Revival Times 6

Useful Resources

OMEGA-MINISTRIES.ORG

ISSUE: 06

In this section are a number of websites which can help inspire you to to seek the Lord in effective praying and in getting out there doing as well. As always, JESUS CHRIST is our greatest example and the one to whom we must compare ourselves and obey. The greatest resource is the Bible itself, so please spend your main study time in the Word of God, preferably the King James Version!

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 2 Tim 2:15 Websites: www.omega-ministries.org www.biblegateway.com www.biblehub.com www.spurgeongems.org www.heartcrymissionary.com www.propheticvision.org.uk www.eurovisiontv.org www.thelastreformation.com www.propheticalert.net www.biblearchaeology.org www.fwponline.cc www.creation.com www.refornation.eu

Free material to download, booklets and tracts.

Online Bible versions for comparison Online Bible versions and Greek / Hebrew Lexicon and Interlinear Powerful messages from one of the great preachers of the 19th Century Equipping and mobilizing indigenous churches and missionaries David Hathaway evangelistic website - recommended!

Revival preaching broadcasts to the world- David Hathaway Join the network of believers who want to see power evangelism Insights into current affairs and how to avoid deception A useful site for the latest in Biblical related finds A good source for some of the best Wesleyan texts and comment The best resource for creation material and news The Kingdom teaching of Wolfgang Simson will refresh your vision

If you have been blessed by anything in this magazine please be as generous as you can to any of these good Christian ministries to the poor and needy: www.bhct.org.uk The Beachy Head Chaplaincy - on mission to prevent suicides www.matthew25mission.org Helping feed the wandering and homeless in Eastbourne UK www.opendoorsuk.org Supporting outreach globally and supporting Christians in persecution www.teenchallenge.org.uk Helping people escape the problems of drugs and addiction www.capuk.org Christians Against Poverty, bringing the good news to the poor in UK hopenow.org.uk Working with Orphans in the Ukraine The way we practice and experience “church.”

Are we off by about 180 degrees?

The training of young men to be ministers.

Is our present practice more rooted in paganism?

Is there a better higher way to go about practising the entire Christian faith than is presently known?

Available from: www.seedsowers.com

What if you found out that nothing we Protestants practice originated in the first century?

What if you found out that almost all of the things we evangelicals practice originated in the last 500 years?

This book could make a radical out of you. For a few, it might even move you BEYOND RADICAL.

Available from: www.seedsowers.com

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. Acts 3:19

JESUS CHRIST IS THE MESSIAH

“The woman saith unto him, I know that Messiah cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.” John 4:25

O

ne of the remarkable things about the life of Jesus as recorded in the Gospels and epistles is that he actually said very little!

Considering that Jesus was both 33 years old and preached for 31/2 years, his total words recorded are very few compared to some other prophets. The number of words in the New Testament is 181,253. Only 36,450 of these are the words of Christ—just over 20 per cent. When considered as verses, the New Testament has 7,959 verses, of which 1,599 are sayings of Jesus. If we take out repeated parables etc. this number drops again down to only several thousand words.

Why so few? These are the essential words that our Father in heaven has deemed necessary for us in order to know the Truth. It’s obvious that Jesus would have spoken many other words in conversation, but the purpose of the Gospel accounts was to distil down his main teaching for our

benefit. His closest apostle John explains this to his readers: And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name. (John 20:30-31) As powerful and as life changing as Jesus words from the Father are, the Gospel and the Acts emphasise more of what Jesus DID than what he said. Paul points out in his first epistle to the Corinthians that the Jews tend to look for signs as proof, whereas Gentiles tend to look for intellectual wisdom as proof (1 Corin 1:22 A cts 1:1 ). It’s not wrong to get proof because God wants us convinced of his goodness towards us. Everyone has a different life story and so by his Spirit Jesus communicates to us in a way that we can understand.

Among the Jews Jesus displayed God’s power, something that had been missing in Israel for

more than 490 years! These miracles and signs grabbed their attention, not only because they could benefit physically, but also because this was a sign of ancient ‘anointing’. The Greek word for ‘anointing’ is ‘christos’ from which we get the title Christ. The ‘Saviour anointed’ is what we are calling the Messiah whenever we say Jesus Christ. Jesus’ actual Jewish surname by birth was of course Judah after his Israeli tribe by lineage (John 6:42). Because Jesus was born as a child the people were confused as to how he was also God in the flesh.

How could something so huge become something so small as a baby? The Scriptures reveal these mysteries to us.

The name GOD (Elohim Gen 2:4) is an English title translation for ‘creator’. The English word LORD is a translation of the Old Testament Hebrew word YHWH (Yahweh ְ‫)יה ָוה‬. His title and name, so that it’s clear who we are communicating with.

Because he is Spirit and not continued on page 3

INSIDE A Message for our times Part 5 • A Note of Warning • The Worst Disaster of All • Predestination & more...

OMEGA-MINISTRIES.ORG

ISSUE: 01

Revival – God’s Way Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. Acts 3:19

Revival times is a FREE publication offered to those who want to be encouraged and built up to know JESUS CHRIST as their Lord God and saviour. It is published

by Omega Ministries which is a non-denominational prophetic movement of believers who want to see the Kingdom come on earth as in heaven. Please send all enquiries or questions to the email address given below.

We recognise all material copyrights and thank God that all contributors take no wages for their work of faith in order to promote the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world and to revive his true church in our day.

All Scriptures are quoted from the King James Bible and or Greek and Hebrew, where appropriate, for clarity.

This paper and other teaching material is offered online for downloading and printing free of charge.

If you are inspired by the content of this paper please pass on to brothers and sisters for their encouragement.

Revival is a long lost concept in our modern society because the true Gospel has been perverted, watered down and twisted for personal gain by wolves in sheep’s clothing. Enough is enough and now the sleepers must awake from their spiritual stupor. The dead dry bones must live and the faithful army of the Lord arise and shine the beauty of Christ in us, the hope of glory.

The Call Has Gone Out Soldiers of Christ, arise And put your armour on, Strong in the strength which God supplies Through His eternal Son; Strong in Lord of hosts And in His mighty power: Who in the strength of Jesus trusts Is more than conqueror

Where is the hope for Revival— God’s Holy Spirit outpoured Convicting of sin, and of judgement And righteousness of the Lord?

When nothing else is important— Only God’s presence Divine, When Christians quit worldly pleasures, Then God, His ear will incline.

Desperate prayer for Revival Will cleanse the Church by the Word.

Then clothed in spotless, white linen, The Bride clears the way for her Lord.

Prayer is the key to Revival, Prayer that is true Spirit-born, Nights of compassionate weeping— Intercession for all the forlorn.

Then will the burdens be lifted, Then all the sinners will cry, Then all the chains will be loosened And worldly passions will die.

The lost ones will yield to God’s Spirit When Christians, cleansed, weep and pray; God’s Living Water flows outward; This is “Revival—God’s Way”!

—Estelle Gifford Jackson

Editor: Stephen Turnham © please copy and pass on

FIRST THOUGHTS That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us .

For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Download the PDF here: www.omega-ministries.org email: info@omega-ministries.org

Apostle Paul

They will soar on wings like eagles; They will run and not grow weary, They will walk and not be faint.

Isaiah 40:28-31

PAGE 2 REVIVAL TIMES

in

The E pistle

to the

Romans

chapter

8

chaos.

We have thirteen letters of Paul, nine to churches and four to friends. We find them in this very chaotic and non-chronological order: Romans, I Corinthians, II Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, I Thessalonians, II Thessalonians, I Timothy, II Timothy, Titus, Philemon.

So you thought you knew the New Testament! ! None of us ever will unless we know and appreciate (1) the story and (2) the chronology.

Find the order of these letters. Find the story of what happened in between.

Then keep a clear conscience. Do that, and you will move beyond radical.

You can memorise the entire New Testament (in Greek) and still have no idea what the New Testament is saying! Not if you memorise it in the present non-story, non-chronological, chaotic order. The mindset with which we come to the New Testament renders us impotent to see the firstcentury setting. Verses, teachings, doctrines, ideals, schemes, and most of all, justification of our view, crowd out the story. We can say, “This came from the Word of God,” no matter how pea-brained the idea we come up with.

Knowing the story tames such a mindset.

To illustrate: Many a man has read through the New Testament and decided what God wants—“based on clear biblical teaching.”

Let us say that he decides that what God wants a people to do is move out into the wilderness, far from the world, live righteous lives, breathe pure air, grow organic food, wear old style country clothes and stay away from the world (“the organic carrot juice syndrome” blended with the “Essene syndrome”). A man can justify every one of those protonsized ideas with “the pure Word of God.” But! If that man and his listeners knew the story—the whole story of the first century—he would not have an organic vegetable to stand on, and his listeners would head for the door.

The story allows no such fantasies as he preaches.

How badly do we need to know the story, the whole story? Consider this: Christians have fought and massacred one another for centuries. . .with verses. . .never knowing the story.

A whole revolution in scriptural understanding awaits us if we dare learn the story.

Now, here is a question of questions.

How did the New Testament books ever get placed in this jumbledup order? Who cursed us with the present arrangement of the books in the New Testament?

Once more: Luther. (He never knew the story of what happened in the first century. He never knew what happened in between the letters Paul wrote. But, boy oh boy, did he know verses!)

The fellow who started the chaos of the arrangement of Paul’s books in the New Testament did us great damage. He affected every version of the Bible that has ever been written since then. (It is a good guess that he lived in the third or fourth century.)

But why this arrangement?

In those days there was a heathen tradition that when you gathered up a man’s writings, you placed the longest book first. Chronological was not considered. It was not when a book was written, but how long was the book. Paul’s earliest book is Galatians, but his longest book is Romans. The next longest book of Paul’s is I Corinthians. His shortest is Philemon.

(In Greek the book of Ephesians actually has two more words in it than the book of Galatians. It has been surmised that someone had a copy of Galatians which was written in large handwriting and a copy of Ephesians that was written in small handwriting. Or perhaps someone simply miscounted!)

If someone had ever put Paul’s letters in their chronological order, then Christianity would not look like it does today. Someone would have started figuring out that there was a story and not just doctrines in Paul’s letters. Had that happened then surely Christianity would not look like it does today. If the story of the first century comes to be known, We discover nothing we do can be justified by the story. With verses we can prove just about anything. But the story of the first century rises up and says: “What you are doing in this era has no similarity to what the firstcentury church did.” To know the story is to know our practices today are not founded upon the Word of

God. The story of the first century still remains unknown. No one has stood up and said, “Learn the story first!”

We come to the New Testament entirely as a book of rules or as a glob of pieces of a jigsaw puzzle to be studied, arranged and then gathered up from all over Scripture, put in categories. And then, poof! You have teachings which tell you what God is like.

And we call this Bible study!? We call this “knowing the Word of God?”* We need a revolution in Bible study which begins first by recognising the entire story of the first-century church from beginning to end.

(We will not end up having a large number of teachings.) We will be humbled. Many of our idols will fall.

We will change, or we will know that we live in a Christian world that is not biblical but a world built on ideas of our own. . .which we conveniently find in verses!

(To wit: No man has ever even attempted to justify the modern-day pastor by means of the story. The modern pastor can only be justified if you gather up verses from all over the Bible and make incredible leaps of logic and wild interpretations.

Nothing even remotely similar to the modern pastor existed in the first century. Why not use the story?

Because the present-day practice of the pastor never appears in the firstcentury story. Disjointed verses taken out of context, then woven together and explained by interpretations, is our only justification for the existence of that which is the present-day practice of the pastoral role.)

No one seems to know the story, but if we ever do see it, then the story can never be subservient to a pile of scattered verses. The verses must yield to the story! The disjointed, categorised, systemised verses must give way, first, to the story.

Let us learn the story. All of it. From beginning to end, in chronological order. I trust you can see the slight possibility that there is a little room to consider starting all over again, in a whole new way. But in so doing, you must also see some practices so deeply embedded in us that most of us are hardly aware of them. *Worst of all, some Christians come to Scripture almost as a ouija board that tells them what to do. “Close your eyes. Open the Bible. Point. Poke. Eureka! There at the end of your finger is the mind of God.”

See page 24 resources for details on purchasing the book.

REVIVAL TIMES PAGE 23

10, 7, 2, 3, 11, 13, 12, 9. Well, this is the order in which Paul’s letters appear in your New Testament.

No one can ever know what these nine books say until they are read in chronological sequence.

Long ago we abandoned any concept of seeing the actual story of the first century. Long ago we abandoned the idea of seeing the letters of Paul in the totality of their original setting.

In such a chopped-up setting, never seeing the sequence of events, never knowing the story, all of us are left in the dark as to what the New Testament is revealing. Total contextuality that is, seeing the entire setting—is not, and never has been, a factor in New Testament studying.

The story... the story... is neither taught nor known. Not by laymen, not by scholars. Not known, not taught, not learned, not even an awareness of the lack. Most of all, never realising the greater catastrophic problems created by not knowing the story.

The consequence of not being able to follow the story brings us to the other great tragedy which prevents us from knowing the New Testament: the way we approach the New Testament.

For 500 years Protestantism has had a field day with verses! That is. . .with sentences. Numbered sentences.

No one has had to deal with the constraints of the immovable story.

Contrariwise, we have created havoc with those very movable verses!

We can prove anything with numbered sentences.

We could not do that if we knew the story.

Total contextuality is unknown.

Chronological exposition is unknown.

New Testament Bible study by a timeline is unknown.

The result: The story is utterly unknown.

Yet, if you come to know the story first, you must then abandon virtually all the present practices of Protestantism. They were built by verses. If we knew the story first, we would either change, or live the rest of our Christian life knowing we were living outside the practice of the church first-century style. These present practices of ours can find no justification for existence within the story. The entire story renders our present Protestant methods utterly unjustifiable.

Paul’s first epistle was Galatians. His second letter was to the church in Thessalonica. There was a great deal which happened before the Galatian

letter was written. Do you know that part of the story?

About nine months passed between the time Paul wrote Galatians and I Thessalonians.

A lot happened in between the writing of those two letters.

Do you know what happened during those nine months? Do you know that part of the story? Does anybody?

Does anybody care? It is time for us to care, to learn, to know. We so desperately need to know the story— the whole story, from beginning to end.

About three months passed between I Thessalonians and the writing of II Thessalonians. An awful lot happened in between. Does anybody know the story of what happened between those two letters?

Do you?

The next letter Paul wrote was to Corinth. But there are six years between II Thessalonians and the first letter to Corinth. Six years. Do you know what happened during those years? Does anybody know that part of the story?

The fact that no New Testament has ever appeared in the English language with Paul’s letters in their proper order is proof enough that we are blind to the story—unaware of the power of that story and the importance of that story.

The story binds us to reality. It renders verses almost powerless. We have never thought in terms of knowing the New Testament chronologically or learning it “story wise” and “story first.” We are so fascinated with numbered sentences which we call verses that we never realise there is a story.

The story tells us the real meaning— and the limits—of those verses.

Remove the safeguard of knowing the story and no one will ever know the New Testament, and we will continue proving anything and everything by verses. Remove the safeguard of the story—the whole story—and you can prove any idea you fancy and create any theory you wish. The story limits just how many air castles we can build with all those verses!

Step one in learning the story is to learn the proper chronological sequence of Paul’s letters: Galatians I Thessalonians II Thessalonians I Corinthians II Corinthians Romans

PAGE 22 REVIVAL TIMES

Colossians Ephesians Philemon Philippians I Timothy Titus II Timothy Learning that story will humble us all. Then learn the whole story.

Consider this: Take away these Protestant practices of ours and the entire Protestant mindset crumbles.

The very mindset collapses!

Do you now glimpse the ‘insane results of this insane neglect?

For 500 years we have never taught the entire—very dramatic—story, in its entirety, not from one end to the other in dramatic, chronological order. As a result, with all vaunted schools and endless books, even seminary professors with several doctorate degrees cannot tell you that story.

It is not known.

Bible teachers do not know the story.

Sunday school teachers do not.

Pastors do not.

The results: a field day for every conceivable idea the mind of man can dream up. Numbered sentences which you can move around allow anything.

Knowing that very knowable story puts a stop to such insanity.

Until we know the story we cannot know the Scripture.

Unnerving isn’t it?

Why have we not considered something as simple as reading Scripture in the way it was chronologically written and including the historical facts to fill in the gaps between books, thereby learning the story?

Read the Scriptures in this new way and see if you do not discover a brand new Bible. Then again, maybe you had better never learn that story.

It might be hazardous to your present Christian practices!

Lacking that story, we have moved our entire mindset of “learning the Bible” into the never-never land of sewing together disjointed verses and calling that “Bible study.” We even dare call this practice scholarship!

Without the story, that which we call theology is both dangerous and— if you can follow the thought— unscriptural. Verses do not make for scriptural soundness. We have confined ourselves to reading our “math,” our “astrophysics,” our New Testament, from the mountain of

continued from cover

created his name(s) reflect what he does in the created order to give us understanding. It’s hard for the flesh to understand the mystery of the Spirit without this (Rom 1:20; 1 Corin 2:12; Gal 5:17).

Many scholars believe that the most proper meaning of YHWH may be “He Brings into Existence Whatever Exists” (YahwehAsher-Yahweh). In I Samuel, God is known by the name Yahweh Teva-’ot, or “He Brings the Hosts into Existence,” the hosts of the heavenly court and Israel.

For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God (theos). (Heb 3:4) This personal name of God (Yahweh) probably was known long before the time of Moses.

The name of Moses’ mother was Jochebed (Yokheved), a word based on the name Yahweh.

Thus, the tribe of Levi, to which Moses belonged, probably knew the name YaHWeH. Although ‘God’ has many other ‘titles’ that reveal his nature and power (revealed through Israel’s long interaction with him), it is ‘Yahweh’ that was given to Moses at the burning bush as God’s name forever.

And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them,The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me,What is his name? what shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I Am That I Am (YHWH): and he said,Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I Am hath sent me unto you. And God said moreover unto Moses,Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, the Lord (Elohim) God (YHWH) of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.

(Exodus 3:13-15)

This is why Jews prefer not to use God’s actual name (YHWH) in conversation in case they inadvertently take his ‘Name’ in vain, a sin punishable under the Law in the 10 commandments.

Instead they substituted it for ‘Elohim’ or simply ‘Shm-i’ Name, as a safeguard. This is logical, but clearly just a religious avoidance tactic! This is why

when Jesus was questioned about his authority the Pharisees and leaders were shocked by his claim to be YHWH! (the I AM) Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God: Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying.

Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.Then said the Jews unto him,Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?

Jesus said unto them,Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I AM. Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by. (John 8:54-59) Although Jesus said few words they were often very direct and thought provoking. For Jews to even say the name of God was risky, but to claim to be the eternal I AM was blasphemy in their eyes. However, it was their traditions and not speaking the Lord’s name YHWH that was blinding them to the fulfilment of the promises given to Moses, Abraham and the Prophets about Messiah.

As Yahweh had said to Moses “this is my name forever”, that is the ‘I AM’ or as we now understand him, Messiah (Jewish), Iesous christos (Greek) our Lord, Jesus Christ (English).

Yahweh (Spirit) became a man and dwelt among us in order to put things right in the fallen creation once for all. Recognising this truth is the foundation of ALL biblical faith as John points out: Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit (person) that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit (person) that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God (1 J ohn 4:2-3)

Jesus was not just a prophet or just a wise man or a myth or a good man, no he was and is God’s Son, that is: God in human flesh. The Father and the Son are ONE by the Spirit, but he manifested for our benefit in

the flesh of Jesus Christ. That flesh was specially prepared for his visitation through the virgin Mary by the supernatural conception (Luke 1:35; Heb 10:5).

Previously Yahweh had shown himself as he really was to Moses at Sinai and, because of his immense power, everything caught fire even rocks! Moses was protected by Yahweh from over exposure to the glory of God lest he would die. This was the time of the Law, given to reveal and provide covering for sin to protect the unbelieving Hebrews from the glory. God’s holiness (separation) destroys sin and anything connected to it. At that time only the High Priests, once cleansed of sin, could see his glory safely in the holiest place over the Ark. Jesus came with grace and truth the glory being ‘hidden’ within his pure flesh, like a veil to also protect the people from the glory (anointing) within him. Wow how awesome is our God to do such a thing for us, how great is his love that he stooped so low to save us! (Phil 2:7-8) However Jesus did reveal his glory safely through signs, wonders and miracles to convince the Jews of who he truly was and what he would do to save them from Satan. For the intellectual Greek mind he has also fulfilled all the Scriptures concerning himself. From heaven he continues to fulfil all remaining prophecies through Israel and the Church on earth.

As we are no longer bound by fear of punishment through the Law it’s no longer an offence to call Yahweh Jesus, Messiah, Christ or God or Lord, he knows who he is and as long as we know who he is that’s cool with him. Some have become confused in thinking that all Gentile nations should now call him Yahweh and not God or Lord, but this is purely a translation issue. He is not offended in the slightest and it certainly doesn’t make you more spiritual to only use Yahweh. There’s a legalistic danger in over intellectualising this and trying to shame or put guilt where none is due. If we are continued on page 20

REVIVAL TIMES PAGE 3

continued from page 14

Israel & Britain–A Note of Warning A SERMON DELIVERED ON, JUNE 7, 1885,

BY C. H. SPURGEON, AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON “But though He had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on Him: that the saying of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke, Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? Therefore they could not believe, because that Isaiah said again, He has blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart, that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.These things said Isaiah, when he saw His glory, and spoke of Him.” John 12:37-41.

T

he blindness of Israel concerning our Lord was sadly remarkable. It was a blindness of the eyes, for they saw His many miracles, and yet believed not.

Their ears also seemed to be stopped, for they heard His words and did not understand them, and their hearts also were heavy, for they did not relent under the plaintive admonitions of a Saviour’s love. Their hearts were cruel towards the Messiah; they hated Him without a cause.

No door was open to the heart of Israel; they had hardened their heart, they had shut their eyes, they had stopped their ears, and even He that spoke as never man spoke gained no access to their souls. They went so far as to crucify Him, and cried as they did so, “His blood be on us, and on our children”—words so sadly verified when Jerusalem was destroyed, and her children slaughtered, sold as slaves, or scattered to the four corners of the earth. It was, indeed, a terrible blindness which happened unto Israel.

Her rejection of the Lord Jesus is the more amazing because Isaiah gave so clear an account of the Messiah, and so clearly pictured Jesus of Nazareth.

Descriptions of Him could not have been more explicit than were the prophecies of Isaiah. It would be very easy to construct an entire life of Christ out of the book of Isaiah, beginning with, “a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel,” and ending with “He made His grave with the

wicked and with the rich in His death.” Isaiah spoke of John the Baptist as the “voice crying in the wilderness, prepare you the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” And he foretold our Lord’s ministry by the way of the sea beyond Jordan in Galilee of the Gentiles, where the people who sat in darkness saw great light. The prophet portrayed his Lord as “despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.”

Clearest of all is he upon His vicarious sufferings, concerning which he uses a variety of most definite expressions, such as—“The chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed.” Isaiah saw so clearly the day of our Lord Jesus that he spoke rather as an evangelist than as a prophet, as an eyewitness, rather than as one foretelling a far-off event. Yet all this clearness was lost upon the men of his generation, and upon those who followed after. The nation had so long been fickle towards God, and had trifled so long with God’s truth, that it was at length given up to a judicial hardness of heart, so that it could not understand or perceive. They refused the plainest messages of grace, and were so confirmed in unbelief that all their prophets cried with one plaintive voice, “Who has believed our report? And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?”

Nor was it alone grievous that Israel sinned against the light which shone in Isaiah’s testimony, but, alas, she closed her eyes against the meridian splendour of our Lord’s own life. Jesus bore His own witness

PAGE 4 REVIVAL TIMES

in His person, teachings, works, and gifts. A sad wonder lies in the fact, that they did not know the Lord of glory although they saw His miracles, which were sure witnesses to His claims.

He worked among them works which no other man did. There is about our Lord a likeness to God, in all that He does the Godhead shines forth. He is so pure that He can say, “Which of you convicts Me of sin?” How like to Him who is saluted as, “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts!” His teaching is so full of tenderness and gentleness that since God is love, we conclude that Christ is God. His many miracles touch up- on every point in the great circle of omnipotence. What is there that God can do which the Christ did not do? Was He not multiform and multitudinous in His works of power and grace? Herein lay the wonder, that though He did so many miracles before them, not in secret but actually before their eyes, though He fed them with bread which they could see, and handle, and eat, though He healed the sick and raised the dead, they yet believed not on Him. How sadly far can men go in unbelief, prejudice, and hardness of heart! How dim can human eyes become when men refuse to see! How darkened the understanding when men are unwilling to comprehend! Let us tremble at this, lest we ourselves by imitating the chosen people in their unbelief should fall into like bondage to prejudice and ignorance, lest we by tampering with truth should come at last to be incapable of perceiving it, lest we also by rejecting the testimony of God should be given up to our

continued on page 6

personal bearing upon some of you? Certain of you have heard the gospel preached plainly and honestly, and yet you have never received it, is there not creeping over you a fatal indifference? Are not your hearts turning to stone?

Possibly you are professors of religion, and yet you do not feel the power of it, what does this mean? If you are not a praying people, nor a holy people, and yet are a professing people, what an awful doom awaits you!

Shall my ministry be a savour of death unto you? It may be that my voice grows stale to you, and what I say seems commonplace, but is this to be the reason for your refusing Christ and His salvation, refusing the power of His word, refusing holiness which He would work in you?

Oh, shall it be so? Will you die?

Dear hearers, I should not like to meet one of you at the day of judgment and have to feel that I preached you into a greater blindness than you might have

known. Oh, be converted! Turn you, turn you, why will you die?

May God in infinite mercy speak to you that you may believe in Jesus now, lest that should come upon you which is spoken of by the prophet, “Behold, you despisers, and wonder, and perish!”

Before I have done, hear the sweet whisper which closes the sixth of Isaiah. Notwithstanding all the terrible work that Isaiah had to do he was not left without comfort, the Lord said to him, “In it there shall be a tenth.” You know how the prophet cried, “Except the Lord of hosts had left us a seed we had been as Sodom and been made like unto Gomorrah.”

The Lord has His sacred tithe and these He will not lose. The tree has lost its leaves, for it is winter time, but still it is alive, and the sap will flow again, for its substance is in it! The tree is levelled by the axe, but weep not despairing tears, for it shall sprout again, for life is still in it.

Even so the Church must live,

truth must be victorious, purity must conquer, and the Christ must reign. Behold, He comes with clouds, and every eye shall see Him. Reject Christ if you will today, oh you who think yourselves so exceedingly wise, but there is a people who love Him, a secret people who cling to Him, and when He comes, as come He must before long, they will welcome Him and partake in His glory. As for you that refuse Him this day, how will you stand when He appears? Where will you flee? You shall ask the hills to cover you, but they will refuse.

You shall bid the mountains hide you, but they will not yield a cavern for your shelter. Be wise now, therefore, and no more re- sist your Lord. “Kiss the Son lest He be angry, and you perish from the way while His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him!” May you and I and all of us be of that blessed number. Amen and Amen.

The Worst Disaster of All THIS IS A TRANSCRIBED COPY OF CHAPTER 3 FROM THE BOOK ‘BEYOND RADICAL’ BY GENE EDWARDS. THE HISTORY OF WHERE WE PROTESTANTS GOT OUR PRESENT-DAY CHURCH PRACTISES & HOW THEY ARE HINDERING GOD’S PURPOSES

I

t is virtually impossible to really understand what the New Testament is saying and why. That is because (1) we approach it wrongly; and (2) in your New Testament Paul’s letters are not arranged in the order they should be.

Change these two facts and we will all see a revolution. Change these two facts and find yourself in a thrilling new relationship to your New Testament.

You will find yourself in for a spiritual revolution and a revolution of church practice.

Could that really be important? Yes, the future of Christendom hangs on breaking with the present tradition of arranging Paul’s letters the way they are arranged in the New Testament. We desperately need a New Testament with Paul’s letters arranged in the order in which he wrote them.

The first letter Paul wrote was not Romans. In your New Testament

the first letter Paul wrote finds itself appearing as the fourth letter. In your New Testament, all of his letters are out of their chronological order. If this goes on forever, we will forever be kept from understanding the New Testament!

Repeat: A major reason we are in the mess we are in is the way we are taught the New Testament. Learning the New Testament the way we presently learn the New Testament is what keeps us from ever learning the New Testament.

To illustrate, imagine this.

Here is a nine-volume set of books on mathematics. But the books are never read in order. Imagine this is also true of a nine-volume set of books on electricity, on physics, on astronomy etc. All these nine-volume sets have the same problem. None of the books are in their proper sequence! Also, imagine that everyone studies these books in their jumbled-up order.

Would you ever learn math this way?

Try. Here is what you are up against.

The first book that you come to is actually Volume Six, the next one you

come to is Volume Four, then Volume Five, then, finally, Volume One, and after that Volume Eight, then. . .etc.

Can you ever understand mathematics that way? Or electrons, or Scripture?

Well, that is exactly the jumbled-up sequence Paul’s letters are put in right now… 6, 4, 5, 1, etc. …in every New Testament in print in every language on earth.

Romans is Paul’s sixth letter. I Corinthians, his fourth. II Corinthians, his fifth. Galatians, his first, etc.

“We will preach through the New Testament.” “We will study the New Testament.”

In so doing, we think we will learn the New Testament. But chaos greets us when we come to the letters Paul wrote to the churches.

“Our Bible school teaches all the books in the New Testament.” But even in the most scholarly seminaries on earth, the letters Paul wrote to churches are taught in this present chaotic order.

Try learning history in a nine-volume set arranged in this order: 6, 4, 5, 1, 8, REVIVAL TIMES PAGE 21

Our example to the Jews

Conclusions

Paul states that the best way for the church to witness to the dispersed Jews of the world, then and now, is for them to see how ‘loving’ and how ‘free’ we are in the faith of Jesus (Rom 11:14) this will somehow stir them to think again with a holy jealousy. Sadly, through history the ‘apostate church’ has failed to be this good example of sincere love and has hardened Jews even more against the Gospel message. Because of this most orthodox Jews still look for a politically powerful leader who will rule the world with temporal power like a human king. This opens them up to deception and manipulation by politicians and keeps them blind.

In our world today the ‘church’ appears to be full of division and confusion because it has been entangled by the traditions of men and deceived by riches and the legalism of the old Law. However God is again reserving for himself a ‘remnant’ of those who rely purely on GRACE and the law of the Spirit in these final days, ‘His Bride’ pure holy and known by Him alone. These are those disciples who do not go back to the principles of the world or of law for justification, but who take hold of Christ alone and, just as Paul, consider everything else as rubbish. We MUST forget what is past and strain heavenwards where our hope comes from – this earth and it’s wicked inhabitants remain doomed and just like Noah we will soon escape its destruction as Jesus and the Father come with fire – not just to mount Sinai but upon the whole earth!

“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Php 3:2-14).

Now more than ever it is time to let go of the past and to press on for the goal that Jesus calls us to – a church without spot or wrinkle, a bride prepared for her husband, this will take all of our focus, energy and prayers, may Jesus dwell in you to this end.

“Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.

I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.” (Revelation 1:7-8)

The end is now We must be careful not to show favouritism towards any man or nation when preaching the message of the Gospel of the Kingdom. The priority of the Body of Christ is to reach those nations which have not had opportunity to hear the message (Matt 24:14; Rom 15:20). The Jews were the FIRST to hear the good news and so fulfil the Scriptures, that the Messiah would come to them and begin a new age of GRACE. The offer still stands for any Jew in today’s world. They truly are the most stubborn of all nations! (Exodus 32:9). For the end to come the Gospel of the Kingdom must reach all other nations, and this has not yet been achieved. Despite this more have been reached than at any other time in history. With apostolic and evangelistic teams starting to reach out globally this goal will soon be achieved! Current estimates are that 2025 will see all nations and tongues reached with the Kingdom message. In a strange twist this has been made possible by the advent of new technologies some of which were invented by Jews! continued from page 3

not Jewish by birth or Hebrew speaking then Yahweh is gracious towards us to call him God, however he still insists we dump the other gods and idols!

Jesus spoke his teaching mostly in parables. This seemed like a deliberate way to try and confuse his hearers. In part this was the reason for this approach, as he wanted to find and teach the

truly repentant disciples, his chosen remnant. Jesus considered the children of Israel lost and he wanted them to reconnect to the Father their Elohim Yahweh, since ancient times. The leaders of the Jews had been desperately trying to make things work for hundreds of years without the glory (Ichabod). They had developed a religious system, but they did not have the life and

power. This is what surprised them about Jesus, he had power to save from sin, sickness and slavery now and into eternity.

Once we have come to know him through faith, obedience and the Holy Spirit dwells in us Jesus (Yahweh) begins to talk to our hearts and renew our minds to think and act like him - the glory within!

www . omega - ministries . org

Free to download, booklets and tracts

PAGE 20 REVIVAL TIMES

The Predestined Remnant Who are those predestined to salvation?

I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew. Don’t you know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah--how he appealed to God against Israel: “Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me” ? And what was God’s answer to him? “I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace” (Romans 11:1-6)

O

ne of the big questions that arises from the writings of Paul is the subject of predestination. It’s a subject that has caused many theological discussions and even serious divisions in the Christian world view. However, as I hope to show it’s really not that complex or confusing when Scripture is considered in it’s context. Once we establish who it was that God foreknew we will find the ones who were predestined.

After this I will return and rebuild David’s fallen tent. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it, that the remnant of men may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who bear my name, says the Lord, who does these things’ that have been known for ages.” (Amos 9:11,12; Acts 15:16) “It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God.” (Acts 15:16-21) At the end of the day God wants all people to turn to him, so that they might be blessed and healed both physically and spiritually. We see from the testimony of James (the apostle) before the whole council of apostles (Acts 15), the elders and the whole church in Jerusalem that they understood God’s work of salvation was for all nations, not just for those Jews who believed first.

The ‘remnant chosen by grace’ is here a reference

by Paul to those Jews (part of occupied Israel in his time) who first believed in the testimony of both John and Jesus and then the teaching of the apostles post resurrection. This was all prior to the destruction of the Temple and the dispersion of the remaining people of Israel itself (God’s judgement for apostasy and rejection of the prophets and Christ Matt 23:35). Here in the early church in Jerusalem we see (recorded in Acts 15) James pointing out that God has also accepted the Gentiles who believe on the basis of grace coming to them through the preaching of the Word (Jesus) by the apostles. By their faith in the work of the cross and the receiving of the free gift of the Holy Spirit (not by the observance of the Law from which they were excluded) other nations are also added to the remnant Jewish church, the New Jerusalem.

These ‘foreign’ nations who believed the message of the Kingdom through the ministry of Paul and Barnabas (and others) are understood to be a new

and welcomed addition to the ‘ekklesia’ body of Jesus (i.e. grafted into the remnant of Israel through faith in Christ). James testifies that this is proven to be God’s will by his quotation of a Scripture in Amos 9:11,12 (see left). The ‘remnant of grace’ is therefore clearly defined by the apostles as those first Jews who believed the message of Jesus as their Messiah, Saviour in that generation, whom Paul also called the ‘elect’ or ‘chosen’. These were literally ‘chosen by grace’ (that is by Jesus) and their eyes and ears were opened to know the Father by His faith, whilst the rest were hardened and ultimately judged!

“And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon: for he it was that should betray him, being one of the twelve.” (John 6:69-71) In Acts we see the Greeks coming to Jesus by faith at the preaching by these remnant apostles (not needing to follow the detail of the Law) and being fully accepted without needing to keep the Sabbath, tithing, food rules and festivals etc. to be justified or even to please God the Father who never expected this. God accepted them just for believing in Jesus as saviour from sin. Again remember this ‘remnant’ of believing Jews were those who Jesus chose before the judgement of Israel came in the first century.

Knowing this fact is crucial because this means that all the Gospels and letters, except possibly Revelation, were written in this short period before the final destruction of the city.

Those he foreknew - understanding predestination

It’s very important to observe that when the apostles were speaking and writing about ‘predestination’ and ‘foreknowledge’ they were referring to this remnant of Jews and not Gentiles.

As Paul says in Romans 11 ‘God did not reject his people whom he foreknew’. Paul is talking here about the ancestral Israelites of the past who kept the faith and did not indulge in the worship of other idol gods (Baal etc.) and whose children also maintained their true faith and purity to their present day.

Only God knew who these true believers were and many of these (if not all) responded to the preaching of John the Baptist and repented of their sins. Afterwards they were looking for the Messiah whom John preached was coming.

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REVIVAL TIMES PAGE 5

continued from page 4

own willfulness, to believe a lie and refuse the truth. Such, then, as Isaiah had foreseen, was the state of Israel in our Lord’s day, never clearer evidence, and never more obstinate refusal to see it, never truth more plain, and never rejection so determined.

Woe to those who close their ears, for the day comes when they shall no longer hear! Woe to those who shut their eyes to the light, for they shall, before long be made blind! Isaiah was informed that such would be the outcome of his minis- try, the Lord bade him say to the people, “Hear you indeed, but understand not; and see you indeed, but perceive not.” This must have been a very sad business for so generous and tender-hearted a man of God. It was painful to him to be so clear and yet to be so little understood.

He was the Paul of the Old Testament, to him belonged fullness of knowledge, clearness of vision, plainness of speech, and faithfulness of spirit, and yet none of these things could make the people understand his message and receive it into their hearts. He was sublime in thought, attractive in word, and affectionate in spirit, and yet they did not believe his testimony, so that he must have often been astonished and heart-broken as he spoke in vain to a people who were determined that they would not hear.

This morning I shall draw certain lessons for us from the great evangelical prophet, his ministry, and the people to whom he ministered so vainly. Our first meditation shall be concerning Isaiah and his ministry, and our second shall be concerning the people to whom he spoke.

Alas! I fear that we who speak in the name of the Lord in these last days have also to deal with hearts that are gross, ears that are heavy, and eyes that are dimmed. Upon this generation also there is falling a measure of judicial withdrawal of light and discernment, and we also have to cry, “Who has believed our report?

And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?”

I. First, then, let me speak PAGE 6 REVIVAL TIMES

CONCERNING ISAIAH AND HIS MINISTRY. Oh, that the Spirit of God may speak with power through me. Our text says two things of Isaiah. First, that “He saw His glory,” and secondly, that “He spoke of Him.” with you

The first statement is that Isaiah saw. Isaiah was a great seer; his prophesy begins thus—“The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.” All prophets were more or less seers, and saw what they foretold, but Isaiah above others was endowed with the seeing and foreseeing faculty. He had the clearest sight, and for that reason he had the clearest speech. When a man speaks so that you cannot understand him, the usual reason is that he does not understand himself, and when a man speaks so as to be readily comprehended, it is because the thought in his own mind is well defined. He that could speak well must see well. Mark the two things in the text—“When Isaiah saw His glory, and spoke of Him.” In what sense is Isaiah said to have seen that which he spoke?

Does it not mean that he realized his thoughts? That they stood out vividly, so as to make a deep impression upon his own mind?

Things to come were already come in his apprehension; he beheld what he believed, he felt what he foretold. He was not a dreamy person, maundering about half-fashioned, undeveloped thoughts, but he was a person who knew, and perceived, and felt what he preached. He saw with his soul what he set forth with his lips.

But what did he see? It is a most important thing that in these days you and I should see the same, for the same work lies before us among a people who are a repetition of that disobedient and gainsaying nation. Read, then, with care the sixth chapter of Isaiah. Open your Bibles and refer to the passage verse by verse.

First, what Isaiah saw was the Lord sitting upon a throne,

high and lifted up. When the prophet went abroad among the people he heard them speaking against the Lord God, some contending for one deity and some for another, some leaning upon an arm of flesh, and others despising the promise of Jehovah the God of Israel. All this, I say, he saw out of doors, and he was troubled. But when he went into the sanctuary of God he saw the Lord sitting upon a throne; still reigning, still glorious, undisturbed by opposition. He must then have felt like David when he said, “Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord, and against His anointed. He that sits in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.

Yet have I set My king upon My holy hill of Zion.” As David saw Christ upon the throne amid the strivings of the people, so did Isaiah see the Lord Jesus, not only upon the lowly mercy seat, but upon a throne high and lifted up. I pray you, brethren, settle this in your hearts; our Lord is highly exalted as Lord of all.

When you see evil occurring, do not imagine that it defeats the eternal purposes of Jehovah.

When you hear blasphemy and your blood runs cold, do not think that Christ has lost His glory, when men riot in sin, do not dream that the reins of affairs are out of Jesus’ hands, for still He is “God over all, blessed forever.” My heart exults this day, as, by undoubting faith, I am assured that He who died on Calvary is now exalted on high, far above all principalities and powers. “You are the King of glory, O Christ!” To You our spirits ascribe infinite honour, world without end. Though the earth is removed, and the mountains are carried into the midst of the sea, yet the Lord reigns. He that died upon the tree is crowned with majesty, and all the angels of God worship Him. “He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet.” Let us have no question about this, for if we have, we shall not be prepared to speak in the Lord’s name with this evil

continued on page 10

first and the last offering. In the 20th century many Jews and Arabs came to know Jesus. This is still happening around the world where Jews have been dispersed. 1948 and the return of Jews to the land of Canaan was a powerful sign that we have entered the last part of this age. However as before only a remnant of Jews will return to the land as a sign to the church and world. Many believe that Israel will rebuild the temple, but Scriptures reveal that this cannot happen as God has declared that the old HAS gone the new HAS come (Jer 3:16; 1 Corin 3:9; Heb 8:13) . The ancient temple mount has even been capped by the anti-Christ, anti-Jew Islamic dome in 691–692—some 55 years after Muslim armies captured Jerusalem (the abomination Matt 24:15) now some 1,243 years! (allowing for 88 years of Crusader control 1099-1187 and Jewish control since 1968!). Only international pressure keeps Israel from rebuilding the Temple structure with new features.

However we must accept God’s final decision not to allow it, because to bring back the old temple would make Christ’s work of no effect and would prevent the Jews from turning to the true Messiah which is His purpose in bringing them back to the land! As followers of Christ it must be our love and kindness towards them (and all mankind) in their own land that brings them to repentance and faith.

“And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the Lord, they shall say no more,The ark of the covenant of the Lord: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more.”

in Jesus’ work of grace, as indeed all nations must believe.

Surprisingly many modern Jews have never heard the true Gospel message! The Rabbinic traditions prevents them from reading the New Testament or even Isaiah 53. They must be grafted back into the Olive Tree to be saved from the second death.

Paul tells us that for this reason they are indeed in the same spiritual position as any other nation in the modern world today (Rom 11:32; John 6:63) and so have equal opportunity to accept the GRACE of God through Christ and this is a good thing! Sadly, as an earthly nation, they still reject Jesus as their true Messiah - but this will change. We are called to respect and love them even as the Father does for the sake of the faithful patriarchs and their example to us of God’s judgments. Even so it’s an error to think that they are still acceptable to God by simply being Jews alone or that they should be given special treatment by God because of their natural inheritance. Paul states clearly that the inheritance is not by the flesh: “Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel: Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called.That is,They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.”

(Jer 3:16)

The ‘church’ or ‘body’ of Messiah is now called ‘the holy nation’ (1 Pet 2:9) where the two (Jew and Gentile) have become one body, one faith. Jesus is called the second Adam and so a whole ‘new race’ comes from him by faith through the cross (the cutting of a new covenant in His blood). He is now the true vine and we are the true branches who believe and feed on his words. This nation was ‘born’ on the day of Pentecost when the Spirit came in power (fire) and the ‘people’ became God’s new dwelling place (the new temple Isaiah 65:1; 66:8).

God has shown that His blessings and anointing are now no longer restricted to a specific land mass i.e Canaan / Israel / Palestine etc. He can be found anywhere in the world – and church history testifies to this. For this reason the Land of Israel is now not an essential prerequisite for God to give blessings to His servants, indeed the focus has moved away from material blessing as the main benefit of faith.

Jesus said ‘store up treasure in heaven’, and so just as Abraham we look for the city to come, the new Jerusalem of heaven, of which we are already members by faith, what Paul called the ‘household of faith’ (Gal 6:10).

Material blessings are not a sign of holiness otherwise the rich and godless men of the world have nothing to fear and the poor are doomed!

Praise the Lord that the Gospel of the Kingdom is FREE for those prepared to humble themselves, crucify the desires of the flesh and follow His Words!

The last great harvest is NOW The salvation of many Jews in these days is surely one of the real signs of Christ’s imminent return (Israel and the United States account for 83% of the Jewish population, while a total of 98 countries host the other 17%). He will do this not because they deserve it, but because of his promises to the patriarchs. At the present time they are in ignorance (Rev 2:9; 3:9) as indeed are all other religions in the world. However, because they are under the curse of the ‘Law’ they are no longer a ‘Holy’ nation in the old sense, because the holy priesthood was transferred from the Levites to Judah (Messiah) and His body the Ekklesia (church) into the order of Melchisedec which is everlasting: “If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the people received the law,) what further need was there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchisedec, and not be called after the order of Aaron?

For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.” (Heb 7:11).

The priesthood and the Law have changed in God’s sight. In fact it has changed so much so that the Jews are even called ‘enemies’ of the Gospel of the Kingdom by Paul and they did cause him a great deal of persecution. As an ‘ethnicity’ they are spiritually blinded by the old Law (2 Co 3:14) and so remain deceived until they also repent and believe

(Rom 9:6-8)

The Holy Nation - Global

REVIVAL TIMES PAGE 19

continued from page 5

identity should be that of ‘disciple’ or ‘Christian’. (see article in Revival Times Issue 2, page 7).

Jesus greater than Moses The apostles fully accepted that the work of Jesus was in fact a total fulfilment of God’s promises to Israel through Moses and all the prophets (see Luke 24:27; 2 Corin 1:20). They knew that ‘all things were made new’ a new covenant was cut in the blood of Christ himself the lamb, so that it is ‘guaranteed’ forever, there’s no going back! It was not a ‘renewed’ old covenant which some try to teach today, but a brand new deal! We see earlier in Acts 13:32 and throughout this chapter how Paul had emphasised to the Jews in other nations this very fact! He warned them to take up this offer from God lest they perish like they did under the Babylonians: “Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses. Beware therefore, lest that come upon you, which is spoken of in the prophets; Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you (Hab 1:5). And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next sabbath.” (Acts 13:41) Paul teaches grace by faith and obedience to the Spirit and not by obedience to the ordinances of the Torah and exclusivity as a means to salvation and an abundant life (see Heb 3). The goal of faith however is still separation from the world system or holiness and purity in accordance with the law of the Spirit and keeping the Spirit of the Law. What changed was the means of justification and cleansing of sins. By obeying Christ’s commands example we fulfil the law by love.

The walls did come down In Matthew 26:31 Jesus himself quotes Zech 13:8 which numbers the remnant as one third of Israel at that time (see also Rom 9:27). We previously saw that Paul calls the Law ‘the dividing wall of hostility’.

Those unrepentant Jews not selected by the Father for faith in Jesus remained hardened and opposed to the truth of the faith believing that the Law (and tradition) was still the sole means of justification (thus excluding all Gentiles). Sadly many perished under the wrath of God at the hands of the Romans from AD 66-70 (approx 500,000 died and many where taken captive to Rome!). Approx 1 million survived. However after a further revolt in AD 135 a further 580,000 Jews died and those remaining were expelled from the land completely and the major cities were levelled to the ground by the Romans.

The number of Christian believers who escaped the Roman armies before these events was probably in the 10,000’s by this time, they escaped by crossing the Jordan to the East in obedience to Jesus words in Luke 21:20-21. These are undeniable historical facts even recorded by Josephus, archaeologists and other historians (The Jewish War, Oxford World’s Classics, Amazon).

PAGE 18 REVIVAL TIMES

In Christ Jesus the ‘hostility’ of the Law is removed as each side becomes a NEW CREATURE, that is a spiritual ‘Son of God’ and de facto a ‘citizen of heaven’ (forming the New Jerusalem Rev 21:2) by his Holy Spirit dwelling in us. The previous identities of Jew or Gentile are lost and thus must be fully discarded (Gal 3:28). This is proven to be true by the written testimony of the early apostles who accepted themselves as ‘Christians’ even though they had Judaic backgrounds. They taught that Christians are part of a new nation of priests in God’s eternal Kingdom and no longer part of the natural kingdoms of Judah and Israel (Phil 3:20; John 18:36) or even of this world! There is now therefore only ONE God and ONE body and significantly ONE holy nation belonging to God – the church founded in Christ (Messiah)! If this is not the case then Paul says that Christ died in vain!

As a consequence of this new reality we must not consider ourselves to have ‘dual citizenship’, that is to say we have now become ‘sojourners’ or ‘strangers’ on the earth just as all who lived by faith before us (see also 1 Chron 29:15; Psalm 39:12; Heb 11:13 ). We should now have no investment in or loyalty to any world system of religion or government (even Judaic), because Jesus the Messiah is now our only connection to his lineage of faith - he is our only King. Just like a tree graft has only one connection to the branch we receive the nutritious sap of God’s Spirit by faith because Jesus is true spiritual vine, the life giving Spirit in heaven.

He is like the Rod that budded and he is now before the throne interceding for us continuously in heaven itself! (Num 17:8). Knowing him and the Father personally through the indwelling Spirit is the good news of the Gospel, we are not to be guided by man’s ideas, but by his Spirit of love.

This was Paul’s experience and that which Jeremiah prophesied would come through the Messiah (Gal 1:1, Jer 31:34 ). This is not replacement theology because the Jews are still recognised by God as his firstborn, but the spiritual kingdom and power of God was taken from them and now resides with Christ as the High Priest and his new priesthood - Christians. The symbolism reveals that Jesus is therefore the complete fulfilment of all the promises because everything has been given to him and those with him (Eph 1:22).

The ‘first fruits’ were harvested We can confidently say therefore that the ‘Nation of God’ post Christ’s resurrection (as Paul states in Rom 2:28; 9:6) are those remnant Jews who ‘believed’ in their hearts the message of Jesus – their true Messiah – and were grafted in through baptism (replacing outward circumcision). He is the Branch that grew up from the stump of Judah whom God had cut down (Isaiah 11:1, Zech 3:8; 6:12).

They called themselves the ‘firstfruits’ (Rom 11:16) and implied that at some time in the future (after many Gentiles had believed) God would continue to give dispersed ‘Israel’ another opportunity in the last days to accept the message of Jesus before His return (Rom 11:25-27), so that they have the

“This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. For I say unto you, among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he. And all the people that heard him, and the publicans, justified God, being baptised with the baptism of John.

But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptised of him. And the Lord said,Whereunto then shall I liken the men of this generation? and to what are they like? They are like unto children sitting in the marketplace, and calling one to another, and saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned to you, and ye have not wept. For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine; and ye say, He hath a devil.The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners! But wisdom is justified of all her children.” (John 7:27-35) We see clearly from this teaching that those who received John’s baptism of repentance had their ‘eyes’ (hearts) opened to see who Jesus really was (Messiah), thus enabling them to believe, whereas the unrepentant Pharisees and others remained ‘blind’. They could not see who Jesus really was as they clung to their religious traditions. Paul mentions this spiritual blindness in another letter explaining the unseen spiritual dynamic: “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake.” (2 Corin 4:3-5) What further evidence do we have that those God foreknew were the believing Jews? Firstly, consider Jesus own teaching because he is the foundation of grace and truth. When Jesus came to earth to whom did he come? He gives us the answer in a remarkable incident that occurred near Tyre and Sidon on the northern coast: “Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. ” (Matt 15:21-24).

This passage is vital to our understanding of Jesus mission from the Father which was very specific at that time:- ‘to reach the lost sheep of Israel’ and not (at this point) the other nations - especially the Canaanites whom God had originally commanded to be destroyed (Deut 20:17). Despite this we see the mercy of Christ and his admiration of true faith, even though his mission was clear. The key point here is that the Lord’s focus was on saving a remnant of Israelites - those who believed that he was indeed the Messiah.

Jesus was dealing with 3 kinds of people; those Israelites who believed, those who did not and then the Gentiles (everyone else). God’s promises were to

the Israelites going back many centuries. We see that some of these Jews were looking for the Messiah.

Even the Pharisees when they went to John asked him if he was the Christ: “And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not: John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptise you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptise you with the Holy Ghost and with fire:Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable. And many other things in his exhortation preached he unto the people.” (Luke 3:15-18) Andrew, a disciple of John at the time was among the first to have recognised Jesus as Messiah: “He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messiah, which is, being interpreted, the Christ.” (John 1:41) The woman at the well was also aware that the Messiah was coming: “The woman saith unto him, I know that Messiah cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.” (John 4:25) We see that these ‘Jews’ and ‘Samaritans’ were open to and expecting the Messiah (Christ), however we also see the other group who were not looking for this hope, but rather wanted to build their own kingdom in cooperation with the world power at that time - the Roman Empire.

Jesus knew that His message and the powerful witness from the Father would enable these seekers to believe in him and thus be saved by his final blood sacrifice once for all upon the cross. In this sense they were ‘predestined’ because he ‘foreknew’ who these disciples would be - perhaps even four hundred years earlier! Just as John the baptist was prophesied in Malachi, we also see that the believing remnant were also prophesied in Malachi: “Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name. And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.”

(Mal 3:16-18)

Wow! Those who God predestined to believe in Christ were the children of those that feared the Lord in the days of the rebellion back in Malachi’s day 400 years earlier! In Malachi 3 we see the prophecy of Jesus first coming and refining, separating the sheep and the goats and in chapter 4 we see that before this time God will send the spirit of Elijah to awaken them and redeem them from the judgement! (John the baptist).

“For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of continued on page 14

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A Message For Our Times PART 5 - By Stephen Turnham

“For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.” (2 Corinthians 4:6-7” Welcome to the fifth in a 12 part series looking at who the ‘church’ really are and why.

PART 5 - WHAT’S THE CORRECT STRUCTURE FOR THE CHURCH OF JESUS?

As you may have realised from the previous parts of this message there are many things which we thought we knew God wanted us to do(as Christians), but that have now been proved to be incorrect or worse still iniquitous and against his will!

We are having to allow him to draw us out of the pits that we have dug ourself and then fallen into, because we followed men and their ideas. We wrongly trusted in so called ‘leaders’ who sat on a platform and assumed to be in charge and we trusted our hierarchical denomination. Or you may not have known Christ and have been caught in a Satanic religion like Buddhism, Islamism, Hinduism, Paganism or Atheism etc. You gave your money, time and resources into organisations which shift like the sand or that continue to teach heresies that we are now not willing to tolerate because of the revelation of the truth and God’s holiness! God is coming in glory and his Spirit in you is drawing you deeper to him, closer to him and closer to one another for one reason - to give him ALL the glory!

The true spiritual building The structure for the church of Jesus Christ is quite simply Jesus Christ! As we have seen already he is the ‘pattern’ or ‘image’ of God and of ‘heaven living’ that we must become a part of through humility and repentance - turning our minds to his will, his ways, his purposes. We do this because he alone is love, he alone is goodness, he alone has no sin, yet everything he does is for our good because we are his precious people. We are so blind PAGE 8 REVIVAL TIMES

without his revelation of the truth and without his light of life we self destruct - even our best efforts fail and ultimately end in death! The real church of Jesus is spiritual, it is not of this world, it is invisible to the eye at this time, because its place is in heaven, the Kingdom of God is within us, it’s not a human organisation, but it’s a ‘household of faith’ only held together by the ‘Spirit of Truth’. It’s now in jars of clay (flesh) only visible when its contents are poured out like an offering of supernatural love through service.

This understanding has huge implications for how we see ourselves and how we think we should gather together and why. It may be hard to truly grasp this at first because we have been so polluted by false religion and worldliness that it’s hard to see the reality of Christ. It has to be said again - the church is a supernatural thing whose existence can only be explained by the presence of His Spirit!

Let us be humiliated Think of Jesus, this is how he was, this was how he walked, this is why the demons plotted against him and why foolish men fought against him! Jesus ate and drank with his 12 disciples and taught them the secrets of heaven, of sowing, reaping, faith, holiness and glory, they were being his people his church called out from their religion and the world system. They did not even realise it until the Spirit came at Pentecost and then it all made sense!

The same is true for us, we think we know what God should do, we think that by using, buildings, money, performance worship and a host of other worldly ideas, that we are pleasing to God and will persuade the lost to believe. But we are deceived because only a

message from heaven itself can save a soul, only the Word of God (Jesus) and the conviction of the Spirit can truly save a soul from death and hell fire (second death). All the programmes that men in ‘churches’ scheme and invent are because they cannot let go and imitate the simplicity of Christ. They might not admit it but many want some of the credit, because they want to impress other people with their ‘ministry’. Brethren this should not be so - all that invented stuff is utter rubbish before Almighty Jesus our Lord and it is carnal not supernatural. Even the Kingdom of Israel and Law that he gave to the Hebrews to create the wisest and most precious natural nation on earth (before Christ) he has now discarded for the sake of his Son Jesus. It really is all about Christ the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and nothing we invent impresses the Father anymore. Listen to Paul again, that humble man who was crushed by Jesus love, divided and cleansed by his word which he received directly from Christ in heaven: “But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge (revelation) of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.

Brethren, I count not myself to have

read this: “After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come.Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.

Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves. Carry neither purse, nor scrip, nor shoes: and salute no man by the way. And into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, Peace be to this house. And if the son of peace be there, your peace

shall rest upon it: if not, it shall turn to you again. And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give: for the labourer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to house.”

(Luke 10:1-7)

So we see that Jesus was targeting good homes whose father was a ‘son of peace’ and he wanted these homes to be established for him to visit and bless, homes just like Noah’s, Abraham’s, Issac’s, Jacob’s, Zacchaeus or Cornelius! We could go on and on about how Jesus went from home to home looking for those who would

receive him and how the apostles went from house to house and how Paul lived in the homes of the disciples in Asia minor, Athens, Corinth etc. just search ‘house’ in your electronic KJV Bible version and you’ll get close to 2000 references to house. And not just this, when we eventually pass from this life to the next what has Jesus prepared for us?

You guessed it - a house!

“In my Father’s house are many rooms: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.”

(John 14:2)

continued from page 15

through the preaching of the gospel (1 Corin 1:21).

As mentioned other nations are subsequently grafted into this household of faith (the remnant) It must again be emphasised that this was not the case for the Jews who ‘first believed’ as they were already of the blessed root of Israel and experienced the supernatural transition from ‘natural’ Israel to ‘believing Israel’ or as Jesus refers to it ‘his church’ (eklessia). As previously mentioned this was God’s Sovereign choice because the people of Israel belonged to him by the first covenant.

The true follower, that fully preaches Christ and salvation in his name alone, is a coworker with Jesus to offer the free gift of life to ALL the lost in the world while it is called TODAY. In this way grace is given to the unbeliever through the ‘foolishness of preaching’ Christ and everyone has this offer. Those who accept by freewill choice and continue to the end (of their life) keeping the faith, even through persecution or death, shall be saved. This is what Jesus, to the Jews, and Paul to the gentiles preached and witnessed by the power of the Spirit with signs and wonders. (Matt 10:22; 24:13; 2 Tim 4:6-8; 1 Pet 4:18; Gal 5:21; Rev 21:7 ).

In context So then, we see at that time (Paul’s ‘present time’) the three distinct groups: 1. Israel and Judah a divided nation (plus Roman occupied) 2. The chosen ‘Remnant church’ (Jews plus some Gentiles who believe in Jesus, known as the ‘early church’) 3. Pagan nations (everyone else).

Significantly we do not see two churches develop i.e. a Jewish (messianic) church and a Gentile church, no! God even gave Peter a special revelation to accept the ‘unclean’ Gentiles and so the apostles welcomed the new converts into the ‘one body’ because God accepted them (Acts 10:10-27) they were grafted in through Jesus (the ‘sign’ of acceptance being the baptism by the Spirit). Therefore those who believe whether Jew or Greek, Slave or Free, Male or Female are also classified as the ‘body’ of Jesus

Christ (Gal 3:28) both Jew and Gentile - one new man. Jesus had literally made the two into one new man, in himself - HIS church (Matt 6:18). Later this multicultural combination was simply called ‘Christian’ i.e. Christlike. This is what Jesus and Paul taught regarding the ‘Two’ becoming ONE body, something that happened THEN and not a future event as some my mistakenly assume: “For he himself is our peace, who HAS made the two one and HAS destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.”

(E ph 2:14-17)

At this crucial turning point in the early church the first apostles and elders all accepted this fact; that the remnant of Israel (which God the Father predestined to believe in Jesus) was ‘united’ with the Gentile believers in spirit by faith removing the barrier (John 10:16). Not only this, but also to reach those Jews scattered throughout the whole earth (John 11:51-52; James 1:1). Importantly they recognised that they were now God’s ‘new spiritual nation’ and the ‘one body’ incorporating only those who believe and are baptised into Jesus, so that in God’s sight at this time (up to 20 years after the resurrection) there was the apostate Israel and the spiritual church: 1. The occupied nation of Israel (still with a Levitical & Pharisaical priesthood) 2. The new Christian ‘church body’ a combined holy nation and new priesthood in the order of Melkizedek (see Heb 7).

As Paul says, ‘His purpose was to create in himself one new man’, so we make a mistake if we try to separate this new man into Jewish (Messianic church) and Gentile (Christian church) or for that matter Anglican, Roman Catholic or Baptist etc. – IS CHRIST DIVIDED? NO! (1 Corin 1:13).

The divisions in the ‘churches’ are man made and forbidden by the true apostolic teaching, our only REVIVAL TIMES PAGE 17

house…. … And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham.” (Luke 19:1-10. See also Luke 8:41)

When we realise that this is what Jesus was doing (and the religious people hated it by the way) we begin to get a revelation of ‘church’ as Jesus sees it. Why are we surprised when God’s best friend was Abraham a family man! Here are some modern quotes from well known scholars who recognise how God lived among us: “The theme of the ‘household of God’ undoubtedly owed much to the function of the house in early Christianity as a place of meeting and fellowship (e.g. 2 Tim. 4:19; Phm. 2; 2 Jn. 10).”

(Martin Selman, Lecturer in Old Testament at Spurgeon’s College in London New Bible Dictionary Wheaton, IL: Tyndale, 1982)

“…since in the first and second centuries church buildings in the sense in which we think of them today were not yet in existence, families would hold services in their own homes . . . The early church numbered many hospitable members, ready and eager to offer their facilities for religious use: meetings, services, etc.” (Reformed scholar William Hendriksen New Testament Commentary on Romans - Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House)

“For the first two centuries, the church met in small groups in the homes of its members, apart from special gatherings in public lecture halls or market places, where people could come together in much larger numbers.

Significantly these two centuries mark the most powerful and vigorous advance of the church, which perhaps has never been equaled. The lack of church buildings was no hindrance to the rapid expansion of the church; instead . . . it seemed a positive help.” (Anglican evangelist David Watson, I Believe in the Church - Great Britain: Hodder & Stoughton, 1978)

It’s all Greek to me!

What is the Greek word for PAGE 16 REVIVAL TIMES

‘church’ and what (briefly) does it mean? By now we know that the Greek word for church is ‘ekklésia’ and it fundamentally refers to a ‘meeting of people’ or ‘council’. It means a separated or called out ‘assembly’ of people together to counsel together. Unlike our English word ‘church’, ekklésia was never used by Greeks to refer to a building or organisation.

Thus, when we read about ‘the church in Ephesus’ or ‘the church in Corinth’, we should never envision a church building or named organisation, but rather a simple plain gathering of people in homes before Christ as king.

This was always God’s plan from the beginning and we see it best expressed by God’s friend Abraham as John Fenn explains: “Also note what the Lord said back in Genesis 18:17-19: He based His giving revelation into the earth on the spiritual life of Abraham’s family. “Shall I hide from Abraham that which I’m about to do...seeing he will raise up his household and children in the ways of the Lord…”

If you want revelation from heaven, it starts with meeting the Lord in your home, with your spouse, family, friends; in your relationships. The Father is a Spirit, so He affirms us in our spirits, not our flesh. That is why walking into a family based home church appears all normal and natural and without any initial clue that something supernatural is about to happen and be revealed. Learn to be affirmed in your spirit instead of your flesh.

But stick around that home church...invest in the family of God, invest in the relationships and see the supernatural work of God in action. It will be messy. You will get to know people without their church faces on. You may even take off your church face to reveal what is really happening, thereby allowing God’s power to move through those people to heal, to comfort, to provide an inspired word to you.” (John Fenn, The Supernatural house church)

Noah a family man Even before Abraham’s family we see that Yahweh was looking to save whole households. The family that was righteous before him was Noah: “And the Lord said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.”

God saved just eight people through that judgement of water, Jesus had just 12 apostles with whom he was going to build his ‘ark’ on earth - the Bride - for our spiritual salvation. Nothing is impossible with a God who knows all things and sees every detail to the atom he doesn’t mind ‘small beginnings’!

It’s a revelation It all becomes clearer when we also see Jesus giving the first apostles his outreach strategy to reach Israel. He told them to find an ‘oikas’ or ‘home’ that was open and receptive to the Spirit of peace. Then to give the head of that house, the father, the message of the Kingdom!

“Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases. And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick. And he said unto them,Take nothing for your journey, neither staves, nor scrip, neither bread, neither money; neither have two coats apiece.

And whatsoever house ye enter into, there abide, and thence depart.

And whosoever will not receive you, when ye go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet for a testimony against them. And they departed, and went through the towns, preaching the gospel, and healing every where.”

(Luke 9:1-6)

Jesus was giving his twelve disciples a very important lesson - take nothing! That means all they had was the anointing that Jesus had put on them - the Spirit of grace and power! And where did he send them to? Yes to a house and not to a synagogue or a temple. In the next chapter of Luke we see Jesus expand this work out even more when he sends the 70 to prepare houses for him to visit!! Yes it’s true -

apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” (Phil 3:7-14) Paul counted what he had before as rubbish so why would we go back to that old way? In his letter to the Galatians Paul reinforced the foundation of the revelation of Christ: “For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ. For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews’ religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it: And profited in the Jews’ religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers.

But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace, to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood: Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus.” (Gal 1:12-17) Can you see it? Can you see that just like Peter, Paul received the ‘revelation’ direct from the risen Jesus for himself and he did what Jesus taught him to do, and what was that? It was to imitate Christ! (1 Corin 11:1). This is the calling of every believer without exception.

The foundation he was to lay into the ‘heathen’ (that’s you and me) was that of Jesus Christ and him crucified and no other gospel, every other distortion of this gospel is a lie and deception.

Paul was not an ambassador of an organisation or of the Jews or even of the Jerusalem church whom he hardly knew anyhow!

He was an ambassador of Jesus Christ alone and this is what we must become, we must cleanse ourselves of all the filth of this world, of religious ways and of pagan tradition that’s been mixed into our culture including the ideas of the ‘pastor’ or ‘priest’ (however smart he is).

The structure of the church in a location is obedience to Jesus

Christ by faith through the Spirit in us and this can mean only one thing - we will love one another as he loved us.

That’s the true invisible church of Jesus and it’s glorious like a bride on her wedding day or like a golden city. And we see the itinerant church planters, the apostles (sent ones) who not only establish believers into family groups, but give instruction and guidance on how the community of Christ ought to live and behave - protecting from demonic heresy such as falling back into Law. They encourage faith as a lifestyle witness - separate from worldly motives and they reveal the power of heaven.

Be ye separate So you may say, ok I want this ‘what do I do now?’ This is the right question to ask, it’s what they asked Peter on that glorious and magnificent day of Pentecost when Jesus sent His Spirit into the earth, into men and women and they prophesied the wonders of God. And why did this happen? Because they waited for him as Jesus told them. They obeyed his last command to them - wait upon the Lord.

What is the structure of the church? It is simply the Spirit dwelling in mankind both now and forevermore, but he cannot dwell with filth and uncleanness, in the sin and iniquity of the old creation. This is why Jesus and the apostles teach us to ‘go and sin no more’, to ‘turn away from the traditions of men’, and to ‘walk in the Spirit’, to ‘love the Truth’ and to ‘feed on his word of life’ (John 6:63).

This is a heavenly experience which comes only as we follow the apostolic teaching of Jesus.

One in Spirit When believers gather together by the Spirit, in whatever numbers, it should be for these reasons; to wait, to listen, to obey and to glorify Christ. Everything else is superficial and unhelpful.

Eating and drinking become less important because we feed off the meat of heaven - to do his will.

“Then they went out of the city, and came unto him. In the mean while his

disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat.

But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of.

Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat?

Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.”

(John 3:30-34) Where do disciples gather? Like any family they gather in homes and whenever the Spirit guides.

The early disciples met almost exclusively in the private homes of its members (Acts 2, 4 See also Romans 16:3-5a, 1 Corinthians 16:19, C olossians 4:15, Philemon 1-2 b, J ames 2:3 & 2 J ohn 10-11.). A

large part of the reason for this may have been persecution, but not exclusively as this was not a problem for many years.

Another more plausible reason is that this was God’s deliberate strategy to spread the good news through loving brothers and sisters to the world. Careful study of the apostolic writing reveals that everything was in fact written to believers who met in private homes and as such the teachings are designed to work best in these smaller communal settings. All major Bible scholars and experts agree that this was indeed the case. They just don’t know how to get back to his original design. It’s because they are too busy doing other things!

Jesus the Heavenly template When we look closely at Jesus life we see him going house to house, proving him to be the author of this divine strategy. His outreach and ministry was also in the streets, the Temple courts and synagogues, but he was often rejected from these places because he preached against hypocritical hierarchy! Rather he wanted to reach into households and bring his teaching into the real life environment of those he was reaching - where love could thrive. He was looking for open hearts what he called ‘good soil’.

“And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy continued on page 16

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generation. Amid the anarchy of the ages we see the glorious high throne of our redeeming Lord unmoved, unmovable. This is the rock of our refuge when the unsettled times rage about us like the waters of the troubled sea. We cannot be afraid, for Christ is on His throne.

Observe that in Isaiah’s vision he not only saw the Lord “upon a throne high and lifted up,” but he saw that “His train filled the temple,” so that in that temple there was room for no one else.

The robes of this great King filled all the holy place, and neither priests nor offerers could find standing room there. It is a great thing to see how Jesus fills the heavenly places, in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead.

Let it be acknowledged to be so in heaven, for the glory of our Redeemer fills every street of the upper city, every mansion of the Father’s house. In the church below which is also His temple, among His spiritual people, the glory of the Lord Jesus engages and occupies every heart. They feel that there is none other in whom they can trust, none other whose words they will receive, none other in whom they glory, the Lord Christ is all in all to us, and we know no other Master or Saviour. His train fills the temple. I trust it is so among us.

From Sabbath to Sabbath the one glory of this Tabernacle is the person and work of Jesus. What a glory has God put upon the Only-Begotten Son, whom He has raised from the dead that He should be head over all things to His church, which He fills with His life, light, and love. Nor may we forget that all the things that exist are in a sense His temple, and the whole universe is filled with His train, for “He has ascended up far above all heavens that He might fill all things.” Glory be unto our ascended and reigning Lord.

In His vision Isaiah saw the flaming spirits that wait upon the Christ of God. He calls them, “seraphims.” The best interpretation we can give is “burning ones,” they burn in the sense of consuming. They burn up that which ought to be consumed, namely, all kinds of evil. There are PAGE 10 REVIVAL TIMES

powers around our Lord which will destroy evil. You ask me to tell you something about these seraphim, how can I? They have covered their faces, and covered their feet. Since nothing is to be seen, what can I tell you? Neither would it be right for us to speak concerning them, for manifestly it is their desire to be hidden.

Who will violate their wish to be concealed? They covered their faces, they covered their feet, and therein they did as good as say, “Look not on us, but look on Him who sits upon the throne, whose attendants we are.” This much is all we know—exalted intelligences are in waiting upon our Lord, and are able to fly swiftly at His bidding. Tremble not concerning this error, or that, it shall be burnt up by those agencies which are at the command of our exalted Lord.

Spirits from God shall run to and fro, and smite, as with the fire of God, those powers of darkness which now oppress our race. God Himself is a consuming fire, who can dwell with Him but those that are like Him? He makes His ministers a flame of fire. Around our Lord are the chariots of God, which are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels. His power knows no limit. His word runs very swiftly, He speaks, and it is done; He commands, and it stands fast. Glory be unto You, O Christ! We will not fear nor be discouraged, since these Your servants are ready to flame forth at Your bidding. Truly You are Jehovah of hosts.

This vision of the bodyguard of the Prince of peace was enough to strengthen Isaiah. Thus comforted, he would calmly confront that rebellious generation. If the prophet, when he opened the young man’s eyes strengthened his heart by making him see horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha, shall not we be comforted as we behold legions of burning ones surrounding our King, and standing ready to fulfill His decrees?

Further, we find that Isaiah saw in that vision the perpetual adoration which is rendered unto Christ concerning His holiness.

Those bright spirits had never

tasted of His mercy, for they had never sinned. They understood nothing of His grace, for they had not been guilty, but being pure in heart they gazed on the Lord with opened eyes and adored His holiness. Their whole souls were filled with the contemplation of that one all-embracing attribute, and in responsive song they said each one to his fellow, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts.”

They emphasized their words by repeating them three times, and perhaps they alluded also to the Trinity in Unity as they cried, “Holy, holy, holy.” This is the supreme glory of Christ, that in Him is seen the holiness of God. Oh my friends, let us be like these seraphim, ravished with the holiness of the atonement, awe-struck with the justice of God in the great sacrifice. Reflect with reverence that God when He willed to save His elect would not commit a breach upon His laws, though He would redeem them from going down into the pit, yet He would not violate His word, nor change that most righteous penalty of death, which is the due desert of sin. Rather than stain His holiness He spared not His own Son, but freely delivered Him up for us all. Consider the great love of holiness which must have been in the heart of the Father, that He would give up His Son to bleed sooner than His law should be dishonoured, and think of the great holiness of Christ, that He would rather give His back to the smiters and His cheeks to them that pluck out the hair, yes, rather stretch out His hands to the nails and expire forsaken of His God, than suffer sin to go unpunished.

God would not even for mercy’s sake issue an unjust pardon to the souls He loved.

As I stand here this morning I also have visions of God, and the cross seems to me transformed into a burning throne, whereon justice is high and lifted up to the uttermost, as I see God Himself in Christ Jesus bowing His head to death, that He might be just and yet the Justifier of him that believes. Around that cross I see troops of angels gathering, and I hear one crying unto another and saying, “Holy, holy, holy, is Jehovah

‘predestined’ in the way that the ‘called Jews’ (as God’s people before) had been chosen. Rather we see that the good news is offered to all as a FREE GIFT that can be received (once the blindness of Satan is removed by the Spirit) and this is now the same for Jew and Gentile (post judgement of Israel) as Paul explains to the Gentiles: “As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election (remnant), they are beloved for the father’s sakes. For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. For as ye in times past have not believed God (Gentiles), yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief: Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy. (kindness to Jews) For God hath concluded them all (Jews) in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all (mankind).” (Rom 11:27-32) The Church is to have mercy and kindness towards the Jew as they are now in unbelief as much as all the nations and this mercy will also bring them into their true inheritance of Christ, but this is by faith no longer by Law. So we see that both the remnant believing Jews and the unsaved hardened Jews have a purpose in God’s plan and we should be thankful and not critical as it reveals the power of God’s Word!

The first fruits offered up The remnant who believed prior to the destruction of the Temple, Jerusalem and the nation, Paul, James and John also called the ‘firstfruits’ and the ‘first to believe’ (Eph 1:12; 1 Corin 15:23; James 1:18). All these Jewish believers had ‘first hand testimony’ from the 12 apostles and others who had known Jesus as a man, who were ‘eye witnesses’ of his life, death and resurrection. Paul (who only met the risen Jesus) and the other apostles state clearly that they were ‘elect’ or ‘chosen’ and ‘predestined’ by the Father (as Jews) to form this essential foundation of the new covenant the ‘ekklesia’ (Greek) or ‘church of the firstborn’ - headed by the risen Jesus through the Spirit. This is a great mystery and can only be understood by those who have spiritual eyes to see (Heb 12:23; 1 Corin 2:13; 2 Kings 19:31). The church of Jesus is therefore not founded on the Law of Moses, but on the Law of Christ which is by his faith existent before the Law and before creation. It’s no longer about ‘Hebraic roots’ but rather on Christ alone - the branch, the eternal Rock.

The uniqueness of God’s people From the time of Moses to Malachi God’s people were indeed ‘peculiar’ and specially chosen by him through both ethnicity (though not exclusively) and by the separation of Law (Torah), the Israelites were separate from all other nations culturally and religiously. God called them his ‘treasured possession’ and this was because of his favoured patriarchs Abraham, Moses, Jacob etc. (Exod 19:5).

Israel became a unique nation that received unique covenants with the Almighty, but all this was for one purpose - to bring forth the living Word made flesh - Jesus Christ (Messiah) as even Moses had spoken of in Deut 18:15. Once he (Jesus) came He changed the natural Law (Torah) to the spiritual

Law of Spirit (Grace) (see Heb 7:12). Initially Jesus chose the 12, then the Holy Spirit promise was given to them empowering them to preach the Kingdom in power to their fellow Jews and the world. Many things became clear to them as the Spirit of God revealed them and gave revelation about Jesus ministry and why he had to die and rise again etc.

Their minds were opened to the Scriptures which spoke of him. Importantly these Jews gave up their traditions and adopted a different lifestyle given to them by Jesus. This is why they were originally called the people of the ‘WAY’ i.e. the unique Way of Christ. This new ‘way’ clearly contrasted with the ‘old’ way which the Pharisees continued to promote even after the crucifixion! Now believing Jews became Christians and gave up their nationality for their new heavenly nationality the heavenly Jerusalem! This is one of the main reasons they were persecuted by their own people.

Through the Spirit anointed preaching of the apostles and evangelists the saved remnant soon expanded to between 7-8,000 people. This is staggeringly small when you consider that at Pentecost there would have been upwards of 500,000 to 1 million Jews from all over the known world and yet just 7,000 believed (1 Kings 19:18).

Within a few decades this tight knit body of faith was scattered by Jewish persecution after Stephen’s martyrdom seven years after Jesus ministry had begun (Acts 7).

At this turning point believers in the Way spread outward and the Kingdom ministry to the world expanded through Paul and Barnabas, as recorded

by Luke in Acts. It was their preaching of Scripture, first to the Jew and then to the Gentile by the power of the Spirit, that called these early believers in Asia minor. The apostles were literally like ‘Christ’ to them as Christ supernaturally dwelt in them. The size of the church was not as many people as might be thought, there being only a few house churches mentioned in Acts and the letters of Paul. Those who belong to God are therefore called but few ‘chosen’ by the Spirit of grace through faith at the preaching of Jesus crucified. So we have the Jewish remnant that God forenew and planned for from the foundation of the world, that is from Abel (as already described above), then there is the many Gentiles being grafted into this blessing later (see Luke 11:49-51) through freewill choice.

“For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren (Jews). Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.”

(Rom 8:29-30)

Gentiles are grafted into true Israel by faith in Christ We have seen earlier that Jesus came only to Israel and called those ‘predestined’ to believe, then he justified them and ultimately, by the Holy Spirit, glorified them and this he now does for all those Gentiles who believe the message of the cross continued on page 17

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continued from page 7

hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch (AD70).

But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings (Jesus); and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts. Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments.

Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet (John the baptist) before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord (AD70): And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers (repentance and love), lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.” (Malachi 4).

Jesus confirms that this was indeed John: “But I say unto you,That Elias (Elijah) is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them.Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist.” (Matt 17:12-13) The Malachi 4 passage is fulfilled by John and Jesus, the two witnesses to the nation in their day. This is why Jesus only spoke in parables, so that only those prepared to listen carefully to the revelatory understanding would grasp the secrets of the Kingdom to come. Even then, unless Jesus had to open their minds to the understanding they still could not fully grasp the truth because it is spiritually discerned. Jesus only entrusted the understanding of the parables to his closest disciples especially the Twelve who were ‘elected’ by grace, chosen by God not by their own works: “And the disciples came, and said unto him,Why speakest thou unto them in parables?

He answered and said unto them, because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance (of revelation): but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath (understanding).Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. For verily I say unto you,That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.”

(Matt 13:10-17)

We must always remember to interpret the new testament writing in the correct context of the times when Jesus walked among the Jews in the ancient ‘old’ Jerusalem. He never revealed the secrets of his teaching to the Gentiles, or even to the hypocritical Pharisees! Salvation had not yet been given or released to all nations, this would only occur after the crucifixion and even after Pentecost! The early church was thus ALL Jewish converts.

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It’s worthy to note that Jesus had forgiven the sins of many of those who believed on him prior to the cross, simply because they believed in him! God can forgive sins, he will have mercy on whom he will have mercy. Even in the old covenant he overlooked sin and gave forgiveness to those who repented based on the reality that one day the Christ would ultimately pay for all sin. David saw this and prophesied it in many of the Psalms (e.g.

Psa 85:2). All that the prophets had prophesied was coming true in their day, in front of their eyes, yet only the remnant could see it, only the elect of grace predestined by the Father. Paul reveals this when grieving over his own people the Jews, because no matter how much he could preach to them if God had not chosen them they would not believe: “For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.” (Rom 9:15-16; see also

2 Corin 3:13-16)

Because of the covenant they made with God through Moses at Horeb the Israelites were not (and are not) their own and had to pay the price for their rebellion. Even so God is merciful and did not completely destroy them and so even today some of their descendants are turning to Christ by faith alone. (see www.oneforisrael.org) At Pentecost we see fulfilled the prophecy of Joel, as Peter, inspired by the Holy Spirit reveals, which speaks of the promise of the Spirit being poured out on all flesh (first for the Jew then for the nations), however it is notable that the conclusion of that part of the Joel prophecy is not quoted by Peter, but by referring back to Joel’s original proclamation we see more revelation regarding the remnant of grace: “And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered (saved): for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call.” (Joel 2:32) Once Jesus had preached the truth to all Israel his final work was to allow himself to be sacrificed for the sins of the wider world - the nations - so that they too could be included or grafted into the household of faith - his church, body (John 12:32).

This grace was given to the nations through the preaching of the Word of God by apostolic and evangelistic outreach as Paul clearly states: “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!” (Rom 10:13-15) The message of Christ crucified for the forgiveness of sins is delivered to the nations the same way Jesus originally delivered the message to the Jews - he was sent to PREACH the good news of the Kingdom and whosoever shall call upon the name (Jesus) of the Lord shall be saved. ‘Whosever’ means ‘anyone’ in ‘any nation’. This is vital because it means that the pagan nations were not

Jesus, the great sacrifice for sin.” Do you not unite in their reverent homage? If you do you will go forth and tell of pardon bought with blood, and of the atonement finished once for all. With hallowed confidence you will tell out among the people that the holy Lord reigns from the tree, until all creatures fall down and worship Him that was slain, because His holiness was thereby revealed in noon- day splendour.

This was not all that was revealed to the prophet, for he heard the seraphim say, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory.”

Even when men rejected Christ, even when hearts were fat, and eyes were dim, and ears were heavy, even then the whole earth was full of the glory of Christ.

When scientists tell us that they cannot see God, I am amazed.

To me it is impossible not to see Him. Though I cannot pry with scalpel into the anatomy of the human frame, yet when I look upon the mere skin of the human countenance I see the handiwork of God Though I cannot dig into the lower strata of the earth and disentomb the fossil and decipher its stone-preserved memorial yet to me rock, and clay, and sand, and relic of the past, bear the sure hieroglyph of God. Though I cannot inform you of all the interesting details of insect life, or descant upon the secrets of botany, yet to me bees bring honeyed thoughts of God, and flowers breathe the perfume of His love. Where is God? Say rather, where is He not? Not with these grosser senses, but by higher faculties I see and hear my God, yes, He does sur- round me, and my faith embraces Him. I am no fool for this; the best authority declares that he is the fool who says in his heart, “There is no God.” Yes, the whole earth is full of the glory of Christ, and above the earth in every cloud it is seen, and above the cloud every star shines out concerning Him. Alas, for the blind eyes that cannot see that which is evidently set forth in every place. Alas for the ears which cannot hear when, earth, and sea, and heaven, and hell, are all echoing to the tread of the

Omnipotent Christ of God. Oh brethren, have you ever seen this vision, have you ever seen God’s glory filling the whole earth? If so, you are prepared for the times that are and are to be times of gloom, and darkness, and sin, and blasphemy—and yet your heart does not tremble for the ark of the Lord.

When all this was seen of the prophet, he noticed that the posts of the doors moved. If I am rightly informed, there were two huge columns before the temple called Jachin and Boaz.

These were made with singular skill, and were the wonder of the age. They were of brass, cast

by Solomon, but in the course of ages they had no doubt mellowed into bronze, and there they stood, two tremendous erections, bearing up massive doors. We are told, I know not whether it is correct, that the gates that swung upon these columns required at least twenty men either to open or to shut them, but as the prophet saw that vision he noticed that these massive columns trembled, and thus did obeisance to the God who was with- in their gates. Our Revised Version reads it, “The foundations of the thresholds were moved.” Even to its foundations the house trembled with solemn awe of the divine presence.

Brethren, heaven, and earth, and hell, and all created things reflect the glory of the Lord, and thus adore Him. Oh Lord Jesus, You are worthy of all honour. “All the earth does worship You.” If it were so with posts and doors, shall not our hearts rejoice with trembling?

Shall not our souls be moved in the presence of the Most High?

And will we not fall down before the glorified Christ, as John did, who wrote, “When I saw Him I fell at His feet as dead”? Everything is filled with awe in His majestic presence, save only man, the impious rebel who dares defy his God. Then came the best part of the vision for Isaiah; at the glorious sight, he felt, “Woe is me, for I am undone, I am stricken mute. I can never speak again, for my lips are unclean, and I dwell among an unclean people.” Then, swift

as lightning flew a seraph, bringing a coal more burning than himself from off the altar of sacrifice, with which he touched the prophet’s lips. Beloved, this is what we need. We need to feel the atonement laid home to us, to feel the power of the great sacrifice of Christ, to hear a voice saying within our spirit, “Your iniquity is put away, and your sin is purged.” Though that live coal must have blistered the lips which it covered, yet it made them eloquent. Common fire would destroy the organs of speech, but the fire of sacrifice does not so, but it unloosens a grateful tongue, and helps a grateful heart to tell of the love immense, unsearchable, which offered itself upon the altar of sacrifice, that holiness and love might save the sinner. Our peace comes from the Holy, Holy, Holy One, who is just, and yet forgives His people’s sin. Brother, if you are to proclaim the glory of your Lord, you must feel the sacrificial coal applied to the place where your impurity is most seen, even to your lips, you must know that you are forgiven, for your conviction that you are clean before God will give you confidence in telling others the story of the cross. This is what Isaiah saw.

Listen for a minute to that further word that follows—Isaiah when he saw His glory “spoke of Him.” He that has seen this sight must speak.

He spoke in deep humility. Never was braver man than Isaiah, but never one who walked in lowlier reverence before His God. He never forgot to His dying day that “Woe is me! for I have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.”

Yet, observe that he spoke with very willing obedience.

“Here am I,” he said, “send me.”

He offers himself to be God’s mouth to the people, whatever the message may be. He seems to say, “Here am I in the entirety of my being, purchased to You by Your great pardoning love, use me as You will, and send me where You will.” He continued to report his Lord’s message under constant rebuffs, and despite the ceaseless REVIVAL TIMES PAGE 11

obduracy of Israel. Though he cried, “Who has believed our report?” yet he continued that report. That chapter, which begins with his complaint, has in it not only a continuation of the report, but a fuller version of it than he had ever given before. He was sad but resolute, grieved yet persevering, broken in heart, but not broken down in constancy.

Brethren, it needs great grace to go upon a fruitless errand.

One had needed see the glory of the Lord to be enabled to fight a losing battle. I am sometimes afraid that I have to do this myself, but if it is so, it is not ours to bargain for success, but to yield implicit obedience. It is ours to abide faithful to our commission, whether men will hear or whether they will forbear. Brethren, be it ours to serve the Lord gladly, and testify to what we have seen, even though no man should receive our witness.

But then it is said of Isaiah that he “spoke of Him,” that is, of our Lord Jesus Christ. In all that Isaiah said he had an eye to Christ. It was all his business among men to speak of glories of the coming Son of God. May the Lord give us such a sight of Christ in His glory that from this day forth we shall be ab- sorbed in glorifying Him. May our life be a perpetual ministry concerning Christ.

Remember that word concerning John the Baptist, “John did no miracle, but all things that John spoke of this man were true.” If we can do no miracle and achieve no success, let us at least cry without ceasing, “Behold the Lamb of God.” Though we decrease, it matters not so long as He increase, we are glad to disappear, as the morning star is lost at the rising of the sun.

It is our delight to imitate the seraphim, and with veiled face and covered feet to attend about the throne of Jehovah Jesus our Lord.

II. I now ask your kind attention to the second part of my subject, which is a very painful one, CONCERNING

THE NATION TO WHICH ISAIAH SPOKE.

Their terrible sin lay in this, that they were willingly blinded by PAGE 12 REVIVAL TIMES

the light, which ought to have been to them a help to see Christ, and they were hardened by those very truths which ought to have melted them. They became more and more adverse to Christ through beholding in Him such a character as ought to have won their hearts. To the prophet’s teaching they were entirely dead.

A specimen of this we find in the succeeding chapters of Isaiah.

Israel and Syria attacked Ahaz, whose reign followed those of Uzziah and Jotham. The prophet came and said to Ahaz, “Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be faint-hearted for the two tails of these smoking firebrands.” Ahaz was assured that God would help him if he would but trust in Him, but instead of doing so, the king determined to petition for the help of the great king of Assyria, with the result in the long run that “the king of Assyria came unto him and distressed him, but helped him not.” Isaiah, to con- firm his message, bade the king choose any sign either in the depth or in the height above, but the infidel king replied, “I will not ask, neither will I test Jehovah.” He had so defiantly cast off allegiance to the true God that he would not even accept a sign, though it was left to his own choice. Thus Isaiah’s message was rejected though put in the most winning form, for the hearts of the people were blinded, and hardened so as to choose the way of destruction. Ultimately, as you know, the Assyrians carried the whole people away, for they had rejected God’s message willfully, and wrath came upon them.

What a grievous task to be called to preach to such a people!

They went on from bad to worse as a nation, they turned aside grievously from God, and when they appeared to cleave to Him it was in name only, but not in heart, so that when Christ came they were unable to discern Him, for had they known Him they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. This blindness was in part a punishment for their long rebellion. If men willfully shut their eyes, do you wonder that they become blind? If men will not hear, do you wonder

that they grow deaf? If men will not understand, do you wonder that they become stupid? He that perverts truth shall soon be incapable of knowing the true from the false. If you persist in wearing glasses that distort, everything will be distorted to you— “Hear the just law, the judgment of the skies! He that hates truth shall be the dupe of lies.”

But although this blindness was a punishment for former sin, it was itself a sin. They willfully rejected the testimony of God against themselves; they refused the self-evident Christ who would so greatly have blessed them. This willful rejection was carried out so effectually that it became impossible to convert and heal them, they could not be instructed, or reformed, and therefore they were given over to destruction. Nothing remained but to allow the Romans to burn the temple and plow the site of the city. It was a dreadful thing that they should deliberately choose destruction, and obstinately involve them- selves in the most tremendous of woes.

Poor Israel, we pity you! It was sad indeed to fall from so great a height! Yet we are bound to admit that God dealt with you justly, for you did choose your own delusions. The Lord cries, “Oh that My people had hearkened unto Me.” Our Saviour weeps and cries, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often would I have gathered your children together, even as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, but you would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.”

What I have to say this morning is this—that I am increasingly fearful lest our own country should furnish a parallel to all this. Read the story of England, beginning where you will, and see how gracious God has been to us. Note well our great deliverances, from the destruction of the Spanish Armada to the overthrow of Napoleon. Do not forget how often this little country has been made victorious in wars against great peoples, who thought to swallow her up.

Then reflect how God sent the light to us, how the gospel spread

all over England, and how it has in many ways been rejected. How often since the days of Cromwell, Rome has been allowed to dim the light of our Protestantism, and how it labours to do so still! See how this people have received the truth of heaven, but again and again have proved false to it, turning at one time to superstition and at another time to infidelity. At this moment we are rich, and despite depression in business, we are less tried by it than any other nation. And what causes all of this mercy but increased sin? Why, at this moment we have sin rampant among us almost beyond precedent. Think how the poor are oppressed and ground down with awful poverty in many parts of this great city. Shall not God avenge the cry of starving women? Worse still, if worse can be, those who dare walk our streets after sundown tell us that Sodom, in its most putrid days, could scarcely exceed this metropolis for open vice. To our infinite disgust and horror, the names of certain of the greatest in the land are at this hour openly mentioned in connection with the filthiest debauchery. This is not the place for details, nor can I mention the matter, or even think of it without feeling my very soul on fire. Faithfulness requires plain speech, but it is a hideous evil that the dregs of vice should be the chosen luxury of certain of our hereditary legislators and rulers. Woe unto you, oh land, when your great ones love the harlot’s house! Deep is our shame when we know that our judges are not clear in this matter, but social purity has been put to the blush by magistrates of no mean degree, yes, it is said that the courts of justice have lent themselves to the covering and hushing up of the iniquities of the great. Shall not God be grieved by such a nation as this?

He, who has read a certain story which is but too well-known, must have felt his ears tingle and his heart tremble. What is coming over us? What horrible clouds are darkening our skies? There were judges once who would not have suffered the laws to be trampled

on by the great, but would have dealt out equal justice to rich and poor. I cannot persuade myself that it will be otherwise now, and yet I fear the worst. O God, have mercy upon the land whose judgment seats and palaces are defiled with vice.

This is not all; a general indifference to all religion is creeping over the country, at least over this vast metropolis. Ask those who visit from door to door among our crowded populations, and they will tell you that never before in their lives were there so few persons attendant upon the means of grace. Street after street of this city scarcely possesses more than one regular attendant upon the preaching of the word.

The Sabbath is no longer a day of worship with millions. What continual efforts are made to rob us of the Sabbath day, to degrade it into a common work-day, and to make a slave of the workingman. Today the revelation of God is treated with indifference, or talked of as if it deserved no reverence or credit. Unbelief has sapped the foundations of the social fabric. Worst of all—I must not hold back the charge, many of the avowed ministers of Christ are no ministers of faith at all, but promoters of unbelief. The modern pulpit has taught men to be infidels. What truth is there which has not been doubted by divines, questioned by doctors of divinity, and at length been denounced by the priests of “modern thought”? Nothing remains upon which a certain school of preachers have not spit their skepticism. The experience of the unbelief of Germany is being repeated here. Among those who are ordained to be the preachers of the gospel of Christ, there are many who preach not faith but doubt, and hence they are servants of the devil rather than of the Lord. Think not that I am aiming at the Church of England. With all my objection to a state-church, I am not so unjust as to conceal my belief, that I see in the Episcopal Church at this time less of unbelief than among certain Dissenters. In fact, Nonconformity in certain quarters is eaten through

and through with a covert Unitarianism, less tolerable than Unitarianism itself. So frequently are the fundamental doctrines of the gospel assailed, that it becomes needful, before you cross the threshold of many a chapel, to ask the question, “Shall I hear the gospel here today, or shall I come out hardly knowing whether the Bible is inspired or not? Shall I not be made to doubt the atonement, the work of the Holy Spirit, the immortality of the soul, the punishment of the wicked, or the deity of Christ?”

I know I shall stir a hornet’s nest by these honest rebukes but I cannot help it. I am burdened and distressed with the state of religion, a pest is in the air; no truth is safe from its withering infection. No signs can be more alarming than the growing infidelity and worldliness which I see among those who call themselves Christians. Does this nation really intend to cast off the fear of God and the doctrines of Holy Scripture to follow the vain imaginings of the sophists and the fashionable follies of the great? Are we to see again unbelief and luxurious sin walking hand in hand? If so, there are some of us who mean to take up our sorrowful parable, and speak as plainly as we can for truth and holiness, whether we of- fend or please. Be it ours to still thunder out the law of God, and proclaim with trumpet clearness the gospel of Jesus, not bating one jot of firm belief in the revelation of God, nor winking at sin, nor toning down truth, even though we fear that the only result will be to make this people’s hearts gross, and their ears heavy, and their eyes blind. If it must be so, my soul shall weep in secret, but still, O Lord, here am I, send me. Be of good courage, O my heart, for the faithful have not ceased from among men, other voices will cry aloud and spare not, if haply our land may be purged of its present defilement.

Hearken yet again while I press this subject personally home to you. Has not this word a

continued on page 21

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obduracy of Israel. Though he cried, “Who has believed our report?” yet he continued that report. That chapter, which begins with his complaint, has in it not only a continuation of the report, but a fuller version of it than he had ever given before. He was sad but resolute, grieved yet persevering, broken in heart, but not broken down in constancy.

Brethren, it needs great grace to go upon a fruitless errand.

One had needed see the glory of the Lord to be enabled to fight a losing battle. I am sometimes afraid that I have to do this myself, but if it is so, it is not ours to bargain for success, but to yield implicit obedience. It is ours to abide faithful to our commission, whether men will hear or whether they will forbear. Brethren, be it ours to serve the Lord gladly, and testify to what we have seen, even though no man should receive our witness.

But then it is said of Isaiah that he “spoke of Him,” that is, of our Lord Jesus Christ. In all that Isaiah said he had an eye to Christ. It was all his business among men to speak of glories of the coming Son of God. May the Lord give us such a sight of Christ in His glory that from this day forth we shall be ab- sorbed in glorifying Him. May our life be a perpetual ministry concerning Christ.

Remember that word concerning John the Baptist, “John did no miracle, but all things that John spoke of this man were true.” If we can do no miracle and achieve no success, let us at least cry without ceasing, “Behold the Lamb of God.” Though we decrease, it matters not so long as He increase, we are glad to disappear, as the morning star is lost at the rising of the sun.

It is our delight to imitate the seraphim, and with veiled face and covered feet to attend about the throne of Jehovah Jesus our Lord.

II. I now ask your kind attention to the second part of my subject, which is a very painful one, CONCERNING

THE NATION TO WHICH ISAIAH SPOKE.

Their terrible sin lay in this, that they were willingly blinded by PAGE 12 REVIVAL TIMES

the light, which ought to have been to them a help to see Christ, and they were hardened by those very truths which ought to have melted them. They became more and more adverse to Christ through beholding in Him such a character as ought to have won their hearts. To the prophet’s teaching they were entirely dead.

A specimen of this we find in the succeeding chapters of Isaiah.

Israel and Syria attacked Ahaz, whose reign followed those of Uzziah and Jotham. The prophet came and said to Ahaz, “Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be faint-hearted for the two tails of these smoking firebrands.” Ahaz was assured that God would help him if he would but trust in Him, but instead of doing so, the king determined to petition for the help of the great king of Assyria, with the result in the long run that “the king of Assyria came unto him and distressed him, but helped him not.” Isaiah, to con- firm his message, bade the king choose any sign either in the depth or in the height above, but the infidel king replied, “I will not ask, neither will I test Jehovah.” He had so defiantly cast off allegiance to the true God that he would not even accept a sign, though it was left to his own choice. Thus Isaiah’s message was rejected though put in the most winning form, for the hearts of the people were blinded, and hardened so as to choose the way of destruction. Ultimately, as you know, the Assyrians carried the whole people away, for they had rejected God’s message willfully, and wrath came upon them.

What a grievous task to be called to preach to such a people!

They went on from bad to worse as a nation, they turned aside grievously from God, and when they appeared to cleave to Him it was in name only, but not in heart, so that when Christ came they were unable to discern Him, for had they known Him they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. This blindness was in part a punishment for their long rebellion. If men willfully shut their eyes, do you wonder that they become blind? If men will not hear, do you wonder

that they grow deaf? If men will not understand, do you wonder that they become stupid? He that perverts truth shall soon be incapable of knowing the true from the false. If you persist in wearing glasses that distort, everything will be distorted to you— “Hear the just law, the judgment of the skies! He that hates truth shall be the dupe of lies.”

But although this blindness was a punishment for former sin, it was itself a sin. They willfully rejected the testimony of God against themselves; they refused the self-evident Christ who would so greatly have blessed them. This willful rejection was carried out so effectually that it became impossible to convert and heal them, they could not be instructed, or reformed, and therefore they were given over to destruction. Nothing remained but to allow the Romans to burn the temple and plow the site of the city. It was a dreadful thing that they should deliberately choose destruction, and obstinately involve them- selves in the most tremendous of woes.

Poor Israel, we pity you! It was sad indeed to fall from so great a height! Yet we are bound to admit that God dealt with you justly, for you did choose your own delusions. The Lord cries, “Oh that My people had hearkened unto Me.” Our Saviour weeps and cries, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often would I have gathered your children together, even as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, but you would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.”

What I have to say this morning is this—that I am increasingly fearful lest our own country should furnish a parallel to all this. Read the story of England, beginning where you will, and see how gracious God has been to us. Note well our great deliverances, from the destruction of the Spanish Armada to the overthrow of Napoleon. Do not forget how often this little country has been made victorious in wars against great peoples, who thought to swallow her up.

Then reflect how God sent the light to us, how the gospel spread

all over England, and how it has in many ways been rejected. How often since the days of Cromwell, Rome has been allowed to dim the light of our Protestantism, and how it labours to do so still! See how this people have received the truth of heaven, but again and again have proved false to it, turning at one time to superstition and at another time to infidelity. At this moment we are rich, and despite depression in business, we are less tried by it than any other nation. And what causes all of this mercy but increased sin? Why, at this moment we have sin rampant among us almost beyond precedent. Think how the poor are oppressed and ground down with awful poverty in many parts of this great city. Shall not God avenge the cry of starving women? Worse still, if worse can be, those who dare walk our streets after sundown tell us that Sodom, in its most putrid days, could scarcely exceed this metropolis for open vice. To our infinite disgust and horror, the names of certain of the greatest in the land are at this hour openly mentioned in connection with the filthiest debauchery. This is not the place for details, nor can I mention the matter, or even think of it without feeling my very soul on fire. Faithfulness requires plain speech, but it is a hideous evil that the dregs of vice should be the chosen luxury of certain of our hereditary legislators and rulers. Woe unto you, oh land, when your great ones love the harlot’s house! Deep is our shame when we know that our judges are not clear in this matter, but social purity has been put to the blush by magistrates of no mean degree, yes, it is said that the courts of justice have lent themselves to the covering and hushing up of the iniquities of the great. Shall not God be grieved by such a nation as this?

He, who has read a certain story which is but too well-known, must have felt his ears tingle and his heart tremble. What is coming over us? What horrible clouds are darkening our skies? There were judges once who would not have suffered the laws to be trampled

on by the great, but would have dealt out equal justice to rich and poor. I cannot persuade myself that it will be otherwise now, and yet I fear the worst. O God, have mercy upon the land whose judgment seats and palaces are defiled with vice.

This is not all; a general indifference to all religion is creeping over the country, at least over this vast metropolis. Ask those who visit from door to door among our crowded populations, and they will tell you that never before in their lives were there so few persons attendant upon the means of grace. Street after street of this city scarcely possesses more than one regular attendant upon the preaching of the word.

The Sabbath is no longer a day of worship with millions. What continual efforts are made to rob us of the Sabbath day, to degrade it into a common work-day, and to make a slave of the workingman. Today the revelation of God is treated with indifference, or talked of as if it deserved no reverence or credit. Unbelief has sapped the foundations of the social fabric. Worst of all—I must not hold back the charge, many of the avowed ministers of Christ are no ministers of faith at all, but promoters of unbelief. The modern pulpit has taught men to be infidels. What truth is there which has not been doubted by divines, questioned by doctors of divinity, and at length been denounced by the priests of “modern thought”? Nothing remains upon which a certain school of preachers have not spit their skepticism. The experience of the unbelief of Germany is being repeated here. Among those who are ordained to be the preachers of the gospel of Christ, there are many who preach not faith but doubt, and hence they are servants of the devil rather than of the Lord. Think not that I am aiming at the Church of England. With all my objection to a state-church, I am not so unjust as to conceal my belief, that I see in the Episcopal Church at this time less of unbelief than among certain Dissenters. In fact, Nonconformity in certain quarters is eaten through

and through with a covert Unitarianism, less tolerable than Unitarianism itself. So frequently are the fundamental doctrines of the gospel assailed, that it becomes needful, before you cross the threshold of many a chapel, to ask the question, “Shall I hear the gospel here today, or shall I come out hardly knowing whether the Bible is inspired or not? Shall I not be made to doubt the atonement, the work of the Holy Spirit, the immortality of the soul, the punishment of the wicked, or the deity of Christ?”

I know I shall stir a hornet’s nest by these honest rebukes but I cannot help it. I am burdened and distressed with the state of religion, a pest is in the air; no truth is safe from its withering infection. No signs can be more alarming than the growing infidelity and worldliness which I see among those who call themselves Christians. Does this nation really intend to cast off the fear of God and the doctrines of Holy Scripture to follow the vain imaginings of the sophists and the fashionable follies of the great? Are we to see again unbelief and luxurious sin walking hand in hand? If so, there are some of us who mean to take up our sorrowful parable, and speak as plainly as we can for truth and holiness, whether we of- fend or please. Be it ours to still thunder out the law of God, and proclaim with trumpet clearness the gospel of Jesus, not bating one jot of firm belief in the revelation of God, nor winking at sin, nor toning down truth, even though we fear that the only result will be to make this people’s hearts gross, and their ears heavy, and their eyes blind. If it must be so, my soul shall weep in secret, but still, O Lord, here am I, send me. Be of good courage, O my heart, for the faithful have not ceased from among men, other voices will cry aloud and spare not, if haply our land may be purged of its present defilement.

Hearken yet again while I press this subject personally home to you. Has not this word a

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hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch (AD70).

But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings (Jesus); and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts. Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments.

Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet (John the baptist) before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord (AD70): And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers (repentance and love), lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.” (Malachi 4).

Jesus confirms that this was indeed John: “But I say unto you,That Elias (Elijah) is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them.Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist.” (Matt 17:12-13) The Malachi 4 passage is fulfilled by John and Jesus, the two witnesses to the nation in their day. This is why Jesus only spoke in parables, so that only those prepared to listen carefully to the revelatory understanding would grasp the secrets of the Kingdom to come. Even then, unless Jesus had to open their minds to the understanding they still could not fully grasp the truth because it is spiritually discerned. Jesus only entrusted the understanding of the parables to his closest disciples especially the Twelve who were ‘elected’ by grace, chosen by God not by their own works: “And the disciples came, and said unto him,Why speakest thou unto them in parables?

He answered and said unto them, because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance (of revelation): but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath (understanding).Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. For verily I say unto you,That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.”

(Matt 13:10-17)

We must always remember to interpret the new testament writing in the correct context of the times when Jesus walked among the Jews in the ancient ‘old’ Jerusalem. He never revealed the secrets of his teaching to the Gentiles, or even to the hypocritical Pharisees! Salvation had not yet been given or released to all nations, this would only occur after the crucifixion and even after Pentecost! The early church was thus ALL Jewish converts.

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It’s worthy to note that Jesus had forgiven the sins of many of those who believed on him prior to the cross, simply because they believed in him! God can forgive sins, he will have mercy on whom he will have mercy. Even in the old covenant he overlooked sin and gave forgiveness to those who repented based on the reality that one day the Christ would ultimately pay for all sin. David saw this and prophesied it in many of the Psalms (e.g.

Psa 85:2). All that the prophets had prophesied was coming true in their day, in front of their eyes, yet only the remnant could see it, only the elect of grace predestined by the Father. Paul reveals this when grieving over his own people the Jews, because no matter how much he could preach to them if God had not chosen them they would not believe: “For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.” (Rom 9:15-16; see also

2 Corin 3:13-16)

Because of the covenant they made with God through Moses at Horeb the Israelites were not (and are not) their own and had to pay the price for their rebellion. Even so God is merciful and did not completely destroy them and so even today some of their descendants are turning to Christ by faith alone. (see www.oneforisrael.org) At Pentecost we see fulfilled the prophecy of Joel, as Peter, inspired by the Holy Spirit reveals, which speaks of the promise of the Spirit being poured out on all flesh (first for the Jew then for the nations), however it is notable that the conclusion of that part of the Joel prophecy is not quoted by Peter, but by referring back to Joel’s original proclamation we see more revelation regarding the remnant of grace: “And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered (saved): for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call.” (Joel 2:32) Once Jesus had preached the truth to all Israel his final work was to allow himself to be sacrificed for the sins of the wider world - the nations - so that they too could be included or grafted into the household of faith - his church, body (John 12:32).

This grace was given to the nations through the preaching of the Word of God by apostolic and evangelistic outreach as Paul clearly states: “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!” (Rom 10:13-15) The message of Christ crucified for the forgiveness of sins is delivered to the nations the same way Jesus originally delivered the message to the Jews - he was sent to PREACH the good news of the Kingdom and whosoever shall call upon the name (Jesus) of the Lord shall be saved. ‘Whosever’ means ‘anyone’ in ‘any nation’. This is vital because it means that the pagan nations were not

Jesus, the great sacrifice for sin.” Do you not unite in their reverent homage? If you do you will go forth and tell of pardon bought with blood, and of the atonement finished once for all. With hallowed confidence you will tell out among the people that the holy Lord reigns from the tree, until all creatures fall down and worship Him that was slain, because His holiness was thereby revealed in noon- day splendour.

This was not all that was revealed to the prophet, for he heard the seraphim say, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory.”

Even when men rejected Christ, even when hearts were fat, and eyes were dim, and ears were heavy, even then the whole earth was full of the glory of Christ.

When scientists tell us that they cannot see God, I am amazed.

To me it is impossible not to see Him. Though I cannot pry with scalpel into the anatomy of the human frame, yet when I look upon the mere skin of the human countenance I see the handiwork of God Though I cannot dig into the lower strata of the earth and disentomb the fossil and decipher its stone-preserved memorial yet to me rock, and clay, and sand, and relic of the past, bear the sure hieroglyph of God. Though I cannot inform you of all the interesting details of insect life, or descant upon the secrets of botany, yet to me bees bring honeyed thoughts of God, and flowers breathe the perfume of His love. Where is God? Say rather, where is He not? Not with these grosser senses, but by higher faculties I see and hear my God, yes, He does sur- round me, and my faith embraces Him. I am no fool for this; the best authority declares that he is the fool who says in his heart, “There is no God.” Yes, the whole earth is full of the glory of Christ, and above the earth in every cloud it is seen, and above the cloud every star shines out concerning Him. Alas, for the blind eyes that cannot see that which is evidently set forth in every place. Alas for the ears which cannot hear when, earth, and sea, and heaven, and hell, are all echoing to the tread of the

Omnipotent Christ of God. Oh brethren, have you ever seen this vision, have you ever seen God’s glory filling the whole earth? If so, you are prepared for the times that are and are to be times of gloom, and darkness, and sin, and blasphemy—and yet your heart does not tremble for the ark of the Lord.

When all this was seen of the prophet, he noticed that the posts of the doors moved. If I am rightly informed, there were two huge columns before the temple called Jachin and Boaz.

These were made with singular skill, and were the wonder of the age. They were of brass, cast

by Solomon, but in the course of ages they had no doubt mellowed into bronze, and there they stood, two tremendous erections, bearing up massive doors. We are told, I know not whether it is correct, that the gates that swung upon these columns required at least twenty men either to open or to shut them, but as the prophet saw that vision he noticed that these massive columns trembled, and thus did obeisance to the God who was with- in their gates. Our Revised Version reads it, “The foundations of the thresholds were moved.” Even to its foundations the house trembled with solemn awe of the divine presence.

Brethren, heaven, and earth, and hell, and all created things reflect the glory of the Lord, and thus adore Him. Oh Lord Jesus, You are worthy of all honour. “All the earth does worship You.” If it were so with posts and doors, shall not our hearts rejoice with trembling?

Shall not our souls be moved in the presence of the Most High?

And will we not fall down before the glorified Christ, as John did, who wrote, “When I saw Him I fell at His feet as dead”? Everything is filled with awe in His majestic presence, save only man, the impious rebel who dares defy his God. Then came the best part of the vision for Isaiah; at the glorious sight, he felt, “Woe is me, for I am undone, I am stricken mute. I can never speak again, for my lips are unclean, and I dwell among an unclean people.” Then, swift

as lightning flew a seraph, bringing a coal more burning than himself from off the altar of sacrifice, with which he touched the prophet’s lips. Beloved, this is what we need. We need to feel the atonement laid home to us, to feel the power of the great sacrifice of Christ, to hear a voice saying within our spirit, “Your iniquity is put away, and your sin is purged.” Though that live coal must have blistered the lips which it covered, yet it made them eloquent. Common fire would destroy the organs of speech, but the fire of sacrifice does not so, but it unloosens a grateful tongue, and helps a grateful heart to tell of the love immense, unsearchable, which offered itself upon the altar of sacrifice, that holiness and love might save the sinner. Our peace comes from the Holy, Holy, Holy One, who is just, and yet forgives His people’s sin. Brother, if you are to proclaim the glory of your Lord, you must feel the sacrificial coal applied to the place where your impurity is most seen, even to your lips, you must know that you are forgiven, for your conviction that you are clean before God will give you confidence in telling others the story of the cross. This is what Isaiah saw.

Listen for a minute to that further word that follows—Isaiah when he saw His glory “spoke of Him.” He that has seen this sight must speak.

He spoke in deep humility. Never was braver man than Isaiah, but never one who walked in lowlier reverence before His God. He never forgot to His dying day that “Woe is me! for I have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.”

Yet, observe that he spoke with very willing obedience.

“Here am I,” he said, “send me.”

He offers himself to be God’s mouth to the people, whatever the message may be. He seems to say, “Here am I in the entirety of my being, purchased to You by Your great pardoning love, use me as You will, and send me where You will.” He continued to report his Lord’s message under constant rebuffs, and despite the ceaseless REVIVAL TIMES PAGE 11

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generation. Amid the anarchy of the ages we see the glorious high throne of our redeeming Lord unmoved, unmovable. This is the rock of our refuge when the unsettled times rage about us like the waters of the troubled sea. We cannot be afraid, for Christ is on His throne.

Observe that in Isaiah’s vision he not only saw the Lord “upon a throne high and lifted up,” but he saw that “His train filled the temple,” so that in that temple there was room for no one else.

The robes of this great King filled all the holy place, and neither priests nor offerers could find standing room there. It is a great thing to see how Jesus fills the heavenly places, in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead.

Let it be acknowledged to be so in heaven, for the glory of our Redeemer fills every street of the upper city, every mansion of the Father’s house. In the church below which is also His temple, among His spiritual people, the glory of the Lord Jesus engages and occupies every heart. They feel that there is none other in whom they can trust, none other whose words they will receive, none other in whom they glory, the Lord Christ is all in all to us, and we know no other Master or Saviour. His train fills the temple. I trust it is so among us.

From Sabbath to Sabbath the one glory of this Tabernacle is the person and work of Jesus. What a glory has God put upon the Only-Begotten Son, whom He has raised from the dead that He should be head over all things to His church, which He fills with His life, light, and love. Nor may we forget that all the things that exist are in a sense His temple, and the whole universe is filled with His train, for “He has ascended up far above all heavens that He might fill all things.” Glory be unto our ascended and reigning Lord.

In His vision Isaiah saw the flaming spirits that wait upon the Christ of God. He calls them, “seraphims.” The best interpretation we can give is “burning ones,” they burn in the sense of consuming. They burn up that which ought to be consumed, namely, all kinds of evil. There are PAGE 10 REVIVAL TIMES

powers around our Lord which will destroy evil. You ask me to tell you something about these seraphim, how can I? They have covered their faces, and covered their feet. Since nothing is to be seen, what can I tell you? Neither would it be right for us to speak concerning them, for manifestly it is their desire to be hidden.

Who will violate their wish to be concealed? They covered their faces, they covered their feet, and therein they did as good as say, “Look not on us, but look on Him who sits upon the throne, whose attendants we are.” This much is all we know—exalted intelligences are in waiting upon our Lord, and are able to fly swiftly at His bidding. Tremble not concerning this error, or that, it shall be burnt up by those agencies which are at the command of our exalted Lord.

Spirits from God shall run to and fro, and smite, as with the fire of God, those powers of darkness which now oppress our race. God Himself is a consuming fire, who can dwell with Him but those that are like Him? He makes His ministers a flame of fire. Around our Lord are the chariots of God, which are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels. His power knows no limit. His word runs very swiftly, He speaks, and it is done; He commands, and it stands fast. Glory be unto You, O Christ! We will not fear nor be discouraged, since these Your servants are ready to flame forth at Your bidding. Truly You are Jehovah of hosts.

This vision of the bodyguard of the Prince of peace was enough to strengthen Isaiah. Thus comforted, he would calmly confront that rebellious generation. If the prophet, when he opened the young man’s eyes strengthened his heart by making him see horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha, shall not we be comforted as we behold legions of burning ones surrounding our King, and standing ready to fulfill His decrees?

Further, we find that Isaiah saw in that vision the perpetual adoration which is rendered unto Christ concerning His holiness.

Those bright spirits had never

tasted of His mercy, for they had never sinned. They understood nothing of His grace, for they had not been guilty, but being pure in heart they gazed on the Lord with opened eyes and adored His holiness. Their whole souls were filled with the contemplation of that one all-embracing attribute, and in responsive song they said each one to his fellow, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts.”

They emphasized their words by repeating them three times, and perhaps they alluded also to the Trinity in Unity as they cried, “Holy, holy, holy.” This is the supreme glory of Christ, that in Him is seen the holiness of God. Oh my friends, let us be like these seraphim, ravished with the holiness of the atonement, awe-struck with the justice of God in the great sacrifice. Reflect with reverence that God when He willed to save His elect would not commit a breach upon His laws, though He would redeem them from going down into the pit, yet He would not violate His word, nor change that most righteous penalty of death, which is the due desert of sin. Rather than stain His holiness He spared not His own Son, but freely delivered Him up for us all. Consider the great love of holiness which must have been in the heart of the Father, that He would give up His Son to bleed sooner than His law should be dishonoured, and think of the great holiness of Christ, that He would rather give His back to the smiters and His cheeks to them that pluck out the hair, yes, rather stretch out His hands to the nails and expire forsaken of His God, than suffer sin to go unpunished.

God would not even for mercy’s sake issue an unjust pardon to the souls He loved.

As I stand here this morning I also have visions of God, and the cross seems to me transformed into a burning throne, whereon justice is high and lifted up to the uttermost, as I see God Himself in Christ Jesus bowing His head to death, that He might be just and yet the Justifier of him that believes. Around that cross I see troops of angels gathering, and I hear one crying unto another and saying, “Holy, holy, holy, is Jehovah

‘predestined’ in the way that the ‘called Jews’ (as God’s people before) had been chosen. Rather we see that the good news is offered to all as a FREE GIFT that can be received (once the blindness of Satan is removed by the Spirit) and this is now the same for Jew and Gentile (post judgement of Israel) as Paul explains to the Gentiles: “As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election (remnant), they are beloved for the father’s sakes. For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. For as ye in times past have not believed God (Gentiles), yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief: Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy. (kindness to Jews) For God hath concluded them all (Jews) in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all (mankind).” (Rom 11:27-32) The Church is to have mercy and kindness towards the Jew as they are now in unbelief as much as all the nations and this mercy will also bring them into their true inheritance of Christ, but this is by faith no longer by Law. So we see that both the remnant believing Jews and the unsaved hardened Jews have a purpose in God’s plan and we should be thankful and not critical as it reveals the power of God’s Word!

The first fruits offered up The remnant who believed prior to the destruction of the Temple, Jerusalem and the nation, Paul, James and John also called the ‘firstfruits’ and the ‘first to believe’ (Eph 1:12; 1 Corin 15:23; James 1:18). All these Jewish believers had ‘first hand testimony’ from the 12 apostles and others who had known Jesus as a man, who were ‘eye witnesses’ of his life, death and resurrection. Paul (who only met the risen Jesus) and the other apostles state clearly that they were ‘elect’ or ‘chosen’ and ‘predestined’ by the Father (as Jews) to form this essential foundation of the new covenant the ‘ekklesia’ (Greek) or ‘church of the firstborn’ - headed by the risen Jesus through the Spirit. This is a great mystery and can only be understood by those who have spiritual eyes to see (Heb 12:23; 1 Corin 2:13; 2 Kings 19:31). The church of Jesus is therefore not founded on the Law of Moses, but on the Law of Christ which is by his faith existent before the Law and before creation. It’s no longer about ‘Hebraic roots’ but rather on Christ alone - the branch, the eternal Rock.

The uniqueness of God’s people From the time of Moses to Malachi God’s people were indeed ‘peculiar’ and specially chosen by him through both ethnicity (though not exclusively) and by the separation of Law (Torah), the Israelites were separate from all other nations culturally and religiously. God called them his ‘treasured possession’ and this was because of his favoured patriarchs Abraham, Moses, Jacob etc. (Exod 19:5).

Israel became a unique nation that received unique covenants with the Almighty, but all this was for one purpose - to bring forth the living Word made flesh - Jesus Christ (Messiah) as even Moses had spoken of in Deut 18:15. Once he (Jesus) came He changed the natural Law (Torah) to the spiritual

Law of Spirit (Grace) (see Heb 7:12). Initially Jesus chose the 12, then the Holy Spirit promise was given to them empowering them to preach the Kingdom in power to their fellow Jews and the world. Many things became clear to them as the Spirit of God revealed them and gave revelation about Jesus ministry and why he had to die and rise again etc.

Their minds were opened to the Scriptures which spoke of him. Importantly these Jews gave up their traditions and adopted a different lifestyle given to them by Jesus. This is why they were originally called the people of the ‘WAY’ i.e. the unique Way of Christ. This new ‘way’ clearly contrasted with the ‘old’ way which the Pharisees continued to promote even after the crucifixion! Now believing Jews became Christians and gave up their nationality for their new heavenly nationality the heavenly Jerusalem! This is one of the main reasons they were persecuted by their own people.

Through the Spirit anointed preaching of the apostles and evangelists the saved remnant soon expanded to between 7-8,000 people. This is staggeringly small when you consider that at Pentecost there would have been upwards of 500,000 to 1 million Jews from all over the known world and yet just 7,000 believed (1 Kings 19:18).

Within a few decades this tight knit body of faith was scattered by Jewish persecution after Stephen’s martyrdom seven years after Jesus ministry had begun (Acts 7).

At this turning point believers in the Way spread outward and the Kingdom ministry to the world expanded through Paul and Barnabas, as recorded

by Luke in Acts. It was their preaching of Scripture, first to the Jew and then to the Gentile by the power of the Spirit, that called these early believers in Asia minor. The apostles were literally like ‘Christ’ to them as Christ supernaturally dwelt in them. The size of the church was not as many people as might be thought, there being only a few house churches mentioned in Acts and the letters of Paul. Those who belong to God are therefore called but few ‘chosen’ by the Spirit of grace through faith at the preaching of Jesus crucified. So we have the Jewish remnant that God forenew and planned for from the foundation of the world, that is from Abel (as already described above), then there is the many Gentiles being grafted into this blessing later (see Luke 11:49-51) through freewill choice.

“For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren (Jews). Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.”

(Rom 8:29-30)

Gentiles are grafted into true Israel by faith in Christ We have seen earlier that Jesus came only to Israel and called those ‘predestined’ to believe, then he justified them and ultimately, by the Holy Spirit, glorified them and this he now does for all those Gentiles who believe the message of the cross continued on page 17

REVIVAL TIMES PAGE 15

house…. … And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham.” (Luke 19:1-10. See also Luke 8:41)

When we realise that this is what Jesus was doing (and the religious people hated it by the way) we begin to get a revelation of ‘church’ as Jesus sees it. Why are we surprised when God’s best friend was Abraham a family man! Here are some modern quotes from well known scholars who recognise how God lived among us: “The theme of the ‘household of God’ undoubtedly owed much to the function of the house in early Christianity as a place of meeting and fellowship (e.g. 2 Tim. 4:19; Phm. 2; 2 Jn. 10).”

(Martin Selman, Lecturer in Old Testament at Spurgeon’s College in London New Bible Dictionary Wheaton, IL: Tyndale, 1982)

“…since in the first and second centuries church buildings in the sense in which we think of them today were not yet in existence, families would hold services in their own homes . . . The early church numbered many hospitable members, ready and eager to offer their facilities for religious use: meetings, services, etc.” (Reformed scholar William Hendriksen New Testament Commentary on Romans - Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House)

“For the first two centuries, the church met in small groups in the homes of its members, apart from special gatherings in public lecture halls or market places, where people could come together in much larger numbers.

Significantly these two centuries mark the most powerful and vigorous advance of the church, which perhaps has never been equaled. The lack of church buildings was no hindrance to the rapid expansion of the church; instead . . . it seemed a positive help.” (Anglican evangelist David Watson, I Believe in the Church - Great Britain: Hodder & Stoughton, 1978)

It’s all Greek to me!

What is the Greek word for PAGE 16 REVIVAL TIMES

‘church’ and what (briefly) does it mean? By now we know that the Greek word for church is ‘ekklésia’ and it fundamentally refers to a ‘meeting of people’ or ‘council’. It means a separated or called out ‘assembly’ of people together to counsel together. Unlike our English word ‘church’, ekklésia was never used by Greeks to refer to a building or organisation.

Thus, when we read about ‘the church in Ephesus’ or ‘the church in Corinth’, we should never envision a church building or named organisation, but rather a simple plain gathering of people in homes before Christ as king.

This was always God’s plan from the beginning and we see it best expressed by God’s friend Abraham as John Fenn explains: “Also note what the Lord said back in Genesis 18:17-19: He based His giving revelation into the earth on the spiritual life of Abraham’s family. “Shall I hide from Abraham that which I’m about to do...seeing he will raise up his household and children in the ways of the Lord…”

If you want revelation from heaven, it starts with meeting the Lord in your home, with your spouse, family, friends; in your relationships. The Father is a Spirit, so He affirms us in our spirits, not our flesh. That is why walking into a family based home church appears all normal and natural and without any initial clue that something supernatural is about to happen and be revealed. Learn to be affirmed in your spirit instead of your flesh.

But stick around that home church...invest in the family of God, invest in the relationships and see the supernatural work of God in action. It will be messy. You will get to know people without their church faces on. You may even take off your church face to reveal what is really happening, thereby allowing God’s power to move through those people to heal, to comfort, to provide an inspired word to you.” (John Fenn, The Supernatural house church)

Noah a family man Even before Abraham’s family we see that Yahweh was looking to save whole households. The family that was righteous before him was Noah: “And the Lord said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.”

God saved just eight people through that judgement of water, Jesus had just 12 apostles with whom he was going to build his ‘ark’ on earth - the Bride - for our spiritual salvation. Nothing is impossible with a God who knows all things and sees every detail to the atom he doesn’t mind ‘small beginnings’!

It’s a revelation It all becomes clearer when we also see Jesus giving the first apostles his outreach strategy to reach Israel. He told them to find an ‘oikas’ or ‘home’ that was open and receptive to the Spirit of peace. Then to give the head of that house, the father, the message of the Kingdom!

“Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases. And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick. And he said unto them,Take nothing for your journey, neither staves, nor scrip, neither bread, neither money; neither have two coats apiece.

And whatsoever house ye enter into, there abide, and thence depart.

And whosoever will not receive you, when ye go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet for a testimony against them. And they departed, and went through the towns, preaching the gospel, and healing every where.”

(Luke 9:1-6)

Jesus was giving his twelve disciples a very important lesson - take nothing! That means all they had was the anointing that Jesus had put on them - the Spirit of grace and power! And where did he send them to? Yes to a house and not to a synagogue or a temple. In the next chapter of Luke we see Jesus expand this work out even more when he sends the 70 to prepare houses for him to visit!! Yes it’s true -

apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” (Phil 3:7-14) Paul counted what he had before as rubbish so why would we go back to that old way? In his letter to the Galatians Paul reinforced the foundation of the revelation of Christ: “For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ. For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews’ religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it: And profited in the Jews’ religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers.

But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace, to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood: Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus.” (Gal 1:12-17) Can you see it? Can you see that just like Peter, Paul received the ‘revelation’ direct from the risen Jesus for himself and he did what Jesus taught him to do, and what was that? It was to imitate Christ! (1 Corin 11:1). This is the calling of every believer without exception.

The foundation he was to lay into the ‘heathen’ (that’s you and me) was that of Jesus Christ and him crucified and no other gospel, every other distortion of this gospel is a lie and deception.

Paul was not an ambassador of an organisation or of the Jews or even of the Jerusalem church whom he hardly knew anyhow!

He was an ambassador of Jesus Christ alone and this is what we must become, we must cleanse ourselves of all the filth of this world, of religious ways and of pagan tradition that’s been mixed into our culture including the ideas of the ‘pastor’ or ‘priest’ (however smart he is).

The structure of the church in a location is obedience to Jesus

Christ by faith through the Spirit in us and this can mean only one thing - we will love one another as he loved us.

That’s the true invisible church of Jesus and it’s glorious like a bride on her wedding day or like a golden city. And we see the itinerant church planters, the apostles (sent ones) who not only establish believers into family groups, but give instruction and guidance on how the community of Christ ought to live and behave - protecting from demonic heresy such as falling back into Law. They encourage faith as a lifestyle witness - separate from worldly motives and they reveal the power of heaven.

Be ye separate So you may say, ok I want this ‘what do I do now?’ This is the right question to ask, it’s what they asked Peter on that glorious and magnificent day of Pentecost when Jesus sent His Spirit into the earth, into men and women and they prophesied the wonders of God. And why did this happen? Because they waited for him as Jesus told them. They obeyed his last command to them - wait upon the Lord.

What is the structure of the church? It is simply the Spirit dwelling in mankind both now and forevermore, but he cannot dwell with filth and uncleanness, in the sin and iniquity of the old creation. This is why Jesus and the apostles teach us to ‘go and sin no more’, to ‘turn away from the traditions of men’, and to ‘walk in the Spirit’, to ‘love the Truth’ and to ‘feed on his word of life’ (John 6:63).

This is a heavenly experience which comes only as we follow the apostolic teaching of Jesus.

One in Spirit When believers gather together by the Spirit, in whatever numbers, it should be for these reasons; to wait, to listen, to obey and to glorify Christ. Everything else is superficial and unhelpful.

Eating and drinking become less important because we feed off the meat of heaven - to do his will.

“Then they went out of the city, and came unto him. In the mean while his

disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat.

But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of.

Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat?

Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.”

(John 3:30-34) Where do disciples gather? Like any family they gather in homes and whenever the Spirit guides.

The early disciples met almost exclusively in the private homes of its members (Acts 2, 4 See also Romans 16:3-5a, 1 Corinthians 16:19, C olossians 4:15, Philemon 1-2 b, J ames 2:3 & 2 J ohn 10-11.). A

large part of the reason for this may have been persecution, but not exclusively as this was not a problem for many years.

Another more plausible reason is that this was God’s deliberate strategy to spread the good news through loving brothers and sisters to the world. Careful study of the apostolic writing reveals that everything was in fact written to believers who met in private homes and as such the teachings are designed to work best in these smaller communal settings. All major Bible scholars and experts agree that this was indeed the case. They just don’t know how to get back to his original design. It’s because they are too busy doing other things!

Jesus the Heavenly template When we look closely at Jesus life we see him going house to house, proving him to be the author of this divine strategy. His outreach and ministry was also in the streets, the Temple courts and synagogues, but he was often rejected from these places because he preached against hypocritical hierarchy! Rather he wanted to reach into households and bring his teaching into the real life environment of those he was reaching - where love could thrive. He was looking for open hearts what he called ‘good soil’.

“And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy continued on page 16

REVIVAL TIMES PAGE 9

A Message For Our Times PART 5 - By Stephen Turnham

“For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.” (2 Corinthians 4:6-7” Welcome to the fifth in a 12 part series looking at who the ‘church’ really are and why.

PART 5 - WHAT’S THE CORRECT STRUCTURE FOR THE CHURCH OF JESUS?

As you may have realised from the previous parts of this message there are many things which we thought we knew God wanted us to do(as Christians), but that have now been proved to be incorrect or worse still iniquitous and against his will!

We are having to allow him to draw us out of the pits that we have dug ourself and then fallen into, because we followed men and their ideas. We wrongly trusted in so called ‘leaders’ who sat on a platform and assumed to be in charge and we trusted our hierarchical denomination. Or you may not have known Christ and have been caught in a Satanic religion like Buddhism, Islamism, Hinduism, Paganism or Atheism etc. You gave your money, time and resources into organisations which shift like the sand or that continue to teach heresies that we are now not willing to tolerate because of the revelation of the truth and God’s holiness! God is coming in glory and his Spirit in you is drawing you deeper to him, closer to him and closer to one another for one reason - to give him ALL the glory!

The true spiritual building The structure for the church of Jesus Christ is quite simply Jesus Christ! As we have seen already he is the ‘pattern’ or ‘image’ of God and of ‘heaven living’ that we must become a part of through humility and repentance - turning our minds to his will, his ways, his purposes. We do this because he alone is love, he alone is goodness, he alone has no sin, yet everything he does is for our good because we are his precious people. We are so blind PAGE 8 REVIVAL TIMES

without his revelation of the truth and without his light of life we self destruct - even our best efforts fail and ultimately end in death! The real church of Jesus is spiritual, it is not of this world, it is invisible to the eye at this time, because its place is in heaven, the Kingdom of God is within us, it’s not a human organisation, but it’s a ‘household of faith’ only held together by the ‘Spirit of Truth’. It’s now in jars of clay (flesh) only visible when its contents are poured out like an offering of supernatural love through service.

This understanding has huge implications for how we see ourselves and how we think we should gather together and why. It may be hard to truly grasp this at first because we have been so polluted by false religion and worldliness that it’s hard to see the reality of Christ. It has to be said again - the church is a supernatural thing whose existence can only be explained by the presence of His Spirit!

Let us be humiliated Think of Jesus, this is how he was, this was how he walked, this is why the demons plotted against him and why foolish men fought against him! Jesus ate and drank with his 12 disciples and taught them the secrets of heaven, of sowing, reaping, faith, holiness and glory, they were being his people his church called out from their religion and the world system. They did not even realise it until the Spirit came at Pentecost and then it all made sense!

The same is true for us, we think we know what God should do, we think that by using, buildings, money, performance worship and a host of other worldly ideas, that we are pleasing to God and will persuade the lost to believe. But we are deceived because only a

message from heaven itself can save a soul, only the Word of God (Jesus) and the conviction of the Spirit can truly save a soul from death and hell fire (second death). All the programmes that men in ‘churches’ scheme and invent are because they cannot let go and imitate the simplicity of Christ. They might not admit it but many want some of the credit, because they want to impress other people with their ‘ministry’. Brethren this should not be so - all that invented stuff is utter rubbish before Almighty Jesus our Lord and it is carnal not supernatural. Even the Kingdom of Israel and Law that he gave to the Hebrews to create the wisest and most precious natural nation on earth (before Christ) he has now discarded for the sake of his Son Jesus. It really is all about Christ the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and nothing we invent impresses the Father anymore. Listen to Paul again, that humble man who was crushed by Jesus love, divided and cleansed by his word which he received directly from Christ in heaven: “But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge (revelation) of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.

Brethren, I count not myself to have

read this: “After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come.Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.

Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves. Carry neither purse, nor scrip, nor shoes: and salute no man by the way. And into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, Peace be to this house. And if the son of peace be there, your peace

shall rest upon it: if not, it shall turn to you again. And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give: for the labourer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to house.”

(Luke 10:1-7)

So we see that Jesus was targeting good homes whose father was a ‘son of peace’ and he wanted these homes to be established for him to visit and bless, homes just like Noah’s, Abraham’s, Issac’s, Jacob’s, Zacchaeus or Cornelius! We could go on and on about how Jesus went from home to home looking for those who would

receive him and how the apostles went from house to house and how Paul lived in the homes of the disciples in Asia minor, Athens, Corinth etc. just search ‘house’ in your electronic KJV Bible version and you’ll get close to 2000 references to house. And not just this, when we eventually pass from this life to the next what has Jesus prepared for us?

You guessed it - a house!

“In my Father’s house are many rooms: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.”

(John 14:2)

continued from page 15

through the preaching of the gospel (1 Corin 1:21).

As mentioned other nations are subsequently grafted into this household of faith (the remnant) It must again be emphasised that this was not the case for the Jews who ‘first believed’ as they were already of the blessed root of Israel and experienced the supernatural transition from ‘natural’ Israel to ‘believing Israel’ or as Jesus refers to it ‘his church’ (eklessia). As previously mentioned this was God’s Sovereign choice because the people of Israel belonged to him by the first covenant.

The true follower, that fully preaches Christ and salvation in his name alone, is a coworker with Jesus to offer the free gift of life to ALL the lost in the world while it is called TODAY. In this way grace is given to the unbeliever through the ‘foolishness of preaching’ Christ and everyone has this offer. Those who accept by freewill choice and continue to the end (of their life) keeping the faith, even through persecution or death, shall be saved. This is what Jesus, to the Jews, and Paul to the gentiles preached and witnessed by the power of the Spirit with signs and wonders. (Matt 10:22; 24:13; 2 Tim 4:6-8; 1 Pet 4:18; Gal 5:21; Rev 21:7 ).

In context So then, we see at that time (Paul’s ‘present time’) the three distinct groups: 1. Israel and Judah a divided nation (plus Roman occupied) 2. The chosen ‘Remnant church’ (Jews plus some Gentiles who believe in Jesus, known as the ‘early church’) 3. Pagan nations (everyone else).

Significantly we do not see two churches develop i.e. a Jewish (messianic) church and a Gentile church, no! God even gave Peter a special revelation to accept the ‘unclean’ Gentiles and so the apostles welcomed the new converts into the ‘one body’ because God accepted them (Acts 10:10-27) they were grafted in through Jesus (the ‘sign’ of acceptance being the baptism by the Spirit). Therefore those who believe whether Jew or Greek, Slave or Free, Male or Female are also classified as the ‘body’ of Jesus

Christ (Gal 3:28) both Jew and Gentile - one new man. Jesus had literally made the two into one new man, in himself - HIS church (Matt 6:18). Later this multicultural combination was simply called ‘Christian’ i.e. Christlike. This is what Jesus and Paul taught regarding the ‘Two’ becoming ONE body, something that happened THEN and not a future event as some my mistakenly assume: “For he himself is our peace, who HAS made the two one and HAS destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.”

(E ph 2:14-17)

At this crucial turning point in the early church the first apostles and elders all accepted this fact; that the remnant of Israel (which God the Father predestined to believe in Jesus) was ‘united’ with the Gentile believers in spirit by faith removing the barrier (John 10:16). Not only this, but also to reach those Jews scattered throughout the whole earth (John 11:51-52; James 1:1). Importantly they recognised that they were now God’s ‘new spiritual nation’ and the ‘one body’ incorporating only those who believe and are baptised into Jesus, so that in God’s sight at this time (up to 20 years after the resurrection) there was the apostate Israel and the spiritual church: 1. The occupied nation of Israel (still with a Levitical & Pharisaical priesthood) 2. The new Christian ‘church body’ a combined holy nation and new priesthood in the order of Melkizedek (see Heb 7).

As Paul says, ‘His purpose was to create in himself one new man’, so we make a mistake if we try to separate this new man into Jewish (Messianic church) and Gentile (Christian church) or for that matter Anglican, Roman Catholic or Baptist etc. – IS CHRIST DIVIDED? NO! (1 Corin 1:13).

The divisions in the ‘churches’ are man made and forbidden by the true apostolic teaching, our only REVIVAL TIMES PAGE 17

continued from page 5

identity should be that of ‘disciple’ or ‘Christian’. (see article in Revival Times Issue 2, page 7).

Jesus greater than Moses The apostles fully accepted that the work of Jesus was in fact a total fulfilment of God’s promises to Israel through Moses and all the prophets (see Luke 24:27; 2 Corin 1:20). They knew that ‘all things were made new’ a new covenant was cut in the blood of Christ himself the lamb, so that it is ‘guaranteed’ forever, there’s no going back! It was not a ‘renewed’ old covenant which some try to teach today, but a brand new deal! We see earlier in Acts 13:32 and throughout this chapter how Paul had emphasised to the Jews in other nations this very fact! He warned them to take up this offer from God lest they perish like they did under the Babylonians: “Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses. Beware therefore, lest that come upon you, which is spoken of in the prophets; Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you (Hab 1:5). And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next sabbath.” (Acts 13:41) Paul teaches grace by faith and obedience to the Spirit and not by obedience to the ordinances of the Torah and exclusivity as a means to salvation and an abundant life (see Heb 3). The goal of faith however is still separation from the world system or holiness and purity in accordance with the law of the Spirit and keeping the Spirit of the Law. What changed was the means of justification and cleansing of sins. By obeying Christ’s commands example we fulfil the law by love.

The walls did come down In Matthew 26:31 Jesus himself quotes Zech 13:8 which numbers the remnant as one third of Israel at that time (see also Rom 9:27). We previously saw that Paul calls the Law ‘the dividing wall of hostility’.

Those unrepentant Jews not selected by the Father for faith in Jesus remained hardened and opposed to the truth of the faith believing that the Law (and tradition) was still the sole means of justification (thus excluding all Gentiles). Sadly many perished under the wrath of God at the hands of the Romans from AD 66-70 (approx 500,000 died and many where taken captive to Rome!). Approx 1 million survived. However after a further revolt in AD 135 a further 580,000 Jews died and those remaining were expelled from the land completely and the major cities were levelled to the ground by the Romans.

The number of Christian believers who escaped the Roman armies before these events was probably in the 10,000’s by this time, they escaped by crossing the Jordan to the East in obedience to Jesus words in Luke 21:20-21. These are undeniable historical facts even recorded by Josephus, archaeologists and other historians (The Jewish War, Oxford World’s Classics, Amazon).

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In Christ Jesus the ‘hostility’ of the Law is removed as each side becomes a NEW CREATURE, that is a spiritual ‘Son of God’ and de facto a ‘citizen of heaven’ (forming the New Jerusalem Rev 21:2) by his Holy Spirit dwelling in us. The previous identities of Jew or Gentile are lost and thus must be fully discarded (Gal 3:28). This is proven to be true by the written testimony of the early apostles who accepted themselves as ‘Christians’ even though they had Judaic backgrounds. They taught that Christians are part of a new nation of priests in God’s eternal Kingdom and no longer part of the natural kingdoms of Judah and Israel (Phil 3:20; John 18:36) or even of this world! There is now therefore only ONE God and ONE body and significantly ONE holy nation belonging to God – the church founded in Christ (Messiah)! If this is not the case then Paul says that Christ died in vain!

As a consequence of this new reality we must not consider ourselves to have ‘dual citizenship’, that is to say we have now become ‘sojourners’ or ‘strangers’ on the earth just as all who lived by faith before us (see also 1 Chron 29:15; Psalm 39:12; Heb 11:13 ). We should now have no investment in or loyalty to any world system of religion or government (even Judaic), because Jesus the Messiah is now our only connection to his lineage of faith - he is our only King. Just like a tree graft has only one connection to the branch we receive the nutritious sap of God’s Spirit by faith because Jesus is true spiritual vine, the life giving Spirit in heaven.

He is like the Rod that budded and he is now before the throne interceding for us continuously in heaven itself! (Num 17:8). Knowing him and the Father personally through the indwelling Spirit is the good news of the Gospel, we are not to be guided by man’s ideas, but by his Spirit of love.

This was Paul’s experience and that which Jeremiah prophesied would come through the Messiah (Gal 1:1, Jer 31:34 ). This is not replacement theology because the Jews are still recognised by God as his firstborn, but the spiritual kingdom and power of God was taken from them and now resides with Christ as the High Priest and his new priesthood - Christians. The symbolism reveals that Jesus is therefore the complete fulfilment of all the promises because everything has been given to him and those with him (Eph 1:22).

The ‘first fruits’ were harvested We can confidently say therefore that the ‘Nation of God’ post Christ’s resurrection (as Paul states in Rom 2:28; 9:6) are those remnant Jews who ‘believed’ in their hearts the message of Jesus – their true Messiah – and were grafted in through baptism (replacing outward circumcision). He is the Branch that grew up from the stump of Judah whom God had cut down (Isaiah 11:1, Zech 3:8; 6:12).

They called themselves the ‘firstfruits’ (Rom 11:16) and implied that at some time in the future (after many Gentiles had believed) God would continue to give dispersed ‘Israel’ another opportunity in the last days to accept the message of Jesus before His return (Rom 11:25-27), so that they have the

“This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. For I say unto you, among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he. And all the people that heard him, and the publicans, justified God, being baptised with the baptism of John.

But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptised of him. And the Lord said,Whereunto then shall I liken the men of this generation? and to what are they like? They are like unto children sitting in the marketplace, and calling one to another, and saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned to you, and ye have not wept. For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine; and ye say, He hath a devil.The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners! But wisdom is justified of all her children.” (John 7:27-35) We see clearly from this teaching that those who received John’s baptism of repentance had their ‘eyes’ (hearts) opened to see who Jesus really was (Messiah), thus enabling them to believe, whereas the unrepentant Pharisees and others remained ‘blind’. They could not see who Jesus really was as they clung to their religious traditions. Paul mentions this spiritual blindness in another letter explaining the unseen spiritual dynamic: “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake.” (2 Corin 4:3-5) What further evidence do we have that those God foreknew were the believing Jews? Firstly, consider Jesus own teaching because he is the foundation of grace and truth. When Jesus came to earth to whom did he come? He gives us the answer in a remarkable incident that occurred near Tyre and Sidon on the northern coast: “Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. ” (Matt 15:21-24).

This passage is vital to our understanding of Jesus mission from the Father which was very specific at that time:- ‘to reach the lost sheep of Israel’ and not (at this point) the other nations - especially the Canaanites whom God had originally commanded to be destroyed (Deut 20:17). Despite this we see the mercy of Christ and his admiration of true faith, even though his mission was clear. The key point here is that the Lord’s focus was on saving a remnant of Israelites - those who believed that he was indeed the Messiah.

Jesus was dealing with 3 kinds of people; those Israelites who believed, those who did not and then the Gentiles (everyone else). God’s promises were to

the Israelites going back many centuries. We see that some of these Jews were looking for the Messiah.

Even the Pharisees when they went to John asked him if he was the Christ: “And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not: John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptise you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptise you with the Holy Ghost and with fire:Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable. And many other things in his exhortation preached he unto the people.” (Luke 3:15-18) Andrew, a disciple of John at the time was among the first to have recognised Jesus as Messiah: “He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messiah, which is, being interpreted, the Christ.” (John 1:41) The woman at the well was also aware that the Messiah was coming: “The woman saith unto him, I know that Messiah cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.” (John 4:25) We see that these ‘Jews’ and ‘Samaritans’ were open to and expecting the Messiah (Christ), however we also see the other group who were not looking for this hope, but rather wanted to build their own kingdom in cooperation with the world power at that time - the Roman Empire.

Jesus knew that His message and the powerful witness from the Father would enable these seekers to believe in him and thus be saved by his final blood sacrifice once for all upon the cross. In this sense they were ‘predestined’ because he ‘foreknew’ who these disciples would be - perhaps even four hundred years earlier! Just as John the baptist was prophesied in Malachi, we also see that the believing remnant were also prophesied in Malachi: “Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name. And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.”

(Mal 3:16-18)

Wow! Those who God predestined to believe in Christ were the children of those that feared the Lord in the days of the rebellion back in Malachi’s day 400 years earlier! In Malachi 3 we see the prophecy of Jesus first coming and refining, separating the sheep and the goats and in chapter 4 we see that before this time God will send the spirit of Elijah to awaken them and redeem them from the judgement! (John the baptist).

“For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of continued on page 14

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continued from page 4

own willfulness, to believe a lie and refuse the truth. Such, then, as Isaiah had foreseen, was the state of Israel in our Lord’s day, never clearer evidence, and never more obstinate refusal to see it, never truth more plain, and never rejection so determined.

Woe to those who close their ears, for the day comes when they shall no longer hear! Woe to those who shut their eyes to the light, for they shall, before long be made blind! Isaiah was informed that such would be the outcome of his minis- try, the Lord bade him say to the people, “Hear you indeed, but understand not; and see you indeed, but perceive not.” This must have been a very sad business for so generous and tender-hearted a man of God. It was painful to him to be so clear and yet to be so little understood.

He was the Paul of the Old Testament, to him belonged fullness of knowledge, clearness of vision, plainness of speech, and faithfulness of spirit, and yet none of these things could make the people understand his message and receive it into their hearts. He was sublime in thought, attractive in word, and affectionate in spirit, and yet they did not believe his testimony, so that he must have often been astonished and heart-broken as he spoke in vain to a people who were determined that they would not hear.

This morning I shall draw certain lessons for us from the great evangelical prophet, his ministry, and the people to whom he ministered so vainly. Our first meditation shall be concerning Isaiah and his ministry, and our second shall be concerning the people to whom he spoke.

Alas! I fear that we who speak in the name of the Lord in these last days have also to deal with hearts that are gross, ears that are heavy, and eyes that are dimmed. Upon this generation also there is falling a measure of judicial withdrawal of light and discernment, and we also have to cry, “Who has believed our report?

And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?”

I. First, then, let me speak PAGE 6 REVIVAL TIMES

CONCERNING ISAIAH AND HIS MINISTRY. Oh, that the Spirit of God may speak with power through me. Our text says two things of Isaiah. First, that “He saw His glory,” and secondly, that “He spoke of Him.” with you

The first statement is that Isaiah saw. Isaiah was a great seer; his prophesy begins thus—“The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.” All prophets were more or less seers, and saw what they foretold, but Isaiah above others was endowed with the seeing and foreseeing faculty. He had the clearest sight, and for that reason he had the clearest speech. When a man speaks so that you cannot understand him, the usual reason is that he does not understand himself, and when a man speaks so as to be readily comprehended, it is because the thought in his own mind is well defined. He that could speak well must see well. Mark the two things in the text—“When Isaiah saw His glory, and spoke of Him.” In what sense is Isaiah said to have seen that which he spoke?

Does it not mean that he realized his thoughts? That they stood out vividly, so as to make a deep impression upon his own mind?

Things to come were already come in his apprehension; he beheld what he believed, he felt what he foretold. He was not a dreamy person, maundering about half-fashioned, undeveloped thoughts, but he was a person who knew, and perceived, and felt what he preached. He saw with his soul what he set forth with his lips.

But what did he see? It is a most important thing that in these days you and I should see the same, for the same work lies before us among a people who are a repetition of that disobedient and gainsaying nation. Read, then, with care the sixth chapter of Isaiah. Open your Bibles and refer to the passage verse by verse.

First, what Isaiah saw was the Lord sitting upon a throne,

high and lifted up. When the prophet went abroad among the people he heard them speaking against the Lord God, some contending for one deity and some for another, some leaning upon an arm of flesh, and others despising the promise of Jehovah the God of Israel. All this, I say, he saw out of doors, and he was troubled. But when he went into the sanctuary of God he saw the Lord sitting upon a throne; still reigning, still glorious, undisturbed by opposition. He must then have felt like David when he said, “Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord, and against His anointed. He that sits in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.

Yet have I set My king upon My holy hill of Zion.” As David saw Christ upon the throne amid the strivings of the people, so did Isaiah see the Lord Jesus, not only upon the lowly mercy seat, but upon a throne high and lifted up. I pray you, brethren, settle this in your hearts; our Lord is highly exalted as Lord of all.

When you see evil occurring, do not imagine that it defeats the eternal purposes of Jehovah.

When you hear blasphemy and your blood runs cold, do not think that Christ has lost His glory, when men riot in sin, do not dream that the reins of affairs are out of Jesus’ hands, for still He is “God over all, blessed forever.” My heart exults this day, as, by undoubting faith, I am assured that He who died on Calvary is now exalted on high, far above all principalities and powers. “You are the King of glory, O Christ!” To You our spirits ascribe infinite honour, world without end. Though the earth is removed, and the mountains are carried into the midst of the sea, yet the Lord reigns. He that died upon the tree is crowned with majesty, and all the angels of God worship Him. “He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet.” Let us have no question about this, for if we have, we shall not be prepared to speak in the Lord’s name with this evil

continued on page 10

first and the last offering. In the 20th century many Jews and Arabs came to know Jesus. This is still happening around the world where Jews have been dispersed. 1948 and the return of Jews to the land of Canaan was a powerful sign that we have entered the last part of this age. However as before only a remnant of Jews will return to the land as a sign to the church and world. Many believe that Israel will rebuild the temple, but Scriptures reveal that this cannot happen as God has declared that the old HAS gone the new HAS come (Jer 3:16; 1 Corin 3:9; Heb 8:13) . The ancient temple mount has even been capped by the anti-Christ, anti-Jew Islamic dome in 691–692—some 55 years after Muslim armies captured Jerusalem (the abomination Matt 24:15) now some 1,243 years! (allowing for 88 years of Crusader control 1099-1187 and Jewish control since 1968!). Only international pressure keeps Israel from rebuilding the Temple structure with new features.

However we must accept God’s final decision not to allow it, because to bring back the old temple would make Christ’s work of no effect and would prevent the Jews from turning to the true Messiah which is His purpose in bringing them back to the land! As followers of Christ it must be our love and kindness towards them (and all mankind) in their own land that brings them to repentance and faith.

“And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the Lord, they shall say no more,The ark of the covenant of the Lord: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more.”

in Jesus’ work of grace, as indeed all nations must believe.

Surprisingly many modern Jews have never heard the true Gospel message! The Rabbinic traditions prevents them from reading the New Testament or even Isaiah 53. They must be grafted back into the Olive Tree to be saved from the second death.

Paul tells us that for this reason they are indeed in the same spiritual position as any other nation in the modern world today (Rom 11:32; John 6:63) and so have equal opportunity to accept the GRACE of God through Christ and this is a good thing! Sadly, as an earthly nation, they still reject Jesus as their true Messiah - but this will change. We are called to respect and love them even as the Father does for the sake of the faithful patriarchs and their example to us of God’s judgments. Even so it’s an error to think that they are still acceptable to God by simply being Jews alone or that they should be given special treatment by God because of their natural inheritance. Paul states clearly that the inheritance is not by the flesh: “Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel: Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called.That is,They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.”

(Jer 3:16)

The ‘church’ or ‘body’ of Messiah is now called ‘the holy nation’ (1 Pet 2:9) where the two (Jew and Gentile) have become one body, one faith. Jesus is called the second Adam and so a whole ‘new race’ comes from him by faith through the cross (the cutting of a new covenant in His blood). He is now the true vine and we are the true branches who believe and feed on his words. This nation was ‘born’ on the day of Pentecost when the Spirit came in power (fire) and the ‘people’ became God’s new dwelling place (the new temple Isaiah 65:1; 66:8).

God has shown that His blessings and anointing are now no longer restricted to a specific land mass i.e Canaan / Israel / Palestine etc. He can be found anywhere in the world – and church history testifies to this. For this reason the Land of Israel is now not an essential prerequisite for God to give blessings to His servants, indeed the focus has moved away from material blessing as the main benefit of faith.

Jesus said ‘store up treasure in heaven’, and so just as Abraham we look for the city to come, the new Jerusalem of heaven, of which we are already members by faith, what Paul called the ‘household of faith’ (Gal 6:10).

Material blessings are not a sign of holiness otherwise the rich and godless men of the world have nothing to fear and the poor are doomed!

Praise the Lord that the Gospel of the Kingdom is FREE for those prepared to humble themselves, crucify the desires of the flesh and follow His Words!

The last great harvest is NOW The salvation of many Jews in these days is surely one of the real signs of Christ’s imminent return (Israel and the United States account for 83% of the Jewish population, while a total of 98 countries host the other 17%). He will do this not because they deserve it, but because of his promises to the patriarchs. At the present time they are in ignorance (Rev 2:9; 3:9) as indeed are all other religions in the world. However, because they are under the curse of the ‘Law’ they are no longer a ‘Holy’ nation in the old sense, because the holy priesthood was transferred from the Levites to Judah (Messiah) and His body the Ekklesia (church) into the order of Melchisedec which is everlasting: “If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the people received the law,) what further need was there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchisedec, and not be called after the order of Aaron?

For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.” (Heb 7:11).

The priesthood and the Law have changed in God’s sight. In fact it has changed so much so that the Jews are even called ‘enemies’ of the Gospel of the Kingdom by Paul and they did cause him a great deal of persecution. As an ‘ethnicity’ they are spiritually blinded by the old Law (2 Co 3:14) and so remain deceived until they also repent and believe

(Rom 9:6-8)

The Holy Nation - Global

REVIVAL TIMES PAGE 19

Our example to the Jews

Conclusions

Paul states that the best way for the church to witness to the dispersed Jews of the world, then and now, is for them to see how ‘loving’ and how ‘free’ we are in the faith of Jesus (Rom 11:14) this will somehow stir them to think again with a holy jealousy. Sadly, through history the ‘apostate church’ has failed to be this good example of sincere love and has hardened Jews even more against the Gospel message. Because of this most orthodox Jews still look for a politically powerful leader who will rule the world with temporal power like a human king. This opens them up to deception and manipulation by politicians and keeps them blind.

In our world today the ‘church’ appears to be full of division and confusion because it has been entangled by the traditions of men and deceived by riches and the legalism of the old Law. However God is again reserving for himself a ‘remnant’ of those who rely purely on GRACE and the law of the Spirit in these final days, ‘His Bride’ pure holy and known by Him alone. These are those disciples who do not go back to the principles of the world or of law for justification, but who take hold of Christ alone and, just as Paul, consider everything else as rubbish. We MUST forget what is past and strain heavenwards where our hope comes from – this earth and it’s wicked inhabitants remain doomed and just like Noah we will soon escape its destruction as Jesus and the Father come with fire – not just to mount Sinai but upon the whole earth!

“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Php 3:2-14).

Now more than ever it is time to let go of the past and to press on for the goal that Jesus calls us to – a church without spot or wrinkle, a bride prepared for her husband, this will take all of our focus, energy and prayers, may Jesus dwell in you to this end.

“Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.

I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.” (Revelation 1:7-8)

The end is now We must be careful not to show favouritism towards any man or nation when preaching the message of the Gospel of the Kingdom. The priority of the Body of Christ is to reach those nations which have not had opportunity to hear the message (Matt 24:14; Rom 15:20). The Jews were the FIRST to hear the good news and so fulfil the Scriptures, that the Messiah would come to them and begin a new age of GRACE. The offer still stands for any Jew in today’s world. They truly are the most stubborn of all nations! (Exodus 32:9). For the end to come the Gospel of the Kingdom must reach all other nations, and this has not yet been achieved. Despite this more have been reached than at any other time in history. With apostolic and evangelistic teams starting to reach out globally this goal will soon be achieved! Current estimates are that 2025 will see all nations and tongues reached with the Kingdom message. In a strange twist this has been made possible by the advent of new technologies some of which were invented by Jews! continued from page 3

not Jewish by birth or Hebrew speaking then Yahweh is gracious towards us to call him God, however he still insists we dump the other gods and idols!

Jesus spoke his teaching mostly in parables. This seemed like a deliberate way to try and confuse his hearers. In part this was the reason for this approach, as he wanted to find and teach the

truly repentant disciples, his chosen remnant. Jesus considered the children of Israel lost and he wanted them to reconnect to the Father their Elohim Yahweh, since ancient times. The leaders of the Jews had been desperately trying to make things work for hundreds of years without the glory (Ichabod). They had developed a religious system, but they did not have the life and

power. This is what surprised them about Jesus, he had power to save from sin, sickness and slavery now and into eternity.

Once we have come to know him through faith, obedience and the Holy Spirit dwells in us Jesus (Yahweh) begins to talk to our hearts and renew our minds to think and act like him - the glory within!

www . omega - ministries . org

Free to download, booklets and tracts

PAGE 20 REVIVAL TIMES

The Predestined Remnant Who are those predestined to salvation?

I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew. Don’t you know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah--how he appealed to God against Israel: “Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me” ? And what was God’s answer to him? “I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace” (Romans 11:1-6)

O

ne of the big questions that arises from the writings of Paul is the subject of predestination. It’s a subject that has caused many theological discussions and even serious divisions in the Christian world view. However, as I hope to show it’s really not that complex or confusing when Scripture is considered in it’s context. Once we establish who it was that God foreknew we will find the ones who were predestined.

After this I will return and rebuild David’s fallen tent. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it, that the remnant of men may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who bear my name, says the Lord, who does these things’ that have been known for ages.” (Amos 9:11,12; Acts 15:16) “It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God.” (Acts 15:16-21) At the end of the day God wants all people to turn to him, so that they might be blessed and healed both physically and spiritually. We see from the testimony of James (the apostle) before the whole council of apostles (Acts 15), the elders and the whole church in Jerusalem that they understood God’s work of salvation was for all nations, not just for those Jews who believed first.

The ‘remnant chosen by grace’ is here a reference

by Paul to those Jews (part of occupied Israel in his time) who first believed in the testimony of both John and Jesus and then the teaching of the apostles post resurrection. This was all prior to the destruction of the Temple and the dispersion of the remaining people of Israel itself (God’s judgement for apostasy and rejection of the prophets and Christ Matt 23:35). Here in the early church in Jerusalem we see (recorded in Acts 15) James pointing out that God has also accepted the Gentiles who believe on the basis of grace coming to them through the preaching of the Word (Jesus) by the apostles. By their faith in the work of the cross and the receiving of the free gift of the Holy Spirit (not by the observance of the Law from which they were excluded) other nations are also added to the remnant Jewish church, the New Jerusalem.

These ‘foreign’ nations who believed the message of the Kingdom through the ministry of Paul and Barnabas (and others) are understood to be a new

and welcomed addition to the ‘ekklesia’ body of Jesus (i.e. grafted into the remnant of Israel through faith in Christ). James testifies that this is proven to be God’s will by his quotation of a Scripture in Amos 9:11,12 (see left). The ‘remnant of grace’ is therefore clearly defined by the apostles as those first Jews who believed the message of Jesus as their Messiah, Saviour in that generation, whom Paul also called the ‘elect’ or ‘chosen’. These were literally ‘chosen by grace’ (that is by Jesus) and their eyes and ears were opened to know the Father by His faith, whilst the rest were hardened and ultimately judged!

“And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon: for he it was that should betray him, being one of the twelve.” (John 6:69-71) In Acts we see the Greeks coming to Jesus by faith at the preaching by these remnant apostles (not needing to follow the detail of the Law) and being fully accepted without needing to keep the Sabbath, tithing, food rules and festivals etc. to be justified or even to please God the Father who never expected this. God accepted them just for believing in Jesus as saviour from sin. Again remember this ‘remnant’ of believing Jews were those who Jesus chose before the judgement of Israel came in the first century.

Knowing this fact is crucial because this means that all the Gospels and letters, except possibly Revelation, were written in this short period before the final destruction of the city.

Those he foreknew - understanding predestination

It’s very important to observe that when the apostles were speaking and writing about ‘predestination’ and ‘foreknowledge’ they were referring to this remnant of Jews and not Gentiles.

As Paul says in Romans 11 ‘God did not reject his people whom he foreknew’. Paul is talking here about the ancestral Israelites of the past who kept the faith and did not indulge in the worship of other idol gods (Baal etc.) and whose children also maintained their true faith and purity to their present day.

Only God knew who these true believers were and many of these (if not all) responded to the preaching of John the Baptist and repented of their sins. Afterwards they were looking for the Messiah whom John preached was coming.

continued on page 7

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continued from page 14

Israel & Britain–A Note of Warning A SERMON DELIVERED ON, JUNE 7, 1885,

BY C. H. SPURGEON, AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON “But though He had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on Him: that the saying of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke, Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? Therefore they could not believe, because that Isaiah said again, He has blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart, that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.These things said Isaiah, when he saw His glory, and spoke of Him.” John 12:37-41.

T

he blindness of Israel concerning our Lord was sadly remarkable. It was a blindness of the eyes, for they saw His many miracles, and yet believed not.

Their ears also seemed to be stopped, for they heard His words and did not understand them, and their hearts also were heavy, for they did not relent under the plaintive admonitions of a Saviour’s love. Their hearts were cruel towards the Messiah; they hated Him without a cause.

No door was open to the heart of Israel; they had hardened their heart, they had shut their eyes, they had stopped their ears, and even He that spoke as never man spoke gained no access to their souls. They went so far as to crucify Him, and cried as they did so, “His blood be on us, and on our children”—words so sadly verified when Jerusalem was destroyed, and her children slaughtered, sold as slaves, or scattered to the four corners of the earth. It was, indeed, a terrible blindness which happened unto Israel.

Her rejection of the Lord Jesus is the more amazing because Isaiah gave so clear an account of the Messiah, and so clearly pictured Jesus of Nazareth.

Descriptions of Him could not have been more explicit than were the prophecies of Isaiah. It would be very easy to construct an entire life of Christ out of the book of Isaiah, beginning with, “a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel,” and ending with “He made His grave with the

wicked and with the rich in His death.” Isaiah spoke of John the Baptist as the “voice crying in the wilderness, prepare you the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” And he foretold our Lord’s ministry by the way of the sea beyond Jordan in Galilee of the Gentiles, where the people who sat in darkness saw great light. The prophet portrayed his Lord as “despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.”

Clearest of all is he upon His vicarious sufferings, concerning which he uses a variety of most definite expressions, such as—“The chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed.” Isaiah saw so clearly the day of our Lord Jesus that he spoke rather as an evangelist than as a prophet, as an eyewitness, rather than as one foretelling a far-off event. Yet all this clearness was lost upon the men of his generation, and upon those who followed after. The nation had so long been fickle towards God, and had trifled so long with God’s truth, that it was at length given up to a judicial hardness of heart, so that it could not understand or perceive. They refused the plainest messages of grace, and were so confirmed in unbelief that all their prophets cried with one plaintive voice, “Who has believed our report? And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?”

Nor was it alone grievous that Israel sinned against the light which shone in Isaiah’s testimony, but, alas, she closed her eyes against the meridian splendour of our Lord’s own life. Jesus bore His own witness

PAGE 4 REVIVAL TIMES

in His person, teachings, works, and gifts. A sad wonder lies in the fact, that they did not know the Lord of glory although they saw His miracles, which were sure witnesses to His claims.

He worked among them works which no other man did. There is about our Lord a likeness to God, in all that He does the Godhead shines forth. He is so pure that He can say, “Which of you convicts Me of sin?” How like to Him who is saluted as, “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts!” His teaching is so full of tenderness and gentleness that since God is love, we conclude that Christ is God. His many miracles touch up- on every point in the great circle of omnipotence. What is there that God can do which the Christ did not do? Was He not multiform and multitudinous in His works of power and grace? Herein lay the wonder, that though He did so many miracles before them, not in secret but actually before their eyes, though He fed them with bread which they could see, and handle, and eat, though He healed the sick and raised the dead, they yet believed not on Him. How sadly far can men go in unbelief, prejudice, and hardness of heart! How dim can human eyes become when men refuse to see! How darkened the understanding when men are unwilling to comprehend! Let us tremble at this, lest we ourselves by imitating the chosen people in their unbelief should fall into like bondage to prejudice and ignorance, lest we by tampering with truth should come at last to be incapable of perceiving it, lest we also by rejecting the testimony of God should be given up to our

continued on page 6

personal bearing upon some of you? Certain of you have heard the gospel preached plainly and honestly, and yet you have never received it, is there not creeping over you a fatal indifference? Are not your hearts turning to stone?

Possibly you are professors of religion, and yet you do not feel the power of it, what does this mean? If you are not a praying people, nor a holy people, and yet are a professing people, what an awful doom awaits you!

Shall my ministry be a savour of death unto you? It may be that my voice grows stale to you, and what I say seems commonplace, but is this to be the reason for your refusing Christ and His salvation, refusing the power of His word, refusing holiness which He would work in you?

Oh, shall it be so? Will you die?

Dear hearers, I should not like to meet one of you at the day of judgment and have to feel that I preached you into a greater blindness than you might have

known. Oh, be converted! Turn you, turn you, why will you die?

May God in infinite mercy speak to you that you may believe in Jesus now, lest that should come upon you which is spoken of by the prophet, “Behold, you despisers, and wonder, and perish!”

Before I have done, hear the sweet whisper which closes the sixth of Isaiah. Notwithstanding all the terrible work that Isaiah had to do he was not left without comfort, the Lord said to him, “In it there shall be a tenth.” You know how the prophet cried, “Except the Lord of hosts had left us a seed we had been as Sodom and been made like unto Gomorrah.”

The Lord has His sacred tithe and these He will not lose. The tree has lost its leaves, for it is winter time, but still it is alive, and the sap will flow again, for its substance is in it! The tree is levelled by the axe, but weep not despairing tears, for it shall sprout again, for life is still in it.

Even so the Church must live,

truth must be victorious, purity must conquer, and the Christ must reign. Behold, He comes with clouds, and every eye shall see Him. Reject Christ if you will today, oh you who think yourselves so exceedingly wise, but there is a people who love Him, a secret people who cling to Him, and when He comes, as come He must before long, they will welcome Him and partake in His glory. As for you that refuse Him this day, how will you stand when He appears? Where will you flee? You shall ask the hills to cover you, but they will refuse.

You shall bid the mountains hide you, but they will not yield a cavern for your shelter. Be wise now, therefore, and no more re- sist your Lord. “Kiss the Son lest He be angry, and you perish from the way while His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him!” May you and I and all of us be of that blessed number. Amen and Amen.

The Worst Disaster of All THIS IS A TRANSCRIBED COPY OF CHAPTER 3 FROM THE BOOK ‘BEYOND RADICAL’ BY GENE EDWARDS. THE HISTORY OF WHERE WE PROTESTANTS GOT OUR PRESENT-DAY CHURCH PRACTISES & HOW THEY ARE HINDERING GOD’S PURPOSES

I

t is virtually impossible to really understand what the New Testament is saying and why. That is because (1) we approach it wrongly; and (2) in your New Testament Paul’s letters are not arranged in the order they should be.

Change these two facts and we will all see a revolution. Change these two facts and find yourself in a thrilling new relationship to your New Testament.

You will find yourself in for a spiritual revolution and a revolution of church practice.

Could that really be important? Yes, the future of Christendom hangs on breaking with the present tradition of arranging Paul’s letters the way they are arranged in the New Testament. We desperately need a New Testament with Paul’s letters arranged in the order in which he wrote them.

The first letter Paul wrote was not Romans. In your New Testament

the first letter Paul wrote finds itself appearing as the fourth letter. In your New Testament, all of his letters are out of their chronological order. If this goes on forever, we will forever be kept from understanding the New Testament!

Repeat: A major reason we are in the mess we are in is the way we are taught the New Testament. Learning the New Testament the way we presently learn the New Testament is what keeps us from ever learning the New Testament.

To illustrate, imagine this.

Here is a nine-volume set of books on mathematics. But the books are never read in order. Imagine this is also true of a nine-volume set of books on electricity, on physics, on astronomy etc. All these nine-volume sets have the same problem. None of the books are in their proper sequence! Also, imagine that everyone studies these books in their jumbled-up order.

Would you ever learn math this way?

Try. Here is what you are up against.

The first book that you come to is actually Volume Six, the next one you

come to is Volume Four, then Volume Five, then, finally, Volume One, and after that Volume Eight, then. . .etc.

Can you ever understand mathematics that way? Or electrons, or Scripture?

Well, that is exactly the jumbled-up sequence Paul’s letters are put in right now… 6, 4, 5, 1, etc. …in every New Testament in print in every language on earth.

Romans is Paul’s sixth letter. I Corinthians, his fourth. II Corinthians, his fifth. Galatians, his first, etc.

“We will preach through the New Testament.” “We will study the New Testament.”

In so doing, we think we will learn the New Testament. But chaos greets us when we come to the letters Paul wrote to the churches.

“Our Bible school teaches all the books in the New Testament.” But even in the most scholarly seminaries on earth, the letters Paul wrote to churches are taught in this present chaotic order.

Try learning history in a nine-volume set arranged in this order: 6, 4, 5, 1, 8, REVIVAL TIMES PAGE 21

10, 7, 2, 3, 11, 13, 12, 9. Well, this is the order in which Paul’s letters appear in your New Testament.

No one can ever know what these nine books say until they are read in chronological sequence.

Long ago we abandoned any concept of seeing the actual story of the first century. Long ago we abandoned the idea of seeing the letters of Paul in the totality of their original setting.

In such a chopped-up setting, never seeing the sequence of events, never knowing the story, all of us are left in the dark as to what the New Testament is revealing. Total contextuality that is, seeing the entire setting—is not, and never has been, a factor in New Testament studying.

The story... the story... is neither taught nor known. Not by laymen, not by scholars. Not known, not taught, not learned, not even an awareness of the lack. Most of all, never realising the greater catastrophic problems created by not knowing the story.

The consequence of not being able to follow the story brings us to the other great tragedy which prevents us from knowing the New Testament: the way we approach the New Testament.

For 500 years Protestantism has had a field day with verses! That is. . .with sentences. Numbered sentences.

No one has had to deal with the constraints of the immovable story.

Contrariwise, we have created havoc with those very movable verses!

We can prove anything with numbered sentences.

We could not do that if we knew the story.

Total contextuality is unknown.

Chronological exposition is unknown.

New Testament Bible study by a timeline is unknown.

The result: The story is utterly unknown.

Yet, if you come to know the story first, you must then abandon virtually all the present practices of Protestantism. They were built by verses. If we knew the story first, we would either change, or live the rest of our Christian life knowing we were living outside the practice of the church first-century style. These present practices of ours can find no justification for existence within the story. The entire story renders our present Protestant methods utterly unjustifiable.

Paul’s first epistle was Galatians. His second letter was to the church in Thessalonica. There was a great deal which happened before the Galatian

letter was written. Do you know that part of the story?

About nine months passed between the time Paul wrote Galatians and I Thessalonians.

A lot happened in between the writing of those two letters.

Do you know what happened during those nine months? Do you know that part of the story? Does anybody?

Does anybody care? It is time for us to care, to learn, to know. We so desperately need to know the story— the whole story, from beginning to end.

About three months passed between I Thessalonians and the writing of II Thessalonians. An awful lot happened in between. Does anybody know the story of what happened between those two letters?

Do you?

The next letter Paul wrote was to Corinth. But there are six years between II Thessalonians and the first letter to Corinth. Six years. Do you know what happened during those years? Does anybody know that part of the story?

The fact that no New Testament has ever appeared in the English language with Paul’s letters in their proper order is proof enough that we are blind to the story—unaware of the power of that story and the importance of that story.

The story binds us to reality. It renders verses almost powerless. We have never thought in terms of knowing the New Testament chronologically or learning it “story wise” and “story first.” We are so fascinated with numbered sentences which we call verses that we never realise there is a story.

The story tells us the real meaning— and the limits—of those verses.

Remove the safeguard of knowing the story and no one will ever know the New Testament, and we will continue proving anything and everything by verses. Remove the safeguard of the story—the whole story—and you can prove any idea you fancy and create any theory you wish. The story limits just how many air castles we can build with all those verses!

Step one in learning the story is to learn the proper chronological sequence of Paul’s letters: Galatians I Thessalonians II Thessalonians I Corinthians II Corinthians Romans

PAGE 22 REVIVAL TIMES

Colossians Ephesians Philemon Philippians I Timothy Titus II Timothy Learning that story will humble us all. Then learn the whole story.

Consider this: Take away these Protestant practices of ours and the entire Protestant mindset crumbles.

The very mindset collapses!

Do you now glimpse the ‘insane results of this insane neglect?

For 500 years we have never taught the entire—very dramatic—story, in its entirety, not from one end to the other in dramatic, chronological order. As a result, with all vaunted schools and endless books, even seminary professors with several doctorate degrees cannot tell you that story.

It is not known.

Bible teachers do not know the story.

Sunday school teachers do not.

Pastors do not.

The results: a field day for every conceivable idea the mind of man can dream up. Numbered sentences which you can move around allow anything.

Knowing that very knowable story puts a stop to such insanity.

Until we know the story we cannot know the Scripture.

Unnerving isn’t it?

Why have we not considered something as simple as reading Scripture in the way it was chronologically written and including the historical facts to fill in the gaps between books, thereby learning the story?

Read the Scriptures in this new way and see if you do not discover a brand new Bible. Then again, maybe you had better never learn that story.

It might be hazardous to your present Christian practices!

Lacking that story, we have moved our entire mindset of “learning the Bible” into the never-never land of sewing together disjointed verses and calling that “Bible study.” We even dare call this practice scholarship!

Without the story, that which we call theology is both dangerous and— if you can follow the thought— unscriptural. Verses do not make for scriptural soundness. We have confined ourselves to reading our “math,” our “astrophysics,” our New Testament, from the mountain of

continued from cover

created his name(s) reflect what he does in the created order to give us understanding. It’s hard for the flesh to understand the mystery of the Spirit without this (Rom 1:20; 1 Corin 2:12; Gal 5:17).

Many scholars believe that the most proper meaning of YHWH may be “He Brings into Existence Whatever Exists” (YahwehAsher-Yahweh). In I Samuel, God is known by the name Yahweh Teva-’ot, or “He Brings the Hosts into Existence,” the hosts of the heavenly court and Israel.

For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God (theos). (Heb 3:4) This personal name of God (Yahweh) probably was known long before the time of Moses.

The name of Moses’ mother was Jochebed (Yokheved), a word based on the name Yahweh.

Thus, the tribe of Levi, to which Moses belonged, probably knew the name YaHWeH. Although ‘God’ has many other ‘titles’ that reveal his nature and power (revealed through Israel’s long interaction with him), it is ‘Yahweh’ that was given to Moses at the burning bush as God’s name forever.

And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them,The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me,What is his name? what shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I Am That I Am (YHWH): and he said,Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I Am hath sent me unto you. And God said moreover unto Moses,Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, the Lord (Elohim) God (YHWH) of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.

(Exodus 3:13-15)

This is why Jews prefer not to use God’s actual name (YHWH) in conversation in case they inadvertently take his ‘Name’ in vain, a sin punishable under the Law in the 10 commandments.

Instead they substituted it for ‘Elohim’ or simply ‘Shm-i’ Name, as a safeguard. This is logical, but clearly just a religious avoidance tactic! This is why

when Jesus was questioned about his authority the Pharisees and leaders were shocked by his claim to be YHWH! (the I AM) Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God: Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying.

Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.Then said the Jews unto him,Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?

Jesus said unto them,Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I AM. Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by. (John 8:54-59) Although Jesus said few words they were often very direct and thought provoking. For Jews to even say the name of God was risky, but to claim to be the eternal I AM was blasphemy in their eyes. However, it was their traditions and not speaking the Lord’s name YHWH that was blinding them to the fulfilment of the promises given to Moses, Abraham and the Prophets about Messiah.

As Yahweh had said to Moses “this is my name forever”, that is the ‘I AM’ or as we now understand him, Messiah (Jewish), Iesous christos (Greek) our Lord, Jesus Christ (English).

Yahweh (Spirit) became a man and dwelt among us in order to put things right in the fallen creation once for all. Recognising this truth is the foundation of ALL biblical faith as John points out: Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit (person) that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit (person) that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God (1 J ohn 4:2-3)

Jesus was not just a prophet or just a wise man or a myth or a good man, no he was and is God’s Son, that is: God in human flesh. The Father and the Son are ONE by the Spirit, but he manifested for our benefit in

the flesh of Jesus Christ. That flesh was specially prepared for his visitation through the virgin Mary by the supernatural conception (Luke 1:35; Heb 10:5).

Previously Yahweh had shown himself as he really was to Moses at Sinai and, because of his immense power, everything caught fire even rocks! Moses was protected by Yahweh from over exposure to the glory of God lest he would die. This was the time of the Law, given to reveal and provide covering for sin to protect the unbelieving Hebrews from the glory. God’s holiness (separation) destroys sin and anything connected to it. At that time only the High Priests, once cleansed of sin, could see his glory safely in the holiest place over the Ark. Jesus came with grace and truth the glory being ‘hidden’ within his pure flesh, like a veil to also protect the people from the glory (anointing) within him. Wow how awesome is our God to do such a thing for us, how great is his love that he stooped so low to save us! (Phil 2:7-8) However Jesus did reveal his glory safely through signs, wonders and miracles to convince the Jews of who he truly was and what he would do to save them from Satan. For the intellectual Greek mind he has also fulfilled all the Scriptures concerning himself. From heaven he continues to fulfil all remaining prophecies through Israel and the Church on earth.

As we are no longer bound by fear of punishment through the Law it’s no longer an offence to call Yahweh Jesus, Messiah, Christ or God or Lord, he knows who he is and as long as we know who he is that’s cool with him. Some have become confused in thinking that all Gentile nations should now call him Yahweh and not God or Lord, but this is purely a translation issue. He is not offended in the slightest and it certainly doesn’t make you more spiritual to only use Yahweh. There’s a legalistic danger in over intellectualising this and trying to shame or put guilt where none is due. If we are continued on page 20

REVIVAL TIMES PAGE 3

OMEGA-MINISTRIES.ORG

ISSUE: 01

Revival – God’s Way Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. Acts 3:19

Revival times is a FREE publication offered to those who want to be encouraged and built up to know JESUS CHRIST as their Lord God and saviour. It is published

by Omega Ministries which is a non-denominational prophetic movement of believers who want to see the Kingdom come on earth as in heaven. Please send all enquiries or questions to the email address given below.

We recognise all material copyrights and thank God that all contributors take no wages for their work of faith in order to promote the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world and to revive his true church in our day.

All Scriptures are quoted from the King James Bible and or Greek and Hebrew, where appropriate, for clarity.

This paper and other teaching material is offered online for downloading and printing free of charge.

If you are inspired by the content of this paper please pass on to brothers and sisters for their encouragement.

Revival is a long lost concept in our modern society because the true Gospel has been perverted, watered down and twisted for personal gain by wolves in sheep’s clothing. Enough is enough and now the sleepers must awake from their spiritual stupor. The dead dry bones must live and the faithful army of the Lord arise and shine the beauty of Christ in us, the hope of glory.

The Call Has Gone Out Soldiers of Christ, arise And put your armour on, Strong in the strength which God supplies Through His eternal Son; Strong in Lord of hosts And in His mighty power: Who in the strength of Jesus trusts Is more than conqueror

Where is the hope for Revival— God’s Holy Spirit outpoured Convicting of sin, and of judgement And righteousness of the Lord?

When nothing else is important— Only God’s presence Divine, When Christians quit worldly pleasures, Then God, His ear will incline.

Desperate prayer for Revival Will cleanse the Church by the Word.

Then clothed in spotless, white linen, The Bride clears the way for her Lord.

Prayer is the key to Revival, Prayer that is true Spirit-born, Nights of compassionate weeping— Intercession for all the forlorn.

Then will the burdens be lifted, Then all the sinners will cry, Then all the chains will be loosened And worldly passions will die.

The lost ones will yield to God’s Spirit When Christians, cleansed, weep and pray; God’s Living Water flows outward; This is “Revival—God’s Way”!

—Estelle Gifford Jackson

Editor: Stephen Turnham © please copy and pass on

FIRST THOUGHTS That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us .

For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Download the PDF here: www.omega-ministries.org email: info@omega-ministries.org

Apostle Paul

They will soar on wings like eagles; They will run and not grow weary, They will walk and not be faint.

Isaiah 40:28-31

PAGE 2 REVIVAL TIMES

in

The E pistle

to the

Romans

chapter

8

chaos.

We have thirteen letters of Paul, nine to churches and four to friends. We find them in this very chaotic and non-chronological order: Romans, I Corinthians, II Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, I Thessalonians, II Thessalonians, I Timothy, II Timothy, Titus, Philemon.

So you thought you knew the New Testament! ! None of us ever will unless we know and appreciate (1) the story and (2) the chronology.

Find the order of these letters. Find the story of what happened in between.

Then keep a clear conscience. Do that, and you will move beyond radical.

You can memorise the entire New Testament (in Greek) and still have no idea what the New Testament is saying! Not if you memorise it in the present non-story, non-chronological, chaotic order. The mindset with which we come to the New Testament renders us impotent to see the firstcentury setting. Verses, teachings, doctrines, ideals, schemes, and most of all, justification of our view, crowd out the story. We can say, “This came from the Word of God,” no matter how pea-brained the idea we come up with.

Knowing the story tames such a mindset.

To illustrate: Many a man has read through the New Testament and decided what God wants—“based on clear biblical teaching.”

Let us say that he decides that what God wants a people to do is move out into the wilderness, far from the world, live righteous lives, breathe pure air, grow organic food, wear old style country clothes and stay away from the world (“the organic carrot juice syndrome” blended with the “Essene syndrome”). A man can justify every one of those protonsized ideas with “the pure Word of God.” But! If that man and his listeners knew the story—the whole story of the first century—he would not have an organic vegetable to stand on, and his listeners would head for the door.

The story allows no such fantasies as he preaches.

How badly do we need to know the story, the whole story? Consider this: Christians have fought and massacred one another for centuries. . .with verses. . .never knowing the story.

A whole revolution in scriptural understanding awaits us if we dare learn the story.

Now, here is a question of questions.

How did the New Testament books ever get placed in this jumbledup order? Who cursed us with the present arrangement of the books in the New Testament?

Once more: Luther. (He never knew the story of what happened in the first century. He never knew what happened in between the letters Paul wrote. But, boy oh boy, did he know verses!)

The fellow who started the chaos of the arrangement of Paul’s books in the New Testament did us great damage. He affected every version of the Bible that has ever been written since then. (It is a good guess that he lived in the third or fourth century.)

But why this arrangement?

In those days there was a heathen tradition that when you gathered up a man’s writings, you placed the longest book first. Chronological was not considered. It was not when a book was written, but how long was the book. Paul’s earliest book is Galatians, but his longest book is Romans. The next longest book of Paul’s is I Corinthians. His shortest is Philemon.

(In Greek the book of Ephesians actually has two more words in it than the book of Galatians. It has been surmised that someone had a copy of Galatians which was written in large handwriting and a copy of Ephesians that was written in small handwriting. Or perhaps someone simply miscounted!)

If someone had ever put Paul’s letters in their chronological order, then Christianity would not look like it does today. Someone would have started figuring out that there was a story and not just doctrines in Paul’s letters. Had that happened then surely Christianity would not look like it does today. If the story of the first century comes to be known, We discover nothing we do can be justified by the story. With verses we can prove just about anything. But the story of the first century rises up and says: “What you are doing in this era has no similarity to what the firstcentury church did.” To know the story is to know our practices today are not founded upon the Word of

God. The story of the first century still remains unknown. No one has stood up and said, “Learn the story first!”

We come to the New Testament entirely as a book of rules or as a glob of pieces of a jigsaw puzzle to be studied, arranged and then gathered up from all over Scripture, put in categories. And then, poof! You have teachings which tell you what God is like.

And we call this Bible study!? We call this “knowing the Word of God?”* We need a revolution in Bible study which begins first by recognising the entire story of the first-century church from beginning to end.

(We will not end up having a large number of teachings.) We will be humbled. Many of our idols will fall.

We will change, or we will know that we live in a Christian world that is not biblical but a world built on ideas of our own. . .which we conveniently find in verses!

(To wit: No man has ever even attempted to justify the modern-day pastor by means of the story. The modern pastor can only be justified if you gather up verses from all over the Bible and make incredible leaps of logic and wild interpretations.

Nothing even remotely similar to the modern pastor existed in the first century. Why not use the story?

Because the present-day practice of the pastor never appears in the firstcentury story. Disjointed verses taken out of context, then woven together and explained by interpretations, is our only justification for the existence of that which is the present-day practice of the pastoral role.)

No one seems to know the story, but if we ever do see it, then the story can never be subservient to a pile of scattered verses. The verses must yield to the story! The disjointed, categorised, systemised verses must give way, first, to the story.

Let us learn the story. All of it. From beginning to end, in chronological order. I trust you can see the slight possibility that there is a little room to consider starting all over again, in a whole new way. But in so doing, you must also see some practices so deeply embedded in us that most of us are hardly aware of them. *Worst of all, some Christians come to Scripture almost as a ouija board that tells them what to do. “Close your eyes. Open the Bible. Point. Poke. Eureka! There at the end of your finger is the mind of God.”

See page 24 resources for details on purchasing the book.

REVIVAL TIMES PAGE 23

Useful Resources

OMEGA-MINISTRIES.ORG

ISSUE: 06

In this section are a number of websites which can help inspire you to to seek the Lord in effective praying and in getting out there doing as well. As always, JESUS CHRIST is our greatest example and the one to whom we must compare ourselves and obey. The greatest resource is the Bible itself, so please spend your main study time in the Word of God, preferably the King James Version!

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 2 Tim 2:15 Websites: www.omega-ministries.org www.biblegateway.com www.biblehub.com www.spurgeongems.org www.heartcrymissionary.com www.propheticvision.org.uk www.eurovisiontv.org www.thelastreformation.com www.propheticalert.net www.biblearchaeology.org www.fwponline.cc www.creation.com www.refornation.eu

Free material to download, booklets and tracts.

Online Bible versions for comparison Online Bible versions and Greek / Hebrew Lexicon and Interlinear Powerful messages from one of the great preachers of the 19th Century Equipping and mobilizing indigenous churches and missionaries David Hathaway evangelistic website - recommended!

Revival preaching broadcasts to the world- David Hathaway Join the network of believers who want to see power evangelism Insights into current affairs and how to avoid deception A useful site for the latest in Biblical related finds A good source for some of the best Wesleyan texts and comment The best resource for creation material and news The Kingdom teaching of Wolfgang Simson will refresh your vision

If you have been blessed by anything in this magazine please be as generous as you can to any of these good Christian ministries to the poor and needy: www.bhct.org.uk The Beachy Head Chaplaincy - on mission to prevent suicides www.matthew25mission.org Helping feed the wandering and homeless in Eastbourne UK www.opendoorsuk.org Supporting outreach globally and supporting Christians in persecution www.teenchallenge.org.uk Helping people escape the problems of drugs and addiction www.capuk.org Christians Against Poverty, bringing the good news to the poor in UK hopenow.org.uk Working with Orphans in the Ukraine The way we practice and experience “church.”

Are we off by about 180 degrees?

The training of young men to be ministers.

Is our present practice more rooted in paganism?

Is there a better higher way to go about practising the entire Christian faith than is presently known?

Available from: www.seedsowers.com

What if you found out that nothing we Protestants practice originated in the first century?

What if you found out that almost all of the things we evangelicals practice originated in the last 500 years?

This book could make a radical out of you. For a few, it might even move you BEYOND RADICAL.

Available from: www.seedsowers.com

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. Acts 3:19

JESUS CHRIST IS THE MESSIAH

“The woman saith unto him, I know that Messiah cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.” John 4:25

O

ne of the remarkable things about the life of Jesus as recorded in the Gospels and epistles is that he actually said very little!

Considering that Jesus was both 33 years old and preached for 31/2 years, his total words recorded are very few compared to some other prophets. The number of words in the New Testament is 181,253. Only 36,450 of these are the words of Christ—just over 20 per cent. When considered as verses, the New Testament has 7,959 verses, of which 1,599 are sayings of Jesus. If we take out repeated parables etc. this number drops again down to only several thousand words.

Why so few? These are the essential words that our Father in heaven has deemed necessary for us in order to know the Truth. It’s obvious that Jesus would have spoken many other words in conversation, but the purpose of the Gospel accounts was to distil down his main teaching for our

benefit. His closest apostle John explains this to his readers: And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name. (John 20:30-31) As powerful and as life changing as Jesus words from the Father are, the Gospel and the Acts emphasise more of what Jesus DID than what he said. Paul points out in his first epistle to the Corinthians that the Jews tend to look for signs as proof, whereas Gentiles tend to look for intellectual wisdom as proof (1 Corin 1:22 A cts 1:1 ). It’s not wrong to get proof because God wants us convinced of his goodness towards us. Everyone has a different life story and so by his Spirit Jesus communicates to us in a way that we can understand.

Among the Jews Jesus displayed God’s power, something that had been missing in Israel for

more than 490 years! These miracles and signs grabbed their attention, not only because they could benefit physically, but also because this was a sign of ancient ‘anointing’. The Greek word for ‘anointing’ is ‘christos’ from which we get the title Christ. The ‘Saviour anointed’ is what we are calling the Messiah whenever we say Jesus Christ. Jesus’ actual Jewish surname by birth was of course Judah after his Israeli tribe by lineage (John 6:42). Because Jesus was born as a child the people were confused as to how he was also God in the flesh.

How could something so huge become something so small as a baby? The Scriptures reveal these mysteries to us.

The name GOD (Elohim Gen 2:4) is an English title translation for ‘creator’. The English word LORD is a translation of the Old Testament Hebrew word YHWH (Yahweh ְ‫)יה ָוה‬. His title and name, so that it’s clear who we are communicating with.

Because he is Spirit and not continued on page 3

INSIDE A Message for our times Part 5 • A Note of Warning • The Worst Disaster of All • Predestination & more...