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The Day of the Lord

Days

Commentator
The Day of the Lord

Days

If you read the prophets of the Old Testament, you keep seeing this same vision, predicting these events, throughout the entire 1000 years of writings. The prophets all differed according to their times and the concerns of those times, but they agreed on one item; the Day of the Lord was coming!

And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
Genesis 1:5


So what was that? The evening is the sun going down, the evening watch was 6-9pm, then you have the night watch 9-12pm, then you have the midnight watch 12pm-3am, then you have the morning watch 3-6am, the morning is when the sun comes up.

The day of the Lord begins with the setting sun. This was the end of the Age of Law, which Jesus ended when he nailed the ordinances to the cross. All through the Age of Law, the prophets kept the testimony of the Lord shining bright; the presence of the Lord was upon the prophets and concealed in the holy of holies, hiding in the Ark of the testament; finally these two were combined with Jesus, who was both the embodiment of God and the messiah; the anointed presence of his power. The Jews in Judah should have recognized Jesus from the scriptures, he was a continuation of the testimony of the Law, fulfilling it to the letter and shining it to the Gentiles. Jesus was the sunset of that day and age. But his appearing was also the beginning of the Day of the Lord.

Then came the night; the darkness; the Church Age. Just as the prophets testified against the priests and kings of the old testament, Jesus kept the faithful of the flock upon the watch tower of the church and they testified against the beast in Rome; that most the world recognized as his church, but Jesus called it Babylon and a whore and antiChrist. Before the dawn of the reformation, Jesus gave us a morning star, and his ministry led to the dawn of the new day...


John Wycliffe (1330-1384), called the Morning Star of the Reformation, spent most of his life teaching at Oxford University and was recognized by John of Guant (The Duke of Lancaster) as extraordinarily gifted in theology. He translated the Latin Vulgate Bible into English and placed it in the hands of the people. (Link)

Okay, so see this vision the same way the prophets delivered it to us; the entire Church Age (which runs from Jesus 1st coming to Jesus 2nd coming) is the time of his anointing; the personal work of his ministry; that anointing was the work of the prophets all through the days of the law under Moses, but now in these last days, it is all the work of the resurrected messiah; it is his anointing resting on the entire body of Christ; hence, the entire Age is all one work; this is his time; this is the day of his anointing; the Day of the Lord.



So, let's look back at the construction of the Day of the Lord as revealed by the Apocalypse of John, and let's align the time periods with the evening watch, night watch, midnight watch and morning watch... I'll put the watches in red to the right of the scrolls/letters.

Okay, so see the dispensation with me. A letter is written, which means an ambassador (angel) is sent out, the performance of the letter builds the church in that letter. In heaven there's the testimony of the holy spirit before the throne, the lamp of fire, which is the angel of the letter (the author and ambassador is the holy spirit), and there's also the church that is built up, the lampstand of testimony, which is the performance of the holy spirit in the saints. Since we are practically to the end of this prophecy/vision, we can map out the time line....

A door is opened and John is caught up into heaven, he is shown - in a vision - what will happen next on earth. Specifically, he is shown what God is going to do on earth, so he is shown the intentions of the holy spirit for the church Age. He is shown the building of the church - which is already in progress in 96 AD - followed by the Day of the Lord, the central theme of prophecy in the old testament. It is a progression, the same as a sun rising in the sky, first comes the night, then the new day, the 7 letters are the night, the seven seals are the new day.

This is pretty much how the years panned out...

first coming ........ 27-30 ............................... sunset

1st Letter ............. 30-96 ............................... evening watch (dusk)
2nd Letter ........... 96-225 ............................. night watch
3rd Letter ............ 225-600 .......................... night watch
4th Letter ............ 600-1390 ........................ midnight watch
5th Letter ............ 1390-1500 ....................... morning watch
6th Letter ............ 1500-1611 ........................ morning watch
7th Letter ............ 1611-1850 ........................ morning watch

1st Seal ................ 1850-1900 ....................... dawn
2nd Seal .............. 1900-1950 ....................... dawn
3rd Seal ............... 1950-2000 ...................... dawn
4th Seal ............... 2000-2016 ...................... dawn
5th Seal ............... 2016-2028 ...................... dawn
6th Seal ............... 2028 ............................... sunrise
7th Seal ................ 2028-2032 .................... 2nd coming

As revealed in the prophets; the Day of the Lord is the entire Church age, which is simply the evening, night, and morning; with the presence of the Lord depicted as the shining sun. Notice the 6th seal is the sign of the son of man; which is the tip of the sun rising above the horizon, while the 3 1/2 year ministry of the first coming is depicted as the setting sun and the 3 1/2 year ministry of the 2nd coming is depicted as the rising sun.
 
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Days

Commentator
Jen

What will that 2nd coming look like here.........to us?


Days

Well, first notice that I had a razor focus on the 3 1/2 year ministry... which is just the beginning of the 2nd coming. That should look very much like the first coming; the anointing of the God head resting upon a man born in the flesh... actually two men. But don't expect the same works as the first coming; Jesus healed the sick and raised the dead and gave sight to the blind (but never made the deaf hear) - Jesus preached the good news of salvation - the first coming revealed the grace of God upon all mankind... while the 2nd coming is in judgment of mankind and reveals the anger of God upon all of man's disobedience to the grace of God. If you ask me, the 2nd coming makes no sense in terms of revealing Jesus Christ, because it is a return to old testament works. But I guess that's because the 2nd coming is a visitation upon all the flesh that has rejected the first coming. So the 2nd coming ministry looks like old testament plagues and death and blistering anger and condemnation. It is easy to see why the flesh of the nations that is following the Beast and facing this anger from God, testified by these two messiahs, learn to hate the two witnesses.

There's a double dose of plagues for the Beast, after the antiChrist kills the 2 witnesses, they resurrect and ascend to heaven, from which another 3 1/2 years of plagues are poured out upon the flesh following the Beast. Finally, after that 2nd ministry from heaven, then the saints return with Christ to physically overthrow the government of the Beast... a government already set up in Israel today. That government will be located in Jerusalem, so watch for Israel to move their capital to Jerusalem, because it will happen.


Jen

I’ll probably be dead by then…...... so I'll have a safer vantage point.


Days

heh, If you dig deeper into the anointing, it begins in chapter 3 of Zechariah, with an early anointing upon the witness for the Son. His ministry extends from the 3rd seal on... and never really ends. Then, at the end of Zechariah chapter 4 we see the anointing of both witnesses; that's where the 3 ½ year ministry of the 2nd coming begins. All four witnesses (2 for Jesus and 2 for Satan) are walking around on the planet right now... and have been for most of your life, so you are by no means safe!

Look at the dawn of the new day; more and more light is pouring into the heavens as the sun gets closer and closer - the anointing of the high priest upon the witness for the Son (In Zechariah chapter 3) pours more light into the dawn at that moment when the feeling goes from light in the east to light in the whole sky. In the apocalypse, there is this angel rising in the east that lights the incense altar and casts the prayers of the saints as judgment upon the earth... the early part of that ministry is as a star rising in the east, the strengthening of the dawn light. We have all been part of that ministry, and the dawn is so strong now; the whole earth is filled with the light of the returning Christ; everyone knows it is coming.


So, if you stop to think about it, we have the presence of the Lord's anointing at work upon us already. That clothing of the high priesthood anointing happened Jan 1st, 1987... since that time, the heavenly priesthood of Jesus has been hard at work down here on earth, it's like an early return, minus the kingship. That's what psalm 87 was talking about when it said the most high himself would establish this current work; the manchild (baby boy) that gets produced is the direct product of this early ministry. This is the parousia of the Lord; his appearing, his presence; it is his spirit come forth from behind the veil, the daystar rising in our hearts; this is what gets unveiled.

So, outwardly, it is the dawning of a new day, but in our hearts it is an unveiling; the apocalypse of his anointing; the ministry of the high priest in the new Jerusalem, and we are the gates, the pearls, the doorway into the city. Jesus builds up 12, they each build up 12, and they become captains of a thousand... it is a dispensation, a calling to build the city, the city doesn't just appear from heaven, we have to build it; it is the ministry of his appearing. The man child is already raptured with building the new jerusalem... we are caught up in this ministry.

The mainstream religious corporations teach the rapture as if it was an event for the flesh; as if our bodies will float away or something ridiculous like that. Flesh and blood does not inherit the kingdom of God, it is our spirit that is caught up to the throne in heaven; and guess what? ... we are already raptured with our ministry to the body of Christ, we are already seated in heavenly places with Christ.

So, here in the 5th seal, we see 144,000 virgins from the 12 tribes of Israel being sealed with the spirit; actually, that is simply a Christian participation in the apocalypse ministry of our Lord. The Lord is come already, in spirit, the harvest is truly great, there's a lot of work to do, some few brothers and sisters are being chosen to build this manchild through the dispensation of his appearing. Lift up your heads and be lifted up! This work is at hand, don't wait for the 7th trumpet, by then this work will be over, we are called to be raptured with the work of his coming right now. Can I get a ram's horn? Blow the warning in Zion, wake up the sleeping lions, the day of the Lord is at hand, a day of grief and sorrow, a day of cloudiness and half light, a day of trouble and trial, but a day of great expectations, so let your spirit in you rise up! The Lord is here. Be ye ready, for he is come to judge the earth and to deliver his chosen.


Days


feed back from my better half...

The military watches were posted to watch for the enemy while the main army slept. David wrote in psalms "mine eyes prevented the morning" in the morning watch; meaning he got up before the dawn, just as he might have done for a morning watch. The morning star is the planet Venus, and it will appear in the morning sky around 2 AM-ish, so you see in the 4th letter (to Thyatira) that he promises the faithful to give them the morning star; that was why I stretched the 4th letter to 1390, to be sure it included Wycliffe. The whole idea was to give the vision context; so the reader can see why it was always referred to as "the day of the Lord" ... the entire construction of the church is one big dispensation (pouring out of the spirit)... God planted this seed in Mary and this entire church Age is what it produced; it all came from the one seed; it is all one big tree of life; when Jesus was hanging on the cross, he was shown what the release of the spirit would produce; he was given a vision of the entire church it would assemble; so he knew he wasn't dying in vain.

Yes, Jesus made the deaf to hear, but what I was thinking of was the Sanhedrin, the chiefs of the priests, the council, the elders of his generation who were entrusted with keeping the flame, Solomon lit, burning on the altar (I know, the Lord lit the altar with fire from heaven but it was Solomon's prayer, eh? And it was long gone by the time Jesus came... but you get the idea) ... when Jesus said, "hear O' Israel... the Lord thy God is one Lord" he wasn't just quoting scripture, he was asking those chief priests to hear what he was preaching. But he never opened their ears, they never received his words, they rejected him and his words and they were the ones who arranged for his crucifixion. So, that's what I was thinking when I said, he never made the deaf to hear; because those were the deaf that needed to hear. There are none so deaf as those who refuse to hear...
 
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Days

Commentator
more feed back from my better half...

I explained that this was the apology (in the making) God told me to write, and she asked, "what's an apology?" And I explained, it's like a dissertation, it's a theme paper of sorts written on a Christian theme... nothing is clicking... so she asks, "What's the difference between an apology, an epistle, a letter, a gospel, or a revelation?" And I answer, "Nothing, they are all inspiration."

We all partake of the same anointing, there's no difference between the fellowship between the Apostles and any other fellowship that took place in the body of Christ. There's no difference between the Christ anointing that rested on Jesus and the Christian anointing that rests on every member of Christ. If someone says the gifts of the holy spirit are measured to each member of the Body, while the fullness of the Holy Spirit rested on Christ... how can you measure God? Can five gallons of God perform more miracles than one quart? Is the holy spirit sevenfold what it was in Jesus day? Or is the holy spirit just doing seven times as much work? Does God get tired? Does God need to rest one day of every week?

Is this post I am making right now - I am dead tired and just want to go to sleep, but God is telling me to do this first - so it is another letter to my pen pals, right? - is this any different than any letter Paul wrote that Pamphilius ended up choosing to be part of the cannon? Do you think Paul wasn't tired or hungry or cold? Was Paul more filled with the holy spirit? Or was Paul's marching orders (commission) purer? ... from a higher command? Or is all fellowship the same... is all ministry in the body, the same spirit?

I know from experience what the Lord wants me to write, I know when something is inspired, I know when I am being told what to write versus giving my own opinion on a matter; but these things are what normally come upon any member of the body that is working in the ministry. My wife and myself have never had a job that paid us for working the ministry, but we have been active ministers the whole 25 years we've been together... the point being, it is perfectly normal to be writing an apology, an epistle, a letter, a gospel, or a revelation; this is what we do, we employ the gifts given us in the body, we live in the spirit, we are empowered by the spirit, we do the works of the spirit. Christian living hasn't changed any in the past 1985 years, we are still passing on the same breath that Jesus breathed on the Apostles after his resurrection, and we still labor under the same anointing that rested upon the Apostles at Pentecost.



Cherubs: Wheels, rims of eyes, and flaming swords


Cherubim are throughout the prophets, yet not really explained; the Bible acts like you know what Cherubs are all about… see, over there? Cherub. Be very afraid. Think: enforcement of God’s will; think government. Think: God is doing something, carrying out his will. When God is doing something, watch out, don’t get in front of where’s he is driving his army, don’t stand in between God and what he wants to do… “Get out of the way, Moses, I’m going to kill ‘em all, I’ll just grow another nation out of your seed” … now, that’s a very dangerous moment to speak up and oppose what God is doing. (hint: if you aren’t Moses, just stand clear).


Peter stood there, “No, no, no, don’t let them crucify you Lord” (think man, this is going to hurt something awful) … and Jesus mowed him over, “Move out of my path Satan, I’m coming through”. When you are facing the will of the Father, that’s almost never going to change, God thinks out all his actions in advance, so when it comes time to carry hidden desires out, that’s when the cherubim show up… time to stand clear.


I’m sure someone has gone looking for the cherub with the flaming sword and an entrance into Eden. Have you ever considered that the snake in the tree was just as much a cherub as the one with the flaming sword turning in every direction? This is the will of God. God had already created mankind and that species of man was “very good” … and not at all evil. Next, God creates a different species of man, and this man is both good and evil. He starts out good, then God inserts the nature of knowing both good and evil … what happened there? Was that bite from the snake the desire of God? Is the flaming sword and cherub, God’s way of saying he’s not repenting of this path for mankind? Did God repent later and flood the whole earth? Was the rainbow God’s way of saying he wouldn’t lose his temper again? And how did that work out? Isn’t the 2nd coming prophecy full to the brim with God’s anger at the nations and judgment upon the disobedient? And here we go with the cherubs again.


The Spirit of the cherubs is in their wheels. Whoa, these angels have wheels? No feet? Just wheels? If you have run with the footmen and they have tired you, what will you do in the day of horsemen? And if the days of global war and tribulation are too much for you; what are you going to do when the cherub show up? Cherub run on wheels. And they have a wheel within a wheel; I designed hoist gearing like that, that inner wheel is spinning real fast, and that outer wheel is moving nice and slow but it is not going to be stopped… when the cherub are moving, their wings are flapping, imagine four giant helicopter blades, imagine the noise, imagine the wind, imagine the heat, and that inner wheel is spinning and no doubt smoke is rising and the eyes are set on rings up high and are like laser beams of light piercing all creation headed off in every direction… God’s will is like that. So, when God says, he has thought about repenting of carrying out the plagues (in John’s apocalypse - everything was laid down first by the prophets of old) – and I have talked at length to Jesus about this – and God says he has decided he isn’t going to repent, he is going to carry it all out… look, this is no laughing matter. This vision comes right from the crystal sea throne in the clouds and there are 4 cherubs holding up God’s intentions… that’s God’s way of saying he is bound and determined to see this through. So, I asked him years ago, “1/3 of mankind dies? In one stinking plague? Isn’t that a tad rash?” … “ I mean, really! One out 3 humans on the earth dies??” And he said simply, “Day, they all are going to die, eventually, everyone who is born, dies.” I guess you might call that a heavenly perspective. After that, it’s just a matter of how you want them to go. When you get right down to it… what difference does it make? Mankind makes a big deal of death, as if it is something awful and it shouldn’t happen… but it happens anyway, sooner or later.
 

Days

Commentator
Jen said:

Well (and this is just me complaining) I feel like this is hell and I'm living out the tribulation.
I agree with you about the rapture.


Jen said:

I know what you mean here.
I can tell the difference between my inspired writing and my own - as I'm writing it.
Either way, everything I write reeks of frustration. I can't get away from the frustration, despair, and realization that even those with ears will not hear.


Jen said:

Keep writing, Days.
I will read whether anyone else does or not.



Days

It was the same anointing that was telling me what to write, totally focused on the material, nothing about me, if you look at my first apology - I never even signed it - but as I was finishing it, the spirit told me to get personal, spill some guts, give yourself away. I understood why he wanted that. John does the same thing at the end of his gospel. For this apology, it was totally different, it was as if the holy spirit was leaking the apology right from the gitgo, and I didn't even realize it. I made the conscious decision to use this format; literally toss it up in posts, make it a work interacting with the body... the last one was somewhat, but then it was my wife and a brother editing the opening, I wrote that one in a word document and transferred it online... this one has a whole lot less control, this one is being written online and transferred to a word doc. I'm pretty sure I lose the copyright doing it this way, but I doubt that is going to much matter, no one is going to chase after me for making copies of my own writing (I hope not!). But I totally get your frustration, I have 3 decades of the same, God has a way of stopping all the flow on all our good ideas, so when he finally opens up the lockes and the water comes rushing in, there's no bloody doubt that he is doing it. That was a big reason for doing it this way, I wanted everyone to share in the experience, not so much to have the experience as simply to see it happening as it is happening, to realize that the holy spirit works this way, because today, no one believes the holy spirit works any more, everyone thinks God did something miraculous 2000 years ago and that was the end of it; local churches try to repeat the mistakes of the first church... instead of building on top of it.

I had a crown put in last Saturday, I've been sick all week and what a headache - the old noggin felt like shattered glass - and I've been working night and day, which was weird for a summer week, we should be slow - so what does God do? He chooses moments when my brain is pure mush, not a single neuron firing in a single brain cell, and he tells me; start writing. He did this last time also, seize that moment when I have zero inspiration and no desire for the work whatsoever, first he has to get past me, keep my hand from ruining the painting, I'm a talented writer, I am prone to jumping in there; I understand that, believe me, no one wants Damian to stay out of it more than Damian, so when I only have 4 hours of sleep before the morning limo run, and feeling like death by a wood chipper - recrushed 3 times - and the holy spirit says, go write a post before you fall asleep; I understand why he is doing that.

My fear in sharing it this way, making it so personal, is that people will misunderstand, read the letter from Paul and miss the holy spirit. I'll betcha, if we had all the other letters Paul wrote in his lifetime, I'll bet we would immediately notice the difference when the inspiration was strong; Paul noticed it, and trust me, wow, do I notice it, no one knows better than me how much God is writing this, how strong the presence is, how strong the winds are that are blowing in my ship sails, there is a reason the gospels and epistles were all written when the Apostles were much older; it takes decades of discipline to allow yourself into the writing without taking over; tell the story but stay out of the telling of it, do the work but not be in control of it... I am just reaching this point in my Christian walk, I was saved 36 years ago and have preached all over this nation, I trained for ministry 32 years ago and I can tell you, ministry is non-stop 24/7, it tires you out, ministry is the hardest work I do, maybe not for money, but we work for the Lord, ministry is not for money anyway, not the real work, and we have reached the point where we don't remember 1/10th all the work, who cares? ... work never ends, we live and breathe to do the work, when Paul was in the cell he asked Timothy to bring his cloak (he was cold) and the parchments - but especially the parchments - because you realize that it takes a helluva lot of experience and work before you get to the point where the holy spirit can use you to write with, where you can be poured out, where you can be tapped for all that service you gave.

Jen, I told my wife I am like the elephants, I need to be prodded, I need to be poked with those pricks, who is going to do that for you? No one in the world, that's for sure. I was praying that you or Emily would give this thread some input, it was a HUGE encouragement for me, and also the holy spirit was telling me to write about this aspect, this is a type of rapture that goes unnoticed, but this is the type of rapture that gives us scripture, gives us written fellowship, I have no use for Christian books written by authors, sold in the marketplace, full of somebody's genius, passion, and let's face it; flesh. If somebody put it up for sale; it was their flesh. I can not fathom anyone who knows the holy spirit well enough, to be used to write scripture, turning around and selling it for money. I guess the one prophet; Balaam was it? ... did that. I'm pretty sure that was the last time God put up with that, and Balaam had a donkey start talking to him, and hurt him too, so God let him know he wasn't pleased with it. It is the Lord's work, it isn't for our profit, it is for the body. Every day, my wife gets up and does the Lord's work, and a fresh work of art is produced, and she e-mails it out, as we live and breathe. Young Christians all want to toss a mountain into the sea, what for? They want the power, they want to do great things... the holy spirit wants us to minister to the saints, to forget about ourselves and take care of the members of the body... eventually, you get poured out, maybe some day, you really need to toss a mountain into the sea, but if it happens, it will just be because God is trying to make a believer out of some hard heart, not to show off how great we are. The work of the holy spirit is for the body, when I was young, the holy spirit thrust me into the preaching, you preach the word, not yourself, no one is going to be saved by you talking about yourself, now I am old, and my bones are brittle, there is a lot of pain, the idea of leaving this world sounds better every day, but before I go, God is telling me to do this, I'm not sure what else he has in mind, but it is an outpouring, he is tapping all those years in the ministry, and he does that with the saints, he is doing it with you also, don't be frustrated, it never happens the way we think it should happen.


Jen

Some random thoughts that came to mind:
- If someone sells their "inspired" writing, it (to me anyway) ruins it. Soils it. If I am ever so fortunate as to receive inspiration I would never want to be paid for it.

- My being inspired is tiny as far as I know... and afterwards I usually convince myself that I made up the idea that it may have been inspired. Even if I can see the difference, I know I'm too insignificant for that.

- Him choosing the moments when your brain is pure mush makes a lot of sense. I am sure that my mind fights its way into any possible inspired moment (without intending to, but doing it nonetheless).

Keep writing.
It's important.


Days

Our carnal mind reasons that it must be strong and fresh and full of passion to write for the Lord. Kind of like Gideon bringing 30,000 to battle. We can do the Lord's work out of our own strength; heck, we don't even need the Lord to show up for the battle, we'vc got enough strength to win on our own. And our wallets need to be stuffed to keep up the good work; so won't you send money to support our ministry? And we price our books reasonable so even the poor in Christ can afford to support our ministry, right?

It doesn't just taint the work of the holy spirit; it completely obliterates any presence of God whatsoever. Jesus flat out hates it, and won't go anywhere near it.
 
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Days

Commentator
Epilogue

to recapture the vision of the unveiling; first, let's remember what the idea of "unveiling" (apocalypse) is aimed at:
  • old testament prophecy was sealed until the last days.
  • the removing of the seals was equal to lifting the veil over our hearts that kept us from understanding the words.
  • the apocalypse, then, is not so much the fulfillment of prophecy as it is the revealing of prophecy... it is an enlightenment.
Luke 24:45 Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,

to see the Day of the Lord, let's focus on the anointing itself, that became known as "the seed of Christ". Messiah refers to the person anointed, let's ignore the persons involved and concentrate on the anointing itself. So, this seed of anointing was planted in Mary and it grew... and it grew... and it grew... first, the anointing brings forth the man Jesus; then, it is released through death and resurrection and it brought forth the church; finally, within the church - in these last days of the dispensation - it is bringing forth another man child; which is going to be the government in the coming kingdom.

The Day of the Lord is really a razor sharp focus on the bringing forth of the manchild; which is to say, the bringing forth of the kingdom. The kingdom arrives as an anointing planted inside Mary, released to the church via death and resurrection, and then organized in the saints during the last days of the church Age. It is the organic growth of that anointing; the seed brings forth a tree of life which is established through death and resurrection and manifestation on earth of that anointing.

That anointing is performing all the events prophesied in scripture; there is a definite plan and process that is being followed. If you focus on the anointing itself, you see what God is doing, and what he intends to do in the immediate future, because we live in the days of the manchild, the kingdom is being formed inside us, right now. That kingdom is the same anointing that God first gave to Saul and then took off of Saul and placed on David... and eventually replanted it in Mary. The seed of Christ is the kingdom anointing, and very shortly it will bring forth the kingdom on earth, but it starts inside us. And it goes through a process. It started in Mary as a re-planting of the anointing that rested upon David; so God took his laws (his government) and planted them in our hearts. The kingdom grows up inside us and brings forth it's nature; the fruit of it's maturation in us, is the ruling of the spirit; so we walk in the ways of the spirit as it transforms our hearts and minds; the new nature it produces in us, is the kingdom of God. A kingdom is just the domain of a king; and a domain is whatever area the king is ruling over; when our hearts are ruled by the holy spirit, we become part of the holy spirit's domain; we enter the kingdom of God.

The anointing that becomes the kingdom had to go through a process to produce the end result...

Luke 24:

46 And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:

47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

48 And ye are witnesses of these things.

49 And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.



Revelation 12:

1 And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:

2 And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.

3 And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.

4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.

5 And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.



The First Resurrection
Many are called but few are chosen... for the first resurrection. Let's jump forward to the assembly of the army of the Lord. The 3 1/2 year testimony of the 2 witnesses has ended, the beast has killed them both and left them to rot in the streets of Jerusalem, the spirit of the Lord has re-entered their bodies and both have ascended to heaven in the sight of all the city. The 7th trumpet sounds in heaven and the Lion of the tribe of Judah is standing before the throne, receiving his commission for a 1000 year rule on earth. The Son of God then descends from heaven with a shout and hisses (a short whistle) for his army...

What is assembled is the portion of the church that is chosen to rule with Christ in the kingdom, the dead in Christ rise first, then the living followers of the 2 witnesses - who no doubt are about to be attacked next by the beast - are added to the mix. These are the saints who will rule with Christ on earth, and the last to be resurrected shall be first in the kingdom; IOW, the 144,000 following the 2 witnesses that are caught up in the first resurrection alive, are at the head of the army. It really doesn't matter whether they are bodily raptured; Paul said when he was standing before the throne, that he couldn't tell if he was in his body or not; but the saints on earth that went to bury his dead body after the stoning, knew his body was still here. Either way, whether in their bodies or only in spirit, the 144,000 are caught up to the throne, and they are still alive. What's really crazy is the 3 1/2 years of the first rule of the reformed Roman Kingdom passes, and the entire civilization of man's self rule is crushed by the saints, and the kingdom is given to the saints... whoa, think! The 144,000 are still alive! The violent take the kingdom by force.

So, the first resurrection is the assembly of the kingdom saints. Maybe only 1/10th of the church is chosen to reign on earth with Christ for the 1000 year rule. The rest of the church is sitting on the sidelines, not participating, not living on earth with the Lord, they have to wait for the 1000 year kingdom to end. My understanding is that when Christ assembles his church, he judges and chooses right then (the judgment seat of Christ) separates out the saints for the kingdom, then adds the living 144,000... then sets the entire living church in a secret place on earth to ride out the next 3 1/2 years of plagues tossed at the beast. Where are the 144,000 during those 3 1/2 years of plagues tossed at the beast? In heaven or on earth? I'm thinking they are still alive, so they are hid with the rest of the seed of Christ (on earth). But their spirit remains resurrected, they remain raptured, they never depart heaven, they stay with the Lord, for them death is going to be a physical transformation to their spiritual body, the time for burying the dead will be over for those who die in the Lord, that should apply to all who are chosen in the 1000 year kingdom; death will be a transformation into a spiritual body; I don't see any need for a corpse ... there wasn't any corpse left from Jesus' resurrection.
 
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Days

Commentator
Jen

Kind of confusing. So the 144,000 are still here somewhere and they know who they are and what they must do? And the thousand-year reign is just with them, not everyone?



Days


There's no 144,000 virgins popping up in Israel... there is a dispensation; an outpouring of the spirit. There is a river of waters of life flowing from the throne. There is a household economy/administration supplying the holy spirit to the church. There is these two olive branches pouring oil into the lampstand. There is a ministry of the holy spirit unveiling our eyes to understand the scriptures. That ministry is pouring the holy spirit into us, so the unveiling happens as we grow in the Lord. As we are poured into, we pour out into others, so we are built up and we build others up and the holy spirit multiplies. Eventually, what is produced is the 144,000 - which might be just a number - but what is produced is this new church within a church; the manchild. That's why I said, the kingdom doesn't just appear - sure, in the vision it just appears - but in real life we have to build it; we abide in the vine and grow into the manchild, it is a dispensation, a pouring out of the spirit.

The 1000 year reign of the kingdom - technically, the return of the kingdom of David - which rules the whole earth, is led by saints returning with the Lord. That is not the entire church. Only the saints who are full grown in the spirit, who have the nature of Christ, who produce fruit, are fit for the 1000 year kingdom, the rest are put on the sidelines (outer darkness) and don't live again until the 1000 years are up. Again, that 1000 years may be just a number, then again, the first resurrection might take place exactly 2000 years to the hour and day when Jesus resurrected... even if that happens, who would know the day and hour? No one.


Days


Want to talk about the war in heaven. First of all; John writes something that tells you there was a struggle; there was time involved... Jesus and the other prophets told us about how it ends; Satan is cast down to the earth, but that is the ending of the war, have you stopped to consider the war, itself? If "there was war in heaven" then when did that take place? It took place just prior to Satan being cast to the earth, and when did that happen? It happens at the end of the 42 month testimony of the 2 witnesses. So, let's look back at my timeline; right now we are in the 5th seal, this takes us up to the end, then the 6th seal is just the sign of the son of man in heaven (2027-2028) or possible just 2028... then the end comes - the 7th seal - which comprises of 7 trumpets for the first 42 months, then 7 vials of plagues for the last 42 months. Satan is cast down to earth in 2032 for the 42 month testimony of the antiChrist. So if there is war in heaven ending with the advent of the antiChrist, when does it begin? It begins with this struggle that we are witnessing that will result in the antiChrist taking the throne. It begins with the 4th seal; the great tribulation. It begins with the vision in Zachariah chapter one...

7 Upon the four and twentieth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Sebat, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying, 8 I saw by night, and behold a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees that were in the bottom; and behind him were there red horses, speckled, and white. 9 Then said I, O my lord, what arethese? And the angel that talked with me said unto me, I will shew thee what these be. 10 And the man that stood among the myrtle trees answered and said, These are they whom the LORD hath sent to walk to and fro through the earth. 11 And they answered the angel of the LORD that stood among the myrtle trees, and said, We have walked to and fro through the earth, and, behold, all the earth sitteth still, and is at rest.

So the horses of the 2nd and 3rd seal have already walked the earth and now they are ready to perform the 4th seal. And it is kicked off by the towers falling in NYC. So, while we went through the 4th seal, the time of great tribulation, there was war in heaven. Now, that war in heaven is still going on, it continues right up until the middle of the 7th seal when satan is cast out of heaven. (So, when the Lord said he saw satan cast out of heaven... that meant he saw it in a vision)

So what does it mean, "war in heaven"? It means there is a spiritual struggle going on.

Now, let's look back at Genesis, and think about the whole story of mankind. God created man from the ground and put the spirit of life in him. And this man was "very good". This first man went forth and multiplied and built civilization all over the planet. There was no evil. There was a covering cherub over the throne in heaven and that cherub was not in rebellion against God, there was no spiritual force of evil at work amongst mankind. For all we know, mankind existed for millions of years and the entire earth lived in perfect harmony and peace and there was no crime, no hatred, no wars, no poverty, life was very good. And I guess the average life span was 1000 years.

Then God created the man Adam and a different spirit is placed inside the man. A spirit of good and evil. No more very good, and now we have evil present. Fast forward to about 10,000 years ago and the earth is struck by a small moon and turns over and new latitudes are set up and man's lifespan reduces to 600 years, then 500 years, then 400 years, until Abraham comes along and lives only 180 years... by the time of Moses it is 120 years... and now it is more like 70-80 years.
 

Days

Commentator
Psalm 90

A prayer of Moses the man of God.

1 Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations.

2 Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

3 You turn people back to dust, saying, “Return to dust, you mortals.”

4 A thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night.

5 Yet you sweep people away in the sleep of death — they are like the new grass of the morning:

6 In the morning it springs up new, but by evening it is dry and withered.

7 We are consumed by your anger and terrified by your indignation.

8 You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence.

9 All our days pass away under your wrath; we finish our years with a moan.

10 Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures; yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away.



We were born into this world where the spirit of man is good and evil, and the god of this world conducts civilization through constant war, strife, and sorrow. We live in a moment when the Lord Jesus and his angels are struggling with satan and his angels to cleanse heaven of their spirit. John's vision tells us that after satan is cast down to earth he has a short time (42 months) then the devil is taken and locked up in a bottomless pit.

8 And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things? 9 And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. 10 Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand. 11 And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. 12 Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days. 13 But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.


So what will life on earth be like, once that satan is locked up in the bottomless pit? The lives of the beasts were pro-longed for a season, meaning that the political earth inherited by the saints remains the same; the nations remain intact, and we rule by a rod of iron, which simply refers to the Roman Empire, hence, we take over the earth as it is, in the condition it is in, after satan rules the reformed Roman Empire out of Jerusalem for 42 months. Prophecy in Jeremiah says there is a struggle of sorts when the Lord Jesus rides in with the saints, the antiChrist puts up a war against the saints, all his armies are cast against the saints, in the valley of megiddo (armageddon) but the saints dissolve his armies and the beast is taken and cast alive into the lake of fire. According to the above passage in Daniel chapter 12, the war in armageddon lasts 45 days, or, maybe it is 45 days from the beginning of that war until the first day of the reign of the saints.

So there is a spiritual struggle, followed by peace. Real peace, peace like we have not known since the former creation, when mankind was very good and there was no evil. That's the peace of the coming kingdom.
 

Jen

Senator
Now, to be able to step back and watch, say the right thing at the right time. To not get wrapped up in personal minutiae so much that we miss what's important.

I may have more to say about this whole thing, but this is it for now.
Thank you, @Days .
This is a more important read to me than anything else is.
When you have it to write, share it here.
 

JackDallas

Senator
Supporting Member
The Day of the Lord

Days

If you read the prophets of the Old Testament, you keep seeing this same vision, predicting these events, throughout the entire 1000 years of writings. The prophets all differed according to their times and the concerns of those times, but they agreed on one item; the Day of the Lord was coming!

And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
Genesis 1:5


So what was that? The evening is the sun going down, the evening watch was 6-9pm, then you have the night watch 9-12pm, then you have the midnight watch 12pm-3am, then you have the morning watch 3-6am, the morning is when the sun comes up.

The day of the Lord begins with the setting sun. This was the end of the Age of Law, which Jesus ended when he nailed the ordinances to the cross. All through the Age of Law, the prophets kept the testimony of the Lord shining bright; the presence of the Lord was upon the prophets and concealed in the holy of holies, hiding in the Ark of the testament; finally these two were combined with Jesus, who was both the embodiment of God and the messiah; the anointed presence of his power. The Jews in Judah should have recognized Jesus from the scriptures, he was a continuation of the testimony of the Law, fulfilling it to the letter and shining it to the Gentiles. Jesus was the sunset of that day and age. But his appearing was also the beginning of the Day of the Lord.

Then came the night; the darkness; the Church Age. Just as the prophets testified against the priests and kings of the old testament, Jesus kept the faithful of the flock upon the watch tower of the church and they testified against the beast in Rome; that most the world recognized as his church, but Jesus called it Babylon and a whore and antiChrist. Before the dawn of the reformation, Jesus gave us a morning star, and his ministry led to the dawn of the new day...


John Wycliffe (1330-1384), called the Morning Star of the Reformation, spent most of his life teaching at Oxford University and was recognized by John of Guant (The Duke of Lancaster) as extraordinarily gifted in theology. He translated the Latin Vulgate Bible into English and placed it in the hands of the people. (Link)

Okay, so see this vision the same way the prophets delivered it to us; the entire Church Age (which runs from Jesus 1st coming to Jesus 2nd coming) is the time of his anointing; the personal work of his ministry; that anointing was the work of the prophets all through the days of the law under Moses, but now in these last days, it is all the work of the resurrected messiah; it is his anointing resting on the entire body of Christ; hence, the entire Age is all one work; this is his time; this is the day of his anointing; the Day of the Lord.



So, let's look back at the construction of the Day of the Lord as revealed by the Apocalypse of John, and let's align the time periods with the evening watch, night watch, midnight watch and morning watch... I'll put the watches in red to the right of the scrolls/letters.

Okay, so see the dispensation with me. A letter is written, which means an ambassador (angel) is sent out, the performance of the letter builds the church in that letter. In heaven there's the testimony of the holy spirit before the throne, the lamp of fire, which is the angel of the letter (the author and ambassador is the holy spirit), and there's also the church that is built up, the lampstand of testimony, which is the performance of the holy spirit in the saints. Since we are practically to the end of this prophecy/vision, we can map out the time line....

A door is opened and John is caught up into heaven, he is shown - in a vision - what will happen next on earth. Specifically, he is shown what God is going to do on earth, so he is shown the intentions of the holy spirit for the church Age. He is shown the building of the church - which is already in progress in 96 AD - followed by the Day of the Lord, the central theme of prophecy in the old testament. It is a progression, the same as a sun rising in the sky, first comes the night, then the new day, the 7 letters are the night, the seven seals are the new day.

This is pretty much how the years panned out...

first coming ........ 27-30 ............................... sunset

1st Letter ............. 30-96 ............................... evening watch (dusk)
2nd Letter ........... 96-225 ............................. night watch
3rd Letter ............ 225-600 .......................... night watch
4th Letter ............ 600-1390 ........................ midnight watch
5th Letter ............ 1390-1500 ....................... morning watch
6th Letter ............ 1500-1611 ........................ morning watch
7th Letter ............ 1611-1850 ........................ morning watch

1st Seal ................ 1850-1900 ....................... dawn
2nd Seal .............. 1900-1950 ....................... dawn
3rd Seal ............... 1950-2000 ...................... dawn
4th Seal ............... 2000-2016 ...................... dawn
5th Seal ............... 2016-2028 ...................... dawn
6th Seal ............... 2028 ............................... sunrise
7th Seal ................ 2028-2032 .................... 2nd coming

As revealed in the prophets; the Day of the Lord is the entire Church age, which is simply the evening, night, and morning; with the presence of the Lord depicted as the shining sun. Notice the 6th seal is the sign of the son of man; which is the tip of the sun rising above the horizon, while the 3 1/2 year ministry of the first coming is depicted as the setting sun and the 3 1/2 year ministry of the 2nd coming is depicted as the rising sun.
 

Days

Commentator
Now, to be able to step back and watch, say the right thing at the right time. To not get wrapped up in personal minutiae so much that we miss what's important.

I may have more to say about this whole thing, but this is it for now.
Thank you, @Days .
This is a more important read to me than anything else is.
When you have it to write, share it here.
I want to write this, while I listen to Francisco's opera...

I've lived my Christian life by the faith that the holy spirit came inside me, May 13, 1981, when I asked him to come into my heart. The miracle of light coming back into my eyes - after the darkness that sat there for so long (from the drugs I did) - I remember that miracle, whenever I doubt, and when I'm sure I've lost the path, I remember that light that came back into my eyes.

After I fumbled through assembling this thread into an apology; my first apology I wrote about the two aspects of the holy spirit at my wife's and a brother/friend of the family's request... crazy enough, it was a subject that sprang up while posting on the fray with a nic called "culture warrior" - and I remember posting to him, "you've got your works and fruit all mixed up" - all I really knew at that point in time was the two ideas in scripture... then JackDallas took me aside in BotF and questioned me more about it, so I started to pray and think about it, then when it came up again in my own living room, I had a ready comparison of the two, but still, when I went to write the apology, had no idea whatsoever what I was doing, the writing took off on its own, I never really wrote what I wanted to write, I wanted it to follow a structured format, I wanted precision, I wanted it engineered, that's my idea how to make something clear, I'm an industrialist, I've been a surveyor, I design complicated stuff, I've got a stack of drawings of a monster hoist sitting on a little table behind my back, I expected to do that apology in an outline, I tried to make an outline, and the holy spirit told me to throw it away, he'll write the apology for me. And he did, so much so, he gave me all the chapter headings in advance and I was like, "what is this? what is this about? If I'm writing this paper, shouldn't I, at least, have some idea what it is about?" And he answered with one word, "No".

So, after I assembled the thread into this apology, I realized that I had done that before and supposedly this apology was finished, so it began without me realizing it (Sunday Morning Coffee thread) and it continued without me realizing it... and I couldn't even remember what was in there, and again, I was totally exhausted and just followed basic mechanics, I didn't reread a single word; ask Jack if he ever proofed and assembled a writing without reading it. And I put it out like that, and I had to go back and ask Emily for her addy cuz I don't have those for anyone except justoffal and Jen, and I sent Emily both apologies and Snowflakes, because Snowflakes was pure inspiration, and then, I went back and read the apology, and was totally unsurprised to discover that it read and flowed as if it was constructed and planned out as a whole, when was this begun? Top post for Sunday Morning Coffee was October 25, 2015.

It's the Lord's work, he does it, we are just vessels.

my last PM to Emily:

I'll tell ya, when I was young, I asked for the gift of healing, but I was given the gift of evangelism, instead. And, you know, the gift of evangelism comes with a great big boot, you get thrust into the work. Quietly, the holy spirit also taught me textual criticism and told me to read the prophets. I was never a teacher, I never expected to be told to write a couple of apologies in my old age. I credit these nuts with teaching me to write, I started posting on the fray - 2002 I think, not sure - and learned from so many writers all kinds of stuff, it was kind of a baptism by fire. After time, you learn to recognize when someone has a voice, when someone is really contributing, the forum is a mosaic of those voices. It was a thrill for me watching you add your voice to the mix. You are a very good poster.

I understand that the 2 apologies (Day of the Lord and Expectation of Faith) were written by the holy spirit and by the body of Christ. I understand he's the author. For the 2nd one, I also want to add the forum into that mix.
 

JackDallas

Senator
Supporting Member
I want to write this, while I listen to Francisco's opera...



I've lived my Christian life by the faith that the holy spirit came inside me, May 13, 1981, when I asked him to come into my heart. The miracle of light coming back into my eyes - after the darkness that sat there for so long (from the drugs I did) - I remember that miracle, whenever I doubt, and when I'm sure I've lost the path, I remember that light that came back into my eyes.

After I fumbled through assembling this thread into an apology; my first apology I wrote about the two aspects of the holy spirit at my wife's and a brother/friend of the family's request... crazy enough, it was a subject that sprang up while posting on the fray with a nic called "culture warrior" - and I remember posting to him, "you've got your works and fruit all mixed up" - all I really knew at that point in time was the two ideas in scripture... then JackDallas took me aside in BotF and questioned me more about it, so I started to pray and think about it, then when it came up again in my own living room, I had a ready comparison of the two, but still, when I went to write the apology, had no idea whatsoever what I was doing, the writing took off on its own, I never really wrote what I wanted to write, I wanted it to follow a structured format, I wanted precision, I wanted it engineered, that's my idea how to make something clear, I'm an industrialist, I've been a surveyor, I design complicated stuff, I've got a stack of drawings of a monster hoist sitting on a little table behind my back, I expected to do that apology in an outline, I tried to make an outline, and the holy spirit told me to throw it away, he'll write the apology for me. And he did, so much so, he gave me all the chapter headings in advance and I was like, "what is this? what is this about? If I'm writing this paper, shouldn't I, at least, have some idea what it is about?" And he answered with one word, "No".

So, after I assembled the thread into this apology, I realized that I had done that before and supposedly this apology was finished, so it began without me realizing it (Sunday Morning Coffee thread) and it continued without me realizing it... and I couldn't even remember what was in there, and again, I was totally exhausted and just followed basic mechanics, I didn't reread a single word; ask Jack if he ever proofed and assembled a writing without reading it. And I put it out like that, and I had to go back and ask Emily for her addy cuz I don't have those for anyone except justoffal and Jen, and I sent Emily both apologies and Snowflakes, because Snowflakes was pure inspiration, and then, I went back and read the apology, and was totally unsurprised to discover that it read and flowed as if it was constructed and planned out as a whole, when was this begun? Top post for Sunday Morning Coffee was October 25, 2015.

It's the Lord's work, he does it, we are just vessels.

my last PM to Emily:

I'll tell ya, when I was young, I asked for the gift of healing, but I was given the gift of evangelism, instead. And, you know, the gift of evangelism comes with a great big boot, you get thrust into the work. Quietly, the holy spirit also taught me textual criticism and told me to read the prophets. I was never a teacher, I never expected to be told to write a couple of apologies in my old age. I credit these nuts with teaching me to write, I started posting on the fray - 2002 I think, not sure - and learned from so many writers all kinds of stuff, it was kind of a baptism by fire. After time, you learn to recognize when someone has a voice, when someone is really contributing, the forum is a mosaic of those voices. It was a thrill for me watching you add your voice to the mix. You are a very good poster.

I understand that the 2 apologies (Day of the Lord and Expectation of Faith) were written by the holy spirit and by the body of Christ. I understand he's the author. For the 2nd one, I also want to add the forum into that mix.
There is a Christian song called Home Free and the first line is: I'm trying hard not to think you unkind (speaking of God). Most Christians, I think, would be hard pressed to utter those words, much less the experience the emotion. But, whether I am just weak or jaded, or God is purposely slow to act as a test of our faith, I don't know. But I have often had to struggle with the problem expressed in the first line of that song. Sometimes God can seem cruel, silent, uncaring and almost as if he is toying with us. He always provides a path for us through the struggle but sometimes in the moment we can feel alone. I never stay there long but it does happen. It is God's grace that weathers the storm.
 

Days

Commentator
There is a Christian song called Home Free and the first line is: I'm trying hard not to think you unkind (speaking of God). Most Christians, I think, would be hard pressed to utter those words, much less the experience the emotion. But, whether I am just weak or jaded, or God is purposely slow to act as a test of our faith, I don't know. But I have often had to struggle with the problem expressed in the first line of that song. Sometimes God can seem cruel, silent, uncaring and almost as if he is toying with us. He always provides a path for us through the struggle but sometimes in the moment we can feel alone. I never stay there long but it does happen. It is God's grace that weathers the storm.
In the Living Stream Ministry, where I trained for ministry, they spoke about the need to be broken. I think it was a little extreme... Not, however, more extreme than St Paul, who, let's face it, needed to be broken. Those guys in the ministry were a hoot, they would preach, "God has a plan for your life: the cross". Little by little, day by day, we are broken down and replaced by the holy spirit... if God likes us... well, it's more like, if God wants to use us.

Yeah, as a young Christian my favorite chapter in the Bible was Jeremiah's Lamentations chapter 3... and not for the verse, "It's by the Lord's mercy that we are not consumed, the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never fade away, they are new every morning" ... no, no, no, it was my favorite chapter because of all the verses leading up to that verse, because the prophet suffered like hell, especially when they tossed him in the well to die (Jeremiah and Jonah and Paul were each killed and resurrected during their ministry) and you can't find verses like those in chapter 3, just laying around in history, there's not many men that could write those verses.

So, getting through the first decade, which included being homeless twice, I clung to this song..

then, I got married and had a son, and immediately it fell apart and my only son was taken from me and raised and was told he had no father, and the Lord told me to just accept it and let it go, and I clung to this song to get through that...

I tell my son (by my 2nd marriage) that the Lord is a ... Son ... Of ... A ... Bitch (it's in the way you say it) that he's not messing around and we are not living in easy times. So, in addition to his 16 credit hours at UIC college of engineering, this semester, he's also the public relations chair for the Society of Professional Hispanic Engineers UIC chapter - his 2nd year elected and he's training his replacement - and also works 2 jobs on the side; in the engineering department MERRP program, and also works as a TA (teacher assistant). I did not raise this child the same way my military father raised me, I raised him in Jesus and the word of God. But I never sugar coated the word, I taught him what it really means, the scriptures deal with the real world, preachers sugar coat the word because they want to use them to make money, but if you just preach the straight word, people get saved, and your kid grows up to be a serious young man and a hard worker, I never disciplined him the way my father did me. He turns 21 in November.

Jack, God uses you. And I will say it to you the same as I always told my son; the Lord is tough on those he uses, real tough.

You don't get fruit from a young tree. Nor a young christian. Fruit is hard to come by. It takes years of suffering, years of replacement, years of dying to ourselves, and the Spirit comes slowly, one day at a time, and like Jeremiah wrote: the Lord was an enemy, the Lord marked us as a target for his arrows and pierced us through with his anger... or as I tell my son, well, you know.
 

Jen

Senator
I want to write this, while I listen to Francisco's opera...



I've lived my Christian life by the faith that the holy spirit came inside me, May 13, 1981, when I asked him to come into my heart. The miracle of light coming back into my eyes - after the darkness that sat there for so long (from the drugs I did) - I remember that miracle, whenever I doubt, and when I'm sure I've lost the path, I remember that light that came back into my eyes.

After I fumbled through assembling this thread into an apology; my first apology I wrote about the two aspects of the holy spirit at my wife's and a brother/friend of the family's request... crazy enough, it was a subject that sprang up while posting on the fray with a nic called "culture warrior" - and I remember posting to him, "you've got your works and fruit all mixed up" - all I really knew at that point in time was the two ideas in scripture... then JackDallas took me aside in BotF and questioned me more about it, so I started to pray and think about it, then when it came up again in my own living room, I had a ready comparison of the two, but still, when I went to write the apology, had no idea whatsoever what I was doing, the writing took off on its own, I never really wrote what I wanted to write, I wanted it to follow a structured format, I wanted precision, I wanted it engineered, that's my idea how to make something clear, I'm an industrialist, I've been a surveyor, I design complicated stuff, I've got a stack of drawings of a monster hoist sitting on a little table behind my back, I expected to do that apology in an outline, I tried to make an outline, and the holy spirit told me to throw it away, he'll write the apology for me. And he did, so much so, he gave me all the chapter headings in advance and I was like, "what is this? what is this about? If I'm writing this paper, shouldn't I, at least, have some idea what it is about?" And he answered with one word, "No".

So, after I assembled the thread into this apology, I realized that I had done that before and supposedly this apology was finished, so it began without me realizing it (Sunday Morning Coffee thread) and it continued without me realizing it... and I couldn't even remember what was in there, and again, I was totally exhausted and just followed basic mechanics, I didn't reread a single word; ask Jack if he ever proofed and assembled a writing without reading it. And I put it out like that, and I had to go back and ask Emily for her addy cuz I don't have those for anyone except justoffal and Jen, and I sent Emily both apologies and Snowflakes, because Snowflakes was pure inspiration, and then, I went back and read the apology, and was totally unsurprised to discover that it read and flowed as if it was constructed and planned out as a whole, when was this begun? Top post for Sunday Morning Coffee was October 25, 2015.

It's the Lord's work, he does it, we are just vessels.

my last PM to Emily:

I'll tell ya, when I was young, I asked for the gift of healing, but I was given the gift of evangelism, instead. And, you know, the gift of evangelism comes with a great big boot, you get thrust into the work. Quietly, the holy spirit also taught me textual criticism and told me to read the prophets. I was never a teacher, I never expected to be told to write a couple of apologies in my old age. I credit these nuts with teaching me to write, I started posting on the fray - 2002 I think, not sure - and learned from so many writers all kinds of stuff, it was kind of a baptism by fire. After time, you learn to recognize when someone has a voice, when someone is really contributing, the forum is a mosaic of those voices. It was a thrill for me watching you add your voice to the mix. You are a very good poster.

I understand that the 2 apologies (Day of the Lord and Expectation of Faith) were written by the holy spirit and by the body of Christ. I understand he's the author. For the 2nd one, I also want to add the forum into that mix.
I have never asked God for one of his gifts. I didn't know I could. I've asked for a lot of things, but not a gift of the Spirit. If I have one, it is Empathy. Don't laugh. I can feel the mood of a crowd or of a single person (and I believe animals too) and it's a painful gift. ... if that's what it is. Maybe it's not a "gift". I have no idea what to do with it but it's there and has been for a long time. I can shut it off, but when I do, at some point it comes roaring back.

Other than that one thing that I don't even know to be a "gift" , I've got nothing.
 

Days

Commentator
I have never asked God for one of his gifts. I didn't know I could. I've asked for a lot of things, but not a gift of the Spirit. If I have one, it is Empathy. Don't laugh. I can feel the mood of a crowd or of a single person (and I believe animals too) and it's a painful gift. ... if that's what it is. Maybe it's not a "gift". I have no idea what to do with it but it's there and has been for a long time. I can shut it off, but when I do, at some point it comes roaring back.

Other than that one thing that I don't even know to be a "gift" , I've got nothing.
gifts of the holy spirit flow from the power of the spirit resting on the body... gifts are for works; the gift is what performs the works. When I wrote about the dispensation; the holy spirit in heaven as the author and ambassador of the letters to the 7 churches... those are all gifts given to the body for the performing of the ministry.

You don't ask for a gift, gifts are given to you, like assignments handed out by a teacher; I didn't know anything when I first got saved, so I asked the Lord for the gift of healing, and it was promptly ignored.

Empathy, btw, is when you feel for someone who is going through some trial that you yourself have experienced. Sympathy is when you feel for someone going through some trial that you might not necessarily know about, first hand.

I think the Lord gave you a gift in music, did he not?
 

Jen

Senator
gifts of the holy spirit flow from the power of the spirit resting on the body... gifts are for works; the gift is what performs the works. When I wrote about the dispensation; the holy spirit in heaven as the author and ambassador of the letters to the 7 churches... those are all gifts given to the body for the performing of the ministry.

You don't ask for a gift, gifts are given to you, like assignments handed out by a teacher; I didn't know anything when I first got saved, so I asked the Lord for the gift of healing, and it was promptly ignored.

Empathy, btw, is when you feel for someone who is going through some trial that you yourself have experienced. Sympathy is when you feel for someone going through some trial that you might not necessarily know about, first hand.

I think the Lord gave you a gift in music, did he not?
Sympathy/ Empathy........ either way I feel the pain of others as if it is happening to me. I don't think it's a "gift". It's not on that list of gifts from God. But I wish I could escape it.

And yes. Music. I used that gift of music for many years. But my back won't allow me to do it now. The last place I could have used/ given it............didn't want that gift from me. But it was a joy from the time I was in my teens until I was well into middle age.

Maybe I'm just done. I think that sometimes.
 

Days

Commentator
Sympathy/ Empathy........ either way I feel the pain of others as if it is happening to me. I don't think it's a "gift". It's not on that list of gifts from God. But I wish I could escape it.

And yes. Music. I used that gift of music for many years. But my back won't allow me to do it now. The last place I could have used/ given it............didn't want that gift from me. But it was a joy from the time I was in my teens until I was well into middle age.

Maybe I'm just done. I think that sometimes.
I think sympathy and empathy are fruits of the spirit. Fruit is the whole goal of the Christian walk, this whole gig centers around the seed of faith, growing up inside us, transforming us into the nature of Christ. Gifts come and go, they are for the work of the ministry, a gift can be given to you for a solitary moment to perform one thing, or it can be a lifetime assignment and ministry, gifts are the power of the spirit resting upon you to perform anything at all, whatever the angel is doing. Gifts are the church age equivalent of prophecy; it is the witness of the Father in heaven. You have probably become so accustomed to the presence of the holy spirit, you do not even realize when he is working with you.

hey Jen, this apology was a work of the holy spirit. You were a big part of it.
 

Jen

Senator
I think sympathy and empathy are fruits of the spirit. Fruit is the whole goal of the Christian walk, this whole gig centers around the seed of faith, growing up inside us, transforming us into the nature of Christ. Gifts come and go, they are for the work of the ministry, a gift can be given to you for a solitary moment to perform one thing, or it can be a lifetime assignment and ministry, gifts are the power of the spirit resting upon you to perform anything at all, whatever the angel is doing. Gifts are the church age equivalent of prophecy; it is the witness of the Father in heaven. You have probably become so accustomed to the presence of the holy spirit, you do not even realize when he is working with you.

hey Jen, this apology was a work of the holy spirit. You were a big part of it.
It is with me every minute of every day. It is more me than I am. I do know that. Sometimes "I" leak out (and write mean posts) but my (frustrated ) heart is in the right place.
Thank you.
I can always count on your posts to strengthen and inform me.
 

Days

Commentator
It is with me every minute of every day. It is more me than I am. I do know that. Sometimes "I" leak out (and write mean posts) but my (frustrated ) heart is in the right place.
Thank you.
I can always count on your posts to strengthen and inform me.
I have very little doubt that the Lord uses you constantly, sister.

So, I have two sayings in life; both of them betray how wonderful my life truly wasn't ... before God gave me this comforter, my 2nd wife:

Nothing softens a hard head like a hard hammer

A little bit of help, when you really need it, is a lot of help

You can see why God never had me write proverbs.
 

Jen

Senator
I have very little doubt that the Lord uses you constantly, sister.

So, I have two sayings in life; both of them betray how wonderful my life truly wasn't ... before God gave me this comforter, my 2nd wife:

Nothing softens a hard head like a hard hammer

A little bit of help, when you really need it, is a lot of help

You can see why God never had me write proverbs.
Those are fine proverbs.

And yes. Although my childhood was idyllic and my parents were the finest Christian people you would ever meet, I was hardheaded and difficult and had to do things my way. God used it and good came out of even the worst things I did. AND I survived. I am very amazed just thinking about it. And I think hardheaded, rebellious ways might skip generations, because my children are the sort of people that my parents were. I am thankful for that.
 

Days

Commentator
Those are fine proverbs.

And yes. Although my childhood was idyllic and my parents were the finest Christian people you would ever meet, I was hardheaded and difficult and had to do things my way. God used it and good came out of even the worst things I did. AND I survived. I am very amazed just thinking about it. And I think hardheaded, rebellious ways might skip generations, because my children are the sort of people that my parents were. I am thankful for that.
I think, maybe, the fray was the hard hammer for your hard head.

I was bummed, when I e-mailed my poem Snowflakes to Emily, that I couldn't get the graphic to show up in the e-mail. So, I want to see if I can place it here, so she can see what it is supposed to look like. (If it works here)



Snowflakes

upload_2018-9-3_23-27-14.png

In bits of rhythm, laced together by rushes of tethered thoughts
It fell upon my clothes, and brushed my eyelashes

Whispering thought in my ear, asking me why I care
So much, for what? The way I waste my years…
But I shrug them aside, a natural motion of pace
Moving ahead to my destiny, not straying in their
Beckons to relinquish the thoughts of the day
Tonight I'll gaze out my window and try to remember
What they told me, why I was here, what to watch for,
Why I should have strayed…
Why are they always right, when they come they cause panic
They fall into our lives, they take over our paths
Gentle, soft, but powerful, and in control of agenda and time
"Not that way!" they insist, "don't be so harsh!"
…give it time, it will carry, there's no need to rush
Remember your thoughts in your youth? The days
When cares were fleeting, when time was not the enemy?
Why do you make it a weight? Crush yourself with the lie?
Come look out at the moment, breathe the fresh humid puff
Stare at the cloud, your hot steam stirring with the cool reprise
If you rush, you will lose the chance to peer into the stillness
Steal one more invisible take of the lovely quiet,
the dream; You can't hold and can't let go
Like the quality of the misty air in front of you
Something you know so well and forget so readily
To not kill your life on the hard stuff
Return to the quiet, take back your own heart
That's what they were telling me
I hate them, they are so free to follow the wind
While I return to my room and worries of the night


upload_2018-9-3_23-27-35.png

Snowflakes
 
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