. I dreamt that I was sleeping, when a hand touched my shoulder, and a voice I recognized said, "wake up." In my dream I opened my eyes, and my breath caught in my throat as I saw who had awakened me. It was the same messenger, the angel I had seen on previous occasions, dressed in full battle armor, standing by the side of my bed.

"Take my hand" he said, "I have been sent to show you something."

I barely touched the hand that was extended toward me, when my bed and my bedroom evaporated, and I found myself standing before a white oblong building, that looked a lot like a barn or a horse stable. Two large doors made up the front of the structure, and as I looked they began to swing open.

I knew wherever I was, it was not of this earth, because everything shone, everything was white, pristine, immaculate. I also knew that whatever the season was for being shown this, was about to be revealed, so I stood in silence, holding the messenger's hand.

As soon as the doors were fully open, I saw an angel that looked very much like the one standing beside me, except without the armor, leading a white horse by its reins. The horse was large and muscular, but he followed the angel obediently, with its head bent low. The angel's coundenance was somber as he led the horse away, and for some reason this registered with great clarity.

I looked up to the messenger whose hand I will still holding, but he merely nodded toward the white building and the open doors, and said, "witness."

Another angel soon appeared in the doorway, holding the reins of a red horse, following after the first. I began to realize what I was seeing, and in silence watched as two more angels appeared, each holding the reins of a horse, one black, one of no discernable color, just pale. All four angels were dressed alike, and had the same somber, sorrowful countenance.

I stood and watched as all four horses were led out of my sight, and finally when they had disappeared from view, the messenger turned to me and said: "Go and tell what you have seen. The riders prepare, the horses are ready, and soon they will descend, soon they will be loosed. Remember what you have witnessed, and do not hold back a single word. Soon they descend on wings of fury: soon turmoil will shake earth's very foundation. Prepare yourself, for many will fall and few will stand. Fulfillment is at hand, go and speak what you have seen, and what you have heard. The Kingdom awaits the righteous, the holy will soon see the Lord."

I only realized I was still holding his hand when he let go of mine, and suddenly I was back in my bed, sitting up, fully awake. I am still unsure whether or not it was a dream, or if "dream" is the right word for it, but for simplicity's sake I will call it a dream.

I tried to go back to sleep but could not, vividly remembering the sorrowful look on the faces of the angels who where leading the horses out of the stables.

It seems the world is seeing what the church is refusing to acknowledge, the fact that we are on the cusp of great upheaval not only in this nation, but also throughout the world. These are the days of which the prophets spoke, the days of which Christ warned, the time of distress, of sifting and of separation.

My prayer is that we remember always, our hope is in the Lord, and He is faithful to those who are faithful to Him. If one word stands out from this entire dream, it is the word "prepare" and we must do so with diligence. The children of God must steel themselves for what is coming, prepare their hearts and settle within their souls that the day in which we will have to stand for truth is soon approaching.

I Thessalonians 5:23, 24, "Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it."

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Father, HELP US to prepare ourselves, and to stay strong every day of our lives. In Jesus' Name.

The Closing of the Gates of Grace

The following article was retrieved from the May 2010 edition of The Revival Call, published by the End Time Handmaidens and Servants International. Their site can be found by clicking the link, or, if you wish: http://www.eth-s.org/

I am using it by permission.

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The Closing of the Gates of Grace
by Maurice Skylar
March 30, 2009

The Holy Spirit gave me a vision. I saw two massive gate doors -- both on the right and the left of the earth. They were made out of gold with precious gems embedded in them. They were positioned over the earth in the spirit realms. On the other side of the gates was Heaven. On our side of the gates was the earth suspended in space. Then I saw a mighty angel on each side of the two gates. They were standing as sentries guarding the doorway or portal from the two realms. They each had a large sword in their hands that was on fire and it seemed to spin around perpetually in every direction and it shot these flames out all around them. I was amazed and awed at their glory and size. They seemed as large as the earth below them. The gates were even larger in size than they were! Both the angels and the gates were glowing as bright as the sun, it seemed. On the heavenly side -- light was streaming like a river flowing toward the earth. As I looked into the glorious light, I saw the Lord sitting on His thrown in great majesty with many crowns on His head. He had an iron/bronze-looking scepter in his right hand and an old-fashioned-looking harvesting sickle in the other.

Suddenly, I heard His voice. It sounded like a roaring ocean of water and wind as He spoke. I have never heard such a sound before. He said, "The time has come to close the gates of grace upon the earth. The nations have rejected Me and My Father long enough. Lift the coverings of protection off of those nations that have chosen Babylon over my Kingdom. I will no longer protect them from reaping what they have sown."

Then the two angels on each side of the golden gate leaves began to move slowly to shut the giant doorway/portal. I noticed that this was a slow process, because I saw the seasons change on earth and some years pass before it was fully closed. As it was closing, I was able to look closer at the river of light that was pouring upon the earth. In it was every blessing and healing grace, forgiveness, unconditional agape love, and the constant flow of angels carrying all these wonderful blessings to the earth.

Right before the gates shut, I heard the Voice of the Lord say, "Come up here, my Bride, and escape the wrath that is about to be poured out upon the earth."

I heard a nearly deafeningly loud blast of heavenly trumpets from both those angels at the same time, and suddenly, I saw multitudes of souls -- millions and millions of them -- ascending out of the earth very fast in a flash of light. The river of light coming through the gates met them in the upper atmosphere of the earth and then reversed itself and all the souls and the river of light went back up out of the earth and into the closing gates back into Heaven.

Then I saw the gates finish shutting completely -- at a much faster rate now after the souls from earth had finished going into Heaven. Then, it became so dark that I could no longer see the stars even. There was no more river of light flowing down upon the earth. The earth was covered in what looked like white neon hexagon shapes in a web above the earth (please see my teaching "Visions from the Dallas Revival 1985" on my website www.mauriceskylar.com). It rapidly became opaque where I could no longer see the earth underneath. I just saw a brownish looking color -- like a stagnant pond -- where the oceans and land could be seen only a few moments before. Then nearly just as fast, the whole earth seemed to be swallowed up in the thickest black darkness I had ever seen. It was like a black hole in the universe. It made the rest of the universe look light in comparison, if I could describe it that way.

I felt so sick and hopeless as I saw this. Then, just like I had heard back in the vision in 1985, I began hearing the screams of millions upon millions of souls that I knew were trapped in that darkness below in the earth. The Holy Spirit then spoke to me and said, "This is now coming upon the whole earth as a snare and a trap. This is what the nations have chosen. As they have done, so shall, it be done to them. As they have cursed, so shall they be cursed. As they have condemned, so shall they be condemned. The time of My wrath shall surely come. The nations shall drink of the wine of the wrath of My cup that I have mixed for them. Woe! Woe! Woe to the earth for the hour of her judgment has surely come! Babylon shall now fall and be consumed by the fire of my wrath."

Then I realized that these were still events to come in the future. But I also somehow knew that it was imminent. Once again, I saw the doors of the gates of grace still remained partially open. I knew that this was our present time now. I was so relieved to see the river of light flowing into the earth again. But, the doors were closing fast! They weren't fully opened as they were even a few years ago. I knew that we didn't have much more time. The Lord spoke again so loudly and powerfully:

"Warn them! Time is very short! You must preach the gospel and work while it is still daylight. The night comes very soon, and no man can then harvest in the time of grace ever again. The doors of grace are beginning to close. REPENT! REPENT! REPENT, O Earth, before the river of light stops flowing! Then you will face Me, not as Merciful Savior, but as the Judge of all the earth. Who will hear and heed the final call of the silver trumpet's clarion of Grace, Grace! My Spirit will not strive with sinful man forever. Come to Me now while there is still a little time left. I am coming soon for My overcoming Bride. Keep your lamps burning. Watch and Pray.....I AM AT THE DOORS OF GRACE! They are closing quickly....Come into my ark of safety....come into the Bridal chamber and the doors will SHUT....I AM COMING FOR YOU, MY BELOVED.

I pray that we all take heed to God's prophetic warning and be ready when he appears for His glorious, waiting Bride.

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Father, I ask You to HELP US to heed your call, to listen and do, to obey in all that we know to do. HELP US to ready ourselves and stay ready for Your CALL. We know that there are 10 virgins spoken of in Your Word. Five foolish........ and the five wise, that kept themselves prepared and left with her Bridegoom when He came for Her. I CHOOSE to be one of the five wise virgins, watching and waiting for You to send Your Son to retrieve us. In Jesus' Name.