March 2022 – Light from the Word

“Read This in my Word Everyday”

Were the words I heard right after I woke up from an afternoon nap. I tried remembering the dream I had that afternoon, to understand what were the words the Lord was telling me to read every day. But I did not remember the dream. However, a few minutes later the phrase, “As it was on Noah’s day” and its reference came to me. My husband and I have been reading this passage of Mathews 24: 37-46 together every day since a week ago. From the amplified Bible it reads: As were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For just as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and be 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. At that time two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left; two women will be grinding at the hand mill; one will be taken and one will be left. Watch therefore for you do not know in what kind of a day your Lord is coming. But understand this: had the householder known what watch the thief was coming, he would have watched and would not have allowed his house to be undermined and broken into. You also must be ready therefore, for the son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not expect Him. Who then is the faithful, thoughtful, and wise servant, whom his master has put in charge of his household to give to the others the food and supplies at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom, when his master comes, he will find so doing.

In another passage, the Lord YAHSHUA again warned the disciples about the things that are coming to the entire world and told them to “keep awake and watch at all times, praying that you may have the full strength and ability and be accounted worthy to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand in the presence of the Son of Man” (Luke 21: 36).

Pages: 12

Oh, That I Had Wings Like a Dove

Listen to my prayer, O God

Hide not Yourself from my supplication

Attend to me and answer me

I am restless and distraught at the noise of the enemy

My heart is grievously pained within me

And the terror of death has fallen upon me

Fear and trembling have come upon me;

Horror and fright have overwhelmed me.

(Ps. 55: 1-5)

A prayer in the form of a psalm from the depth of the of David’s heart, speaks to us and comforts us in some way, knowing that we too can go to the heavenly Father with all our cares and troubles. This psalm is an expression of what David was going through in that time of his life. This shepherd boy, who killed a bear and a lion to save his sheep, finds himself in a crossroads where no help was in sight, only faith and a prayer to deliver him from the rebellion of his son, Absalom and the betrayal of his close friend, Ahithophel and many of his servants. (II Sam. 15-18). Betrayal is like cancer; it eats up the emotion and robs the peace from within. It takes a while for the results to fade away, and meanwhile, the soul is tormented with bitterness. In writing this psalm, David did not express forgiveness, but asked for God to avenge those who had offended him. We can taste his hurt feelings in verses 12-15: For it is not an enemy who reproaches and taunts me- then I might bear it; nor is it one who has hated me who insolently vaunts himself against me- then I might hide from him. But it was you, a man my equal, my companion and my familiar friend; we had sweet fellowship together and used to walk to the house of God in company. (Psalm 55:12-14). The memory of his past friendship with Ahithophel was like the taste of bitter herb going down to the stomach. That was a heavy burden on the soul. David and his family had to flee from his son, who tried to take the kingdom from him by stealing the hearts of the men of Israel. His rebellion was also a betrayal and vengeance.

David’s prayer was of urgent timing. His supplication came to God in restlessness of his heart, in grievous pain. Desiring peace, David wanted to fly away from all his troubles. He said, Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest; yes, I would wander far away, I would lodge in the wilderness; I would hasten to escape and to find a shelter from the stormy wind and tempest (Vs. 6-9). A temporary relieve, was David’s desire to have. A place where he would not hear the noises of confusion and anger against him. He just wished wings of a dove, a symbol of freedom. However, a physical presence elsewhere would not accomplish much in the way of inner peace; but a calm and undisturbed mind and heart. Circumstances we face in our everyday life can lead us either to peace or disturbances of the mind. The secret of consistency in achieving victory through it all however, is not in our self, but in the trust and faith in God, our Provider, our Shelter and refuge in our troubles. David well knew it, as he expressed it in several of his psalms. But it was necessary for him to express his inner feeling of fear and uncertainty in face of his circumstances, for they were of great proportion, beyond his ability to cope alone.

Pages: 12

Behold, A King Will Reign in Righteousness

For unto us a Child is born, to us a Son is given and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of Peace; of the increase of His government and of peace there shall be no end; upon the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from the [latter] time forth, even forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this (Isaiah 9:6-7).

Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum, in his book the Footstep of the Messiah, clearly explains to us the meaning of this prophecy: The eternity of the Davidic dynasty throne, and kingdom is assured; it rests in the God-Man. As to His humanity, He is descendant of David; as to His deity, He is eternal and so is His throne. His government will be characterized by justice and righteousness forever. In Jeremiah’s prophecy similar to that of Isaiah, he says: Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, and He will reign as King and do wisely and will execute justice and righteousness in the land (Jer. 23:5). YAHSHUA’S throne will be established in Jerusalem, but His reign will extend over the entire earth. YAHSHUA will be considered as one God by the entire earth. The beginning of His reign will be marked by a procession of the King into the millennial Jerusalem described in Psalm 24:7-8: Lift up your heads, O you gates; and be lifted up, you age-abiding doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is the King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.

There will be a Gentile branch in His millennium kingdom consistent of His church. Revelation 20:4 John writes, Then I saw thrones, and sitting on them were those to whom authority to act as judges and to pass sentence was entrusted. Also, I saw the souls of those who had been slain with axes for their witnessing to YAHSHUA and for the Word of God, and who had refused to pay homage to the beast or his statue and had not accepted his mark or permitted it to be stamped on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived again and ruled with Messiah a thousand years. The chain of command will be from Messiah to the church and the tribulation saints to the kings of the Gentile nations. In the millennium time there will be earthly kings, but YAHSHUA will be over all of them. He will be King of kings and Lord of lords. The Jewish branch will be through David, as Jeremiah and Ezekiel so described: But they will serve their God and David’s their King, whom I will raise up for them (Jer. 30:9); and I will raise up over them one Shepherd and He shall feed them, even My Servant David; He shall feed them and He shall be their Shepherd and the Lord will be their God and My Servant David a Prince among them; I the Lord have spoken it (Eze. 34: 23-24). (Fruchtenbaum- The Footsteps of the Messiah)

Pages: 12

The Faithlessness of Today’s Church

Will not God defend and protect and avenge His elect, who cry to Him day and night? Will He defer them and delay help on their behalf? I tell you, He will defend and protect and avenge them speedily. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth? (Luke 18: 7-80)

The faithlessness of today’s church is perceived everywhere. The Lord YAHSHUA rightly asked the question: When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth? What possibly caused the church to lose her faith? From one extreme to another, the church has lost her faith through the multiplied wickedness and through the pursuit of worldly things. The prosperity teaching has caused the church to lose focus on YAHSHUA’S teachings concerning the pursuit of heavenly treasures. They instead are running after the worldly treasures and losing faith. Do not gather and heap up and store up for yourselves treasures on earth, He said, where moth and rust and worm consume and destroy, and where thieves break through and steal. But gather and heap up and store for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust nor worm consume and destroy, and where thieves do not break through and steal; for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also (Matt. 6:19-21). The church’s heart is sunk in the wealth of the world, not in heaven. In their faithless acts they pursue the world, not YAHSHUA. So they have become faithless.

The church’s faithlessness happens also when wickedness abounds and super abounds without correction. The acceptance of wickedness is easily received and adopted, as one example, the case of moral issues. Faithfulness to the teachings of the Word of God has faded and many has followed the wide road, in the attitude of co-existence, instead of taking a stand for the teachings of the Lord. They spare their lives but will lose it in the end. YAHSHUA said, Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father Who is in heaven; many will say to Me on that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, and driven out demons in Your name and done many mighty works in Your name? And then I will say to them openly, I never knew you; depart from Me you who act wickedly (Matt. 7:21-23).

Pages: 12

Humans in Peril

Created in the image of God, humans are sought to be destroyed, being hunted as animals in hunting season. Babies are extracted from the mother’s womb, who consented the action and their organs harvested for the use of transplant, and the flesh is served as hamburger meats at fast foods restaurants like McDonalds. Evidences have been traced to confirm the facts. What days are we in? The days of Noah. YAHSHUA warned us that as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the coming of the Son of Man. The news of the day has becoming fake news to cover the reality that is happening right before our own eyes. We, without knowledge from other sources, have fallen to their lies. These are the days when we need “ears to hear.” Humanity has lost God’s image due to sin; without the sacrifice of our Lord YAHSHUA to redeem us, we are nothing but dust and to dust we will return. Men of the same equal as the rest of us, born of women, have raised their heads against God the Creator, and planned to depopulate the world. Their plan has succeeded in many instances of massive deaths in these two years and more, on their way to death, unless something happens to stop their madness. The works of Satan is visible to all who can perceive and understand the signs of time; those who have ears to hear. Businesses are flourishing at the expenses of human trafficking at a fast pace. A thing that has happening for many years past. Young lives being destroyed by the minute, with warnings of billboards, but nothing else has been done to stop it.

Pages: 12

Why the Rapture

(Psalm 91:14, Matthew 24:37-42, Revelation 3:10)

The word rapture excites some, but angers others. There are three beliefs pertaining to the time of rapture that divides the church of Christ: the pre, the mid and the post tribulation beliefs. Although we are considered to have the same faith, we are far apart in understanding this important time line of when the rapture will take place in the consummation of time. Seemly, the majority of Christians are not waiting for the Lord, but for the antichrist and the tribulation. Many are physically preparing for it by storing extra foods and everything else necessary according to their knowledge of the situation, with the help of tele-evangelists. These televangelists misinform the people and bring in them a feeling of fear and panic, when they should be rejoicing with the promised deliverance through the rapture. They convince many who are not knowable of Scripture to believe a lie and persist in selling their expensive foods and other amenities. Some Christians have gone all the way financially to prepare for every situation the tribulation will bring, forgetting that when one is under the wrath of God there is nothing one can do to escape it. One cannot fight against God and prevail. If when the rapture happens, you are found to be left behind, there will be nothing you will do to alleviate God’s painful judgments. The only group of people protected at that time will be the 144 thousand, who will be chosen to evangelize the world. Revelation 7:3-8 says: …Harm neither the earth nor the sea nor the trees, until we have sealed the bond servants of our God upon their foreheads. And then I heard how many were sealed out of every tribe of the sons of Israel: there were 144,000. These will be the only people on earth who will not suffer the consequences of the tribulation because they are sealed or marked with the protection of God. It will not be because they have prepared themselves for the event, neither because they put themselves in that privileged position. God was the one Who chose them. Why would God seal His Jewish servants and not His Gentile bride? The fact remains that the tribulation is the precise reason why the rapture will take place before it happens. The tribulation is called Jacob’s trouble. It is directed to the unredeemed Israel and to all who rejected the Son of God. It will be for the purpose to purge the nation. We read in the book of Jeremiah 30:7: Alas! For that day will be great, so that none will be like it; it will be the time of Jacob’s trouble, but he will be saved out of it. To the church of Philadelphia YAHSHUA promised to deliver her from “the hour of trial which is coming on the whole world.” He rewards the Philadelphia church because she has guarded and has kept His word of patient endurance (Rev. 3: 10). What is this hour of trial, if it were not the great Tribulation? The word of God says that the way to escape His wrath will be by faithfulness to His word and endurance of faith. It will not be by means of physically preparing oneself to go through His judgements, for there will not be tribulation for His bride. There would not be a rapture if there would not be a tribulation. The word of God never commanded us to be prepared for the coming tribulation. Instead He warns us to be ready for His coming. Paul said this to the Corinthian Church: ….That you are not falling behind or lacking in any special spiritual endowment or Christian grace, while you wait and watch for the coming of our Lord YAHSHUA and (His] being made visible to all (I Cor. 1:7); and to the Thessalonians, And [how you] look forward to and await the coming of His Son from heaven, Whom He raised from the dead- YAHSHUA, Who personally rescues and delivers us out of and from the wrath which is coming [upon the impenitent] and draws us to Himself (I Thess. 1: 10). If there will not be a tribulation, there will not be a need for the bride of Christ to be rescued and delivered from it. If the bride of Christ must go through God’s wrath, then there would not be the promise of hope and of comfort for His bride.

Pages: 12