NEXT WAVE MAGAZINE JANUARY 2020

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Conflict Resolution – Juan Nuevo Church @ Community – Ed Delph Health & Wellness – Melissa Kody Implementation – Barney Phillip

THE NEXT WAVE www.icof.net PUBLISHER International Circle of Faith C/O Life Church 1901 Prestwick Drive LaGrange, KY 40031

MISSIONS David & Kathy Tait Conflict Resolution

By Juan Nuevo

Contributing Editors David Tait, Bernie Wade, Cindye Coates, Doc Burkhart, Barney Phillips.

Night of Hope Joel & Victoria Osteen

Inquiries

IMPLEMENTATION Barney Phillips

For more information bernie.wade1212@gmail.com or call 502.655.8554

Editorial Submissions We welcome submissions and editorials.

We assume no responsibility for the

CHURCH @ COMMUNITY Ed Delph

return of unsolicited submissions.

Please send photos, articles, and documents to Life Church 1901 Prestwick Drive LaGrange KY 40031 Electronic submissions to: bernie.wade1212@gmail.com

Health & Wellness NEXT WAVE MAGAZINE Annual Subscription: $36 US

Melissa Kody 2

RELIGITICS: Did God Say?

Cover: Bishop Bernie L. Wade, PhD – Life College Chancellor

Praise Jesus!

CONFLICT RESOLUTION Welcome to the Next Wave. It has been a while since we have produced an issue of the Next Wave Magazine.

By: Juan Nuevo

We are back and plan to produce 4 quarterly issues in 2020. I welcome your input, feedback, etc.

The scripture reveals to us that two acts occur continually before the throne of God. Intercession and accusation. The conflict between these two is a focal point of the battle between the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of darkness. Because God has chosen to make the Church His dwelling place, and therefore, the place of His throne, it is in the heart of the Church that this battle now rages.

Jesus, “always lives to make intercession” (Heb. 7:25) It is the fundamental nature of Jesus to be an intercessor, a priest. To the degree that we abide in Him, Jesus will use us to intercede. For this reason, His Church is called to be a “…house of prayer for all the nations” (Mk. 11:17).

We are focused on dealing with issues that are relevant to ministering to the Body of Christ at this time in the maturation process. Every year we participate in the sponsorship of Life Fest. Let me encourage you to come to Life Fest 2020. www.lifefestus.com I will promise you that is will be life changing!

2020 is going to be a tremendous year for the Body of Christ. We have focused for several years on this Next Wave of the Spirit of God. The Next Wave is here!

In the Scriptures Satan is called “the accuser of our brethren…who accuses them before our God day and night” (Rev. 12:10). To the degree that the enemy has access to our lives he will use us to accuse and criticize the brethren. Like the two trees in the garden, we must choose which of these we are going to partake of- intercession or accusation.

In all my years in ministry one thing I have found continually is conflict. Conflict is one of the largest challenges that followers and leaders alike will face. It is frustrating for all of us and in most cases simply unnecessary. No one has done a better job dealing with this subject than my dear friend Bishop Juan Nuevo (my fellow alum at Life College www.lifecollege.education) . I trust you will be helped by his message.

Bernie

We may ask how Satan could continue to accuse the saints before God if he has been thrown out of Heaven and no longer has access to the throne. The answer is that Satan uses the saints, who do have access to the throne, to accomplish this diabolical work for him.

Bernie L. Wade, PhD - Presiding Bishop

SATAN’S, GREATES VICTORY.

Blessings!

International Circle of Faith (ICOF) www.icof.net

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Satan is called by many titles but certainly his most effective one is the accuser “accuser of the brethren”. This title was given to him because of his effectiveness in getting brother to turn against brother. From the time that he entered the Garden to thwart the purpose of man, accusation has been his specialty. Even when there were just two brothers on earth, they could not get along. The presence of Satan will always promote discord and division.

Unfortunately, the enemy understands all of this more than the Church does.

The access the accuser has to most believers is through their insecurity. This drives them to become territorial or possessive. The insecure are threatened by anything that they cannot control. The accuser may use many seemingly noble justifications for his attacks on others, such as to protect the truth or the sheep, but rarely has there been a division in the Church that was not rooted in territorial-or selfpreservation. The greater the authority or influence that one has in the Church, the bigger the target they make. Satan knows well that if he can sow territorial or selfpreservation in the heart of a spiritual leader, the leader will sow it in all of those under him, and the more destructive the division or sectarian spirit can become.

Ironically, the division that is caused by trying to protect our domains is the very thing that cuts us off from the spiritual authority and anointing. This ultimately results in our losing the very thing we are so desperately trying to preserve, which is an incontrovertible law of the spirit:

Satan’s greatest victory over the Church is in turning the brethren against each other.

Accusation has been his most effective and deadly tool in destroying the light, the power, and the witness of the Body of Christ. Our ability to accomplish our purpose in this world will be determined by the degree to which we can dispel our deadly enemy and learn to live for one another.

“For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for my sake shall find it” (Mat. 16:25) Isaiah addressed this issue in Isaiah 58:8-9: Then your light will break out like the dawn, and your recovery will speedily spring forth; and your righteousness will go before you; the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry, and He will say, “Here I am.” If you remove the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness. We are promised that if we remove the yoke of criticism from our midst (which is portrayed as “the pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness”), our light will break out, our healing will come speedily, the glory of the

The greatest threat to Satan’s domain is the unity of the Church. The devil knows very well awesome authority that Jesus has given to any two who will agree. He knows that with agreement between just two saints, the Father will give them what they ask. He understands that one saint can put a thousand to flight but two of them together can put ten thousand to flight. Unity does not just increase our spiritual authority, it exponentially multiplies it.

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Lord will follow us, and He will answer our prayers. There is possibly nothing that can so radically change the Church, and the lives of individual believers, than having our criticism changed into intercession. Likewise, it is probable that the addiction to criticism is the main reason why there is so little light, so little healing, so little of the glory of the Lord, and so little answered prayer in the Church today.

fall away from You but not me.” Peter considered himself to be a man of courage and was willing to die for the Lord. He just did not know where the courage came from. The Lord did not cause Peter to fall that night; He just removed the grace by which he was standing.

Then the fearless man who had charged a Roman cohort could not even stand before a servant girl!

CRITICISM IS PRIDE

None of us can stand at any moment except by the grace of God. This is more than a cliché it is a basic biblical truth. When we condemn others who are having problems, we are putting ourselves in jeopardy of falling to the same sins. That is why Paul warned us;

Criticism is one of the ultimate manifestations of pride because, whenever we criticize someone else, we assume we are superior to them. Pride brings that which any rational human being should fear the most –God’s resistance. ”God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (Jas. 4:6 ). We would be better off having all the demons in hell resisting us than God itself!

“Brethren. Even if a man is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, lest you too be tempted” (Gal.6:1).

WHO ARE WE CRITICIZING? When we criticize another Christian, we are actually saying that God’s workmanship does not meet up to our standards that we could do it better. When we criticize someone else’s child, who takes offence? The parents! This is no less true of God. When we judge one of His people, we are judging Him. When we judge one of His leaders, we are actually judging His leadership. We are saying that He does not know what He is doing with the leadership that He is providing. Such grumbling and complaining is the same problem that kept the first generation of the children of Israel from possessing their promised land. Their grumbling caused them to spend their entire lives wandering in dry places, and this is still the chief reason why so many Christians do not walk in the promises of God. We have been warned:

Pride caused the first fall, and it has been a root in probably every fall from grace since.

Peter’s betrayal of the Lord is one of the great examples of how pride causes us to fall from grace. On the very same night that Peter betrayed the Lord, he earlier charged a Roman cohort to defend his Lord. Even though this was misguided zeal, it was impressive courage – a Roman cohort was composed of 800 men!

Earlier when the Lord warmed Peter of his impending denial of Him, Peter challenged the Son of God Himself, declaring, “They may all

Do not speak against one another, brethren.

He, who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer 5

of the law, but a judge of it. There is only one Lawgiver and judge, the one who is able to save and to destroy (when we judge the law, we judge the Lawgiver); but who are you who judges your neighbor? (James 4:11-12). When we point the finger to criticize, we yoke ourselves:

But the path of the just is like the shining sun, that shines ever brighter unto the perfect day.

The way of the wicked is like darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble. (Prove.

4:18-19) If we are walking in righteousness, we walk in increasing light. On the other hand, those who stumble around in the dark seldom know the reason for that darkness; otherwise they would not be living in it. The critical person is usually critical of everyone but himself, and therefore, cannot see his own problems. The Lord stated that he is so busy looking for specks in the eyes of his brothers, he cannot see the big log in his own eye, which is the reason for his blindness.

Judge not, that you be not judge. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the same measure you use, it will be measured back to you. (Mat. 7:1-2)

STUMBLING BLOCKS The Lord indicated that the very last thing we should ever want to be is a stumbling block. He said that it would be better for us not to have been born than to cause even one of His little ones to stumble. In the same conversation in which He warned us not to become a stumbling block (see Mt. 18), He gave clear instructions about how we are to deal with a brother or sister who is in sin so that we will not become a stumbling block.

The text in Isaiah 58 implies that the primary reason for the darkness, lack of healing, unanswered prayer, and lack of the glory of God, is our own critical spirit, which is called “the pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness.” Of the many people I have met with exceptional mantles of spiritual authority, but who were lacking in spiritual fruit, this characteristic always seemed to prevail in their lives. They had judged and criticized the ministries of others who were gaining influence and had thereby disqualified themselves from the grace of God in that area. Our criticism will bring us to poverty. “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit” (Pro. 18:21) As Solomon observed:

First, we must go to the person in private. If he rejects our counsel and only after he has rejected our counsel, we go to him again with another brother. Only after he rejects the second counsel should we ever go before the rest of the church with the issue. If we do not follow this pattern, we will be in jeopardy of suffering a fate worse than 6

the person who is in sin, becoming a stumbling block (see Mt. 18:15-17)

execute the judgment. Do not accuse but intercede!

This tendency towards unrighteous judgment in the Church is very possibly why many will come to the Lord on judgment day, having done many great things in His name, but will still hear those terrible words: “Depart from Me, you who practices lawlessness.” By the Lord’s own teaching, it would be very hard for us to overstate the importance of this terrible sin of unrighteous judgment. See (Mat. 7:23).

The Lord is able to judge His own house and He is able to make a way for us if we are the ones He wants to use. If he does not make a way for us, we must trust Him to do it in His own time. Again, this is to protect us from coming under a judgment that is more severe than the brother who is in sin. If we have not followed the Lord’s prescribed manner for dealing with a brother who is in sin, we have absolutely no right to talk about it to anyone else, much less to go public with it. It should not even be shared to get another’s opinion on the matter.

I have heard numerous excuses for not following the Matthew 18 pattern for dealing with sin, such as: “I knew they would not listen to me,” or “If they have a public ministry, we have a right to expose them publicly.”

However, the Lord did not say that we only had to comply with His instructions when we knew people would listen to us. He obviously implied that at least some would not hear which is why there is the subsequent step.

What we may call get someone else’s opinion, God usually calls gossip. He is not fooled, and we will pay the price for such indiscretions.

Even if we follow every one of the steps in Matthew 18, and determine that we should bring an issue before the church, our goal must always be to save the brother from his sin, not to expose him. The right procedure should be to talk to the leadership of the church and let them deal with it. That is why they are the leaders of the church to deal with the issues of live in the church.

AS far as the public ministry excuse goes, this is also flawed logic, because every ministry is public, at least to some degree. Who determines the degree to which it has become so public that it frees us from compliance with God’s Word? The Lord gave no such conditions. Those who take such liberties with the clear commandments given by Jesus Himself are by this logic claiming to have authority to add to the Word of God. If we believe a man with a large ministry is in sin, and we are not able to persuade him with our discernment, then we must not be the one to

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ICOF members have united over 50,000 ministers representing more than 25 Million constituents, several hundred colleges, universities and other Christian schools, orphanages & feeding programs, humanitarian aid organizations, chaplains and other charities.

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JOEL & VICTORIA OSTEEN Evangelist Jackie Wade, Robert Upton, Terry Tripp, Drs. Ben & Jewel Tankard and an enterage from Life Church (Iglesia Vida) which included Drs. Bernie & Daisy Wade, Pastors Bernie II & Blanca Wade, Pastor Maricela & Juan Fuentes, and a plethora of volunteers.Before the historic Night of Hope service the ministers were guests of honor back

LOUISVILLE NIGHT OF HOPE Flashback to 2014 Louisville, KY – A crowd of more than 10,000 gathered in the KFC YUM Center in downtown Louisville Kentucky for an amazing night centered on the theme of Hope.

Hope for America. Hope that comes through faith in Jesus Christ.

Joel Osteen, Stan Coates, Cindye Coates

Among those that came to hear the message of Joel & Victoria Osteen were Drs. Stan & Cindye

stage with Pastors Joel & Victoria Osteen as well as Pastor Phil Munsey. It was an epic night. The group was priviledged to be joined by Pastor Dodie Osteen, Pastor Joel Osteen’s mother.

Coates, Bishop Derrick and Pastor Angela Day, Bishop Sanford &

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Drs. Bernie & Daisy Wade made a

special presentation to Dodie Osteen which included a Lifetime Achievement Award from International Circle of Faith (ICOF) in recognition of her more than 50 years of service to Lakewood Church in Houston Texas

Cindye Coates and Victoria Osteen

A highlight for the team was the presentation by Life College President, of the Doctor of Letters to Pastor Joel Osteen (or Dr. Joel Osteen if you prefer)!

Blanca Wade, Joel Osteen and Bernie Wade II

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After the backstage festivities, the Night of Hope began in earnest. The ministry team from Lakewood Church did an amazing job leading worship.

At each Night of Hope Pastor Joel Osteen invites local ministers to do proclamations. Pastor Phil Munsey who is the President of the Champions Network Our own Dr. Bernie Wade joined Pastor Bob Rogers of Evangel, Pastor Craig Johnson, Pastor Steve Turpin, and others.

Thousands responded to the invitation given by Pastor Joel Osteen. The night ended with all encouraged, excited and uplifted. For many of us, Friday Night was only the beginning of an epic weekend. The next morning we began Life Fest at Life Church in Kentucky

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powerful blocker of destiny. It takes courage to say, "I was wrong. I did my best. I did my worst. It didn't work out. Will you forgive me?"

Some Liberating, Activating Thoughts for You, Your Future and for Others

Now the second idea. The first to forgive is the strongest. Mahatma Gandhi once said, "The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is an attribute of the strong."

Where did he get that concept. From the Bible, of course. God showed us His strength by sending the Ambassador of Reconciliation, Jesus, to offer forgiveness from sin to all humankind. Why? Forgiveness makes the future possible...seventy times seven.

WITH ED DELPHs

Now the last thought. The first of forget is the happiest. Here's a story for you on this: Early is their marriage, my Dad did something really stupid. My Mom chewed him out for it. He apologized and they made up.

However, from time to time, my Mom mentioned what he had done. "Honey," my Dad finally said one day, "why do you keep bringing that up? I thought your policy was to forgive and forget." "It is," she said. "I just don't want you to forget what I've forgiven and forgotten." Enough said!

Years ago I made the mistake of buying a Christmas present from a catalog I saw at my father and mother's house. The result? Now our mailbox is the recipient of Holiday catalogs from everywhere and on everything. I feel obligated to scan the catalogs. Someone did heaps of work to find all the weird stuff in them. Christmas catalogs were created for more than my Peoria, Arizona recycle bin.

This week I found some 'word treasures' on plaques in one of those catalogs. I posted the sayings on my Facebook page. You should have seen all the 'likes' and comments. I was a 'Facebook Rockstar.'

As C.S. Lewis says, "There are far better things ahead than any we leave behind."

Here's one of the quotes on the plaques: “Four things you can't recover: The stone after the throw. The word after it's said. The occasion after it's missed. The time after it's gone.� That quote is by Deanna Wadsworth.

Everyone of the ideas you could find in the Bible.

Ed Delph has been responding to God's call to the community and to the nations since 1979. He has ministered or been in over 100 countries as well as serving as a pastor in the United States.

Here's another quote on a plaque from an unknown author. "Three simple rules for life: 1. If you don't not go after what you want, you'll never have it. 2. If you do not ask, the answer will always be no. 3. If you do not step forward, you will always be in the same place." That's Biblical.

But here is the quote on the plaque that got the most 'likes' and comments. It's by an unknown author. "The first to apologize is the bravest. The first to forgive is the strongest. The first to forget is the happiest." I like this one.

NATIONSTRATEGY

Let's contemplate that first idea. The first to apologize is the bravest. It takes courage to admit that we are sometimes wrong or did wrong. Isn't it interesting? We know in our minds that we were wrong but we just can't admit it. Like Adam and Eve, the second we fail in some way, we go right to the department store and buy a fig leaf. We hide. We hurl. We deny. That thick wall of selfprotection we build keeps others out but it also keeps ourselves in. We then underachieve. Hubris is a

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My Journey: Taking

to help people with their health concerns.

Sometimes, however, even the brightest of

Charge of My Health

doctors can be at a loss when trying to help someone.

When you go to the doctor, you have an expectation they are going to diagnose, treat and ultimately resolve your issue but what do you do when they fall short? When a medical doctor is unable to help you, their only option is to simply treat the symptoms.

Remember, it is called a “practice” for a reason and they are practicing on you! This was the situation I found myself in.

I want to share with you a little bit of my

Melissa Kody

health-journey but before I get in to all of that, I have a disclaimer. I am not a doctor; I

Healthier, Greener Living

am not a medical professional; I have no

Health is something that concerns each and

formal medical training. The information I

every one of us – be it physical, emotional

am providing to you here is based on my

or spiritual. When it comes to our physical

personal experience and what I believe is

well-being, we tend to rely on a Primary

right for me. What is right for me might be

Care Physician or other Medical

wrong for you and what worked for me may

Professional. This is, in large-part, because

not work for you. Your mileage may vary. If

we have been raised in a society where

you are dealing with a health or other

most of us trust that doctors are able to

medical issue, you should always seek the

help us with whatever is troubling us. Now,

advice of a properly trained medical

rest assured, I am not going down an “anti-

professional.

doctor” path here. Really, I am not. I believe

Ok, now that that is out of the way, let me

God is the giver of wisdom and He has

tell you a little bit about my health-journey!

granted many of those in the medical Honestly, I was not unhealthy and I did not

profession with the knowledge and ability 16

have any major medical conditions when I

I should have realized it sooner but my eyes

went to my doctor for what should have

were opened to the fact that doctors did not

been a routine physical. After running all

have answers for me. Because of this

the normal tests, I was informed I had a

realization, I went to where I should have

Thyroid condition (Hypothyroidism, or an

started in the first place and took my

under-active Thyroid gland).

situation to the Lord in prayer. I began to seek God for knowledge and direction as to

Basically, my Thyroid was not producing

what was going on in my body and, more

the proper amount of the Thyroid hormone

importantly, what I could do to help myself.

my body needed. I was also told it was really nothing to be concerned about

It was around this time, God directed me to

because “thousands of people have this

an old and wise man but unfortunately, he

same condition” [and] “the treatment is

lived on the other side of the country.

simple and easy”.

Through a number of stories from others, I knew God had granted him much wisdom in

I was prescribed a medication called

the area of people’s physical health and

Synthroid and told it might take a few

because of that, I wanted to go see him. At

weeks or months before my body built up a

the very least, I wanted to have a

therapeutic level but once it did, I would be

conversation to see if he had any insight

“regulated” and everything would be fine.

about my situation.

Unfortunately, this was not the case for me.

Over the next few years,

If you are still reading at this point, you may be wondering why God did not just

I went from doctor to doctor and from

miraculously heal me. I mean, He certainly

specialist to specialist because I was not

has the power to do so but why doesn’t He?

responding as expected to the medication.

That is a great question and one that is

Everyone, including me, was baffled.

asked over and over by believers and non-

Absent of any medical reason for this

believers alike. The fact that

anomaly, the only answer was to “stay the course” and hope that one day my body

I did not receive a miraculous healing,

would suddenly – and without explanation –

however, sent me on a journey to pursue

start responding as expected. Of course,

not only health and healing for myself but

this defies every form of logic known to

to also use my experience to help others.

man but what choice did I have?

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It is often said, “your health is your wealth”

I started to change the way I looked at my

but we seem to take our health for granted.

physical health by recognizing that

We think that as long as we are eating

everything I put in my body is either good

decent food, taking a multivitamin and

or bad. The same is true with your spiritual

getting in an occasional work-out, we are

body. What you feed your spirit is either

giving our bodies what they need to

good or it is bad. This parallel became very

function properly. Looking around at

real to me and caused me to desire more

others, it would seem that is all true but

knowledge about what my body wanted and

unfortunately, it does not work that way.

needed. I discovered some things we put in our bodies may look and taste good. In

What God has shown me on my journey is

reality, they are not good for us. I also

the state of our physical health operates the

discovered some foods are not good for

same way as our spiritual health.

everyone. This was a shocking reality to

Let me draw a parallel. If I approached my

me!

spiritual well-being the same way I just

To some of your reading this, it sounds like

described above, I might occasionally read

I am preparing to tell you about the new and

my Bible and I will try to go to church once

amazing fad diet I found or created for

a week but it will probably be more like

myself. Actually, no. What is required is a

once a month. I will definitely be there on

lifestyle change. A diet is something you do

Christmas and Easter though because

for a short period of time and for an end-

those are important days (similar to going

goal. Once you reach your goal, you resort

to the gym to get in shape before vacation).

back to “normal”. That is one of the

That’s all good, right? Wrong!

reasons why diets do not work for most

Unfortunately, some people believe going

people long-term. If you dig into the details

to church a few times a year or reading

of most fad diets, you will find many of

their Bible occasionally will produce good

them are not healthy long-term. What is

spiritual health. This might be difficult to

needed is lifestyle change. Going back to

hear or accept but more is required than

our physical vs. spiritual health analogy,

this – just like giving your body what it

the same holds true. If you want to have a

needs to be healthy and to function

healthy spiritual life, it requires a lifestyle

properly.

change. See? It’s all connected!

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I started making changes in my life slowly;

budget. I also learned very quickly that if I

making one change after another. I will not

gave my body what it needed I would not

take the time to go over every little lifestyle

have cravings for some of the junk foods I

change I made because there is not room in

wanted. In full disclosure here, I do not like

this article to cover it all. Not to mention, it

vegetables but I choose to eat them

would be a bit overwhelming. I will,

because I know they are good for me. This

however, provide some of the highlights.

is a conscious lifestyle choice and mindset for me because the goal is to improve my

For the sake of my physical health, I had to

overall health.

make better dietary choices. More fruits and more vegetables; less carbs and way less

I did not solely rely on the wisdom of the

sugar! I needed to add more protein – and

individuals God brought into my life. I also

not just any protein but plant-based protein.

prayed and researched to determine

We get so much of our food from the

whether or not the information I was given

grocery store instead of from our home-

was beneficial to me.

gardens. Even when you buy groceries

There is another parallel between the

from the “healthy” store, they still lack

natural (physical) and the spiritual. When

everything our bodies need. Even though I

somebody gives you a prophetic word or

was buying the best groceries I could find,

speaks something to you of a spiritual

my body was still lacking the essential

nature, you are supposed to take that and

nutrients it needed.

meditate on it. You are supposed to fast

It was at this point, God brought another

and pray and seek God as to the purpose

wise and godly person into my life. This

for that word, its relevance and also what

individual helped me to determine what

you are to do with that word. The same

nutrients my body was lacking and what

holds true when you get advice about your

supplements I needed to take. Believe you

health. You need to research, evaluate and

me, I learned very quickly that dietary

determine whether or not that advice is

supplements are not cheap. I also learned

good for you.

that by not buying unhealthy snacks or

As part of my research regarding

other “junk food” items, I could easily

Hypothyroidism, I discovered the Thyroid is

afford some of these supplements because

part of the Endocrine System. In addition to

the cost was already part of my food

the Thyroid, this system includes the 19

Pituitary Gland and your Adrenal Glands.

grant it to us.

For years, the medical doctors were only

If you are dealing with a health issue, I

treating my Thyroid but not paying any

would encourage you to take your health

attention to the other parts of the same

concerns to your Lord and Savior. Just as

system. They were treating my symptoms

you should be spending time with Him for

but never getting to the root cause of the

your spiritual health and in His Word for

problem. Instead of getting better, my

your spiritual food, you should also seek

symptoms were getting worse.

Him for direction regarding your health. I

Once again, God intervened. No, not with a

encourage you to seek answers for

miracle but with more wisdom and

yourself, pray, ask God for wisdom and for

knowledge. If my adrenals are part of my

Him to reveal the root-cause of your

Endocrine System, why were the doctors

ailments. The solution may be simple or it

only treating the Thyroid?

may be complex but whatever the case, give it to God. He is the source from which

This was a burning question for me and I

all good things come.

had to find an answer. What I learned was, Synthroid is not a medication that supports

If you are like me, you may find yourself

the Thyroid; it replaces the Thyroid and

worn out and exhausted day after day with

performs the function the Thyroid is

no energy to pour into God’s kingdom. I

supposed to perform. This led me to the

want to encourage you! Do not give up or

conclusion that I needed to give my entire

allow the enemy to prevent you from doing

Endocrine System the support it needed so

what God has called you to do. Instead, fall

that it could function as God designed it. I

to your knees and ask God for strength. He

am not quite there yet but I am making

will give it to you. I have complete faith and

small improvements each day. God has not

trust in Him that whatever His plan may be

performed a miracle in my body (yet) but

for my life (and for your life) He has set it all

instead, He continues to bring wise and

in motion. I do not always understand the

knowledgeable people into my life to show

reason for my health issues but I believe

me how to bring healing to my body the

His Word when it says, “all things work

way it was created to do. God’s Word

together for good” [and] “the steps of the

promises that He will lead and guides us;

righteous are ordered of the Lord”. There is

we only need to ask for wisdom and He will

a reason I am on this path, even if I do not 20

understand it. I just have to trust and believe His Word is true and remind myself that He has all things under His control.

I have not arrived yet but I am making progress every day. I do not have all of the answers yet but I know the One who does.

God has also blessed me with several individuals who have truly helped me on my path to better health. I thank God for them because without them, I would not be where I am today. Hopefully, you have people in your life that can help you on your path to better physical, spiritual and mental health.

If you do not, I will agree with you in prayer that God brings someone in to your life to fill that role.

I look forward to the day when God performs a miracle but until then, I will continue to trust that He has me on this path for a reason.

It may be just for me but it may also be to help others.

In either case, my life is for His glory.

In Christ’s Name, Melissa Kody https://www.greenlivingirls.com/tag/green-living/

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Ministry was difficult for many years as Christians generally, were focused on the church and not the kingdom. In more recent years, the kingdom is talked about a lot more, but few still have a full understanding of what

BUILDING GOD’S

it really is about. The kingdom of God ‘upon

KINGDOM IN KENYA

earth as it is in heaven’ is both spiritual and physical and is in the NOW. THE CALL TO KENYA

David (and Kathy) Tait have been sharing

In 2015 the call from God came to David. He

about God’s kingdom for round 25 years now,

and Kathy were to prove their obedience to

primarily through the medium of Walking With

God’s will, by shifting to Malaha Village,

Jesus Ministries, (wwj.org.nz) from revelation

Webuye, Kenya. After 2 trips, plus the death of

given while weeding flowers on their flower

Kathy’s mother, they arrived in Kenya in July

farm in Tauranga, New Zealand.

2017 in a step of faith, having lived primarily that way for 15 years.

THE HOSPITAL ADVENTURE BEGINS KINGDOM FAITH BASED HOSPITAL KINGDOM EYE REFERRAL HOSPITAL Of course, things never work out as we plan in God, for He is the boss! However, after 3 months, a block of 1 acre of land was purchased, thanks to generous New Zealand

It is based on they overcame him (Satan) by the

donors, upon which to build a hospital, in line

blood of the Lamb (Jesus) and by the word of

with Kathy’s field of expertise for many years,

their testimony (through the Holy Spirit); They

as an Operating Theatre Nurse, having

loved not their lives so much as to shrink from

specialized in recent years in eyes.

death. (obedience to the Father’s will) (Revelation 12:11) 23

An Outpatients Clinic was constructed first,

The Western, Kiwi culture, and African Kenyan

opening in March 2018. In November a

cultures, are as far apart as the east from the

temporary Ward was added in an area

west!

designated to become an Operating Theatre Block in future.

While things can be done in Kenya that would not be possible in the West, there are a

In early 2019 the Christian Blind Mission

different set of challenges that firstly have to be

(CBM) in New Zealand came on board,

learned, and then overcome. But thanks to the

providing funding for the construction of the

help of hugely supportive donors and the

Kingdom Eye Referral Hospital that will serve

guidance of their hosts, David and Selina

most of Western Kenya and up into Uganda, a

Walukhu, success is slowly being obtained.

population approaching 10 million people.

Weekly Eye Clinics are being run in the current

KINGDOM MINISTRY

facility, and recently, Eye Outreaches commenced. The Eye Hospital itself, will open

Kenyans and Africans generally are far more

in late October.

open to the message of the kingdom than are Westerners, for many have to rely upon God

PROJECT CURE in America, the world’s

completely in their day to day lives for

largest supplier of donated medical equipment,

provision.

is providing a fully equipped Operating Theatre plus much equipment and consumables.

In the West independence and humanism is

Funding is now being received for a permanent

predominant. Currently, ministry

Ward.

opportunities are taken as they arise, but the emphasis so far has been on getting the

As the project matures a little other NGO’s are

Hospitals operating effectively.

showing interest in becoming involved.

However, next year, at God’s doing, huge

Set down like this in black and white it looks so

opportunities are opening up to share the

simple and easy but it has been anything but!

revelation of the kingdom country wide.

For Kathy and David adapting to a new country

All is in His timing.

(David and Kathy are in their 70’s) is naturally a huge challenge1

Shukrani (Thank You)

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25

come and go Christianity. Meanwhile,

The Wall between Spiritual

millions are dying of spiritual hunger and

Understanding and Spiritual

thirst outside our bannered walls.

Implementation

We promote popular spiritualty and synthetic sincerity to the point where

Barney Phillips, PhD.

members dance carelessly from one church to another, nibbling gracefully at the latest religious smorgasbord of unanointed presentations and powerless rituals. We are The Christian Church of

like a ship lost at sea that will never

today is lost in a haze of

reach any port.

human ideas and programs to bring “Gods dreams” to

We need a spiritual transformation. Ask

pass. Not realizing that these

any pastor, church leader, or minister,

are our dreams of what we think is his will.

“What is your vision?” Without exception,

We are so arrogant in prayer that God is

they will immediately list all the goals they

thought of to wake up every day and wait

want to accomplish.

for us to pray, so he will know what to do.

I’m going to reach this city.

We are going to preach around the world.

Impatient to impress, we preach on

We’re going to turn this nation around!

television each week and our radio

We want to see signs, wonders, and

programs air three times a day. Knock on

miracles.

doors, run full page advertisements in the

Harvest is coming in our city.

newspaper, and the full color billboards

God has given us prophecies, telling us

blanket the roads.

that He has opened the windows of Heaven.

This is God’s valley....

An endless parade of Guest Preachers and singers compete for our pulpits and the

Of course, these statements line up with the

chance to entertain bloated infantile

purposes and results of the gospel, but as I

believers with an acquired taste for shallow,

listen to these statements from pastors and 26

Christ”. (2 Cor. 11:3).

leaders across the nation, I wonder why we see so little accomplishment.

Have we become so busy with; that we’ve Consequently, we often get sidetracked and

lost our focus and singleness of heart?

impatient, inventing a flood of

What if, in the busy traffic of our “churchy

human ideas to bring our dreams to pass.

activities,” we have really lost sight of Him?

What if God were to take away from the

What is happening? There is a wall

Church everything, He never told us to do?

between Spiritual Understanding and

David wanted to build God a house, but the

Spiritual Implementation (Proverbs 24: 3-4).

Lord had a totally different idea. He said, “I am going to build you a house! David’s

Through wisdom is a house built; and by

desires were good, and his goals seemed

understanding it is established: and by

right, but he learned that this was not God’s

knowledge shall the chambers be filled with

order. The Lord had a totally different idea...

all precious and pleasant riches.

“I am going to build you a house!

Spiritual Understanding requires knowledge, submission, and right questioning; while spiritual implementation requires wisdom, preparation, dedication, and order. There have been many powerful ministries who understood what God wanted of them but were never quite able to implement what they understood.

I’m amazed to see how much religion we’ve,

God desires to build us a spiritual house

managed to heap onto God’s simple plan.

and to build us into a spiritual house. We

We, like Martha, are “cumbered about much

are the spiritual habitation of the Lord. We

serving; and we are “careful and troubled

are His dwelling place. The lord telleth thee

about many things” (Lk. 10:40-41).

that He will make thee an house (2 Samuel

The apostle Paul was deeply concerned

7:11b). Ye also, as lively stones, are built

that the Corinthian church would be

up a spiritual house (1 Peter 2:5a).

“corrupted from the simplicity that is in 27

Spiritual Understanding or that which forms

Spiritual implementation is the ability to

the foundation, under which we stand,

take a vision from God and bring to pass in

always requires the knowledge of God. This

the earth. Spiritual implementation or

knowledge is not just about what God

putting into operation the things we

knows, but also concerns what we need to

understand in the Spirit requires a different

know about God. In addition to knowledge,

set of criteria than that of spiritual

understanding requires submission and

understanding. It is out of wisdom,

asking the right questions. Submission,

dedication, preparation, and order that

properly understood, is the fear of the

spiritual implementation comes.

Lord. Some of the most studied ministries walk with little understanding because they

1.Wisdom--The Holy Spirit-directed

have never disciplined themselves to

application of knowledge and

manifest proper submission.

understanding.

2.Dedication---consecrated to a godly course regardless of fleshly distractions and desires.

3.Preparation---what is done beforehand to make what comes after prosper.

4.Order—being in the placement, timing, and plan of God so that His Spirit has free course to operate. Prepare ye the way of the lord . . . (Isaiah 40:3b) . . . prepare ye the

Without valid father/son relationship,

way of the people (Isaiah 62:10a).

relationship, how will a ministry exemplify proper submission or honor? Desire, right

God tells us to prepare because our ability

motives, and a pure heart are the wellspring

to be used by Him is largely dependent

from which come right questions. Often,

upon preparation. Order is conforming to

people with great knowledge lack

the plan of God. How can we fully

understanding because they don’t know

implement vision without coming into

how to ask the right questions that will

order?

bring forth understanding from the knowledge they possess.

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culture. They understand that if Biblebelieving Christians and Jews can be convinced that homosexual behavior is no longer sinful in God’s eyes, then the battle to fully implement their political and social goals will be won.

REVISIONIST GAY THEOLOGY: DID GOD REALLY SAY…?

No matter where one turns in the culture today, the issues of homosexuality and “gender identity” are being hotly debated.

The “homosexual rights” ideology continues to seek legitimization and approval—not just tolerance—of homosexual behavior, resulting in rapidly changing societal mores and values. This deeply impacts us in our day-to-day relationships with family and with fellow church members, neighbors and co-workers.

For example, gay strategists Marshall Kirk and Hunter Madsen, in their landmark homosexual public relations manual published in 1989, boldly encouraged gays “to muddy the moral waters, that is, to undercut the rationalizations that ‘justify’ religious bigotry and to jam some of its psychic rewards.” They go on to specify that this entails “raising serious theological objections to conservative biblical teachings.” Further, gays are called to “undermine the moral authority of homo hating churches…by portraying such institutions as antiquated backwaters, badly out of step with the times and with the latest findings of psychology.”1

A key strategy in ushering in this uncritical acceptance and promotion of homosexuality into the wider culture has centered on churches and synagogues.

Specifically, homosexual activists and their allies know that the Judeo-Christian sexual ethic found in the Bible is the last bastion of defense holding back the widespread embrace of homosexuality throughout the

It is in this context that a propaganda campaign aimed at biblically orthodox believers has been launched, with the goal of sowing seeds of doubt about God’s 33

commands concerning homosexual behavior.

While Paul was referring to certain false doctrines that Timothy would undoubtedly face in his ministry, this warning similarly applies to the Body of Christ today as we face a revisionist theology that – in this case – questions God’s clear command to not engage in homosexual behavior.4 Specifically, the intended effect of revisionist gay theology is to disengage the church from the wider cultural debate about homosexuality by redefining it as God-ordained and morally permissible. And just like the serpent’s temptation to Eve in the Garden, leaders in the “gay-Christian” movement are tempting us with the question: “Did God really say…that homosexuality is a sin?”

In its theological application, this campaign of misinformation is often known as “revisionist gay theology,” and it’s presently playing out in denomination after denomination with increasing discord.

Beginning in the mid-twentieth century, a systematic questioning of clear scriptural teaching on homosexual behavior began to take place within the church – recalling the serpent’s question to Eve in Genesis 3 – “Did God really say…?”2

In general, there are several broad categories of arguments that gay revisionists are employing to cast doubt on God’s Word concerning homosexual behavior:

Indeed, the Apostle Paul warns about this situation when he writes to Timothy and says:

Christians’ prejudice against homosexuals leads them to misread biblical texts about homosexuality;

For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.3

Scriptures that supposedly condemn homosexual behavior have actually been mistranslated;

34

Scriptures that supposedly condemn homosexual behavior have been taken out of context and do not apply to our present society.5 While it is not possible to offer an in-depth rebuttal to each of these sets of arguments in the scope of this article, a few general observations about revisionist theology can be made:

Revisionist theology places human feelings and desires above biblical truth, leading people to believe lies. Often those having a personal interest in the promotion of gay revisionist theology twist the plain teaching of Scripture to support and justify their behavior.

Scripture begins and ends with the picture of marriage as an institution ordained by God – designed for the union of a man and a woman in a life-long, faithful, covenantal relationship. This view is affirmed by Moses, Christ, and Paul, and has been upheld through thousands of years of Judeo Christian history and tradition. Gay revisionists usually do not even attempt to address God’s created intent for human sexuality, but instead twist Scripture and argue against those texts which condemn same-sex behavior.

The Bible is wholly reliable, trustworthy and true in all that it affirms. It clearly teaches the honor, dignity and value of the two sexes as created in God’s image – intentionally male and female – each bringing unique and complementary qualities to sexuality and relationships.

Sexuality is a glorious gift from God – meant to be offered back to Him either in marriage for procreation, union and mutual delight or in celibacy for undivided devotion to Christ.

It remains highly unlikely that Bible translators mistranslated five references to sexual ethics in two different testaments of Scripture. Even more unlikely is the possibility that they only mistranslated Scriptures regarding homosexual behavior.

Scriptures that testify against homosexual behavior—including Leviticus 18:22, 20:13; Romans 1:26-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; 1 Timothy 1:9-10—are so clear and specific that they defy reinterpretation. It is intellectually dishonest to say that

Revisionist gay theology violates God’s intentional design for gender and sexuality by saying that women don’t need men and men don’t need women.

35

conservative individuals and leaders “interpret” such clear verses as “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman” out of prejudice against homosexuals.

The gospels are not comprehensive. Some of the Bible’s most important teachings— the explanation of spiritual gifts, the Priesthood of Christ, the doctrine of man’s old and new nature—appear in other books of the Bible.

Homosexuality in Leviticus, Romans, 1 Corinthians, and 1 Timothy is mentioned in the wider context of sexual, immoral, and prohibited behaviors, all of which elaborate on the commandment, “You shall not commit adultery,” prohibiting sex outside of a male-female marriage.6 This casts doubt on the argument that Scriptures condemning homosexuality have been taken out of context.

The gospels do not claim to be a complete account of Jesus’ life or teachings. Sections of Jesus’ life are not discussed in the gospels and we cannot be certain that Jesus never spoke about homosexual behavior.

References condemning homosexual behavior were addressed to highly different Ancient Near East cultures (from Hebrew to Greco-Roman) – nullifying the argument that scriptural passages against homosexuality are culturally bound and inapplicable to today’s society. The argument that Jesus said nothing about homosexuality in the gospels is misleading and illogical for at least five reasons:

Scripture teaches that Jesus kept all the Law and affirmed all that the Law and the Prophets taught.8 Undoubtedly, this would have included the affirmation of committed, monogamous male-female marriage and an unwavering condemnation of homosexual behavior. Given that all first century orthodox Jews would have held to this standard, the question of affirming homosexuality would not have been open to discussion in Jesus’ day.

The gospels are not more authoritative than those books of the Bible that condemn homosexual behavior. All authors of Scripture were inspired by God’s Holy Spirit.7

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Jesus clearly referred to heterosexuality as a standard. He specifically described God’s created intent for human sexuality: “ Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh”? 6 So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.9

and biblical doctrine. When God is said to sanction what He plainly forbids, then a serious heresy is unfolding before us in bold fashion. Confronting this false doctrine lovingly – but firmly – is necessary because it demands that we confirm professing Christians in their sin, when we are biblically commanded to do just the opposite.

The author is indebted to Joe Dallas for content in this article.is

In sum, gay revisionist theology threatens to substantially alter the Christian church

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the Government than on God. They would no longer preach the word of God and focus on the things that God said but would focus on Political Correctness. Social issues and worry about people’s ‘feelings”

IF I WERE THE DEVIL (Adapted)

Then, I’d get organized, I’d educate authors in how to make lurid literature exciting so that anything else would appear dull and uninteresting. I would fill television shows and other media with my message. I would promote homosexuality, ridicule marriage and family, encourage drug use and promiscuity. I would teach the individuals that they are the most important. It is all about you.

If I were the prince of darkness, I would want to engulf the whole world in the darkness of my masterplan. I’d have a third of its real estate and four-fifths of its population, but I would not be happy until I had seized the ripest apples on the tree —

I’d peddle narcotics to whom I could. I’d sell alcohol to ladies and gentlemen of distinction. I’d tranquilize the rest with pills.

If I were the devil, I’d soon have families at war with themselves, churches at war with themselves and nations at war with themselves until each, in its turn, was consumed.

So, I would set about however necessary to take over the United States. I’d subvert the churches first, and I would begin with a campaign of whispers. With the wisdom of a serpent, I would whisper to you as I whispered to Eve: “Do as you please.”

To the young, I would whisper that the Bible is a myth. I would convince the children that man created God instead of the other way around. I’d confide that what’s bad is good and what’s good is square.

And with promises of higher ratings, I’d have mesmerizing media fanning the flames. The media would help me destroy the family, the nation and the church.

If I were the devil, I would encourage schools to refine young intellect but neglect to discipline emotions. I’d tell teachers to let those students run wild. And before you

And the old, I would teach to pray after me, “Our Father, which are in Washington …”

Soon the Church would be more reliant on 39

knew it, you’d have drug-sniffing dogs and metal detectors at every schoolhouse door.

Then, I would use the media to promote the idea that parents should continue to send their children to these war zones.

What’ll you bet I couldn’t get whole states to promote gambling as the way to get rich?

I would simply tell the people that we were doing it to educate the young.

I’d convince the young that marriage is oldfashioned, that swinging is more fun and that what you see on television is the way to be. And thus, I could undress you in public and lure you into bed with diseases for which there are no cures.

The media would also help me convince them that the forefathers were wrong about nearly everything so we need to rewrite the US Constitution. The place I would start would be the Bill of Rights, Article 2. Once I had that one I could takes all the rest more easily.

In other words, if I were the devil, I’d just keep right on doing what he’s doing.

With a decade, I’d have prisons overflowing and judges promoting pornography. Soon, I would evict God from the courthouse and the schoolhouse and them from the houses of Congress.

In his own churches, I would substitute psychology for religion and deify science. I’d lure priests and pastors into misusing boys and girls and church money. The media would make it seem that everyone was involved in these activities. Soon, even the most pious would be saying that they didn’t need the Church.

If I were the devil, I’d take from those who have and give to those who wanted until I had killed the incentive for labor and productivity.

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The Passing of Heaven and Earth

universal creation and concludes with its destruction. If this embodies the primary agenda of our faith, then we can only conclude that God is preoccupied with creating and judging the inanimate. We have little scriptural evidence as to why this would be his concern because biblical judgment is the penalty for the breaking of a living covenant.

The cosmos is but an unresponsive mass of matter and is of little consequence to the Kingdom and its purposes.

By Francis G. Febus

On the other hand, if we would consider that the terms heaven and earth are but metamorphic terms for a covenant body without form and void….then its apparent reformation through the prophetic seven day week would serve to assign its devices to man’s history throughout the ages.

An excerpt from the book, “The Prophecy of Genesis One.” 2nd Ed. (Amazon)

God’s dialogue with heaven and earth essentially begins in Genesis One as he restores function to a broken system. He decrees its frontiers and its patterns within a cosmological idiom intended for the covenantal apple of his eye. For those who dismiss this important element of first mention, we will furnish hard evidence of its persistence throughout the sacred text. Please note the emotional and human characteristics ascribed to the imaging of heaven and earth.

Most students of scripture are not aware that this Biblical caricature of nature has inadvertently become a sort of comic book depiction nestled amid the most severe prophetic reprimands recorded in the Bible.

One can only wonder if God gets infuriated with his cosmic creation as he proceeds to curse and destroy its majestic splendor through the prophecies of old.

The Christian world is currently anticipating a literal fulfillment of the prophecies concerning the destruction of this planet; i.e., the heavens with its stars, the sun, and our moon.

Logically, that would also consist of every planet in our solar system because without a functioning sun, the planets would loose from their gravitational moorings and great planetary devastation would ensue.

This does not seem logical when we consider the character of God, his justice, and his expressed covenantal intentions as evidenced in the Word. The notion of planetary devastation is an alien concept to the Bible’s Hebraic sentiments and its inherent traditions. The conventional modern Biblical narrative begins with a

Deuteronomy 32:1-2 32 Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.

2 My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass: KJV Jeremiah 2:12-13 12 Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the Lord.

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13 For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water. Isaiah 44:23

prophetic destinations characterized in the book of Revelation where the judgments of “the latter days” articulated by Saint John. We can see this by the reference to avenging the blood of his adversaries; a theme reverberated in passages such as Mathew 23 and Revelation 18. Please note that Deut. chapter 32: 44 says that the words of that song were delivered into the ears of the people. This substantiates our belief that the beginning of this address to the ears of heaven and earth in chapter 32:1 are the ears of the Commonwealth of Israel.

23 Sing, O ye heavens; for the Lord hath done it: shout, ye lower parts of the earth: break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every tree therein: for the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in Israel.

KJV

In verse 43, we should be read, “Rejoice, O ye nations, his people;” “and will be merciful unto his land, to his people.” The conjunction and is italicized and obfuscates the association of nations as being synonymous with both his people and land (Adamah O.T.127 Strong’s).

Nations = his people

Land = his people

Deuteronomy 32:1, 43-44 1. Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. KJV

The perceived allusion to the supposed cosmic creation of Genesis 1:14 is very persuasive in the following passages, although as we will see, cosmology is not the focus of these expressions. Just as Jacob understood Joseph’s dream as it depicted the sun, moon, and eleven stars in obeisance to him, this imagery also only speaks to the covenant economy. Even the heavens and the waters above the heavens must praise the name of the Lord….

43 Rejoice, O ye nations, with his people: for he will avenge the blood of his servants, and will render vengeance to his adversaries, and will be merciful unto his land, (and) to his people.

44 And Moses came and spake all the words of this song in the ears of the people, he, and Hoshea, the son of Nun. KJV

Psalms 148:3-5

The prevailing misapprehension of the terms heaven and earth have held enormous ramifications regarding the position that the church has adopted in areas related to the study of Biblical prophecy. The ever awaited second coming of Christ imagined through a long- established litany of passages thought to be associated with a cosmological demise of the sun, moon, stars, heaven, and the earth.

The reliance upon this cosmologically perceived verbiage restricts the interpretation

3 Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars of light.

4 Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens.

5 Let them praise the name of the Lord: for he commanded, and they were created. KJV The Song of Moses begins in the 32nd chapter of Deuteronomy. Its essential properties and 43

to be contingent upon these same catastrophic events to confirm their ever impending fulfillments. Thus, they say with great confidence, “The end is yet to come.”

Such confidence is as “one who leans upon a bruised reed,” as was the admonishment of the king of Assyria to Hezekiah concerning the aid of Egypt. Such cosmic assurances quickly evaporate under closer scrutiny of the holy text.

salvation for man is contingent upon the Son of man first descending and then ascending into heaven.

He is, in effect, the ladder which joins heaven and earth, the house of God. The imagery does not end there because Jesus astounded Nathaniel in their initial meeting by making the same allusions to Jacob’s ladder and the dialogue between Jesus and Nicodemus in John 1:47-51. It confirmed in Nathaniel that Jesus was truly, “the Son of God; the King of Israel.”

Authentic eschatological patterns depict a people of the heavenly domain. They have been taken and formed out of the dust or refuse of the adamah (ground) and have the breath (neshamah character or name) of their heavenly Father. Thus, heaven is their celestial city (New Jerusalem), and the earth is the place of their origin. The ladder that Jacob viewed in the visions of the night illustrated this principle as the heavenly host ascended and descended upon it.

Jacob exclaimed, “How dreadful is this place! This is none other, but the house of God (Bethel), and this is the gate of heaven.” The visualization of heaven and earth enjoined in this way was interpreted by Jacob as the house of God.

John 3:13 13 and no one hath gone up to the heaven, except he who out of the heaven came down — the Son of Man who is in the heaven. YLT John 1:47-51 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!

48 Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me?

Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.

49 Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.

Thus, we have heaven and earth defined as the house of God. The event generally acknowledged as the time of Jacob’s conversion. Covenant man begins his journey of salvation with a revelation on this earthly sphere that initiates him into the heavenly realm. The covenantal birth alluded to in the dialogue between Jesus and Nicodemus powerfully portrays many of the aspects of Jacob’s dream as Jesus spoke of the new covenant birth of water and spirit. Within that dialogue, (verse 13 as if embedded out of nowhere,) but its implications are recognizable;

50 Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these.

51 And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man. KJV Genesis 28: 11-12,16-17

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and tittle” refer to the entirety of the Law which remained intact TILL the covenantal transition of “Heaven and Earth.” Thus, when the passing of Jerusalem, its Temple, and the Levitical Priesthood were accomplished; the consummation of the New Jerusalem, its New Temple, and Priesthood came into fulfillment.

The Church became the new Temple, Priesthood and sacrificial order as we present our bodies as a living sacrifice. On the other hand, if we violate the sentiments of this account and superimpose a cosmic tragedy into its narrative, we inadvertently destroy the expectation of its first-century audience and force its anticipation into the 21st century. If old Heaven and Earth have not passed then we are by definition still under the authority of the Mosaic Law.

-11 And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep.

12 And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.

16 And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not.

17 And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.

KJV

Matthew 5:17-18 17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

18 For verily, I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. KJV Through careful analysis, we have gathered much evidence concerning the Biblical identity of heaven and earth. We endeavor to confirm its Hebraic role in the sacred text from its initial introduction in Genesis One to its passing and recreation in the book of Revelation. The import of the following remarks made by the Lord in Matthew 5 alluding to the heaven and earth are lost to the literalist, but to the Jews who anticipated the realized kingdom in their generation, it was a breath of fresh air. The main points that Jesus addresses in this text are the passing of the Law or the transition of the covenants.

Elder Francis “Frank” Febus brings a lifetime of ministry experience (as a Pastor – Teacher) to his role as Professor in the Eschatology Department of Life College & Seminary. He also serves on the Executive Board of Life College.

Frank is an accomplished writer with several books to his credit. He is currently working on his Doctoral Degree through Life Seminary www.lifecollege.education

The word TILL (or until) in vs. 18 indicated a prophetic chronological destination when the constraints of Law are no longer required as it finds its fulfillment in the church. The words “jot 45

The Dynamic Worship Team of Tyler Coates and Dr. Stan Coates from Atlanta Georgia! Available to minister in your meeting, church or ministry.

SEE YOU AT LIFE FEST 2020!

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