Word from the Lord on The McFiles, Wednesday, September 23rd

 Okay so this is a time right now, I promise you where people have to surrender to the Lord and listen for his instruction.  I am telling you because you're going to be shaken if you're not surrendered to the Lord, on your knees deeply rooted in Almighty God because of what you are going to see and those of us who the Lord has been speaking to and giving these words to and pouring into when these things happen we will be prepared we will be ready.  It may not be pleasant to watch but we'll be in the eye of the storm with this, we will, and God is going to protect his people! Why? Because we're faithful right now those who have been faithful to Almighty God he is putting a hedge of protection around, he is putting a hedge of protection around those voices who have been unapologetically speaking the truth of Almighty God because the enemy is stirring right now. 

He hates Rosh Hashanah, he hates it because of what it reminds him of and so the enemy right now with this let me tell you something, there are already meetings that have taken place in secret, in secret between those at the upper echelon of this whole pyramid of the kingdom of darkness.  And the political arena, there have already been meetings that have taken place for plan A, B, and C, as they see these things happening because they're riding on October and they're riding on what is coming in October.  They're riding on the holiday at the end of October, they're hoping to stir up the most power in October. I wouldn't be surprised if we heard the number 21 again.  They try to invoke the number 21 in October because that's a very special number that you actually have to get permission for, in the occult, from lucifer himself to use.  That's why you see 21 at the blackjack table, 21 to drink, 21 to smoke, 21 that's why you see 21 everywhere.  

There is a reason because those are vices a lot of these things are vices that the enemy lures people in and he gets them in bondage to and right now the Lord is expecting his people to mobilize.  He truly is. Right now he's expecting his people to mobilize.  I’m waiting on the look as I can feel the Lord,  I can feel his presence, Glory to God!  But He's waiting for his people to mobilize and that is beginning to happen because these pockets and rumblings of revival are going to get louder and louder and louder as we approach and get into October and November.  Because they're trying to silence the church and you know why they're trying to silence the church right now?  Because of this month of October they don't want the church to operate in the power of Almighty God because it'll weaken the sacrifices, it's going to weaken the secret meetings, it's going to weaken October 31st right now.

And the worst thing the enemy could have done is awake a sleeping giant and let me tell you something the church has been a sleeping giant that is now being awoken for such a time as this and one of the worst things that could have happened for the enemy is for the church to be pushed out into the streets, to go where a hurting and oppressed are, and the burdens are, and the sick are, to go there and to go bring the gospel to them and to bring them to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

Let me tell you something the wicked who came up with this plan, who are in bed with china were not banking on the church going into the streets.  They were banking on the church submitting to them and listening and then being able to shut the power of Almighty God down through the church, but what has happened instead, is the Lord has used this to shake the church awake!  

Let me tell you something, people talk about being woke, let me tell you something you need to be woke in Almighty God and walk in what he's doing!  And the Book of Revelation and what we see happening right now in the United States of America.  Because the church is being shaken awake, and the Lord is using the enemy's own vices and his own attacks.  He is using it in order to compel the church forward for as the Lord compelled Jesus into the wilderness to be tried and tested, so the Lord is compelling the church right now! He is compelling them out.  He is giving them no choice; Jesus had no choice he had to go into the wilderness.  He had to go right after he was baptized before he could be raised up in the ministry.  He had to be tested, he had to be tried he had to go deeper with his Father and I know that's hard, because he's Jesus Christ, but he was in the flesh still, he was God and man all rolled into one.  And he was in the flesh and he had to go deeper with the Lord, he had to in the flesh face the enemy.  He had to in the flesh face him. He faced him as the king of kings in heaven, he seen the enemy go up there but he had to face him in the flesh, in order to defeat him, in order to cause him to flee, in order to resist him.  And let me tell you something Almighty God is mounting a resistance in the church the likes the wicked has never seen!  

I promise you this and I’m gonna say I praise you Lord I give this over to you right now.  And I’m gonna wait on the Lord for a minute because I know the Lord wants to speak, I could feel it welling up in me.  So, I’m gonna wait on the Lord for a minute as he as we begin here

Who is like you Almighty God maker of heaven and earth.  Adonai the righteous judge, who holds the world in his hands, the world is his footstool.  The presence of Almighty God is everywhere.  He led Israel in the wilderness.  He led them a cloud by day and fire by night.  Who can escape that presence? Who could hide anywhere that God could not find them?  For God is and was and always will be, the Alpha and Omega in Jesus name amen.

Spirit of the Lord speaks through Amanda

And the Spirit of the Lord says this day fear not my children, FEAR NOT.  For I your father, as I led Israel to face the philistines, as I led Israel to face the Amalekites, as I led Israel into Jericho, so I your Father in heaven am leading you, My children into this battle.   I the righteous judge, I Adonai, I Elohim, am leading my children right now by My Spirit into a Spiritual battle for the soul of your nation.

Because if My people, My people who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face, not the face of the media, not the face of politics, not the face of man, My face, and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from Heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land says the Lord.  That is a three-part plan, I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal your land.

And it is the church, it is the church said the Lord who became complacent who became too comfortable in the world system.  FOR YOU ARE NOT OF THE WORLD MY CHILDREN, YOU ARE A PECULIAR PEOPLE,  YOU ARE CALLED, YOU ARE SPIRIT, YOU ARE SALT, YOU ARE LIGHT, and I the Lord God this day, say I am adding a double salting to My children as they go forth into the highways and byways by My Spirit.  I am compelling My children into the cities, and in to the oppressed areas, and into the areas where fire is raging, and into the areas where mafia kings rule, and into the areas where those have sold themselves to the devil himself and there is nothing but bloodshed and murder.

 I am sending My children into those areas by my Spirit.  And I am speaking My word, and I am calling those in, I am calling them now, for time is fleeting my children, time is fleeting and I am calling them in now. I am calling them by every race, I am calling them into my kingdom, I am calling for surrender, for I the Lord God this day say… there must be surrender for the enemy has dug in his heels and the operatives of the enemy, and the agents of the enemy, and those in the political arena, and kings and leaders of the enemy have dug in their heels thinking that the powers of the kingdom of darkness that be, will be their protector and will lead them to a victory without costing them their lives.  

For there will be lives lost My children.  Make no mistake, there will be lives lost of those who sold their souls to the devil for power and fame.  There shall be lives lost, in this you shall see.  People suddenly fall ill, you shall see them suddenly be removed from the sea, you shall see them suddenly fall says the Lord this day.  And as Athaliah says the Lord of hosts fell, as Athaliah for seven years reigned terror on My people, as she attempted to get rid of every bit of competition, so says the Lord God this day, that Spirit will fall.  The sword of the Spirit and the sword of the Lord is going forth says the Lord thy God this day in this country.  The sword of the Lord, I am not done yet says the Lord until the last trump says the Lord God this day.   I AM NOT DONE ON PLANET EARTH and you My children are to occupy says the Lord till My return, you are to occupy!  Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.  Praise Me right now in symphony in one accord and cry out to Me My children, it will reach up into the heavenlies before My throne and I shall be compelled to act.  For I see what the enemy is doing and I see every avenue, every plot, every agreement, every back channel, every sacrifice, every meeting, every cloaked one that through the night in the wee hours of the night, meet cloaked in darkness thinking they can draw such power to overthrow Almighty God.

Well, says the Lord of Hosts this day, lucifer was under that same delusion and when he dared lead a rebellion, in the heavenlies I threw him out of heaven like lightning to the earth, how dare he says the Lord, how dare he and he will pay his price he will have his portion in the lake of fire.  For he is reminded that his time is short as well and this is why My children it is so important to bring souls to the Kingdom.

It is so IMPORTANT to bring people to know Jesus Christ My son as their Lord and Savior for nobody comes to the father says the Lord, nobody comes to Me but through my son Jesus that sanctified you before Me when he became a curse and hung on a cross, and says the Lord thy God this day,  

I will exhume from the earth; I will exhume from the earth what man has been unable to touch what has been lost.  I will exhume it from the earth to bring my sons and daughters in Israel, those chosen to know Yeshua as their Lord and Savior, to bring those that thought the Bible was a collection of stories,  to bring them to see the accuracy and the precision and the divine power that went in to writing such a book that has stood the test of time,  you know why My children says the Lord?  Because it is living it is active, it is sharper than any two-edged sword penetrating to the dividing line.  I am the word, says the Lord.  In the beginning was the word and the word was God was with God and the Word was God My children.  And now I as the Word shall be the sword that penetrates to the dividing line for I send my word out and it is done says the Lord thy God this day.

And I am going out as the sword of the Spirit, and I am sending My warring angels out to battle in the heavenlies, the principalities that so want control in this country.  For as I sent Michael to battle the prince of Persia, in order to reveal to Daniel what you are seeing begin to transpire now My children.  So I am sending out my warring angels and legions to battle in the heavenly, not only for the soul of this country, but for the leadership.  To protect the leadership right now says the Lord, for there are sinister plots incredibly sinister, disturbing plots meant to totally crush the souls of those in leadership right now.  Meant to make them walk away from the table says the Lord, meant to make them turn and completely give up in disgust.  They are trying says the Lord to bring it to a breaking point, they are desperate says the Lord, they are desperate and they have brought forth such a sinister plot that they believe shedding this blood will be a sacrifice that will put them over the edge.  Ooh it will put them over the edge says the Lord thy God this day, it shall put them over the edge right to their father the devil, if that's who they choose to serve and do not repent and turn from their wicked ways right now, says the Lord says the Lord thy God this day!

I am in the midst, still I have not left my throne, I have not stopped ruling and reigning, I have not stopped judging, I have not stopped intervening for my children.  The enemy would like you to believe that fallacy, but it is not true for I am the same, I am the Alpha and Omega.  I AM THE GOD that ordered the slaughter of Goliath, that put my Spirit into a little servant shepherd named David and gave him the boldness of Ruach Elohim that he could face a giant and with one stone, ensure that Goliath would not terrorize Israel anymore, because when I the Lord thy God this day have a mark, I do not miss, I do not miss My children.

Remember this and bow before Me says the Lord, in sincere reverence, in sincere surrender understanding that I created the earth in seven days and I the Lord thy God can destroy.  I create and I also can destroy says the Lord thy God this day.  For as you have seen, when the wicked attempted to raise a standard, when they attempted to come against my people, when they attempted to destroy the covenant, I the Lord God Adonai raised an even greater standard against the enemy's onslaughts. I raised an even greater standard in the midst of what looked like calamity, in the midst of what looked like all was lost, Gideon 300 men against an army of over 140 000. Only 300 men because the Spirit of the Lord God is all you need My children going into battle. 

I am the word and I speak it and it is so, remember this My children for what you are going to go into and witness. Be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might, put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand the wiles and scheming’s of the devil.  Be strong and courageous right now my children, DO NOT BE DISMAYED! DO NOT BE DISMAYED! For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.  And yes, the Lord of hosts says I am allowing some things, I am allowing some things to bring people into Me to draw them in to wake the church up, to actually be a dividing line in the church to expose the operatives that have been aiding and abetting those interests that serve the kingdom of darkness, those interests that are against my word, and the righteous and those who stand for truth and those who love the Lord their God, and those who serve the Lord their God with all their heart, soul and mind.  I am dividing that line right now My children.  I am making it crystal clear; I am making it very clear right now my children, who has been playing the part and who is truly walking with the Spirit of Adonai and that shall come more into focus My children, In the coming months.

For do not fear if it seems bleak for I the Lord thy God will rush in, I will rush it, watch and pray be watchmen right now.  Trust in the Lord your God, trust in My might, trust that there is not a power or principality that could overthrow Almighty God, for I am, I always was, and I always will be.  And I love My children. I am the Lion of Judah and I will fight for My children as long as there are righteous, I will fight for them says the Lord.  So put your hope in the Lord right now, trust in your God, be firmly rooted.

Psalm 1, be like the tree planted by rivers of living water.  Right now, My children I will keep you, I will keep you under My wings.  I will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and I will cover those with a hedge of protection that are anointed to do a job for Almighty God, that are anointed to serve on this earth, that are anointed to go forth with the breath and the Spirit of God, I have put in them and boldly speak My word and proclaim it to the nation and to the world in order that those may wake up from a slumber and drop to their knees before their God, repent and turn right now for this is a crucial hour.  And this is a crucial time and as revival breaks out you are going to see the wicked panic more as people pray and cry out to God more.  You will see the panic and ensue because it torments those of the enemy, it torments the kingdom of darkness My children, it torments them.  And you know, what praise Me even the louder right now rejoice that I have already delivered you for it has already gone forth in the Spirit and says the Lord thy God this day,  you shall now see it manifest in the natural in a powerful mighty way, you will see the shaking you will feel things shake but I the Lord God will steady you and you shall see the salvation of the Lord stand still my children.  Hold your position and watch the salvation of your mighty God go forth thus saith the Lord of hosts in the mighty name of Jesus Christ Yeshua.

Word from the Lord 9.14.20

 

9.14.20 Word from the Lord: received approx. 2am

 

The Alpha and Omega, the Ancient of Days, all glory and honor and power forever and ever, and to His Kingdom there is no end, Amen…

 

And the Sprit of the Lord says this day…

 

Behold I stand at the door and knock, if any man hear let Him open the door and I will come in and sup with Him, I will commune, I will pour out My Sprit says the Lord of Hosts this day.

 

There is a march says the Lord that is getting louder, for I the Lord God Yahweh am going before My people. I am marching before them and I the Lord am clearing the way and making a way where there seems to be no way. I the Lord God, the King of Kings, say as Rosh Hashanah approaches I am going before My people into battle, My Spirit is rushing in, it is charging through the Darkness and splitting it in two

 

I am delivering My people says the Lord I am delivering My people says the Lord. Make a joyful noise! Blow the shofar! Shout Hallelujah to your God in heaven for I am delivering My people from the snare of the fowler, the perilous pestilence, the terror, the arrows firing from the enemy’s bow.  I am halting the disaster they are attempting to execute to lay waste to this country and the people in it says the Lord God Maker of Heaven and earth

 

There will be major victories for My people leading up to Rosh Hashanah, for you shall blow the shofar, for I the Lord God have given you the victory! I have given you a great victory that shall manifest in the natural Says the Lord of Hosts

 

The Hunt is on says the Lord the hunt is on!! The Hunter shall suddenly switch in the blink of an eye and become the Hunted. For I the Lord God am reversing the current I am reversing the current. For many are attempting to create a current that runs opposing Almighty God, that opposes the people of God, a raging river of a current, rage being the key word My children. There is an attempted advance of a raging river, and raging rivers are bumpy, they are furious. However, I the Lord, starting Rosh Hashanah, shall bring forth strategic events that shall begin to reverse the current, the rapids.

 

My people shall ride above it My people shall ride above it!! For My people are ushering in a wave of worship and testimony of their Creator in Heaven that is rivaling the rapids it is challenging the rapids.  For the force that is raging the rapids is far less than the Force of Almighty God and His people singing and crying out in worship and repentance for your nation of America says the Lord Of Hosts

 

 

 

Incredible jaw dropping events shall take place surrounding Rosh Hashanah even greater than what you have already witnessed says the Lord

 

They are attempting to switch the position they are attempting to switch the position!

 

I the Lord am going before My people and leading them through the raging rapids leading them through an angry forest, they shall rise above, they are under My feathers My wings are giving them refuge Psalm 91.

 

For there is a thick black cloud highly disturbing, that is attempting to be brought in with the rage, attempting to strategically be brought in for this time of year, to muffle the cry of my people, to turn the volume up on the rage, to feed the rage says the Lord

 

The media is intentionally feeding the rage, they are following orders, they are attempting to cause civil war. Their board room meeting strategically plotting this out strategically saying certain words meant to trigger an adverse psychological and spiritual response, meant to lull the mind into hatred and rage and greed and entitlement says the Lord!

 

I the Lord created Life and I the Lord God can take life, and as the greed rises as the entitlement rises as they are inflated with a puffed up greed and humility is fleeting, be in prayer for mercy for tragedy shall strike, a tragedy of their own making. A tragedy from filling people with darkness, for there shall be a split they will draw lines within movements and the movement will oppose itself says the Lord. A leader shall fall. For the Word of God they attempt to burn, Holy Fire shall consume them says the Lord

 

Similar events shall occur in Israel and the United States as we approach Rosh Hashanah and those rebellions shall fall on their own swords. There shall be chaos within those parties and movements for demons are competitive My children, they all want to be in charge and they all want to be worshipped and fighting, public infighting shall take place, you shall watch this play out says the Lord God this day

 

Right now My children you must remain steadfast, a witness and in all boldness speaking My Word. Partake of communion, a memorial of what My precious son did for you at the Cross, be filled as My vessels when you partake of this, and in worship right now, worship of Almighty God. For the weapons of your warfare are not carnal But mighty through God to the pulling down and destruction of strongholds. Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might, put on the FULL armor of God to stand against the wiles and schemings of the devil.

 

The wolves will fall the wolves will fall says the Spirit! We are proclaiming and announcing the intent of Almighty God the righteous Judge, the wolves will fall!!!The wolf pack will be scattered!

 

I the Lord God am baiting and allowing them to move in, and just when they think they have gained enough ground, they have stolen enough, they have terrorized enough, they have cornered their prey I the Lord God shall  by My power and outstretched arm send in My waring angels to strike the heads and split the bodies and cause a mass retreat says the Lord

 

A Holy backdraft in the midst of a fire will cause a major hit to the Kingdom of darkness for I am the Lord God, I change Not I neither sleep nor slumber, I will NOT be mocked, even in mercy, the mouths of the mockers, scoffers, prognosticators, instigators, will be struck and shut says the Lord

 

As My people worship and praise and go forth Boldly crying out to Me taking authority under My son Jesus Christ, there shall be a sudden shift in October where all dark exploits will shift and weaken for disaster shall strike their plans, a crippling strike, the haal of the leg shall be taken down says the Lord, and just when it may look bleak, My Spirit Shall sweep through and cause miraculous events to take place that will change the tone and the course of what may appear to be a run away train says the Lord God Jehovah

 

Use wisdom My children, plan, be as the wise virgins, make sure you have extra oil and extra supplies for I supply your needs in many ways including warning you to prepare. Let he who has ears HEAR what the Spirit has to say

 

For the Spirit of the Lord says their bubbling cauldron shall collapse, athaliah shall fall, a humiliating defeat and the curtain pulled back to the underbelly of deception

 

I am propelling My people I am propelling MY people I shall propel and compel them through the darkness, the chaos, the instability, they shall rise above, they shall ride above it, I shall open doors for them to usher in My spirit all the way to the doors of the White House.

 

The Joy of the Lord is your strength! The Word of the Lord is your source and your sword, USE IT MY CHILDREN USE IT!!

 

For this will be a time in the midst of trouble of the miraculous for My children, promotion amongst demotion, yes the ones I call faithful are being ushered into their God given positions that they have been in a preparation process for.

 

There will be a major shift that happens right around Rosh Hashanah, hold on because we will be making a big turn says the Lord God Elohim. Hold onto your Father, for this is necessary. There shall be events that occur with the elements that will confirm this and there shall be a major explosion

 

I the Lord have heard the cries of My people. I have heard the cries of the faithful in California and I the Lord am shifting the course of these fires, I am sending My angels in to minister to the fire fighters. The fire shall shift, My Holy Fire shall shift it, however California will see a far greater shaking if they do not repent. This is not My desire however I the Lord have bore witness to the blasphemy and the sin bubbling over and there must be a purging

 

I the Lord am purging I am going in acleaning out the most offensive infections says the Lord. There shall be a purging of specific cities where the sin slithers through the streets as snakes and it saturates the atmosphere. I the Lord say My Spirit is sweeping in and doing a serious cleaning and disinfecting, you shall see this play out

 

Watch san Francisco major events, they have opened up portals says the Lord and now I the Lord will begin to shut them

 

Watch the san Fernando valley says the Lord

 

Watch Tulsa Oklahoma a major event says the Lord

 

For I the Lord God Yahweh am arising, the king of Kings, I am arising and MY enemies shall be scattered! Repent! Turn from your wicked ways! Turn back to ME the Lord your God, SURRENDER before its too late for the clock is ticking!

 

The tick tock idol is going to be dethroned says the Lord

 

I have set before you this day, life and death and blessing and cursing CHOOSE LIFE CHOOSE JESUS< CHOOSE so that you and your nation may live says the Lord!!

 

Postal workers have been replaced with destroyers meant to infiltrate who are NOT postal workers, they are plants, paid plants, spies meant to taint and shred mail coming in, they were positioned months and months ago to switch mail, and to cause mail to disappear, this will be exposed says the Lord God this day evidence will come forth says the Lord, arrests and removal

 

I am Your Lord Your King your strong tower your Creator, Your righteous Judge, Your Savior and the giver of Life. Cleve unto Me My children and I shall cleave unto you. Hold onto your Father in Heaven right now as events play out and the picture comes into focus. Know I the Lord am in the midst and the enemy cannot overpower what I the Lord rule. HAVE FAITH ROOTED, UNMOVEABLE, UNSHAKEABLE FAITH RIGHT NOW, AND WATCH MY LIGHT BREAK FORTH AS THE DAWN AND DISSIPATE AND SEND THE DARKNESS FLEEING.

 

Be in expectation for long awaited answer to prayer shall break forth, the door shall suddenly open the answer shall suddenly come at My word. The enemy shall NOT stop it for I am sending My warring angels ahead and He shall not stop what I the Lord am doing in the lives of MY people. They shall move into promise in the midst of chaos and shall be placed in positions that I the Lord ordained for them to bring Glory to My name for in this hour make no mistake My children I SHALL AND WILL BE GLORIFIED AND MY POWER WILL BREAK FORTH IN AN AWESOME WAY. GET READY BE IN PRAYER BE WATCHMEN AND CALL ON THE NAME OF YESHUA

 

Thus sayeth the Lord of Hosts in the mighty name of Yeshua, Jesus Christ amen and amen

 

 

 

 

 

Revelations Study: End of Chapter 1. Beginning of Chapter 2: the Son of Man, the Stars, The Menorahs, and the Letters

 

Revelation Study End of chapter One, beginning chapter 2

 

Revelation 1:18-19 ¹⁸ I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of ^[a]Hades and of Death.

This is where we see the resurrection brought out, the bearing of the resurrection. Christ’s victory over death was immensely important to the early Christians as evident in the book of Acts. The resurrection being stressed so early on in Revelation truly ties right in to not only the gospels and Acts, but old testament books like Isaiah who spoke of this day

Isaiah 53:5 ⁵But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.

 

Here is the translation from the complete jewish Bible which gives us a more reverent look at what Jesus did for us:

 

Complete Jewish Bible: But he was wounded because of our crimes,
crushed because of our sins;
the disciplining that makes us whole fell on him,
and by his bruises* we are healed.

Now Hades…hades is the place of departed spirits as in Acts 2:27, 31

Acts 2:27 ²⁷ For You will not leave my soul in Hades,
Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.

Acts 2:29-31 ²⁹ “Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. ³⁰ Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, ^[a]according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, ³¹ he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption.

It is NOT the place of torment, GEHENNA

The word gehenna is the Greek transliteration of the Hebrew ge-hinnom, meaning “Valley of [the sons of] Hinnom.” This valley south of Jerusalem was where some of the ancient Israelites “passed children through the fire” (sacrificed their children) to the Canaanite god Molech (2 Chronicles 28:3; 33:6; Jeremiah 7:31; 19:2–6). The place is called “Tophet” in Isaiah 30:33. In later years, Gehenna continued to be an unclean place used for burning trash from the city of Jerusalem. Jesus used Gehenna as an illustration of hell.

God so despised the false god Molech that He explicitly forbade the Israelites from having anything to do with him in Leviticus 18:21. He even warned them of the impending judgment He would send their way if the Jews didn’t keep their attention and worship directed toward Him. In another prophetic warning, God re-named the Valley of Hinnom as the Valley of Slaughter (Jeremiah 19). The Gehenna Valley was thus a place of burning sewage, burning flesh, and garbage. Maggots and worms crawled through the waste, and the smoke smelled strong and sickening (Isaiah 30:33). It was a place utterly filthy, disgusting, and repulsive to the nose and eyes. Gehenna presented such a vivid image that Christ used it as a symbolic depiction of hell: a place of eternal torment and constant uncleanness, where the fires never ceased burning and the worms never stopped crawling (Matthew 10:28; Mark 9:47–48). (gotquestions.org)

Mark 9:47-48 ⁴⁷ And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into ^[a]hell fire— ⁴⁸ where

‘Their worm does not die
And the fire is not quenched.’

 

That word for hell is GEHENNA

However hades in this book is linked with death and regarded as an enemy

Now the Keys! Keys represent authority and Christ Holds the keys of death and hades. He has the power to send people to death and Hades OR to deliver one from death and Hades. Christ is a supreme ruler, he is seated at the right hand of the Father which indicates the highest level of authority next to Almighty God. He has a supremacy over the spirit world and over death itself. The Tyrants and wicked rulers who persecuted John’s reader’s as so far from having this kind of power and supremacy.

Again in vs 19 John is told to write down what he has seen, the things that are, and the things that will happen in the future. This is obviously very important to the Lord because it is REPEATED, like the Lord looking at John and saying “CAPISCE?”

Verse 19 was a most important bit of information to John, and it ought to be a word of caution for us. God tells John that this vision is both for now and for the future. However,  which part of it is “for now”, which part is for the future? How far into the future is this future part spoken of, are left unanswered.

Revelation 1:20: The mystery of the 7 stars and 7 gold menorahs

The mysteries of God and there are MANY:

we have for a long time attempted to put the form, nature and substance of God in a nice neat box. That box is usually labeled The Trinity; and then rather rigid descriptions and functions of each “person” are defined. Any disagreement is met with the charge of heresy. There is no denying the multiple attributes of God (sometimes called persons) that the Bible itself identifies clearly as God the Father, God the Son, and the Holy Spirit. However, the Old Testament also adds other attributes of God called the Shekinah and the Angel of the Lord. Yet just how these attributes all function together and how precisely they function and what form or forms they appear in is not so cut and dry in the Holy Scriptures. Yes, it is biblically explicit that God the Father is preeminent, He is on the Throne. It is equally explicit that God the Son (Jesus Christ) saves sinners and the Holy Spirit empowers Believers with new natures, and is also the counselor. But beyond that the functions and forms of each are not exhaustively defined and seem to have rather elastic boundaries, because they make up 1 Godhead, 1 ruling body with three parts. (torah class)

Now here mystery does not mean what is mysterious like we think i.e. having an atmosphere of strangeness or secrecy. (merriam-webster), like an eerie mystery unfolding that has that dark strange feeling. Mystery here means something people of their own power could never work out for themselves, BUT has now been made known to them by Almighty God. This theme travels through the gospel messages as well

2 thessalonians 2:6-7 ⁶ And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. ⁷ For the ^[a]mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only ^[b]He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way

1 corinthians 2:7 ⁷ But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ^[a]ordained before the ages for our glory,

In revelation mystery means that Jesus Christ, Yeshua, reveals and makes known to man the meaning of certain symbols which man could not have guessed. As we see john does not know the meaning until Christ reveals it.

Other mysteries of God: in last weeks teaching we examined Zechariah 14 which actually turns on its head the nearly universal Christian doctrine that when Christ returns He’ll step foot on the Mt. of Olives and then it splits. Yet the original Hebrew of the Bible says clearly that YHWH, God the Father, is coming and it is HE that will step foot on the Mt. of Olives and split it in two. John seems to agree with Zechariah by identifying God the Father as the One who is, was, and is coming.

Now we see this divine being in John’s vision not define himself in standard terms, because long standing, back to the OT, of God the Father are mixed or spoken of with very clear attributes of God the Son, Jesus

Well it is not wise here to apply a neat and tidy solution to a problem that clearly is not neat and tidy

Rather we should take these unconventional descriptions of unnamed divine persons and understand this as a mystery, knowing that in one form or another this is the God of Israel, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Our real challenge is that as modern humans, including Believers, we just don’t like lingering unanswered questions about God. We want and answer for everything. We are so used to googling and the internet and IMMEDIATELY getting an answer that these lingering unanswered questions or MYSTERIES about God make us uneasy at times. However we are not meant to know everything about the Lord until we meet Him. Somethings are better left a mystery sometimes for our own mental well being, until the appointed time

The last verse of chapter 1 directly relates to the subject matter of chapters 2 and 3: the letters to the 7 Believing congregations of Asia. Back in verse 16 of chapter 1, God is said to be holding 7 stars. Now in verse 20 God explains that the 7 stars symbolize 7 Heavenly angels. Stars are standard Old Testament imagery representing angels so this wasn’t hard for John to make the connection

So the seven stars are first explained

The 7 stars are the 7 angels each assigned to 1 of the 7 churches across the continent of Asia. Now the word angel can mean messenger. There is actually no place in revelation where it does not refer to heavenly beings. The term angel is found 67 times in revelation

In the upcoming chapters you will see these letters addressed to the “angel” of the church being written to which is a strange way to treat a “guardian angel”. It may actually be directed to the spirit of that church

what is a bit more difficult a concept  for modern Believers is that it is said that these are 7 angels each associated to one or the other of 7 Asian Churches. Western Christianity generally has a harder time with this than some of the other branches of Christianity because the more evangelical denominations tend to emphasize the ministry of Christ and the Holy Spirit, and deemphasize or minimize the ministry of angels. Thus it is common in Revelation commentaries to say that these are NOT heavenly angels at all, but rather they are messengers…..human messengers associated with those churches. These are NOT human messengers for clearly the word and the context used make it very clear these are indeed heavenly beings

what we do know is throughout the Word of God we see angels dispatched from different “divisions” who oversee various interests, assignments, and regions for the Lord. We see Gabriel, an Archangel visit Daniel with a VERY important message, we see Michael an archangel and “chief prince” dispatched as a warring angel in that same chapter to engage the prince of Persia principality. In Joshua 5 we see the captain of the army of the Lord of Hosts was dispatched to lead Joshua and the Jews into battle. In Genesis 3 a cherubim angel was placed on the east side of the garden of Eden to guard the way to the tree of life.

The seven menorahs are the 7 congregations/churches that actually exist. Now why are these congregations menorahs? Because the light is Christ, Yeshua, the menorah’s are simply for showing and displaying the light as congregations of believers should very well be

Now before we proceed we must discuss something

While we are usually unaware of it, we all live in our own religious and cultural bubbles or our personal worldviews. These bubbles are often not transparent and so we aren’t always conscious (or only vaguely conscious) of what exists outside of them. For example as related to the Christian faith: European and American Christians usually believe that whatever we know of Christianity is generally shared by all who call themselves Christians. This very broad type of Christianity shared by Europeans and americans today is known as western Christianity

Because time has a way of causing us to forget much of our past, it surprises Western non-Catholics to learn that the main branch of Western Christianity called Protestantism owes it’s existence and a good percentage of it’s holidays, sacraments, customs and doctrines to Catholicism from whence it came.

Until the time of 1000 A.D. the Catholic Church represented and controlled the majority of the known world’s Christianity; but then the Eastern Orthodox Church split off from it in what was called “The Great Schism”.

The great Schism: was the break of communion since the 11th century between the Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Churches.^[1] The schism was the culmination of theological and political differences which had developed during the preceding centuries between Eastern and Western Christianity.

A succession of ecclesiastical differences and theological disputes between the Greek East and Latin West pre-dated the formal split that occurred in 1054.^[1][2][3] Prominent among these were the issues of the procession of the Holy Spirit, whether leavened or unleavened bread should be used in the Eucharist,^[a] the Bishop of Rome's claim to universal jurisdiction, (Wikipedia.org)

 

What remained of the still large Catholic Church as controlled by the Pope remained largely intact until the early 1500’s. This is when Martin Luther shook things up and began his protest movement that eventually led to the Protestant Reformation that birthed the Protestant branch of the Western Church. However in the 5 centuries that had passed since the Great Schism, by the time of Luther many sub-branches of the Eastern Orthodox Church had already come into existence. And since the creation of the Protestant branch with Luther as its founder, a few thousand sub-branches of Protestantism have sprung from it. (torah class lesson 4 revelation 1)

Most Western Christians don’t have a vast knowledge of any denomination beyond their own, or for that matter anything about the workings of the Eastern Orthodox Churches or their doctrines and beliefs. Even further removed from our awareness are the many independent and lesser known Christian branches such as the Chaldean, Coptic and Ethiopian whose Bibles contain some books the Western Branch doesn’t have, and the reverse is the same.

 

From our Western Christian perspective these foreign and remote Church branches might call themselves our Christian brothers and sisters; and we may accept that association until we find out just how different some of their doctrines are from ours, their sometimes divergent views of God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit, how they worship, and more. What happens many times is then we have doubts about their faith or whether they can even rightfully be called “Christian”.

But perhaps what is as troubling is that the part of the make-up of these bubbles we all exist in that defines our faith has also resulted in most Believers not being aware or educated in the actual beginnings of our faith as presented first in the Old Testament and later in the Gospel accounts; a Jewish faith, on account of one very special Jew (Yeshua, Jesus), within the backdrop of the Jewish religion as it existed in the 1^st century. It is within this context and mindset that John writes and his visions from the Lord are tailored. It is not the easiest context to access or understand for gentile Believers of all eras past or present. The farther in time we live and go forth from those amazing days of the New Testament authors, the challenge becomes greater and perhaps more complex. Yet without interpreting God’s Word in the proper context, the door opens wide to a large variety of interpretations and doctrines. Common sense says that since there are this many interpretations and doctrines and that they vary so greatly they can’t all be right. How do we discover the truth? Sometimes it feels like searching for a needle in a haystack doesn’t it?

In this case is it necessary to know about all the many branches of Christianity in order for us to have a firm and proper faith? Maybe not all but enough at time to get the jist. Nonetheless just as we have gained from learning about the Torah and the Old Testament, and that they are anything but a threat to our faith in the salvation that Christ offers. Actually the OT makes us appreciate what He did for us and why, all the more. Perhaps in that same way there are some other wonderful, faith-strengthening truths that reside just outside these bubbles we have inhabited for so long. We need to in a way understand this in order to approach revelation as we go forward and deeper in this study

There are vast complexities in the book of revelation as you can already tell.

Some of the reason is that it was written within the construct of the ancient Jewish faith, mindset and culture of the 1^st century A.D., BUT it is handed down to us in Greek manuscripts that are then translated into English (which complicates the issue of communicating Jewish thought when translated outside a jewish construct).

Therefore we are going to discuss some underlying elements of Revelation that are  based on Jewish thought and culture and can easily be (and have been) overlooked and misconstrued. The hope is it will go even further than giving a better understanding of revelation BUT of the new testament in general.

One example is discussing the crucial passage in Daniel 7 that is alluded to by John in Revelation 1:7 and 1:13, which speaks about “the one like a son of man” coming in the clouds. This will be a good example of what I just spoke of

What does Daniel mean by “son of man”? What did “son of man” mean to Jews in Christ’s era? Because John is writing within this context. since Yeshua regularly used “son of man” as a title for Himself, what did He truly mean by it? If you studied the Book of Daniel you may know this already If not, this will be entirely new to you. We will try and go another layer with this.

The most prevalent and perhaps influential Christian doctrines of our day say that the title Son of God refers to Christ’s divine nature, while the title Son of Man refers to His humanness. That is clearly not what the Scriptures says or means. In Old Testament times it was believed (and the Scriptures say) that the Lord adopted each Israelite King as His own son (mostly from a spiritual standpoint, but in a real way nonetheless). We get a straightforward example of this adoption as God spoke to David about the issue of David not being allowed to go forth with construction of a Temple for the Lord. Instead David’s son Solomon would.

1 Chronicles 28:6: CJB ⁶ "Moreover, He (God) said to me, 'David (Shlomo) your son will build my house and courtyards, for I have chosen him to be a son to me, and I will be a father to him

  NKJV ⁶ Now He said to me, ‘It is your son Solomon who shall build My house and My courts; for I have chosen him to be My son, and I will be his Father.

 

the idea of a King of Israel being God’s adopted son (Son of God), was at this point in history establishing a very close bond between the earthly, entirely human, ruling King of Israel and God Almighty, Yahweh. This king is not divine, he is not God (In fact in other cultures like the Egyptian culture they took is way too far in the opposite direction believing their very human king/pharaoh was a god), but he, the king, is raised up by God to rule over His people and given special attentiveness, like a shepherd which David was long before he was made King, wisdom, and protection. This adoptive father/son relationship between the God of Israel and an Israelite king was primarily aimed at kings who came from the authorized line of kings which was the line of David.  This was the Line the messiah, Jesus, would come through on earth.

So, now lets take this new found knowledge and apply it in the new testament:

The opening words of The Gospel of Mark are: ^CJB Mark 1:1 The beginning of the Good News of Yeshua the Messiah, the Son of God. 

The term “son of God” is meant to communicate that Jesus, Yeshua is the long awaited Davidic king; it is not meant to reference Yeshua’s divine nature at that point. Now by no means does this mean that Mark did not think that Jesus was divine.

Now the term “the Son of God” coupled with the term Messiah (Mashiach) had a well established, well understood and culturally specific meaning to the Jewish people otherwise many may of not recognized who Jesus truly was. It spoke of the Jews’ long anticipated expectation for not just any Hebrew who might be king, but of a Davidic King to once again appear. So naturally these  familiar terms for that culture are what Mark uses to convey to his Jewish readers that Yeshua of Nazareth is not only the anointed one, the Messiah, but as Son of God, He is also from the line of David which had to be prophetically fulfilled with Jesus coming to earth. So the term Son of God actually refers to the human nature of Yeshua and not His divine. This needed to be identified this way to signal to the Jewish people that their Messiah, the King of the Jews, had arrived on the scene.

And at the Jordan river when Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist

Mark 1:9-11 ⁹ It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan. ¹⁰ And immediately, coming up ^[a]from the water, He saw the heavens ^[b]parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove. ¹¹ Then a voice came from heaven, “You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

The Lord God was solidifying that as the Messiah Jesus is His Son, as he adopted other kings as His son in the line of David. So the Lord was proclaiming Jesus as such, His One and ONLY Son, John 3:16. However what this also did, the baptism, the Lord saying this was His beloved son, also then made Jesus High priest in the order of Melchizedek, another fulfillment of prophecy. This was the genesis 14 teaching

Now the “like  the son of man”

With that let’s deal directly about the “one like a Son of Man” in Daniel’s vision in Daniel 7. In verse 13 Daniel speaks of two distinguishable divine figures: The Ancient One and the “One like a Son of Man”. It must be understood that the original Aramaic this was written in says bar-enash, which correlates directly to the Hebrew word bene-adam, which both mean human being.

In Daniel’s vision when he sees this individual “like a Son” of Man come on the clouds from heaven, and in verse 14 it says that the Ancient One, who is God the Father, is giving him, Yeshua, rulership, glory and a kingdom over all the inhabitants of the earth. When Daniel sees a human being coming on the clouds, however, Daniel knows this figure cannot be a human being, so he writes “One LIKE a Son of Man”; or better “One LIKE a human being”.

Daniel was given a vision of a future divine/human Messiah, but he didn’t realize it. However, A new theological concept was born here in Daniel in Israelite/Jewish religious understanding; the theological concept of a human-appearing deity, who is given the title of the Son of Man, who is directly associated with the God of Israel.

 

This Figure is human, but in some unexplainable way he is also divine. He will come in clouds, this is clear as well. He will occupy a throne, in Heaven, right next to God the Father, the Ancient of Days. The Ancient of Days delegates dominion and authority over the entire planet of earth, and over everyone, this amazing Son of Man. These attributes that we find of the Son of Man concept in Daniel 7 we find in Jesus Christ of Nazareth. So what we learn is that, ironically, it is the Son of Man idea and the claim of Yeshua, that He is that Son of Man, that identifies Him as divine. This will now better help you further understand the gospels and why Jesus indeed said these terms on many occasions.

 

Ok On To Chapter 2…

The first thing we need to know is there is a general pattern these letters to these 7 congregations follow:

1.   A greeting “to the angel of the church in..”

2.   A title of the risen Christ that appears to be taken from the description in chapter 1

3.   A section we will title “I Know” which gives praise for what is good in the congregation’s record,. What they are doing right

4.   A criticism of the congregation

5.   A warning

6.   A encouragement beginning with “he who has an ear..”

7.   A promise that begins something like “to him who overcomes I will give..”

 

Now in the last 4 letters the order of 6 and 7 are reversed. So the promise comes first, then the encouragement

 

Now in the last study we covered something called a chiasm which is a literary technique. This is how chiasm is at play with the writing of these 7 congreagations:

Churches 1 and 7, so the first and the last, are in grave danger. So they suffer from the same spiritual condition

Congregations 2 and 6 are in great shape

Congregations 3,4,5 the middle, are teetering for they are neither really good nor really bad. Perhaps we would call these churches lukewarm!

 

The first congregation in chapter two is Ephesus. It was the most important of the seven cities. Though Pergamum was said to be the official capital of the province of Asia, Ephesus by far was its greatest city

It was a town where there were sitting judges to rule on matters

Acts 19:38 speaks of this: ³⁸ Therefore, if Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a ^[a]case against anyone, the courts are open and there are proconsuls. Let them bring charges against one another.

when a magistrate took up his appointment he had to go to his province at Ephesus

Ephesus was near the mouth of the river Cayster and a hub of a commercial center. The road from the Euphrates river and various valleys all ended and met at Ephesus

Ephesus was bustling with all sorts of religious activities

The chief cult of Artemis: in Greek religion, the goddess of wild animals, the hunt, and vegetation and of chastity 

The city had a prized status of temple sweeper: one consecrated to the service of the goddess

The great temple of this false goddess was one of the seven wonders of the world

However, there was a BIG problem with the spiritual culture of that city. Religion and magic were very intermingled. Magical arts were very popular amongst the people

 

Acts 19:19 ¹⁹ Also, many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted up the value of them, and it totaled fifty thousand pieces of silver.

 

Ephesian letters were considered charms widely regarded to cure sickeness and bring luck. Is this beginning to sound familiar at ALL to today? IE harry potter and faith, “Christian witches”

 

Now Paul spent over 3 years in Ephesus helping the church get established. You could imagine with that city saturated in such occultic practices it took some determination to get the church up and running. Timothy also spent time in Ephesus

 

So the greeting is to the angel at the church of Ephesus BUT the letter is addressed to that congregation. This message is very serious as it comes from Jesus Christ himself, who was holding the seven stars in his right hand, Revelation 1:16.

 

This was meant to give an effect that Christ himself as being present in the midst of the congregations. This is a Christ was is very concerned for them and cares for them and their spiritual condition

 

Jesus Christ, the exalted Christ, it is clear He KNOWS what is happening amongst His people. He selects three things:

 

1.     Their deeds

2.     Their hard work

3.     Their perseverance

 

There is something pointed out here. That the Ephesians are very zealous in their inability to tolerate wicked men. The scriptures say the Ephesians tested out men who claimed to be apostles and exposed them for what they were, false.

Paul had warned that savage wolves would come to trouble the Ephesian church

Acts 20:29 ²⁹ For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. The Ephesians did not take their faith lightly, they were zealous that is clear. It was very demanding on them and they worked very hard amongst that climate to be followers of Christ

 

Reference materials:

Brittanica.com

Biblegateway.com

            Biblehub.com

            Torah Class, revelation

            Revelation by leon morris

            Wikipedia

            Gotquestions.org