Understanding the End from the Beginning
*** Welcome. When I first set up this site down in 2019, the Coronavirus was just around the corner. So these words I began with, speak of a storm, a darkness, that has begun. But for the Church it is a time to prepare for a transformation that will revive it.
This site delves into the history meticulously documented in the bible, which when accepted that they were divinely established from the beginning of time, reveal extraordinary truths - truths accessible to us now.
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Why reveal this to us now? How is it applicable to us? Well, it seems the phrase 'history repeats itself' gives us a template of what we should expect and the lessons we should learn. God tell us 'ahead of time'. As God brought a transformation from the ashes of exile to the glory of Zion, so we are in the process of being transformed into the glorified Church.
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I recommend that you read my book 'Glorified Church Unearthed'. It is a quick read that is applicable to our challenging times. Then come back here to underpin your understanding, and know the rich and deep foundations of your faith.***
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Today as I drove into work the air was crisp and mist still hung like a cloak over the ground. The sun had not yet made an appearance from behind the horizon to dispel the mist, but its brilliance lit up the sky in a multitude of ways. A few clouds were high enough to behold the glory of the rising sun; some had gold hues, others orange, but there were also those ominous red clouds warning of a storm approaching.
There is a mist that surrounds our world, where our fast paced, always on lives, leaves us distracted, confused and stressed.
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Becoming a Christian, is like getting a glimpse of a light from within the darkness of the mist, and following the light until the mist falls away. The darkness will want to cling to you, but the bible clearly teaches the need to redress in our rightful mind.
You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Ephesians 4:22-24
John the Baptist preached in preparation for Jesus - wake up, shake up, get ready! (paraphrased). Paul similarly said.
Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you. Ephesians 5:14 ESV
We all need to let the work of the Holy Spirit do his work in our lives. God’s desire for intimacy with you far outweighs anything you muster; yet he delights when you seek him with all your heart. He wants to keep you close - so like an extravagant host he will keeping topping up your cup until it overflows! (Psalm 23:5) Within this atmosphere churches then become beacons of light to those living in this present darkness.
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The Relevance of Scripture
Like a flower opening out from the centre, our understanding of events in time expands out from Jesus and it all points back to Jesus. The bible is dotted with images of some aspect or other of Jesus. Take for instance, Abraham called to sacrifice his son on Mount Moriah or Moses leading the Israelites to freedom through the Red Sea.
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As we step back in time from when Jesus walked the earth to Genesis, the modern scientific mind may throw up objections that simply weren't there a hundred years ago. In fact it used to be that discoveries of the ancient civilisations or the Big Bang proved the Bible was true. Now the tide has turned we need an approach where faith does not preclude science, nor the other the other way around. Our understanding should be mixed with faith.
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Our faith is the key to our salvation and so any doubts we have should be seen to until we find a resolution that fits with what the bible says - that does not mean we become complacent or ignorant because we are called to give a reason why we believe.
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The past is to give us key insight into the present and helps prepare us for the future. Our personal salvation counts on it; being saved is not a past event, it is a continual one that requires us to remain alert.
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Now in today’s age, more than any other, we need to carefully consider a question that Jesus once put to the Pharisees that highlights this.
You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don't know how to interpret this present time?
Luke 12:56
One thing we need to keep in mind is that God is outside and inside time. He was there at the very beginning and is ever present in our time of need. He is the one who sees the big picture and the one we should turn to, to answer this question.
So where are we in the course of history?
The last century alone has seen dramatic changes in population, migration, climate, pollution, wealth, religion, politics, information technology, social networking, justice, crime and the increase of war. At this rate of change it looks like we are we headed somewhere fast. The bible points to a day in the future when Jesus will come again for the final harvest of souls (Mathew 13:30) and he will then judge the world. It will catch people unaware of the impending event as they carry on their normal lives.
As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
Matthew 24:37-39
God knew all that was and is to happen, from long ago.
I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come.
I say, 'My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.'
Isaiah 46:10
From day one (or day 6 literally in Genesis), or even before God created Man - God knew he had a problem and a solution. He loved Mankind, created in his image, yet would Mankind in return chose to dwell in his presence? The problem of sin meant that a little stain soon became a gaping chasm between all people and God. So he would let them (man and woman) multiply with all the good and evil intentions of their hearts - but provide for them a Redeemer, Jesus, to show his love for them.
The Awakened Body of Christ
The Church has been divided down through history, assuming different labels Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant, Pentecostal, Evangelical, Charasmatic, the list goes on. Then there are also the Jews who have found faith in Christ. To show how there is still unity between these diverse parts, they would come together to make an ecumenical stand. But there is more going on in the Church underneath the hood. Often we look at these words of Paul and apply them to local church, but they are also valid at a global level, perhaps as we have gone our different ways.
There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.
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All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines. Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptised by one Spirit so as to form one body – whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free – and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.
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Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? Now eagerly desire the greater gifts.
Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy.
1 Corintians 12:4-7, 11-13, 27-30, 14:1
When we see the Spirit move and revivals happening from place to place, we know that something seismic is happening. Parts of the body are awakening to the call and joining. God is inviting us to will and persevere in what he has already declared through the prophet Ezekiel concerning this body:
Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”
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So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.
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Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet — a vast army.
Ezekiel 37:4-10
The LORD is awakening his army, setting up his standard and making them fit for battle. In a battle if the enemy knocks you down, and you may have received a wound, you do not stay on the ground. You get on your feet right away, get your senses back and re-engage as soon as possible.
Now this is where the gifts of the spirit come in. You may not know it but if you have accepted Christ, and have been open to the Spirit, he has been preparing you with latent gifts. Already you know where your strengths lie, or may be it has dawned on you just yet. Like a seedling it will emerge into the light of day and grow.
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For me it was to see the bigger picture. To realise the moment that something big is going to happen. That the glory of the body of Christ, the Church will be revealed, and a paradigm shift would happen to revolutionise it.
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The bible stands as the word of Truth in Christian circles and is vigoriously defended as the Word of God. I ascribe to this wholeheartily. But it saddens me when I hear Christians demonising other Christians because they disagree on parts of it even though they call themselves followers of Christ. Equally, it irks me when what I read in the bible doesn't quite fit properly with what is being taught and what we know of the world. But like an oyster is irritated by a grain of grit to produce a pearl, the grit was there for a reason. Like a jigsaw puzzle where the pieces don't sit naturally, we should, no matter how hard it is, be prepared to take some pieces out and try a different approach, where things do align.
The question occurred to me that because of God's great love, which is boundless, What markers did God put down in time that reveal his great redemption? Like Daniel's Seventy Sevens. Was there a divine pattern in history marked out in time? If there was, and there was already indications there was, it would like finding the Holy Grail, it would be the Holy Trail! This is where the theme of the 777 year divisions emerged.
"Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls."
Jeremiah 6:16
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A voice of one calling: "In the wilderness prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God."
Isaiah 40:3
Travelling along the trail, you will journey closely with the people of Israel, who's name can be taken to mean - to contend and overcome with God in the struggle. Included with the people of Israel, you see the heart of God, ready in a heart beat to give you forgiveness and save you.
The Breakthrough
The break from the old to new testament continued to demonstrate the way the gospel would forge forward. The gospel reached the ends of the earth - hastened when Martin Luther set to print his work on the justification by faith, a gift of God's grace, in 1517. Thereafter, from the distant shores reverberations of the kingdom of God has produced the accentuating waves of revival these last 500 years.
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Mirrored in these last 500 years, are the events from the kingdom of David to the time of Esther, when people from other nations followed the way God’s people led, to find liberation. The point is that the earthly united kingdom failed the moment its own king failed, but grace picks up where man can no longer lead, even the Dark Ages couldn't thwart the Promise.
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What footing substantiates this claim? Here is a quick glimpse:
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David’s Kingdom falters 977 BC
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Established chronologies of the kings of Israel and Judah
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Inspection David’s reign – human fallibility and Satan’s involvement
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God’s plan – prophetic periods (e.g. the 390 days in the book of Jeremiah, 977 BC + 390 years = 587 BC) and alignment to the ‘sevens’ 977 BC – 473 BC = 504 years (divisible by 7)
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Jesus coming into the world in line with Daniel’s 70 ‘sevens’
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David’s Eternal Kingdom being restored after 1517 AD (after 1260 years of deception) grace rediscovered
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The ending of the empires in the statue (Babylonian to Roman) in Daniel 2
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God’s plan – prophetic periods (e.g. the 1260 days in the book of Revelation, 257 AD + 1260 years = 1517 AD)
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World events and revivals correlating to Old Testament Kingdom and their prophetic voices
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The book of Esther has all the right elements for our current time - the invitation to a feast, a purified bride and a newly found freedom from an old enemy. Now wonder the phrase 'For a time such as this' comes from this book. The city of Susa, itself resembles the bride of Christ and vision of Zion.
When these days were over, the king gave a banquet, lasting seven days, in the enclosed garden of the king’s palace, for all the people from the least to the greatest who were in the citadel of Susa. The garden had hangings of white and blue linen, fastened with cords of white linen and purple material to silver rings on marble pillars. There were couches of gold and silver on a mosaic pavement of porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl and other costly stones. Wine was served in goblets of gold, each one different from the other, and the royal wine was abundant, in keeping with the king’s liberality.
Esther 1:5-7
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Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.)
Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” And he added, “These are the true words of God.”
Revelation 19:7-9
Note, the mirroring effect continues, as just before Revelation 19 (the Wedding Feast of the Lamb), is the representation of a seductive city of Babylon (figuratively speaking of the world), in Revelation 18 . In contrast to Babylon, is the city of Susa whose meaning espouses everthing to do with a pure bride - 'the element שש (shesh), which denotes several whitish items, and particularly the noun שושן (shushan), lily... The relatively rare verb שוש (sus) or שיש (sis) means to exult or rejoice, and its nouns ששון (sason) and משוש (masos) mean exultation, joy or gladness.' [1] Itself is emphasised in the closing of the book of Esther.
For the Jews it was a time of happiness and joy, gladness and honor.'
Esther 8:16
(Note on mobiles images may be better to see if you download them first to your phone)
Waves are usually rounded to at the top where they rise and fall, until of course they break. Some revivals are more accentuated like the Melbourne, Welsh and Azusa Street revivals, whereas other like the Charismatic movement are more widespread, Each has its own character.
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The character of each revival wave of the Spirit corrects our motivation towards the 'Father Heart of God' and prepares the Church. It captures the 'Rebuild and Restore' of that came as a consequence of the Persian empire, but it adds the crucial 'Revive' which we see in 'Ezekiel's Valley of Dry Bones' that breathes life into and stands resplendent as Zion/Bride Church in Esther.
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Rebuild 522/521 BC = 1972 AD​
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The altar was built​ in the city
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On the Charismatic wave - there was new freedom and gifts ("From this day on I will bless you.'" Haggai 2:19)
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Restore 502 BC ​= 1992 AD
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The city wall was rebuilt for the inhabitants (Nehemiah)
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On the wave of Toronto Blessing ​- new purpose, dignity, confidence and identity being discovered.
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Revive 474-473 BC = 2020-2021 AD
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Freedom from the enemy throughout the empire​, the city becomes a beacon to all. The Glory of Zion.
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The current wave - God breathes His Spirit as the Gifts of the Spirit are displayed abroad for all to see, (" for such a time as this" Esther 4:14)
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I believe and hope for a great revival, where churches of different ilk will mix together allowing the gifts of the Spirit to be shared abroad. This came as I re-read the 1 Corinthians 12 about the gifts of the Spirit and saw how it applied to the global Church. It matched an image I had before of a dry brook slowly filling with water. At first there were individual pools of water, that represented the individual churches and denominations. Each has certain types of gifts. But then some pools began overflowing into other pools and as the gifts of the Spirit started to be shared uniformly. ‘Parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable’ 1 Corinthians 12:22
Such a move of God would and could not be contained within the churches alone but start to spill out into the world. Churches will be like beacons to the community. The gospel will begin to thaw and flow like a river that was once iced up. Like the Danube that crosses Europe [2[[3][4]. Worldwide revival that 'fill the earth 'as the waters cover the sea' (Habakkuk 2:14). A viSion 2020.
As you venture through this site you might see that there are two sides - the Word and the Spirit. One we can intently look into, study and apply reason to. But this is nothing without the Spirit to make it alive to us. The Spirit is not a thing, we cannot objectify and analyse him. Instead he must be listened too. Some things are impressed without the necessity of proof. Yet they are tested to see that they ring true. They are measured against the Word.
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In order to have an overview of such a diverse range of topics, it is necessary to gather from a wide range of sources. It is impossible to be a expert in all matters. There is a freedom in realising that in all that been said by others, nothing is set in stone (except the core tenets of faith in Jesus Christ). Instead I encourage you to enroll in what I like to call 'the university of the Holy Spirit' any one can join. The syllabus is simple - 'Jesus Christ!'
Footnotes:
[1] Susa meaning
http://www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning/Susa.html#.XfAJruj7SM8
[2] The Fourth Great Wave of the Holy Spirit Has Begun
https://www.charismanews.com/opinion/56670-the-fourth-great-wave-of-the-holy-spirit-has-begun
[3] Jarrod Cooper - Prophetic word: Days of Wonder
https://jarrodcooper.net/2010/06/11/prophetic-word-days-of-wonder/
[4] Convenry Prayer House - An Important Word for the UK – Prophetic Word for 2018