Article and Commentary: I Can Hardly Wait! by Heidi Swander
Shalom Everyone,
Despite all of my current personal and ministry-related problems and the uncertainty about whether or not I will be able or willing to continue with this ministry or will continue to feel a need to move on, one conviction and expectation remains: I am eagerly awaiting the return of our Adonai Yahshua Ha Mashiach and can't wait to be transformed and swept up into the heavenly realms by His angels and the power of the Ruach Ha Kodesh or Holy Spirit in the Rapture.
I am also saddened that so few of the people in my family or among my childhood friends has any expectation of our Messiah's return. Nor are they eagerly awaiting the Millennial Kingdom of God on Earth. Instead they are caught up in the pleasures and distractions that the world offers and are not ready or eager to go to be with Yahshua at any moment. From my present view within the Kingdom of God, I consider this to be a tragic state of affairs.
In some cases, we may have witnessed to the lost people we know countless times, all to no avail. But while we are still on this side of the Rapture and even beyond that, there is still hope that these lost sheep will eventually find their way back into the arms of their loving Creator and His Son. For this reason, all of us who are eager to go home to be with our Adonai need to continually pray for those we know who are stubbornly resisting the call to follow Christ. We need to pray that they will stop refusing to relinquish their love of carnal pleasure in order to die to the world and live for Christ.
In this regard, I am always heartened when I read the writings of someone who feels the same way - joyful, eager, expectant, and desirous - that I do about the return of our Messiah. In the newsletter entry below from the Olive Tree Views ministry, Heidi Swander eloquently voices her own joyful expectation in going home to be with Yahshua and her sorrow in finding out that some of her Christian friends don't share her eagerness. I hope you enjoy this article and can relate to it as much as I did, and will share it with your friends and family.
Maranatha!
Yours in Yahshua,
Helena Lehman
http://pillar-of-enoch.com
******************************
I Can Hardly Wait!
by Heidi Swander
http://www.olivetreeviews.org
December 30, 2010
I went out to dinner with a couple of girlfriends a while back and the conversation easily slipped into world events and how dire the forecast looks economically, socially, politically, etc. Finally I burst out excitedly: "Goin' Home!" (This has become a trademark of mine. When I see the rapid decline of so much in our world, the increase of earthquakes, the decline of the church, the rapid descent into socialism -- it reminds me that the hour is late, and that reminds me that Jesus promised to come and get me!). In response, one of my girlfriends smiled wryly. I said, "Jesus could come back and get us tonight!" to which she replied, "Oh, Jesus could come back tonight, but I doubt it."
My heart wrenched. It wasn't that I believed it any less. It was grief I felt that she, for all her lip service to the imminence of the Lord's return for His bride, very obviously wasn't anticipating Him, let alone waiting with bated breath. And I wondered: How many does she represent in Christendom? How many Christians say they are waiting for Jesus to rapture us out of this world and take us Home, but in practice they evidence a lack of belief because they don't anticipate it moment-by-moment? And their lack of joy reflects it.
Get all excited!
In speaking to the Philippians of our heavenly citizenship, Paul took it for granted that his Christian readers would all be greatly anticipating the return of Jesus Christ. He said, "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ," (Phil. 3:20). Did you get that? Eagerly wait -- that's what he said. Of this verb, John MacArthur in his study Bible says, "The Greek verb . . . expresses the idea of waiting patiently, but with great expectation."
Paul used this same Greek verb in I Corinthians 1:7 when he wrote to the Corinthian church, "So that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of Jesus Christ." In this context, the whole scope of the second coming -- from the rapture through His second coming just prior to the set up of His millennial kingdom -- appears to be in view.
And then there's Paul's letter to the church at Rome. In chapter 8 Paul discusses how all of creation is groaning in anticipation of its transformation back into what God originally intended. And in that context he says, ". . . we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body [the rapture] (8:23). Yep, he used the same word Greek word again.
But Paul isn't the only one who addresses this. When writing to "the saints scattered abroad" in II Peter, the Apostle Peter admonished the believers that their conduct should be holy and they should be "looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God," (II Peter 3:11-12). Of this verb - "hastening", Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible says, ". . . by implication, to await eagerly."
So you see, God expects us -- as a matter of course -- to eagerly anticipate our Home-going. I looked up the word, "eager" in my American Heritage Dictionary and here's what it said: "Intensely desirous of something; impatiently expectant." Reality check: Are you intensely desirous and patiently (or impatiently) expectant for Jesus Christ to return to take you Home?
Do you love it?
As Paul was preparing to be martyred for Jesus, he eloquently spoke of looking back to a life lived in obedience to God and looking forward to his Home-going. He specifically said that not only he, but all those who "love" Christ's appearing, would receive a crown of righteousness. The word "love" used here connotes passion. And my faithful dictionary gives a description that seems to match the context very well: "A strong enthusiasm. To like or desire enthusiastically." Reality check: Do you enthusiastically, passionately desire for the Lord to come back and take us Home?
Another perspective
Let's look at this from a different perspective: a wedding - specifically, a Jewish wedding. In John 14:2-3, Jesus alluded to a Jewish wedding when He said, "In my Father's house are many mansions . . . I go to prepare a place for you and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also."
In his article, "Pattern is Prologue: The Rapture, Part 2", Chuck Missler does a wonderful job of outlining a Jewish wedding, upon which Jesus' promise to us was predicated. The analogies between the stages of a Jewish wedding and Jesus returning for His church are so numerous that I get excited! I hope you'll read Chuck's article, but let me quote just a portion of it here so you can see what I mean:
Once the bridegroom paid the purchase price, the marriage covenant was established, and the young man and woman were regarded as husband and wife. From that moment on, the bride was declared to be consecrated or sanctified -- set apart -- exclusively for her bridegroom. As a symbol of the covenant relationship that had been established, the groom and bride drank from a cup of wine over which the betrothal had been pronounced.
After the marriage covenant was established, the groom left his bride at her home and returned to his father's house, where he remained separated from his bride for approximately 12 months.This afforded the bride time to gather her trousseau and prepare for married life.
During this period of separation, the groom prepared a dwelling place in his father's house to which he would later bring his bride. At the end of the period of separation, the bridegroom came -- usually at night -- to take his bride to live with him. The groom, the best man, and other male escorts, left the father's house and conducted a torch-light procession to the home of the bride. Although the bride was expecting her groom to come for her, she did not know the time of his coming. As a result, the groom's arrival was preceded by a shout, which announced her imminent departure to be gathered with him.
Can you imagine the anticipation of the bride as she waited for her groom to return? We in the Western world look forward with excitement to our wedding day -- and we know when that wedding day is. Imagine not knowing. Imagine that you get engaged and then your fiancé (groom) goes off and you don't even see him for 12 months or so while he's building a house! No dates. No letters. No phone calls. No emails. You just wait, and you wait with joy, anticipation and excitement imagining the new life you will live together!
That is the enthusiasm with which God wants us to await the return of His Son for us. Reality check: Is this a picture you and your eagerness as you wait for Jesus to return to take us Home?
What we're anticipating
It's tough to look forward to something when you have no idea what you're anticipating. I'm sure our Jewish bride had at least an inkling of the future -- basis family and societal tradition -- and she had personally met her groom face-to-face. So I thought I'd give you a little taste from Scripture of what we're in for when our Bridegroom comes to get us:
We will be changed. Remember that "redemption of the body" I referred to earlier? Paul covers that in great detail in I Corinthians 15:35-55. And John mentions it in I John 3:2. We will be like Jesus! Let's cover a few things this means for us:
1. An incorruptible body -- it won't get sick and it will never age or decay
2. Immortality -- we will never, ever die
3. No more sin nature -- not only will we not sin; we won't even be tempted to sin
4. Not limited to the space/time continuum -- there are many more dimensions than the three or four with which we are familiar
5. We will be like Jesus -- we will have His nature and a body that functions like His resurrected body
We have an inheritance already prepared for us, and we will receive it (I Peter 1:4)! We don't know all this entails, but some of the things in our inheritance include: Eternal life (Mark 10:17); the Earth (Matt. 5:5); a kingdom (Matt. 25:34); a blessing (I Peter 3:9); a dwelling place of our own (John 14:1-3); and a beautiful, breathtaking city (Heb. 11:10; Rev. 21:1-22:5)
We will reign with Jesus. This encompasses both the millennium and eternity (Rev. 5:10; Rev. 22:3-5). Reign. Let that word sink in. We will be the government under the auspices of Jesus Christ Himself who will reign supremely from Jerusalem!
Are you excited yet?
Present benefits
Yeah, Heidi. I see your point . . . I'm getting excited. But what good does it do for me to get so excited about His return? Answer: It sanctifies you.
As I mentioned earlier, the Apostle John wrote of the wonderful truth that when Jesus is revealed -- when He comes for us -- we will become like Him in nature. Then John says, "And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure," (I John 3:3). If we think He may show up at any minute, it behooves us to live every day in a way that will please Him - in case today is the day!
Here's what John MacArthur says in his study notes to this verse: "Living in the reality of Christ's return makes a difference in a Christian's behavior. Since Christians someday will be like Him, a desire should grow within the Christian to become like Him now."
And here's something else it does in the here-and-now according to that same verse: It gives us hope. Hope that no matter what crummy situation we find ourselves in here on Earth, there's a better day coming! We can endure anything if we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that our future -- our eternal future -- is everlastingly bright!
Hope. That's a topic for another day, because when the Bible uses the word "hope" it's a sure thing. Just like the fact that Jesus will come to take us Home -- God willing in the very near future. I can hardly wait! Can you?
Always looking up!
Heidi Swander
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Wednesday, December 22, 2010
The Earth Has Been Trembling Since The 12-21-2010 Lunar Eclipse!
The Earth has literally been trembling all around the world as if triggered by the Blood Moon of 12-21-2010! This is such an amazing sign that we are at the threshold of the Tribulation, and that it may be about to-begin!
Just now, the Holy Spirit gave me this verse in relation to this planetary trembling:
Isaiah 51:22-23 - “See, I have taken out of your hand the cup of trembling, the dregs of the cup of My fury; you shall no longer drink it. But I will put it into the hand of those who afflict you…”
If the Tribulation is about to begin or already has begun, the Rapture can't be far off. So keep looking UP, for our deliverance draws near!
Maranatha and Merry Christmas!
Yours in Yahshua,
Helena Lehman
The Earth has literally been trembling all around the world as if triggered by the Blood Moon of 12-21-2010! This is such an amazing sign that we are at the threshold of the Tribulation, and that it may be about to-begin!
Just now, the Holy Spirit gave me this verse in relation to this planetary trembling:
Isaiah 51:22-23 - “See, I have taken out of your hand the cup of trembling, the dregs of the cup of My fury; you shall no longer drink it. But I will put it into the hand of those who afflict you…”
If the Tribulation is about to begin or already has begun, the Rapture can't be far off. So keep looking UP, for our deliverance draws near!
Maranatha and Merry Christmas!
Yours in Yahshua,
Helena Lehman
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Could the December 21st, 2010 Blood Moon Mark the Beginning of the Tribulation?
Unfortunately, the National Geographic web site had incorrect information about the last time a Lunar Eclipse occurred on the Winter Solstice. Apparently, the last time this happened was in 1638, not 1378! So, I have had to revise my article concerning the Lunar Eclipse on December 21st, 2010. Here is the corrected version. Sorry for the mix-up. - Helena Lehman
**********************
Could the December 21st, 2010 Blood Moon Mark the Beginning of the Tribulation?
By Helena Lehman
Pillar of Enoch Ministry
“Books and Articles With A Vision”
http://pillar-of-enoch.com
According to Sacred Astronomy, the Total Lunar Eclipse or Blood Moon on the night before the December 21st, 2010 Winter Solstice sunrise is a bad omen for non-believers in North America and the entire world, but for Christians and Messianics it is a sign that our deliverance in the Rapture is likely coming soon. This eclipse will occur directly over the tip of the Messianic figure Orion's upraised sword of WAR and VENGEANCE on the Taurus-Gemini Meridian, with Taurus the Bull representing the raging anger of God against the wicked. In my opinion, this is a divine sign marking the beginning of the Tribulation period spoken of in the Book of Revelation.
Click Image To Enlarge
The last time a Total Lunar Eclipse occurred on the Winter Solstice (as near as I can currently tell) was in 1638 over Europe in the sign of Gemini, and an event with great religious significance appears to have happened in June of that year when the Eastern Orthodox Patriarch Cyril of Constantinople was accused of high treason, strangled and thrown into the sea by Janissaries on Ottoman Sultan Murad IV's command.
This marked the complete replacement of Eastern Christian Orthodoxy with Islam as the only religion of the land in that region, and this may be a clue as to some of the trouble that we can expect this upcoming year. With the ongoing Islamization of the world, the threat of Islamic extremist use of terrorist tactics to achieve their aim of world domination is now casting a deep shadow of coming oppression over Eastern and Western Christendom with the threat of nuclear war, not to mention Iran's desire to destroy the tiny nation of Israel, which is surrounded by enemies on every side.
Also, in the following year of 1639, the Bishop’s Wars that broke out between England and Scotland over the governance of the Church of Scotland began and raged on for two years. These wars were spurred on by the movement within the Scottish Church to eliminate the office of Bishop altogether and form a Presbyterian form of Church government with open parishioner assemblies.
Although these movements within Protestantism helped to form the Protestant Churches of today, the Ecumenical movement begun by the Church of Rome is now striving to reunite all Protestant churches with the Roman Catholic Church and place all of Christendom under Papal rule. Sadly, this dire state of affairs is continuing unabated due to the escalating spiritual ignorance and increasingly more apostate leadership within many branches of the Western Protestant churches.
However, though the years 1638 and 1639 saw some religious upheavals, the eclipse on the Winter Solstice in 1638 didn't occur over the Messianic constellation Orion's upraised sword exactly two years before the Mayan Winter Solstice doomsday date of December 21st, 2012, when a far more impressive and ominous Anti-peace Sign will occur in the heavens.
Interestingly, the Bible makes it clear that no one will be expecting the end of this evil world system to come. This means that it will come very suddenly and with great force during a period of false peace. Therefore, the day of this eclipse does not necessarily have to mark the beginning of a sudden war, major natural disaster, political or religious upheaval, or anything like that. Nonetheless, it could mark the beginning of the first year of the Tribulation, which may begin quietly. But, just as in 1638 in Constantinople, this may be like the quiet that comes before a violent and terrifying storm...
Here is a link to a Yahoo News article describing this Total Lunar Eclipse that contains links to the NASA page for this eclipse and to a star chart showing its placement above the sword of Orion on the ecliptic:
Amazing Spectacle: Total Lunar Eclipse Monday Night
http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20101217/sc_space/amazingspectacletotallunareclipsemondaynight
To help believers become more familiar with the spiritual and prophetic meaning behind this and other heavenly signs, I have created several revealing illustrations including star maps that describe the spiritual significance of the constellations surrounding this Lunar Eclipse and other upcoming Signs in the Heavens. These illustrations can be found in my latest article that explores these signs in great detail:
FULLY REVISED: Come Up Here and Come Away! -
Clues to the Timing of the Rapture -
This heavily illustrated, full-color, 36-page revised article features plenty of all-new written material and illustrations. Therefore people who have read the first and second edition should read this version from the beginning. In this article, Helena shows that the First Rapture is tied to the Feast of Shavuot or Pentecost. This article also shows evidence that there may be a Second Rapture in the middle of the Tribulation that is tied to the Feast of Trumpets. In addition, Helena points to many powerful Signs in the Heavens, thereby doing just as Yahshua warned His disciples to do when His coming drew near. These signs include the three consecutive Solar Eclipses on the 1st of AV in 2008, 2009, and 2010, the three Jupiter-Uranus Conjunctions of 2010 and 2011, the three Lunar Eclipses targeting the signs of Taurus and Scorpio in 2010 and 2011, and a few other major heavenly End Time signs that conclusively show that the Tribulation is fast approaching:
http://pillar-of-enoch.com/essays/index.html#Maranatha
If you can find the time, please download and read this article. I am sure it will be a blessing to you if you give this topic the time and contemplation it deserves. Sharing this article is also a great way to inspire further discussion with your friends and family.
May this article bless you and all of the people you love this Holiday Season. In the meantime, Merry Christmas, and Maranatha!
Unfortunately, the National Geographic web site had incorrect information about the last time a Lunar Eclipse occurred on the Winter Solstice. Apparently, the last time this happened was in 1638, not 1378! So, I have had to revise my article concerning the Lunar Eclipse on December 21st, 2010. Here is the corrected version. Sorry for the mix-up. - Helena Lehman
**********************
Could the December 21st, 2010 Blood Moon Mark the Beginning of the Tribulation?
By Helena Lehman
Pillar of Enoch Ministry
“Books and Articles With A Vision”
http://pillar-of-enoch.com
According to Sacred Astronomy, the Total Lunar Eclipse or Blood Moon on the night before the December 21st, 2010 Winter Solstice sunrise is a bad omen for non-believers in North America and the entire world, but for Christians and Messianics it is a sign that our deliverance in the Rapture is likely coming soon. This eclipse will occur directly over the tip of the Messianic figure Orion's upraised sword of WAR and VENGEANCE on the Taurus-Gemini Meridian, with Taurus the Bull representing the raging anger of God against the wicked. In my opinion, this is a divine sign marking the beginning of the Tribulation period spoken of in the Book of Revelation.
Click Image To EnlargeThe last time a Total Lunar Eclipse occurred on the Winter Solstice (as near as I can currently tell) was in 1638 over Europe in the sign of Gemini, and an event with great religious significance appears to have happened in June of that year when the Eastern Orthodox Patriarch Cyril of Constantinople was accused of high treason, strangled and thrown into the sea by Janissaries on Ottoman Sultan Murad IV's command.
This marked the complete replacement of Eastern Christian Orthodoxy with Islam as the only religion of the land in that region, and this may be a clue as to some of the trouble that we can expect this upcoming year. With the ongoing Islamization of the world, the threat of Islamic extremist use of terrorist tactics to achieve their aim of world domination is now casting a deep shadow of coming oppression over Eastern and Western Christendom with the threat of nuclear war, not to mention Iran's desire to destroy the tiny nation of Israel, which is surrounded by enemies on every side.
Also, in the following year of 1639, the Bishop’s Wars that broke out between England and Scotland over the governance of the Church of Scotland began and raged on for two years. These wars were spurred on by the movement within the Scottish Church to eliminate the office of Bishop altogether and form a Presbyterian form of Church government with open parishioner assemblies.
Although these movements within Protestantism helped to form the Protestant Churches of today, the Ecumenical movement begun by the Church of Rome is now striving to reunite all Protestant churches with the Roman Catholic Church and place all of Christendom under Papal rule. Sadly, this dire state of affairs is continuing unabated due to the escalating spiritual ignorance and increasingly more apostate leadership within many branches of the Western Protestant churches.
However, though the years 1638 and 1639 saw some religious upheavals, the eclipse on the Winter Solstice in 1638 didn't occur over the Messianic constellation Orion's upraised sword exactly two years before the Mayan Winter Solstice doomsday date of December 21st, 2012, when a far more impressive and ominous Anti-peace Sign will occur in the heavens.
Interestingly, the Bible makes it clear that no one will be expecting the end of this evil world system to come. This means that it will come very suddenly and with great force during a period of false peace. Therefore, the day of this eclipse does not necessarily have to mark the beginning of a sudden war, major natural disaster, political or religious upheaval, or anything like that. Nonetheless, it could mark the beginning of the first year of the Tribulation, which may begin quietly. But, just as in 1638 in Constantinople, this may be like the quiet that comes before a violent and terrifying storm...
Here is a link to a Yahoo News article describing this Total Lunar Eclipse that contains links to the NASA page for this eclipse and to a star chart showing its placement above the sword of Orion on the ecliptic:
Amazing Spectacle: Total Lunar Eclipse Monday Night
http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20101217/sc_space/amazingspectacletotallunareclipsemondaynight
To help believers become more familiar with the spiritual and prophetic meaning behind this and other heavenly signs, I have created several revealing illustrations including star maps that describe the spiritual significance of the constellations surrounding this Lunar Eclipse and other upcoming Signs in the Heavens. These illustrations can be found in my latest article that explores these signs in great detail:
FULLY REVISED: Come Up Here and Come Away! -
Clues to the Timing of the Rapture -
This heavily illustrated, full-color, 36-page revised article features plenty of all-new written material and illustrations. Therefore people who have read the first and second edition should read this version from the beginning. In this article, Helena shows that the First Rapture is tied to the Feast of Shavuot or Pentecost. This article also shows evidence that there may be a Second Rapture in the middle of the Tribulation that is tied to the Feast of Trumpets. In addition, Helena points to many powerful Signs in the Heavens, thereby doing just as Yahshua warned His disciples to do when His coming drew near. These signs include the three consecutive Solar Eclipses on the 1st of AV in 2008, 2009, and 2010, the three Jupiter-Uranus Conjunctions of 2010 and 2011, the three Lunar Eclipses targeting the signs of Taurus and Scorpio in 2010 and 2011, and a few other major heavenly End Time signs that conclusively show that the Tribulation is fast approaching:
http://pillar-of-enoch.com/essays/index.html#Maranatha
If you can find the time, please download and read this article. I am sure it will be a blessing to you if you give this topic the time and contemplation it deserves. Sharing this article is also a great way to inspire further discussion with your friends and family.
May this article bless you and all of the people you love this Holiday Season. In the meantime, Merry Christmas, and Maranatha!
Yahshua’s First Advent Ties to Chanukah and Christmas
Pillar of Enoch Ministry (POEM)
http://pillar-of-enoch.com
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| NOTE: No Protestant Christian ever worshipped A Nativity Scene. This is meant to be a Memorial of a Miracle, NOT a set of Idols. |
In this illustrated and detailed article, my desire as a Messianic Believer is to show that both Christmas, and the traditions associated with it such as Christmas trees and wreaths are not evil or forbidden under the New Covenant. In addition, I will show why the holiday season that starts on Thanksgiving Day in Canada and the United States, and goes through to after Christmas Day is the Christian Expression of the season of Jewish Feasts that stretches from the week of Sukkot or Tabernacles to the week of Chanukah or the Festival of Lights.
In a similar vein, I have previously shown that Pascha or Easter is the Christian expression of the day of the First-fruits Offering that was done on Sunday, the day after the regular Sabbath, during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Click the following embedded link to read my Blog article about this: “Easter Not Pagan, But A Celebration of Firstfruits!”
Armed with much research and the Ruach Ha Kodesh (i.e. Holy Spirit), our Father Yahweh God has made something perfectly clear to me: Saturnalia HAS NOTHING TO DO with Christmas, and Christmas Trees are NOT evil! I proved this in an article entitled “DON'T LET ANYONE DETER YOU FROM CELEBRATING YAHSHUA'S INCARNATION!””, which reports my findings when doing a study concerning the dates of the Pagan feasts that fell around Christmas. In that study, I discovered that none of the Pagan feasts in ancient times coincided with December 25th until the 5th Century, and the Roman cult followers of Sol Invictus likely tried to tie their Pagan feast to the Christian one that had already been celebrated at that time for centuries in order to win Christian converts to their false religion surrounding the worship of the Sun.
Let me show you some other facts surrounding this assertion. First of all, Christmas is likely a Solar Calendar date that was made for Grafted-In Gentile Believers in ancient times to celebrate the Feast of Chanukah. The reasoning behind this date is as follows: the Solar Twelfth month of December is the first month of Winter on the Solar Calendar, just as the Jewish Ninth Month of Kislev is the first month of Winter on their Lunar Calendar. Furthermore, though the 1st Century Apostles did not celebrate Christmas as it is conceptualized by Christians today, the Apostles did celebrate Chanukah, which begins on Kislev 25. This date on the Jewish Lunar Calendar is analogous to the Gentile Solar Calendar date of December 25th.
Now, it is important to remember that Christ's Apostles were Jews who must have understand Chanukah's connection to Christ's entire Nativity story via their baptism with the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, the Apostle Paul and others in the Church realized that Gentile believers were not expected to follow a Lunar calendar in their society, and Solar calendar equivalents needed to be found from them to keep the three major Feasts of Yahweh, which are Passover or Easter, Pentecost or Shavuot, and Sukkot or the Feast of Tabernacles. However, due to Yahshua's Nativity having a direct connection to Chanukah as the time of His conception and true entry into human life, and the fact that Chanukah is considered to be a secondary celebration of Sukkot among many Jews. Christmas or Chanukah counts as the Christian celebration of that Feast.
Part of the reason Chanukah or Christmas should be very important to believers is because Yahshua was likely conceived at Chanukah, and was most likely discovered by the Magi at Chanukah. That is why the early Christians likely chose to celebrate His coming then. After all, His conception in Miriam’s womb was His first moment as a mortal man, not His birth! If you check the encyclopedias for the history of Saturnalia and other Pagan feasts, you will find that NONE of these feasts held anywhere in the Roman Empire fell on December 25th until four hundred years after Yahshua was conceived and born. Furthermore, the Winter Solstice occurred around December 23rd in the centuries before and after Yahshua’s proposed conception during Chanukah in December of 4 BC, and the Pagan feasts associated with the Winter Solstice were not connected to December 25th either since the Winter Solstice fell on December 22nd or 23rd in ancient times.
The truth is that ALL the encyclopedias, historical books and sites with ANY information about the celebration of Christmas completely ignore the fact that no Pagan feasts were celebrated on that date until the 5th Century AD, but the Roman Calendar date of December 25th can be directly connected to Kislev 25, the first day of the Jewish Feast of Chanukah. Furthermore, the majority of the historical sources of information that the West relies on have been written by scholars with a vested interest in keeping Christianity and Judaism completely separate and antagonistic, and by those who are determined to promote Paganism or Atheism over Judeo-Christianity.
This leaves only ONE conclusion as to why the Apostles or Early Church Fathers may have chosen that date for the celebration of Yahshua’s entrance into the world, and that is the fact that Kislev 25 and December 25th have an obvious connection to Chanukah, and it is conception and NOT birth that is the official beginning of human life. It’s therefore time someone started decrying all the misinformed and brainwashed Christmas-bashers in the Church and the Messianic movement with the REAL facts surrounding Christmas, not the manufactured ones meant to destroy Christian holy traditions. What should be clear to every believer, but unfortunately is not, is that the constant attacks on Christmas these days are also attacks on Christians and Christianity. It is therefore not being done for the sake of righteousness, but to advance Satan’s kingdom of wickedness!
December 25th was likely picked as the day to celebrate Yahshua’s entrance into the world via conception (as the calculated date of the fetus’ conception in the womb is everyone’s TRUE birthday!) by the Apostles for the Gentile believers living under Roman rule for several important and valid religious reasons. First of all, as already mentioned, December 25th jives well with the Kislev 25 date for the beginning of Chanukah. Secondly, the 9th Jewish Lunar month of Kislev almost always falls in December. Thirdly, if Yahshua was born in September of 3 BC, as I have virtually proven in my books and articles, then the shepherds likely found the infant Yahshua in a Sukkot booth, NOT in a smelly barn or animal pen. Nonetheless, Yahshua’s real FIRST ADVENT would NOT have been during the Feast of Tabernacles or Sukkot, but sometime during the week of Chanukah, when He was conceived by the Ruach Ha Kodesh, or Holy Spirit.
This can be logically proven. For example, there are about 270 to 280 days or 9 months (+ or - 3 to 10 days) in the average cycle of human gestation. Furthermore, the Sign in the Heavens announcing Yahshua’s imminent birth described in Revelation 12:1-2 of the Woman Clothed with the Sun is an allegorical reference to the Sun being in the center of the sign of Virgo, which partly represents Yahshua’s mother Miriam, as well as the True Church. Fascinatingly, about 270 days after Chanukah in 4 BC, the sign of the Woman Clothed with the Sun (Virgo with the Sun positioned in her belly region) appeared on the horizon on September 11th, 3 BC, which was the Feast of Trumpets that year. At the same time, the Messiah planet Jupiter was in conjunction with the king star Regulus in the sign of Leo, the Lion of Judah, and the thin sliver of the New Moon was at her feet. Since this was a clear sign of Yahshua’s imminent birth as described in Revelation 12, He was likely born shortly thereafter.
Some scholars believe that Yahshua was actually born during the Feast of Sukkot or Tabernacles, beginning on the night of September 25th in 3 BC. However, I believe that Yahshua may have been born nearer to Yom Kippur that year, though it could have been on Yom Teruah as well. However, I believe that Yahshua was conceived around December 19th in 4 BC, which was the fifth day of Chanukah that year - the day that is tied to the Servant Lamp associated with the Messiah in a Chanukiah style, nine-branched menorah. Therefore, since conception is the TRUE beginning of life, NOT birth, Yahshua our “Immanuel” or “God With Us” truly came to be with us during the Feast of Chanukah or the “Festival of Lights”, not during the Feast of Sukkot/Tabernacles 15 days later. Interestingly though, there is a Jewish tradition that Chanukah is like a second Feast of Tabernacles. So, in that sense, Yahshua's coming is connected to Tabernacles twice!
When carefully read, the Scriptures coupled with Sacred Astronomy also make it clear that there is a double tie-in with Yahshua’s birth narratives and Chanukah. This is because the Apostle Matthew clearly said that the Wise Men or Magi found Yahshua in Bethlehem living in a house with his earthly mother and father when he was a young child or toddler in Matthew Chapter 2. There, in verse 9, the Greek word “paidion” meaning “toddler” was translated as “young child”. This strongly suggests that the Magi arrived in Bethlehem to see Yahshua at least a year after he was born. For proof of this, I've reproduced the salient portion of Matthew Chapter 2 below. This excerpt contains the lovely story of Yahshua's presentation to the Wise Men or Magi - who followed the wandering star that we know as the planet Jupiter, the Messiah Planet - to Jerusalem, and then onward to Bethlehem:
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~*~ Matthew 2:1-12 ~*~ “Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem saying,
“Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”
3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:
7 Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.”
9 When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. 11 And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.
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The Wise Men who found Yahshua or Jesus in Bethlehem by following His Star in the heavens were wealthy and well-educated members of the elite where they resided in Parthia, and they would have traveled with a large entourage of guards and servants, especially since they carried such valuable items as gold, frankincense and myrrh, which were costly gifts ordinarily given to royalty. As educated men, the Magi knew much more about the movements of the stars and their spiritual meanings than anyone else of their age, and they were viewed with great respect because of what they knew. So when they followed this star to Jerusalem and onward, the Wise Men were not just following any star. It had to have had a direct spiritual meaning tied to the people of Israel and their King.
As such, the planet Jupiter fulfills that criteria as the fourth wandering star, and fifth celestial body from the Sun. This gives it a direct connection to Yahshua as the fourth or Servant Lamp on a seven-branched traditional Menorah, as well as the fifth Servant Lamp branch on a nine-branched Chanukah Menorah. There are also many other reasons why Jupiter serves the criteria as a representation of Christ. From my research into the timing of Yahshua's conception and birth, coupled with my research into the heavenly signs that accompanied His first advent entrance into human history, I have come to the strong conclusion that the Star of Bethlehem was the Messiah planet Jupiter. This is not only because Jupiter is the largest planet in our Solar System that is second only to Venus in brilliance, but also because its atmosphere consists of horizontal stripes of reddish and whitish clouds that physically resemble the skin of a scourged, light-skinned man, as seen in the illustration attached to this paragraph.
In a similar vein, I have previously shown that Pascha or Easter is the Christian expression of the day of the First-fruits Offering that was done on Sunday, the day after the regular Sabbath, during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Click the following embedded link to read my Blog article about this: “Easter Not Pagan, But A Celebration of Firstfruits!”
Armed with much research and the Ruach Ha Kodesh (i.e. Holy Spirit), our Father Yahweh God has made something perfectly clear to me: Saturnalia HAS NOTHING TO DO with Christmas, and Christmas Trees are NOT evil! I proved this in an article entitled “DON'T LET ANYONE DETER YOU FROM CELEBRATING YAHSHUA'S INCARNATION!””, which reports my findings when doing a study concerning the dates of the Pagan feasts that fell around Christmas. In that study, I discovered that none of the Pagan feasts in ancient times coincided with December 25th until the 5th Century, and the Roman cult followers of Sol Invictus likely tried to tie their Pagan feast to the Christian one that had already been celebrated at that time for centuries in order to win Christian converts to their false religion surrounding the worship of the Sun.
Let me show you some other facts surrounding this assertion. First of all, Christmas is likely a Solar Calendar date that was made for Grafted-In Gentile Believers in ancient times to celebrate the Feast of Chanukah. The reasoning behind this date is as follows: the Solar Twelfth month of December is the first month of Winter on the Solar Calendar, just as the Jewish Ninth Month of Kislev is the first month of Winter on their Lunar Calendar. Furthermore, though the 1st Century Apostles did not celebrate Christmas as it is conceptualized by Christians today, the Apostles did celebrate Chanukah, which begins on Kislev 25. This date on the Jewish Lunar Calendar is analogous to the Gentile Solar Calendar date of December 25th.
Now, it is important to remember that Christ's Apostles were Jews who must have understand Chanukah's connection to Christ's entire Nativity story via their baptism with the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, the Apostle Paul and others in the Church realized that Gentile believers were not expected to follow a Lunar calendar in their society, and Solar calendar equivalents needed to be found from them to keep the three major Feasts of Yahweh, which are Passover or Easter, Pentecost or Shavuot, and Sukkot or the Feast of Tabernacles. However, due to Yahshua's Nativity having a direct connection to Chanukah as the time of His conception and true entry into human life, and the fact that Chanukah is considered to be a secondary celebration of Sukkot among many Jews. Christmas or Chanukah counts as the Christian celebration of that Feast.
Part of the reason Chanukah or Christmas should be very important to believers is because Yahshua was likely conceived at Chanukah, and was most likely discovered by the Magi at Chanukah. That is why the early Christians likely chose to celebrate His coming then. After all, His conception in Miriam’s womb was His first moment as a mortal man, not His birth! If you check the encyclopedias for the history of Saturnalia and other Pagan feasts, you will find that NONE of these feasts held anywhere in the Roman Empire fell on December 25th until four hundred years after Yahshua was conceived and born. Furthermore, the Winter Solstice occurred around December 23rd in the centuries before and after Yahshua’s proposed conception during Chanukah in December of 4 BC, and the Pagan feasts associated with the Winter Solstice were not connected to December 25th either since the Winter Solstice fell on December 22nd or 23rd in ancient times.
The truth is that ALL the encyclopedias, historical books and sites with ANY information about the celebration of Christmas completely ignore the fact that no Pagan feasts were celebrated on that date until the 5th Century AD, but the Roman Calendar date of December 25th can be directly connected to Kislev 25, the first day of the Jewish Feast of Chanukah. Furthermore, the majority of the historical sources of information that the West relies on have been written by scholars with a vested interest in keeping Christianity and Judaism completely separate and antagonistic, and by those who are determined to promote Paganism or Atheism over Judeo-Christianity.
This leaves only ONE conclusion as to why the Apostles or Early Church Fathers may have chosen that date for the celebration of Yahshua’s entrance into the world, and that is the fact that Kislev 25 and December 25th have an obvious connection to Chanukah, and it is conception and NOT birth that is the official beginning of human life. It’s therefore time someone started decrying all the misinformed and brainwashed Christmas-bashers in the Church and the Messianic movement with the REAL facts surrounding Christmas, not the manufactured ones meant to destroy Christian holy traditions. What should be clear to every believer, but unfortunately is not, is that the constant attacks on Christmas these days are also attacks on Christians and Christianity. It is therefore not being done for the sake of righteousness, but to advance Satan’s kingdom of wickedness!
December 25th was likely picked as the day to celebrate Yahshua’s entrance into the world via conception (as the calculated date of the fetus’ conception in the womb is everyone’s TRUE birthday!) by the Apostles for the Gentile believers living under Roman rule for several important and valid religious reasons. First of all, as already mentioned, December 25th jives well with the Kislev 25 date for the beginning of Chanukah. Secondly, the 9th Jewish Lunar month of Kislev almost always falls in December. Thirdly, if Yahshua was born in September of 3 BC, as I have virtually proven in my books and articles, then the shepherds likely found the infant Yahshua in a Sukkot booth, NOT in a smelly barn or animal pen. Nonetheless, Yahshua’s real FIRST ADVENT would NOT have been during the Feast of Tabernacles or Sukkot, but sometime during the week of Chanukah, when He was conceived by the Ruach Ha Kodesh, or Holy Spirit.
This can be logically proven. For example, there are about 270 to 280 days or 9 months (+ or - 3 to 10 days) in the average cycle of human gestation. Furthermore, the Sign in the Heavens announcing Yahshua’s imminent birth described in Revelation 12:1-2 of the Woman Clothed with the Sun is an allegorical reference to the Sun being in the center of the sign of Virgo, which partly represents Yahshua’s mother Miriam, as well as the True Church. Fascinatingly, about 270 days after Chanukah in 4 BC, the sign of the Woman Clothed with the Sun (Virgo with the Sun positioned in her belly region) appeared on the horizon on September 11th, 3 BC, which was the Feast of Trumpets that year. At the same time, the Messiah planet Jupiter was in conjunction with the king star Regulus in the sign of Leo, the Lion of Judah, and the thin sliver of the New Moon was at her feet. Since this was a clear sign of Yahshua’s imminent birth as described in Revelation 12, He was likely born shortly thereafter.
Some scholars believe that Yahshua was actually born during the Feast of Sukkot or Tabernacles, beginning on the night of September 25th in 3 BC. However, I believe that Yahshua may have been born nearer to Yom Kippur that year, though it could have been on Yom Teruah as well. However, I believe that Yahshua was conceived around December 19th in 4 BC, which was the fifth day of Chanukah that year - the day that is tied to the Servant Lamp associated with the Messiah in a Chanukiah style, nine-branched menorah. Therefore, since conception is the TRUE beginning of life, NOT birth, Yahshua our “Immanuel” or “God With Us” truly came to be with us during the Feast of Chanukah or the “Festival of Lights”, not during the Feast of Sukkot/Tabernacles 15 days later. Interestingly though, there is a Jewish tradition that Chanukah is like a second Feast of Tabernacles. So, in that sense, Yahshua's coming is connected to Tabernacles twice!
When carefully read, the Scriptures coupled with Sacred Astronomy also make it clear that there is a double tie-in with Yahshua’s birth narratives and Chanukah. This is because the Apostle Matthew clearly said that the Wise Men or Magi found Yahshua in Bethlehem living in a house with his earthly mother and father when he was a young child or toddler in Matthew Chapter 2. There, in verse 9, the Greek word “paidion” meaning “toddler” was translated as “young child”. This strongly suggests that the Magi arrived in Bethlehem to see Yahshua at least a year after he was born. For proof of this, I've reproduced the salient portion of Matthew Chapter 2 below. This excerpt contains the lovely story of Yahshua's presentation to the Wise Men or Magi - who followed the wandering star that we know as the planet Jupiter, the Messiah Planet - to Jerusalem, and then onward to Bethlehem:
~*~ Matthew 2:1-12 ~*~ “Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem saying,
“Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”
3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:
6 ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
Are not the least among the rulers of Judah;
For out of you shall come a Ruler
Who will shepherd My people Israel.’ (Micah 5:2)
7 Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.”
9 When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. 11 And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.
The Wise Men who found Yahshua or Jesus in Bethlehem by following His Star in the heavens were wealthy and well-educated members of the elite where they resided in Parthia, and they would have traveled with a large entourage of guards and servants, especially since they carried such valuable items as gold, frankincense and myrrh, which were costly gifts ordinarily given to royalty. As educated men, the Magi knew much more about the movements of the stars and their spiritual meanings than anyone else of their age, and they were viewed with great respect because of what they knew. So when they followed this star to Jerusalem and onward, the Wise Men were not just following any star. It had to have had a direct spiritual meaning tied to the people of Israel and their King.
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| Jupiter: a Fitting Symbol for our Messiah |
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| Illustration: Star of Bethlehem Sign # 1 in Leo on June 17th, 2 BC |
Among the Signs in the Heavens that may have alerted the Wise Men to leave Parthia, the Planet Jupiter was considered to be a wandering star in ancient times, and it was prominent in the sky above Jerusalem and Bethlehem at night in the highly significant constellations of Leo and Virgo between June and December of 2 BC, which was nearly a year, to over a year after Yahshua's proposed birth in September of 3 BC. The first of these signs that the Magi may have found of particular importance was the conjunction of the Messiah Planet Jupiter with the Morning Star Venus on June 14th, 2 BC, as shown in the illustration above this paragraph.
Jupiter next appeared in a spectacular conjunction with Mars, Mercury and the Morning Star Venus between the Zodiac signs of Leo and Virgo on August 27th, 2 BC. Fascinatingly, Virgo was considered to be the first sign of the Zodiac in ancient times, not Aries, thereby making Leo the last sign of the Zodiac. This means that any conjunction between these two signs is suggestive of Yahshua as the First (Virgo) and the Last (Leo), the Alpha (Aleph) and the Omega (Tav), and the Beginning and the End, just as Yahshua is called three times in the Book of Revelation (See Rev. 1:11; Rev. 2:8, and Rev. 22:13). Therefore, as shown in the illustration below, this August 27th, 2 BC conjunction may have been the final heavenly sign among many preceding signs that triggered the Magi, who were Sacred Astronomers, to leave Persia (which was called Parthia at the time), and travel to Judea.
Jupiter next appeared in a spectacular conjunction with Mars, Mercury and the Morning Star Venus between the Zodiac signs of Leo and Virgo on August 27th, 2 BC. Fascinatingly, Virgo was considered to be the first sign of the Zodiac in ancient times, not Aries, thereby making Leo the last sign of the Zodiac. This means that any conjunction between these two signs is suggestive of Yahshua as the First (Virgo) and the Last (Leo), the Alpha (Aleph) and the Omega (Tav), and the Beginning and the End, just as Yahshua is called three times in the Book of Revelation (See Rev. 1:11; Rev. 2:8, and Rev. 22:13). Therefore, as shown in the illustration below, this August 27th, 2 BC conjunction may have been the final heavenly sign among many preceding signs that triggered the Magi, who were Sacred Astronomers, to leave Persia (which was called Parthia at the time), and travel to Judea.
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| Illustration: Star of Bethlehem Sign # 2 in Leo - Major Conjunction of Sun, Moon, Planets on August 27th, 2 BC |
The journey between Judea and Persia took about three months on average by caravan, and this would have placed the Magi in Bethlehem in mid December of 2 BC. Fascinatingly, December 25th was the second day of Chanukah that year according to Jewish records and Astronomy, since the Moon was on the 26th day of its cycle on December 25th on the Julian calendar, which also made it the 25th of Kislev that year by Jewish reckoning.
Interestingly, the nine days of Chanukah always begin on the 25th of Kislev, while the twelve days of Christmas always begin on December 25th, and Kislev usually always falls in December. So it would have been natural for Paul and the other Apostles and disciples attempting to lead the many Gentile saints within the Greco-Roman culture to associate Yahshua’s birth narrative stories with December 25th, the Greco-Roman date most closely meshing with the 25th of Kislev beginning of Chanukah. After all, these converts to Christianity were not becoming Torah-observant Jews when they accepted Yahshua. They were entering into a New Covenant of Grace similar to, but better than the Covenant that God unconditionally made with Abraham, who was a Gentile who loved Yahweh God, and followed Him before any Jews even existed.
Now, regarding Christmas Trees and Evergreen Wreaths, I want to make it clear that the only evil that comes from utilizing these symbols of the beauty and creative promise of everlasting life in eternity comes from those who spend countless hours trying to convince others that these symbols are innately evil! They do this by misquoting Scriptures that we will examine in a moment such as Jeremiah Chapter 10, which is clearly referring to idols that are worshiped, not to evergreen trees, garlands and wreaths that are purely used as decorations at Christmas without any ritual religious significance. Indeed, since evergreens are fragrant and lovely, and stay green throughout long, cold winters, they are a perfect symbol for the beautiful fragrance of enduring faith as an act of worship, and for the promise of everlasting life in the world to come.
Fascinatingly, evergreens have always been used at Christmas to freshen and beautify homes because they are the only plants that remain vibrantly alive during the winter, and the oils from their leaves smell wonderful and have many therapeutic properties. For example, all essential oils that are derived from evergreens can be used topically in a carrier oil to promote healing. They can serve as powerful antiseptics, great respiratory aides, or topical analgesics. For this reason, they were once heavily used to freshen homes all winter in temperate climates. Dried sprigs of evergreens like Juniper, Rosemary, Pine, Cedar, Spruce and Balsam Firs were often dried and hung from rafters, and strewn on floors to keep homes smelling fresh, to disinfect the air, and to ward off sickness. So the insistence of Hebrew Roots proponents and other Christmas-bashers that the ancients used evergreen trees, boughs and shrubs into garlands or wreaths as a part of Pagan worship are overlooking the fact that virtually everyone that lived in ancient times used evergreens to freshen and beautify their homes, and to act as healing agents, regardless of their faith, or lack thereof.
Since evergreens stay green throughout long, cold winters and all year long, and they can aid in healing, they are an excellent and fitting symbol for everlasting life through Yahshua or Jesus, the Great Physician - Who heals all who love Him from sickness, sin and death, and Who is the true subject of our worship at Christmas and Chanukah. This means that believers can and should reclaim the symbolism of evergreens for the purposes that they were originally designed to have by our Creator. To do this is NOT mimicking Pagan behavior, but serves to do the exact OPPOSITE! In addition, as I have stated in previous articles and in my books, many symbols that took on Pagan meanings originally started out as godly symbols for concepts, ideas and events that are revealed in God’s Word - both His written Word as given to us by Moses and the Israelites - and God’s Heavenly Tablets, which are also known as the Gospel in the Stars.
It is a terrible shame that there are several Christian Cults, and some teachers in the Hebrew Roots Movement that ignore the fact that God created evergreens for a godly purpose, and have a personal vendetta against traditional Christmas celebrations and decorations, especially Christmas Trees, Nativity Scenes, and homes decorated with lighted trees, garlands and wreaths. They falsely claim that Jeremiah Chapter 10, verses 1 through 8 prohibits cutting down and decorating trees as part of any religious observance. However, a careful reading of the text reveals that Jeremiah is voicing Yahweh’s prohibition against making idols of wood that are plated with silver and/or gold, and then worshiped.
In a similar passage in Isaiah, Chapter 44, verses 9 through 20, the prophet Isaiah spoke of the folly of idol-worshipers who cut down a tree, burnt part of it in the fire to warm themselves, and then used the other part to fashion an idol, which they then bowed down to in worship. This passage has also been erroneously used as a weapon against the use of trees as decorative symbols at Christmas. But, since believers do not bow down before Christmas trees, carve them into idols, or pray to them, these passages cannot apply to Christmas trees. Nativity Scenes aren’t really idolatrous images either since we are not commanded to bow down and worship or pray to the figures in these re-enactment scenes. They are meant to be a source of artistic beauty, and are only meant to remind us of the premiere moment that God became a man and dwelt among us as Emmanuel, or “God With Us”.
Sadly, the worst of these attacks aren’t just coming from Atheists or Occult followers, but from deceived and legalistic believers in Yahweh and Yahshua! Part of the problem is that all of the histories and encyclopedias available today that these Christmas-bashers are relying on have been written by rabidly Anti-Semitic or Antichristian professors and scholars who have zero interest in stating the truth. These historical revisionists have done everything in their power to deceive the world into thinking that many of the customs associated with Christianity are based on Pagan thought and ritual, when they are actually based on Judaic religious rituals and symbols, and also on Pre-Israelite religious teachings that were approved by God.
These Pre-Israelite religious teachings can be traced back to the righteous followers of Yahweh prior to the Flood, especially to Enoch the Sethite. This man was translated into Heaven without seeing death because of his righteousness, and one of the most complete records of what he taught and believed can be found in the Book of 1 Enoch, a canonized book that was discovered intact within the Bible used by the Ethiopian Church. In that book, it is revealed that the holy angel Uriel taught Enoch the science of Sacred Astronomy, and how to understand the Gospel in the Stars, which Enoch called the heavenly tablets.
These heavenly tablets are written using the starry constellations and planets that are representations of Yahweh’s allegorical language of symbols. In my Language of God Series Books, I delve into this symbolism in the heavens as part of the Language of God. This language of heavenly signs was always part of Yahweh God’s method of communicating His will to mankind. But wicked men and fallen angels later corrupted and bastardized this symbolic record so badly that it led to the many Pagan religions of the past and present.
When the truths hidden in the symbols interwoven throughout the heavenly tablets are reclaimed by Messianics and Christians, and the Parables of Yahshua are also called into play, there is really no problem with Christmas or Christmas traditions as they are kept in traditional Protestant Christianity. There is, however, a BIG problem with the persistent lies and misinformation being used to attack Christmas. Please be forewarned and forearmed with the knowledge in this article when you are called to witness to the truth among rabidly Anti-Christian Messianics, and misled Christians. These misinformed believers may mean well, but they either really don’t know ALL the facts, or are being presented with the incorrect facts and then passing on the lies that they have been taught to believe as truth, when nothing could be further from the truth!
In this article, I have shown that many Judaizers have been teaching lies. Many who have sold out to Judaism are either too stubborn, proud or hateful of all things Christian to read my work, and to pray about it, and ask the Ruach to reveal the truth. Too many have been taught to love being Jewish, and hate being Christian. Too many have been taught that this war on Christmas is a holy war, but it is NOT. It is evil. Also, in the process of waging this war, many have thrown out Love, Grace and the FREEDOM/Liberty given to us by the power of the Holy Spirit/Ruach. Instead, they have embraced the Curse of the Law that Yahshua mercifully set us free from by fulfilling the Law perfectly for us. They have become the Synagogue of Satan spoken of in the Book of Revelation, and they are too deaf, dumb and blind to see it. I feel very sorry for all those who spread such hatred, and fight so wretchedly during what should still be one of the holiest times of the year for all believers.
As for the traditional name of this holy day, which is a contraction of the phrase “Christ Mass”, I don’t condone the “Sacrament” of the Mass, and I don’t believe in Transubstantiation. The way the Catholics do this, it’s like a form of witchcraft. It is also disturbing that the Roman Catholic Church focuses on Yahshua’s death rather than His life and resurrection. Though it was Yahshua’s death and shed blood, not His conception, birth or resurrection that saved us all from sin and death, it is more in keeping with the triumph and victory over the Devil that Christ won for us on the Cross to focus in His life, ministry, and resurrection, as well as His death and shed blood, rather than on His death alone.
None of the Protestant Churches, or the Messianic congregations that love their Christian brethren believe in Transubstantiation, or focus on Yahshua’s death instead of His resurrection. That is why the word “Christmas” or “Christ-Mass” has an entirely different connotation for Protestants than it does for Catholics, and it therefore contains no offensive meaning. Armed with this truth, I have no problem saying MERRY CHRISTMAS to everyone who shares my love of Christ at this time of year. Likewise, I have no trouble wishing everyone a HAPPY CHANUKAH, nor do I have trouble telling others that the week long Feast of Chanukah has a direct connection with the twelve days of the Christmas Season.
To make my point even further, here are introductory paragraphs and links to several articles I’ve written and published at my POEM Web Site that explain how I came to understand that December 25th is truly holy unto Yahweh God and His Son, and not a Pagan feast at all:
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The Prophetic Ties Between Yahshua’s Fetal Development And The Jewish Feasts - Excerpt: My study of the connection between the Jewish Feast Days, human gestation and Yahshua’s gestation led me to synchronize the events of Yahshua’s life, which fell on major Jewish Feast Days, with the developmental stages in human gestation. Fascinatingly, through my current review of this study to write this article, I just realized that the nine branches of the Chanukiah can also depict the nine months between human conception and birth! The chart I created below shows the amazing connection between human gestation and the Jewish Feasts, and Yahshua’s gestation and the same Jewish Feasts in reverse order (This article was written in October of 2012, and added to this article in October of 2013).
POEM Blog: The Prophetic Ties Between
Yahshua’s Fetal Development and The Jewish Feasts:
http://pillarofenoch.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-prophetic-ties-between-yahshuas.html
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Where is Christ in Christmas? - In this essay, Helena carefully shows how many Christmas symbols are not truly Pagan at all, and how these symbols can be reclaimed for Christ. Helena also shows that, though Christmas has an undeniable connection to the autumn Feast of Sukkot or Tabernacles, it also celebrates Chanukah, which always begins on the 25th of Kislev, and Yahshua was likely conceived and hence truly came to be with us during Chanukah of 4 BC. Kislev 25 has a natural connection to December 25th that can’t be denied, and it is likely that the Wise Men discovered the already toddler-aged Yahshua in a house in Bethlehem on that very day, which was also the second day of Chanukah in 2 BC. Therefore, this article shows that, for a Christian to celebrate Christmas in the traditional manner, they are not forsaking Christ for a lie! Instead, they are keeping a tradition with Biblical and Sacred Astronomical support:
http://pillar-of-enoch.com/essays/index.html#Xmas
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Excerpt from “The Language of God in the Universe” -
The Divine Timing Of The Celestial Signs At Christ’s Birth and
Their Ties to Sukkot, Tabernacles, Chanukah and Christmas
Though this supplement is now included in all editions of “The Language of God in the Universe” printed after January 2008, it compliments and enhances the information shared in older editions, and offers a sizable peek into the amazing contents of this book. This supplement discusses the heavenly signs at Christ’s Birth in much greater detail than the original book, as well as the origin of the Magi, and their purpose for visiting Christ. It also shows Zodiac tie-ins of the heavenly signs at Christ’s birth with several major Jewish Feast Days, and contains new illustrations not shown in the book prior to 2008: http://pillar-of-enoch.com/essays/index.html#Birth
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Please read the illustrated, heavily researched articles that I linked to above to learn that those attacking Christmas are doing so with subtle, as well as blatant lies rather than the truth, which is not meant to enslave us but to set us free to be true disciples of the Messiah.
Thank you for reading this article. I hope that you are deeply blessed and edified by it. Please share it with everyone you know and love. In the meantime, may our Father God Yahweh bless you, and May Yahshua His Son and our Messiah shower you all with Christmas and Chanukah blessings!
Yahshua is coming SOON! Maranatha!
To Give A Financial Gift to POEM:
http://pillar-of-enoch.com/contact.html
To Purchase My Language of God Series Books:
http://pillar-of-enoch.com/bookstore
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Interestingly, the nine days of Chanukah always begin on the 25th of Kislev, while the twelve days of Christmas always begin on December 25th, and Kislev usually always falls in December. So it would have been natural for Paul and the other Apostles and disciples attempting to lead the many Gentile saints within the Greco-Roman culture to associate Yahshua’s birth narrative stories with December 25th, the Greco-Roman date most closely meshing with the 25th of Kislev beginning of Chanukah. After all, these converts to Christianity were not becoming Torah-observant Jews when they accepted Yahshua. They were entering into a New Covenant of Grace similar to, but better than the Covenant that God unconditionally made with Abraham, who was a Gentile who loved Yahweh God, and followed Him before any Jews even existed.
Now, regarding Christmas Trees and Evergreen Wreaths, I want to make it clear that the only evil that comes from utilizing these symbols of the beauty and creative promise of everlasting life in eternity comes from those who spend countless hours trying to convince others that these symbols are innately evil! They do this by misquoting Scriptures that we will examine in a moment such as Jeremiah Chapter 10, which is clearly referring to idols that are worshiped, not to evergreen trees, garlands and wreaths that are purely used as decorations at Christmas without any ritual religious significance. Indeed, since evergreens are fragrant and lovely, and stay green throughout long, cold winters, they are a perfect symbol for the beautiful fragrance of enduring faith as an act of worship, and for the promise of everlasting life in the world to come.
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| Eden's Garden Oils Are Wonderful! www.edensgarden.com |
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| Christmas Tree Lights Seen as a Reflection of God's Truth |
It is a terrible shame that there are several Christian Cults, and some teachers in the Hebrew Roots Movement that ignore the fact that God created evergreens for a godly purpose, and have a personal vendetta against traditional Christmas celebrations and decorations, especially Christmas Trees, Nativity Scenes, and homes decorated with lighted trees, garlands and wreaths. They falsely claim that Jeremiah Chapter 10, verses 1 through 8 prohibits cutting down and decorating trees as part of any religious observance. However, a careful reading of the text reveals that Jeremiah is voicing Yahweh’s prohibition against making idols of wood that are plated with silver and/or gold, and then worshiped.
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| Let Your Light Shine On Chanukah, And Christmas |
Sadly, the worst of these attacks aren’t just coming from Atheists or Occult followers, but from deceived and legalistic believers in Yahweh and Yahshua! Part of the problem is that all of the histories and encyclopedias available today that these Christmas-bashers are relying on have been written by rabidly Anti-Semitic or Antichristian professors and scholars who have zero interest in stating the truth. These historical revisionists have done everything in their power to deceive the world into thinking that many of the customs associated with Christianity are based on Pagan thought and ritual, when they are actually based on Judaic religious rituals and symbols, and also on Pre-Israelite religious teachings that were approved by God.
These Pre-Israelite religious teachings can be traced back to the righteous followers of Yahweh prior to the Flood, especially to Enoch the Sethite. This man was translated into Heaven without seeing death because of his righteousness, and one of the most complete records of what he taught and believed can be found in the Book of 1 Enoch, a canonized book that was discovered intact within the Bible used by the Ethiopian Church. In that book, it is revealed that the holy angel Uriel taught Enoch the science of Sacred Astronomy, and how to understand the Gospel in the Stars, which Enoch called the heavenly tablets.
These heavenly tablets are written using the starry constellations and planets that are representations of Yahweh’s allegorical language of symbols. In my Language of God Series Books, I delve into this symbolism in the heavens as part of the Language of God. This language of heavenly signs was always part of Yahweh God’s method of communicating His will to mankind. But wicked men and fallen angels later corrupted and bastardized this symbolic record so badly that it led to the many Pagan religions of the past and present.
When the truths hidden in the symbols interwoven throughout the heavenly tablets are reclaimed by Messianics and Christians, and the Parables of Yahshua are also called into play, there is really no problem with Christmas or Christmas traditions as they are kept in traditional Protestant Christianity. There is, however, a BIG problem with the persistent lies and misinformation being used to attack Christmas. Please be forewarned and forearmed with the knowledge in this article when you are called to witness to the truth among rabidly Anti-Christian Messianics, and misled Christians. These misinformed believers may mean well, but they either really don’t know ALL the facts, or are being presented with the incorrect facts and then passing on the lies that they have been taught to believe as truth, when nothing could be further from the truth!
In this article, I have shown that many Judaizers have been teaching lies. Many who have sold out to Judaism are either too stubborn, proud or hateful of all things Christian to read my work, and to pray about it, and ask the Ruach to reveal the truth. Too many have been taught to love being Jewish, and hate being Christian. Too many have been taught that this war on Christmas is a holy war, but it is NOT. It is evil. Also, in the process of waging this war, many have thrown out Love, Grace and the FREEDOM/Liberty given to us by the power of the Holy Spirit/Ruach. Instead, they have embraced the Curse of the Law that Yahshua mercifully set us free from by fulfilling the Law perfectly for us. They have become the Synagogue of Satan spoken of in the Book of Revelation, and they are too deaf, dumb and blind to see it. I feel very sorry for all those who spread such hatred, and fight so wretchedly during what should still be one of the holiest times of the year for all believers.
As for the traditional name of this holy day, which is a contraction of the phrase “Christ Mass”, I don’t condone the “Sacrament” of the Mass, and I don’t believe in Transubstantiation. The way the Catholics do this, it’s like a form of witchcraft. It is also disturbing that the Roman Catholic Church focuses on Yahshua’s death rather than His life and resurrection. Though it was Yahshua’s death and shed blood, not His conception, birth or resurrection that saved us all from sin and death, it is more in keeping with the triumph and victory over the Devil that Christ won for us on the Cross to focus in His life, ministry, and resurrection, as well as His death and shed blood, rather than on His death alone.
None of the Protestant Churches, or the Messianic congregations that love their Christian brethren believe in Transubstantiation, or focus on Yahshua’s death instead of His resurrection. That is why the word “Christmas” or “Christ-Mass” has an entirely different connotation for Protestants than it does for Catholics, and it therefore contains no offensive meaning. Armed with this truth, I have no problem saying MERRY CHRISTMAS to everyone who shares my love of Christ at this time of year. Likewise, I have no trouble wishing everyone a HAPPY CHANUKAH, nor do I have trouble telling others that the week long Feast of Chanukah has a direct connection with the twelve days of the Christmas Season.
To make my point even further, here are introductory paragraphs and links to several articles I’ve written and published at my POEM Web Site that explain how I came to understand that December 25th is truly holy unto Yahweh God and His Son, and not a Pagan feast at all:
The Prophetic Ties Between Yahshua’s Fetal Development And The Jewish Feasts - Excerpt: My study of the connection between the Jewish Feast Days, human gestation and Yahshua’s gestation led me to synchronize the events of Yahshua’s life, which fell on major Jewish Feast Days, with the developmental stages in human gestation. Fascinatingly, through my current review of this study to write this article, I just realized that the nine branches of the Chanukiah can also depict the nine months between human conception and birth! The chart I created below shows the amazing connection between human gestation and the Jewish Feasts, and Yahshua’s gestation and the same Jewish Feasts in reverse order (This article was written in October of 2012, and added to this article in October of 2013).
POEM Blog: The Prophetic Ties Between
Yahshua’s Fetal Development and The Jewish Feasts:
http://pillarofenoch.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-prophetic-ties-between-yahshuas.html
Where is Christ in Christmas? - In this essay, Helena carefully shows how many Christmas symbols are not truly Pagan at all, and how these symbols can be reclaimed for Christ. Helena also shows that, though Christmas has an undeniable connection to the autumn Feast of Sukkot or Tabernacles, it also celebrates Chanukah, which always begins on the 25th of Kislev, and Yahshua was likely conceived and hence truly came to be with us during Chanukah of 4 BC. Kislev 25 has a natural connection to December 25th that can’t be denied, and it is likely that the Wise Men discovered the already toddler-aged Yahshua in a house in Bethlehem on that very day, which was also the second day of Chanukah in 2 BC. Therefore, this article shows that, for a Christian to celebrate Christmas in the traditional manner, they are not forsaking Christ for a lie! Instead, they are keeping a tradition with Biblical and Sacred Astronomical support:
http://pillar-of-enoch.com/essays/index.html#Xmas
Excerpt from “The Language of God in the Universe” -
The Divine Timing Of The Celestial Signs At Christ’s Birth and
Their Ties to Sukkot, Tabernacles, Chanukah and Christmas
Though this supplement is now included in all editions of “The Language of God in the Universe” printed after January 2008, it compliments and enhances the information shared in older editions, and offers a sizable peek into the amazing contents of this book. This supplement discusses the heavenly signs at Christ’s Birth in much greater detail than the original book, as well as the origin of the Magi, and their purpose for visiting Christ. It also shows Zodiac tie-ins of the heavenly signs at Christ’s birth with several major Jewish Feast Days, and contains new illustrations not shown in the book prior to 2008: http://pillar-of-enoch.com/essays/index.html#Birth
Please read the illustrated, heavily researched articles that I linked to above to learn that those attacking Christmas are doing so with subtle, as well as blatant lies rather than the truth, which is not meant to enslave us but to set us free to be true disciples of the Messiah.
Thank you for reading this article. I hope that you are deeply blessed and edified by it. Please share it with everyone you know and love. In the meantime, may our Father God Yahweh bless you, and May Yahshua His Son and our Messiah shower you all with Christmas and Chanukah blessings!
To Give A Financial Gift to POEM:
To Purchase My Language of God Series Books:
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Please consider coming to my defense at RITA
For anyone associated with the RITA discussion group, I just want to let you know that I've been banned from posting or even reading the discussion posts there. If you are a member there, please consider writing to the moderators on my behalf. I did nothing deserving of banishment except suggest that not everyone that calls themselves a Christian is going in the Rapture and am totally baffled by their hostility. The moderators there really dislike me for some reason. They have found a reason to attack every post that I ever made there.
Sadly, I was never given a chance to come to my defense after being attacked. This is the second time I have tried to post in a discussion thread on the RITA site, and the first time was no better. Before I was banned from posting, I was viciously attacked there for insisting that not every Christian prophetic ministry had the interests of their supporters at heart and I had been treated very badly by a couple of prominent ones. It really is shameful how they have treated and censored me. And just so everyone knows, I am not the only person who thinks that not every supposed Christian will be taken in the Rapture. Perry Stone, who is quite well-known and respected, is in perfect agreement with me, and for the same reasons.
What I find odd about this is that the folks that post at RITA are very fond of Sandy Armstrong and Daniel Matson, and they don't have any more of a clue than anyone else (including me) as to exactly when the Rapture will be. Both Armstrong and Matson have and continue to be wrong in their date-setting yet they folks at RITA act like they worship the ground these scholars walk on. But not so with me!
Anyway, all these date-setting speculations are really pointless and I am ashamed I engaged in them at all for a while. Yes, the Tribulation is imminent, but there is a two to three year window for the Rapture, which may not be Pre-Trib but Pre-Wrath. In the meantime, be ready to go at any time and spend your free time drawing near to Christ and winning souls for Him rather than worrying about when the Rapture will be.
For those who wish to come to my defense, RITA stands for "Rapture In The Air", the name of a discussion group for Rapture enthusiasts. Here is a link to the discussion group where I was banned:
http://pub48.bravenet.com/forum/static/show.php?usernum=4086901292&frmid=13&msgid=1045953&cmd=show
Unfortunately, they may have deleted all my posts by now. They did this the last time I was banned. If you would like to see what I wrote at RITA, I can post my comments in a note here or on Facebook. BTW, you have to become a member there to post. You can e-mail the moderator if you search for the sign up button and just write her directly though if you don't want to sign up.
Thanks for considering coming to my defense. God bless you and Maranatha!
Helena Lehman
For anyone associated with the RITA discussion group, I just want to let you know that I've been banned from posting or even reading the discussion posts there. If you are a member there, please consider writing to the moderators on my behalf. I did nothing deserving of banishment except suggest that not everyone that calls themselves a Christian is going in the Rapture and am totally baffled by their hostility. The moderators there really dislike me for some reason. They have found a reason to attack every post that I ever made there.
Sadly, I was never given a chance to come to my defense after being attacked. This is the second time I have tried to post in a discussion thread on the RITA site, and the first time was no better. Before I was banned from posting, I was viciously attacked there for insisting that not every Christian prophetic ministry had the interests of their supporters at heart and I had been treated very badly by a couple of prominent ones. It really is shameful how they have treated and censored me. And just so everyone knows, I am not the only person who thinks that not every supposed Christian will be taken in the Rapture. Perry Stone, who is quite well-known and respected, is in perfect agreement with me, and for the same reasons.
What I find odd about this is that the folks that post at RITA are very fond of Sandy Armstrong and Daniel Matson, and they don't have any more of a clue than anyone else (including me) as to exactly when the Rapture will be. Both Armstrong and Matson have and continue to be wrong in their date-setting yet they folks at RITA act like they worship the ground these scholars walk on. But not so with me!
Anyway, all these date-setting speculations are really pointless and I am ashamed I engaged in them at all for a while. Yes, the Tribulation is imminent, but there is a two to three year window for the Rapture, which may not be Pre-Trib but Pre-Wrath. In the meantime, be ready to go at any time and spend your free time drawing near to Christ and winning souls for Him rather than worrying about when the Rapture will be.
For those who wish to come to my defense, RITA stands for "Rapture In The Air", the name of a discussion group for Rapture enthusiasts. Here is a link to the discussion group where I was banned:
http://pub48.bravenet.com/forum/static/show.php?usernum=4086901292&frmid=13&msgid=1045953&cmd=show
Unfortunately, they may have deleted all my posts by now. They did this the last time I was banned. If you would like to see what I wrote at RITA, I can post my comments in a note here or on Facebook. BTW, you have to become a member there to post. You can e-mail the moderator if you search for the sign up button and just write her directly though if you don't want to sign up.
Thanks for considering coming to my defense. God bless you and Maranatha!
Helena Lehman
Saturday, December 04, 2010
OPRAH - PRIESTESS OF THE BROAD WAY
NOTE: I hope you will enjoy this excellent post about the New Age High Priestess Oprah Winfrey, written by a fellow Watchmen on the Wall. I completely agree with Garden Girl's unflattering assessment of Oprah and Oprah's chilling endorsement of President # 44 as "the One" in every respect.
Yours in Yahshua,
Helena Lehman
http://pillar-of-enoch.com
PS: For more about Oprah's false spirituality, see my You Tube Playlist about Oprah here:
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=3D1FE99FCD34073D
OPRAH - PRIESTESS OF THE BROAD WAY
Posted by GardenGirl at 12/03/2010 10:57:00 AM;
http://runningfrombabylon.blogspot.com/
No doubt about it -- Oprah Winfrey is a great television personality. Since 1986, when Oprah's television show went national, her audience has swollen to well over a million people each week, most of whom are women.
Oprah came from an impoverished childhood that offered nothing to envy. Her story has been so well documented and written upon that a simple search on the Internet will turn up a vast amount of information. Suffice it to say that Oprah has become such an American icon that she can simply go by her first name, and many who have never watched her show know exactly who you are talking about if her name is mentioned.
Though Oprah is a multi-faceted person (talk-show host, actress, philanthropist and more), she is probably best known for marketing her brand of spirituality. She offers it on her show, on the Internet and soon on her own network. (Read the post 1/1/11 by Cindy by the Sea: http://cindybythesea.wordpress.com/2010/11/29/1111/ )
Unfortunately, doing a simple Internet search of two words -- Oprah and spirituality -- turns up page after page of links explaining Oprah's beliefs, all of which promote the New Age movement.
The New Age movement is fraught with difficulties in itself, and there are several good, well-researched books out there on the subject. Two I can definitely recommend are "oldies but goodies."
In The Hidden Dangers of the Rainbow: The New Age Movement and Our Coming Age of Barbarism by Constance Cumbey (1983), Cumbey wrote the following:
It is the contention of this writer that for the first time in history there is a viable movement -- the New Age Movement -- that truly meets all the scriptural requirements for the antichrist and the political movement that will bring him on the world scene.
It is further the position of this writer that this most likely is the great apostasy or 'falling away' spoken of by the Apostle Paul and that the antichrist's appearance could be a very real event in our immediate future.
Caryl Matrisciana in her book Gods of the New Age (as well as her documentary film of the same name of 1988: http://www.jeremiahfilms.com/products/GNAD ) not only explains many aspects of New Age beliefs and contrasts them to Biblical doctrine, she also documents, in the words of adherents, hostility to and bias against the Bible and its teachings and Christians and the stated goals of the New Age movement to specifically target Christianity and destroy it.
I have never watched an entire Oprah show. To some that may "disqualify" me from having an opinion about Oprah. But as I have researched other topics and read much about the New Age movement, Oprah's name has come up often and some apologists, such as Josh McDowell (1), have written about statements that Oprah has made on her show. With YouTube a rich wealth of short clips is available so that if you want to see an actual snippet of an Oprah show where she has made a statement to her audience, it is relatively easy to find. With such tools, it is not difficult to follow a pattern of someone's beliefs and then form an assessment.
And Oprah has some beliefs that I do not share with her.
JESUS CAN'T BE THE ONLY WAY
Oprah has denied Jesus Christ as the "only way" to God the Father saying "there can't only be one way." Oprah is wrong when she denies Jesus as the only way.
YOUTUBE - JESUS CAN'T BE THE ONLY WAY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETeI6i5oqh4
The Bible specifically states that Jesus Christ IS the only way. Many Christians are familiar with John 14:6:
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Oprah promises her audience that there are "many" ways to God because as long as a person loves others and is good, he/she will end up in "the light" that some call God but others may just call "the Light."
Sounds nice, but not correct.
At the end of each of the "many" ways that Oprah assures listeners leads to God, does not lead to THE God of the Bible but rather to satan, or one of his fellow fallen companions, and "the light" with these guys is not the light of Heaven but the light from the fires of Hell.
Anyone who hears Oprah speak this lie should remember Matthew 7: 13, 14.
Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
(Let me recommend another "oldie" here: John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress. This outstanding Christian classic is really all about the "narrow way." WELL WORTH reading this winter -- here is a link: http://www.ccel.org/ccel/bunyan/pilgrim.html )
When Matthew recorded Jesus' words in his Gospel, Jesus already knew then, 2,000 years ago, that the New Age movement was coming. Why? Because it already had been. Satan has been promising mankind ever since the Garden of Eden that there was more than one way to "god."
The wide gate is the lies of satan; the narrow gate is the Truth of Jesus Christ, and that gate is only as wide as He is. People will either choose to believe Him and enter into the narrow way that few find and fewer choose, or people will run headlong down wide paths off a cliff and into Hell. The Bible says many will choose that way.
This is one of those teachings that either you believe it and accept it or you don't. I accept it. I believe that Jesus Christ is the only way, the only truth and the only life I need. Oprah, so far, has rejected the narrow way.
But if you look closer at Oprah's goal in spirituality, you can determine much more easily what her goal is NOT than what it is, and her goal is NOT to reach God the Father.
This explains her easy rejection of Jesus Christ.
GOD IS A 'JEALOUS' GOD
Oprah has stated that when she was about 27 or 28 years old while sitting in a Baptist church, she heard a sermon in which the pastor said that God was a "jealous God." Something rose up inside her and this statement offended her and she wanted no part of a "jealous God." The moment must have been very keen for her as she remembers it clearly.
YOUTUBE - OPRAH WON'T ACCEPT A JEALOUS GOD
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wB4J1JpG_PA
It appears that it was at this point that Oprah rejected God. Instead of studying (as a Berean) to understand more fully what the Bible means by "jealous" God, Oprah began to search for a broader definition of God, one that would fit how she perceived He should be. The danger with this option is that the creation sits in judgment on God. When man rejects God, man rejects God as not being good enough for him. This is a terrifying place to be.
Man lives in this place until confronted by the cross of Jesus Christ. At the foot of the cross we will either suddenly comprehend the depth of how we have treated the Holy God of Heaven and be overwhelmed by the horror of our actions in deep remorse or we will look upon the cross and reject its impact upon our soul and simply dismiss it and move on.
When Jesus said, "Forgive them for they know not what they do," (Luke 23:34) He wasn't just speaking to those who physically crucified Him. He was speaking to all of us whose sins have nailed Him to the cross. He was saying that to me. He was saying that to you. He was saying that to each of us.
When the truth of the cross fully penetrates into a man's mind, it can be the darkest hour of a person's life. For me, it was an hour of unspeakable woe, a time of darkness unlike anything I had ever experienced. In the midst of this overwhelming sorrow a second dilemma appears: Jesus said I was forgiven -- do I accept that or do I not?
To accept means I must abandon, not merely, but utterly the sinful life I have been living up to that point and choose to live the way Jesus would have me to live. If I do not choose to believe what Jesus has said, that I am forgiven, then I must accept that from that day forward I will continue in the same sins of the past, but rather than those sins being a source of fun and good times, they will become a plague, an anathema to me and whatever sins I commit now will be done with the full knowledge that Jesus is out there and He offered me forgiveness, a slate washed clean and a fresh, clean start on life and I rejected it. I will re-enter into the broad way having come from the narrow gate but refusing to go through it because of unbelief and rejection.
Those are the two choices in the midst of the horror of the soul.
Years ago, I chose to believe Jesus, that I was forgiven of my sins and I could start over. I chose to walk through the narrow gate. Almost as soon as I was through the gate the horror and great fear I had experienced in understanding my role in putting Jesus on that Roman cross slid away, much like the burden that rolled off Pilgrim's back in Pilgrim's Progress. It is a remarkable world on this side of the narrow gate. Nothing on the broad way compares to it.
Oprah speaks of reaching "Christ consciousness." This term sounds like someone has come to a place of Christ within themselves, but this is not so. This is not the same as accepting Jesus Christ and going through the narrow gate; it is not becoming "born-again."
The "Christ consciousness" that Oprah and other New Agers speak of is a state of mind where a person tries to become really good, for lack of a better definition. I'm not sure even all New Age devotees would have a common definition of what attaining "Christ consciousness" is. But the idea seems to be that in achieving "Christ consciousness" a person frees himself of guilt associated with sin; there is now no law which tells you to feel bad for anything you have done. It is guilt-free, anything-goes mentality. You have "arrived" when you no longer feel bad about sin. Achieving "Christ consciousness" means rejecting the Biblical teaching that mankind is lost and undone and in need of Jesus Christ as Savior. Achieving "Christ consciousness" means rejecting Jesus Christ and not feeling bad about it.
In fact, achieving "Christ consciousness" is probably blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, the one sin that the Bible says is unpardonable (Matthew 12: 31) The purpose of the Holy Spirit is to draw men unto Christ. This drawing of the Holy Spirit will inevitably bring awareness of sin and an understanding of its ugliness. To continually reject and resist the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives and his efforts to draw us to Christ will eventually cause the Holy Spirit to cease his efforts and withdraw from working any further. I heard a pastor once say that God will not force anyone into Heaven if he doesn't want to go. This is the essence of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. In achieving "Christ consciousness" a person comes to the place where she (or he) can resist the work of the Holy Spirit and not only feel no remorse about it but can actually feel good about it.
Think long and hard about wanting "Christ consciousness" for it has absolutely NOTHING to do with having Christ in one's mind -- the opposite is the truth -- it is the ABSENCE OF CHRIST in one's mind.
What does the Bible say about a "jealous God"? There are 10 verses in the KJV that put the two words -- jealous and God -- in the same verse. Almost all the verses deal with the same topic: worshipping someone (or something) other than God Himself. Exodus 20: 3-5 gives us one example.
Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; (emphasis mine)
Gesenius' Lexicon notes the following: jealous; used of God as not bearing any rival; the severe avenger of departure from Himself.
These verses make clear that God will not tolerate people bowing down and worshipping other beings.
A renegade is one who has abandoned or deserted the faith. This definition would make Oprah a renegade. (Interesting that Renegade is also the Secret Service code name for 44.)
OPRAH IS A RABBIT HOLE
Oprah has rejected Jesus as the only way, and she has rejected the God of the Bible because He is too jealous for her taste. So if Oprah is not seeking Jehovah, then who is she seeking? The answer is found more correctly in asking "what" is she seeking. Oprah is seeking "godhood." Oprah would like to become a "god," or more correctly a "goddess." Oh dear! We are back to the Garden of Eden and another woman listening to hissing.
The lie that "ye shall be as gods" started in Eden. Satan tricked Eve so smoothly and easily that he has been tricking women (and men) ever since. Oprah, though, may be his greatest catch ever in modern history.
Oprah is an extremely enticing rabbit hole. She has built a vast kingdom, but it is all underground. (Where else do you go to escape from light?) She has led millions away from the light of Jesus Christ and down a rabbit hole. She promises that You! can be part of her world. Her world has riches and fame and spiritual awareness and is a place where one can "feel good" about themselves. No one does anything wrong in her kingdom. There is no place for Jesus and no need for the Bible. Oprah offers a "safe place" for like-minded renegades to explore with her the world that exists outside of Jehovah and Jesus Christ.
The prosperity gospel that has entrenched itself into America and blasphemously called itself a "biblical doctrine" may well be the reason that so many have rushed to Oprah. With the prosperity gospel, middle men hawk the favors of God by saying, "Send your seed money to my ministry and God will solve all your financial problems. God is just waiting on you to part with $100 so He can get you the pay raise you need at work or get your kids off drugs or replace your old broken down Pinto with a BMW."
Oh, Please!
God isn't for sale and never has been but that hasn't stopped people, many of them desperate, from sending that check and hoping that God will now live up to the prosperity preacher's promises of soon coming ease.
Oprah doesn't plead for money. You don't have to send her a dime. In fact, show up at the right time and you might find the keys to a new car under your seat or a pair of diamond earrings. If the priestess is feeling especially gracious to seekers, perhaps all will be treated to dazzling gifts and not just a lucky few.
Prosperity preachers, panhandlers in silk suits, hold out their hands for a check; Oprah holds out her hand and proffers car keys. Whose way looks more powerful? More specifically, whose religion looks more attractive?
Though Oprah is not openly hostile to Christians and is not known for attacking the faith of Christians (disagreeing with is not the same as attacking), she is open about her rejection of Jesus Christ. She makes it clear that He cannot be the only way, she will not accept him as the Only Way and to put her money where her mouth is, she offers to millions of women a path away from Jesus. Unfortunately, Oprah's face may be human, but the seductive hissing coming from her mouth is not.
OPRAH CALLED 44 "THE ONE"
When 44 wanted his candidacy to become president of the United States announced, he bestowed upon Oprah the honor. Although Oprah had never publicly endorsed any other candidate for political office before, had not backed anyone with her name, her platform or her brand she did come out of her television pulpit long enough to do this for 44.
And her introduction and endorsement were not low key.
Oprah's introduction of 44 so closely paralleled the actions of John the Baptist introducing Jesus Christ that it was chilling to behold.
The account of the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist is recorded in all four Gospels (Matthew 3, Mark 1, Luke 3, John 1). Jesus came to John to be baptized but John was reluctant at first believing it was he who needed to be baptized by Jesus. But Jesus reminded John that this needed to be done, therefore John baptized Him.
Why John?
When John was conceived his father, Zacharias, appears to have been High Priest in the Temple (Luke 1). At some point after the Romans overtook Jerusalem, they also took over who served as High Priest in the Temple. These Roman-appointed priests apparently served for a specified period of time. For instance, Caiaphas was the Roman-appointed priest involved in the trial of Jesus and Scripture noted that he was priest "that year." (John 11: 49)
John, being the son of Zacharias, should have been High Priest in the temple but the Romans would not permit it. That is why the people recognized that John had the authority to do what he was doing on the banks of the Jordan -- preaching repentance and baptizing those who forsook sin. (Matthew 3) This is why Herod Antipas, who eventually had John beheaded, was afraid of John -- he knew the position John actually held (Mark 6).
Jesus came to John. John baptized Him and pointing Jesus out to others, declared Jesus to be the "Lamb of God which takes away the sin of the world." (John 1: 29)
John had said earlier that there was "one among you" who "coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose." (John 1: 26, 27) When John announced Jesus as the "Lamb of God," he was affirming that Jesus was "The One" he had said would come.
When Oprah announced 44 to be running for president, she chose an interesting way to phrase her introduction: she declared him to be "The One."
YOU TUBE -- OPRAH CALLS 44 "THE ONE"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYjyU25bW3Y
"The One" what? The One who will deliver America from all her problems? Was Oprah, as priestess, declaring 44 to be The Savior?
Since Christians know this isn't possible for 44 to be The One as in "The Savior," then we are left to wonder what is meant by her choice of words and HIS LACK OF REFUSAL OF SUCH A TITLE.
Oprah has clearly denounced Jesus as the Only Way; in fact, she doesn't appear to care for Jesus or His Father at all. So she wouldn't want to parallel 44 to Jesus as she herself does not honor Him.
Who, then, is "The One" to her?
The answer might be found in a 1993 commentary by G. A. Riplinger titled NEW AGE BIBLE VERSIONS. Page 11 says the following:
Oriental mystics, traveling West via the New Age Movement are adopting Christian terms for their occult ideas and identities. (Some years ago the leading New Age newsletter [Lucis Trust, United Nations Plaza] called for volunteers to help find acceptable Christian counterparts for New Age words.) So now 'Buddha', 'Krishna', and Lucifer become 'The Lord,' 'The Christ', and 'The One'. (emphasis mine)
Hmmm.
Buddha = The Lord
Krishna = The Christ
Lucifer = THE ONE
On page 14, Riplinger writes this:
In this New Age 'name game', new versions have substituted 'titles' which transport the reader immediately to a list of Satan's latest poison pen names. The rock scene sings of Lord Satan (Venum) who's 'a new god' and 'a star from the east' (Wang Chung). New Agers refer to Lucifer as "The One,' 'the Spirit of the Age' and a 'divine being.' (emphasis mine)
For those who might be hesitant (or even feel somewhat uncomfortable) to think that Oprah would be saying such a thing here might want to look at what she herself said in her post-inaugural edition of The Oprah Winfrey Show in January of 2009. Oprah had received an email from actor Forest Whitaker in which she "praised" (2) Whitaker for his assessment of 44:
"I got a wonderful E-mail from you (meaning from Whitaker) . . . that just said 'The light of the New Age is here.' I just love that." (2)
Oprah "loves" "the light of the New Age." I not only believe that Oprah knows full well what she believes, I also believe she understands that that light she promotes and loves comes from phosphorus.
In a recent interview with Barbara Walters 44 said that "praying and reading the Bible are part of his everyday life." (3) But when asked by Walters to explain why some do not believe he is a Christian, 44 blamed the Internet.
"Well, you know, the Internet has a powerful effect these days, and so, the way rumors can take on a life of their own ends up being very powerful," he said. (3)
In what has become a well-recognized pattern of his over the last two years, at no time did 44 take personal responsibility that some of his own actions might have caused such a perception. Instead, he offered as excuse a belief of his: people believe rumors.
It seems that it's all about marketing to this president. He sees himself as the finest mouth magician that ever lived. He appears to be so enamored with his gift of speech that he cannot imagine a world where he says something and people don't believe him. He cannot imagine why anyone would question anything he says, after all, he said "it" so well -- no, so beautifully -- no, so magnificently -- no, actually there is no word grand enough to describe how smoothly words slip off his mercurial tongue.
And that is his undoing.
And this is the problem of his answer to Barbara Walters. What he really is saying here is, "Barbara, the American people are not listening to me when I speak. It should be enough for me to simply say I am a Christian and everyone, without exception, should believe me. But, alas Barbara, these weak-minded simpletons simply believe rumors on the Internet. They have no ability to see me as I am."
But I beg to differ.
If 44 is indeed a Christian then why let Oprah, who is a cult* leader in every nuance of the term and has one of the largest cult followings in America, who has denied Jesus Christ openly, endorse you and introduce you?
And if 44 is indeed a Christian then why allow Oprah to call him 'The One,' a term New Agers (a movement she clearly identifies with and promotes) uses for Lucifer?
Christians don't overlook those who deny Jesus Christ as the Only Way to God the Father. Christians don't embrace anything from anyone in the New Age Movement, a movement that has openly declared to destroy Christianity, And Christians don't let anyone call them 'The One,' opening up oneself to comparison to the Lamb of God by those who don't know better or opening up oneself to a name used for Lucifer by those who do know better.
Oprah is not found after going through the narrow gate, therefore, she must be found in the broad way -- so that means 44 is in the same place, otherwise how could he embrace her and everything she stands for? Just like Paul who did not stand for the girl with the spirit of divination crying out in his favor (Acts 16: 16-18), 44 should not have wanted Oprah's crying out anything on his behalf. Perhaps that is one of the reasons it is difficult to believe 44's claims of being a Christian for "in the beginning" of his 4 years as president, Oprah raised her hand and pointed her finger and proclaimed to her followers, "He is "The One."
If you are a Christian and going to the Temple of Oprah -- I would advise you to leave it. You will not find Jesus or His Father or Biblical teachings there. In fact, run! from Oprah and those who stand with her, run! from the priestess of the broad way and run to Jesus! run to the narrow gate, kneel at the cross and then enter into the narrow way.
Shalom!
(1) "Christian Apologists: Be Careful of Oprah's Spiritual Teachings," Christian Post, January 25, 2010
(2) "Oprah Show Glows for Obama: 'The Light of the New Age is Here,'" NewsBusters, January 24, 2009
(3) "Obama: I pray every night, read the Bible," The Hill's Blog Briefing Room, November 27, 2010
*The plumb line for heresy and orthodoxy is given by cult expert Bob Larson who says: The basic fault of cults is that they demote God, devalue Christ, deify man, deny sin and denigrate scripture. -- New Age Bible Versions, G. A. Riplinger, pg 16
NOTE: I hope you will enjoy this excellent post about the New Age High Priestess Oprah Winfrey, written by a fellow Watchmen on the Wall. I completely agree with Garden Girl's unflattering assessment of Oprah and Oprah's chilling endorsement of President # 44 as "the One" in every respect.
Yours in Yahshua,
Helena Lehman
http://pillar-of-enoch.com
PS: For more about Oprah's false spirituality, see my You Tube Playlist about Oprah here:
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=3D1FE99FCD34073D
OPRAH - PRIESTESS OF THE BROAD WAY
Posted by GardenGirl at 12/03/2010 10:57:00 AM;
http://runningfrombabylon.blogspot.com/
No doubt about it -- Oprah Winfrey is a great television personality. Since 1986, when Oprah's television show went national, her audience has swollen to well over a million people each week, most of whom are women.
Oprah came from an impoverished childhood that offered nothing to envy. Her story has been so well documented and written upon that a simple search on the Internet will turn up a vast amount of information. Suffice it to say that Oprah has become such an American icon that she can simply go by her first name, and many who have never watched her show know exactly who you are talking about if her name is mentioned.
Though Oprah is a multi-faceted person (talk-show host, actress, philanthropist and more), she is probably best known for marketing her brand of spirituality. She offers it on her show, on the Internet and soon on her own network. (Read the post 1/1/11 by Cindy by the Sea: http://cindybythesea.wordpress.com/2010/11/29/1111/ )
Unfortunately, doing a simple Internet search of two words -- Oprah and spirituality -- turns up page after page of links explaining Oprah's beliefs, all of which promote the New Age movement.
The New Age movement is fraught with difficulties in itself, and there are several good, well-researched books out there on the subject. Two I can definitely recommend are "oldies but goodies."
In The Hidden Dangers of the Rainbow: The New Age Movement and Our Coming Age of Barbarism by Constance Cumbey (1983), Cumbey wrote the following:
It is the contention of this writer that for the first time in history there is a viable movement -- the New Age Movement -- that truly meets all the scriptural requirements for the antichrist and the political movement that will bring him on the world scene.
It is further the position of this writer that this most likely is the great apostasy or 'falling away' spoken of by the Apostle Paul and that the antichrist's appearance could be a very real event in our immediate future.
Caryl Matrisciana in her book Gods of the New Age (as well as her documentary film of the same name of 1988: http://www.jeremiahfilms.com/products/GNAD ) not only explains many aspects of New Age beliefs and contrasts them to Biblical doctrine, she also documents, in the words of adherents, hostility to and bias against the Bible and its teachings and Christians and the stated goals of the New Age movement to specifically target Christianity and destroy it.
I have never watched an entire Oprah show. To some that may "disqualify" me from having an opinion about Oprah. But as I have researched other topics and read much about the New Age movement, Oprah's name has come up often and some apologists, such as Josh McDowell (1), have written about statements that Oprah has made on her show. With YouTube a rich wealth of short clips is available so that if you want to see an actual snippet of an Oprah show where she has made a statement to her audience, it is relatively easy to find. With such tools, it is not difficult to follow a pattern of someone's beliefs and then form an assessment.
And Oprah has some beliefs that I do not share with her.
JESUS CAN'T BE THE ONLY WAY
Oprah has denied Jesus Christ as the "only way" to God the Father saying "there can't only be one way." Oprah is wrong when she denies Jesus as the only way.
YOUTUBE - JESUS CAN'T BE THE ONLY WAY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETeI6i5oqh4
The Bible specifically states that Jesus Christ IS the only way. Many Christians are familiar with John 14:6:
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Oprah promises her audience that there are "many" ways to God because as long as a person loves others and is good, he/she will end up in "the light" that some call God but others may just call "the Light."
Sounds nice, but not correct.
At the end of each of the "many" ways that Oprah assures listeners leads to God, does not lead to THE God of the Bible but rather to satan, or one of his fellow fallen companions, and "the light" with these guys is not the light of Heaven but the light from the fires of Hell.
Anyone who hears Oprah speak this lie should remember Matthew 7: 13, 14.
Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
(Let me recommend another "oldie" here: John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress. This outstanding Christian classic is really all about the "narrow way." WELL WORTH reading this winter -- here is a link: http://www.ccel.org/ccel/bunyan/pilgrim.html )
When Matthew recorded Jesus' words in his Gospel, Jesus already knew then, 2,000 years ago, that the New Age movement was coming. Why? Because it already had been. Satan has been promising mankind ever since the Garden of Eden that there was more than one way to "god."
The wide gate is the lies of satan; the narrow gate is the Truth of Jesus Christ, and that gate is only as wide as He is. People will either choose to believe Him and enter into the narrow way that few find and fewer choose, or people will run headlong down wide paths off a cliff and into Hell. The Bible says many will choose that way.
This is one of those teachings that either you believe it and accept it or you don't. I accept it. I believe that Jesus Christ is the only way, the only truth and the only life I need. Oprah, so far, has rejected the narrow way.
But if you look closer at Oprah's goal in spirituality, you can determine much more easily what her goal is NOT than what it is, and her goal is NOT to reach God the Father.
This explains her easy rejection of Jesus Christ.
GOD IS A 'JEALOUS' GOD
Oprah has stated that when she was about 27 or 28 years old while sitting in a Baptist church, she heard a sermon in which the pastor said that God was a "jealous God." Something rose up inside her and this statement offended her and she wanted no part of a "jealous God." The moment must have been very keen for her as she remembers it clearly.
YOUTUBE - OPRAH WON'T ACCEPT A JEALOUS GOD
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wB4J1JpG_PA
It appears that it was at this point that Oprah rejected God. Instead of studying (as a Berean) to understand more fully what the Bible means by "jealous" God, Oprah began to search for a broader definition of God, one that would fit how she perceived He should be. The danger with this option is that the creation sits in judgment on God. When man rejects God, man rejects God as not being good enough for him. This is a terrifying place to be.
Man lives in this place until confronted by the cross of Jesus Christ. At the foot of the cross we will either suddenly comprehend the depth of how we have treated the Holy God of Heaven and be overwhelmed by the horror of our actions in deep remorse or we will look upon the cross and reject its impact upon our soul and simply dismiss it and move on.
When Jesus said, "Forgive them for they know not what they do," (Luke 23:34) He wasn't just speaking to those who physically crucified Him. He was speaking to all of us whose sins have nailed Him to the cross. He was saying that to me. He was saying that to you. He was saying that to each of us.
When the truth of the cross fully penetrates into a man's mind, it can be the darkest hour of a person's life. For me, it was an hour of unspeakable woe, a time of darkness unlike anything I had ever experienced. In the midst of this overwhelming sorrow a second dilemma appears: Jesus said I was forgiven -- do I accept that or do I not?
To accept means I must abandon, not merely, but utterly the sinful life I have been living up to that point and choose to live the way Jesus would have me to live. If I do not choose to believe what Jesus has said, that I am forgiven, then I must accept that from that day forward I will continue in the same sins of the past, but rather than those sins being a source of fun and good times, they will become a plague, an anathema to me and whatever sins I commit now will be done with the full knowledge that Jesus is out there and He offered me forgiveness, a slate washed clean and a fresh, clean start on life and I rejected it. I will re-enter into the broad way having come from the narrow gate but refusing to go through it because of unbelief and rejection.
Those are the two choices in the midst of the horror of the soul.
Years ago, I chose to believe Jesus, that I was forgiven of my sins and I could start over. I chose to walk through the narrow gate. Almost as soon as I was through the gate the horror and great fear I had experienced in understanding my role in putting Jesus on that Roman cross slid away, much like the burden that rolled off Pilgrim's back in Pilgrim's Progress. It is a remarkable world on this side of the narrow gate. Nothing on the broad way compares to it.
Oprah speaks of reaching "Christ consciousness." This term sounds like someone has come to a place of Christ within themselves, but this is not so. This is not the same as accepting Jesus Christ and going through the narrow gate; it is not becoming "born-again."
The "Christ consciousness" that Oprah and other New Agers speak of is a state of mind where a person tries to become really good, for lack of a better definition. I'm not sure even all New Age devotees would have a common definition of what attaining "Christ consciousness" is. But the idea seems to be that in achieving "Christ consciousness" a person frees himself of guilt associated with sin; there is now no law which tells you to feel bad for anything you have done. It is guilt-free, anything-goes mentality. You have "arrived" when you no longer feel bad about sin. Achieving "Christ consciousness" means rejecting the Biblical teaching that mankind is lost and undone and in need of Jesus Christ as Savior. Achieving "Christ consciousness" means rejecting Jesus Christ and not feeling bad about it.
In fact, achieving "Christ consciousness" is probably blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, the one sin that the Bible says is unpardonable (Matthew 12: 31) The purpose of the Holy Spirit is to draw men unto Christ. This drawing of the Holy Spirit will inevitably bring awareness of sin and an understanding of its ugliness. To continually reject and resist the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives and his efforts to draw us to Christ will eventually cause the Holy Spirit to cease his efforts and withdraw from working any further. I heard a pastor once say that God will not force anyone into Heaven if he doesn't want to go. This is the essence of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. In achieving "Christ consciousness" a person comes to the place where she (or he) can resist the work of the Holy Spirit and not only feel no remorse about it but can actually feel good about it.
Think long and hard about wanting "Christ consciousness" for it has absolutely NOTHING to do with having Christ in one's mind -- the opposite is the truth -- it is the ABSENCE OF CHRIST in one's mind.
What does the Bible say about a "jealous God"? There are 10 verses in the KJV that put the two words -- jealous and God -- in the same verse. Almost all the verses deal with the same topic: worshipping someone (or something) other than God Himself. Exodus 20: 3-5 gives us one example.
Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; (emphasis mine)
Gesenius' Lexicon notes the following: jealous; used of God as not bearing any rival; the severe avenger of departure from Himself.
These verses make clear that God will not tolerate people bowing down and worshipping other beings.
A renegade is one who has abandoned or deserted the faith. This definition would make Oprah a renegade. (Interesting that Renegade is also the Secret Service code name for 44.)
OPRAH IS A RABBIT HOLE
Oprah has rejected Jesus as the only way, and she has rejected the God of the Bible because He is too jealous for her taste. So if Oprah is not seeking Jehovah, then who is she seeking? The answer is found more correctly in asking "what" is she seeking. Oprah is seeking "godhood." Oprah would like to become a "god," or more correctly a "goddess." Oh dear! We are back to the Garden of Eden and another woman listening to hissing.
The lie that "ye shall be as gods" started in Eden. Satan tricked Eve so smoothly and easily that he has been tricking women (and men) ever since. Oprah, though, may be his greatest catch ever in modern history.
Oprah is an extremely enticing rabbit hole. She has built a vast kingdom, but it is all underground. (Where else do you go to escape from light?) She has led millions away from the light of Jesus Christ and down a rabbit hole. She promises that You! can be part of her world. Her world has riches and fame and spiritual awareness and is a place where one can "feel good" about themselves. No one does anything wrong in her kingdom. There is no place for Jesus and no need for the Bible. Oprah offers a "safe place" for like-minded renegades to explore with her the world that exists outside of Jehovah and Jesus Christ.
The prosperity gospel that has entrenched itself into America and blasphemously called itself a "biblical doctrine" may well be the reason that so many have rushed to Oprah. With the prosperity gospel, middle men hawk the favors of God by saying, "Send your seed money to my ministry and God will solve all your financial problems. God is just waiting on you to part with $100 so He can get you the pay raise you need at work or get your kids off drugs or replace your old broken down Pinto with a BMW."
Oh, Please!
God isn't for sale and never has been but that hasn't stopped people, many of them desperate, from sending that check and hoping that God will now live up to the prosperity preacher's promises of soon coming ease.
Oprah doesn't plead for money. You don't have to send her a dime. In fact, show up at the right time and you might find the keys to a new car under your seat or a pair of diamond earrings. If the priestess is feeling especially gracious to seekers, perhaps all will be treated to dazzling gifts and not just a lucky few.
Prosperity preachers, panhandlers in silk suits, hold out their hands for a check; Oprah holds out her hand and proffers car keys. Whose way looks more powerful? More specifically, whose religion looks more attractive?
Though Oprah is not openly hostile to Christians and is not known for attacking the faith of Christians (disagreeing with is not the same as attacking), she is open about her rejection of Jesus Christ. She makes it clear that He cannot be the only way, she will not accept him as the Only Way and to put her money where her mouth is, she offers to millions of women a path away from Jesus. Unfortunately, Oprah's face may be human, but the seductive hissing coming from her mouth is not.
OPRAH CALLED 44 "THE ONE"
When 44 wanted his candidacy to become president of the United States announced, he bestowed upon Oprah the honor. Although Oprah had never publicly endorsed any other candidate for political office before, had not backed anyone with her name, her platform or her brand she did come out of her television pulpit long enough to do this for 44.
And her introduction and endorsement were not low key.
Oprah's introduction of 44 so closely paralleled the actions of John the Baptist introducing Jesus Christ that it was chilling to behold.
The account of the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist is recorded in all four Gospels (Matthew 3, Mark 1, Luke 3, John 1). Jesus came to John to be baptized but John was reluctant at first believing it was he who needed to be baptized by Jesus. But Jesus reminded John that this needed to be done, therefore John baptized Him.
Why John?
When John was conceived his father, Zacharias, appears to have been High Priest in the Temple (Luke 1). At some point after the Romans overtook Jerusalem, they also took over who served as High Priest in the Temple. These Roman-appointed priests apparently served for a specified period of time. For instance, Caiaphas was the Roman-appointed priest involved in the trial of Jesus and Scripture noted that he was priest "that year." (John 11: 49)
John, being the son of Zacharias, should have been High Priest in the temple but the Romans would not permit it. That is why the people recognized that John had the authority to do what he was doing on the banks of the Jordan -- preaching repentance and baptizing those who forsook sin. (Matthew 3) This is why Herod Antipas, who eventually had John beheaded, was afraid of John -- he knew the position John actually held (Mark 6).
Jesus came to John. John baptized Him and pointing Jesus out to others, declared Jesus to be the "Lamb of God which takes away the sin of the world." (John 1: 29)
John had said earlier that there was "one among you" who "coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose." (John 1: 26, 27) When John announced Jesus as the "Lamb of God," he was affirming that Jesus was "The One" he had said would come.
When Oprah announced 44 to be running for president, she chose an interesting way to phrase her introduction: she declared him to be "The One."
YOU TUBE -- OPRAH CALLS 44 "THE ONE"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYjyU25bW3Y
"The One" what? The One who will deliver America from all her problems? Was Oprah, as priestess, declaring 44 to be The Savior?
Since Christians know this isn't possible for 44 to be The One as in "The Savior," then we are left to wonder what is meant by her choice of words and HIS LACK OF REFUSAL OF SUCH A TITLE.
Oprah has clearly denounced Jesus as the Only Way; in fact, she doesn't appear to care for Jesus or His Father at all. So she wouldn't want to parallel 44 to Jesus as she herself does not honor Him.
Who, then, is "The One" to her?
The answer might be found in a 1993 commentary by G. A. Riplinger titled NEW AGE BIBLE VERSIONS. Page 11 says the following:
Oriental mystics, traveling West via the New Age Movement are adopting Christian terms for their occult ideas and identities. (Some years ago the leading New Age newsletter [Lucis Trust, United Nations Plaza] called for volunteers to help find acceptable Christian counterparts for New Age words.) So now 'Buddha', 'Krishna', and Lucifer become 'The Lord,' 'The Christ', and 'The One'. (emphasis mine)
Hmmm.
Buddha = The Lord
Krishna = The Christ
Lucifer = THE ONE
On page 14, Riplinger writes this:
In this New Age 'name game', new versions have substituted 'titles' which transport the reader immediately to a list of Satan's latest poison pen names. The rock scene sings of Lord Satan (Venum) who's 'a new god' and 'a star from the east' (Wang Chung). New Agers refer to Lucifer as "The One,' 'the Spirit of the Age' and a 'divine being.' (emphasis mine)
For those who might be hesitant (or even feel somewhat uncomfortable) to think that Oprah would be saying such a thing here might want to look at what she herself said in her post-inaugural edition of The Oprah Winfrey Show in January of 2009. Oprah had received an email from actor Forest Whitaker in which she "praised" (2) Whitaker for his assessment of 44:
"I got a wonderful E-mail from you (meaning from Whitaker) . . . that just said 'The light of the New Age is here.' I just love that." (2)
Oprah "loves" "the light of the New Age." I not only believe that Oprah knows full well what she believes, I also believe she understands that that light she promotes and loves comes from phosphorus.
In a recent interview with Barbara Walters 44 said that "praying and reading the Bible are part of his everyday life." (3) But when asked by Walters to explain why some do not believe he is a Christian, 44 blamed the Internet.
"Well, you know, the Internet has a powerful effect these days, and so, the way rumors can take on a life of their own ends up being very powerful," he said. (3)
In what has become a well-recognized pattern of his over the last two years, at no time did 44 take personal responsibility that some of his own actions might have caused such a perception. Instead, he offered as excuse a belief of his: people believe rumors.
It seems that it's all about marketing to this president. He sees himself as the finest mouth magician that ever lived. He appears to be so enamored with his gift of speech that he cannot imagine a world where he says something and people don't believe him. He cannot imagine why anyone would question anything he says, after all, he said "it" so well -- no, so beautifully -- no, so magnificently -- no, actually there is no word grand enough to describe how smoothly words slip off his mercurial tongue.
And that is his undoing.
And this is the problem of his answer to Barbara Walters. What he really is saying here is, "Barbara, the American people are not listening to me when I speak. It should be enough for me to simply say I am a Christian and everyone, without exception, should believe me. But, alas Barbara, these weak-minded simpletons simply believe rumors on the Internet. They have no ability to see me as I am."
But I beg to differ.
If 44 is indeed a Christian then why let Oprah, who is a cult* leader in every nuance of the term and has one of the largest cult followings in America, who has denied Jesus Christ openly, endorse you and introduce you?
And if 44 is indeed a Christian then why allow Oprah to call him 'The One,' a term New Agers (a movement she clearly identifies with and promotes) uses for Lucifer?
Christians don't overlook those who deny Jesus Christ as the Only Way to God the Father. Christians don't embrace anything from anyone in the New Age Movement, a movement that has openly declared to destroy Christianity, And Christians don't let anyone call them 'The One,' opening up oneself to comparison to the Lamb of God by those who don't know better or opening up oneself to a name used for Lucifer by those who do know better.
Oprah is not found after going through the narrow gate, therefore, she must be found in the broad way -- so that means 44 is in the same place, otherwise how could he embrace her and everything she stands for? Just like Paul who did not stand for the girl with the spirit of divination crying out in his favor (Acts 16: 16-18), 44 should not have wanted Oprah's crying out anything on his behalf. Perhaps that is one of the reasons it is difficult to believe 44's claims of being a Christian for "in the beginning" of his 4 years as president, Oprah raised her hand and pointed her finger and proclaimed to her followers, "He is "The One."
If you are a Christian and going to the Temple of Oprah -- I would advise you to leave it. You will not find Jesus or His Father or Biblical teachings there. In fact, run! from Oprah and those who stand with her, run! from the priestess of the broad way and run to Jesus! run to the narrow gate, kneel at the cross and then enter into the narrow way.
Shalom!
(1) "Christian Apologists: Be Careful of Oprah's Spiritual Teachings," Christian Post, January 25, 2010
(2) "Oprah Show Glows for Obama: 'The Light of the New Age is Here,'" NewsBusters, January 24, 2009
(3) "Obama: I pray every night, read the Bible," The Hill's Blog Briefing Room, November 27, 2010
*The plumb line for heresy and orthodoxy is given by cult expert Bob Larson who says: The basic fault of cults is that they demote God, devalue Christ, deify man, deny sin and denigrate scripture. -- New Age Bible Versions, G. A. Riplinger, pg 16
Friday, December 03, 2010
Carmel Disaster: Fire Claims 41 Lives, Consumes Northern Israel
Friday, December 3, 2010
Shabbat Shalom,
Please pray for the Jews of Israel to come back to the Almighty God of their Fathers.
This wildfire in Israel is so reminiscent of the wildfires that burned through California in 2007 and 2008, which I am convinced were allowed by God as a judgment against the horrendous sins being committed in that state, not only by the pornographic and horror movie industries, but the many Laodicean health and wealth gospel churches there as well as the huge gay population and all the software developers creating immoral and violent video games for children.
http://www.bibleprophecyblog.com/2010/12/carmel-disaster-fire-claims-41-lives.html
Friday, December 3, 2010
Shabbat Shalom,
Please pray for the Jews of Israel to come back to the Almighty God of their Fathers.
This wildfire in Israel is so reminiscent of the wildfires that burned through California in 2007 and 2008, which I am convinced were allowed by God as a judgment against the horrendous sins being committed in that state, not only by the pornographic and horror movie industries, but the many Laodicean health and wealth gospel churches there as well as the huge gay population and all the software developers creating immoral and violent video games for children.
http://www.bibleprophecyblog.com/2010/12/carmel-disaster-fire-claims-41-lives.html
Wednesday, December 01, 2010
Can It Be, by Ron Graham and Come Up Here, by Helena Lehman
Shalom and Happy Chanukah!
Even before I finished reading the article below entitled "Can It Be" by Ron Graham, I knew I would want to pass it on.
It confirms so much of what I have been feeling lately, that perhaps we will be in Heaven before the spring of 2011, and we may have a winter wedding in Heaven, and not a summer bash at all.
The heavenly and earthly signs are all loudly proclaiming that we are very, very close to going home to be with Yahshua. Hallelu-Yah for that, because I am truly weary of this world. Aren't you too?
Enjoy the article and please pass it on! Oh, and please share the link to my revised "Come Up Here!" article at the end of Ron's article.
I want as many people as possible to benefit from seeing all the heavenly proofs that the Rapture and Tribulation are coming soon. Just keep in mind that the article is big because of all the high-quality illustrations in it. As a result, it takes a long time to download on computers with slower internet connections.
Maranatha! Keep Looking Up!
Helena Lehman
http://pillar-of-enoch.com
----------------------------------
Can It Be
By Ron Graham
http://www.raptureready.com/featured/graham/g154.html
----------------------------------
Prophecy “experts” have always had their divided end time’s opinions. Many have placed precise dates on when the Rapture of the Church will occur - and all have been disappointed. All those dates have come and gone, yet the Church is still here. The latest prophetic scenario is not so much focusing on an exact date, but on a period of time prior to a specific year, 2012.
Can it be that God has given us a more precise insight into when the Rapture will occur? Will it occur prior to the year 2012? We may all find that scenario both interesting as well as provocative. I’ve done a little research, well both my wife and I, and have found that just about every prediction of future cataclysmic occurrences culminate in 2012. Even little things that don’t mean much to the casual observer will, according to the reports we read, come to fulfillment by 2012. I’m not talking about the Mayan calendar coming to an end, but actual real time events that are to come to an end in that year. They are too numerous to mention, and to be honest we haven’t actually recorded them in a journal or anything like that. But we get a real kick every time something pops up claiming fulfillment in 2012, enough so that we both believe something of significance could be on the horizon for the year 2011.
Just about every end time’s biblical prophecy centers on the nation of Israel, once again becoming a fully established nation, and living in the land God gave them. Way back in the book of Deuteronomy, Moses gives us a prophecy about the nation of Israel being scattered (Deuteronomy 4:25-27) and of their rebirth as a nation in the last days (Deuteronomy 4:30). The prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Amos give us similar scenarios. Regarding the return of the Jews to their own land, this latest prophetic scenario is no different as it too centers on Israel.
The re-gathering of the Jewish people into the land God gave them is still going on today. In 1948 the Jewish people became, once again and for the final time, a sovereign nation, being fully recognized as such even by the United Nations. Today it’s hard to find a nation, other than Israel itself, who would admit publically that the Jewish people belong in the land which they now occupy. The latest prophetic rapture related scenario adds one generation to the year of Israel’s rebirth in 1948 (according to Psalm 90:10 and Isaiah 23:15 a generation is 70 years). Using this approach we’re catapulted into the future to the year 2018. Of course we must then subtract Daniel’s prophesied 70th week (7 years) and we can see that the year 2011 is definitely a focal year. Can it be?
To establish a foundation for this newest prophetic scenario for the timing of the rapture of the Church, we need to go back two thousand years to the time of Jesus’ earthly ministry. In the Gospel of Matthew in chapter 24, we find Jesus in the midst of explaining the end time’s events to His Jewish disciples. Something many Bible commentators miss is the fact that our Lord never mentions His Church during this meeting. Might we conclude then that the Church will not see the unfolding of the events Jesus describes?
“But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.” Matthew 24:36. This verse is constantly being misinterpreted as referring to the Rapture of Christ’s Church. The admonition that no man can know the day or the hour is actually referring to the day and the hour of His Second Advent. When Jesus physically returns and sets His feet on planet earth a second time it will be sometime after the tribulation, but no one knows just exactly when that will be (day or hour). The above verse has nothing whatsoever to do with the Rapture. Jesus is referring to those people who’ve rejected His free gift of salvation and who have entered into, and will be going through, the Tribulation. His Church is excluded from that event. How do I know? “And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.” 1 Thessalonians 1:10.
“And as he sat upon the mount of Olives over against the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately,”Mark 13:3. Jesus begins His discourse in this private meeting by answering a couple of questions put to Him by His disciples. He then begins to focus in on the difficulties the last days Jewish population will be faced with just prior to His return. Jesus’ focus is on the re-birth of Israel, as well as some interesting signs that will be prevalent in the last days. “This generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened” Matthew 24:34. “This generation” being the generation of Jews who would witness the rebirth of their own nation, Israel. This would mark the beginning of the last days.
In verse 15 of Matthew 24, Jesus refers to the prophet Daniel and more specifically to an event (the Abomination of Desolation) which will be the catalyst that shifts somewhat normal times into what Jesus refers to as the Great Tribulation which will be filled with God’s wrath. But the 70th week that Daniel speaks about will actually begin 3 ½ years prior to the tribulation (Daniel 12:7). By the time the Abomination of Desolation occurs in the rebuilt Temple in the Holy of Holies, the Church will have been gone for some time.
Those who don’t believe in the Rapture are not anticipating Christ’s Second Advent. It’s a given that most Christian denominations, as well as many non-denominations, ignore or misinterpret the verses that clearly state a future Rapture of Christ’s Church. Therefore there is no urgency in their pulpit messages. Jesus’ Second Advent has always been looked at as something that will occur, but at some time far removed from the here and now.
So let’s all just calm down, relax, let life be what it is, right?“Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.” 2 Peter 3:3-4. Most Christians don’t see the end times events unfolding because they just don’t believe God and His end times explanations. Erroneous teachings have had a severe affect on the Church.
“But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” Matthew 24:37-39. These verses are very important to all who would read them and understand them. They paint a vivid picture of apathy and ignorance. Many in the Church today are just as clueless as those who perished during the flood of Noah. They will not heed this clear warning from the Creator of the universe. Although the focus is on the last days Jews, they must give the rest of us pause when we realize that Jesus knew that in the last days not many would be taking His word seriously, analogous to the antediluvian period.
Right now anyone who picks up a newspaper, or listens to the nightly news reports, or reads online news sources can be fully assured that the birth pangs which Jesus spoke about in the discourse to His disciples are upon us. This tells us the Church’s earthly duration is coming to an end, and soon. Have you considered how birth pangs actually work?
Many Bible commentators of years past didn’t believe in the prophecy of the restoration of the nation of Israel, they just couldn’t see it happening. Thus they couldn’t see the birth pangs that would follow shortly after Israel’s rebirth. They simply wrote off all prophecy as having already been fulfilled. Sadly, many still don’t see it and continue to dismiss it as lunacy as they teach others to do the same.
There is very little thought given today for tomorrow. “The future is what it is” is a quote from an old movie I watched recently. That’s a somewhat true statement, but the future is fully known by God, and God alone. Believers “in Christ” must rely on His word as a focus for their lives both now and for the future. In the minds of many Christians today the rapture of Christ’s Church is an erroneous interpretation of scripture. Since they’re not looking for signs indicating the lateness of the hour, witnessing becomes a casual, almost wasteful expenditure of energy.
“Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.” Matthew 24:42. Even though I’m placing scripture verses in this commentary that clearly refer to the Jews of the last days and not Christ’s Church, today’s Christian are not excluded from heeding Christ’s warnings. Since the signs are obvious – easily recognizable and very near on the horizon – the shortness of the hour becomes paramount. As Christ’s followers we should all be encouraged, excited, and working.
God is at the controls and He is fully aware of the events which are occurring here on His earth. Satan too, being aware of end times signs, is in full military mode pushing to corrupt the masses and to defile the works of God. God’s word is true and we must study it more than just read it. Be assured He will give you understanding. Those of us who are in full anticipation of the coming events should also be fully entrenched in our determination to comply with Jesus’ command of spreading the Gospel.
Most Bible commentators who interpret the scriptures correctly understand that the Rapture of Christ’s Church is imminent. Whether the Rapture occurs today or in the future it is near, even at the door. We’re given God’s word on that and we are expected to believe it no matter what the naysayers believe and promote to the contrary. When God tells us that certain things are going to come to pass and then they do that’s enough proof that He means what He says. Hundreds of biblical prophecies have been fulfilled and so will the Rapture of His Church.
Proclaiming the message of the cross, at minimum as far as our little part of this world extends, means not one of our friends or family members should be ignorant of the Gospel of Christ. Even though time is running out for the Church here on earth we’re obviously still here and fully capable of spreading His Gospel and possibly making a difference in someone else’s life.
Consensus is that the year 2011 is shaping up to be quite significant for “in Christ” believers. Can it be that what we are seeing is a window opening up for the Rapture to occur? We shall all see. But one thing is sure, those who are lost cannot see.
My brothers and sisters, until the end comes we have our marching orders. Will we cower in a corner while we wait for the rapture, or boldly step up and proclaim the truth of the Gospel to a perishing world? You all know what you’re supposed to be doing – go do it.
God bless you all,
Ron Graham
----------------------------------
FULLY REVISED: Come Up Here and Come Away! - Clues to the Timing of the Rapture -
This heavily illustrated, full-color, 35-page revised article features plenty of all-new written material and illustrations. Therefore people who have read the first and second edition should read this version from the beginning. In this article, Helena shows that the First Rapture is tied to the Feast of Shavuot or Pentecost. This article also shows evidence that there may be a Second Rapture in the middle of the Tribulation that is tied to the Feast of Trumpets. In addition, Helena points to many powerful Signs in the Heavens, thereby doing just as Yahshua warned His disciples to do when His coming drew near. These signs include the three consecutive Solar Eclipses on the 1st of AV in 2008, 2009, and 2010, the three Jupiter-Uranus Conjunctions of 2010 and 2011, the three Lunar Eclipses targeting the signs of Taurus and Scorpio in 2010 and 2011, and a few other major heavenly End Time signs that conclusively show that the Tribulation is fast approaching:
http://pillar-of-enoch.com/essays/index.html#Maranatha
I pray that the revised article will be a big blessing to all my brothers and sisters in Yahshua around the world and will help you all to feel confident that the Tribulation is imminent and the Rapture can’t be far off either.
In the meantime, let’s all praise our heavenly Father Yahweh that His Son Yahshua is coming to rescue His Bride from the Earth very, very soon!
Blessings to you all, Maranatha, and Happy Chanukah again!
Your Sister in Yahshua,
Helena Lehman
http://pillar-of-enoch.com
Shalom and Happy Chanukah!
Even before I finished reading the article below entitled "Can It Be" by Ron Graham, I knew I would want to pass it on.
It confirms so much of what I have been feeling lately, that perhaps we will be in Heaven before the spring of 2011, and we may have a winter wedding in Heaven, and not a summer bash at all.
The heavenly and earthly signs are all loudly proclaiming that we are very, very close to going home to be with Yahshua. Hallelu-Yah for that, because I am truly weary of this world. Aren't you too?
Enjoy the article and please pass it on! Oh, and please share the link to my revised "Come Up Here!" article at the end of Ron's article.
I want as many people as possible to benefit from seeing all the heavenly proofs that the Rapture and Tribulation are coming soon. Just keep in mind that the article is big because of all the high-quality illustrations in it. As a result, it takes a long time to download on computers with slower internet connections.
Maranatha! Keep Looking Up!
Helena Lehman
http://pillar-of-enoch.com
----------------------------------
Can It Be
By Ron Graham
http://www.raptureready.com/featured/graham/g154.html
----------------------------------
Prophecy “experts” have always had their divided end time’s opinions. Many have placed precise dates on when the Rapture of the Church will occur - and all have been disappointed. All those dates have come and gone, yet the Church is still here. The latest prophetic scenario is not so much focusing on an exact date, but on a period of time prior to a specific year, 2012.
Can it be that God has given us a more precise insight into when the Rapture will occur? Will it occur prior to the year 2012? We may all find that scenario both interesting as well as provocative. I’ve done a little research, well both my wife and I, and have found that just about every prediction of future cataclysmic occurrences culminate in 2012. Even little things that don’t mean much to the casual observer will, according to the reports we read, come to fulfillment by 2012. I’m not talking about the Mayan calendar coming to an end, but actual real time events that are to come to an end in that year. They are too numerous to mention, and to be honest we haven’t actually recorded them in a journal or anything like that. But we get a real kick every time something pops up claiming fulfillment in 2012, enough so that we both believe something of significance could be on the horizon for the year 2011.
Just about every end time’s biblical prophecy centers on the nation of Israel, once again becoming a fully established nation, and living in the land God gave them. Way back in the book of Deuteronomy, Moses gives us a prophecy about the nation of Israel being scattered (Deuteronomy 4:25-27) and of their rebirth as a nation in the last days (Deuteronomy 4:30). The prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Amos give us similar scenarios. Regarding the return of the Jews to their own land, this latest prophetic scenario is no different as it too centers on Israel.
The re-gathering of the Jewish people into the land God gave them is still going on today. In 1948 the Jewish people became, once again and for the final time, a sovereign nation, being fully recognized as such even by the United Nations. Today it’s hard to find a nation, other than Israel itself, who would admit publically that the Jewish people belong in the land which they now occupy. The latest prophetic rapture related scenario adds one generation to the year of Israel’s rebirth in 1948 (according to Psalm 90:10 and Isaiah 23:15 a generation is 70 years). Using this approach we’re catapulted into the future to the year 2018. Of course we must then subtract Daniel’s prophesied 70th week (7 years) and we can see that the year 2011 is definitely a focal year. Can it be?
To establish a foundation for this newest prophetic scenario for the timing of the rapture of the Church, we need to go back two thousand years to the time of Jesus’ earthly ministry. In the Gospel of Matthew in chapter 24, we find Jesus in the midst of explaining the end time’s events to His Jewish disciples. Something many Bible commentators miss is the fact that our Lord never mentions His Church during this meeting. Might we conclude then that the Church will not see the unfolding of the events Jesus describes?
“But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.” Matthew 24:36. This verse is constantly being misinterpreted as referring to the Rapture of Christ’s Church. The admonition that no man can know the day or the hour is actually referring to the day and the hour of His Second Advent. When Jesus physically returns and sets His feet on planet earth a second time it will be sometime after the tribulation, but no one knows just exactly when that will be (day or hour). The above verse has nothing whatsoever to do with the Rapture. Jesus is referring to those people who’ve rejected His free gift of salvation and who have entered into, and will be going through, the Tribulation. His Church is excluded from that event. How do I know? “And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.” 1 Thessalonians 1:10.
“And as he sat upon the mount of Olives over against the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately,”Mark 13:3. Jesus begins His discourse in this private meeting by answering a couple of questions put to Him by His disciples. He then begins to focus in on the difficulties the last days Jewish population will be faced with just prior to His return. Jesus’ focus is on the re-birth of Israel, as well as some interesting signs that will be prevalent in the last days. “This generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened” Matthew 24:34. “This generation” being the generation of Jews who would witness the rebirth of their own nation, Israel. This would mark the beginning of the last days.
In verse 15 of Matthew 24, Jesus refers to the prophet Daniel and more specifically to an event (the Abomination of Desolation) which will be the catalyst that shifts somewhat normal times into what Jesus refers to as the Great Tribulation which will be filled with God’s wrath. But the 70th week that Daniel speaks about will actually begin 3 ½ years prior to the tribulation (Daniel 12:7). By the time the Abomination of Desolation occurs in the rebuilt Temple in the Holy of Holies, the Church will have been gone for some time.
Those who don’t believe in the Rapture are not anticipating Christ’s Second Advent. It’s a given that most Christian denominations, as well as many non-denominations, ignore or misinterpret the verses that clearly state a future Rapture of Christ’s Church. Therefore there is no urgency in their pulpit messages. Jesus’ Second Advent has always been looked at as something that will occur, but at some time far removed from the here and now.
So let’s all just calm down, relax, let life be what it is, right?“Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.” 2 Peter 3:3-4. Most Christians don’t see the end times events unfolding because they just don’t believe God and His end times explanations. Erroneous teachings have had a severe affect on the Church.
“But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” Matthew 24:37-39. These verses are very important to all who would read them and understand them. They paint a vivid picture of apathy and ignorance. Many in the Church today are just as clueless as those who perished during the flood of Noah. They will not heed this clear warning from the Creator of the universe. Although the focus is on the last days Jews, they must give the rest of us pause when we realize that Jesus knew that in the last days not many would be taking His word seriously, analogous to the antediluvian period.
Right now anyone who picks up a newspaper, or listens to the nightly news reports, or reads online news sources can be fully assured that the birth pangs which Jesus spoke about in the discourse to His disciples are upon us. This tells us the Church’s earthly duration is coming to an end, and soon. Have you considered how birth pangs actually work?
Many Bible commentators of years past didn’t believe in the prophecy of the restoration of the nation of Israel, they just couldn’t see it happening. Thus they couldn’t see the birth pangs that would follow shortly after Israel’s rebirth. They simply wrote off all prophecy as having already been fulfilled. Sadly, many still don’t see it and continue to dismiss it as lunacy as they teach others to do the same.
There is very little thought given today for tomorrow. “The future is what it is” is a quote from an old movie I watched recently. That’s a somewhat true statement, but the future is fully known by God, and God alone. Believers “in Christ” must rely on His word as a focus for their lives both now and for the future. In the minds of many Christians today the rapture of Christ’s Church is an erroneous interpretation of scripture. Since they’re not looking for signs indicating the lateness of the hour, witnessing becomes a casual, almost wasteful expenditure of energy.
“Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.” Matthew 24:42. Even though I’m placing scripture verses in this commentary that clearly refer to the Jews of the last days and not Christ’s Church, today’s Christian are not excluded from heeding Christ’s warnings. Since the signs are obvious – easily recognizable and very near on the horizon – the shortness of the hour becomes paramount. As Christ’s followers we should all be encouraged, excited, and working.
God is at the controls and He is fully aware of the events which are occurring here on His earth. Satan too, being aware of end times signs, is in full military mode pushing to corrupt the masses and to defile the works of God. God’s word is true and we must study it more than just read it. Be assured He will give you understanding. Those of us who are in full anticipation of the coming events should also be fully entrenched in our determination to comply with Jesus’ command of spreading the Gospel.
Most Bible commentators who interpret the scriptures correctly understand that the Rapture of Christ’s Church is imminent. Whether the Rapture occurs today or in the future it is near, even at the door. We’re given God’s word on that and we are expected to believe it no matter what the naysayers believe and promote to the contrary. When God tells us that certain things are going to come to pass and then they do that’s enough proof that He means what He says. Hundreds of biblical prophecies have been fulfilled and so will the Rapture of His Church.
Proclaiming the message of the cross, at minimum as far as our little part of this world extends, means not one of our friends or family members should be ignorant of the Gospel of Christ. Even though time is running out for the Church here on earth we’re obviously still here and fully capable of spreading His Gospel and possibly making a difference in someone else’s life.
Consensus is that the year 2011 is shaping up to be quite significant for “in Christ” believers. Can it be that what we are seeing is a window opening up for the Rapture to occur? We shall all see. But one thing is sure, those who are lost cannot see.
My brothers and sisters, until the end comes we have our marching orders. Will we cower in a corner while we wait for the rapture, or boldly step up and proclaim the truth of the Gospel to a perishing world? You all know what you’re supposed to be doing – go do it.
God bless you all,
Ron Graham
----------------------------------
FULLY REVISED: Come Up Here and Come Away! - Clues to the Timing of the Rapture -
This heavily illustrated, full-color, 35-page revised article features plenty of all-new written material and illustrations. Therefore people who have read the first and second edition should read this version from the beginning. In this article, Helena shows that the First Rapture is tied to the Feast of Shavuot or Pentecost. This article also shows evidence that there may be a Second Rapture in the middle of the Tribulation that is tied to the Feast of Trumpets. In addition, Helena points to many powerful Signs in the Heavens, thereby doing just as Yahshua warned His disciples to do when His coming drew near. These signs include the three consecutive Solar Eclipses on the 1st of AV in 2008, 2009, and 2010, the three Jupiter-Uranus Conjunctions of 2010 and 2011, the three Lunar Eclipses targeting the signs of Taurus and Scorpio in 2010 and 2011, and a few other major heavenly End Time signs that conclusively show that the Tribulation is fast approaching:
http://pillar-of-enoch.com/essays/index.html#Maranatha
I pray that the revised article will be a big blessing to all my brothers and sisters in Yahshua around the world and will help you all to feel confident that the Tribulation is imminent and the Rapture can’t be far off either.
In the meantime, let’s all praise our heavenly Father Yahweh that His Son Yahshua is coming to rescue His Bride from the Earth very, very soon!
Blessings to you all, Maranatha, and Happy Chanukah again!
Your Sister in Yahshua,
Helena Lehman
http://pillar-of-enoch.com