The Holy Spirit: Less Than Trinitarian

by A W Tozer (LMI)

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen. - 2 Corinthians 13:14

Our blunder (or shall we frankly say our sin?) has been to neglect the doctrine of the Spirit to a point where we virtually deny Him His place in the Godhead. This denial has not been by open doctrinal statement, for we have clung closely enough to the Biblical position wherever our credal pronouncements are concerned. Our formal creed is sound; the breakdown is in our working creed.

This is not a trifling destinction. A doctrine has practical value only as far as it is prominent in our thoughts and makes a difference in our lives. By this test the doctrine of the Holy Spirit as held by evangelical Christians today has almost no practical value at all. In most Christian churches the Spirit is quite entirely overlooked. Whether He is present or absent makes no real difference to anyone. Brief reference is made to Him in the Doxology and the Benediction. Further than that He might as well not exist. So completely do we ignore Him that it is only by courtesy that we can be called Trinitarian. The Christian doctrine of the Trinity boldly declares the equality of the Three Persons and the right of the Holy Spirit to be worshipped and glorified. Anything less than this is something less than Trinitarianism. The Pursuit of Man, 60-61.

"Lord, I'm sure I've been guilty of this neglect, this blunder, this sin. Make me so aware of the power of the Holy Spirit in my life that I might give Him the recognition and worship that He so rightly deserves. Amen."

Today's "Insight for Leaders" is taken by permission from the book, Tozer on Christian Leadership, published by WingSpread Publishers

Kundalini Awakening - Spiritual Emergency

David Lukoff

DESCRIPTION
Kundalini awakening is probably the most common type of spiritual emergency. The Spiritual Emergence Network Newsletter reported that 24% of their hotline calls concerned kundalini awakening experiences. [1] In the Hindu tradition, kundalini is spiritual energy presumed to reside at the base of the spine. When it is awakened, it rises like a serpent up the spine, and opens the chakra psychic centers situated along the spine from the tailbone to the top of the head.

As each chakra opens, new levels of consciousness are revealed. Since the consciousness of most people is fairly restricted, the opening of the chakras is accompanied by consciousness expansion and purification of the limitations or impurities that correspond to each chakra.
(Brant Cortright, Ph.D., Psychotherapy and Spirit, p. 161)

It is associated with physical symptoms including:
sensations of heat
tremors
involuntary laughing or crying
talking in tongues
nausea, diarrhea or constipation
rigidity or limpness
animal-like movements and sounds

Kundalini arousal most commonly occurs as an unintentional side-effect of yoga, meditation, chi kung or other intensive spiritual, particularly meditative, practices. Some theorists include psychotherapy, giving birth, unrequited love, celibacy, deep sorrow, high fever, and drug intoxication to also be triggers, and some believe kundalini awakening can occur spontaneously without apparent cause.

Bonnie Greenwell, Ph.D., is a transpersonal therapist whose work focuses on kundalini awakening problems. I concur with her view that the term kundalini is most applicable to problems specifically associated with meditative practices. When Dr. Greenwell was queried about a case which included symptoms such as shaking at night, which can occur in kundalini awakening, she responded,

If the person had presented me with a description of an awakening experience, if he did exercises such as meditation, yoga, or a martial art regularly, or if he experienced strong meditative states where he went beyond concentration into stillness or a sense of unity, then I would be more likely to consider it Kundalini. Kundalini Quest

The DSM-IV, in Appendix I, includes "qi-gong psychotic reaction," which is similar to kundalini awakening. (qi-gong or chi Kung is an ancient Chinese moving meditative practice). Meditation and yoga have also been associated with problematic experiences of non ordinary consciousness (see Lee Sannela, The Kundalini Experience: Psychosis or Transcendence?).

Stuart Sovatsky, PhD Director of the Kundalini Clinic, notes,

That some problems arise as a result of the most auspicious of spiritual experiences, long documented in diverse religions, must, in such cases, also be considered.
(Word from the Soul: Time, East/West Spirituality, and Psychotherapeutic Narrative)

Unlike those suffering from psychosis, individuals experiencing kundalini are, typically much more objective about their condition, communicate and cooperate well, show interest in sharing their experiences with open-minded people, and seldom act out. (Stanislav and Christina Grof, Spiritual Emergency: When Personal Transformation Becomes a Crisis)

ASSOCIATED CLINICAL PROBLEMS
Kundalini awakening can resemble many disorders, medical as well as psychiatric. The symptoms can mimic conversion disorder, epilepsy, lower back problems, multiple sclerosis, heart attack or pelvic inflammatory syndrome. The emotional reaction to the awakening of kundalini can be confused with disorders involving anxiety, depression, aggression, and organic syndromes.

Bonnie Greenwell, Ph.D. did her dissertation study of individuals who had a kundalini awakening. She summarizes the clinical issues that she observed in her book, Energies of Transformation: A Guide to the Kundalini Process

She describes a number of key featrues of kundalini awakening which were difficult for people in her study:

1. Pranic movements or kriyas
Prana is the Hindu word for vital energy. As intense energy moves through the body and clears out physiological blocks, some people experience intense involuntary, jerking movements of the body, including shaking, vibrations, spasm and contraction.

2. Yogic Phenomena
Some people find themselves performing yogic postures or hand mudra gestures which they have never learned or could not do in a normal state of consciousness. Similarly, they may produce Sanskrit words or sounds. Unusual breathing patterns may appear with either very rapid or slow, shallow breathing. Some people may not breathe at all for extended periods.

3. Physiological Symptoms
Kundalini awakening often generates unusual physiological activity which can present as heart, spinal, gastrointestinal, or neurological problems. Internal sensations of burning, hypersensitivity to sensory input, hyperactivity or lethargy, great variations in sexual desire, and even spontaneous orgasm have been reported.

4. Psychological Upheaval
Emotions can swing from feelings of anxiety, guilt, and depression (with bouts of uncontrollable weeping) to compassion, love, and joy.

5. Extrasensory Experiences
Some people experience visions of lights, symbols, spiritual entities. Auditory sensations may include hearing voices, music, inner sounds or mantras. There may also be disruption of the proprioceptive system, with loss of a sense of self as a body, or an out of the body experience.

6. Psychic Phenomena
A person may experience precognition, telepathy, psychokinesis, awareness of auras and healing abilities.

7. Mystical States of Consciousness
A person may shift into altered states of consciousness where they directly perceive the unity underlying the world of separation and experience a deep peace and serenity. (see Karin Hannigan, Ph.D. for additional description of these)

The sudden onset of these experiences led many in Greenwell's study to become confused and disoriented.

Kundalini Awakening in the Church?


Related:
KUNDALINI WARNING - II

Kundalini Awakening - Associated Problems

Kundalini Problems

Rebecca Bragg has been a writer since 1979. From 1988 to 2000, she was a reporter for Canada's largest newspaper, the "Toronto Star," writing news and feature stories related to health. She holds a Master of Arts in English literature and creative writing from the University of Windsor.

Overview
Kundalini, an intense form of meditation, is meant to hasten yoga's ultimate goal: the attainment of perfect bliss, called enlightenment. The central symbol, a snake coiled at the base of the spine, represents the power latent within all humans to achieve this state. When kundalini meditation "awakens" this power, it is said to travel through energy centers called chakras, shattering illusions along the way. If the process occurs before the practitioner is physically, psychologically and emotionally prepared, a common side-effect, "kundalini psychosis," may result.

Symptoms of Kundalini Psychosis
According to kundalini expert Kurt Kreutzer, professor of electrical engineering and computer science at the University of California, Berkeley, "awakening" is a sensation so powerful that it is often compared to a "freight train" or an "erupting volcano." Symptoms, usually temporary but sometimes long-term, may include blissful or terrifying visions, trembling, shaking, assuming unfamiliar yoga postures, singing, reciting mantras, speaking in tongues and making animal sounds. These reactions are caused when the contents of the unconscious mind "spill over into consciousness," he says, and constitute a "spiritual emergency."

Physiological Effects of Intense Meditation
Harvard Medical School has conducted several studies on the effects of meditation on the brain and body. One study involving meditating kundalini yoga practitioners, published in the May 15, 2000, journal "NeuroReport," noted a significant decrease in blood flow to the brain but simultaneously increased activity to areas controlling attention, autonomic and metabolic functions. Earlier Harvard studies facilitated by the Dalai Lama documented the ability of Tibetan monks to lower their metabolic rate by as much as 64 percent and generate enough body heat to dry wet sheets on their bare skin while sitting outdoors in cold temperatures. A 2006 study described in the "Harvard Mahoney Neuroscience Institute Letter" presented evidence suggesting that regular meditation actually changed brain structure, thickening areas associated with "bodily sensations and emotions."

Psychotherapy and Meditation
Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung incorporated much Eastern philosophy and symbolism into his theories of the mind and believed that kundalini provided a framework for the understanding of the development of higher consciousness. He also cautioned Westerners against dabbling in this meditation technique because it was so powerful that without proper preparation and guidance, people put themselves at risk of psychotic breakdowns.

In "Meditation and Psychotherapy," published in the 1991 edition of the "American Journal of Psychotherapy," author Greg Bogart concluded that careful prior assessment of individual patients was vital before meditation was used in psychotherapy. Many fragile people turned to meditation in hopes of finding solutions to existing personality disorders, Bogart wrote, and others who lacked psychological maturity and confidence could be unbalanced by intense meditation.

The Dalai Lama's Views
In Tibetan Buddhism, kundalini is called "candali" or "tummo" meditation, and the Dalai Lama, in his writings and teachings, has repeatedly warned Westerners against trying to reach an advanced level before they have done the necessary groundwork. "Meditation on the Completion (advanced) Stage ... can be extremely dangerous," he said in a 1982 interview, "perhaps bringing many types of sickness and even death to the unqualified practitioner."

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/351098-kundalini-problems/#ixzz1Dw5Hq8lt

Related:
KUNDALINI WARNING by Andrew Strom
KUNDALINI WARNING II

Return of the Early Church: House that Change the World

by Quan Wei
Gospel Herald Reporter
Wed, Jan, 26 2011 03:32 AM PT

Chinese churches have mushroomed in the United States over the past two decades, particularly in immigrant-rich areas such as Los Angeles, New York, and the San Francisco Bay area. Whatever the nature of these churches — denominational or non-denominational, traditional or charismatic, remote or urban — all of them were founded with the dream of creating spiritual and cultural community, while building a bridge of faith between their new and native lands.

Dr. David C. Yang

New York-based physician Dr. David C. Yang was an elder in one such church, whose Taiwanese founders had grown it from a small group meeting in a high school gymnasium into a congregation of hundreds over the case of 15 years. Yet after working hard to help the church achieve its decades-long goal of constructing its own building, Dr. Yang grew concerned that the huge effort needed to achieve this material goal was not necessarily paying off in better fellowship or more efficient proclamation of the Gospel.

Seeking answers for the feelings of frustration that he was experiencing, Dr. Yang came across a book by Wolfgang Simson, Houses That Change the World: The Return of the Home Churches. Upon reading it, he became deeply impressed by its message of return to simplicity and focus on small, close-knit groups of brethren. He shared the book with his pastor and fellow church ministers, hoping to inspire them to introduce the "Home Church" model as a network of self-sufficient satellites that he believed would complement the organized church.

The concept proved controversial, and few of his coworkers were won over. After a long period of prayer and meditation, Dr. Yang finally decided to start a Home Church network independent of his former congregation.

The first Staten Island Home Church meeting took place in February 2004, bringing together a handful of Christians to worship in Dr. Yang's living room. It has continued to grow and split off new groups ever since — with dozens of homes now hosting worship gatherings each week.

Hoping to inspire others to embrace the Home Church model to extend or enhance their worship of God, Dr. Yang shared with The Gospel Herald the philosophical and biblical basis of the Home Church concept. Rather than being a new movement, the Home Church is in fact a way of going "back to the future," inspiring and reviving the modern church using the principles of the early church.

Question #1: Is the Home Church a new concept?
The Home Church was a model commonly adopted by the Early Church.

Yang: As recorded in Christian history, the first church was built in the third century, with construction being completed at Alexandria 325 year after its commission by the Roman emperor Constantine. Prior to Constantine the Great, the Roman Empire had always regarded Christianity as an "illegal religion," and prohibited the church from owning any property. As a result, during the New Testament era and the period that followed, believers gathered in small groups of families (see Rom 16:5; 1 Cor16:19; Phm 1:2) until Constantine "professionalized" the church.

This means that the Home Church is the most original form of the church: The first church in the west was founded at Lydia’s home in Philippi, in Macedonia. Even today, the modern church planting movement has relied heavily on the Home Church concept; the growth of the Home Church "movement" has merely built upon these examples to create permanent networks of Home Church gatherings.

Question #2: Isn't a church a building?
A church is not a building — it is a gathering of the faithful.

Yang: Christian history has shown us that a church does not necessarily have to have a sanctuary, and a gathering that takes place in a sanctuary is not necessarily a church. In short, a church is not embodied in a physical construction. A church exists in any place where born-again Christians gather in the name of Jesus, worship God and preach the Gospel. While sacred places and formal rituals are inspirational and uplifting, they are secondary elements to the spiritual family of Christ-followers themselves. The Home Church concept seeks to return to that fundamental concept, so as to reconnect with the vital origins of Christianity and its role as a way of life.

The truth is that for all of the advantages of the traditional church, there are also drawbacks. Traditional churches offer expansive community and many ways for believers to interact with one another. Yet this can also make services feel overwhelming and impersonal. Traditional churches provide a rich array of programs. Yet these programs require time and expense and administrative focus that can take away from the core basics of worship and evangelism. Home Churches, as a stand-alone network or as a complement to traditional churches, offer a simpler way of peer-based worship that enables engagement and participation by all members, with no resource requirements beyond what the members provide themselves.

Question #3: What are the advantages of the Home Church's small size compared to traditional churches?
The Home Church encourages people to think of church as “home”

Yang: It's often noted that traditional churches are program-oriented —they are focused on bringing people to the church. This can result in highly structured worship services that present a "learning curve," and that require orientation and introduction for newcomers and nonbelievers to feel comfortable. Traditional churches do their best to welcome new people to congregations, but fitting in can still be an intimidating prospect.

In the Home Church, people quickly find themselves feeling at home because they are in a home! Home Churches are all about bringing the church to people.

The hosts of a Home Church gathering, whom we usually refer to as " 家長 - Spiritual Heads of The Family", act in the role of the mother and father of a large family, welcoming members and helping them get comfortable as soon as they enter.

The goal of the Home Church is to make worship into a part of one's lifestyle. Location, time, day of week are secondary to that notion, and as a result, we make them flexible.

For Staten Island Home Church, families take turns to host gatherings — not just in order to share the burden, but so that we can share our lifestyles with one another. There is of course no pressure to host; families are used by God to host gatherings at their homes based on their availability and resources.

Gatherings are usually held on weekdays at 7:30 pm or 8:00 pm. Members often come 15 minutes in advance to prepare themselves with prayer, then share dinner together. Dinner is not just about a meal, but about creating a time when everyone can relax and share their lives, testimonies and prayer requests, to bring everyone closer together. We try to make sure the preparation of the meal will not become a burden for the host by asking everyone to bring a dish, pot-luck style - another way that we seek to make the experience a shared one.

Continue reading here

Hong Kong Film Industry Invaded by the Holy Spirit - Celebrities Testimonies

Hong Kong's Protestant Churches Blooming

by Francis Wong
Christian Today Reporter
Wed, Jun, 02 2010 11:52 AM PT

Protestant churches in Hong Kong are blooming with an annual growth rate 6.2% over the last five years and the number of Protestants in the former British colony drawing close to 300,000. The number of practising Protestants surpassed 290,000 in 2009, rising from just over 216,000 in 2004, according to the results of a new survey released by the Hong Kong Church Renewal Movement. The figure surpasses the growth experienced by Protestant churches in Hong Kong from 1999 to 2004, when the number of practising Protestant rose from just under 176,000 in 1999 to nearly 217,000 in 2004, an annual growth rate of 4.3%.

Grace and Spiritual Fruit by Bob Hoekstra

The word of the truth of the gospel, which has come to you, as it has also in all the world, and is bringing forth fruit, as it is also among you since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth. (Colossians 1:5-6)

The Lord wants His children to have significant measures of spiritual fruit developing in their lives. "By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit" (John 15:8). Fruit is described in the Scriptures in various ways. It includes godly character qualities. "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace…"
(Galatians 5:22). Also, it involves worship offered to God. "Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name" (Hebrews 13:15). Additionally, it encompasses lives being touched by our ministry to them.. "I often planned to come to you…that I might have some fruit among you also, just as among the other Gentiles" (Romans 1:13).

Such spiritual fruit is a consequence of God's grace at work in and through us. Colossians 1:5-6 addresses this fact. "The word of the truth of the gospel, which has come to you…is bringing forth fruit." The good news of Jesus Christ not only brings forgiveness of sin and the gift of eternal life, it also produces fruit in those who believe. All of this is grace operating in trusting hearts: "Since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth."

Romans 7:4 describes this same glorious process, using different terms. "Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another, even to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God." In order to bear fruit unto the Lord, we had to first be released from our dead relationship to the law. We could not perform effectively under that demanding standard. Thus, our lives were spiritually fruitless before God. Next, we needed to be joined in a new, living relationship with the risen Christ, that we might partake of His grace resources for living. We have experienced both through faith in the Lord Jesus. Now, the risen Christ works by His grace in and through our lives, as we humbly depend upon Him.

Yes, the grace of God is His designated dynamic for producing spiritual fruit in our everyday lives.

Lord God of my salvation, thank You for the glorious message of the gospel. What good news it is to have forgiveness, eternal life, and daily transformation through Your grace. I embrace Your will that I bear much fruit. Lord Jesus, I rejoice that You have taken me out from under the law. I now look to You, the risen Lord, to bring forth spiritual fruit in and through my life, in Your exalted name, Amen.

Source here

Answering the Call... Don't Forget the Vest! (Part I)

Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place [Ephesians 6:14 NIV]

Perhaps the most popular genre of programming on television – at least on U.S. television – today is the criminal investigation series – you know, CSI, CSI New York, CSI Miami, NCIS, NCIS Los Angeles, Criminal Minds, Without a Trace, Bones, the Mentalist, etc. All of them feature law enforcement “good guys/gals” doing whatever it takes to get the bad guys/ gals. But I’ve noticed another point of commonality that struck me primarily because of what you and I are talking about right now … on every one of those programs, before the “good guys/gals” go into danger, they put on a protective vest (we used to call them bullet-proof vests, but that is apparently not entirely accurate anymore … some bullets can penetrate even the best vest … remember that for later). They don’t protect their heads, legs or arms, but the vests are designed to protect that part of the body which is the easiest target and which contains the most vital organs. Put a picture of a protective vest beside a picture of a “breastplate”, and you’ll easily see the family resemblance.

Paul is teaching us the same lesson every “good guy/gal” needs to learn, before you go into danger, protect your vital organs … but not with Kevlar – popular vest material – but with “righteousness”. Now how does that work … and how does it apply to business leaders?

Even though it looks like it, “righteousness” does not mean just being right or correct. The dictionary adds that it carries a sense of moral uprightness, virtue, justification. But that is not enough for the kind of protection we need. Jesus makes that clear when He says that “unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees (that is the religious, moral leaders of His day), you will not enter the kingdom of heaven”. [Matthew 5:20] We are looking for Kingdom-of-Heaven-based protection, so where does that “vest” come from?

You probably already know the answer to that one – it comes from Jesus: “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” [2 Corinthians 5:21] Our breastplate of righteousness comes through our personal relationship with Christ – not through our own being right or moral … that vest would already be full of holes!

The understanding that real righteousness comes from God is woven throughout scripture. In Genesis, God made a promise to Abram/Abraham, “Then he (Abram) believed in the LORD; and He (God) reckoned it to him as righteousness.”[Genesis 15:6 NASB] God is the definer of true righteousness. And in that great passage in Matthew where Jesus deals with all of the anxiety and self-concern that can occupy our time and effort – weapons that can be aimed at our vulnerability - we are told that the solution – and the promise that goes with it – are tied to God’s righteousness: "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” [Matthew 6:33 NASB) There is so much more, but I think we understand that, as with Truth, we are not the source of this vital piece of our Armor. It’s all about God … your relationship with Him … and how you live that out.

Now, why a “breastplate”? We know that perhaps the most vital organ in the body – our heart – is located in the chest …behind that breastplate. There are a number of other organs it protects – lungs, stomach, liver, etc. – any one of which when injured can cause pain, long term disability or death. But it is the “heart” that we see as the source of love, courage, commitment, character, faith and so many other attributes that God uses to reflect His image in us. That, of course, makes it a target for any enemy of our souls, our marriages, our families or our businesses – misdirect our love, infect courage with fear, minimize our commitment, impugn our character, shake our faith and we can no longer provide that clear reflection that draws others to our God … let alone live the kind of victorious, filled-with-the-fruit-of-the-Spirit life that God has offered.

You probably don’t need more evidence, but if you want to see how devastating an attack on the heart can be, just take a look at what happened in the past few days to a U.S. Congressman from New York. It took only four hours from the time an inappropriate picture and emails were released on the internet for him to resign from congress – his career, opportunity to impact a nation, reputation, marriage, family … all irreversibly damaged by his apparent failure to put on his “vest”.

We all lose when those things happen. So let’s close Part 1 by committing to each other to do a thorough examination of the vest / breastplate you and I are depending on to protect our hearts and all of the areas of our lives that are impacted by what happens there. What – or Who – are you depending on for your righteousness? Is it all about your goodness and your ability to stand your moral ground … or is it all about Christ and His ability to enable you to stand? Jesus told us what to seek first … are you / am I?

Next week let’s talk about the practical impact that vest can have on your life and your company.

Seeking First,

President and CEO
Fellowship of Companies for Christ International / Christ@Work
doug@fcci.org
Cell: 678-358-9341
http://www.fcci.org/
4201 North Peachtree Road
Suite 200
Atlanta, Georgia 30341

Cairo’s Apocalypse Horse - Original Video Clip from Reuters Found!

I managed to get the original video clip from REUTERS here.

Cairo’s ‘Apocalypse Horse’ creates ‘net buzz
Euronews

The Egypt uprising has made all the headlines and maintained the interest of our web readers. No surprise then that our story Clashes resume in Cairo was our most viewed on the day it was published. One week later though and it is still our most sought-after story. Not just on our website but on YouTube, where it appears under the title Fourth Horseman, death.

We had to watch the video to get to the bottom of its remarkable popularity. And there it was, at 1’17” – a pale ghost rider appears to have joined the uprising.

A quick look at similar videos on YouTube confirmed that it was not just euronews who had broadcast the mystery horseman. There were plenty of comments referring to the biblical fourth horse of the Apocalypse. The New Testament tells us that each of the four horses is attributed a colour – white, red, black and pale - and a scourge – conquest, war, famine and death - to bring upon the world.

Everyone has their own interpretation; some believe the fourth horse really has come to bring death upon the land; others point to beings from another planet; most seem to think it’s just a reflection in a window.

We checked the origin of the video and it was provided to us – and to many other media outlets – by REUTERS. So while the footage may have caused a stir, be assured there is no horseplay on our behalf.

Copyright © 2011

Updated Video: Has Revelation's 'pale rider' shown up in Egypt?

Updated video in High Definition see it for yourselves whether this is true or hoax. Or view it at Euronews here.

Riot footage shows mysterious horse-like figure floating through crowd

By Drew Zahn
© 2011 WorldNetDaily

A mysterious, pale green figure seen in televised news coverage of the Egyptian riots has prompted some viewers to ask, "Could this be the Fourth Horseman of the Apocalypse?"

The footage, provided by Euronews and subsequently seen on MSNBC, CNN and uploaded over a dozen times to the popular video sharing site YouTube, captures the fiery, violent protests in Cairo this past week … and something else.

Between the crowds of protesters and barricades, the video shows a flowing, pale green image that resembles an erect rider atop a horse in Medieval-like barding. The ethereal figure remains for a few moments before floating over protesters' heads and off the screen.

The last of the biblical Book of Revelation's Four Horseman of the Apocalyse, the "pale rider" is said to be the bringer of death and the forerunner of "hell" on earth.

Are all these events the natural order of things, or warnings of the end times described in the Bible? This DVD probes the answer ...

The strange image can be seen beginning at the 1:19 mark of the following video:


The Book of Revelation refers to a time when "the Lamb" – usually understood to be the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ – opens the seven seals of a scroll of judgment. Each of the first four seals is accompanied by a horseman of a different color, each bringing a separate calamity.

When the fourth seal is opened, Revelation 6:8 records, "And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth."

Is the image from Egypt a fulfillment of Revelation's prophecy?

Comments from the tens of thousands of viewers who have watched the video on YouTube express a wide array of opinion.

Some claim the video's "pale rider" is a sign and the greenish tint is somehow symbolic of Islam, while others insist the image has been added to the footage by editing technolgy. Still others point to three, trailing points of light in the footage that move away from the crowds at the same time and speed as the "horseman," indicating that both the "rider" and the lights are merely smudges or reflections cast on the lens of a moving camera.

One comment, from a viewer calling himself TheRhythmhawk, also tried to explain the "pale rider" and the trailing lights as simply lens reflections, but eventually concluded, "The image of the horseman leaves more questions than answers."

The original video can also be viewed in even higher resolution at the Euronews website.

APOSTACY TODAY by Dr Owour

Source: here

The modern-day church of this era has majorly been founded on the preaching of a prosperity gospel, that has to the greater extent contributed to her apostate condition. And what most of the present-day christians have not well understood, is that spiritually the current apostasy in the church, as a matter of fact amounts to a house that has literally renounced her allegiance to the LORD. Over the greater part of her existence, today's modern church has practically engaged in the teaching of a false form of christianity that promotes the careless living and compromise with world. Faulting the word in this way is what has largely established apostasy and the blatant practising of lawlessness in the House of the LORD.

While God Almighty may have openly expressed his intention that mankind prosper here on earth, nevertheless was such prosperity intended to focus the heart of the church entirely into the perishable realm. By God's design, the original blueprint of the creation of man meant every blessing of prosperity to draw mankind closer and closer to God Almighty. However, it is now emerging more and more that to a greater extent the conception of this novel blueprint still remains for the most part, concealed to the present-day christians. For this reason, the grave spiritual misconception that is presently being fronted by the popular gospel of prosperity has consequently wiped the church to a state of near extinction. In this condition of the house, Pastors can now openly confess living for self, as the christians convert to a more casual relationship with the LORD. Theological head knowledge charted by Pastors has gradually and most systematically overtaken the greatest promise God ever released to the church, the promise of the Holy Spirit as ultimate Counsellor.

Post-modern christianity in its finest machinations, and especially through its false gospel of 'sow-a-seed to get your miracle', has surely proved itself seriously wanting of holiness to the degree that the church has now been largely reduced into business premises whose purpose is to entertain the local folk. And that is the reason it is common practice to observe preachers acting comical even on such matters serious, as the cross and the blood.

Yet the church in her normal spiritual senses knows it too well that, that was never the original intention for which Jesus was sent to the Cross to pay such a horrific heart-wrenching price of redemption. Due to its inherent inadequacies, the gospel of prosperity has virtually failed to rebuke the sin that has today intruded into the church, and instead opted to entertain worldliness and spiritual decay among christians.

Such spiritual decomposition has most recently presented as rampant ungodliness in the church, whereby manifesting excessive perversion, love of money, sexual immorality, homosexuality, lesbianism, even among the pastors. This ilk of lawlessness in the house of the LORD, is what has negatively impacted the central calling of the church to evangelize the Jesus of Nazareth. A derisory fall of this genre has also brushed her in bad light to the extent that today's christians now bear a repulsive image that the heathen would neither long to bear, nor desire to associate with. The rubric of it all is the appalling state of perpetual spiritual infancy dogged her countenance.

This apostasy has today well established in the church, even to the extent that believers are now reduced to a despondent batch that cares less of the word. It is unfortunate that this contemptible plummet has gone on virtually undetected for a very long time, and even more so this late in the day. The failure to intuit this seemingly obvious but very sneaky fall in the church, is what has majorly contributed to the loss of sensibility to sin among christians. It is a numbness that has raised the church's threshold to sin, hence lulling her to eternal damnation, in a form of spiritual gangrene.

Sadly, it is so disheartening to realise that the real definition of gangrene is as a matter of fact the local death and decay of the body as a result of lack of blood in that area. It can be said of the church today, that she surely lacks the blood of Jesus in the body. If she doesn't repent urgently this gangrene could as well kill her.

The raising of the threshold to sin and evil simply means that christians gradually become accustomed to not only observing sin in the church, but also accommodating it in their personal lives. This is the careless living of compromise with the world, that has apparently not factored in the fear of the LORD and his holy reputation. Spiritual numbness of this sort is what has exactly besmirched worship to the extent that today christians no longer view their lifestyles as the true worship that Jesus taught on the cross. If there was any take-home lesson that Jesus emblematically left on the cross, it was the crucifixion of the flesh.

In that most exuberant greatest disposition of love towards the church, as the LORD gave his life on the cross, he also unveiled to her the biggest secret to a successful christian lifestyle. And that secret literally lay in the complete obliteration of the sinful desires of the flesh in order to be born-again. This is one particular aspect of christian salvation that the larger majority of present-day christians have least understood.

Contrary to the sad association of material possession with success, a true successful christian lifestyle involves the shunning of sin and walking in absolute holiness for entry into the kingdom of God. The failure by the Pastors to augment their teachings with this novel cradle of the gospel (the cross), is what has now turned church services into a great dishonour of our time, hence reducing it into a mere pascal traditions. It is surprising though, that a form of faithlessness has gradually encroached into the holy pulpit, with the shepherds veritably lacking the conviction to believe for divine provision from the LORD.

This lack of assurance that is currently proliferating among Pastors to the effect that God may not be able to miraculously provide for them in this day and age, is what has unfortunately hatched out a stinging wave of virulent false teachers of the word. This clique has today mutated into a bunch of Pastors who can outrightly lie publicly, in order to loot offerings and the so-called 'seed' money from the faithful. They are the false prophets of the day. The priesthood today can openly deceive and feast on the sins of the saints in order to earn their so-called decent living.

Related:
Are you following a Nimrod?
Time before the Antichrist-Part 1

The Pale Horse of Revelation appeared in Cairo Riots!

Pale in Colour
(An Excerpt from The Pale Horses by Dr David Owour)
Complete article: here

At the mere mention of pale, one normally is prompted to think of someone who is feeling sick, anaemic-looking, deathly looking, or ailing. Pale is a direct translation from a Greek word called chloros. Chloros basically signifies the colour of chlorophyll, the property that gives plants their healthy, green colour. But, used in the biblical context, pale then becomes the colour of disease or sickness, the reason for which other biblical translations describe the pale horse as an ash-coloured horse. The bible also defines it as horse sickly-green or an ashy-pale horse. Albeit, we know that Christ Jesus the revelator, is the only one who has the authority to correctly translate for the church the meaning and implication of the release of the pale horse. This, as we have mentioned, is because only Christ Jesus has the ascendancy to break open even the fourth seal on the scroll.

1 There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven (Luke 21:11).

The man of the pale horse signifies global encircling plagues and pandemics that are occurring now and soon to appear. The pronouncement in 2009 by the Geneva-based World Health Organization (WHO), that the H1N1 SwineFlu has now developed into a full fledged global pandemic, gives a classical testimony that the season of the pale horseman is at hand, and about to befall mankind.Even greater global pandemics are soon going to be reported all across the globe, as the rider of the pale horse traverses the four ends of the earth. Global pandemics are going to be the greatest challenge for mankind to sumount in this last hour prior to rapture. The manner in which the HIV/AIDS pandemic has scourged mankind especially this year 2009, with over 23 million infected, just underscores how bad things have gotten. It is prudent to recollect that HIV/AIDS cannot be cured, to the extent that even the Anti-retroviral therapy (ARTs) are intended to merely prolong the lives of the infected. A relationship surely exists between the second, third and fourth horseman. God Almighty releases these horsemen to counter the gross disobedience and worldliness that mankind has adopted towards him, in this age.

9 “Therefore I bring charges against you again,” declares the Lord. “And I will bring charges against your children’s children (Jer 2:9).

It is surely the Lord that has now smitten the earth with such traumatic experiences, as never witnessed before (Dan 12:1). And yet the Lord vividly asserts that those whose names will be found written in the book of life of the Lamb, will be delivered. That can only imply that for mankind to suffer the tragedies of the horsemen, it must be an act of his personal choice. The pale horseman of the apocalypse sups away the livelihood and healthiness of mankind to the point that he lives the human being shrivelled and faint. He does this by intensifying the horrific effects of disease and sickness across the fibre of mankind. The overall effect of this fourth horseman appears to be that of rendering man totally unproductive and ineffective as a result of scavenging ravages of disease.

17 yes, this is what the Lord Almighty says: “I will send the sword, famine and plague against them and I will make them like poor figs that are so bad they cannot be eaten. 18 I will pursue them with the sword, famine and plague and will make them abhorrent to all the kingdoms of the earth and an object of cursing and horror, of scorn and reproach, among all the nations where I drive them (Jer 29:17-18).

Like did the Lord warn Israel before the onset of any calamity, so has he warned not only the church but also the nations of the earth to repent, lest they be faced by the consequences of rebellion.

24 “See how the siege ramps are built up to take the city. Because of the sword, famine and plague, the city will be handed over to the Babylonians who are attacking it. What you said has happened, as you now see (Jer 32:24).

When the Lord engaged Israel over her rejection of his covenant, and the contradictions in her worship, he always never failed to remind her of the original covenant that he laid before her as he redeemed her Egyptian slavery. Jehovah raised Israel as a nation of priests, to the extent that when Israel worshipped the most high God, it was intended to demonstrate what true worship looks like to the heathen communities. And these things were written in the bible by the Holy Spirit, that the church too may realise that the way christians would worship the Lord in their daily lives, would act as a perfect example of how mankind should honour the Lord with their lives. It is a calling to evangelism. But just as Israel failed to rise up to her stature, so have today’s christians failed to live upto their full stature in Word. By this, a controversy has brewed between not only the church and the Lord, but also the nations and the Lord. Since God is just, he would have to admonish sin as he purifies the way for the Coming of the Messiah in the rapture.

17 “Therefore, this is what the Lord says: You have not obeyed me; you have not proclaimed freedom for your fellow countrymen. So I now proclaim ‘freedom’ for you, declares the Lord -’freedom’ to fall by the sword, plague and famine. I will make you abhorrent to all the kingdoms of the earth (Jer 34:17).

A failure to repent in this last dispensation prior to rapture, can only imply that either the sword, famine and disease will bring them to death, or if they survive thereof, they would be in utter captivity during tribulation and beyond. The ultimate redemption of man from death and hades was already achieved at the greatest feat at Calvary and on High when Jesus resurrected from the dead. In fact, he locked the hades and took away the key that no man may go there again. The only requirement arrayed before mankind for such tremendous spiritual inheritance of triumph over death and hades, is that he repents in Christ Jesus. Only an unrepentant heart will enter into the hades, just as said he about the Israelites who opted to recycle back to Egypt after redemption from slavery.

16then the sword you fear will overtake you there, and the famine you dread will follow you into Egypt, and there you will die. 17 Indeed, all who are determined to go to Egypt to settle there will die by the sword, famine and plague; not one of them will survive or escape the disaster I will bring on them.’ (Jer 42:16-17).

The second (sword), third (famine) and fourth (pestilence) horsemen derive their effects and origin directly from the first horseman called deception. This is because whoever escapes the lie of the first horseman, is indeed a repentant heart and hence delivered from the multiplying effects of the latter horsemen. Right now, the entire human population of the earth stands at a risk of witnessing multi-millions of people who will perish from worldwide global disease pandemics caused by the manifestations of the pale horseman. The effects of this fourth horseman will kill a total of upto one fourth of the earth’s population . That summation will combine those dead from wars to those who perish from economic distress, famine, global recession; to those who die from sickness and disease. This gross level of sorrows is conveyed about on mankind as a result of his unabated rebellion towards his Creator Jehovah Yahweh. Mankind’s refusal to comply with God’s requirements, coupled with his rejection of the Lord’s sovereignty will cause him this self-inflicted genocide. And yet, God Almighty would have loved to give mankind peace and joy unspeakable, other than a holocaust.

10The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full (John 10:10).

God in his infinite plan for mankind intends that man lives a life free from suffering here on earth, and an eternal life of peace and joy in heaven. That is the true definition of the abundant life that Jehovah celebrates in John 10:10.

Forewarned

As all these pangs take centre stage in the troubled life of today’s modern man, no christian can claim that they were not forewarned on the devastating effects of the horsemen. The scripture has been without ambiguity on the fact that these horsemen would be released in consecutive succession, at this hour prior to the wedding feast of the Lamb. The testimony of which is the book of Daniel, which, in its entirety, is an endtime prophecy.The phenomenon brought to the earth by these four horsemen were truly foretold by Daniel the Prophet in Daniel 12:1, and by our precious Lord Jesus in Matthew 24. Modernity and today’s post-modernism do not fit into God’s requirements for mankind. The Lord’s benchmark standard of holiness cuts across centuries, and also binds all nations. As did the Lord command Israel, that if they would follow his holy requirements they would be blessed; so has he commanded this generation.

Likewise, as did the Lord chide Israel that a failure to abide by his requirements would be an automatic curse, so it is with this generation. God does not change, for which reason he gave us Jesus Christ of Nazareth as our intercessor before him. The purpose for which the Lord surrendered Jesus the Lamb of God, to die on the cross, was that whoever believes in him, and follows the teachings of the Christ, would not suffer the consequences of sin.

READ: Deuteronomy 28:1 - 28

In this scripture, when the Lord vows that he shall smite mankind with consumption, he literally means chronic degenerative diseases such as HIV/AIDS that totally consume one’s body and fibre to no remedy. On the other hand, when God said and fever, he insinuated inflammation such as through malaria and communicative diseases like influenzas. Equally, when Jehovah referred to extreme burnings and with the sword and with blasting and with the mildew and with the blotch of Egypt; he indubitably referred to elephantiasis. By mentioning emerods, Jehovah signified tumours and cancers, etc in that order. Scabs and itching essentially referred to scurvy and rickets, aggravated psoriasis and other nutrient-deficiencies. To condense it all Deut 28:29 is hence meant to give the greatest depiction yet. The state of utter hopelessness of mankind’s suffering that these and other innumerable scourges would bring on the earth. One can only envisage the increased intensity and gravity with which the pale horseman of the apocalypse brings about such utter hopelessness and scourge-related afflictions to the earth in this era, right before rapture. In other words, all the pestilence-related sorrows described in Deuteronomy 28, as grave as they are, they are virtually escalated a zillion-fold in this dispensation right before the rapture.

Global HIV/AIDS Pandemic

A closer examination of the startling statistics on the global spread of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in 2009 reveals just how vulnerable mankind can be outside the holy will of the Lord. Figures have been floated that apportion the African continent with the largest share, and increasingly among the young who are even born infected. To take HIV/AIDS as a case-study, on the impact of the pale horse of the apocalypse, one is able to come up with a true prototype of how his effects are greatly ramified. Let alone the abhorrent physical suffering of the HIV/AIDS patients as they succumb to all the opportunistic infections such as multi-drug-resistant (MDR) tuberculosis, among others. The mental anguish with which the rider of the pale horse of the apocalypse weighs down on family is totally unbearable. The rider of the pale horse grossly impacts family and community as disease gives rise to large numbers of orphans and widows. Nevertheless, the economic impacts of HIV/AIDS cannot be ignored as it eats on the active labour force, reducing it to mere withered and ailing workers, let alone the sickly population it builds, a population that cannot participate in active agricultural production. That in itself escalates famine. No one will be immune to this horrific trauma.

26And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the Lord that healeth thee (Ex 15:26).

The only way mankind can escape the debilitating effects of the pestilences in this last season prior to the rapture, is through a complete and an unwavering obedience to the Lord. God himself promises to protect mankind from the ravaging effects of pestilences, including the most severe of this dispensation.

15And the Lord will take away from thee all sickness, and will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which thou knowest, upon thee; but will lay them upon all them that hate thee (Deut 7:15).

For as long as Israel walked in humble obedience before the Lord, Jehovah himself promised that He would keep away the pestilences, never to afflict her. And because God is just, he did not forget to caution them that the enemies of God would be subjected to the full wrath of the putrefying effects of pestilences. This tells us, as the church of Christ, that God is more than capable to protect man from the ravaging effects of pestilences. By inference, it also refers that the Lord is able to shield the obedient church from the utter destruction and humiliation of the devastating effects of the pale horseman. The greatest controversy in unleashing the man of the pale horse, appears to be centred around the rebellion of mankind towards God, and his unbelievable readiness to serve other gods.

22So that the generation to come of your children that shall rise up after you, and the stranger that shall come from a far land, shall say, when they see the plagues of that land, and the sicknesses which the Lord hath laid upon it; 23And that the whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, and burning, that it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein, like the overthrow of Sodom, and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, which the Lord overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath: 24Even all nations shall say, Wherefore hath the Lord done thus unto this land? what meaneth the heat of this great anger? 25Then men shall say, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them forth out of the land of Egypt: (Deut 29:22-25).

Again and again, it boils down to man forsaking the covenant he had with the Lord; that the debilitating effects of pestilences may eat up his body.

The Joseph Company by David Wilkerson - A Must Read!

By David Wilkerson

I know of one Bible scholar who has discovered more than a hundred ways in which Joseph was a type of Jesus Christ. Yet, as much as I believe Joseph was a type of Christ, I also believe He was a type of last-day remnant - a people whom God is raising up right now to show His church how to break out of its spiritual famine!

Let me show you the Joseph Company - a small body of last-day believers wholly given to the Lord. They commune with God daily. 'They are led by the Spirit in every detail of their lives. And at this moment they are coming out of great trials and testings to enter a place of revelation, wisdom and fruitfulness. God is working in them, giving them His truth and knowledge. And the time is coming soon when He is going to call upon them as He did Joseph!

Right now, the church of Jesus Christ is growing increasingly worldly, sensual, wicked and cold. Our ministry receives literally thousands of letters from pastors and laypeople who are burdened down by the condition of their church. People complain that they don't hear convicting, life-changing sermons. Pastors complain that few want to hear the truth. Yes, there are some powerful "lamp-stick" churches in America - full of light and glory and the holiness of God. The pastors are on fire, preaching righteousness, and God is moving mightily among the people. But for the most part the church today is experiencing wide spread spiritual famine: shallow sermons, dead hearers, "lively" worship that is not backed up by righteous living. A Laodicean blindness has fallen like a cloud over the eyes of multitudes who once were on fire for God. Many true ministers of God are becoming disheartened.

One pastor wrote recently:
"A great number of godly pastors are being fired or forced out by their churches. I resigned from my church last December 31. A colleague just ten miles away also left his church under a cloud. A third pastor sixty miles away submitted his resignation under duress, a fourth was fired by his church in October.... In my region, churches are not growing by making new converts, but from Christians moving around, shopping with a consumer mentality. It's a revolving door.... Please find out for yourself how many men of God are heartbroken, defeated, discouraged - yet also saying, 'Even so, come, Lord Jesus'!"

What Is God's Solution to Such Backsliding and Famine?

God has always been at work far in advance of every spiritual famine in His church. In every generation He has moved ahead to prepare a way out for His people!

The seventy-five members of Jacob's clan would have died in the great worldwide famine (and the promise of Israel would have been destroyed) had not God been working ahead of it all. In fact, some twenty years before the famine hit, God was already setting in motion a plan to save His people from
destruction. He sent Joseph ahead to Egypt! For twenty years God worked on this man - isolating him, trying him, preparing him for a place of authority - because Joseph was to become the life-saver of God's chosen, He kept Joseph from the limelight - to be discipled for a coming day of chaos and death!

Beloved, just as surely as God isolated Joseph, He has a Joseph Company today that is hidden from all eyes. These are in the furnace of affliction, prisons of testing, battlegrounds of trials and temptation, They are dying to this world, wanting nothing of its fame, honor, money or pleasure. And they are growing hungry to become more intimate with Christ - to know His heart and His voice. You may not understand all the mysterious testings, trials and troubles in your life. But if your heart is fully set on following Christ, you can rest assured God has purpose in it all: He is wanting to bring you into His Joseph Company!.

There are three things that went into the making of Joseph as a tried and tested servant. An d you too will experience these things if you are a part of this last-day company:

1. Joseph Responded to the Spirit's Call to a Holy, Separated Life.

God's Spirit has always been calling mankind to Himself - to holiness, purity of heart and a separated life. Tragically, few ever respond - but in every generation God has a small remnant who do answer His call. They separate themselves, purify their lives and give them selves wholly to Him.

Joseph responded to God's call at a very early age. And he had ten older brothers who received the same call to surrender, walk righteously and separate themselves. But they chose to remain in the world - and their walk with God was halfhearted.

There were at least two occasions when all of Jacob's sons received the Spirit's call very clearly. The first was at Shalem, in Shechem, where Jacob built an altar to THE GOD OF ISRAEL. Jacob called his sons to the altar to become worshipers with him - to kneel before the Lord and follow Him wholeheartedly.

But Joseph's brothers instead turned to revenge and bloodshed. When a Shechemite defiled their sister Dinah, they rushed into the city, burning it down and killing every man, woman and child (see Genesis 34). These ten brothers hadn't given themselves wholly to trust and serve God. No - their violence made Jacob a stench among the Canaanites!

Yet God called cut to them clearly once more, this time at Bethel. Jacob knew his sons were bound with idolatry and were rejecting God's call to purity and righteousness. So he warned them: "Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments: and let us arise, and go up to Bethel; and 1 will make there an altar unto God" (Genesis 35:2-3).

Beloved, this is one of the clearest calls in all of God's Word! The phrase "change your garments" in Hebrew means a moral and spiritual purification of the mind and heart. Outwardly, Jacob's sons surrendered: "And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand, and all their earrings" (verse 4). But their repentance was only on the surface - they never had a true heart-change. They went right back to their rebellion, becoming full of hate, envy and strife!

Yet there was something different about Joseph: his repentance had been from the heart. He had responded to the Spirit's call - and from the age of seventeen, he was wholly set on following the Lord. In the midst of a wicked, evil environment, Joseph maintained clean hands and a pure heart.

Now, Jacob had other sons who were born to Bilhah and Zilpah, his maid and concubine. These sons cared for the family flocks, and Joseph was sent out to the fields to work among them, But he was soon grieved - because his brothers spoke and lived like heathen! His pure heart was crushed by the wickedness in his own family. "And Joseph brought unto his father their evil report" (37:2), Joseph unburdened his heart to his father: "You wouldn't believe the way they live, Father. They speak against your God and mine. They're grieving Him!"

Beloved, this is a mark of the Joseph Company: they have a grief for sin! They have forsaken all idols and are in love with Jesus - their hearts are aflame with His holiness! They see the sin in the land, but they are grieved most of all by the sin in the church. They cry out from their souls, "Oh, Father - look at what is happening among Your children!"

If you are a part of this last-day company, you can't overlook sin. Rather, something has to rise up in you that says, "Oh God, I can't stand what they're doing to Your name!" You begin to pray - not against people, but against the in roads of demonic powers into the church of Jesus Christ!

Joseph's Father Favored Him, Clothing Him With a Special Garment That Made Him Stand Out Among His Brethren! Does our heavenly Father favor certain of His children? Or doesn't the Bible say God is no respecter of persons?

When it comes to eternal salvation and His wonderful covenant promises, God treats all alike. But God also responds to all who respond wholeheartedly to His calling. He puts His special favor on those who yield their lives to Him entirely! Job said: "Thou hast granted me life and favour" (Job 10:12). And David said: "For thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield" (Psalm 5:12) . "Lord, by thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand strong" (30:7). Scripture also tells us: "And the child Samuel grew on, and was in favour both with the Lord, and also with men" (1 Samuel 2:26). The fact is, our heavenly Father puts a special garment on those who seek after Him and give Him their heart completely: "I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness" (Isaiah 61:10).

Joseph responded to the Spirit's call, surrendering all - and he received favor from his father. He was given a robe that set him apart. But that favor of his father was costly! It cost Joseph every relationship. It brought him rejection, misunderstanding, mockery: "All his brethren... hated him" (Genesis 37:4).

Why did Joseph's brothers turn on him? The key is in verse 11: "His brethren envied him." When they saw the robe Joseph wore, they knew it spoke of favor, righteousness. And they hated it - because it reminded them of the Spirit's call they had rejected! Joseph was a reproach to their half-hearted life-style!

You see, Joseph's brothers sat around trading in petty gossip and self-centered talk. Their hearts were occupied with land, possessions, their future, But Joseph's was elsewhere. He spoke of the things of God, of supernatural dealings. God had given him dreams, which in that day was synonymous with hearing the voice of God. Yes, Joseph was of a different cloth - and that difference made him hated and envied among his brothers. And beloved, the same thing will happen to you if you have sold out to Jesus!

Lukewarm believers around you will want to talk about their cars, houses and jobs - but you'd rather talk about eternal things, about what God is saying to you. Soon you'll become a reproach to their half-heartedness. They'll envy you - because you represent the call of the Holy Ghost they turned down!

Indeed, those of the Joseph Company remnant know all about rejection. They know the pain of being tagged a fanatic, a spiritual kook, an "unbalanced" believer. Even preachers mock them, calling their separation and devotion to Jesus "spiritual pride." They tell their congregation, "This one is too far out. God does not expect such fanaticism!"

2. Joseph's Greatest Trial Was the Word of God He So Loved and Trusted!

"He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant whose feet they hurt with fetters: he was laid in iron: until the time that his word came: the word of the Lord tried him" (Psalm 105:17,19). Joseph was tested and tried in many ways - but his greatest trial was the word he had received!

Consider everything Joseph endured: At only seventeen, he was stripped down and cast into a pit to starve to death. His cold-hearted brothers laughed at his pleas for mercy. He was sold to Ishmaelite traders, taken by caravan to an Egyptian slave market and then sold as a common slave.

Yet Joseph's greatest trial wasn't his rejection by his brothers. It wasn't the human indignity of being made into a slave or being cast into prison. No - Joseph was confused and tried in spirit by the clear word he had heard from God!

God had revealed to Joseph through dreams that he would be given great authority, and that he would use it for God's glory. His brothers would bow before him - even the sun, moon and stars would bow! He would be a great deliverer of many people.

Yet I believe none of this was an ego trip for Joseph. His heart was so set on God that this word instead gave him a humble sense of destiny: "Lord, You have put Your hand on me to have a part in Your great, eternal plan. Oh God - why choose me?" Joseph was blessed just by knowing he would play an important role in bringing God's will to pass!

But all the circumstances in Joseph's life were just the opposite of what God had put in his heart. He was the servant - he had to bow! How could he hold to such a word from God, that he would one day deliver multitudes, when he was a slave himself? He must have thought, "This doesn't make sense. How could God be 'ordering my steps' into prison - into oblivion? He said I was going to be blessed. He didn't tell me this was going to happen!"

For ten years Joseph served in Potiphar's house faithfully - but in the end he was misjudged and lied about. His victory over temptation with Potiphar's wife only landed him in jail. During such times he must have pondered the awful questions:

"Did I hear correctly? Or did my pride invent these dreams? Could my brothers have been right - that I'm too given over to this word? Maybe all these things are happening to me as discipline for some kind of selfish desire....

Beloved, there have been times when God has shown me things He has wanted for me - ministry, service, usefulness - yet my every circumstance was the very opposite of that word. At such times I thought, "Oh God, this can't be You speaking - it has to be my flesh," I was being tried by God's word to me!

I know a dear pastor who is being tried by God's Word. He believes what the Bible says about healing - yet, for the past five years he has watched his wife deteriorate with a rare disease. He prays for the sick at his church - and then he comes home to feed, dress and bathe his wife. He believes God for her healing, yet she grows worse every day.

Yet I see revealed in this man the grace and patience of Christ. He is one of the most loving, caring men of God I have ever met, the tenderness he shows his wife now comes out in his ministry to his congregation!

A dear sister wrote recently that over a year ago she finally determined to go all the way with Jesus. God began to reveal Christ in her - yet soon after-ward, she discovered her husband was seeing prostitutes. He was staying out every night in bars and brothels.

This woman was forced to leave her home and get a job to support her three children. The more devoted she became to Christ, the more her husband turned away from God, She couldn't understand why, when she set her heart on Christ, such an awful tragedy would happen. But I sensed in her letter a power, a heavenly strength. She too is being tried by the Word! God has given her His promises - yet her circumstances are the exact opposite!

Even in the Midst of Every Trial and Hard Place, God Prospers His Joseph Company!

Even while Joseph was a servant in Potiphar's house, he was blessed by God. And soon after he landed in prison, he prospered there as well. How did God prosper him? It wasn't with money or possessions; it wasn't with position. No - all along God was prospering Joseph's spirit - speaking to his heart, giving him dreams and interpretations! This is what kept Joseph going on with God. He had faith that, in spite of all his hardships and situations beyond his control, God was with him. Joseph was never for a moment without the manifest presence of the Lord - and that constant, abiding presence produced a peace within him.

I believe God must have longed to show Joseph the end of the story - to whisper to him, "Don't worry, Joseph. This is how it's going to end...." But He dared not - because Joseph was still in school! You see, Joseph didn't know that one day he was going to "teach (Pharaoh's) senators wisdom" (Psalm 105:22). Yet how could he teach God's wisdom to Egypt's leaders unless he first had learned it himself? God's children learn such lessons only by faith! We get God's wisdom through trials, tribulations, hardships and testings. We don't pray it down - we live it out!

If you are in God's last-day Joseph Company, then you are learning to lean on Him in your trials. You're learning to trust and not complain - to rest in Him completely. You may not comprehend all the mysterious ways God has led you. In fact, everything around you may seem the very opposite of the word God has given you. But you're learning that in all things, Christ is your resource. And God is keeping you in school for the day when He will call on you!

3. The Day Came When It All Made Sense to Joseph! God Brought Everything Together - And Every Word and Promise Was Fulfilled to The Letter!

I believe it happened during Joseph's darkest hour -when he was lonely, downcast, about to give up his dreams, questioning his place in God. Suddenly, the call came from one of the king's guards: "Joseph! Get cleaned up - Pharaoh is calling for you!"

In that moment, the Spirit of God must have come upon Joseph mightily. I believe his heart leapt - an excitement grew within him: he was about to understand what it was all about! As Joseph shaved and trimmed his hair, he probably thought, "This is the beginning of what God promised me. Now I know I heard from Him! The devil was not in control - my life hasn't been wasted. God has been directing everything the entire time!"

In a matter of minutes, Joseph was standing before Pharaoh, listening to his dream. He gave the interpretation of the coming famine and told Pharaoh he had to gather and store the nation's grain: "Someone must be in charge of the storehouses. You have to find a man who's full of wisdom to oversee it all!" (see Genesis 4l). Pharaoh looked around - and then he turned to Joseph: "You, Joseph! I appoint you second ruler. Only I will have more power in the kingdom than you. You will oversee it all!"

How quickly things had changed! Within an hour, Joseph had gone from being a forsaken, unknown prisoner to the second most powerful man in Egypt. As he rode a royal chariot through the streets, the people were bowing before him - and suddenly he realized, his dream, was being lived out!

I can just see Joseph riding along in deep but joyful contemplation. He must have relived every hard time of the past twenty years. He thought of all the trials and tests - of his brothers' rejection, and of being sold by them into slavery. But now a joy came into his heart - because everything was coming together! He said, "Now I can see it! A famine is coming - and God is wanting to save my father and my brothers. He sent me ahead of them. This was His plan all along!"

The day came when Joseph stood before his brothers and was able to say: "But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive" (Genesis 50:20). "God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt" (45:7-8). Joseph was saying, "God was behind this, every step of the way! Every hardship the devil brought upon me - even the harm you meant to do to me - God turned to good and made a part of His eternal plan!"

Dear saint, if you are a part of this Joseph Company, very soon you're going to understand your present fiery trials. God is going to bring you into the promise He gave you - and suddenly it's all going to make sense. You'll see that He has never forsaken you. He had to take you this way - for He has been training you, preparing you, teaching you to trust Him for everything . He has planned a time for you to be used - and that time is just ahead!

The Last-Day Evangelists Will Not Be Primarily in Pulpits: They Will Be in the Congregation -Avoiding Attention, But Mightily Used!

A time is coming soon when there will be a spiritual famine such as the world has never seen. People are going to be starving spiritually on all sides. Yet the broken and famine-stricken will be taken one by one and told, "Come with me - I know someone full of Jesus. They've been tested, they've been through the fire, and they're full of the Holy Spirit. They will have a true word of deliverance for you!"

Beloved, already I see this happening! I know a number of the Joseph Company by name, because I've talked to them. They are able to give out the Bread of Life to the starving - because they have the keys to God's storehouse! They know the ways of the Lord, because they have come through their tests and trials with grip on God. Something powerful is being revealed in them - and that is a heart fully persuaded that God answers, prayer!

How are you responding to God's mysterious dealings with you? Are you fully persuaded that God is at work in all things, fulfilling His promises to you? Can you say, "It's enough right now that I know Jesus is with me - and He's prospering my spirit"?

Hold on in faith! Don't be afraid - because you are in Christ's school. Everything is under His control.

Suddenly the hour will come when your battle will end and your victory will be made real. You'll come out of the fire a vessel of honor - to do His will as part of the Joseph Company!

Related: VISION: The Move of God in the Marketplace

Caution: "Destined to Reign" by Joseph Prince

by Gladys Russell

I recently became aware of a young man in our congregation who is involved in the vilest of sexual addictions, yet considers himself a believer who has no qualms at all about admitting his sins and the pleasure that he gets from them. He has no concerns about his salvation either as he has received assurance from a new (?) doctrine that has been popularized by the book by Joseph Prince called DESTINED TO REIGN. It was probably no coincidence that a friend sent the book to me to look at. My curiosity and concern was definitely piqued.

As prudent Christians, many evangelicals realize that we are very possibly in the end times that Jesus talked about in Matthew 24. Knowing this, we need to be all the more aware of deception in our church and in doctrine. Remember Jesus himself said in Matthew 24:24 “For false Christ’s and FALSE PROPHETS will arise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.” Again in 2 Thessalonians 2:11 and 12 Paul says, “And for this reason God will send them a strong delusion, that they should believe the lie and they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”

Even during the busy Christmas season, I could not keep away from this book and the theology it promotes. While there are too many ideas to expound on here, the main ideas seem to be 1) Nothing but blessings for the believer, 2) No longer a need to be concerned about God’s judgment as Grace has done away with the law 3) All sin, past and future, was forgiven at the cross for the believer and 4) repentance and confession of sin is never necessary.

BLEST BELIEVERS

In Chapter 1, I learned that God has called us as Christians to be a success, to enjoy wealth, to enjoy health, and to enjoy a life of victory. As soon as we understand his principals , we will see how easy and effortless the Christian walk really is. Prince uses Romans 5:17 …“For by one man‘s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through one Jesus Christ” He then states that the word reign used here comes from the word basiluo (Greek) translated to basilica in English.. Since, he says, basilicas were used as law courts, that means we would have a kingly rule. Well, that’s a stretch to begin with. A basilica is simply a style of building that makes it good for any assembly including meeting places, law courts, funeral homes and often churches. Adam Clarke, translating from the original Greek, along with any major Bible Scholar I am aware of takes this scripture to mean that we will reign over death as a result of Jesus death and resurrection..

Prince fails to mention what Jesus says to expect if we follow him.

Jesus said in Matthew 5:11-12 “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you” and again in Luke 6:22 Jesus said, “Blessed are you when men hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and caste your name as evil for the Son of Man’s sake.

Jesus also said in Luke 9:23 “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” In Matthew 7:14 Jesus said , “Narrow is the gate and DIFFICULT is the way which leads to life and few there be that find it. And in Luke 9:25 Jesus warns about riches saying, “For what shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world and is himself destroyed or lost.”  Peter 3:17 “For it is better , if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.”

In Revelations 6:9, John says “I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they maintained.”

Living in a country with abundant wealth such as Singapore (where Prince lives) or the United States certainly makes it more plausible for persons whether Christian or simply diligent citizens to have a measure of wealth, But, is that God’s plan for everyone who loves him? Certainly and clearly it is not. In fact, Jesus said in Matthew 19:23 that it would be harder for the rich to get into heaven, and in Luke 18;24 he again lamented about how hard it would be for a rich man to get into the Kingdom of Heaven.

Jesus calls us to be willing to give up everything, including our life, to follow Him. Paul, himself, who wrote Romans 5:17, was often beaten, shipwrecked, and finally martyred. (Prince foolishly states that Paul’s thorn could not have been illness--he fails to note in Galatians 4 : 13-14 Paul clearly states he was sick with an infirmity of the flesh). Christians are daily persecuted and martyred around the world for the sake of their faith and the very survival of Christianity depended on the martyrs who came before us. Reigning might sound good for itchy ears but it isn’t what we are guaranteed in this present life.

A GOD OF MERCY ONLY - (New Revelation)

On page 32 Prince reveals his belief that God is continually restoring his truths to the church and the revelation of the finished work will continue to get stronger. Any time new revelation is taught, we must be reminded of how often this has been the basis of new cult’s such as Mormonism, Jehovah‘s witness, Christian Scientist etc. This new revelation of Prince’s continues to be the gift of righteousness to reign in life. I.e., more grace and less judgment. The loving and merciful side of God is always emphasized in Prince’s teaching.

While Prince speaks much of the fact that the new covenant does away with the old covenant , he fails to distinguish between the commandments which are still in effect and the ceremonial law that was necessary only until Christ became the sacrifice. Paul was often speaking to new Christians/Jews who kept going back to ceremonial law - after all as Jews that was very natural for them and, no doubt, they still had many friends who were still in ceremonial law. Paul confirms this in Galations 4:10 when he says “You observe days and months and seasons and years.

As for the commandments, read Matthew 19:17-21 when Jesus clearly told the rich young man he should keep the commandments if he wanted to enter into life……“shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother and You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

Prince states a merciful God would not Judge America or any other country because of what was done at the cross (pg 49). That, he says is because God is not willing that any should perish. Wow that’s a relief -or is it? In 2nd Cor. 5:11 Paul says that knowing the terror of the Lord we persuade men………..Heb 10:30 and 31 “The Lord will judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God’ and Luke 12:5 … “Fear Him who…has the power to cast into hell:,, Of course Revelation has an entire book on the judgments that will be forthcoming on Nations and people. If we believe that God is all powerful, we must believe that whether or not he caused 911, He could have stopped it so therefore did allow judgment to come.

ALL SINS PAST AND FUTURE WERE FORGIVEN AT THE CROSS.

Prince continually assures the Believer that, although he does not condone sin , all was forgiven when Jesus died for the Believer so we never have to worry about it again. On pg 53 Prince says ‘If you receive a word from someone which brings your sins to remembrance or instills an expectation of punishment for sins in your life, don’t fear it, just throw it out the window..” On page 45, he says that , for the believer, ‘God took all your sins, even the sins that you have not yet committed, and put them all on Jesus. All future sins have been fully judged at the cross.’ On page 138, he states that “Believers are forever righteous. On page 233 he says “you cannot be under grace without becoming holy.” On page 99 he states that he has never encountered anyone who after receiving grace says “now I can go out and sin”. Really??? I know of many people who truly served and loved the Lord at one time and have returned to a life of sin--don ‘t you? Just get any church directory from a few years back and you will see how many did not stay the course.

Prince does not attempt to explain the many examples that were given in the Gospels such as the 5 wise and 5 foolish virgins, the seed that fell on good ground but was choked by the things of this world, or the seed that sprung up and then withered or the ninety and nine when the shepherd searched for the one who had left the fold. Even Jesus taught in the Lord’s Prayer that we should examine ourselves daily when he said “give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.”

In Colossians 1:22 and 23 Paul admonishes the believers “ to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable in his sight IF indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the Gospel which you have heard…… Also 2nd Peter 2:20 and 21 say ‘For after they have escaped the pollutions of this world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome. The latter end is worse for them than the beginning, for it would have been better for them to have never known the way of righteousness than having known it, to turn from the bold commandment delivered to them. John 15:10 “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love…….”

What Prince believes and teaches is almost beyond Calvinism because most Calvinists, including John Macarthur, will say of a person who practices a sinful life, that they never knew the Lord in the first place I.e. they never studied God’s word to see what would be required of them.

NEVER MIND REPENTENCE

Prince teaches that the word Repent actually only means to turn around.

The new Webster’s inter-collegiate dictionary refers to the root word penitent to describe repent as remorse, sorrow, for sins, contrition etc.

Prince also teaches that since sins are already forgiven, there is no need to repent of them anyway. What we need instead is to be forgiveness-conscious. See page 103 where he says “even when they (Christians) say a wrong thing, do a wrong thing or have a wrong thought…….they see the blood of Jesus continually washing them……..because they are forgiveness-conscious. they experience victory over sin.” Prince uses the example of the sins committed by the Corinthians to say that Paul simply reminded them that their bodies were temples of the Holy Spirit (pg 107) and did not tell them to repent. Well, Paul didn’t exactly ignore the sin either as though it were already forgiven.. See verses 1 Cor 5:5 when Paul told them to “deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that that his spirit might be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. Clearly, the sin required more attention than simply reminding the offender that he needed to be aware that he was already forgiven. How about getting his attention to the seriousness of the sin and repentance from it? Also note 2 Cor 12:21 written to the Believers at Corinth in which Paul states “Lest when I come again, my God will humble me among you and I shall mourn for many who have sinned before and have not repented. On page 234, Prince states that we are not told to repent (I.e. turnaround) from sins but from dead works which, he says, are not really sins. I.e. if you pray thinking that makes you right with God , that is a dead work. Similarly, If you study the Bible because you think doing so makes you right with God--forget it. You need, he says, to study and pray knowing you are right with God. So, in effect we should not be concerned about our sins but do need to be sure we never pray or search the scripture for answers simply to learn what is right--we just need to accept that we are right because at some time in the past we “turned around“.

While Prince writes his book as the secret to effortless success, wholeness and victorious living, the Bible tells us in Ephesians 6:11-16 that we will need to put on the whole armor of God so that we may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil, for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers of darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places ………………

My heart breaks for the young man who thinks he can continue to practice any kind of sin and be considered holy before God, for the Bible says in Eph 4:7 and 8 “ for God did not call us to uncleanness, but to holiness. Therefore he who rejects this does not reject man, but God..”.

Yes, it is wonderful to hear a message of Grace, but until we understand that God is also a God of judgment, can we really know the depths of his Grace? As Paul admonished the believers in Romans, 2:2 “But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things” and again to the believers In Galatians 6:7 “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that will he also reap.”

Remember, it is in God’s commandments that we learn the heart of God and what he expects of us. . How many will pay the ultimate price for the belief promoted in Destined to Reign? It is, after all, the same old lie, that Satan told Eve when he convinced her, that deliberate sin could go unpunished.

Related:
Looking for a pastor like Joseph Prince ?
What Is Grace?
Biblical Grace Under Assault
“Destined to Reign” book review by Dr Gordon Wong
Can God's Love Fade?
Biblical Repentance
Are You Following A Nimrod?