A Forced Reconciliation (Poem)

See the Israel series here

Imagine this futuristic scene…

To families in nations in the first holy land invasion,

As part of your sin-renunciation, 

I command yearly representation,

In My Feast of Tabernacles throughout this dispensation!

Signed: King Jesus ¹

Imagine… Jesus, The Lord, issuing this command,

Early in His sovereign reign as Earth’s global King.

But wait…

Isn’t The Feast of Tabernacles …a Jewish thing?!

So why invite foreign enemies to their homeland?!

Ahhhh, therein lies the Grace of Him Who all Earth will rule, 

With a ‘rod of iron’, ensuring righteousness,

Among folks who acted in gross haughtiness,

Following all the dictates of the anti-Christ fool! ²

With the anti-Christ cast into the lake of fire, good riddance,

And the holy land invasions he launched, then over,

The Lord ‘has a beef’ with five first nations invaders.

Thus, He’ll seek to destroy them, leaving only ...small remnants. ³

In all of His judgments against our gross sinfulness,

He’s left a remnant that is, or should be repentant,

And on obedience, their lives are then dependent. 

But watch out if they act in ways that are …specious! ⁴

Thus, to each remnant family of these nations, five,

The Lord will issue this command in Grace, with a caveat:

Attend My Feast, or there will be no rain on your habitat!

Their choice: Attend His annual feasts, or with droughts strive. ⁵

But wait…

The overarching purpose of His feast festivals,

Is to worship and give praise to Him, The Lord God and Provider.

As global King, He’ll be …The Judge, Jury and Executioner!

So why invite to this one feast …Israel’s rivals?? ⁶

Imagine…

Jews, Iranians, Sudanese, Libyans and others,

Annually flocking to Jerusalem!

All in support of global monarchism!!

Together worshiping Jesus as God, with no mockers!!!

Now ain’t that a flip, compared to all the animosities,

Reported between these groups in our day!

‘Lord, please hasten this scene,’ is what I pray,

‘And put an end to nations’ mutual insecurities!’

If like me, you’re prepared for, and anticipate Christ’s reign,

Please join me in praying for God, The Father, to say:

‘It’s time, Son. Go down and start Your Millennial Day!’

Until then, with their insecurities, nations will strain!

If only knowing God’s predicted future scene,

Would from devilish conflicts today’s nations wean…

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¹ The Bible predicts two major attacks in Israel during the 4th age of human history, the tribulation age, the first involving 5 nations, and the second involving all nations with standing armies at the end of that age. See: Revelation - Future Attacks in Israel.

² The anti-Christ will be a son of satan who, through intrigue, will seize global authority, including over national militaries that will still exist during the mayhem of the tribulation plagues. See: Ezekiel 38, 39, 1 John 2:18, 22, and Revelation 19:19 - 21. See: A People Un-walled (Series), Dear Pre-Armageddon Soldier (Poem), Tribulation Age Journalists (Series), Revelation - Future Attacks in Israel, and Booty, Pre/Post Millennial Reign (Series). For even deeper study and meditation, see: The Seat of Wickedness (Series).

³  Per Revelation 19, the anti-Christ man and his prophet/prime minister, will likely be the first ever eternally ALIVE residents in the lake of fire that burns with brimstone, likely somewhere on the new, eternal Earth The Lord promised to create, per Isaiah 65:17 and 66: 22. Zechariah 12:9 affirms The Lord’s complaint, strategically referring to nations listed in Ezekiel 38:5 - 6. To have a beef with is an idiom that means having a strong complaint about. For deeper study and meditation, see: The Lake of Fire: A Preview (Series) and also Earth’s Next Versions (Series).

⁴ Specious - having a false look of truth or genuineness, unauthentic, deceptive

⁵ The Lord ordained 7 feasts for the nation of Israel: The Passover, The Feast of Unleavened Bread, The Feast of First-fruits, The Feast of Weeks, The Feast of Trumpets, The Day of Atonement and The Feast of Tabernacles or Booths. The Feast of Tabernacle is one of the three pilgrimage festivals, requiring Jews to travel to Jerusalem. It commemorates the ancient nation’s 40 years of wilderness wanderings with Moses, as well as the completion of the harvest or agricultural year.

Question: During The Millennial Reign of Christ, why do you think this particular feast will include representatives from families in nations that attacked Israel in the war of Ezekiel 38, and the Armageddon war??

⁶ The Bible does not specifically explain the relationships between the wars mentioned in Ezekiel 38, Zechariah 14, and Revelation 19. On one hand, context of Ezekiel 38 is a rather narrowly defined invasion by 5 nations, to which some other nations will mildly object, but will not be able to rise to Israel’s defense. Ezekiel 38:5 - 6 identify the invading nations as: Persia (Iran), Sudan, and Libya, Gomer, and Togarmah (Turkey or Germany?), with its many people from the far north [of Israel]. There is considerable speculation about the last two nations. However, the reference to one being in the far north [of Israel] significantly limits the geographic focus. Consult your map, and see the link above to The Seat of Wickedness series. The latter two nations are referenced as having ‘all their troops’ in this war, possibly signifying nations with a huge military. On the other hand, the much broader contexts of Zechariah 14 and Revelation 19, are about how Jesus will end Armageddon, perhaps a global response to His glorious, physical invasion of Earth, with ALL His saints from the first 4 ages of history, and ALL His angels. (Heaven emptied??). He will initiate His reign as global monarch after Armageddon. Ezekiel 39 clearly indicates there is a rather close relationship between these likely separate wars. Verses 21-29 of that chapter segue to the first few months of The Millennial Reign, as do Zechariah 14 and Revelation 19.

Armageddon, Low-Tech?! (Poem)

See the Israel series here

The Bible, perhaps the most symbolic book ever written!

In The Lord’s attempt to convey to us His plan, strategic,

He uses things we know, to signal spiritual patterns,

And He clearly succeeds in a manner that is …prolific.

Yet I have long wondered what are the dividing lines,

Between what is figurative versus literal.

Recognizing He knows the future and our ‘times’,

What might we miss not knowing this divide, critical?

Some good examples are the iterative references,

To horses before and after the War of Armageddon.

Now, mounted cavalries aren’t our war-fighting preferences.

We now use technology, modern enemies to bludgeon!

So the notion of a mounted calvary coalition, 

Someday attacking the tiny nation of Israel,

Would, in modern warfare, be quite a major aberration!

Yet horses are listed …in two major wars' arsenals. ¹

Selah…

The marvels of modern technology are quite impressive,

And in international warfare, they can be quite awesome,

That is until problems arise in supply lines, expansive, 

Satellite glitches, friendly fire, and decisions that are …dumb!

Yet The Lord has signaled each of these wars will be,

Somewhat low-tech in nature, so what do you imagine?

To understand this, let’s ponder …Armageddon-pre,

The run-up to, and triggers for these attacks so brazen.

Imagine our world, for years bludgeoned by The Almighty,

Every facet of life as we now know it, is disrupted. ²

Some supply lines for life’s sustenance dissolve completely,  

And military industrial complexes are …kaput!

Global migration explodes as most folks seek to survive!

Governments collapse and crime explodes, exponentially!

All economic and financial systems are in nose-dive.

Flesh of folks and beasts are becoming rare, increasingly! ³

Yet… there’s a paradise in Israel, undisputed!!

Socio-economic and systems infrastructural,

Work for her swollen population, and are well-suited.

And to some of her neighbors, she is being very helpful. ⁴

In desperation to maintain his grip on power, global,

The world leader, for whom many folks worldwide clamored,

Cobbles together a 5-nation army, war plans to mull,

Though with no reliable tech, his plans aren’t demurred.

Despite years of planet-wide plagues, horses are in abundance,

A main dish in a Feast The Lord called long ago,

For a future generation of birds and beasts …such patience!

Voila! If high-tech is few, then horses will do! ⁵

Ergo…

Can you see, these two future wars won't be high-tech in nature,

A main dish in The Lord’s long-promised feast won't be absent,

A feast that is sure to happen on some date in our future.

Lesson learned: Read The Bible as ONE book, not as fragments.

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¹ The Bible predicts 3 future attacks in Israel. See: Revelation - Future Attacks in Israel. See: also: Ezekiel 38:4,15, 39:17-20, Haggai 2:21-22, Zechariah 12:4 and Revelation 19:17-18. An interesting post-Armageddon reference to horses is in Isaiah 66:20, referring to any remaining Jews who will not have migrated to Israel during the tribulation plagues. See: The Goshen Effect (Series) and The Coming Lame Blame (Poem).

² The Lord Jesus’ punishment for un-repented sinfulness and staunch refusal to believe/accept His crucifixion sacrifice as God’s only, ordained means of receiving forgiveness, and the promise of eternal life in Heaven.

³ Since with just three of the several tribulation plagues a third of mankind will be killed, imagine the cumulative effects of 42 months (the Great Tribulation period) of The Lord’s most harsh judgments. See: Lost Angels Not for Like-Angels and especially Revelation 9. See also: Humans, Rare on Earth!!! (Poem).

⁴ See: Booty, Pre/Post Millennial Reign (Series) and Zechariah 10:10. With so many Jews then spilling over into Lebanon and Jordan, Israel’s government at that time will likely need to be very generous to these nations.

⁵ The Lord’s feast invitation is thrice confirmed in Ezekiel 39:17-20, Zechariah 14:12&15 (implied), and Revelation 19:17-18. Rest assured, He has the power to ensure sufficient ‘man and beast meat’ for His feast! 

Faith Hijackers (Poem)

Listen to Siri audio version here

Oh for faith that’s connected to God’s integrity,

Rather than to our life’s tests, trials and iniquity.

~~~

Many boast of America as a godly nation,

And one that was built based on immigration.

Now it seems both points are an aberration,

With so many gods, and immigrant discrimination.

America, cultural melting-pot, so we’ve heard.

Within each culture, is its god unique,

As God of The Bible takes a back seat.

And by many, His book, The Bible, is not preferred.

Yet He calls His Son’s followers, ‘Light of the world’,

To brighten folk’s paths from deception-to-Truth.

But among us, this point seems hard to dispute:

Much of our light dimmed or went out as darkness surged.

Now darkness, both within and without, shrouds our land,

While we refuse or are unable our lights to shine.

Thus, many on-looking cultures our faith malign,

When to them, the results of our ‘Truth-faith’ seem …bland.

As about this conundrum I prayed, ‘How can we bounce back?,

The Lord whispered this clear message in my ear, spiritual,

‘By seven things contrary to My Word, but anecdotal,

The faith of many of My followers has been hijacked.’ ¹

As I share the list within me He sequenced,

Please ponder, then survey your own life, and then decide,

Whether to you any of these have ever applied,

And as a result, if your faith was then quenched.

Culture

Worldly culture contrasts with Heaven’s culture, undoubtedly.

It pulls us into conformity with shifting, downward trends,

Against all that our loving Father God for us intends.

Like strong magnets, its pull on us is strong, exceptionally!

Politicians

Politics acts like a 'floating column' of culture.

All politicians float and shift across issues of the day.

Putting faith and trust in them causes faith in God to fray.

They hijack minds and parties on their shifting altars. ²

Crises/Disasters

Now happening across the world’s disasters landscapes:

In crises, folks tend to become very spiritual,

If they have a seed or root within. How incredible.

But that’s not the time to develop faith to escape!

Sicknesses/Illnesses

Even for us in whom Godly faith may be strong,

Significant health issues might challenge our faith,

If/when it fails, we will have bitten devils’ bait,

Then be tempted to let our faithlessness prolong.

Financial Lack

‘Money makes the world go round’, so the adage goes.

When it stops coming ‘round, Godly faith might stop with it,

That is if, to this god you pay homage, bit-by-bit.

The spirit of money knows the souls …it controls!  

Other’s Untoward Words/Actions

When faith in God is linked to what people do and say,

Rather than having faith in Him, you have cursed yourself. ³

Love and serve people, but faith-wise, keep them on the shelf,

And forgive them when their sins impact your righteous way.

Delayed Answers to Prayers

What an oxymoron since God promises prayer answers!

Rather, this may evidence lack of faith-to-receive,

Or perhaps lack of knowledge and patience-to-perceive,

Answers through His Word, or sent via His saints or angels. ⁴

~0~

Faith hijackers! We encounter them on life’s proving ground.

Best we be forewarned and forearmed for the fight!

Such things arrive to test our Godly faith’s might.

Either you’ll bind them, or by them you’ll be helplessly bound. 

‘I have faith, so I am ok’, many people may think,

Thinking faith’s a monolith, one weapon for all fights in view.

If that’s true, The Bible would be thin, and God’s promises few!

Rather, like pay-per-view, God requires ‘faith-per-Truth’, in sync. ⁵

It is Father’s design that His Light within us,

Shines the  brightest  in life’s darkest circumstances.

That’s when He shows on-lookers the consequences,

And as they peer, in us, they may perceive Jesus.

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¹ Anecdotal: not necessarily true or reliable, but based on personal accounts rather than on facts or research.

In the greatest test of Peter’s faith, Jesus prayed that his faith would not fail, e.g., be hijacked by opposing spiritual forces that would prompt him to focus on his circumstances rather than on what Jesus had said. (Luke 22:32)

² In architecture, usually columns rest on the foundation to transfer to the foundation loads from slabs and beams. But floating columns rest on a beam. They are vertical members that rest on a beam, thus they do not transfer loads directly to the foundation. Rather, they act as point loads on a beam which, in turn, transfers the load to the columns below it. See: Floating Column in Buildings

My point: Politicians are not necessarily grounded or founded in existential reality, but in the shifting desires of their political base, and in the vicissitudes of political fights.

³ Thus says the Lord: ‘Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from The Lord.’ (Jeremiah 17:5)

⁴ Study and meditate on this: So Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Have the faith of God [have the God-kind of faith, applying it like He does]. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them (i.e., things conforming to God’s will for us). (Mark 11:22-24) By faith, we are to receive, when we pray, not believe we receive when we see the physical results of our prayers.

My tip: Practicing this, perfects God's faith within us....

Synopsis: God, through Jesus, created the Earth realm by and through faith, to work based on Godly faith. All things created BY God’s faith, are designed to RESPOND ...to Godly faith. Imagine that. Better yet, meditate on that!!!

⁵ See: Beliefs Oxymoronic (Poem) and also Hacked, Hijacked or Hack-Proofed? (Poem). A major reason The Bible is such a thick book (comprising 66 sub-books) is The Lord's obvious intentions:

(a) to give us, His righteous elect, a broad set of specific, faith-building and assuring promises covering every aspect of human life, and 

(b) to back-up each promise with a series of clear, relevant, good and bad examples keyed to these promises. Since faith is not a monolith, we need to be intentional to develop faith for each promise that is relevant to our lives. These are intended to trigger His 'demonstration effects'.

Ever considered that?? That is very likely why He allows a wide diversity of tests and trials to buffet us. The object lesson is for us to search for, then develop, and apply faith in His relevant promises, specific to that test and/or trial. Got it??

How Much Pride is Ok? (Poem)

See the Pride series here

See the Faith and Pride series here

Culture says it’s ok, even good to be proud,

To a degree, that is, beyond which, it is quite destructive.

So in our walk with The Lord, how much is allowed?

On this, to what extent is The Bible clear and instructive?

First…

Let’s ponder how the words, pride and proud, are closely connected.

Pride is a noun and a verb, while proud is an adjective.

Adjectives modify nouns, so with pride, proud is …‘infected’.

This infers that, with proud, we should be very attentive. ¹

There are indeed degrees of proud and pride,

Like relatives in a family that’s distant, yet ‘close’.

But with spiritual eyes opened wide,

Like kissing cousins is what I perceive Scriptures disclose.

Across The Bible, these two words are mostly used to signify,

Sinful wickedness against The Lord and all things righteous.

Only in a few verses is positivity typified.

To me, this suggests with them we should be very cautious.

The word, proud, is first mentioned in Job’s book, the first one written. 

It’s last mentioned in 1 Peter, a warning and remedy.

In Leviticus and 1 John, pride is first and last mentioned,

Speaking of the pride of power, and of a life that’s worldly. ²

Between the first and last of these noted mentions,

Lies a wealth of warnings, with both good and bad examples,

That ebb and flow over many generations,

A sandwich of sort, served to us, The Lord’s ‘now’ disciples.

By the spirit of pride, Lucifer became proud,

To the point of moving to dethrone The Lord,

Thus, as the first sin ever, pride is thus avowed,

And by Heaven, all ‘proudful-ness’ is abhorred. ³

Devils are highly deceptive, and we’re highly gullible.

With pride as their mother force, all their temptations to sin,

Must originate from this force, nodal and ‘root-a-mental’. 

Because we’re so gullible, their deceptive cloaks are thin.

‘A little leaven leavens the whole lump/loaf’, Paul twice exclaimed,

A vivid example of damage a bit of sin can do.

When put in the caldron of life, and devils turn up the flame,

A little pride and ‘proudful-ness’ e-x-p-a-n-d, and become a stew. ⁴

‘It’s ok to be proud of who you are’, some are taught.

The Bible flips this picture and central figure.

It says, ‘Don’t think of ourselves more highly than we ought.’

So then, of ourselves, how ‘highly’ ought we to think? ⁵

Jesus (pre-incarnate) clearly answers this question,

In His discourse with the weeping prophet, Jeremiah:

Ponder, then ask yourself if you embrace this doctrine,

From Him to Whom pride and the proud are …an anathema. 

“Let not the wise glory in his wisdom,

Let not the mighty glory in his might,

Nor let the rich glory in his riches;

But let him who glories, glory in this,

That he understands and knows Me,

That I am The Lord, exercising lovingkindness/grace

judgment, and righteousness in the Earth.

For in these I delight,” says The Lord.

(Jeremiah 9:23-24)

Apart from this rather narrow kind of proudful pride,

’God resists the proud, but to the humble, He gives Grace.’ ⁶

Though by the world this may generally be denied,

Please, not by us; nevertheless this review …just in case…

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¹ Pride is the quality or state of being proud. Proud ranges from having proper self-respect-to-having or displaying excessive self-esteem. (Merriam-Webster)

Pride refers to the satisfaction an individual gains from something. Proud, on the other hand, refers to the feeling of pride. See: Difference Between Pride and Proud

² See: Job 9:13, Habakkuk 2:4, 1 Peter 5:5, Leviticus 26:19 and 1 John 2:16

³ See: Mother of All Sins See also Bishop Johnson’s impressive credentials.
⁴ Paul’s references to leaven in Galatians 5:9 and 1 Corinthians 5:2 represent legalism and the sin of pride. See: What does it mean that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?

⁵ In context of Christ-followers renewing our minds to conform to The Mind of Christ, Paus wrote, ‘For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he oughtto think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith’ (Romans 12:3), i.e., faith to believe what He says in His Word, The Bible.

⁶ See: 1 Peter 5:5