Understanding Gustav

Joseph Herrin (08-31-08)
























Is it presumption to declare that Gustav is the staff of God being manifested as a rod of correction upon a wicked nation and church? To go even further, is it wrong to see any tropical storm or hurricane as an act of divine judgment upon a people who are walking in sin? These are important questions to answer, and questions that should be examined closely, for there are many widely divergent opinions on the matter today.

A large segment of the church comprised of both tares (false Christians) and wheat (true Christians) have embraced thoughts of a happy (joyful) God who is loving, merciful, forgiving and patient. These truly are attributes of Yahweh’s character, but they are not all the attributes of God. A church who lives careless lives focused upon the pursuit of material possessions, pleasure and ease would very naturally tend toward a view of God as one Who is predominantly happy and positive in all of His thoughts toward mankind. Yet such a lopsided, unbalanced view of the character and nature of God is very ill advised and many who embrace such a view will suffer great loss. Apart from the fear of God men do not learn righteousness, and it is the fear of God that is glaringly absent from the thoughts of a great many people today.

Romans 11:22
Behold then the kindness and severity of God...

Recently, the Spirit of Christ led me to give a series of talks to a group of Christians gathered in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The theme of the week was “The Cross and Surrender.” In the cross we can see clearly both the kindness and the severity of God. It was His great kindness that led Him to send His own Son to the cross to pay the penalty for all sin and to provide a merciful covering for mankind.

John 15:13
“Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.”

Romans 5:6
For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.

Ephesians 2:4-5
But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)...

Such passages as these are exceptionally wonderful. To imagine a grace, a love, and a mercy so profound that God would send His dearly beloved Son to die on behalf of sinful man is incomprehensible. There cannot be too much said about the depths of the love of God. We should all make it the goal and aim of our life to comprehend as much as possible the marvelous love, mercy and grace of Yahweh and His Son. A lifetime of exploration would fall far short of encompassing the breadth, height, length and depth of the love of God.

Indeed, it is largely because of such an extravagant love being poured out for mankind that God is righteously indignant toward those who refuse to avail themselves of the depths of grace revealed through His Son. If God had not given so much, if He had not gone so far beyond what any could have imagined in reconciling sinful mankind to Himself, then there would be less reason for His wrath to be manifested toward those who treat His kindness and love with little regard.

Hebrews 10:29-31
How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay." And again, "The Lord will judge His people." It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

God has carried forth a plan of inestimable cost. The very blood of His Son was used to redeem the fallen race of man. Can any understand the terrible cost the Father and Son both paid when Yahshua went to the cross? When the Son cried out, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me” He was uttering words that pierced the heart of His Father in heaven. All of heaven surely wept at that darkest of all hours when all the punishment for the sins of mankind were laid upon the back of the spotless Lamb of God.

Having paid such a cost, do you suppose the Father is pleased when He observes His children continuing in the sinful acts that brought such a great pain to His heart and that of His dear Son? Does not the Father consider those who are careless about the sin in their lives to be regarding as an unclean thing the blood of His Son? Does He not rightly perceive that those who continue in sin are insulting the Spirit of grace freely given to them?

God has given the world all things necessary for them to be restored to fellowship with Himself. He paid the price when man could not do so himself. He has provided all grace to His children for them to live overcoming lives, devoted to Him, pursuing righteousness, and ever living to please the One who gave all for them.

Yes, there truly is a loving and merciful and gracious aspect of God’s nature. Because He has gone so very far in manifesting these attributes of His character, even to the sacrifice of the One who was most precious to His heart, He is righteously indignant with all those who turn aside from His great gift. He is justly wrathful at all those who continue in sin after having been made partakers of the gift of God.

Romans 6:1-2
What shall we say to all this? Are we to remain in sin in order that God's grace (favor and mercy) may multiply and overflow? Certainly not! How can we who died to sin live in it any longer?
[Amplified Bible]

Most emphatically, the apostle Paul declares that those who have been purchased by the blood of Christ are to devote themselves to purity and righteousness. They are no longer their own. They belong to the One who purchased them at so high a cost. Their lives are to ever more be lived to satisfy the pleasure of God who has done so much on their behalf. They are to take up their cross and follow in the footsteps of the firstborn Son of God.

But what if they do not? Will God continue forever manifesting grace and mercy and love? Will He not be justified to punish those who treat with despite the great sacrifice He has made?

Hebrews 2:2-3
For if the word spoken through messengers proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?

The apostle is here referring to the Law which had specific penalties for every type of transgression, and these things could not be altered. He argues that those who neglect, treat as common, the great salvation God has provided through His Son, will surely not escape the penalty of their actions. To whom much is given, much is required. Those who are in Christ have received so much more than those who lived before Christ. We have been made partakers of the Spirit of Christ who dwells in these vessels of clay. Will we not be deserving of a far greater penalty if we live careless lives, demonstrating our contempt for the great sacrifice of Christ?

America has had the truth of the gospel proclaimed among its people from its founding as a nation. Until recently the Bible was taught in schools and the ten commandments were posted in every courthouse. America is a nation that has received a profound witness of the truth of God. Yet the nation in her prosperity and great material blessing has settled on her lees. She has given herself to the pursuit of many impure things, and the church in America has lost her savor as salt that is without taste. The great salvation of God is trampled in the streets. Sin is broadcast continually over the airwaves. Filth fills the Internet. Moral decay is boasted of in her cities as is observed in the homosexual festival called Southern Decadence held in New Orleans, and as in Las Vegas, another den of iniquity that boasts in the nickname “Sin City.”

Truly God is a God of love. He could not prove His love to any greater extent that to send His Son to die in the place of man. He is also a God of righteousness, holiness and judgment. Consider the two verses that follow and the message they contain of God’s kindness and severity.

Romans 2:4
Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?

II Corinthians 7:1
Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

It is the kindness of God that leads men to repentance, but it is in the fear of God that holiness is perfected. Where is the fear of God among a people who are flaunting their sin openly? Where is the fear of God among a church that is living lives indistinguishable from that of their lost neighbors? Where is the fear of God among Christians when they are running after ministers who promise some mystical experience, some drunkenness of spirit, while the ministers themselves are fleecing them for every dollar they can extract and when away from the “revivals” they are getting drunk and engaging in sexual sins?

There is equally a carelessness of walk among those who are called by the name of Christ as there is among those who comprise the masses of America. There is no fear of God before their eyes. Yahweh has been sending many warnings over a very prolonged period of time. He has allowed a nation that was once the world’s greatest lender to become the world’s greatest debtor. He has sent wasting diseases among those who are indulgent in their lifestyles. He has given America the most costly medical system in the world, devouring the wealth individuals had saved up all their lives. He has afflicted America with fires, floods, hurricanes, droughts, pestilence, and many other calamities in order to turn her away from her headlong pursuit of sin.

Yahweh has sent a decline in the vaunted business sector of America. Her businesses which were once the esteem of the entire world are now crumbling into dust. General Motors was for decades the largest and most profitable business in the world. Now it is on the verge of bankruptcy. Industry has fled overseas. The housing market is collapsing and over a million homes are in foreclosure. Major banks are failing, and the stock market would have collapsed long ago if it were not for the intervention of the governments plunge protection team.

Families are falling apart. Sexually transmitted diseases are running rampant. It is estimated that genital herpes alone is afflicts one out of five women and in some ethnic communities the number is one out of every two women. These numbers do not include those who have not yet been diagnosed, which is estimated to be 80-90% of all actual cases. (Source www.herpesclinic.com)

Sexual relations between individuals is treated as a very common thing. There is no longer any taboo against pre-marital or extra-marital sex. Even homosexual sex is being publicly portrayed as normal and states are granting homosexuals the right to marry and adopt children. When a nation openly adopts homosexuality it is in the end stages of having fallen away from the fear of God. Such open tolerance for sexual perversion is a sign that God has given a people over to depravity, having ceased striving with them due to the hardness of their hearts.

Romans 1:24-32
Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, that their bodies might be dishonored among them... For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; and, although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.

Is this not the sin of New Orleans? Her people know the ordinance of God, but have no fear of God. They not only tolerate much ungodliness among their own people, but give hearty approval to others. This is what the festivals of Mardi Gras and Southern Decadence are all about. It is a people boasting in their wickedness, and giving hearty approval and an open invitation to all others to come and participate in the same deeds, which are worthy of death in the eyes of God.

People, we are very remiss if we focus only upon the love, mercy and grace of God, but we do not regard His holiness and justice. Yahweh demands righteousness from the nations, and He will chastise severely those who give themselves over to a pursuit of wickedness. History records the judgment of one decadent society after another, beginning with the flood of Noah, then Babel, then Sodom and Gomorrah, followed by a list too long to enumerate.

How is America any different? She has been given more light than most of these others who have perished. God will hold her accountable for the light that was given.

Matthew 11:21-24
Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles had occurred in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. Nevertheless I say to you, it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment, than for you. And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You shall descend to Hades; for if the miracles had occurred in Sodom which occurred in you, it would have remained to this day. Nevertheless I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for you."

I want to conclude this post by putting Hurricane Gustav in its proper context. God has been carrying forth a conversation with America and the church within her for some time. In 2005 New Orleans was struck by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. I have shared much about them. The name Katrina means “pure” and she struck two days before Southern Decadence was to be held. Decadence means “moral decay.” Futhermore, Katrina made final landfall at the mouth of the Pearl River, and pearls all throughout Scripture speak of that which is holy and pure.

Through this hurricane God was bringing a message that He demands purity from the nations and He will judge severely that nation and people who flaunt their immorality and even boast in it. Just as New Orleans was recovering from Katrina and was boasting of being back in business in time for Mardi Gras, Rita struck and flooded the city again. The name Rita means “pearl.” With this second witness God revealed that He demands purity and He has not found it among a people who boast of being a Christian nation.

New Orleans as a city is greatly diminished from her pre-Katrina days. Over half her population has departed. Her business revenue is significantly down, and few are willing to invest large amounts of capital in a city that is prone to such devastation. At the same time crime has risen to new heights. Murders are rampant in the city, as are all manner of crimes, for New Orleans is a city that has given herself over to decadence.

I have spoken of a related transgression of America being that she has been urging Israel to divide up her land to create a Palestinian State. In the presentation “Touch Not My Anointed” I shared that Hurricane Katrina formed the very day that Israel was completing the forced removal of Israelis from the Gaza communities they had occupied for a generation. (http://www.heart4god.ws/id568.htm). It seems more than coincidental that Gustav became a tropical storm the same day (August 26) that Condoleezza Rice was in Israel proposing that Jerusalem be divided with East Jerusalem being given to the Palestinian people. (http://focusonjerusalem.com/newsroom.html). For the sin of impurity and for the sin of dividing up His land, God will judge America.

Joel 3:2
Then I will enter into judgment with them there on behalf of My people and My inheritance, Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations; and they have divided up My land.

New Orleans is merely a reflection of what can be observed throughout America. It is Yahweh’s mercy that He would afflict a part of the nation in order to give the rest of the country time to repent. He has done so.

In 2006, the year after Katrina, there was one land-falling hurricane to strike America. This was Ernesto. Ernesto means “earnest.” As an adjective the word earnest means “intensely serious.” As a noun it means, “a pledge, a token of things to come.” God was signifying after the devastation of 2005 that He was giving America time to repent. What had occurred before was a pledge, a promise and a token of far worse things to come if America does not repent. Yet America has not repented, and neither has the church. The recent debacle in Lakeland, Florida, a very unclean work that many were proclaiming to be a work of the HOLY Spirit was a mockery of God’s holy character. God is right and just to bring severe judgment upon both the nation and His people in this nation.

Revelation 2:20-24
But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray, so that they commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. And I gave her time to repent; and she does not want to repent of her immorality. Behold, I will cast her upon a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of her deeds. And I will kill her children with pestilence; and all the churches will know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts; and I will give to each one of you according to your deeds.

Those who only want to hear about a happy God need to heed the words of Christ spoken to the churches. Yahweh has been patient and longsuffering. He has extended His hand all day long saying, “Why will you not repent,” yet there has been no repentance. This week Southern Decadence is once more being held in New Orleans. Much evil is being conducted openly in the city, and the mayor sent out a proclamation welcoming all revelers to the city’s celebration of moral decay. (Source: http://www.southerndecadence.net/mayor.htm) Hurricane Gustav cut the revelry short. The hotels have been evacuated and all visitors told to leave before the event could be concluded.

Is it difficult to comprehend that Yahweh uses hurricanes as a form of judgment upon a wicked and unrepentant people? God has been sending many signs of great judgment falling upon America. The past two years Miss USA has fallen while walking on stage during the evening gown part of the Miss Universe pageant. In front of other women representing all the nations of the world, Miss USA fell.


















Surely this is one more sign of the tremendous judgment coming to America. Gustav is merely one stroke in that judgment. As the name Gustav signifies, the stroke falls from “The Staff of God.”

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

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

Gustav (Staff of God) Making its Presence Felt

Hurricane Gustav went from a tropical storm to a category four hurricane in the space of 24 hours. Once again meteorologists are finding that hurricanes are quite difficult to predict. Most had been predicting it would reach maximum strength as a category 3 storm, and they didn't anticipate this to occur until after it reached the Gulf of Mexico. Gustav has exceeded their expectations, and many are now predicting it will reach category 5 strength, as it is only five miles an hour below that strength as of this writing.

Today as I was working on a new video presentation for the series Signs of Judgment, I was recounting the hurricane season of 2005. Hurricane Katrina struck the New Orleans area on August 29, 2005, and the debauched homosexual festival named Southern Decadence was scheduled to begin two days later. As Gustav was approaching at the same time of year I thought to go out and check and see when Southern Decadence was scheduled to take place this year.

The festival was slated to last six days, beginning on August 27 and ending Monday September 1. The plans for Southern Decadence have once more been interrupted, as a full scale evacuation of the city of New Orleans is now underway. Hotels are being emptied, and all visitors and tourists to the city are being asked to leave now. If Gustav should impact New Orleans in a calamitous way again, the city leaders should consider the correlation between hosting this immoral festival that celebrates what God terms an abomination, and the repeated destruction of their town. Even if the city sees no further impact from the storm, just the cost of evacuating the citizens, shutting down all business, and bringing in troops and rescue teams, represents a great financial loss for the city of New Orleans. The impact upon businesses who will choose not to locate in harm's way, or who will say enough is enough and move out, will be a further drag upon the local economy.

Prior to Hurricane Katrina, it was estimated that Southern Decadence brought in one hundred million dollars of revenue to the city annually. The cost of destruction from Katrina alone upon the Gulf area was a staggering 125 billion dollars. Rita upped the cost even further, and Gustav just might provide one blow too many for this already ravaged area. Sin truly is costly.

Proverbs 14:34
Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.

Psalms 107:33-34
He changes rivers into a wilderness, and springs of water into a thirsty ground; A fruitful land into a salt waste, because of the wickedness of those who dwell in it.

Listening to interviews of people evacuating New Orleans, it is evident that living in a city that boasts of its moral decadence does not lead to peace and happiness. Fear is evident in the hearts of those fleeing, and great anxiety over whether they will have a home to which they can return. Peace comes from walking humbly before God and leading a life of righteousness. A man or woman whose heart is right before God can go through a severe storm and remain at peace, yet the wicked flee when no one pursues them.














Fleeing Gustav

Leviticus 26:27-31
Yet if in spite of this, you do not obey Me, but act with hostility against Me, then I will act with wrathful hostility against you; and I, even I, will punish you seven times for your sins... I will lay waste your cities as well...

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

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

DECEPTION AND COUNTERFEIT REVIVAL

A sister in Christ forwarded me this writing by Zac Poonen. I thought I would share it with those who read this blog as it is a very good writing. We all need to raise the standard of Christian living, and in particular the standard for those we honor as ministers of Christ. Things have sunk to a very low state in this hour. Although I recognize the weakness of my own flesh, I do not wish to make excuses for allowing the flesh to rule my life. As a Christian we are called to "crucify the flesh with its passions and desires." The Lord is coming swiftly to judge His people for they have failed to judge themselves. It will be a terrible day. The following image of two hurricanes approaching the United States will perhaps serve as a prophetic message.

















As I mentioned in an earlier post, Gustav means "staff of God." Hannah means "grace," or "favor." Hannah was barren, but pleaded with Yahweh to have a son. Yahweh heard her and Samuel was born to her. She promised God the child would be dedicated to Him, and so as soon as he was weaned she took Samuel to Shiloh and left him with Eli the priest. Samuel became one of the greatest prophets of Israel. He was always devoted to God, and was very zealous for accomplishing the will of God. He even hacked Agag to pieces when King Saul had spared this man that God had destined for destruction.

The full meaning of these storms still remains to be seen. It is difficult for many to understand how God coming with staff in hand, even a rod of correction, could be associated with grace and favor. Yet the Scriptures testify that those whom the Lord loves, He disciplines. If we are without discipline, then we are illegitimate children and do not belong to Him. God's focus is upon His people, and He must produce righteousness in the midst of them even if it takes a rod of correction to do so.

Following is the word from Zac Poonen.

Deception and Counterfeit Revival

Zac Poonen

Jesus and the apostles repeatedly warned that the last days would be characterized by widespread deception and a multitude of false prophets (Matt.24:3-5,11,24; 1 Tim.4:1) – and we have seen plenty of them in the last few decades.

Why are millions of Christians deceived by these false prophets and these counterfeit “revivals”? And why are so many preachers falling prey to immorality and greed?

Here are what I see to be some of the main causes:

1. Most Christians today are not aware of what the New Testament teaches, because they have not studied it carefully; and so they follow the teachings of their leaders and not the teachings of the New Testament.

2. Miracles (supernatural gifts) have become more important to them than their character (a supernatural life).

3. Material wealth has become more important to them than spiritual wealth.

4. They are unable to distinguish between soulish frenzy or psychological manipulation, and the genuine moving of the Holy Spirit; the cause again is ignorance of the New Testament.

5. They are unable to distinguish between psychosomatic healing (healing that comes by right attitudes of the mind), and supernatural healing in Jesus' Name.

6. Emotional excitement and strange physical manifestations have become more important to them than the inward joy of the Lord.

7. For the leaders, their ministry to people has become more important than their inner walk with God.

8. The approval of men has become more important to these leaders than the approval of God.

9. The number of people attending the meetings has become more important to these leaders than whether those people are totally committed to Christ.

10. Building their personal kingdoms and their financial empires has become more important to these leaders than building a local church and making themselves servants in that local church (Jeremiah 6:13).

All this is the VERY OPPOSITE of what Jesus taught. The opposite of Christ is called the "anti-Christ" in the New Testament. If Christians do not see this clearly, then when the Antichrist turns up on the world’s stage, with his false
signs and wonders (2 Thess.2:3-10), they too will blindly accept him. To be led by the Spirit of Christ is to have the very opposite spirit to that mentioned in the points above.

Here is a paraphrase of Jesus' words in Matthew 7:13-27 (read in the context of Matthew Chapters 5 to 7:

"Both the gate and the way to ETERNAL LIFE are very narrow - as I have just described (Matt. 5 to 7). But false prophets will come along and tell you that the gate and way are not narrow but easy and broad. Beware of them. You will be able to identify them easily by observing the fruit of their character: Do they live a life free from anger, free from lusting after women, free from the love of money and free from anxiously seeking after material wealth (as worldly people seek)? Do they preach against these things as I have done here? (Matt.5:21-32 and 6:24-34). These false prophets may exercise many supernatural gifts and do miracles and actually heal people in My Name, but I will still send them all to hell in the final day, because they did not know Me (as THE HOLY ONE) and they did not give up sin in their private lives (Matt.7:21-23). So if you want to build a church on a rock that will never shake or fall in time or eternity, be careful to do all that I have just spoken to you (Matt. 5 to 7) and teach your people to do all that I have commanded you too. Then I will be with you always and My authority will always back you (Matt.28:20, 18). But if you only hear what I say and don't do it, then what you
build may look like a large and impressive church to men, but it will surely crumble and fall one day (Matt.7:25)."

How then shall we build an unshakeable church in these last days?

1. We must live the sermon on the mount (Matthew 5 to 7) and preach it constantly.

2. We must live in the new-covenant and not in the old-covenant. For this, we must know the difference between the two covenants clearly (2 Cor.3:6). We must also preach the new covenant.

When preachers fall into serious sin today, they justify themselves by (and find their comfort in) the examples of Old Testament saints who also fell into sin. And then they re-commence their ministry after a period of silence. They quote the examples of David who committed adultery, and Elijah who got depressed, and they say "But God still used them"! But they won't quote the example of Paul who lived in victory and purity until the end of his life.

What these preachers (and most Christians) have not seen is that the Old Testament saints are NOT our examples today. We have been given much more in this age of grace – and "to whom more is given, more is required" (Luke 12:48). Jesus is the Mediator of a NEW covenant and HE is our Example and the Author of our faith today – not David or Elijah. The distinction between the Old Testament saints (listed in Hebrews 11) and Jesus, is made very clear in Hebrews 12:1-4. But very few live in the reality of this. Very few have seen that "God has provided something BETTER for us" in the new covenant (Heb.11:40).

Any of us can fall in the way that many preachers have fallen, if we are not watchful and alert – for Satan is a cunning enemy. Our safety lies in obeying New Testament teaching exactly and in submitting to godly leadership. (And by “godly” leadership, I mean those who do not have even one of the wrong values listed in the ten points I mentioned earlier). If we learn from the mistakes of others, we can avoid making the same mistakes ourselves.

So let us keep our faces in the dust before the Lord at all times – for it is there that we will receive Divine revelation, as John did (Rev.1:17). If we humble ourselves, we will receive grace to be overcomers (1 Pet.5:5). And when the Holy Spirit shows us the truth in God’s Word and the truth about ourselves, let us be totally honest and “love the truth, so as to be saved” from all sin. That way we will be protected by God Himself from all deception (2 Thess.2:10,11). Amen.

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

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

Watching Gustav

Joseph Herrin (08-27-08)

The weather forecasters declared that "Gustav formed suddenly" over the Caribbean. Gustav means "staff of God," and I wonder if the staff in mind is a rod of correction. God's judgments do come suddenly, with little warning.
This is one storm I am watching with interest, simply because of the details that seem so pregnant with meaning. Besides the significance of the name of the storm, it is forecast to strike somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico on or around Labor Day. The Lord has been sending so many signs of late about the earth having entered into a time of birth pangs. You may remember the recent blog titled Benjamin's Portion, speaking of a Benjamin group of overcoming sons being birthed as the mother (the church pictured in Rachel) dies in her birth pangs.
I wrote to someone today and suggested that if I were to script this storm I would probably have it strike Corpus Christi (Latin for Body of Christ) on Labor Day. However, I am not suggesting this as a prophecy at all, for I have not been gifted in the area of foretelling world events. God's pattern has been to give me understanding of the parables contained in events after the matter is usually concluded and the entire story can be read. God may have a completely different intent with this storm. It does have my interest, for I have seen the Lord using large signs such as hurricanes to speak forth messages to those who have discernment in them.
Recently I wrote about Tropical Storm Fay. I had contemplated the meaning of this storm for a number of days, and had prayed for understanding. I finally concluded that I would simply start writing and see if the Lord would direct me even as I was doing so, for I had found that He had worked in this way on occasion in days past. I had no thought prior to writing of their being any link between Fay and what has been called the Lakeland Revival and the Florida Outpouring. As I wrote, however, this is where my thoughts led me.
Fay was indeed noted for her outpouring of rain. She lingered long over the state, and crossed over every inch of the state, shrouding much of Florida (the Sunshine State) in persistent clouds as she dumped record levels of rain upon the ground. It was said that Fay dumped more rain on the State than two Hurricanes combined did back in 2004. Was Fay a message from God related to the Florida Outpouring?






























I believe it was. A brother (Bob Schlenker) wrote to me after I posted the article on Fay and commented on the meaning of the name. He wrote:

BTW, the Storm name, Fay means fairy. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/fairy

1.	(in folklore) one of a class of supernatural beings, generally conceived as having a diminutive human form and possessing magical powers with which they intervene in human affairs...

Fay as a supernatural being with magical powers with which she intervened in human affairs seems to me pretty descriptive of her dance around the state.

In response, I replied:
Yes, this would also seem to be a pretty good description of what happened at Lakeland. Supernatural beings were all the focus as Todd is fixated on angels and spirit guides. He spoke of their being a number of angels that intervene in human affairs, including an angel of finances, and angel of healing, an angel called revival, and numerous others.

I have been reading what various ministers have been declaring about the excesses of Todd Bentley and the Florida Outpouring since it came out that Todd was involved in much sin while conducting the revival. I have read the comments of Dutch Sheets, Peter Wagner and Rick Joyner, and I believe all of them are missing the mark of truly seeing the great evil of this entire event. Great and devastating judgment lies at the very door of the house of God, and many will be the slain of the Lord. There was far more than some matters that were out of order that need to be addressed. The entire movement was unclean from the beginning, and I am prayerfully considering writing a blog on the matter that would seek to reveal how the very foundation upon which it all rested is something other than Christ.

I Corinthians 3:10-11
According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building upon it. But let each man be careful how he builds upon it. For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Yahshua Christ.

From the foundation upward everything about the Lakeland Outpouring was unclean. The entire prophetic movement has embraced concepts and doctrines that lead to excesses of the flesh, an anticipation of soulish thrills, and an expectation of the next move of God being something that will tickle the flesh. They are far removed from the message of there being a cross to be borne by every disciple of Christ, that through much tribulation we must enter the kingdom of God, and all who live righteous in Christ Yahshua will suffer persecution.

The church wants the presence of the Spirit, an anointing of power, without the disciple's cross. Yet the anointing power of Christ is only released through vessels that have been broken. The method and conditions of this breaking process are far removed from the carnival atmosphere observed at Lakeland. God's true disciples are suffering alone, outside the camp, bearing many reproaches, suffering many pains and sorrows and loss. They are not standing in massive crowds as the emotional atmosphere is hyped by loud music and theatrical charades occurring upon the stage. Todd Bentley can hawk his CD titled "Marinating - Pickling in God's Presence," but God's true disciples will find that the closest contact they will ever have with the presence of God is when they take up the cross and follow the Lamb wherever He leads.

Last night I looked at some of the dozens of photos on Morningstar's website showing scenes from the "revival" services being conducted there nightly since some of the youth came back from the Florida Outpouring. Photo after photo showed people experiencing fits of laughter, or manifesting some animated action as they were evidently "pickling in God's presence." I began to ask the Lord how such a thing could happen. How could so many believers be caught up in a movement that is foreign to the experience of the first apostles and the early church? How could so many Christians believe that the birth pangs that precede the return of Christ will be fulfilled in soulish and fleshly manifestations when the Scriptures declare repeatedly that the birth pangs are not pleasant at all. The birth pangs preceding Christ's return are described as famine, earthquake, wars, plagues and such things as will make men's hearts fail them for fear. The birth pangs will be terrible. They will not be something you can package and market and invite people to come stay in your high rise hotel while they enjoy the manifestations of these birth pangs.

As I contemplated how so many could be caught up in error, the Spirit reminded me of a book written in 1841 by John Mackay. It is titled Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds. Following are two quotes from the book.

"Men, it has been well said, think in herds; it will be seen that they go mad in herds, while they only recover their senses slowly, and one by one!"
"Of all the offspring of Time, Error is the most ancient, and is so old and familiar an acquaintance, that Truth, when discovered, comes upon most of us like an intruder, and meets the intruder's welcome."
There are perhaps no people on earth more susceptible to the foibles of rushing after some new movement, being absorbed by some rising personality, or entertaining ridiculous fable, than Christians. I am not being unkind to say these things, for this is also the witness of Scripture.

Isaiah 42:19-20
Who is blind but My servant, or so deaf as My messenger whom I send? Who is so blind as he that is at peace with Me, or so blind as the servant of Yahweh? You have seen many things, but you do not observe them; Your ears are open, but none hears.

II Timothy 4:3-4
For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires; and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to myths.

We live in that day and hour of which the apostle prophesied. Sound doctrine is not endured, but legions will attend to the antics of an immoral, obscenely tattooed, brash, money-hungry carnival barker whose doctrines are so askew that they make the words "myths and fables" sound attractive. How many of these same ones will take up their cross and follow Christ WHEREVER He would lead them? Will they follow Him to a place aside from the thronging masses where sorrow and suffering are one's chief companions?

The days ahead will decide the matter for many. In His mercy Yahshua is coming with a rod of correction. He will cast His church into deep suffering. Many will fall away, but a remnant will realize the Lord is beckoning to them to follow, and they will endure and be purified. May many have the grace to stand in that day.

A Personal Request: Today the software arrived that I will use to begin creating some videos to post to the Internet. These videos will share many of the signs of judgment that the Lord has been giving to warn His people of the days upon us. The videos will also share "sound doctrine," including the message of the disciple's cross and an end to all personal initiative.

I need much help in creating these videos, for I do not consider myself adequate to know how to proceed, or to have the capacity to set forth something that will set the captives free and bring those dwelling in darkness into the light of truth. Would you please pray and ask for Yahweh's anointing upon this servant as I labor to produce these videos. Pray that they will speak forth the mind of the Father, and reveal His heart. Pray also that God would match up the message with the hearer, that the message might go forth and accomplish much advance for the kingdom of God.

Thank You!


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

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

Tropical Storm Fay

Joseph Herrin (08-24-08)






















The Lord continues to send signs to His people on a very large scale. Tropical storm Fay has captured my attention from before it made its first landfall in Florida. The Governor of Florida, Charlie Crist, declared a state of emergency before Fay reached the state.

The semblance of the governor’s last name to Christ is remarkable. Charlie, according to the website www.behindthename.com is derived from a word meaning “man.” Thus we see the governor in type as a symbol of “the man Christ.”

I Timothy 2:5
For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Yahshua...

Even as the governor of Florida has dominion over the citizens of his state, Christ has dominion over His household. In many signs and through various prophecies Christ has been declaring that His people should prepare themselves for a state of emergency, for a great disaster is about to fall upon them.

Tropical Storm Fay defied all storm track predictions, and acted in ways that are the opposite of normal tropical depressions. No tropical storm or hurricane on record had ever made landfall upon the state four times, until now. After Fay made landfall on the west coast of South Florida and preceded across the state, it actually increased in intensity. It developed a well formed eye, and its central pressure dropped and winds picked up while it was crossing over the state of Florida. This is certainly bizarre behavior, and one which turns hurricane prediction models on their heads.

Such storms usually weaken over land and intensify over warm water. However, when Fay emerged on the east coast of Florida it was a stronger and better defined storm than when it had landed on the west coast.

As of the latest update on this storm system, eleven deaths in Florida have been attributed to the storm. Many of them were unnecessary, the result of people not heeding the warnings given, and failing to recognize the danger of the situation. Two women died in separate incidents as they were swimming in the rough surf whipped up by the storm. Their drowning was completely avoidable had they heeded warnings to stay out of the water. A young man was caught on camera by a local news crew trying to kite surf in the storm. The erratic and powerful winds from Fay picked him up suddenly and slammed him to the beach. He was then dragged along until he was further slammed into the side of a building. He was taken to the hospital in critical condition.

One particular story coming out of the storm that drew my attention was the report of a 100 year old sailing boat, 60 feet in length, that was driven upon the beach by the storm and battered to pieces. Flotsam from the wreckage was scattered hundreds of yards down the beach and the boat was a total loss.















The name of the boat was the Lady Cecilia. According to the website www.behindthename.com, Cecilia is derived from “the Roman family name Caecilius, which was derived from Latin caecus ‘blind.’” Symbolically, vehicles represent ministries, and a wind powered sailing vessel symbolizes a ministry that is viewed as being a Spirit empowered ministry. I am reminded of the passage of Scripture,

Isaiah 42:19-20
Who is blind but My servant, or so deaf as My messenger whom I send? Who is so blind as he that is at peace with Me, or so blind as the servant of Yahweh? You have seen many things, but you do not observe them; Your ears are open, but none hears.

Truly the Son of God has been giving many warnings of those things to come to this nation and His people. There have been signs in the heavens and signs upon the earth. There have been prophetic utterances and many parables in the news, yet the vast majority of those who claim to be servants of God have been walking as if they are blind and deaf to all of these things. Will they not be dashed to pieces by the storm that is about to fall upon them even as the Lady Cecilia? Having failed to take refuge in Yahweh, having ignored all the many warnings to separate themselves from the sin and idolatry that demands judgment, many will be the slain of the Lord (Isaiah 66:16).

Is it mere coincidence that the same week that the storm was ravaging Florida that news came out that Todd Bentley, the leader of what was called “The Lakeland, Florida Revival” was exposed for having been carrying on an adulterous relationship with a female member of his ministry staff, and his wife has now declared that she will divorce him? How many warnings were given to the church about the uncleanness of this work and the man leading it? Yet just a little over a week before this matter became known Peter Wagner, along with 16 others, laid hands upon Todd Bentley, commissioning him as an evangelist, and prophesying that what had begun was going to continue to grow and intensify. Wagner’s organization, International Coalition of Apostles (ICA), was represented in that 13 people who participated in this endorsement of Bentley were deemed to be apostles by the organization.

If these were truly apostles, then where was their spiritual discernment? Did not any understand that there was great impurity present and God was about to expose and judge it? Were these truly apostles who not only endured this evil man, but who joined themselves to him thereby sharing in his sins?

I Timothy 5:22
Do not lay hands upon anyone too hastily and thus share responsibility for the sins of others; keep yourself free from sin.

Perhaps they were not truly apostles at all. I strongly suspect the majority are not appointed by the Lord as apostles. Their appointment has come from man.

Revelation 2:2
I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot endure evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false...

If one views the proceedings of this “alignment” ceremony, they should certainly question what spirit is behind the madness. I encourage you to watch the following videos of this apostolic alignment ceremony, and pay attention to the words of those speaking. Peter Wagner prophesies a release of greater power and greater authority and yet shortly after this the entire “revival shut down. Che Ahn quotes from Scripture declaring that Todd Bentley is pleasing to Christ in every way, leading an exemplary life while the opposite has been true.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gjl5wKso9eU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVdY9ufJmz8&feature=related
These men are considered the heads of what many view to be Spirit led and empowered ministries. Yet the truth is that they are spiritually blind, and about to make a shipwreck of their lives, and that of many babes in Christ who have placed their trust in their judgment. It is my prayer that perhaps some might be awakened to the depth of deception they have been walking in and come to repentance before the storm of God comes crashing down upon His people.

A large part of the witness of this storm is contained in the remarkable fact that it made four separate landfalls upon the state of Florida. Such an occurrence had never been witnessed before. The track of the storm seemed pre-determined for the storm to linger a maximum amount of time over Florida inflicting the utmost damage possible.
















As you can see, there was no part of the state overseen by Governor Crist that was not impacted by this storm. Similarly, there will be no part of the body of Christ that will fail to be greatly impacted by that which is swiftly coming upon the nations. Christ has been giving warnings. Those who fail to heed them will suffer terrible loss.

What does this number four represent. The following information is taken from E.W. Bullinger’s book Numbers in Scripture.

THE FOURTH BOOK
of the Bible is Numbers. In Hebrew it is called B'Midbar, i.e., the Wilderness. The gematria of B'Midbar is 248 (4x62).
It relates to the earth, which is a wilderness compared with Heaven; and to our pilgrimage through it. It tells of Meribah and striving (20:13), and records the history of the murmurings, rebellions, and wanderings.
THE FOURTH BOOK OF THE PSALMS
is the Book of the Wilderness. The first Psalm is the "Prayer of Moses, the man of God,"—the man of the wilderness...
God's four sore judgments in the earth (Eze 14:21): three are inanimate (the sword, famine, and pestilence); while one is animate (the noisome beast).
The number four is a number closely associated with the earth, and is also associated with humility. The word humility shares a common root with the word humus, which means earth, or soil. There is a definite relationship between the wilderness and humility. God will take His children through wilderness experiences in order to humble them.

Deuteronomy 8:2-5
And you shall remember all the way which Yahweh your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you..., And He humbled you and let you be hungry..., Thus you are to know in your heart that Yahweh your God was disciplining you just as a man disciplines his son.

God’s people have known much prosperity in America, and this has led to much pride. Like the church of Laodicea they have equated physical prosperity with spiritual blessing. Yet the judgment of the Lord is quite contrary to this.

Revelation 3:16-18
I will spit you out of My mouth. Because you say, "I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing," and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked...

Once more we see blindness mentioned among the servants of God. It should be noted that these ones do not know that they are blind. This is a great tragedy. They claim to be able to see, but they do not see. Many have been deceived by the events occurring in Lakeland, Florida. They thought they were observing a work of the Holy Spirit of God, but the fruit in the lives of the ones leading this movement is much impurity. Neither has there been repentance.

Many have referred to this “revival” as “the Lakeland Outpouring.” They have not discerned what type of outpouring the Holy Spirit of Christ will bring to the body of Christ in this hour. God required purity in the lives of His children. He requires that they separate themselves from all idols and all that defiles. He will not pour forth material blessing and prosperity as Todd Bentley prayed for night after night. Yahweh will lead His children to the wilderness where they will know hunger. He will let them know trial and hardship that they might learn humility, for in their prosperity they have grown proud and careless. They speak irreverently of the HOLY Spirit, and treat the presence of the HOLY God as if it can be conjured up by the actions of a carnival barker.

Let repentance and righteousness be seen among the people of God. Then there will be a manifestation of the One who is Holy. Yes, there is an outpouring coming forth, even as Tropical Storm Fay produced an unprecedented outpouring of rain upon the state of Florida. Read book four of the Psalms, which begins with Psalms 90, and you will understand some of what is coming.

Psalms 90:5, 7-9, 11-12
You have swept them away like a flood, they fall asleep... For we have been consumed by Your anger, and by Your wrath we have been dismayed. You have placed our iniquities before You, our secret sins in the light of Your presence. For all our days have declined in Your fury; We have finished our years like a sigh... Who understands the power of Your anger, and Your fury, according to the fear that is due You? So teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom.

There is no fear of God before the eyes of the people of God. If there had been then those in Lakeland would have trembled at the sin and fakery and shameless money pandering taking place. Yet even now, there is no fear of God before their eyes, and God will not be mocked. Those who speak His name will be chastised for their irreverence. They will perish like Uzzah for treating what is holy as if it was common.

In many ways God is testifying that He is about to lead His people through a wilderness experience. They will be greatly humbled in circumstance. Where they have known profuse abundance and endless blessing, they will find themselves struggling to find food and water, like unto the nation God led into the wilderness under the leadership of Moses. Many will fall away. Many will be slain of the Lord. But through it all, God will bring forth a humble remnant.

Come quickly Lord Yahshua.

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

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

Lamentations

Joseph Herrin (08-22-08)

A few days back I was praying and asking God about a concern upon my heart. I had been contemplating taking some of the recent audio messages and adding the graphics to them that I use when giving presentations on this topic, and creating a movie to post on YouTube, Yahoo Video, GodTube and other online video websites. I had felt that the Spirit was indicating that this message needed to go out to the nation and I was praying for God's confirmation on this matter.

I have been hesitant to precede in this matter, knowing Christ's warning to His disciples about casting pearls before swine.

Matthew 7:6
"Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces."

It is one thing to share the truth of what God is speaking in this hour to a group of believers gathered to hear the word of God declared. It is something altogether different to speak the word in a public forum where many unbelievers, as well as carnal believers, are liable to view it. I have received rants and flames before, and they are never pleasant. Even during this recent time of teaching in Fort Wayne, Indiana as I was sharing about why God must judge His church, and pointing out the idolatry of God's people, three people got up in the middle of the presentation and walked out.

You can understand my hesitancy to put this teaching before an even larger audience, yet God has been affirming in many ways that it is time for this message to go to the nation. After praying about whether the Lord would have me proceed in this direction, I checked my e-mail, and I had received a daily devotion from Os Hillman, which included the following words:

Jesus confronted the issues of His day without fear of being rejected. A life of obedience will be an affront to the systems of this world. When God begins His deeper work in you, it will be a stumbling block to those around you. When you are rejected for Christ, consider that Christ is affirming His call on your life and you are becoming a threat to the kingdom of darkness.

Later that day with this thought still upon my mind, I went over to the corner of State Street and St. Joseph Boulevard to take a picture of the sign to use in a recent blog. After photographing the sign I noted a historical marker right in the middle of the 2200 block of St. Joseph Blvd. I went over to see what was written upon it. Following is a picture of the sign.



















It reads: Home of Philo T. Farnsworth: inventor of television. Farnsworth was instrumental in perfecting the image formation mechanism which enabled the first effective image transmission in 1927...

I wondered if this might be a further confirming SIGN that God would have me send forth this message in a movie format over todays modern equivalent of broadcast technology, the Internet. After all, it was on St. Joseph Blvd., and it was right in the middle of the 2200 block, which number speaks of God's judgment on the nation.

Later, when I was back at the home I am residing at I prayed again about the matter. I do not normally do this, but I asked God to show me something in His word to confirm whether He would have me proclaim this message to the nation in this way. I took my Bible and it fell open to the first page of the book of Lamentations, where I read:

Lamentations 1:1-2
How lonely sits the city
That was full of people!
She has become like a widow
Who was once great among the nations!
She who was a princess among the provinces
Has become a forced laborer!
She weeps bitterly in the night,
And her tears are on her cheeks;
She has none to comfort her
Among all her lovers.

Today I ordered the software I will need to create the videos to post to the Internet. I would greatly appreciate your prayers on behalf of this work. It is my desire to declare to the church and the nation the judgment that God says is fast approaching, and the reasons for it. Such a message will most likely antagonize a certain percentage of those who hear it. After I gave this presentation to the group gathered in Fort Wayne, the young man who led the discipleship group asked me to let him pray for Randy and myself as this was our last meeting. In his prayer he quoted a phrase that God has been speaking to Randy out of the book of Ezekiel. He prayed that God might give us foreheads as flint to be able to deliver the message boldly.

Ezekiel 3:8-9
"Behold, I have made your face as hard as their faces, and your forehead as hard as their foreheads. Like emery harder than flint I have made your forehead. Do not be afraid of them or be dismayed before them, though they are a rebellious house."

Please pray that God would grant me courage to proclaim boldly the word of God.

Ephesians 6:19-20
and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

Brothers and sisters, the judgment of God is at the door of this nation, and it will not tarry. It is a time to speak boldly, and in my presentation I even speak about the sin of homosexuality that God must judge. You know this is a topic that is met with fierce resistance in America. The homosexual lobby has been exceedingly bold and threatening to all who would suggest that this lifestyle is an abomination to God. Yet if they can be so bold in speaking forth lies to defend something that God abhors, how much more boldly should the saints of God speak with boldness in declaring truth and defending righteousness?

Please pray that God would give me skill in putting these video presentations together, and that God would bring together the message with those He has determined should hear it. Please also pray that Yahweh would deliver us from all of the attacks of the enemy, and that no weapon formed against us would prosper, but that the message of God might go forth with all faithfulness and courage.

I would like to end this blog by posting the first two chapters of Lamentations. It is a book not often read by Christians, but I believe it holds a specific relevance to the hour approaching. I see in the judgment of Judah and Jerusalem a picture of that which is coming to America. I would encourage you to read these chapters with a thoughtful heart, for I am convinced the Spirit directed me to attend to this passage at this very hour.

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

Lamentations 1-2

How lonely sits the city that was full of people!She has become like a widow who was once great among the nations!She who was a princess among the provinces has become a forced laborer! She weeps bitterly in the night, and her tears are on her cheeks; She has none to comfort her among all her lovers. All her friends have dealt treacherously with her; They have become her enemies.

Judah has gone into exile under affliction, and under harsh servitude; She dwells among the nations, but she has found no rest; All her pursuers have overtaken her in the midst of distress. The roads of Zion are in mourning because no one comes to the appointed feasts. All her gates are desolate; Her priests are groaning, her virgins are afflicted, and she herself is bitter. Her adversaries have become her masters, her enemies prosper; For Yahweh has caused her grief because of the multitude of her transgressions; Her little ones have gone away as captives before the adversary. And all her majesty has departed from the daughter of Zion; Her princes have become like bucks that have found no pasture; and they have fled without strength before the pursuer.

In the days of her affliction and homelessness Jerusalem remembers all her precious things that were from the days of old when her people fell into the hand of the adversary, and no one helped her. The adversaries saw her, they mocked at her ruin. Jerusalem sinned greatly, therefore she has become an unclean thing. All who honored her despise her because they have seen her nakedness; Even she herself groans and turns away. Her uncleanness was in her skirts; She did not consider her future; therefore she has fallen astonishingly; She has no comforter.

"See, O Yahweh, my affliction, for the enemy has magnified himself!" The adversary has stretched out his hand over all her precious things, for she has seen the nations enter her sanctuary, the ones whom You did command that they should not enter into Your congregation.

All her people groan seeking bread; They have given their precious things for food to restore their lives themselves. "See, O Yahweh, and look, for I am despised." Is it nothing to all you who pass this way? Look and see if there is any pain like my pain which was severely dealt out to me, which Yahweh inflicted on the day of His fierce anger.

"From on high He sent fire into my bones, and it prevailed over them; He has spread a net for my feet; He has turned me back; He has made me desolate, faint all day long. The yoke of my transgressions is bound; By His hand they are knit together; They have come upon my neck; He has made my strength fail; The Lord has given me into the hands of those against whom I am not able to stand. The Lord has rejected all my strong men in my midst; He has called an appointed time against me to crush my young men; The Lord has trodden as in a wine press the virgin daughter of Judah."

"For these things I weep; My eyes run down with water; Because far from me is a comforter, one who restores my soul; My children are desolate because the enemy has prevailed." Zion stretches out her hands; There is no one to comfort her; Yahweh has commanded concerning Jacob that the ones round about him should be his adversaries; Jerusalem has become an unclean thing among them.

"Yahweh is righteous; For I have rebelled against His command; Hear now, all peoples, and behold my pain; My virgins and my young men have gone into captivity. I called to my lovers, but they deceived me; My priests and my elders perished in the city, while they sought food to restore their strength themselves. See, O Yahweh, for I am in distress; My spirit is greatly troubled; My heart is overturned within me, for I have been very rebellious."

In the street the sword slays; In the house it is like death. "They have heard that I groan; There is no one to comfort me; All my enemies have heard of my calamity; They are glad that You have done it. Oh, that You would bring the day which You hast proclaimed, that they may become like me. Let all their wickedness come before You; And deal with them as You have dealt with me for all my transgressions; For my groans are many, and my heart is faint."

How the Lord has covered the daughter of Zion with a cloud in His anger! He has cast from heaven to earth the glory of Israel, and has not remembered His footstool in the day of His anger. The Lord has swallowed up; He has not spared all the habitations of Jacob. In His wrath He has thrown down the strongholds of the daughter of Judah; He has brought them down to the ground; He has profaned the kingdom and its princes. In fierce anger He has cut off all the strength of Israel; He has drawn back His right hand from before the enemy. And He has burned in Jacob like a flaming fire consuming round about. He has bent His bow like an enemy, He has set His right hand like an adversary and slain all that were pleasant to the eye; In the tent of the daughter of Zion He has poured out His wrath like fire.

The Lord has become like an enemy. He has swallowed up Israel; He has swallowed up all its palaces; He has destroyed its strongholds and multiplied in the daughter of Judah mourning and moaning. And He has violently treated His tabernacle like a garden booth; He has destroyed His appointed meeting place; Yahweh has caused to be forgotten the appointed feast and sabbath in Zion, and He has despised king and priest in the indignation of His anger. The Lord has rejected His altar, He has abandoned His sanctuary; He has delivered into the hand of the enemy the walls of her palaces.They have made a noise in the house of the LORD as in the day of an appointed feast.

Yahweh determined to destroy the wall of the daughter of Zion. He has stretched out a line, He has not restrained His hand from destroying; And He has caused rampart and wall to lament; They have languished together. Her gates have sunk into the ground, He has destroyed and broken her bars. Her king and her princes are among the nations; The law is no more; Also, her prophets find no vision from Yahweh. The elders of the daughter of Zion sit on the ground, they are silent. They have thrown dust on their heads;They have girded themselves with sackcloth. The virgins of Jerusalem Have bowed their heads to the ground.

My eyes fail because of tears, my spirit is greatly troubled; My heart is poured out on the earth, because of the destruction of the daughter of my people, when little ones and infants faint in the streets of the city. They say to their mothers, "Where is grain and wine?" As they faint like a wounded man in the streets of the city, as their life is poured out on their mothers' bosom.

How shall I admonish you? To what shall I compare you, O daughter of Jerusalem? To what shall I liken you as I comfort you, O virgin daughter of Zion? For your ruin is as vast as the sea; Who can heal you? Your prophets have seen for you false and foolish visions; And they have not exposed your iniquity so as to restore you from captivity, but they have seen for you false and misleading oracles.

All who pass along the way clap their hands in derision at you; They hiss and shake their heads At the daughter of Jerusalem, "Is this the city of which they said, 'The perfection of beauty, a joy to all the earth'?" All your enemies have opened their mouths wide against you; They hiss and gnash their teeth. They say, "We have swallowed her up! Surely this is the day for which we waited; We have reached it, we have seen it."

Yahweh has done what He purposed; He has accomplished His word which He commanded from days of old. He has thrown down without sparing, and He has caused the enemy to rejoice over you; He has exalted the might of your adversaries. Their heart cried out to the Lord, "O wall of the daughter of Zion, let your tears run down like a river day and night; Give yourself no relief; Let your eyes have no rest. Arise, cry aloud in the night at the beginning of the night watches; Pour out your heart like water before the presence of the Lord; Lift up your hands to Him for the life of your little ones who are faint because of hunger at the head of every street."

See, O Yahweh, and look! With whom have You dealt thus? Should women eat their offspring, the little ones who were born healthy? Should priest and prophet be slain in the sanctuary of the Lord? On the ground in the streets lie young and old, my virgins and my young men have fallen by the sword. You have slain them in the day of Your anger, You have slaughtered, not sparing. You did call as in the day of an appointed feast my terrors on every side; And there was no one who escaped or survived in the day of the Lord's anger. Those whom I bore and reared, my enemy annihilated them.

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

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

153 Die

Joseph Herrin (08-20-08)

The following news story arrested my attention today.

153 Die in Fiery Plane Crash

MADRID, Spain (CNN) -- Passengers said they saw flames and then heard an explosion moments before a Spanair jet crashed on takeoff Wednesday at Madrid's Barajas Airport, killing 153 people, according to local media.

The Spanair Flight JK5022 was carrying 172 people. There were 19 survivors, including two infants, Development Minister Magdalena Alvarez said...

The flight was bound for Las Palmas in the Canary Islands, two hours away.

Local officials said one of the engines caught fire. The aircraft, an MD-82, has two jet engines, both at the rear.

The burning plane came to rest in a gully about 2:45 p.m. (8:45 a.m. ET)...

A survivor told Spain's ABC newspaper that she and other passengers heard an explosion as the plane was taking off.

"She said they could see the fire, ... and then it was not even a minute or so they heard [something] blow up," reporter Carlota Fomina told CNN. "They were about 200 meters [660 feet] in the air, and then they were landing but not crashing. They were landing, like, little by little; it was not like they [fell] down suddenly..."

Some of the survivors have serious injuries, while others have non-life-threatening injuries. Many of the injured were treated for burns, she said..

The airport, eight miles (13 km) northeast of central Madrid, is Spain's busiest, handling more than 40 million passengers a year.

In April of this year the Lord sent me out camping for a month. It was a time of seeking His face to discern the character of the coming ministry. While I was on Jekyll Island the Spirit of Christ spoke to me about the number 153 and its significance to this hour. You can read the entire blog here: http://parablesblog.blogspot.com/2008/04/third-appearance-of-christ.html

Following is an excerpt:

That night I returned to my camper/van and I checked my e-mail. A brother in Christ had e-mailed me and had asked me for any insight I could give him regarding the number 153 in Scripture. He said that the Lord had impressed this number upon him in a very definite way some years before, but he did not fully understand its meaning. He said that he knew that it occurred in only one place in Scripture, and this was when the Lord appeared to the disciples after His resurrection and He told them to cast their net into the sea, and when they did they brought up 153 great fish. Following is the account from the Gospel of John.

John 21:1-14 After these things Yahshua manifested Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and He manifested Himself in this way. There were together Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples. Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing." They said to him, "We will also come with you." They went out, and got into the boat; and that night they caught nothing. But when the day was now breaking, Yahshua stood on the beach; yet the disciples did not know that it was Yahshua. Yahshua therefore said to them, "Children, you do not have any fish, do you?" They answered Him, "No." And He said to them, "Cast the net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you will find a catch." They cast therefore, and then they were not able to haul it in because of the great number of fish. That disciple therefore whom Yahshua loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord." And so when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put his outer garment on (for he was stripped for work), and threw himself into the sea. But the other disciples came in the little boat, for they were not far from the land, but about two hundred cubits away, dragging the net full of fish. And so when they got out upon the land, they saw a fire of coals already laid, and fish placed on it, and bread. Yahshua said to them, "Bring some of the fish which you have now caught." Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land, full of large fish, a hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not torn. Yahshua said to them, "Come and have breakfast." None of the disciples ventured to question Him, "Who are You?" knowing that it was the Lord. Yahshua came and took the bread, and gave them, and the fish likewise. This is now the third time that Yahshua was manifested to the disciples, after He was raised from the dead.

The Holy Spirit arrested my attention as I read this, for I considered how unusual it was that I had just cooked fish over coals, even as Yahshua was recorded as doing in this passage. I felt that the Spirit of Christ had a message in this for me, and I began to ponder what it was...

Consider for a moment that the question of the identity of Christ is mentioned prominently in all of His appearances after the resurrection. It seems that there was some question as to who was appearing before them, for it is mentioned that none dare asked Him who He was, for they knew it was Christ. Is this not strange? If the disciples knew it was Christ, then why even mention that none dared ask who He was? I believe these words serve as a prophecy of that which is to come, for each of Christ’s appearances to His disciples after the resurrection stands for a specific way in which He would appear to His disciples in the next 2,000 years, and there would be some question as to whether it was truly Christ appearing in this way.

Let me remind you that before I went camping, the last writing I sent out was on the sign given in the constellation Bootes (http://www.heart4god.ws/id655.htm). This sign speaks of Yahshua coming to perform a very specific work of removing flesh from His children. It will be a work of fiery purification to prepare a Bride for His coming as Bridegroom. I believe it is also this same work that is depicted in the form of a parable in the Scripture passage on the 153 fish. John relates that this is the third, and final appearing of Christ before His ascension. The number three is a number denoting completeness. E.W. Bullinger, in his book Number in Scripture shares the following:

Three, therefore, stands for that which is solid, real, substantial, complete, and entire. All things that are specially complete are stamped with this number three.

At the end of the age, the Lord will bring His body to maturity. He must have a Bride without spot or blemish prepared for the return of the Bridegroom. What is therefore depicted is a final appearing of the Lord to make complete all that has been lacking in this preparation of the Bride. We will see this further as we consider some of the symbols in this parable.

The first disciples that the Lord called were Peter and his brother Andrew, and James and his brother John. All four of these men worked together as partners in the business of fishing (Luke 5:10). Yahshua appeared to them while they were working on their nets and called them to follow Him, for He would make them “fishers of men.” Previously these men had sought to catch fish, but now they would devote their lives to catching men. The fish therefore became a symbol for man. If a person is a fisher of men, then is it not obvious that one serves as a symbol for the other?

This symbol of the fish has even come to serve as a common symbol for Christianity. It was reportedly used as a secret sign among the early church in days of persecution to identify those who were followers of Christ. The individual letters of the Greek word for fish, Ichthus, became an acrostic for the words Iesous Christos THeou Uiou Soter, which rendered into English is Jesus Christ God’s Son Savior. This, however, is a man-made acrostic, and the symbol has proven association with pagan worship, so I will stick with that which is Biblical.

In John’s account the disciples, at the Lord’s instruction, cast their nets on the right side of the boat and bring up 153 fish. The right side is indicative of the righteous. In the parable of the sheep and the goats, the sheep are separated onto the right, and the goats go to the left. This haul of fish therefore signifies those who are righteous, the elect and chosen of God...

Consider now the parable of the 153 great fish that were caught. Earlier in the ministry of Christ the disciples pulled a great number of fish up in their nets, but their nets began to break and their boats began to sink. Undoubtedly many of the fish escaped or were lost. At the end of Christ’s ministry the disciples pulled up a great catch of fish once more at the Lord’s command, but this time the nets did not break and no fish were lost. I believe this to be a symbol representing the fact that even as Christ did not lose any of those that the Father gave to Him, that His disciples would not lose that which was given to them...

When pondering this parable I considered how it might relate to the ministry of coming days. I was immediately mindful of the fact that the Lord in this appearance has laid fish upon the coals. Fire is the ultimate purifier. I recently wrote of the following Scripture, and its application to this coming work of Christ among His people.

Luke 12:49 “I have come to cast fire upon the earth; and how I wish it were already kindled!”

This is also related to the following words of John the Baptist.

Matthew 3:11 As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

The Lord did not show me these things until after I had cleaned the fish and placed them over the hot coals to cook. In a recent writing, Joseph - Preparing the Body for Burial, (http://parablesblog.blogspot.com/) I noted that it was the work of the Joseph Company to minister in coming days as they guide the elect through days of fiery trial. I believe the Spirit has used this event as one more testimony during my days of camping to speak of the work to come.

I noted that it was on my eleventh day camping on Jekyll Island that we caught the fish, cleaned and cooked them over the coals. Eleven is a number pertaining specifically to Joseph, as he was the eleventh son of Jacob, and he lived to be 110 years old. The Lord prevented me from catching fish until this day, for I believe He wanted this to be a further witness and testimony of the quickly approaching ministry appointed to a Joseph Company who have themselves surrendered themselves to fiery trials intended to bring forth purity in their lives.

Some further details that are significant are found in the fish I caught and prepared. Randy and I caught and cooked three fish. As mentioned earlier, three speaks of that which is complete, and it is a work that will bring the Bride to complete readiness for the Bridegroom that will be accomplished through the fiery work ahead. As mentioned the fish were whiting, and the color white is indicative of the Bride who has made herself ready. The first thing I did in preparing the fish was to cut off their heads. I have written much of what this symbolizes in various writings, including The Remnant Bride. Cutting off the head symbolizes having no head of one’s own, but taking Christ as Head in all things...

I will mention once again that there was some question about the identity of Yahshua in John’s account. Peter did not recognize it was the Lord until John told him. I believe this also speaks prophetically to the truth that many will question that which will come to the church in days ahead. Some will observe the Lord with fish laid in the coals and will not immediately recognize that it is Him. Many will question whether the Lord could actually be the One who is subjecting His people to the fiery trials that are quickly coming upon the earth.
[End Excerpt]

In this news article we have 153 people perishing in a fiery crash as they are seeking to ascend into the heavens. Many Christians would deny that God had anything to do with this calamity, and in coming days when Christ lays His body upon a bed of fiery coals they will also wonder if it could truly be God doing this.

Amos 3:6 If a calamity occurs in a city has not Yahweh done it?

The plane was flight JK5022. Fifty is a number relating to Jubilee, and it is also a number that God brought to my thoughts while camping, and I wrote about it. Twenty-two, as all readers of this blog should know by now, is a number pertaining to the removal of the flesh, and cutting off evil. We stand now at the end of forty Jubilee cycles since the day of Christ. A Jubilee was held every fifty years. Jubilee speaks of release from bondage, as all slaves were set free in the year of Jubilee and all debts were canceled.

In the recent blog titled “An Incredible Journey” I described how the Lord directed my attention to the Department of Corrections in downtown Louisville, Kentucky. It was located on Liberty Street. It will be the corrections of God that will lead to the liberty of the sons of God as all the sin that binds them will be burned away as the children of God go through fiery trials. The behavior of the sons of God will be greatly altered as they devote themselves to righteousness.

Isaiah 26:9 For when the earth experiences Your judgments the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.

As I considered what was being revealed in this sign upon the earth, I was led to consider Dagon, the fish god of the Philistines. The plane that crashed was heading to Los Palmas (The Palms), and 153 perished which is an allusion to the 153 fish of John 21. When I thought of fish and palms together I remembered the story found in I Samuel chapter 5.

I Samuel 5:1-4 Now the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it to the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon. When the Ashdodites arose early the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of Yahweh. So they took Dagon and set him in his place again. But when they arose early the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of Yahweh. And the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off on the threshold; only the trunk of Dagon was left to him.























Dagon

It is the hands and the head that are mentioned when John speaks of the mark of the beast in Revelations. The hands speak of the works of man, and the head speaks of the thoughts of man. In the last days men’s thoughts and actions will be turned to evil continually. Yet God will have a remnant who have been beheaded for His sake. Beheading is a symbol of having one’s own rule surrendered that they might take Christ as head. Remember, Revelations is a book of symbols, not of literal truth.

Revelation 20:4
And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony of Yahshua and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

Do you see the connection? Those who have been beheaded because of the testimony of Yahshua have not taken the mark upon their forehead or upon their hands. Even as their head has been removed, so too have their hands. They live only to do the will of their Master, who is Christ Yahshua.

This is merely one more way in which the Spirit is portraying by means of a parable what must occur in this last hour in which we live. Even as those caught in the net of Christ must be laid upon the coals, we see in Revelations that the overcomers have been beheaded and be-handed. Like Dagon, they fall prostrate before the presence of God and offer Him the worship of obedience.

Interestingly, the plane crash occurred at the Barajas airport, and Barajas is Spanish for “deck.” The word “deck” is associated with fishing, as the floor of a ship is called a deck. When the disciples pulled the nets out of the water the 153 fish were placed on the deck of the boat. A fish cannot live out of water, and God will lead all of His children to a cross in coming days where they will lose their lives that they might find them.

Matthew 16:24-25
“If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake shall find it.”

Let me state the conclusion of this matter. The children of God in this day have been seeking to save their lives. They have avoided the cross, and have been led by their own head to all of their actions, and have set their hands to perform works of their own choosing. Many are serving the beast nature, living to satisfy the appetites and passions of the flesh. Others are choosing for themselves the works and sacrifices they will offer unto God. Both actions are equally displeasing to Yahweh.

In this last hour, through a fiery work, the Lord will bring all of His children to embrace the cross which will bring all their own works to cessation. The result will be freedom to walk as Christ walked, and live as Christ lived. He said, “I never do anything of My own initiative. I live to do the will of the Father.” So too must all His disciples speak forth the same confession in truth.

This is what is foreshadowed in these events. It was reported that the plane was about 660 feet high when the explosion took place which caused it to descend. 666 is the number of the beast. What is signified is that the people of God have come close to the full image of the beast, and God must bring a sudden correction to them. The words of Isaiah will be fulfilled.

Isaiah 66:16
For Yahweh will execute judgment by fire and by His sword on all flesh, and those slain by Yahweh will be many.

We must all pass through death to enter into resurrection life. This fiery work is now approaching the children of God. Benjamin, the last son of Jacob, must come forth as Rachel (the church) is dying in her birth pangs. The son of sorrow will become the son of the right hand. Let us heed the testimony of God. He declares these things that His children might be ready and might recognize that it is the Lord who does these things.

Heart4God Website: http://www.heart4god.ws
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