A Feather on the Wind

Joseph Herrin (09-27-2013)

In the movie Forrest Gump the image of a feather floating on the wind is used as a metaphor for the life of the main character. There is never any sense that Forrest Gump has planned his life, for as he often states, he is not a very smart man. He simply takes life as it comes. The life that comes turns out to be quite remarkable.

As Christians (those who are disciples of Yahshua) we are invited to embrace a similar life. The wind that bears the feather aloft can be compared to the Holy Spirit, for it is He who sets the course of life for those who yield themselves to His guidance. I have remarked when I share the testimony of my life that my experience only began to be viewed as exceptional when Yahweh told me in 1999 that I needed to surrender myself to go wherever He would guide and to do whatever He would command.

It is quite natural to experience fear when Yahweh confronts a man or woman with the call to let go of the reins of their life. We find comfort by being in control. The unknown frightens us. Yet, there is no other alternative if a person wants to walk as Christ walked, following in His footsteps, qualifying as one of His disciples. Yahshua always gave the same invitation to those who wished to be disciples. “Come, take up your cross, and follow Me.”

It would do no good to ask, “Where will You lead me if I agree to follow?” The fact that we are not told what our experiences will be provides an opportunity for faith to be manifested. What ultimately wins the day for a remnant of believers is that they come to reckon that, despite their fears, God can be trusted to choose for them the optimal life to bring them to spiritual maturity and qualify them as sons who are worthy to rule and reign with Christ in the ages to come. This is a critical matter, for those who will not entrust their lives to God, those whose fears, or carnal desires, hinder them from surrendering to Yahweh’s guidance are judged to be unworthy of Him. “Without faith it is impossible to please God” (Hebrews 11:6).

I remember during my wrestling with a life of surrender and faith that I came to the conclusion that my life would lack fulfillment if I spent the remainder of my life devoted to a God I could not trust. Such a life would be wholly dissatisfying both to myself and to Yahweh. Though I was an extremely fearful man, and timid, I chose to cast my life into the care and guidance of the Father, recognizing that at the end of my life I would know only regret if I failed to do so. The journey since that time has been quite remarkable.

We see the Israelites given the same invitation as they departed Egypt under the leadership of Moses. They were leaving everything behind that was familiar. They did not know what lay ahead. They only knew that Yahweh was guiding them with the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. They had only two options. They could move when the cloud moved and remain in the will of God, or they could choose to guide their own lives.

Tragically, many Christians do not recognize that the same choices confront them. They can choose a Spirit directed life, or they can choose for themselves where they will go, what they will do, and what life they will live. Surrendering to follow Christ will always lead to wilderness experiences. There will be trials and testing; there will be times of humble provision, yet those who embrace this walk will find themselves being transformed from the slave mentality of Egypt to that of divine sons. Those who choose to remain in control of the direction of their lives may avoid experiences they deem to be undesirable, but they will also disqualify themselves for the promotion Yahweh would have bestowed upon them. They will forfeit an imperishable inheritance.

I Corinthians 9:24-27
Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. And everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I buffet my body and make it my slave, lest possibly, after I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified.

The story of the Exodus from Egypt and the journey through the wilderness to the land of the Israelites’ inheritance serves as a parable of the normal life of a Christian. The journey began at the first Passover. The Passover lamb was slain in Egypt, and was to be eaten at once. Moses gave the Israelites the following instructions.

Exodus 12:11
“Now you shall eat it in this manner: with your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand...”

What do these things signify? They serve as a pattern for the Christian life. Those who come to Yahshua for salvation are to be ready to follow Him at once into whatever experiences He has prepared for them. We first partake of the Lamb of God while we are citizens of Egypt (a symbol of this world system). Yet we are not to remain in the world, for it is a place of bondage. We must have our loins girded, sandals on our feet, and staff in hand, ready at once to answer the invitation of Christ to “Come, take up your cross, and follow Me.” The believer is to yield their life to be guided by the Spirit as surely as the Israelites were commanded to follow the pillar of fire and cloud.

Romans 8:14
For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

The church has failed in communicating this truth to those who are born again of the Spirit of Christ. Many saints, myself included, consequently do not face this invitation to surrender their life to the Holy Spirit’s leading until later in their Christian experience. I am observing a number of people receiving this call at this time. Many more will be brought to this crisis of decision in coming days. Yet, it will ever be a remnant who answer the call.

In a parallel illustration in the Scriptures, we read that after 70 years of bondage in Babylon, Yahweh moved upon the King of Babylon’s heart to release the Jews to return to Zion. A majority of the Jews who had gone into captivity had found Babylon to their liking. It was a place of great commerce, wealth, and many physical comforts. The journey back to Zion would be long, arduous, and beset with perils. Upon arriving in Jerusalem the people would know austerity and much hard work as the city had been razed and its walls destroyed. As a result, only a remnant of the Jewish people in Babylon answered the call to return to Zion, the city of God.

Jeremiah 3:14
And I will take you one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion.

One from a city, and two from a family, are not large numbers. So too there is only a remnant that are heeding the call to follow Yahshua wherever He would lead them. The journey to Zion, the mount upon which the overcomers will stand with Christ, is a challenging one.

Revelation 14:1
And I looked, and behold, the Lamb was standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads.

I am always delighted when I meet a son or daughter of Yahweh who has accepted the invitation to follow Yahshua to Zion. To find those rare individuals who are yielding their lives to the direction of the Holy Spirit is a great privilege. For these past two weeks I have been blessed to fellowship with one such son of God.

Nicholas and Champ

The photo above shows the young man whom the Father directed me to come spend time with the past two weeks. Nicholas did not start off well in life. He comes from a broken home, and he fell in with some evil influences while in the public school system. At the tender age of 16 he was condemned as a criminal and locked up. He initially spent time in a Youth Detention Center. When he turned seventeen he was transferred to the prison system in Georgia. He has spent the past four years and 4 months behind bars.

As tragic as this may sound, Yahweh used this experience to good effect in Nicholas’ life. Being deprived of liberty, and subjected to many fearful experiences in an evil environment, Nicholas turned to God. He repented of his sins and devoted himself to obedience to Christ.

It has been my honor to correspond with Nicholas since 2011. He received all of the newsletters I have created for men in prison (88 in number), and rejoiced in the spiritual truths Yahweh was teaching him. I discerned from his letters that Nicholas was a sincere disciple of Christ. He expressed things to me that I clearly recognized to be the hallmarks of a son of God. He was coming under submission to the leading of the Spirit of Christ even while in prison.

Nicholas has been able to share more in depth with me during these past weeks about his prison experiences. I have known much joy and satisfaction as I have listened to his testimony. While in prison Yahweh began dealing with Nicholas in many ways, causing him to subject his will and desires to the direction of the Holy Spirit.

Nicholas shared with me about God’s dealing with him about his eating while in prison. Inmates are allowed to go to the prison store and spend up to $60 a week on various items, most of which is food. It is common for inmates to live on potato chips, cookies, snack cakes, and other junk food, though they are provided meals from the prison kitchen. Nicholas had been eating lots of junk food, but God began dealing with him about this. He told Nicholas to not even go to store call for a season. He also began directing him to eat the vegetables and fruits provided in the prison meals, rather than trading them to others for desserts and other less healthy items.

It was an adjustment for Nicholas to begin eating turnip greens and potato salad. He described these experiences to me. Often the greens would be cold by the time they were served. He spoke of how he had to swallow them quickly without chewing because the Father was directing him to eat them. Over time he grew to like these more healthy food items. He would express appreciation and thanksgiving to the Father for everything that He provided. He did not take anything for granted.

Nicholas shared with me how the Father even told him to not accept free food from others when it was offered to him. He told him to be content with what was on his food tray. For a time this left him with a sense of being hungry throughout the day, but this quickly faded. Nicholas also had been spending hours each day working out, lifting weights, but the Father began to deal with him on this matter as well. Yahweh spoke to him, telling Nicholas that there would always be someone bigger and stronger then himself. He did not want Nicholas leaning on his own strength and abilities to deliver him from threats in prison. Nicholas obeyed, and quit working out. He lost nearly 30 pounds of muscle that he had gained, and it pained him to see how scrawny he looked. Yahweh was faithful, however, and always kept him safe from evil men and violence while in prison.

There was also a season when the Father began telling Nicholas to stay up and not go back to bed whenever he would awaken at night. Sometimes he would awaken as early as 2:00 A.M. and the Father would tell him to stay up. It was a battle at times, but Nicholas would spend the hours praying as he walked back and forth in his prison cell. In all of these experiences Nicholas was learning to buffet his body and keep it under subjection. The spirit man was flexing its muscles, while the flesh man was not permitted to do the same.

This attention to the voice of the Spirit is one of the common experiences of those who are sons of God in training. Yahweh will direct His sons and daughters to do things that appear strange to others, even those who call themselves Christians. The life of a disciple of Christ is by necessity a Spirit-led life.

I have been impressed with Nicholas’ resolve to continue in a life yielded to the Spirit now that he is out of prison. Nicholas will turn 21 years old on November 4th of this year. Yahweh spoke to him while in prison and said that He would perform a quick work in his life for the days are short before the return of Yahshua. He is truly advancing quickly in spiritual things.

Since his release, Nicholas is daily looking to the Father to direct His steps. He is at rest, not trying to force anything to take place. There are a number of things he believes to be the Father’s will, such as taking the test for his G.E.D., getting his driver’s license, and acquiring a job. Nevertheless, he is not actively pressing anyone to help him achieve these goals. He is looking to the Father to order His steps and to make a way for him to accomplish His desires.

Two days ago Nicholas mentioned that his parole officer said he would like for him to attend a job fair in a nearby town. The elderly couple who have opened their home to Nicholas were unexpectedly away as a medical crisis arose and the woman had to be hospitalized. I prayed with Nicholas that if it was Yahweh’s will for him to attend the job fair that He would make a way. Nicholas explained to his parole officer that his host family were away at the hospital and, as he did not have a driver’s license yet, he did not know if he would be able to attend the job fair.

The morning of the job fair, Nicholas was outside the home, getting on the bicycle to ride over and visit with me when the phone rang. It was his parole officer. He asked if Nicholas’ was dressed. He told him he was going to pick him up and take him to the job fair, though it was quite a long drive out of the way for the officer. The Bible states:

Proverbs 21:1
The king's heart is like channels of water in the hand of Yahweh; He turns it wherever He wishes.

There is great peace and rest in knowing that Yahweh will both open and shut doors before us as we look to Him to guide our steps. I have found it to be a great source of comfort to know that Yahweh is directing me, for I desire to always be found where He wants me to be. In His presence there is grace and peace.

Yahweh made His will clearly known that I was to travel to West Georgia to spend time with Nicholas. I did not know how long I was to be here, or where I would go next. I knew only the next step in the path appointed to me. I have been staying at an Army Corps of Engineers campground as it is the only RV park in bicycling distance to the home Nicholas is staying at. The policy here only permits campers to stay for two weeks out of a month. I began looking to the Father to affirm His will for me in this matter.

There is no Wi-Fi in the campground here, and I had been using DSL for the past 11 months since I was parked on private property in Middle Georgia. In order to post writings and answer correspondence while at the campground here, I found it necessary to re-activate my Verizon broadband account. I then called Windstream to talk to them about canceling my DSL account, telling the young customer service employee that I anticipated traveling for at least a few months, and would be unable to use it. The customer representative told me he could suspend my billing for three months while I was traveling, and my billing would not re-start until January 4th. I agreed to this gracious offer, and upon hanging up I began pondering whether this date might be significant. I considered the possibility that the Father might have me return to Middle Georgia on January 4th.

After a week had passed, the Spirit began revealing that I was to move on after my two weeks were up here as there are no other nearby campgrounds, and Nicholas does not have his driver’s license yet. (I don’t own a car, and the distances are too far for bicycling.) The Holy Spirit began affirming that these two weeks were all the time Nicholas and I were to spend together at this time. I sensed a leading to call a campground on the Georgia coast that I have stayed at previously. It has become quite popular during the off-season (winter), and often fills up quickly, making it difficult to get reservations, especially at their monthly rate.

I spoke to the manager of the campground and he said he had a cancellation a few days previously that made one site available. He informed me that the site would be available from October 1st through January 3rd. The timing could not have been better. It would provide me with two days to stop in Middle Georgia to take care of some business before proceeding to the Georgia coast.

It is a great comfort to observe the Father directing our steps with such precision, giving us great grace. I will have DSL Internet service upon returning to Middle Georgia in January and will not have to pay for it in the interim. This was unexpected because I had to sign a 2 year contract when I enrolled for the service and was told there would be an early cancellation fee if I ended the service before that time.

Nicholas and I are both feathers on the wind. We are being led about by the Spirit of Christ. Yahweh is the One who is setting the course of our lives. We are simply seeking to discern His guidance and align ourselves with it. There is no striving in such a life, but simply a yielding to the hand of our heavenly Father.

Do not be daunted by any fear. Do not be dissuaded by carnal desires, or a yearning to live the life of your own choice. If you want to begin to experience an exceptional life, where the supernatural becomes commonplace, then you must let One who has all power and wisdom direct your steps.

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

Addendum: In past blogs I made mention of a young British woman who has traveled alone to Mexico as a missionary. Eliana's blog can be found at the following link:

http://the-gate-and-the-way.blogspot.com/

Eliana has a specific prayer need for September 29th. She purchased a small plot of land outside a small town in southern Mexico. She has contracted local workers to construct a simple home on the property. I believe the home should be about completed at this time.

One thing Eliana has had to contend with is a societal tendency to lie and deceive among the Mexicans. In some areas people think nothing of lying. Deception is a way of life. This has caused Eliana some stress and problems. The man who sold her the property, and the man who acted as her agent in this matter, both assured her that the property was considered private, not community property. Evidently in some areas of Mexico property is considered community, which basically means that the land owners are subject to the oversight of the community, and the locals can determine whether a person can live there, as well as having oversight of other property matters.

After Eliana purchased the property she found that she had been lied to and it is community property. Now that she has made improvements to the land, and is ready to move onto it, a community meeting is to be held to determine whether the locals want her to live in their community. They could force her to relinquish her property.

Eliana has said that there are some in the community who oppose her being there, but there are also some who are supportive of her. She has been led to look to Yahweh to intervene on her behalf. I am sure she would appreciate the prayer support of the body of Christ at this time. You can find Eliana's contact information on her website.

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

Parables Blog: www.parablesblog.blogspot.com    

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

Two Writings from Readers

Following are two writings I have received from the saints that I believe will speak to the readers of this blog.

Stallone Two Weeks Into Recovery
(Note the prominence of his ribs.)

Testimony of Healed Dog
Brian Klumpenhouwer
September 13, 2013

In 2012 the Lord directed our family to move from the east coast back to our home province of Ontario. He opened many doors for us that would have been impossible for us and we felt His hand on us and His Spirit leading us. After we had made the move we began the process of switching our various things such as driver’s license, health insurance, etc from our New Brunswick address to our new address. We ran into all sorts of resistance as we were doing this and at one point after leaving a government office I looked at my wife and said I think we need to pray about our health cards (Government health insurance) because I think the Lord is trying to get our attention. For the next few weeks I struggled with the idea that God wanted me to give up our free health insurance and step out in faith and trust Him to be our Healer. One evening we were watching a movie where a knight was in a jousting tournament and was injured during one round. He was unable to move or hold his lance while continuing to wear his armour. So he stripped out of his armour and prepared to face his opponent against the advice of his aides who were convinced he was going to die. With the freedom of movement he gained without his armour he was able to continue the battle and beat his enemy. As I watched this I felt the Lord speak to me about being ready to take off Saul’s armour. Referring to the time David was about to face Goliath and King Saul tried to press him to wear his armour. Saul’s armour represents a trust in manmade things to protect us and is the world’s way of doing things. God has made it clear to us that he is wanting us to move into a place of taking our trust off the world’s way of protecting us and to walk stripped down and to have faith in him alone. This sounds foolish to those who are worldly and are not led of the spirit, but to the ones who know God it is the way of obedience and salvation. After all we believe that God will save us and bring us into his eternal kingdom which is a far greater thing than protecting or healing our physical temporal body, yet we struggle to believe that he will look after us in this life without the added protection of worldly armour such as health insurance or doctors.

After making the decision to begin living by faith in the area of our health we almost immediately began to be tested. Our son began to break out in a rash that was very itchy and spread all over him in a matter of a week. Then my wife began to break out as well. Of course we had to deal with our fears and second guessing our decision, knowing that a quick trip to a doctor would likely bring fast relief. Our family pet, a German shepherd named Stallone had gotten chronic diarrhea and during this time his health also seemed to be failing rapidly. He developed a greatly distended swollen belly and for a time his feet and legs swelled to twice their usual size. We tried switching his dog food but he continued going downhill. After eating it would come out of him like water. We laid hands on him and prayed over him and declared him to be healed. He showed no sign of improvement. We had chosen the Lord to be our healer and remained committed to that path. After a few weeks of enduring large boil like sores, my wife and son recovered. Since we did not go to the doctor we do not know for sure what it was that caused it. Our dog however did not get better.

After more than six months of decline our dog looked like he was running out of time. One Sunday when we came home we found him shaking and drooling. His head hung down and he could hardly stand. We all laid our hands on him again and anointed him with oil. Then we continued proclaiming him healed. He picked up a little later in the day and that week, but clearly he was struggling. On Wednesday night of that same week I had a nearly sleepless night wrestling with my thoughts. I felt terrible seeing him in this condition and I cried out to God. I wondered if I could continue this path of trust if this were one of my family members that were going through this. But in the middle of it all I always had a sense that God was allowing us to grow and he was mercifully training us with our dog rather than one of us. I managed a couple hours sleep early in the morning and then got up and went to work on Thursday morning. Thursday evening when my son and I drove in the driveway, before we got out of the car we both noticed a difference in our dog. I commented that he appeared different. We saw him moving around and he seemed to have some energy that he had not shown for a long time.

I knew that I was looking at a miracle as our dog had virtually come back from the brink of death. In the next couple days he returned to his usual playful self with unlimited energy. He was eating lots and his stool was coming out formed and hard for the first time in over six months. He began filling out again and the bony protrusions were disappearing almost overnight. Other people who visited us saw the difference right away and we shared with some how he had been healed.

About two weeks after this miracle we began to notice some troubling things. His stool was not firm anymore and he seemed to be losing the weight gains he had made in the two weeks. In no time he once again had full blown diarrhea and the weight just melted off him. Back to cleaning up a bad mess every morning and wondering what had happened.

For the next three months we watched our beautiful pet decline back to a state where he looked as though he was ready to pass away at any time. He didn’t run or play he was so skinny you could nearly blow him over. I spent much time spiritually searching for the reason we were seeing this.

One day I was reading an article about a family who lost one German shepherd to sickness and nearly their second one just as they were discovering the hazards of feeding their dogs the commercially mass produced dog food kibble. The brand they were using was marketed as one of those “premium, natural, healthy foods.” But apparently they were being sued by some dog owners who felt that the food was making their dogs sick. This family had switched over to what is called the raw diet and was the natural diet that dogs have had for thousands of years. Very simply put, it is a diet of raw meaty bones and certain vegetables and a little fruit. This family had seen their dog fully recover in a short period of time after they began preparing his natural food and took him off kibble. The commercial foods use grains and grain by products as filler which were never consumed naturally by dogs.

After reading this I felt the Lord once again trying to show me something. We switched our dog over to this natural diet the very next day. He was literally at the point where I did not know if he could even recover (although we know with God all things are possible to those who believe). We fed him his first meal which was very different for him than he was used to. He quickly discovered that he liked raw chicken legs, wings, etc. We fed it to him bones and all. (There is no danger of bones the way there is if the meat is cooked. They are actually good for him.) One recipe we made for him included some grains such as wheat germ, oats etc. This was not part of the raw diet even though it was mixed with raw ground beef. The next day his stool was soft and runny again. We took the grains completely out of his diet and within a day his stool was hard and proper. Now after many weeks he has gained so much weight in that short period of time it is truly hard to imagine. He was always high energy when he was healthy in the past and as a result was always a little on the skinny side as he ran non-stop. Now his energy level is going through the roof but he is putting on weight. He is more filled out than any time in his life before he got sick. We are amazed at what we see and it’s easy to be excited when we see what God has done.

Stallone Today

Now here is what God was showing me when we switched to this diet of foods that are natural for dogs. The fact remains that our dog was healed when we prayed and believed. Faith brought about the manifestation of the finished work of healing that was done on the cross at Calvary. (Even though he is our pet dog, the fact remains that sickness is a result of the curse because man sinned. If the curse affects all creation so does the remedy – the cross.)However, the Lord was showing me a principle at work. The cause and effect of continuing to consume the unnatural foods was bringing the body repeatedly into weakness. If God allowed the miracle to remain, we would have continued merrily along feeding him that which was deadly to him. As soon as that was removed, his health re-emerged.

If you are reading this far you are probably thinking that I am all about healthy foods and natural products. That is not what the Lord was teaching me through all this. We are under a new covenant which is a spiritual covenant. The emphasis is on our spiritual health, not our natural health. God wants us to grow up in the faith and become the mature sons of God. Remember, all creation is groaning for the revealing of the sons of God. That is those who have matured in the spirit and do not walk this earth according to, or going after the things of the flesh but instead are led of the Spirit of God. God was using our dog and his diet to reveal a spiritual parable. The natural diet that will cause our spirit to grow is the word of God. When we mix the word with other “foods”, we end up with pretty much the same result as eating bad foods alone. If you prepare a meal with ninety nine percent healthy wholesome food and then just mix in a pinch of poison what result will you expect? By that I mean if we mix the world’s ways with how the Bible teaches us to walk we cannot expect the results that we were hoping for. Spiritually we become weak and sickly, unable to do even the smallest thing that the bible teaches that we should be doing - those things that Jesus did when he walked on the earth. Healing the sick is one thing that has been given to those who believe, yet there are hardly any instances of the church healing the sick - mainly because they can’t. It will require us taking back the trust we have placed in the worldly system and putting it where it belongs.... in God and his word. Through Christ the price for our healing was paid.

To continue the parable God revealed to me about our experience with Stallone. We love our pet and see him as a gift from God to our family. However, as a dog he is a beast and a type and shadow of the beast nature that is rising upon the earth. That this beast type is a shepherd is telling, in that many of those who are shepherding the people in this time are of the beast nature. Literally, wolves in sheep`s clothing. The beast is a consumer of flesh or fleshly things. People who are given over to the pursuit of worldly, carnal things and are not interested in the things of the spirit of God are being transformed into the image of the beast. Jesus said he is the Word of God, the Bread of life. Bread is made out of grains such as wheat. He also called those who are following Him wheat. He said at the time of the harvest he was going to separate the wheat from the tares, gather the wheat into his barn and cast the tares onto a great fire to be burned. So we are called to be wheat, bread just like Him. To be changed into his image. You are what you eat. So we are called to be consumers of wheat, of the Bread of life. We must feast on the Word of God and purge all the fleshly carnal things from our spiritual diet.

Our dog who is the type of the beast in this example was designed to thrive on flesh. While he consumed the commercial, mass produced food he was being given a mixture of grains and flesh. The grains were literally putting his flesh to death. When we took away the mixture, his flesh fully recovered and took on strength and size that we have never seen before in him. This is a picture of the carnal world purging the spiritual grain from their diet. As the true word of God is becoming more and more scarce to the peoples of this world, the fleshly beast is growing at a rate that is truly astounding.

The mirror image of this picture is the church. God`s people who are being called out of their carnal ways. They too have been eating the commercial, mass produced “Christian” diet. The teachers have been serving up a mixture of the word and the flesh. They are trying to use the spiritual for fleshly, lustful gain. As a result many (most) are spiritually weak and sick among us. We were told this would happen if we did not discern when we eat and drink of the Lord`s body and blood. We have not discerned his body, but we have mixed it with the flesh.

The good news (there’s always good news when we look to God for our healing) is that if we hear what He is speaking to us and do as He commands, beginning to eat the pure word, without adding the flesh, then in a single day we will see the spiritual diarrhea come to an end. The spiritual man will grow at an astounding rate, and become greater than at any time in history. The grain (word) will put our flesh to death. Those who will walk on the earth in these last days in the power and strength of Jesus, doing the works of Jesus, are the ones who will have purged the carnal thoughts and ways from their diet.

So then, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh: for if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die; but if by the Spirit ye put to death the doings of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by God’s Spirit, these are God’s sons.
Romans 8:12-14
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Will you be faithful to the end?
By Joy Heasman

7th Feb. 2013.

From Joy’s Journal.

Lean on Me, My beloved ones.
Hope in Me for all else will fail and fall.
The Creation groans; sin abounds.
Corruption has white-anted the very fabric
Of the Western economy and culture.
Like the working of termites, all that is left
Is the appearance of a house that stands
But in reality all that holds it up
Is a very precarious shell,
Honeycombed with empty spaces
Ready to Fall.

What will you do when it falls, O Man?
For a prosperous economy
Has been taken for granted by all.
But it is an illusion;
A projection of false reality
That is about to fall.
The true state of the economy is being hidden
By the architects of the collapse.
The worshipers of Lucifer,
Who want to take control of the world economy,
World government and one-world religion.

Where O Man will you run and hide
When your money falls with a mighty crash?
The stock exchanges will be filled
With weeping and wailing.
The banks closed; the docks deserted.
The warehouses closed for business;
The supermarkets shelves empty,
The people hungry and crying.
The gods of mammon fallen from their pedestals.
Politicians clueless as to what to do.

Where O Man will your help come from? 
Where is your source of supply?
What is your trust placed in?
Your income, your pension, your bank account, your silver and gold?
All these will fail.
If you are put in prison for your faith
Where will your comfort come from?
If you lose your house,
Will you also lose the comfort of a safe house for your soul?
If you have to flee the city
Will you be like Lot’s wife?

Evil abounds, virtually unchecked
As people go on in wilful ignorance
As they pursue their daily lives of surviving and having fun.
Evil rules in the leaders now
And the ordinary citizens pursue comfort and pleasure.
Who cares about righteousness and truth?
Do you?
If so, how much are you willing to pay to defend it?

Who cares for the suffering in bombed-out
Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Syria?
As NATO and the Western world have done to others
So it shall be done to them.
And who rubs his hands in glee?
The evil one! Whose agenda is it to rob, kill and destroy?
To create chaos so that out of the ashes…

Their phoenix will arise – the New Atlantis,
The New World Order – the Anti-Christ system.
The population traumatized and culled
So that they will accept the new super-race
Of cyborgs, hybrids, super-soldiers -
The “illumined elite.”

Did I not say that, “Unless I shortened those days
No flesh would survive?”
And that, “When I come will I find faith on the earth?”
And that, “When evil abounds
The love of most will grow cold?”

Will your love for Me grow cold
Because of what the evil one does on the earth?
He knows his time is short,
So that is why there is an escalation
Of satanically created wars, diseases and disasters.

Where will you hide in the day of trouble?   
You may not always actually have a physical shelter
But you are always safe when you shelter in My refuge.
I have My Goshens of safety for My people.

Similarly, when the plagues were
Visiting judgement on the gods of Egypt
My people were safe in the midst of it in Goshen.
But they had to be in the right place,
Obeying My instructions.
During the Passover they had to put blood on their doorposts,
And they had to be ready to leave when I said GO!

They could not take all their possessions
But had to flee for their lives.
If they were obedient they were provided for in the wilderness.
They had their needs met:
They had manna but not leeks and garlic,
They had water but not champagne.

Their shoes and clothes did not wear out,
There were no fashion shops on the way.
They had cloud cover by day
And fire to keep them warm by night.
But most of all they had My Presence and Protection,
But it was conditional on obedience.
I delight when My children trust Me,
But I am very disappointed when they complain and grumble.

Will you trust Me when you see no worldly source of provision?
Will you trust Me when the money fails?
Will you still love Me if you are put into prison?
Or is your love conditional?
Are you a fair-weather friend who will desert Me
In times of trouble.
Will you be like those disciples who ran away
When the temple police arrived to arrest Me?

Are you fully surrendered to My will?
Do you love My righteousness, truth and justice
More than your own life?
Are you daily being transformed into My image?
Are you practicing daily laying down your self-life
In order to please Me and be like Me?

My saints will shine like the stars in the time to come
The martyrs will have the highest honour.
Did I not say, that those who are faithful to the end will be saved?
Will you be faithful to the end?


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

Parables Blog: www.parablesblog.blogspot.com    

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

The End is Near

Joseph Herrin (09-19-2013)

Randy Simmons occasionally speaks to me regarding how long it has been since the Father has spoken about things to come, both in his life on a personal level and on a national and global scale. The Father has not been stinting with His prophetic utterances. There have been many of them. I carry a number of personal prophetic words around with me. I have them printed out and folded into the pages of my Bible. I looked at a few of them this week. Some, like the prophecies spoken through my daughter Kristin when she was fourteen years old, I have carried for a lengthy season. Kristin will turn twenty-six in December.

Although various prophecies have tarried, this fact has not diminished my belief in their authenticity, nor caused me to doubt that they will be fulfilled. My common reply to Randy when this subject is broached is that “God’s promises are closer to being fulfilled now than ever before.” This, of course, is an irrefutable statement, and it may seem pointless, for of course God’s promises must be closer to being fulfilled than they were yesterday, or last month, or ten years ago. Nevertheless, the saying expresses well my belief that Yahweh will fulfill what He has spoken, and it is an affirmation of my expectation of the same. Of Abraham we read:

Romans 4:18-22
In hope against hope [Abraham] believed, in order that he might become a father of many nations, according to that which had been spoken, "So shall your descendants be." And without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah's womb; yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief, but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what He had promised, He was able also to perform. Therefore also it was reckoned to him as righteousness.

Some of the prophetic words Yahweh has spoken to Randy and to myself are personal promises. They are akin to words we find throughout Scriptures, such as those spoken to Abraham above. They are promises of blessing, of some fulfillment of a long awaited desire or dream. Joseph, the son of Jacob, received promises from God when he was a youth. At the age of seventeen he was given divine dreams of promotion. He would be thirty years old before he saw the promise fulfilled.

Some of the prophetic words and signs Yahweh has been revealing to His people relate to end time events and judgments to befall the nations. Yahweh has affirmed through a plethora of signs that judgment is coming. He has especially shown me many divine portents of judgment to befall America, the nation in which I reside. I first shared these signs of judgment with Randy around 2005-2007 when we were in residence at the Macon Rescue Mission together. Randy believed the signs, yet he asked Yahweh to speak to him personally, affirming that America would fall. It was not long before Yahweh answered Randy’s petition.

Randy was driving down the Interstate in Macon, Georgia one day when he glanced over and saw a line of motorcyclists riding two abreast. They were exiting the Interstate on one of the off-ramps. As Randy watched the motorcyclists slow down as they approached the intersection, an unusual, and highly symbolic, event occurred. The last two motorcycles in the group included a man who had a jacket on that was red, white, and blue, emblazoned with the flag of the United States. As the motorcyclists stopped Randy watched the rider wearing this jacket fall over. The person riding abreast with him tried to grab the man, but was unable to keep him from falling. The man lay on the ground and did not get up. Randy recognized immediately that this was a sign from the Father, and an affirmation that America would fall and would not rise again.

There is no doubt that in large degree, America’s collapse, and that of the nations of the world, is a planned event being carried out by Satan and his human emissaries. I have often written of the plans that the government is carrying out to prepare for tremendous civil unrest, martial law, and the collapse of societal order. (See the post titled Others are Preparing - Should You?) That America’s vaunted economy will collapse is undeniable. The only question is “How soon?” America is drowning in debt. Her manufacturing base has been critically eroded. Over forty million Americans receive food stamps from the government just to be able to feed their families. There are record numbers of unemployed. The government published numbers are a deceit. True unemployment in America is running at more than 20%.

http://www.wnd.com/2013/08/heres-the-real-unemployment-rate-2/

Two weeks ago the Bureau of Labor Statistics published a report sharing that for the first time in America there are more than 90 million people who are NOT in the work force. America is a ship that is taking on water. The more water she takes on, the faster she sinks. The process is accelerating, and soon the entire ship of state must founder.

An interesting parallel is seen in the magnificent cruise ship the Costa Concordia striking a reef and sinking. The ship lay off an Italian island for the past year being battered by the waves. It was finally righted this past week, but it will never again serve as a cruise ship. It has sustained too much damage. It is to be floated to a port where it will be dismantled and sold as scrap. Such is the fate awaiting America and many other nations. The vultures are circling, waiting to pick the meat off the bones of those nations that have lived in fatness and sensuality.

Costa Concordia on its Side

As the picture above demonstrates, the Costa Concordia, a ship much larger than the Titanic, was built for amusement and pleasure. It stands as a symbol of the wealthy nations of the world, particularly America and Europe. Yahweh is signifying that an end is coming to the mirth and pleasure of the world’s wealthy nations.

A further sign was given this past week in America when a fire broke out on the amusement pier that had been devastated last year by Superstorm Sandy.

Funtown Pier in Flames

There is much in this particular story that serves as a spiritual parable of things to come to America. It was just off of this pier in the city of Seaside Heights, New Jersey, that the extremely popular television series Jersey Shore was filmed. This series ran for 5 or 6 years on MTV, garnering higher numbers of viewers than any other program in the cable channel’s history. The show featured 8 young men and women living together in a home, participating in a life of drinking, sex, and generally debauched living. Yahweh must judge a people who have given themselves over to the pursuit of moral decadence, and who celebrate a lifestyle of materialism and fornication.

The fire erupted on this New Jersey pier on September 12th. The pier had been heavily damaged when Superstorm Sandy struck the New Jersey shore. The pier was in the process of being rebuilt. The governor of New Jersey, and the local people, said they would rebuild after Sandy and make things bigger and better than before. The owner of the Funtown section of the pier had applied for a permit to extend the pier an additional 300 feet beyond its previous size. What Sandy did not destroy, the fire completely ruined.

The town of Seaside Heights was set to celebrate their 100th anniversary beginning on September 13th. The fire struck a day before the festivities were to begin. Note the boasting in the name of the Festival. The people were proudly going to raise their city to “NEW HEIGHTS.” Like the politicians in the aftermath of the World Trade Center’s destruction, they boasted that they would rebuild bigger and stronger than before.

Isaiah 9:9-10
Asserting in pride and in arrogance of heart: "The bricks have fallen down, but we will rebuild with hewn stones; The sycamores have been cut down, but we will replace them with cedars."

Remarkably, the first day of festivities were to have as their highlight entertainment that centered around fire. A fireworks display, and a bonfire were to be the central focus of the festival’s kick-off.

The fireworks and bonfire arrived a day early. The fiery destruction of the pier led to the cancellation of man’s celebration of fire. Approximately thirty businesses were destroyed by the blaze which was whipped along by thirty mile an hour winds resulting from an approaching storm. At its peak, more than 400 firefighters from all across the state were called in to battle the blaze.

Another significant attribute of this blaze was revealed in the way it had to be extinguished. The boardwalk had a concrete walkway, but underneath the concrete the supports were wood. The firefighters were battling the blaze from atop the pier and the concrete prevented them from extinguishing the fire that had spread under the pier. A large piece of demolition equipment had to be brought in and a breach made in the pier to prevent the fire from spreading further. A 25 foot wide section of the pier was quickly torn down and a wall of sand erected in its place. This divide was made right where Lincoln Avenue intersected with the boardwalk.

Last Stand at Lincoln Avenue

This “coincidental” detail evokes memories of the fiery conflagration that consumed America during the Civil War when Abraham Lincoln was President. The nation was divided even as the boardwalk was torn in two between north and south. Similarly, it was the southern section of the pier that was destroyed while the northern section survived.

Readers of this blog may be reminded of other similar testimonies of what is to come to America. The last Super Bowl featured for the first time ever, two brothers serving as head coaches of opposing teams.

Brother Against Brother

Heavenly Harbinger

A divide is growing between the patriots in America and the government forces. The government is active at this very moment seeking justification to disarm the American population. Civil unrest is coming. Brother will be divided against brother. Mirth and amusements will fall silent as the land is consumed with violence, slaughter, and devastation.

Shaded yellow area of pier was damaged during Sandy.
Shaded red area was damaged in fire.
Note Lincoln Avenue at top where a divide was made.

Some may remember that I shared some months back a prophetic word that Yahweh had revealed to a brother in Christ whom I have been privileged to know for some years now. Andrew Eberly was told by the Father years ago that he would have a son to be born who would be named Jacob. He would be born during the time the Bible describes as “Jacob’s Trouble.”

Two days ago I was on a bicycle ride with the young man I have come to visit, when my phone rang. It was Andrew. He told me he was driving home to pick up his wife for she was going into labor. Andrew’s son Jacob was born a little after 5 P.M. on the 17th day of the month. This was the 17th hour of the day on the 17th day of the month.

The number 17 is an interesting one. E.W. Bullinger shares the following information.

SEVENTEEN
stands out very prominently as a significant number. It is not a multiple of any other number, and therefore it has no factors. Hence it is called one of the prime (or indivisible) numbers. What is more, it is the seventh in the list of the prime numbers.
The series runs 1, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, etc. Thirteen, it will be noted, is also a prime number, and is therefore important; but it is the sixth of the series: hence it partakes of the significance of the number 6, and is indeed an intensified expression of it.
In like manner seventeen being the seventh of the series, it partakes of and intensifies the significance of the number seven. Indeed, it is the combination or sum of two perfect numbers—seven and ten—seven being the number of spiritual perfection, and ten of ordinal perfection.
Contrasted together the significance of these two numbers is clear; and when united in the number seventeen we have a union of their respective meanings, viz., spiritual perfection, plus ordinal perfection, or the perfection of spiritual order.
We see a beautiful illustration in

ROMANS 8:35-39
which concludes the first great division of that all-important Epistle, and sums up the blessings of those who are dead and risen in Christ. First we have a series of seven, then a series of ten. The seven are marked off by being put in the form of a question, while the ten are given as the answer to it.
"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall

1        Tribulation,
2       Or distress,
3        Or persecution,
4        Or famine,
5        Or nakedness,
6        Or peril,
7        Or sword?

as it is written, For Thy sake are we killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that,

8        Neither death (1),
9        Nor life (2),
10        Nor angels (3),
11       Nor principalities (4),
12        Nor things present (5),
13        Nor things to come (6),
14        Nor powers (7),
15        Nor height (8),
16        Nor depth (9),
17        Nor any other creature (10),

shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
[Source: http://www.philologos.org/__eb-nis/13666.htm#17]

Thus we see the relationship of the number 17 to trials and suffering for the purification of the people of God. Further insight is obtained as one looks at the relationship of the number 17 to the number 153. I have written about this in a number of posts. Following is a further quote from Bullinger.

The sum of all the digits up to and including 17 amounts to exactly 153. Thus, 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 + 7 + 8 + 9 + 10 + 11 + 12 + 13 +14 + 15 + 16 + 17 = 153.

As the result of our investigations in numbers, 153 = 9 x 17, and see in this number all judgment (9) exhausted for the people of God (17) in the person of their Surety.
[End Excerpt]
   
Bullinger points out that 9 is the number of judgment, and 17, as we have seen, is related to trials and suffering that results in the perfecting of the people of God. Little Jacob Eberly was born on 9/17, and we additionally find that 9 multiplied by 17 equals 153.

The number 153 appears prominently in the Scriptures at the third appearance of Christ after His resurrection. We read that the disciples, at Peter’s suggestion, had returned to fishing. They spent all night fishing on the Sea of Galilee and had caught nothing. In the morning they approached the shore and observed a man with coals prepared cooking some fish. The man called out to them to inquire if they had caught any fish. They replied in the negative. He instructed them to cast their nets on the right side of the boat and they would catch some fish.

The disciples obeyed and they encompassed a great number of fish. John recognized that it was the Lord, and told the other disciples. Upon drawing the net to shore and counting the fish, they found that there were 153 large fish in the net. The Lord told them to bring some of the fish, and He added them to the fire He had already prepared.

This entire event is a grand parable. Fish represent men, for Yahshua told these same disciples, “I will make you fishers of men.” The fish have to go into the fire. It is a fire that has already been prepared ahead of time. So too must the people of God pass through fiery experiences to be purified and made ready for the coming of the Lord.

It is worthwhile to examine what the Scriptures have to say about the period known as “the time of Jacob’s trouble.” Following is an excerpt from the prophet Jeremiah.

Jeremiah 30:1-7
The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, "Thus speaks Yahweh God of Israel, saying: 'Write in a book for yourself all the words that I have spoken to you. For behold, the days are coming,' says Yahweh, 'that I will bring back from captivity My people Israel and Judah,' says Yahweh. 'And I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.'" Now these are the words that Yahweh spoke concerning Israel and Judah. "For thus says Yahweh: 'We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace. Ask now, and see, whether a man is ever in labor with child? So why do I see every man with his hands on his loins like a woman in labor, and all faces turned pale? Alas! For that day is great, so that none is like it; And it is the time of Jacob's trouble, but he shall be saved out of it.’”

Note particularly the comparison to these days and a man giving birth. It seems more than coincidental that the news reported last week (on September 11th, a day of infamy) that a “man” gave birth to a baby in Germany. This transgender man was the first in Europe to give birth. See the following account.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/10301862/Transgender-man-gives-birth-in-Germany.html

The prophet Jeremiah indicates that the time of Jacob’s trouble will be a worldwide event. The nations of the world who have persecuted Yahweh’s people will suffer tremendous judgments. (Read the entirety of Jeremiah chapter 30 for this information.)

During this season of anticipation of soon coming judgment, I am being led to get all things in readiness. My chief focus is upon my personal life. I have long struggled with being overweight, and the Father has dealt with me on this area of the flesh for many years. I have at times gotten down to the target weight goal the Father set for me of being 165 lbs. or less, but I have not consistently remained there. I sense an urgency to bring to completion all obedience that the Father has laid upon me. I believe the anointing we will bear in these coming days, and the fulfillment of Yahweh’s promises to His people, will be contingent upon their obedience to Him.

I am placing a focus at this time upon altering my eating habits, and bringing my life into full alignment with the revealed will of the Father. I believe we are in a final season of preparation before a great shaking comes to the earth. The promises of the Father have delayed, but the delay has been for a good purpose. These recent years have been used by the Father to perfect, purify, and instruct a remnant of His people who are destined for promotion in the days ahead.

I encourage you to press into the Father at this time. Ask Him to reveal to you if there is anything in your life that has not been brought under subjection to His will. King David prayed:

Psalms 139:23-24
Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way.

The hour is late. Do not delay.


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

Parables Blog: www.parablesblog.blogspot.com    

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

Answers to “Ten Questions Christians Can’t Answer”

Joseph Herrin (09-16-2013)

If you missed the original post that this one follows up on, you can find it at the following link:

http://www.parablesblog.blogspot.com/2013/08/ten-questions-christians-cant-answer.html

In the above post I provided a link to a video posted by a Bible skeptic. The author posited ten questions that he stated Christians could not answer. I provided an answer to the first question and challenged readers to provide answers to the remaining ones. Following are the ten questions.

Question #1: When Noah’s ark landed, how did the kangaroos make it back to Australia?

Question #2: If the ark was covered in pitch, or tar, to make it watertight, it also made it airtight. How did the animals survive more than one or two days, living in complete darkness without any fresh air? Remember, the rain lasted forty days and forty nights. Noah couldn’t open the window in the top.

Question #3: Since Adam and Eve didn’t know right from wrong before eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, why did God then punish them for something they didn’t understand they were doing?

Question #4: Why would God place a forbidden tree in the garden so close to His innocent creation, and allow Satan to tempt them into eating from it, all the while looking on without doing a thing to prevent it?

Question #5: When the women went to Jesus’ empty tomb, was the stone already rolled away, or did an angel roll it away after the women got there?

Question #6: On the first day of the week, when Jesus rose from the dead, how many women went to the tomb, and which ones?

Question #7: If you believe the creation account in Genesis is mere allegory, then why don’t you throw out Paul’s epistles, because he believed that the creation account was a historical fact?

Question #8: How many donkeys did Jesus ride on His triumphal entry into Jerusalem? Was it one donkey, like Mark, Luke and John say, or was it two donkeys like Matthew said?

Question #9: Matthew and Luke both provide genealogies for Jesus, going all the way back to Adam. Using both of those lists, who was Joseph’s father?

Question #10: Was Jesus crucified on the first day of Passover like the gospel of John says, or the next day, like the other three gospels say?

A couple of energetic saints provided answers to all of the remaining questions. However, most of the replies were for only one or two of the questions.  I have decided to post ALL of the replies I received since the response was not overwhelming. If you have a comment on any of the answers, please use the comment field below. Remember to include your name if you want your comment to be posted. Anonymous comments will not be posted.

Question #1:
I really appreciate your blog. And i agree we don't give a good account of our faith and its going to get tougher.
I hope you don't mind a little unbiblical fact  about question 1# ? Kangaroos can swim, even though I totally agree with continental drift and God separating the countries, it is a fact that they can and do swim.
As to the ark being airtight! I wonder is it wrong to just accept by faith that if God sealed it he also sustained life by his own breath or would the sheer size of it be  possibly full of air? Battleships and submarines are airtight. I don't think too many earlier ones had ventilation ?  I know this is not a biblical answer but its hard when you have believed all your life by faith much of what we read. And I do read my Bible Old And New Testament. I don't believe they were in total darkness! I believe they had lamps and oil but the God who was fire by night and cloud by day to the Israelites surely if he purposed the ark he sustained it also. Anyway will go away now and ponder this blog and search the scriptures by the Holy Spirit thank you for challenging us!
Tara Gill

Questions #1-3: For the first question, after thinking about it for a minute I thought of Pangea as well. I never would have thought of the answer you gave, and it is shameful that I never studied scripture like I have been doing now.
My response to question two is that when God gave Noah the instructions for building the ark, God gave specific instructions to Noah and just as you talked about in your recent Push Back post about God doing things decently and in order, God knew what he was doing and He provided everything that they needed.
For question three God instructed Adam to not eat of the tree in Genesis 2:17, he obviously told Eve this as well because she responded to the serpent with those instructions in 3:3. They DID understand what they were doing, we are not robots God gave us free will.  I will think about the other questions and study them more.
Sireeta Taylor

Question # 2:
Genesis Ch8, v13
And it came to pass in the six hundredth and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from off the earth: and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and, behold, the face of the ground was dry (desolate).

The word “covering” in the above verse comes from the Hebrew “mikceh”. The same Hebrew word used to describe the badger covering for the tabernacle. The Hebrew “mikceh” is not used in any other context throughout the Old Testament so we can be confident the ark had the same type of covering. Being made of animal skin, it would have been sufficient to keep out the rain but porous enough to allow air to enter the ark.

Interestingly, to cover the tabernacle, badger skin was placed over ram’s skin died red which pictures our atonement through the blood of Christ. If you look at a badger’s skin, the white markings on its head display the 21st letter of the Hebrew alphabet shin (pictured below). It is also the symbol Jews placed on their door post for protection. It features as the first letter of Shaddai in “El Shaddai” (Almighty God) and is the central letter in both “Yeshua” and “Jerusalem”. Shin carries the numerical value 300 (Gideon’s 300).

Badgers are also adept and killing vipers too!  How about that for symbolism! See this honey badger in the following video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dq_UN-V9eyM

Question #3:
It would not be accurate to say that they did not know right from wrong, because they were given instructions re the ‘tree.’   I think the ‘knowledge of good and evil’ refers to experiential knowledge rather than instruction.  They chose the scientific method of trial and error and error and error over taking Father’s word for it.  And Adam was willing to leave his Father and cling to his wife, as Yahweh knew that he would do.  And so began the story of man.
Carla Swaim

This person who challenges Christians on why did God punish Adam and Eve when they did not know right from wrong is deceptive and as you stated, does not represent biblical truth.  There was first the age of conscience, then the dispensational age of the law and then with Messiah's coming, the age of grace.  When God created man, he placed in him, on his heart specifically as it says in scripture, the knowledge of God and a knowing of right from wrong imbued or innate from the moment of their creation.  So when God breathed life into the human form, he instilled the awareness of the conscience.  That's supported by the verse that man is without excuse when he claims there's no evidence for God's existence. For the very created things are evidence of that and being imbued with this conscience is what gives a human this innate frame of reference, not of laws yet to come, but of right from wrong.  That's what it means to even have a conscience.  That's why people in remote areas who will maybe never hear the gospel or of Jesus can be saved by their innate knowledge of right and wrong from God written on their hearts and having this conscience to guide them.  I think that may answer this person's cunning little query.
Lisa D'Alia

Question #4:
Answer: free choice, free will.

The man in the YouTube video is to be congratulated for asking thought provoking questions.  If this man were God and had created people, he probably would have created them to look something like himself, in his image.  He would certainly want his creation to have free will, freedom of choice.  Why?  He would reason that without it they would simply be a modified robot, never able to attain to the full potential of being the very image of God himself.  Likewise, granting them 100% freedom of choice would proclaim ultimate, final trust in his creation.  Contrary, if his creatures are not ultimately trustworthy, then he, their maker, could not be trusted for having made them.

Having endowed his creation with free will he would have known this freedom of choice could be used for good as exemplified in a loving, caring nature, or for evil in a selfish, hurtful manner.

Would the man in the video, as Yahweh, our Creator, have known that when he spoke his creation into being by his very words themselves, that his words in effect constitute the “glue” which holds mankind together?  This method of creation would leave man with a choice: accept the word of his Creator, obey and walk in his word (the tree of life), or choose to reject the word, the “glue,” and do what is right in his own eyes (the tree of knowledge of good and evil).  Man could choose to believe that his maker has a “manufacturer’s manual,” (a Bible) which all could choose to follow for their good, or man could choose to trust that mankind, without his maker, knows best, and mankind can therefore set the standard for what is good and what is evil – man’s choice.

Were the man in the video our creator, then he, as Yahweh himself, in his foreknowledge would have known the potential for man choosing to reject the “glue” and thereby commence to fall apart.  He, as Yahweh, could forget about it and walk away, or he could choose to immediately set choices before mankind knowing that mankind learns, the hard way, or the easy way, from his choices.  If he truly loved us, his creation, he would have designed corrective judgments for us to encourage us, should we choose, to repent and turn from that which is harmful to that which brings blessings and life.  Would he know that his creatures, having learned the consequences of bad choices, would now be encouraged to make proper choices, mature and grow into the perfect person they were originally designed to be?

He is faced with a dilemma.  If man’s harmful choices of the tree of knowledge of good and evil were to produce decay, destruction and death, what could he, their creator, do – back off and let them self-destruct, or send divine assistance?  The man in the video, as any decent creator would come to mankind’s aid by giving man the choice to become reunited, rejoined and reconciled with his Creator.  How?  He himself would come to earth, take the penalty/consequence of man’s improper choices, be crucified, spill his blood in payment of the redemption price, and because of his very nature – life itself – resurrect as a powerful being overcoming death and be more than willing to give this overcoming power and life, even eternal life, to all who would choose such.

Biblically, we can see that right out of chute number one our Creator has given us a choice. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1.  We can choose to believe he created us or we can choose to believe we evolved from monkeys and act accordingly.  Our choice!

Immediately following, in Genesis 2:9 we see another choice. Out of the ground Yahweh God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  Then, in Genesis 2:16-17 we see the consequence of choosing rejection of the creative word, the “glue.” Choose to accept or to reject

Yahweh God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely;         but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”

Throughout Scripture we see choices set before us, as for example in Deuteronomy  30:19-20 regarding his commandments. “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, by loving Yahweh your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him; for this is your life...”

Finally, when we come to the end, we see in the final chapter of the final book, Revelation  22:17, that he continues to give us a choice.  Will we come back to our Creator and his “glue,” the Word Himself, Yahshua/Jesus, who holds us together or not?  “Come!" say the Spirit and the Bride. Whoever hears, echo, "Come!" Is anyone thirsty? Come! All who will, come and drink, drink freely of the Water of Life!”
Roger Norman
Fort Worth, Texas

Questions #1-10:
Question #1----Joseph Herrin answered in a very competent way.
Question#2...... "how did they breath inside the ark if there was pitch on it? My answer: Lord, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty, neither do I exercise myself in things too high for me. Psalm 131:1
Question #3..."since Adam and Eve didn´t know right from wrong, why did God punish them"?  My answer: In Genesis 2:17 God plainly said to them, " But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it".......From the moment that God said "THOU SHALT NOT" Adam and Eve were under law. They knew it was wrong to break the commandment of YAHWEH thier creator. They didn´t need to eat from a tree, they heard it straight from Gods mouth.
Question #4..."why did God place the tree there to tempt them in the first place, then just sit back and watch the entire scenario.?..My answer. God don´t want robots to worship him. He wants a people created in his own image with a free will to choose on their own accord to either follow him, and obey his laws, or reject him and his commandments and go their own way. In Deuteronomy 30:19 God told his people..."I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that i have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live. Deuteronomy 31:19.
Question #5...when the women went to the tomb, was the stone already rolled away, or after the women got there"?....My answer. The bible very plainly declares that it was already rolled away. Mark, Luke, and John very plainly says so. They use Matthew 28:2 to try to say that it happened while the women were there, but anyone with any comprehension of the English language at all knows that Matthew 28:2 is a parenthesis (spelling). The writer paused in his discourse of events, and inserted a clause of something that caused the stone to roll away.
Question #6..." how many women went to the tomb"?  My answer. The bible dosent say just how many went to the tomb. It names 4 by name. Luke 24:10 names 3. Mary Magdalene, Joanna and Mary mother of James. Mark 15:47 calls Mary, "the mother of Joses, so this was without the mother of Jesus himself, another account calls her "the other Mary". Then in mark 16:1 it names Salome. Then in Luke 24:1-10 it says there was "other women". So the bible doesn’t pin it down exactly the number of women that went to the tomb. It only names these four.
Question #7...."if you believe that the creation account is mere allegory, then why don´t you throw out Pauls epistles......   My answer. This just shows the silliness of these people that throw these questions at us. I don´t know of any true bible believing Christian that believes that the Genesis account of creation is a "mere allegory".
Question #8....how many donkeys did Jesus ride on on his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. My answer: Again this shows nothing but silliness from these people. The scripture very plainly says that he rode on the colt. He didn´t ride the mother ass, simply because she had been ridden before. He rode the colt because Luke 11:2 says "....Ye shall find a colt tied whereon never man sat...." It is unthinkable that the Messiah would ride into Jerusalem on just any donkey that many people had ridden on. These reprobate people that are throwing these questions at us use Matthew 21:5-7 to try to say it is saying that he rode both of them, when verse 5 plainly says that he sat upon "an ass colt". That is what it says, nothing more.
Question #9....".who was Joseph’s father." My answer: I don´t know where they are coming from on this one. Matthew 1:16 very plainly says that Jacob was Joseph’s earthly father. Then Matthew 1:20 calls him "the son of David." So are they looking at it from a spiritual viewpoint, or a physical one?
Question #10....This is a strange one from these people. Jesus had to have been crucified on Passover. He was the" Lamb of God that Taketh away the sin of the world" John 1:29. Then 1 Corinthians 5:7 says "....Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us." Where they are trying to tangle us up is the fact that there was two Sabbaths that year. One was a High Sabbath, which was Passover, and the other one was the regular weekly Sabbath.
Robert Taylor - Missionary to Mexico

Questions #2-10:
Question #2:
Gen 6:16 
You shall make a window for the ark, and you shall finish it to a cubit from above...
Question #3:
From what we know, this was the only commandment that God has given to Adam in the garden, and Even was not even created yet.
Gen 2:16-17 
And YHVH God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat;
but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die."
All I need to know here is, why did God ever gave us any of His commandments?
There were commandments and laws even before the official Law was given at Mount Sinai.
Gen 26:4-5 
And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed;
because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws."
So my answer is: Every commandment that God had ever given us, was put in place for the sole purpose of testing our hearts. To see who is obedient and who isn’t. God could have easily created us to be perfectly obedient, He could have easily destroyed the serpent even before it spoke and He could have easily made the garden without that tree. But He did none of those things. Instead, He chose to give the command not to eat and then He put that delicious looking tree right in the midst of the garden! Why? Testing.
Noah was tested when God told him to build that humongous arc, Abraham was tested when God told him to sacrifice Isaac, Moses was tested when he was told to go back to Egypt before the pharaoh, with his speech impediment and demand of the pharaoh the most daunting thing: "Let my people go". Even Yahshua was tested for 40 days. Every major figure in the Bible was tested.
If anyone thinks that he/she is not going to be tested by God, that he/she will somehow be exempt from it, is in serious denial about the one true God.
So why is testing so important to God? Easy answer. Who would you invite to spend the whole eternity with you? Eternity is a looooong time. The ones who respect you and love you, or the ones who don’t? God said: "If you love me, you will keep my commandments". You can not love God and not keep His commandments at the same time. 
Deu_5:29 
Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep all My commandments, that it might be well with them and with their children forever!
John_14:15 
"If you love Me, keep My commandments.
John_15:10 
If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love.
Who does devil hate the most?
Rev_12:17 
And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Who does God love the most?
Rev_14:12  Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.
Rev_22:14  Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city.
Question #4:
Why would God place a forbidden tree in the garden so close to His innocent creation, and allow Satan to tempt them into eating from it, all the while looking on without doing a thing to prevent it?
Answer:
I just realised I had already answered this in my answer to the question #3.
Question #5:
When the women went to Jesus’ empty tomb, was the stone already rolled away, or did an angel roll it away after the women got there?
Answer:
If we combine side by side the first three Gospel accounts ( I will leave out the description in John, since it is the shortest and couldn’t answer the question above) and if we put them together into one, then it all makes perfect sense.
I will put numbers before each segment so you can understand easier what verses have I combined.
#1
Matthew 28:1 
Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.
Mark 16:1 
Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him.
Luke 24:1 
Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared.
#2
Matthew 28:2-4 
And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it.
His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow.
And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.
#3
Mark 16:2-4 
Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen.
And they said among themselves, "Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?"
But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away—for it was very large.
Luke 24:2-3 
But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb.
Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.
#4
Mark 16:5-7 
And entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed.
But he said to them, "Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him.
But go, tell His disciples—and Peter—that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you."
Matthew 28:5-7 
But the angel answered and said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.
He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.
And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you."
Luke 24:4-8 
And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments.
Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, "Why do you seek the living among the dead?
He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee,
saying, 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.' "
And they remembered His words.
#5
Matthew 28:8 
So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.
Mark 16:8 
So they went out quickly and fled from the tomb, for they trembled and were amazed. And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.
Luke 24:9 
Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest.
By combining these three Gospel accounts, it is clearly evident that the tomb was already opened when they got there.
Question #6:
Answer:
Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James were definitely participants of the whole event, Salome is said to have only been buying spices with them (Mark 16:1) and of Joanna I am not sure. She may have only been involved with the preparing of spices and ointments (Luke 23:56), or she may have been with the two Mary’s on the way to the tomb, but never actually entered the tomb.
I am looking forward to seeing the answer to this one on your blog

Question #7:
Answer:
I do not believe it is a mere allegory.
Question #8:
Answer:
The word "him" is inserted into the KJV. It does not exist in the Greek, nor in the Hebrew Matthew.
Mat 21:6-7 
And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them,
And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set (him) thereon.
Therefore, there is no contradiction in the text.
Question #9:
Answer:
This contradiction can only be solved if we admit that the Gospel of Matthew may have been originally written in Hebrew or Aramaic, as the "church fathers" Papias, Origen and Jerome claimed.
Both Hebrew and Aramaic Matthew texts have the word "father" instead of "husband" in the verse 1:16. They both say that Mary’s father was also named Joseph, just as her husband. That one word solves it all. That way we have 14 generations from exile to Yahshua, that way Yahshua is a descendant of David and that way we destroy the apparent contradiction of who was Jospeh’s father in these two lineages.
If we say that we will only believe in Greek, we neither have the 14 generations, nor do we have any blood lineage of Yahshua to king David, and that missing blood lineage would disqualify Him as being the Messiah.
So, I believe what Papias, Origen and Jerome claimed. Matthew was written in Hebrew.
Question #10:
Answer:
There is no "first day" of Passover, there is only one day of Passover, the rest is called The Feast of Unleavened Bread. And on that one day there is only one specific time when the actual appointed time is and that is at dusk. All of the day before the dusk is called the preparation for Passover. During that day of preparation the lambs were slaughtered (just like Yahshua) and only at dusk the lambs were eaten. And according to our Fathers appointed times, Yahshua fulfilled the first 4 Feasts exactly on the day. He was killed on Passover, He was in the grave during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, He rose from the grave on the day of the Firstfruits and He gave His Holly Spirit to the disciples on the Feast of Pentecost.
The last supper was not the real Passover meal, it was simply the last supper that He had with His disciples, because He knew He would not be there to have the Passover meal with them the next evening. If it were the Passover meal then it would be all wrong and Yahshua is not fulfilling His Fathers will all wrong. The day would be wrong, cause they would be the only folks in Jerusalem celebrating it one day early, the house would most likely not be prepared for the Feast, because the whole House would have to be leaven-free and that is not a couple of hour work, and most importantly all the texts say that Yahshua was breaking leavened bread on that day and giving it to His disciples to eat. Absolutely not possible.
So yes, Yahshua was crucified on the only day of the Passover.
Kresimir Hrgovic


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