Saturday, February 28, 2009

Storm Warning!

Joseph Herrin (02-28-09)

Yahweh has been using the image of a great storm that comes suddenly and with great fury upon a people to describe what is coming to the nations, and particularly to America. I live in Middle Georgia and the area has been under a tornado watch today, with my daughter experiencing first hand the destructive fury that can come suddenly from a storm. I will share more of her experience later, but first I want to share a testimony from a brother in Christ that I recently received.

Greetings in Jesus Name!

I've been following your blog for a few weeks now and thought I'd share how the Lord has led us since many things we read on your website are similar to how God has been leading us.
My family and I have just returned to the US after living and preaching the Gospel in India for the last six months. We've been preaching full time, away from a secular job, for about the last year and a half. The Lord had led us to sell our belongings and our home and move with a brother to Mexico to co-labor in the Gospel. So we sold almost everything we had and moved to Mexico with our four children and preached together for about 6 months.
After preaching there for 6 months the Lord then sent us to India in the state of Andra Pradesh. There we lived and preached the Gospel with some local brethren and exhorted some saints who were coming out of apostate churches.
The Lord had told us we'd be there for 6 months. We had assumed that after the 6 months we'd either move to a different part of the country or at least be staying on that side of the world. However, the Lord gave my wife a prophetic dream of judgment and then began to confirm that we'd be coming back to the US (the last place we wanted to return to).
Over about the past 5 years the Lord began giving my wife prophetic dreams about judgment coming to America. In the first dream she was in a high tower in the U.S. and was looking out at the sky. In the distance were very dark clouds that were moving to cover the whole sky but had not done so yet. They were still a great distance away. But she knew in the dream that God was in the clouds and that He was coming to bring judgment. She also saw a valley below and there were many people in the valley who saw the dark clouds coming. They were trying to escape but were unable too. This dream was about 4 or 5 years ago.
Then about a year ago she had another dream along the same lines. In this dream she was in a closet praying. When she was done praying she went to look out of the window and saw dark black clouds with lightning going through it. Then she went outside and saw that the clouds were covering about a fourth of the sky but she knew they were moving to cover the entire sky. In this dream she saw people and they seemed to be unconcerned about the coming storm.
The last dream she had on the coming judgment was when we were in India about a month ago. The Lord began to speak to us about going back to the US. During this time the Lord gave her another dream very similar and really a continuation of the previous dreams. In this dream she was in the U.S. and was again looking at the sky. Only this time the thick black clouds were covering the ENTIRE sky. The whole thing was completely covered. She knew that the only thing left was for God to rain down the fullness of His judgment and that it would soon happen. She knew that we had very little time before this came to pass.
This dream, along with other confirmations from the Lord, confirmed that He was sending us back to the US and that a great judgment was soon going to be poured out. In fact, the Lord also gave us specific brethren to go to and warn about their spiritual condition before this comes about. The Lord also provided the airfare for us to return to the US when He began to show us all this (we had gone to India on one way tickets). So we packed everything up and headed back to the US. We've been back since the beginning of Feb and are planning to start traveling here as the Lord has directed.
Before we left India we believe the Lord had been telling us to get a tent and glasses when we get back (we wear contacts). I've never needed a tent before but it seemed to be from the Lord. After a couple weeks of being back I went online and looked on Craigslist. I saw an eight man tent, practically new, that would be perfect. I contacted the people about buying the tent but then debated with myself for a few days about buying it. I finally decided I should get it, but when I called the people it had already sold.

I went to the Lord in prayer and ask if He did want us to get one.... and if He did to provide another one for us. The next day I went on Craigslist again and there was another person who had listed the EXACT same tent and it was new and unused! The Lord certainly answered my prayer (though I should have bought the first one). So I called the people and immediately purchased the tent. We've also purchased glasses and the Lord has provided a van for us to travel in.
We'll be leaving Dallas next week and heading for New Mexico to visit some brethren. From there we're not sure, but know the Lord will lead us every step of the way. He may not always give us the full revelation of His plan, but He's faithful to give us the next step to take in obedience. The Lord seems to have prepared us to live a life on the move and we might end up traveling through the US warning and exhorting brethren while there is still time.
Like I said, we know the next step and are in prayer about everything else. Being in India the Lord taught us how to live with practically nothing and thrive by trusting in His provision. I'm quite certain it was preparation for what lies ahead. But like you wrote Joseph, the greatest need for believers is to be prepared spiritually with steadfast prayer and unwavering obedience. Everything is about to change so very soon. May we all be ready trusting in the Lord.
So be encouraged as you follow the Lamb! He's leading others the exact same way. These will be difficult days but they will also be glorious ones as the Lord brings a fulfillment of His word and the fullness of His promised Kingdom! May the Lord be Glorified in all things!
Sean Scott

I found the progressive nature of Scott’s wife’s dream to be very significant. In her first dream a quarter of the sky over America was covered, and in the last one the entire sky was filled with dark storm clouds. A similar illustration was shared in the recent radio interview I provided a link to on the TruNews website. One of the men spoke of seeing the statue of liberty laying prostrate on the ground with Christ holding one hand and checking the pulse while Satan was holding the opposite arm and doing the same. All of the statue except one arm and shoulder were lying in shadow, and this too was soon to be covered in darkness.

Isaiah 60:2
For behold, darkness will cover the earth, and deep darkness the peoples...

Romans 1:21-22
For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God, or give thanks; but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools...

This is currently the state of America. The nation lies in darkness, and soon the storm will break suddenly. There have been so many signs of the SUDDEN destruction of the nation. There was the disintegration of the space shuttle Columbia which occurred so quickly the crew did not even have time to don their helmets. Columbia is the name given to the female personification of America.


























Columbia is the name that our nation’s capitol bears, and when the space shuttle bearing this name disintegrated in a sudden cataclysmic event, it served as a parable to that which is coming to America.

More recently we observed the sudden destruction of Metrolink 111 as it rammed full speed into a UNION Pacific freight train. So sudden was the impact as the train rounded a bend in the track that the engineer never even applied the brake.

We also recently witnessed the crashes of two planes in New York. Both of these events happened suddenly. And the fall of the two Miss USA contestants two years in a row also occurred suddenly. One moment they were standing, and the next they were on the ground having experienced a sudden fall.

I have been praying for my daughter Kristin, asking the Father that He might give her a witness of the things that are coming. Just this morning as I drove into town I prayed that Yahweh might provide some testimony to her to help her understand what is coming. I went to the gym, and when I came out I thought to call and ask her how she was doing, for I knew there was bad weather down in her area.

Kristin was asked to babysit the children of a co-worker for a couple hours today. She had gone over to do so. She was in the house with the children for about an hour and she said all was fine. There were storm warnings, but everything looked normal outside. It was not even raining.

SUDDENLY, she said, the skies began to pour rain in buckets and she heard a loud crashing sound. A large tree in the backyard crashed down on the house heavily damaging a back room and causing the roof in the kitchen to leak. When she told me what had happened, I immediately asked her if she discerned the parable in it.

As the sons and daughters of God, we need to realize that nothing happens in our lives by chance. Our Father in heaven orders our lives with great precision. He is always leading us to experiences that are designed for our benefit, or that of others.

Many things had to transpire for my daughter to experience this event today. Kristin was visiting with me last night when her co-worker called asking her to sit with his children today. It was an opportunity unlooked for and unplanned. The storm had to come just at the right time for Kristin to be there, and the tree had to be in just the right spot, and caught by a very specific wind (for there are often storms in the area which it had withstood before). All these events occurred at a specific time in order to provide a witness of those things which are to come.

People of God, we are under a storm warning as a nation. Right now all may look fine. There may not even be rain falling from the sky, but suddenly the atmosphere of this nation is going to change. Suddenly, people’s lives are going to be disrupted. Suddenly their protection from the outside elements will be removed.

It has been testified by the mouth of prophets that on 9-11-2001 God lowered the hedge of protection around this nation and allowed evil men to destroy much life and property and to alter the sense of security Americans had previously known. A day is coming soon when the hedge of protection will be completely torn down. Then the storm will break upon the nation with unprecedented force and the battering will continue for many days.

Are you taking the storm warnings seriously? Or will you be caught off guard and completely unprepared when the day arrives?

Luke 12:39-40
And be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be broken into. You too, be ready...

I Thessalonians 5:2-4
For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. While they are saying, "Peace and safety!" then destruction will come upon them suddenly like birth pangs upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day should overtake you like a thief...

There are reasons that God gives His people warnings concerning those things which are coming upon the earth. He wants them to live in readiness. He wants His children to make spiritual and physical preparation. He wants them to remain alert, and to constantly be attentive to His voice.

I am impressed with the testimony of Sean Scott above for it reveals the kindness of the Father in preparing His children for that which is coming. Sean and his family sold almost all of their possessions. They then lived as missionaries, daily being led of the Spirit. Oftentimes they had no money and few resources, but they learned that Yahweh is always faithful to provide.

In the coming days many Christians will lose all their possessions. Like Lot and his family fleeing from Sodom, they will escape only with their lives. It need not have been this way for Lot, nor for the saints of God. It is much easier to freely surrender all we have to God to be used as He wills. It is good to have spent days, and even years, walking with Him, looking to Yahweh to provide for every daily need that the day which is coming will not arrive with such a shock. Many Christians will find that their faith is weak, for they have no experience with trusting God for their daily needs.

It is the mercy of God that He gives His children signs of the hour they are living in. He wants them to prepare themselves spiritually and physically. He wants His children to be asking Him what they might do to get ready, for He does not delight in seeing His children caught unprepared for a day of calamity. He would much prefer that His children are wise, and seeing that which is coming to ready themselves for it.

Romans 13:11
And this do, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep...

Revelation 3:3
Remember therefore what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent. If therefore you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come upon you.

On a final note, I would like to comment on the fact that the Lord directed the Scott family to purchase a tent. I too felt led to buy an 8 man tent in the past year, and my daughter also bought one some time back. Although there is certainly a practical use for a tent in a day of disorder, I want to speak of what it symbolizes spiritually.

Throughout the Bible God repeatedly called a people to leave homes and lands and to follow Him. What is signified is that Yahweh would become the possession of His people when they had formerly sought an earthly possession. Abram was living in a home in Ur of the Chaldees when God spoke to him and called him to leave all behind and become a stranger and a sojourner in a foreign land. Isaac dwelt in tents, as did Jacob and his sons.

After 430 years dwelling as slaves in Egypt, Yahweh once more called His people forth. For forty years they dwelt in tents in the wilderness. In the wilderness even the Tabernacle of God was no more than a tent. These temporary and mobile dwelling places symbolize a life that is not attached to the world and its possessions.

After Israel went in to take possession of the land of promise there was one family that saw the peril of becoming attached to the land, homes and possessions. They therefore chose to always dwell in tents that they might not forget that their first loyalty and love was to be for God. This family received a blessing that is extraordinary, for Yahweh found a different spirit to be in them than in all others.

Jeremiah 35:19
Therefore thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, "Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not lack a man to stand before Me always.”

If you would like to read more about this remarkable man and his family, I would recommend the chapter from the book The Remnant Bride that speaks of him.

http://www.heart4god.ws/id27.htm

There is something spiritually signified by a people who dwell in tents. When Israel dwelt in houses they forgot God and walked after the idols of the nations around them. The people of God have committed the same transgression in this hour. For this reason, Yahweh will once more call His people out of Egypt (a symbol of the world) and lead them into a wilderness experience where they will dwell in tents. In this way He will turn their hearts back to Him that they might discover that the greatest treasure is only found in Him. Of the patriarchs of old who dwelt in tents we read the following:

Hebrews 11:13-16
All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.

May you be blessed with peace and understanding in these days.

Heart4God Website: http://www.heart4god.ws
Parables Blog: http://www.parablesblog.blogspot.com

Mailing Address:
Joseph Herrin
P.O. Box 804
Montezuma, GA 31063

Friday, February 27, 2009

How to Prepare for a Day of Disorder

Joseph Herrin (02-27-09)

With the multitude of witnesses being given of the disintegration of America as a nation, many Christians are waking up to the nearness of the very dark days which are at the door. A normal reaction to the dawning of this understanding is to want to know what things might be done to prepare for days of great disruption.

The days ahead for America will include a complete and devastating economic collapse. The dollar will be rendered worthless. Those people who have their life savings in dollar denominated assets will see them disappear suddenly, in a manner akin to the US Airways flight that disappeared from radar as it descended with Bank of America executives aboard to a splash landing in the Hudson River. Those on board escaped with only the clothes on their backs, being grateful to be alive. So too will the banking system of America crash in the near future, and with this event the entire infrastructure of the nation and the world will be experience severe disruptions.

A sister in Christ shared recently that the Lord had told her that even the electricity supply would become unreliable. At times it would be available, and other times it will be unavailable. I shared a similar revelation some months back as the Spirit of Christ brought me to understand the character of coming days.

Along with economic collapse there will be great interruptions to transportation. Stores will run out of food and supplies. Gas stations will run dry and find that re-supply is sporadic at best. Civil unrest will be a natural consequence, and multitudes will find it expedient to flee from the cities, many of which will be ablaze with fires and unruly gangs and rioters.

All of these things, and much more, has been prophesied for the days which are near at hand. How then should a Christian prepare for such days?

I have pondered some of the difficulties that will be part and parcel of those days. Food and shelter are critical needs, but the normal provision for these things will be altered drastically. Most houses in America are only comfortable to live in when there is a reliable supply of electricity. Here in Georgia where I live, the summertime heat and humidity would render most houses uninhabitable if electricity and air conditioning were unavailable.

The Lord has been preparing me for such a time. Last summer I lived in my small van/motorhome that I parked on the property of the Macon Rescue Mission. At times I was able to run a small fan to blow air across me as I slept, but I never used the air conditioner. Even with a small fan I would be awake until midnight or 1 to 2 A.M. waiting for the van to cool off enough to make sleep possible.

Most houses today are not designed to be lived in without electricity. The high ceilings and large screened windows, the open space beneath the floors that allowed air to circulate, and the vents and windows that could be opened and shut over doorways to aid circulation, are no longer built into homes. Homes are now tight, with little air circulation. They are made to be energy efficient, but are unsuitable for life without electricity.

With intermittent electricity there would also be the problem of loss of refrigeration and food spoilage. People no longer have root cellars, or coolers that utilize block ice as they once did. Many who have electric stoves would be unable to cook, and even water supply will be intermittent in coming days. It will become difficult to wash and dry clothes without electricity. Few people today have wash basins and wash boards, or outdoor clothes lines to dry their clothes.

One of the most pressing needs will be food and water. Many prophecies have been given about the stores being emptied of food in one hour. In this day there are few people who have any store of canned goods. The practice of canning food out of a garden has fallen by the wayside. Few people have a source of food other than the grocery store. The pressing need of food and water will foster much unrest, and violence will spill over in the towns and cities of America.

I have considered what it would take to make provision for all of these needs, as well as many others. People who wear contact lenses (like my daughter) would need to get glasses to insure against a lack of contact availability. People who rely upon prescription medications for their health would face their own set of problems.

A community of people could go back to living “off the grid” similar to what some of the Amish people have done for years. They could become self-reliant, producing much of their own food, making their own clothes, pumping their own water from a well. The transition from a wealthy, energy dependent society that utilizes the banking system for all things, to a third world nation that is contending with economic collapse, political and civil instability, terrorist threats, natural disasters, and health emergencies all at the same time will be an exceptionally arduous predicament that will not be solved quickly.

Yet, this is God’s intent. He has sent many prophets to the nation and the church over a long period of time. He has sent judgments, and warned the nation to repent time and again, but they did not want to repent. Even today as the financial systems are collapsing, the government and the people of the nation are unrepentant. They are giving themselves to ever greater abominations, and the judgment now will be exceedingly grievous and will not be remedied in the near future.

In a recent radio interview that I provided a link unto, one of the men speaking suggested that Christians do what they can to repair, but he added that the Lord had shown him that whatever Christians do, it will be woefully inadequate. I doubt there is one family out of a thousand among the Christians in America who have made any preparation for coming days. They have not stored up food or water. They have not prepared for power outages, for food preparation, growing their own food, raising chickens, washing clothes by hand, or any of a number of other things that will be needful in coming days.

The few who have made preparation have for the most part only done so in part, and only that which will carry them through a brief period of time. When they have hundreds of other hungry, needy people asking them to share with them, what they have will be depleted very quickly.

As I pondered these things this morning I began to pray and ask the Father what should be done. I asked Him if there were something He would have me to do in order to prepare for my little corner of the world. The same sister who said the Lord had spoken to her about the electricity becoming unreliable said the Lord told her to stock up on paper products; toilet paper, paper plates, paper towels, etc.. When the stores are suddenly emptied, and there are no trucks making deliveries, such things will be hard to come by. I would not personally care to do without toilet paper.

Considering all that would need to be provided in order to prepare for myself and a large number of Christians that I know to be in this area, I was soon daunted at the enormity of what would be required. Even should I convince all of the Christians I know to begin to make preparation, it will all inevitably prove to be very inadequate in a very short space of time. I prayed and asked the Lord if I should even speak anything to His people about making preparation. I asked Him to guide me and give me wisdom. As I listened for His voice I sensed the leading of the Spirit to pick up the devotional book Streams in the Desert, and read the entry for the day (February 26).

I have not been reading this book regularly, but I had it sitting nearby on a table. I picked it up and, upon opening, it turned directly to the day’s date. This was very unusual and the Lord used it to get my attention even more. I read carefully what was written for the day.

My grace is sufficient for you. (2 Corinthians 12:9)

The other day I was riding home after a hard day’s work. I was very tired and deeply depressed, when quickly, and as suddenly as a lightning bolt, the verse came to me: “My grace is sufficient for you.” When I arrived home I looked it up in the Word, and it finally came to me this way: “My grace is sufficient for you.” My response was to say, “Yes, Lord, I should think it is!” Then I burst out laughing.

Up until that time, I had never understood what the holy laughter of Abraham was. This verse seemed to make unbelief totally absurd. I pictured a thirsty little fish who was concerned about drinking the river dry, with the Father saying, “Drink away, little fish; My stream is sufficient for you.” I also envisioned a mouse afraid of starving after seven years of plenty, when Joseph says to him, “Cheer up, little mouse; my granaries are sufficient for you.” Again, I imagined a man on a high mountain peak, saying to himself, “I breathe so many cubic feet of air every year, I am afraid I will deplete all the oxygen in the atmosphere.” But the earth says to him, “Breathe away, filling your lungs forever; my atmosphere is sufficient for you.”

O people of God, be great believers! Little faith will bring your souls to heaven, but great faith will bring heaven to your souls. Charles H. Spurgeon

His grace is great enough to meet the great things -
The crashing waves that overwhelm the soul,
The roaring winds that leave us stunned and breathless,
The sudden storms beyond our life’s control.

His grace is great enough to meet the small things -
The little pinprick troubles that annoy,
The insect worries, buzzing and persistent,
The squeaking wheels that grate upon our joy.
Annie Johnson Flint

There is always a large balance credited to our account in the bank of heaven. It is waiting for us to exercise our faith to draw upon it. Draw heavily upon God’s resources.
[End Excerpt]

With these words, I had my answer to my query to the Father. The banking system of America is about to fall, but the bank of heaven knows no disturbance. The largest draw upon the grace of God will never leave His vast resources diminished one iota.

There was a time some 3,500 years ago that God led a people out from all they had known. Their comfortable homes in Egypt were left behind. The Nile River with its bounty of fish, and abundant flow to supply water to drink and to irrigate the land was to be left behind. The people, millions strong, a vast mixed multitude, all departed from that which they had known. Their lives were altered as greatly as will be the lives of millions of Americans, yet God did not strain to meet all their needs.

Yahweh led an entire nation into a wilderness where there was lack everywhere. It was a very inhospitable place to take a people who needed daily food and water and shelter, yet they found all they needed under the shadow of God’s mighty wings. The God who created the Universe spoke and water poured from a rock, bread rained down daily from heaven and quail were scattered upon the ground all about the camp.

What seems daunting and even impossible to man does not even strain God’s little finger. The load of responsibility and care did not tax His omnipotence then, and it will not do so in the days ahead.

Numbers 11:18-23
"Therefore Yahweh will give you meat and you shall eat. You shall eat, not one day, nor two days, nor five days, nor ten days, nor twenty days, but a whole month...” But Moses said, "The people, among whom I am, are 600,000 on foot; yet You have said, 'I will give them meat in order that they may eat for a whole month.' Should flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, to be sufficient for them? Or should all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to be sufficient for them?" And Yahweh said to Moses, "Is the Lord's power limited? Now you shall see whether My word will come true for you or not."

What a question to consider! “Is the Lord’s power limited?” The answer is a resounding “NO!” There is no limit to the power of Yahweh God. He is omnipotent; literally “ALL POWERFUL.”

The Lord has testified through many witnesses that He will have a place prepared for His people in the wilderness.

Revelation 12:6
And the woman fled into the wilderness where she had a place prepared by God, so that there she might be nourished for one thousand two hundred and sixty days.

Who has prepared the place for the woman who stands as a symbol of the people of God? It is Yahweh, and He has said that she will be nourished.

The entire nation of Israel followed the Lord in the wilderness. They carried what food they had on hand, and nothing more. Very soon, even in a matter of a few days, there food was gone. Then they cried out to God and He sent them the bread of heaven. Oh yes, He tested the people with hunger and thirst to humble them and to see what was in their hearts, but He always had a provision for them. He looked for a people who would manifest a strong confidence in Him.

For a moment I looked at the wind and the waves. I saw the storm rising with mighty fury. I saw the multitudes of God’s people and the inadequacy of man’s ability to meet the challenge. But then God showed me His omnipotence. Where we are weak, He is strong. His GRACE is perfected in our weakness.

If the Father has shown you something to do in order to prepare for the coming day, then do it speedily and with an excellent spirit. Seek Him now, and ask Him to direct your steps and to lead you to those things He would have you to do. But when all is said and done, know that all you can do is insufficient.

In the wilderness period ahead all must learn to lean heavily upon the Father. The weight pressing against Him will seem not so much as a feather. Can a fish drink the ocean dry? Can a man exhaust the stores of air in the heavens by his breathing? Neither will you, or I, or a great multitude of men, women and children begin to diminish the resources He has set aside for the help of His people in a day of need.

Song of Solomon 8:5
Who is this coming up from the wilderness, leaning on her beloved?

In the wilderness the people of God learn to lean upon Him. When the lesson is well learned, then He will bring them up.

May you be blessed with peace and understanding in these days.

Heart4God Website: http://www.heart4god.ws
Parables Blog: http://www.parablesblog.blogspot.com

Mailing Address:
Joseph Herrin
P.O. Box 804
Montezuma, GA 31063

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras), Ash Wednesday, Lent and Easter

Joseph Herrin (02-26-09)

Revelation 18:4-5
And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, "Come out of her, my people, that you may not participate in her sins and that you may not receive of her plagues..."

In this hour when the Spirit is testifying that great judgment is coming to the nations, a judgment that must begin at the house of God, the prudent saint should be asking what they might do to escape that which is even now at the door. The Scripture cited above from the book of Revelation provides one answer. The people of God must come out of Babylon.

The Christian religious system of this hour is marked by mixture and spiritual pollution. Doctrines of demons have been mixed in with the true gospel of Christ, and the result has become an abhorrent mixture of the holy and the profane. The Scriptures reveal that Yahweh always judged His people severely when they failed to separate that which is holy from that which is vile. The judgments that are coming to the people of God in this hour are for no different reason than those judgments of Old when Israel was given over into the hands of her enemies.

To understand how very much opposed Yahweh is to any admixture of the holy and the profane we can look at a series of laws that God delivered to His chosen people through His servant Moses. Remember that all of the laws of the Old Testament serve as types and shadows of spiritual principles and serve as instructional tools for the saints in Christ.

Deuteronomy 22:9-11
“You shall not sow your vineyard with two kinds of seed, or all the produce of the seed which you have sown and the increase of the vineyard will become defiled. You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together. You shall not wear a material mixed of wool and linen together.”

What is the message here for the Christian in this present age? God detests mixture. The specific type of mixture that He detests is righteousness and sin, the holy and the profane, light and darkness, the fruit of the Holy Spirit and the works of the flesh. These things are shown forth in the specific laws given. For example, the priests were directed to wear linen, and to wear no wool when ministering unto God. The reason given is that wool makes men sweat while linen does not. Sweat speaks of the works of man being offered to God. Such an offering is despised by God even as God had no regard for the offering of Cain which arose from the ground from which man’s flesh was formed. God will only regard that which is initiated and performed in the power of the Holy Spirit.

If God has made such a point of differentiating between the holy and the profane, then it is vain for a Christian to reason that God does not care if they are mixing symbols of pagan rites and idolatrous worship with the worship of Christ Jesus, Yahshua the Messiah. God does care.

It is a simple matter to demonstrate Satan’s deceit in leading the saints to mix the holy and profane together. One need look no further than the name of the celebration which is called Easter. The name Easter never appears in Scripture, other than one occasion in the King James Version of the Bible. This is as follows:

Acts 12:4
And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people.
KJV

The KJV translators did a disservice to the church by rendering this passage in this manner, for the word being translated is “pascha,” the Greek form of the word “Passover.” This grievous error was corrected in later Bible translations, including the New KJV.

Acts 12:4
So when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four squads of soldiers to keep him, intending to bring him before the people after Passover.
NKJV

We see in this how far the influence of Satan extends. When he is able to get Bible translators to replace the name of one of God’s appointed feasts with the name of a pagan festival. These two observances are far from being equal. Passover was initiated at the leading of Yahweh and its observance communicated to Moses. Easter is a veneration of a fertility goddess that was initiated by Satan and delivered to sinful men.

The very word Easter, that the church has written on the calendar of her annual observances is the name of a goddess of fertility. According to the wikipedia website, the English name of the goddess was arrived at as follows:

The English name, "Easter," and the German, "Ostern," derive from the name of a putative Anglo-Saxon Goddess of the Dawn (thus, of spring, as the dawn of the year) — called aster, astre, and ostre in various dialects of Old English and Ostara in German.

The worship of the fertility goddess who is remembered at Easter goes much further back, however. The mystery religions had their foundations in Babylon. The Bible records the following:

Genesis 10:1-12
Now these are the records of the generations of Shem, Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah; and sons were born to them after the flood... The sons of Ham were Cush and Mizraim and Put and Canaan. The sons of Cush were Seba and Havilah and Sabtah and Raamah and Sabteca; and the sons of Raamah were Sheba and Dedan. Now Cush became the father of Nimrod; he became a mighty one on the earth. He was a mighty hunter before Yahweh; therefore it is said, "Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before Yahweh." The beginning of his kingdom was Babel and Erech and Accad and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. From that land he went forth into Assyria, and built Nineveh and Rehoboth-Ir and Calah, and Resen between Nineveh and Calah; that is the great city.

The mystery religions can be traced back to Nimrod. Extra-Biblical sources tell us that Nimrod’s father Cush married a woman named Semiramis. Semiramis gave birth to Nimrod and, when Cush died, Nimrod married his mother. Thus Semiramis was both the mother and the wife of Nimrod. It is apparent from Scripture that the genealogy of this family was under a curse. Nimrod’s grandfather was Ham, the son of Noah. It was Ham who acted wickedly in exposing the nakedness of his father Noah when Noah had gotten drunk with wine and passed out in his tent. Ham acted rebelliously toward his father, in contrast to his two brothers Shem and Japheth who covered their father’s nakedness and would not look upon him. When Noah learned what Ham had done he cursed both Ham and his offspring (Genesis 9:20-26).

It seems apparent that the sins of the father (Ham) were passed on to the sons, for wickedness continued in this bloodline. Sources outside the Bible tell us that this wickedness was manifested in Cush, who is attributed with the establishment of a system of rebellious idolatry that was continued in his wife Semiramis and his son Nimrod. This idolatry became heinous, being associated with all that is profane, and with many immoral sexual rites including orgies and prostitution.

Alexander Hislop, in his book The Two Babylons, does a remarkable job of documenting and bringing together many ancient sources that reveal the history of this wicked family and the founding of the ancient mystery religions. According to Hislop, the profane practices of Nimrod and his tyranny over many people increased until Shem, the son of Noah rose up against this “mighty one” and made war with him. Shem, having defeated Nimrod, then cut his body into pieces and sent it throughout the land as a warning to all who should openly partake of the profane idolatry of Nimrod.

Out of fear of punishment, those who continued in idolatry were forced to practice their rites in secret, and the most vile parts of their practices were known only to those who had passed through the rites of initiation and been admitted into the deeper teachings and practices reserved for those whose loyalty had been proven. This is the origin of the “Mystery Religions” that have their source in ancient Babylon. One had to be initiated and pass through degrees to be admitted into the mysteries, and those who were outside, or whose loyalty had not yet been proven, were restricted from the true knowledge of the mystery religion. That which had once been practiced openly under the reign of Nimrod, was forced into secrecy when Shem slew Nimrod.

This same pattern of initiation, terrifying oaths against disclosure, and the cloaking of truth to those whose loyalty is not yet proven is observed in Freemasonry, which itself is merely one of the latest incarnations of the idolatrous practices of ancient Babylon.

We also see another pattern here. Shem, the son of Noah, became father of the Shemites, or the Semitic people. It was from this family that Abraham and his descendants arose. Why did God choose a people from among the descendants of Shem to be His chosen people in the earth? If the account is true of Shem rising up to cleanse the land of the idolatrous practices of Nimrod, his actions might have played a part in Yahweh’s decision.

I hope that the Christian today can understand that Yahweh will certainly use the same standard of measure when He chooses those who will be numbered among the overcomers, and who will be granted access to His presence and to His most holy things. That God will make a division among the saints based upon their involvement in idolatrous practices is prophesied in Ezekiel 44:6-19.

I hope that the Christian today can understand that Yahweh will certainly use the same standard of measure when He chooses those who will be numbered among the overcomers, and who will be granted access to His presence and to His most holy things. That He will make a division among the saints based upon their involvement in idolatrous practices is prophesied in Ezekiel 44:6-19.




















 



Images of Semiramis and Tammuz

Idolatrous worship of Semiramis and Tammuz spread from Babylon.

After Nimrod was killed by Shem the mystery religions teach that he ascended into the heavens and became the Sun god. Semiramis is herself associated as the Moon goddess. Semiramis continued to be sexually active, and when she became pregnant she claimed to have conceived without intercourse. Satan, as the great deceiver, sought to bring forth a false belief in a counterfeit virgin birth that was sufficiently corrupted to suit his ends. Semiramis gave birth to a son named Tammuz, and it was declared that Tammuz was the reincarnation of Nimrod.

In this we see attributes of Yahweh’s plan of salvation. There is a child born without a woman being sexually intimate with a man. The child is supposedly the offspring of deity. Yet a clear departure from Scripture is that the mother assumes a more prominent role than the son. This emphasis on the mother is continued to this day through the Catholic Church which teaches things about the mother of Yahshua that are nowhere found in Scripture, but which do find agreement with the Babylonian mystery religions. When God confused the languages of the people at Babylon and scattered mankind throughout the earth, its idolatrous religion centered around the trinity of Nimrod, Semiramis and Tammuz was already pervasive and it was carried throughout the world where the main characters took on many different names while maintaining much of the central element of the original mystery religion.

Alexander Hislop writes:

The Babylonians in their popular religion supremely worshiped a goddess mother and a son who was represented in pictures and images as an infant or a child in his mother’s arms. From Babylon this worship of mother and child spread to the ends of the earth. In Egypt, the mother and child were worshiped under the names Isis and Osiris. In India, even to this day, as Isi and Iswara; in Asia as Cybele and Deoius; in pagan Rome as Fortuna and Jupiter-puer “Jupiter the boy”; in Greece as Ceres, the Great Mother, with the babe at her breast, or as Irene, the goddess of Peace, with the boy Plutus in her arms, and even in Thibet, in China and Japan...

Other manifestations of these same characters are seen as Aphrodite/Cupid and Ashtoreth/Orion. Some of these characters are mentioned in the Bible.

Ezekiel 8:14-16
Then He brought me to the entrance of the gate of Yahweh’s house which was toward the north; and behold, women were sitting there weeping for Tammuz. He said to me, "Do you see this, son of man? Yet you will see still greater abominations than these." Then He brought me into the inner court of Yahweh’s house. And behold, at the entrance to the temple of Yahweh, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs to the temple of Yahweh and their faces toward the east; and they were prostrating themselves eastward toward the sun.

Worshiping the Sun (Nimrod) and worshiping Tammuz were abominable acts in the sight of God. Yahweh judged the people for this idolatry. The church is in great peril of not recognizing the consequences of embracing similar rites and symbols today. It was an offense to God that these pagan rites were being conducted in the temple of God. Today the saints are the temple of God, and God is equally offended when abominable practices are observed by those who constitute this living temple of the Holy Spirit.

I Kings 11:4-6
When Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away after other gods; and his heart was not wholly devoted to Yawheh his God, as the heart of David his father had been. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians... Solomon did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, and did not follow Yahweh fully, as David his father had done.

How did the high places become established in Israel? We read that Solomon’s heart was turned aside by his wives whom he loved. These wives were idolaters, many of them foreigners, and they wanted to continue to worship the gods and goddesses they had known from childhood. Their rites and symbols to them were just as dear as the rites and symbols of Christmas and Easter are to many Christians today. Solomon acquiesced to the pressure of his wives’ desires and built high places of worship for them.

Lest we condemn Solomon out of hand, the Christian should consider that the same pressure is exerted upon the saint today to maintain the celebration of pagan festivals. Our children and spouses may love the traditions that they have grown up with, and they may express their desires very passionately to maintain an observance of the things they love. How many saints are willing to stand fast and choose a course other than the one Solomon chose? When Yahweh reveals the truth of these practices and makes His will known, then the Christian is brought to the test. Do they love Yahweh more than all others? Will they choose obedience to God over satisfying the desires, and even demands of their family?

Luke 14:26-27
"If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.”

Christianity, as it is practiced widely today, costs individuals very little. The reason is that there is so much compromise. The church has embraced the world, and has even adopted the practices of pagan religions. True Christianity, however, is very costly. As the Scriptures declare:

II Timothy 3:12
Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.

The reason there is so little persecution and so little cost to being a professing Christian today is that men and women are not living godly lives. They have not come out of the world and out of Babylon. Solomon found it easy to get along with the members of his family if he accepted their idolatry. Even so, the world has no problem accepting Christians who will accept their values and practices. But should a Christian begin to differentiate between the holy and profane, then he or she will know the disapproval of those who have embraced that which is not holy.


















Sacred Egg of Heliopolis















Mystic Egg of Astarte
(Ishtar Egg)

This same goddess Ashtoreth, for whom Solomon built a high place, is also called Ishtar, from which we get our word Easter. The church also has a high place erected to her. Every year the church celebrates a holy day that bears the name of the pagan goddess of fertility whose original was Semiramis, and who is known by a profusion of names throughout the various cultures of the world. Heliopolis is a city of Egypt where Semiramis was known by the name Isis. As mentioned, Semiramis was a moon goddess, and therefore we see an image of the moon atop her sacred egg.

The mystery religions teach that Semiramis was herself immaculately conceived and was lowered from the heavens to the earth in a giant egg. This egg came to rest in the waters of the Euphrates river. Eggs are also symbols of fertility, and as Semiramis was also a fertility goddess the symbol of the egg became thoroughly associated with her worship. Those who knew Semiramis under the name of Ishtar spoke of Ishtar’s egg, from which we get our current Easter egg.












 Egg Roll on White House Lawn, Easter 2006

The above picture was taken in April 2006 during the annual White House Easter celebration. An egg roll has been held on the South Lawn since 1878. There was some controversy on this particular year as 200 gay and lesbian families planned to attend this event. Some saw this as an attack on Christian values, not understanding the true origins of the Easter celebration.

In the presentation Freemasonry, the Spirit of Babylon it was demonstrated that America serves as the seat of Babylon at this time, even occupying the country of Iraq in which the ancient city of Babylon was located. It should give Christians something to consider when they realize that the United States government has banned all Christian symbols from government spaces, even to the recent order to remove the ten commandments from all courthouses, yet this same government has no complaint about the annual observance of an Easter Egg roll on the White House lawn. Why is this? It is because Easter Eggs have no association with Christianity. They are clearly pagan in their origin and can be traced directly back to Babylon.

When one looks into the sexually immoral practices of the worship of the fertility goddess, it is actually more appropriate that gay and lesbian couples attend this event than that Christians attend.
















 Hot Cross Buns

Another tradition of Easter that is clearly pagan is that of hot cross buns. These buns were initially made in memory of Tammuz, the son of Semiramis, who suffered an early death from being injured by the tusk of a boar. There were forty days of weeping for Tammuz leading up to the Ishtar celebration, which now finds its correspondence in the Catholic Church’s forty days of Lent, which is a time of mourning.

Yesterday was Ash Wednesday. Millions of people who profess to be Christians went to their churches to participate in a ceremony that began in Babylon.
















Ashes applied to the forehead on Ash Wednesday

You will not find the people of God in either the Old or New Testament being commanded to observe such a practice as this, but we do find that pagan practices entered into Israel where the women of the nation mourned for Tammuz. The symbol of Tammuz was the Tau, or the cross. It is the same symbol seen on hot crossed buns. It is this symbol of mourning for Tammuz that is practiced among millions of Christians on Ash Wednesday.




















The women involved with the mystery religions would bake buns for Tammuz (originally called bouns). These were either marked with the sign of a horn, or possibly a tusk, or with the letter T for Tammuz. The sign of the cross, where a Catholic uses his fingers and marks the sign of the cross on their chest is derived from the worship of Tammuz. It is this same symbol that the priest makes on the forehead of professing Christians on Ash Wednesday.

Jeremiah 7:18
"The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead dough to make cakes for the queen of heaven; and they pour out drink offerings to other gods in order to spite Me.”

Another name for Nimrod, whom Tammuz is said to be a reincarnation of, is Woden. The day of the week we call Wednesday is named after Woden. It was handed down to us as Woden's Day, and in English it became Wednesday. It is on Woden's day, as one commemorates the death of Tammuz, killed by a wild boar, that ashes are applied to the forehead as a symbol of mourning for this pagan deity. The practice of eating ham at Christmas and Easter also derives back to the veneration of Nimrod and Tammuz. As it was a boar that killed Tammuz, people would slay a boar and serve this meat during these "holy day" seasons.























Even if done in ignorance, is it not an offense to God to carry on traditions that are steeped in idolatrous worship and profane practices? We read in Ezekiel that the women of Israel were weeping for Tammuz. The Israelites also offered oblations to the Queen of Heaven (Semiramis) and her son Tammuz, as is seen in the above verse from Jeremiah, and elsewhere.

Jeremiah 44:16-19
"As for the message that you have spoken to us in the name of Yahweh, we are not going to listen to you! But rather we will certainly carry out every word that has proceeded from our mouths, by burning sacrifices to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, just as we ourselves, our forefathers, our kings and our princes did in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; for then we had plenty of food and were well off and saw no misfortune. But since we stopped burning sacrifices to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have lacked everything and have met our end by the sword and by famine. And," said the women,"when we were burning sacrifices to the queen of heaven and were pouring out drink offerings to her, was it without our husbands that we made for her sacrificial cakes in her image and poured out drink offerings to her?"

The pagan traditions of the mystery religions have even been passed down to our children as they sing the little song that speaks of hot cross buns.

Hot cross buns
Hot cross buns
One a penny
Two a penny
Hot cross buns

If you have no daughters
Give them to your sons
One a penny
Two a penny
Hot cross buns

What does this mean “if you have no daughters, give them to your sons?” Remember, this was the celebration of the goddess of fertility and her son. By offering oblations of liquid and foods to Semiramis and Tammuz the people were asking for the gift of fertility. This fertility was petitioned from the goddess by offering drinks and cakes in order that their crops, livestock, and their own families might be blessed with abundance. Many a tradition that seems innocent today has found its origin in practices that are detestable to Yahweh.

This past week in New Orleans as the Mardi Gras celebrations began. Mardi Gras means "Fat Tuesday." It is a day of feasting and celebration just before the forty days of fasting and mourning begin on Ash Wednesday. This celebration is observed with much debauchery. There are homosexual events. There is a surfeit of sexually impure behavior. During Mardi Gras bead necklaces will be exchanged in return for sexual favors such as a woman exposing her breasts to any man (or woman) who would present the beads to them. It was out of this debauchery surrounding Mardi Gras that the x-rated videos Girls Gone Wild had their beginning.

The impure fruit of these celebrations are readily apparent, yet millions of Christians continue to participate in these celebrations which create a detestable mixture of the holy and the profane.

Tuesday, as the Mardi Gras parades were being held in New Orleans, seven people were shot along the parade route.

7 wounded by gunfire on Mardi Gras parade route
By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN, Associated Press Writer Michael Kunzelman, Associated Press Writer Wed Feb 25, 6:52 am ET

NEW ORLEANS – The shootings of seven people, including a toddler, marred Fat Tuesday partying as ear-piercing gunfire sent revelers ducking for cover and brought Mardi Gras' final stream of truck floats to a horrifying halt.

The 20-month-old child was grazed by a bullet and wasn't seriously injured. Two suspects were in custody, police said.

Gunshots erupted near the Garden District about 1:40 p.m. as a stream of truck floats passed by after the last major parade, Rex, had ended. Thousands of people partied in the streets on the last day of Carnival before the violence broke out along the oak-lined Uptown streetcar line.
[End Excerpt]

Fat Tuesday is the lsat day of Carnival. The word carnival literally means "flesh rising." Seven is the number of finality. The Spirit is testifying that this nation is truly at the end of its carnival season. The hour of judgment is at hand. If you would escape the judgment, then heed the words of the Spirit of Christ. Come out of the sinful and corrupt practices of a religious system that has embraced all the mixture of Babylon. Come out of confusion, and be separate, for we serve a holy God.

II Corinthians 6:17
Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate ," says the Lord. "And do not touch what is unclean; and I will welcome you."

May you be blessed with peace and understanding in these days.

Heart4God Website: http://www.heart4god.ws
Parables Blog: http://www.parablesblog.blogspot.com

Mailing Address:
Joseph Herrin
P.O. Box 804
Montezuma, GA 31063

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

NOW is the Time to Be Ready

Joseph Herrin (02-23-09)

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Yesterday (the 23rd) the Lord sent forth His provision which enabled me to get the last things done to my van to make it ready to go out on the road. As I write this the van is in the shop having new brakes put on it.

As soon as I received money in the mail yesterday I went to the bank and deposited. Before I had driven away from the bank I called the mechanic to schedule to have the work done. The Spirit has impressed upon me that this is a parable. All the people of God must act quickly in this hour. They must press in to know the will of the Lord. As soon as He indicates we are to move, we must not hesitate, but act quickly. Those who do not do so will surely suffer loss because of the delay. For some the loss will be profound.

Vehicles are symbolic of ministry, and with this last repair being made to my van it is signified that all has been done to be made ready to go wherever the Lord would send me. I have not complained of the cost of the preparation, which has been considerable both in the type and the anti-type. The vehicle repairs have not been cheap, and neither has the cost of the preparation the Father has led me through in the past years. It has cost me much, but all was exceedingly necessary to make ready for very difficult days ahead.

I spoke to my friend and brother in Christ Randy Simmons last night. We talked about many of the experiences of the past years and how they have been necessary to make the people of God ready to endure a day of great difficulty. I was led in 1999 to quit my job and minister full-time while looking to the Father to provide for all of our needs.

In the years that followed my family and I met with endless trials. We faced many fears as we were brought to extremities time and again. Yet God was always faithful. He had a provision that never failed, though it was seldom what we would have chosen for ourselves. Indeed, we chose much more comfortable and bountiful provision when our lives were more self-directed in the years that I worked in the computer field.

The past years have included reproaches, reviling, condemnation, rejection from brothers, humble circumstances, loss of family and friends, and particularly in the past 5 years since I have been walking alone there have been seasons of hunger and thirst, of exposure and lack. But in all things I have learned to be content.

Philippians 4:11-13
Not that I speak from want; for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

People of God, the Spirit testifies that there will be days of famine and hunger ahead for America and the nations. Many Christians have never gone a day without food, and when they miss their first meal in coming days they will grumble and complain. When they go one day without something to eat, fear will grip many as they think they will surely perish.

During recent years the Father led me to extended periods where I was living in the forests of Georgia with little food and water. At the end of the last 40 day period I had no food at all during the last 17 days, and very little water. It was winter and I was exposed to cold and had only one fleece pullover and some summer clothes. I wondered then at the reason for the experiences, but I can see now that it was to toughen me up and to get me ready to endure the days which are at hand.

I am grateful for the Father’s preparation process. Every bit of it. Endurance is something that is developed. We are not born with it. We become hardened by embracing difficult circumstances without grumbling or complaint.

When many people in coming days are falling apart for having gone one day without food, those who have been submitting to the Lord’s hand by embracing fasting and humble provision will remain at peace. Those who have gone day after day without two nickels to rub together, but have found the Father faithful to provide every necessity of life will not fall apart when everyone’s money fails them. They will have learned the practice of looking to the Father in all things.

Undoubtedly, many will learn these things for the first time in coming days, and god will have seasoned leaders after the pattern of Moses to guide them. But many who could have been better prepared will rue the fact that they did not actively surrender to the leading of the Spirit in a day of peace that they might be prepared for a day of trouble.

The time is now exceedingly short. There is no more time to delay. You need to be crying out to God today to make you ready. You need to ask Him what He would have you do, and do not hesitate to obey. Survival in days ahead will depend on discerning the voice of God’s Spirit and quick obedience.

II Timothy 4:5
But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship...

II Timothy 2:3-4
Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Yahshua. No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.

The days ahead will be hard. Those who survive, and even thrive, will be those who do not quail at hardship. It will be those who have confidence in their God, and fortitude to stay the course with patience. Many have grown weary while contending with the footmen. How then will they run with the horses?

I want to pass on some very important information that bears witness of the lateness of the hour. The first is a short 4 minute video on YouTube revealing some words of Alan Keyes on the peril facing the nation. Alan Keyes was a candidate for president in 2008 and has held government posts, including being an ambassador during the Presidency of Ronald Reagan.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqkMfToY9Pk


Today, I was sent more than once, a link to a TruNews radio broadcast that is excellent. I was impressed by how closely the things shared parallel the symbols and message brought out in the recent plane crashes. Some of the same symbols and words were brought forth by the Spirit, albeit without any reference to the plane crashes. Swans, four-corners, great judgment to the nation, economic collapse, among other things, were mentioned. It is a sobering and anointed interview, and I highly recommend it. Look for the radio broadcast on 2-23. It is an hour long, but a very present word for the hour we live in.

http://www.trunews.com/listen_now.htm


That there are four men on the radio broadcast all receiving similar testimonies of that which is at hand, is itself sobering. One of the men declares clearly that the Lord spoke to him saying that Christians must seek Him NOW, or they and their families will suffer great loss. Our children must be prayed for or many will perish. It is time to turn off the television and put away the entertainments and seek the face of God.

I know there are those who have been saying that they believe judgment is coming to America. They have been seeing the signs, and agree with their meaning. Yet they are living their lives as they always have. They are not pressing into the Father to know what they can do now. They are not praying for children who are walking apart from the Lord. They are not interceding, asking that in judgment God might remember mercy.

Do not wait for the heaven to part and God to appear to you telling you to do something now. Go to Him acknowledging that days of exceedingly great trouble are at the door, and plead with Him to show you what you might do to prepare now to help others survive in that hour. It is now very close.

Many who read these words, and have heard the warnings of others, are doing nothing different. Their money will vanish in the day of calamity. They will rue the fact that they might have submitted all to God that preparation might have been made, but it will be too late.

Some might have sought the Lord and been led ahead of time to move their family out of harm’s way, but the opportunity is being missed by many. Many have had opportunities to endure some hardship to toughen them up for the days ahead, to lose weight, or begin to exercise. Some will have missed opportunities to get their vehicles in order, or to acquire camping gear, or lay in some provision, and they will rue the fact that they did not seek the Lord to know His will.

Yet, the most tragic lack is simply the lack of spiritual preparation. Many have not been taking up their cross daily and following Christ. They will find the cross a very uncomfortable fit in coming days. In a day that requires a strong faith, they will find that theirs is weak. In a day requiring patience, they will find they are impatient. In a day of needing quietness of soul, they will find that they are not able to quiet the raging storms within.

These things are learned and developed by experience. It is a terrible thing to take an elementary school child and throw him into advanced college courses. It is hard to take a toddler and put him on a Marine Corp obstacle course. The people of God should have been growing in the years of quiet, but many have not. It will now be with difficulty that the righteous will be saved, and what will become of the godless man and the sinner?

If I might do one thing in these blogs, it would be to lead you to a soberness of spirit that you might make yourself and your family ready that you might not suffer unnecessary loss in the days ahead.

Please don’t write to me and ask me what specific preparation you should make. You must receive this knowledge from the Lord Himself. It is much easier for many to write to a man asking for direction than to get down on their knees before God asking Him the same. Yet it is God that all people must hear from in this hour.

Seek God while He may be found. Press into Him. Pray on behalf of your family, your children, your loved ones. Hesitation has already proved costly. Any further delay may well be disastrous. Seek Yahweh today.

Heart4God Website: http://www.heart4god.ws
Parables Blog: http://www.parablesblog.blogspot.com

Mailing Address:
Joseph Herrin
P.O. Box 804
Montezuma, GA 31063

Friday, February 20, 2009

Prophesying in Ignorance

Joseph Herrin (02-20-09)

Isaiah 44:18
They do not know, nor do they understand, for He has smeared over their eyes so that they cannot see and their hearts so that they cannot comprehend.

Isaiah 47:11
Evil will come on you which you will not know how to charm away; and disaster will fall on you for which you cannot atone, and destruction about which you do not know will come on you suddenly.

The Scriptures reveal that there are times when God will move a people to prophesy in ignorance about that which He intends to do. We see such an instance when the High Priest of Israel spoke concerning his intention to have Christ Yahshua crucified. The words he spoke were filled with prophetic meaning, though he did not discern what it was he had spoken.

John 11:49-52
But a certain one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, "You know nothing at all, nor do you take into account that it is expedient for you that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation should not perish. " Now this he did not say on his own initiative; but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Yahshua was going to die for the nation...

There was another occasion when the entire population of Jews gathered in Israel prophesied along similar lines, not knowing what it was they were saying.

Matthew 27:24-26
And when Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but rather that a riot was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the multitude, saying, "I am innocent of this Man's blood; see to that yourselves." And all the people answered and said, "His blood be on us and on our children!"

Thus we see the ruler of the nation, and the masses of the people, both prophesying in ignorance. They did not know what it was they were saying, but God knew full well.

As I have looked further into the events surrounding the inauguration of Barack Obama as President of the United States, I have been amazed to find that there have been similar prophetic utterances spoken in ignorance by both the masses of the people, and the President. As I looked further into the matter of the song American Pie being sung at the inaugural concert, I have come across video clips from the event posted on YouTube.

The inaugural concert was held in front of the Lincoln Memorial. This setting is itself part of the prophecy. It was during Lincoln’s presidency that the nation was divided and large numbers of American citizens perished. Cities were destroyed, martial law was instituted, and days of great tragedy befell the nation. The video clip below has not been edited by me. I was drawn to it by the fact that it was exactly 22 seconds in length.

On that day it is reported that half a million people were gathered for the concert, and they sang along with the song American Pie which themselves was surely chosen of the Lord for this occasion. Watch and listen to that which the American people are saying.



Not only were the masses of the people singing, but so too was Barack Obama. Much has been spoken by Obama’s supporters and the media about the parallels between the current president and Abraham Lincoln. Like the High Priest and the people in Jerusalem, the intent of these words has been very different in the minds of the people and the mind of God. There were some very dark and evil things in the life of Abraham Lincoln, not the least of which was the way in which he died. He was killed by an assassin’s bullet.

The following video also drew my attention. It is exactly 11 seconds long, and the significance of the number 11 is described by E.W. Bullinger in the following way.

Eleven

If ten is the number which marks the perfection of Divine order, then eleven is an addition to it, subversive of and undoing that order. If twelve is the number which marks the perfection of Divine government, then eleven falls short of it. So that whether we regard it as being 10 + 1, or 12 - 1, it is the number which marks disorder, disorganization, imperfection, and disintegration.
[Source: http://philologos.org/__eb-nis/eleven.htm ]

Bullinger specifically cites as an example of the significance of this number, the fact that Christ appointed 12 disciples who were to become 12 apostles. These represented the number of divine government, yet when Judas committed suicide the number of disciples fell to eleven. Upon the death of Judas, disorder, disorganization, imperfection and disintegration became the condition of the governmental order established by God.

There have been signs which many have interpreted to be declaring that Barack Obama’s time in office will also end in tragedy. His life will follow the pattern of Abraham Lincoln in ways he does not anticipate, or desire. Listen now to his words as he is seated in front of the Lincoln Memorial.



In previous blogs I have mentioned some of the signs pointing to a similar end for the current President. It was mentioned on the Unleavened Bread Ministries website that on November 5th, the day that the election results were made known and Barack Obama made his acceptance speech that his wife and family were all dressed in a very symbolic manner. (Note that UBM ministries has withdrawn the article from which the following pictures were copied. I have found no explanation for their having done so.)























The designer dress worn by Michele Obama resembled the pattern seen on the female “black widow” spider.



















Even the mainstream news has been reporting concerns for the safety of the current president’s life. Recently, for several days one of the top stories on the CNN website featured a descendant of a black slave who said she was afraid that someone would assassinate this man, leading her to not vote for him out of concerns for his safety.

Back during the presidential campaign when Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton were running neck and neck, and the outcome was uncertain, I reported on an event of great symbolism.

In early May, 2008 the news was all focused upon the race between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. During the height of the race an amazing occurrence took place. On May 3rd the Kentucky Derby was held, and there was no better place for two politicians to be seen than at the race. Before the race Hillary and Barack both were seen near the horses they had chosen to root for during the race. Hillary quite naturally picked the only filly running, which was a horse named Eight Belles. Barack Obama, perhaps because he is a man of color, picked Big Brown.

Interestingly enough Big Brown won the race and the filly Eight Belles came in second, and this is the order in which the Democratic race also ended. A tragedy occurred when Eight Belles passed the finish line and began the cool down lap. She unexpectedly collapsed. It was found that she had shattered both of her front ankles and she had to be euthanized on the track. Interestingly, Eight Belles was the 40th filly to run in the Kentucky Derby, and 40 denotes judgment as is seen in the flood of Noah’s day when it rained 40 days and nights.


















Eight Belles Collapses - The horse Hillary Clinton Picked to Win

This seems to be a fitting parallel to Hillary Clinton’s run for the presidency. Hillary was expected by many to win the presidential nomination. After she lost, coming in second, many thought because of her strong support that she would at least be offered the vice president’s position, but it was offered to Joe Biden instead. Hillary was taken out of the presidential race completely.

Obama was rooting for Big Brown, and this horse won the Kentucky Derby even as Obama later won the Democratic nomination. Big Brown went on to race in the Preakness on May 17th, and coming in first by a good margin. Barack Obama’s next race after winning his party’s nomination was the general election, and true to form he came in first by a wide margin.

Big Brown was then set to compete in the Belmont Stakes on June 7th to attempt to become a Triple Crown winner. He entered as the overwhelming favorite. Amazingly, and I do not say this lightly, Big Brown came in dead last at the Belmont Stakes. He was the first triple crown contender to ever come in dead last at the Belmont Stakes.

When things occur which are unprecedented, or highly unusual, we should take note. There is much being symbolized in these things. The day that this event will find its fulfillment will certainly be a day of great disorder, disorganization, imperfection and disintegration for the nation of America. What the Spirit is testifying is that America will never more be the same. She is about to experience a complete collapse, and both the people and the President have themselves been prophesying of these things in ignorance.

We live in a day when great calamity will befall the people of America. These will be days of horror, of fear, of chaos and great desperation. These days could have been avoided, but the nation and her rulers have hardened themselves against the will of God.

Proverbs 29:1
He who is often rebuked, and hardens his neck, will suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.

Yahweh has given the nation and her rulers time to repent, but they would not. The judgment now comes, and the people and their chosen ruler have prophesied it by their own lips.

Heart4God Website: http://www.heart4god.ws
Parables Blog: http://www.parablesblog.blogspot.com

Mailing Address:
Joseph Herrin
P.O. Box 804
Montezuma, GA 31063

Thursday, February 19, 2009

The Beginning of Birth Pangs

Joseph Herrin (02-19-09)

Matthew 24:7-8
"For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.

Even as there have been many signs of the impending disintegration of America, there are many signs of major conflicts occurring between nations. I would like to share with you some very recent signs in the news, and relate them to past testimonies the Father has given. Let me begin by citing the following news article.

Satellite collision 'more powerful than China's ASAT test'

* 20:39 13 February 2009 by Paul Marks
Space weapons are dangerous – but out-of-control, defunct satellites can do just as much damage, if not more.

So says a leading space scientist who has calculated that Tuesday's collision between an Iridium communications satellite and the defunct Soviet-era Cosmos 2251 spacecraft expended a great deal more destructive energy than China's infamous anti-satellite missile test did in January 2007.
In 2003, space debris expert Hugh Lewis and colleagues at the University of Southampton in the UK ran predictions on the debris field that would be created in a hypothetical Iridium satellite break-up owing to a collision with just 1 kilogram of space junk (Acta Astronautica, doi:10.1016/S0094-5765(02)00290-4).
Now, based on initial analysis of Cosmos 2251's orbital data, mass and velocity, he has estimated some of the dynamics involved in last week's much more energetic collision event.
To be completely obliterated, a spacecraft must suffer a direct hit with an energy of 40 joules for every gram of its mass.
In China's anti-satellite (ASAT) test, a defunct weather satellite called Fengyun-1C was destroyed by a missile that imparted an estimated 350 joules per gram of its mass. (The figure is an estimate because the missile's mass is not known for certain.)
But the Iridium and Cosmos satellites collided at 42,120 kilometres per hour, Lewis calculates, imparting 50,000 joules per gram of their mass.
The resulting "unprecedented" debris field, says Lewis, is still being analysed by space agencies. But he expects it to create an extra 10,000 debris shards varying in size from centimetres to tennis-ball sized – more than triple the number created in the ASAT test...
[Source: http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16604-satellite-collision-more-powerful-than-chinas-asat-test.html]

What this heavenly signs indicates is a coming cataclysmic collision between Russia and the United States. There is much that is symbolic in the account. The Russian satellite was defunct, that is to say, it was no longer considered useful. In a striking parallel, much of the world has written off the threat which Russia poses ever since the break-up of the Soviet Union. Appearances can be very deceiving. This “defunct” Russian satellite completely destroyed the “active” American satellite. In the process, however, the Russian satellite was also destroyed.

Back in 2004 the Father began giving America prophetic warnings of judgment to come by means of the grand parable of hurricanes striking the nation. Each hurricane bore a name that spoke prophetically of a nation that would strike America. The most devastating storm in 2004 was Hurricane Ivan. Ivan struck the United States three times. Three is a number denoting fulness and completion.


















Hurricane Ivan Storm Track

Hurricane Ivan caused tremendous damage to America’s oil infrastructure in the Gulf of Mexico. Oil will also be a central component of the conflicts to come.


























Damage to an oil platform caused by Hurricane Ivan

If you desire to read more detail about the coming conflict over oil, I would direct you to the presentation titled Black Oil Anointing.

http://www.heart4god.ws/id597.htm

Many Americans are ignorant of the enmity that has been created toward the nation due to her wars in the Middle East. The wars have never been about terrorism. They have always been about control of the world oil supply. Iraq has the largest known reserves of undeveloped oil fields in the world. Saddam Hussein had contracted with outside nations to develop these vast oil reserves. The three primary nations he had contracted with were Russia, China and France. Saddam Hussein had blacklisted American and British companies, shutting them out of the bidding process. The American state department perceived this as a grave threat to American hegemony, and documents at the time reveal this.

























Note that the source of the information portrayed on this map is the “U.S. Department of Energy, American Petroleum Institute.” The largest contracts were all given to China, France, Russia, and Russia's Satellite countries. America has already had a conflict with Russia over one Russian satellite country, that being Georgia. Now there are conflicts stirring among other Russian satellites, such as Kyrgyzstan. It will inevitably be a collision surrounding one of these Russian satellites that precipitates great destruction between Russia and America.

The contracts signed by Saddam Hussein included oil and revenue sharing agreements, and would erode the control the American and British governments held over the world supply of oil. Saddam Hussein has done some things which are reprehensible, but it was not for these offenses that America had him captured, tried and executed. It was all about oil, and Saddam Hussein declared this to the very end.

A context had to be created whereby America and England might go in and wrest control of the oil fields, and the war on terror was therefore planned and carried out with very precise goals. There were never any weapons of mass destruction found in Iraq, and the vast majority of those Arabs identified as being involved in the hijackings on 9-11 were from Saudi Arabia. There was no reason to invade Iraq other than oil, and the military was tasked with the first priority of securing the oil fields.

Foreign newspapers were not silent about the actual motives of America and Great Britain in going into Iraq. Many nations condemned this action, and the United Nations refused to sanction the invasion of the country. America and Britain therefore came up with their own “coalition.” However, the vast majority of troops to be deployed have always been American and British.

China, Russia and France were all very vocal in their objections to the invasion, and for good reason. They knew that the intent was to cancel the contracts that they had legally negotiated with the government of Iraq. Many people may remember the opposition of France being very much known at the time. France was vilified in the American press, and people even re-named “french fries” as “freedom fries.”

What most Americans do not understand, and Christians are no exception, is that all of the major media sources in America are controlled by those with an agenda to propagandize the citizens of the nation. There is no greater manifestation of the power of propaganda used with skill and subtlety than in this nation. The people truly are sheep being herded by masters that are little recognized.

The invasion of Iraq took place in 2003, and the following year four hurricanes struck America. They bore names relating to China (Hurricane Charley), France (Hurricane Frances and Hurricane Jeanne), and Russia (Hurricane Ivan). These nations have deep, festering resentments to the heavy-handed actions of America and Great Britain, and the coming wars will reveal this deep animosity.

This past week there was another news story that caught my attention.

February 17, 2009
French and British Submarines Collide
By JOHN F. BURNS

LONDON — In a freak accident, two submarines carrying nuclear missiles, one French and the other British, collided while submerged on operational patrols in the Atlantic early this month, the British and French defense ministries said Monday.

Both vessels returned damaged but otherwise safe to their home ports, with the 250 crew members aboard uninjured and with “no compromise to nuclear safety,” the defense ministries said in terse statements that appeared to have been agreed upon by the nations. The reference appeared to cover the nuclear reactors that power the submarines and the 16 ballistic missiles carrying nuclear warheads that the British and French vessels each routinely carry on patrols...

The collision spurred a fresh outcry from groups in Britain and France that have demanded that the nations scrap their nuclear arsenals, with representatives saying that only chance had prevented a more serious impact that could have sunk both vessels, along with their missiles. The collision “could have released vast amounts of radiation and scattered scores of nuclear warheads across the seabeds,” said Kate Hudson, the chairwoman of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, a long-established protest group in Britain.

The collision of the vessels on the night of Feb. 3, at a location neither nation disclosed, was described by military experts in London and Paris as a one-in-a-million occurrence, given the expanse of the oceans and the low number of submarines carrying ballistic missiles on patrol at any time. The nations with such vessels are the United States, Russia and China, as well as Britain and France.

Just as startling, the experts said, was that the French Defense Ministry appeared not to have known in the immediate aftermath that its submarine, Le Triomphant, had struck the British submarine, H.M.S. Vanguard. On Feb. 6, the ministry released a statement in Paris saying that the French vessel had “collided with an immersed object,” which it described as probably a drifting cargo container, and that the submarine’s sonar dome, located in its nose and crucial to its ability to track other vessels, had been seriously damaged.
[Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/17/world/europe/17submarine.html?_r=1&hp=&pagewanted=print]

It is sobering to think that this collision involved vessels carrying nuclear weapons. The article states that the French submarine struck the British one. It is also mentioned that the collision occurred on February 3rd. Those who have read the recent writing The Day the Music Died may recognize this as the date in which the plane carrying Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens crashed killing all aboard 50 years ago.

Hurricane Frances struck the United States in 2004. The name Frances means “Frenchman.” Then came Hurricane Jeanne. Jeanne is also a French name, being a form of the name John in the same way that the name Ivan is a Russian form of the name John.

The witnesses have continued since them. In 2006 Hurricane Denis struck the Gulf of Mexico. Denis is the name of the patron saint of France, considered a protector of the nation. Hurricane Denis tore the legs out from under the Thunder Horse Platform, the world’s largest oil drilling platform. The Thunder Horse Platform is owned by British Petroleum.













British Petroleum’s Thunder Horse Platform damaged by Denis

One could hardly expect a more readily understandable parable of the conflict which is to erupt. This conflict has been simmering “under the surface” even as the British and French subs were “under the surface” of the water. Soon, things will erupt into all out war. England and France have a long history of conflict. To see a list of these wars, take a look at the following link:

http://britishbattles.homestead.com/files/europe/anglofrenchwars.htm

Now we actually have a collision of two submarines from these respective nations, each carrying nuclear missiles. Certainly what is symbolized is a very terrifying prospect.

We are entering into days which will be known as the beginning of birth pangs. The sons of God must come forth to be revealed in maturity, but the contractions the earth will experience at this time will be very severe.

Romans 8:19, 22
For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God... For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.

Let us be alert and sober, for the day of the Lord is at hand.

Heart4God Website: http://www.heart4god.ws
Parables Blog: http://www.parablesblog.blogspot.com

Mailing Address:
Joseph Herrin
P.O. Box 804
Montezuma, GA 31063