It is said that God is the God of second chances. Time, after time, experiences after experiences, He has proved to be so in everyone life’s experiences. Unimaginable is His love for the human race. Israel’s history speaks very loudly about it. How many times did God spare His people by giving them a second chance as a nation? When Israel sinned against God by committing the sin of unfaithfulness, God was about to destroy the nation and start over with Moses’ offspring. But Moses intercession for the people caused God to give the nation another chance. Psalm 107:11-13 register a beautiful example of true second chance: Because they (Israel) had rebelled against the words of God and spurned the counsel of the Most High, therefore He (God) bowed down their hearts with hard labor; they stumbled and fell down and there was none to help; then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them out of their distresses. Not only has Israel experienced such mercy, but the entire world. Look around and we will perceive the mercy of the Lord all around it, saving and blessing all, when we all deserved otherwise.
Month: October 2021
Is God’s Mouth Muzzled Not to Speak to Us Today?
“My people perish for lack of knowledge.” These are words of profound and consequential meaning, as we read in Job 36: 12: But if they do not listen, they perish by the sword and die without knowledge. The rejection of knowledge is a dangerous attitude to have. For it is hearing, but not listening, hearing but not perceiving; hearing but not understanding; seeing but not discerning. It is being deaf and blind spiritually. For God speaks not only once, but more than once, even though men do not regard it (Job 33:14). The spirit of unbelief is very predominant in the world today in spite of all the information being available in every avenue of life. Words found in the book of Job 33:15 seals the matter that men hear God’s voice in a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on men while slumbering upon the bed. Then He opens the ears of men and seals their instruction. The Prophet Daniel experienced dreams and visions and interpretations by angels. The entire chapter seven of the book of Daniel reveals the three visions he had and the interpretations of them. Those visions served to warn the world of yesterday and of today’s what were and what is going to happen in the future because our God desired and desires that none of us should perish.
In the days of Noah, when evil had taken over the world of yesterday, God chose Noah the only just man found among all who lived then, to save him from the coming earth destruction. As it is consistent with God, He confined in Noah, His servant, the news. At the same time, Noah was to warn the people, so they would repent to be saved. For 120 years Noah faithfully warned the people. Unfortunately, they did not listen to take the message to heart and repent of their way of life. They continued living their lives as usual, until the flood took them by surprise. The message heard in those days, if mingled with faith, salvation would have come to more than just a few. As it was, all died, except Noah and his family, eight in all. The days of Noah are days in which constitutes signs of the coming of YAHSHUA. He said, As were in the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and given in marriage, until the day when Noah went into the ark. And they did not know or understand until the flood came and swept them all away – so will be the coming of the Son of Man (Matt. 24:37-39). The ark, Noah was building, constituted a testimony, and a sign confirming what God had spoken to him to warn the people of God’s coming judgement upon the earth. The message, however, was not received with faith, and they perished in their sins. God gave the people a time line of 120 years to be warned about His judgment. A long time so it seems; so, they were without excuse.
God has been speaking to men since the beginning of time; His message has been carried on one way or other, through His prophets of old and new. He spoke to Noah, He spoke to Abraham, He spoke to Moses, to Joshua, He spoke to all the prophets and gave them warning messages to give the people, for not desiring that people should perish, but have a chance to repent.
A Call to Repentance and Healing
The entire world is sick with incurable diseases called sin. Sins of iniquity, which is inherited through our ancestors, dominate and weaken the spiritual immune system. Submerged in lies and deceits roaming around, the world is about to sink into its own mud. A horrifying situation, indeed. Judgement for certain is coming in the speed of light to cleanse the evil spread all over it. It is like leprosy, which slowly destroys the body; this infectious skin disease degenerates and disfigure the body and death follows. A disease that isolates men from society for its contagious ability. It is a disease symbolic of sin, for it carries a curse. Leprosy is symbolic of sin, because it originates within. It is a result of sin; just as men became spiritually separated from God because of sin, leprosy separates men from society. The world is suffering the last stage of leprosy, so contagious that it needs to be dealt with by God’s judgments. In the days when YAHSHUA walked the earth, He healed several lepers who came to Him for healing. One of them came up to Him and, prostrating himself, worshiped Him, saying, Lord, if You are willing, You are able to cleanse me by curing me. And YAHSHUA reached out His hand and touched him, saying, I am willing; be cleansed… and instantly was cured and cleansed (Matt. 8). There was faith in the heart of that leper to believe in YAHSHUA’S power to heal; a contrite heart to humble himself before YAHSHUA, recognizing and declaring Him to be the Son of God, in order for him to worship Him. “If You are willing,” he started the petition. It was in the willingness of the Lord now to heal that leper. He said, I am repenting of my sins and if You are willing, You are able to heal me, and that the Lord did in the willingness of His forgiveness and love for that man.
The World in Spiritual Chaos
Peace, peace is the cry of the world today as it faces turmoil of biblical proportion. What is really happening world widely that so many people are committing suicide in a hopeless state of mind? Can you separate what’s happening in these days from the prophecies written in the Bible? No, you cannot. YAHSHUA, when answering the disciples’ questions concerning the end of time, said this as a sign of His coming, among many other things: And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not frightened or troubled, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, a d there will be famines and earthquakes in place after place; all this is but the beginning of the birth pangs (Matt. 24:6-8). There is a cry out there coming from the hearts of men for the normality of things, when there will no longer be as it was just two years ago. No one expected that a manmade virus would control the destiny of the world, much less that it would linger with vaccine, mandated vaccine and passport vaccine. When will it ever end? A question everyone asks anxiously wanting to see the end of the ordeal. One thing we did not realize was that what’s happening today is the result of many years the few who controls the world have been planning in the pursuit to depopulate the world from billions to five hundred million. An evil plan coming from Satan himself, performed by those who follow him. This is definitely a scary time for those who do not know God neither His word. The Bible is filled with fulfilled and unfulfilled prophecies in God’s watch. The prophets of old did not see what they prophesized; because although, some prophecies were to be fulfilled in a short time, others had a long span of weighting time for them to be fulfilled.
Nations are unsettled and will continue to be until God supernaturally intervenes their plan, and these people will be judged for the slaughter of many who took the vaccine. Used to be cradled in comfort and peace, nations are found shocked at what is happening. Why do the nations assemble with commotion, and why do the people imagine an empty scheme? (Psalm 2:1) For sure this verse describes the world’s situation of today. The chaos created by the few to bring about their “empty scheme” will not prevail, although it looks as though it has. Our God is not limited to impossibilities of problems. He shines then, because there is nothing impossible for Him. One of several examples concerning God’s unlimited power is found in II Kings in the fourteenth year of Hezekiah’s reign over Judah, when the king of Assyria came up against the cities of Judah and took them. All seemed to be impossible for King Hezekiah to overcome such power, as the king of Assyria defiantly challenged him. But King Hezekiah found a place of comfort in the presence of the Lord, when he went there to pray. The message came to him from the Prophet Isaiah saying, Thus says the Lord: Do not be afraid because of the words you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have reviled and blasphemed Me. King Hezekiah prayed: O Lord our God, I beseech You, save us out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know and understand that You, O Lord, are God alone (II kings19). The Lord heard King Hezekiah’s prayer and supernaturally delivered Judah from the hands of Assyria’s king.
Truth Is the Only Key to Open the Doors of Freedom and Hope
Let’s talk about truth, a scarce subject everywhere these days. News is passed around the internet, filled with make believe stories, some with a twist of doubt and some not sure and others with a hint of truth. The complete truth is in no way found in the media. These are as the days the Prophet Isaiah dealt with when the nation of Israel rebelled against the Lord and denied Him. Justice, he said, is turned away backward, and righteousness stands far off; for truth has fallen in the street, and uprightness cannot enter [the courts of justice]. Yes, truth is lacking, and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. And the Lord saw it, and it displeased Him that there was no justice (Isaiah 59:14-15). What is truth? Asked Pilate to YAHSHUA many years ago, when YAHSHUA stood in front of him, being accused on the basis of lies. Pilate, a Roman and unaware of the Jewish law, needed something called truth to hang on to punish the accused. The more that the crowd yelled accusations against the Lord, the more that Pilate’s curiosity grew. He wanted to know the truth, so it seemed, although with his hands tied by the Jewish authorities, he was limited in his freedom. He asked YAHSHUA, Are You the King of the Jews? When YAHSHUA truthfully admitted by saying, My kingdom belongs not to this world… then He answered, I am a King. This is why I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the Truth. Everyone who is of the Truth hears and listens to My voice. Pilate, curiously asked, WHAT IS TRUTH? (John 18:31-40).
Pilate’s question, What is truth? Echoes throughout the ages. Believing YAHSHUA to be the King of the Jews, Pilate wrote an inscription on a placard that read, YAHSHUA THE NAZARENE, THE KING OF THE JEWS and put it on His cross, although not staying to hear YAHSHUA’S answer of what is truth. Pilate stood firm on what he wrote, when the Jews asked him to change what he wrote, he said, What I have written, I have written. For once he stood his ground and defended YAHSHUA’S title. The title was written in the three main languages of those days: Hebrew, Latin and in Greek. This act of Pilate was of great spiritual significance, for it carried a prophetic weight soon to be happening through YAHSHUA’S death and subsequently, His resurrection. YAHSHUA’S death constituted salvation for the world. The Truth stood uprightly on the cross at Calvary. YAHSHUA, the Savior of the world; the Truth, the Way and the Life!
Elijah, Ravens and a Widow
(I Kings 17:2-16)
The days of the prophets of old were days of unprecedented supernatural happenings, when God visibly acted for or against His people – Israel. Elijah’s life, for example, was one with stories to tell, perhaps not all registered in the Bible, causing us to wonder why doesn’t God continue manifesting Himself in our days as He did then. Israel had the direct spoken word from God through the prophets, but they did not heed to them, instead they killed God’s messengers. In Luke 13:34-35 YAHSHUA utters a warning to Jerusalem for having done that: O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who continue to kill the prophets and to stone those who are sent to you! How often I have desired and yearned to gather your children together, as a hen her young under her wings, but you would not! Behold, your house is forsaken. And I tell you, you will not see Me again until the time when you shall say, Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!
Elijah had a message from God to give King Ahab that would cause his anger to arouse, persecute and kill him. However, it is the duty of a prophet to be God’s mouth and Elijah courageously took the podium and proclaimed the word from the Lord to King Ahab: As the Lord lives, before Whom I stand, there shall not be dew or rain these years but according to My word (vs.1). However, before that happened, God provided not only a hiding place for Elijah, but also sustenance. He told him, Go from here, He said, and turn east and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, east of the Jordan. You shall drink of the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there (vs.3-4).
The raven is the largest of the perching birds. It resembles a crow; it is all black, with a 4ft. wing span, measuring over two feet from head to toe. It is one of the most intelligent of all birds; it communicates warning, threats, taunting and cheer to all other birds by changing the sounds it makes. Amazingly how all birds understand the meaning of the various sounds it makes! It is like police to us humans with his siring car. So, God chose ravens to feed Elijah with bread and flesh in the morning and bread and flesh in the evening. For a few days Elijah depended on those ravens to bring him food from heaven, already prepared by God Himself. It must have been the tastiest food ever tried by Elijah. Ah the faithfulness of our God! The Prophet Elijah neither question God, nor doubted His provision, but “did according to the word of the Lord.” Obedience first, then the fulfillment of God’s promises in one’s life. Elijah, was a man of courage and faith; his name has a wonderful meaning: YAHWEH is my God; he is also called Elias. His ministry extended to the northern kingdom of Israel (the remnant of Joseph); his ministry was during the reigns of Ahab, and Ahaziah. In his zeal for the only true God, he commanded the slaughter of all 850 false prophets and prophetess of the northern kingdom in one day. Nothing stopped him from performing the word of the Lord. Taken to heaven without experiencing death, Elijah was one of the two witnesses of the Lord’s death and resurrection; in the future, he will come as one of the two witnesses to turn the hearts of the nation of Israel toward God during the tribulation.
YAHSHUA as a Lion and a Lamb
(Revelation 5)
These two contrasted animals both have one thing in common: the Lord YAHSHUA, metaphorically speaking, is both of them at different times, work and circumstances. While the lion is strong and ferocious, the lamb is weak and gentle, dependent and vulnerable to danger. The lion has a strong body, weighting from 330 to 550 pounds. None escapes his strength. Proverbs describe the lion as the mightiest among beasts and turns not back before any (30:30). Ezekiel compares the conspiracy of Israel’s prophets as a roaring lion tearing the prey (22:25). The lion’s roar causes fear in all the forest animals; a warning that they heed and flee from his sight. YAHSHUA is both lion and lamb in the fulfillment of prophecy in time past and in future time. In time past He came to be the Lamb of God for the purpose of taking the sins of the world; in future time, as a Lion, He will roar in judgment; He will be King of all the earth.
How do we see Him as a lamb? Many years ago, lambs were used for sacrifice to atone the sins of the nation of Israel once per year. This practice first happened when Adam and Eve sinned against God. It continued throughout the Old Testament. And when He called Israel out of the land of Egypt, He made it official for the people to observe the Passover, based on the day of their freedom from slavery. They were told to sacrifice a lamb or a kid without blemish, a male of the first year; they were to be kept until the fourteenth day of the same month; the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel was [each] to kill [his] lamb in the evening; they were to take of the blood and put it on the two side posts and on the lintel on the houses in which they were to eat [the Passover lamb]; the blood was to be for a token or sign upon [the doorposts of] the houses where they were [that] when I see the blood, I will pass over you to destroy you when I smite the land of Egypt (Exodus 12: 5,7,13). The Passover lamb foreshadowed the crucifixion of the Messiah YAHSHUA. The precursor of YAHSHUA, John the Baptist, introduced Him to the nation of Israel as the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). And as he looked at YAHSHUA, he said again, Look! There is the Lamb of God! (vs. 36). He was introduced metaphorically as a Lamb, so the people, familiar with the practice of sacrificing a lamb to atone for their sin, could understand John’s declaration of Whom YAHSHUA was and the purpose for what He had come.
Light from the Word 