Search Results

for one another God has our best interest at heart. So, He commands us to pray for ourselves and for others. In our prayers we find confession as a source of healing. And when we pray in the name of Jesus, we do it according to his will. And his will is that we come to know and to understand God. Now we begin to see why praying for others is important. Prayer is not about getting everything we ask or keeping others safe, healthy, and problem-free. Prayer is a powerful way in which we get to know our Savior, and it also brings us together with other believers. Effective prayer for others will bring us closer to God because effective prayer is based on a knowledge of His will. We pray for their faith, we pray against temptation in their lives, we pray for their unity, and we pray for their sanctification. We pray for the salvation of the lost; we pray that the brothers and sisters would stay on the right path; we pray that believers would be strengthened by the Spirit, rooted and grounded in love, able to comprehend God’s love, and filled with the fullness of God. These are our prayers for spiritual blessings; they are all “in Jesus’ name” and according to the Father’s will. We pray that these prayers warrant finding a “yes” in Jesus Christ. Praying for others gets our focus off of ourselves. Strengthens us to “carry each other’s burdens,” as we “fulfill the law of Christ”. Praying is supposed to be like breathing, easier to do than to not do. Our praying is a form breathing of serving God. God knows when the intent of prayer is to be the means of obtaining His solutions to the many situations we encounter. It may be that we not receive what we ask for, but because of God’s wisdom our prayers are never in vain for He has promised that when we ask for things that are in accordance with His will, He will give us what we ask for. We are to be diligent and persistent in prayer. For prayer should not be seen as our means of getting God to do our will on earth, but rather as a means of getting God’s will done on earth. God’s wisdom far exceeds our own. Often it is prayer that will position us to discern God’s will. Our connection is to be of such a consciousness of God’s presence in our lives that even thoughts unprayed will be prayers calling out to Christ. Prayer demonstrates our faith in God, that He will do as He has promised in His Word and bless our lives abundantly more than we could ask or hope for. You want to see God work in others lives…pray for them. Oh, what can fervent prayer accomplish. Try not to pray in anxiousness nor with eloquence. Present your prayer from the content of your heart as an expression of your love, your gratitude, and your worship to God. Memorization and recitation avoid. Prayer is to be real and personal. Pray for the things that God’s word talks about, using our own words and ordering them to our own journey with God.  power of praying Have you ever felt the power of praying, not prayer, but praying as you take someone’s hand or sitting facing one another with knees touching while holding hands or walking in nature and peering upward or cycling through the many people God has brought to you. Have you ever just let your thoughts flood your praying, adding to the heaviness of spirit for the souls you love. Have you ever felt God relieve the heartache. Do you often find that sacred space where you can pray in isolation. And do you sometimes long to share that space that another might join you in taking the hearts to God in silence or out loud.   What a powerful gesture it is to seize the moment and pray with a friend. We might ought to pray soberly, watchfully, knowing the end is at hand. We might want to check some of our desires knowing this. We are at the time where every incident in life should suggest a prayer. We might see the end of things at any moment. God's dealings with mankind will not see another consideration for salvation. Our present state is itself even now the end. We ought to pray for endurance to stand under every hardship, while maintaining an attitude of patience as we stand. It is to be an attitude of humility and magnanimity and gentle forbearance. It is enduring without finding fault. We have a common duty to pray for one another. We should be aroused from the indifference shown toward the truths of God and have a view to perseverance in prayer for the coming of our Lord. Praying that God will work in the life of every person, of His people in a way that will bring them to the end of themselves, to recognize their lostness. This is endurance in faith. Prayer has this great reason…it establishes a right relationship with God. Never neglect how much of Himself God puts in our prayers. Prayer is a result of the reality of God’s omnipresence. There is only one thing that can keep you from coming before God in prayer…your choice…Jonah prayed from the ocean depths. The seriousness of prayer enhances our hearing God. Let nothing distract us during prayer. Our circumstances are brought to God, but they are not the focus. God is. We must focus on God else our prayer is idolatrous. Prayer is our access to a resource beyond human limits or even human understanding. God’s power and resources are offered to us to do His service. This is how the truth and the soundness of every word of God transform our prayer spiritually to bring our hearts into intimate harmony with the person of the Holy Spirit and enhances our surrender to His control, wisdom, and power for our prayers. The Spirit’s groanings then enables us to worship more fully as we are assured that intercession with God is made for us. Intercession is the continuing enfolding into Christ’s ministry. Christ’s ministry did not close with his death. His atoning work was finished then, but when he rose and ascended to the right hand of the Father, he entered upon other work for us just as important in its place as His atoning work. It cannot be divorced from His atoning work; it rests upon that as its basis, but it is necessary to our complete salvation. What that great present work is, by which Jesus carries our salvation on to completeness…wherefore Jesus is able also to save us to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for us. Unto entire completeness, absolute perfection, because he not merely died but because he also “ever liveth.” For what purpose he now lives…“to make intercession” for us, to pray. Praying is the principal thing he is doing in these days. It is by his prayers that he is saving us. Prayer through Christ takes us before God. It is this whereby we come to understand prayer as did Jesus. If we then are to have fellowship with Jesus Christ in his present work, we must spend much time in prayer; we must give ourselves to Prayer through Christ earnest, constant, persistent, sleepless, overcoming prayer. I know of nothing that has so impressed me with a sense of the importance of praying at all seasons, being much and constantly in prayer, as the thought that that is the principal occupation at present of our Jesus. We can have part in this. We can intercede for our brothers and sisters. We can come boldly, confidently, outspokenly approaching the throne of grace, the most holy place of God’s presence, where our sympathizing High Priest, Jesus Christ, has entered in our behalf. It is a transforming experience in the Holy of Holies. Infinite grace is at our disposal, and we make it ours experimentally by prayer. If we only realized the fullness of God’s grace that is ours for the asking, its height and depth and length and breadth, I am sure that we would spend more time in prayer. The measure of our appropriation of grace is determined by the measure of our prayers. In His presence is the fullness of joy. It is the bowing of the innermost spirit in deep humility and reverence before Him. Often in prayer it is prudent to let God begin the conversation rather than discharging our own thoughts. After all He abides with us more than we do with Him. Hearing Him ignites our heart with truth, wisdom, direction, focus, and passion in our prayer experiences. Worship-based prayer seeks the face of God before the hand of God. God’s face is the essence of who He is. God’s hand is the blessing of what He does. God’s face represents His person and presence. God’s hand expresses His provision for needs in our lives. If all we do is seek God’s hand, we may miss His face; but when we seek His face, He will be glad to open His hand and satisfy the deepest desires of our hearts according to His will. Let us not be content to simply pray from our own intellectual framework of understanding.   O ne that delights in biblical truth about God’s character, seeks the empowerment of the Spirit for application and articulation being surrendered to God’s word in intimate pursuit of His will. Prayer is not just about making requests of God. But what do we in our deep heart conceive God to be like. What comes to the mind as we think about God. We leave far behind our needs and wants, even our transformation. Here we give to God the various difficulties and trials that we face, asking Him to use them redemptively. We also voluntarily take into ourselves the griefs and sorrows of others. In this last day we are to pray in suffering and be changed. The language of ​“they” and ​“them” is converted into ​“we” and ​“us.” Together we stand at the cross. stand at the cross Faith tells us that we are about to be baptized into the sacrament of suffering. And as did Jesus in entreaty offer up prayers and supplication, with loud cries and tears, so will we. Our triumph in Christ goes through suffering, not around it. We pray for holy obedience. In the reality of prayer is God giving us both the grace to repent and to forgive. Earnest prayer proves our faith. Prayer isn't a place for us to be good or right, and it isn't a place for us to perform or prove our worth. It's a place for us to be honest, to be present, and to be known. We need not posture before God. God does not partially love us, He fully loves us. God made us to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this life, and to spend all eternity with Him in heaven. Is this the purpose and the substance of our life? And so, prayer is a time and a place for us to offer ourselves to God and to receive of God in turn. Communion with each of the divine persons is the entry of God’s creatures into the perfect unity of the eternally existing Triune. The ultimate end of the whole divine economy. This truth is infinite in scope and the human mind can only process that which is finite and limited in scope, and even then it often struggles. We don’t pray to three Gods. We pray to One God in whom there are three persons. That’s a faith relationship. According to God’s divine self-revelation, according to scripture, God is one in essence, and three in person. Prayer is that breath that sustains our spiritual life. Prayer fills the mind with truth and gives hope to the heart. Prayer deepens our moral life by taking it from the shallowness of the sensate, to an increasing experience of the divine life. Through prayer our mind is renewed, our soul is purified, our heart is converted, and we radiate the perfect unity of the family of heaven. In short, God informs us in prayer, the Spirit reforms us in prayer, Jesus transforms us as we become conformed to the image and likeness of the Us in God. This is the attractiveness of the light of truth. A light that leads us into the Divine Mystery. Prayer helps our minds to understand what our spirit knows. Prayer is a dialogue like no other. It heals and soothes, convicts and forgives, unbinds and sets free. It brings light to our understanding and illumination to our soul. It can do all this and more because this dialogue is conversation with God.  O utside of time and space Jesus is waiting for us to converse with him. He so wants to attract us to the truth of who his Father is and to reveal to us the truth of who we are in Him. He desires to engage us, to captivate us, and gently to unfold the petals of our heart with tenderness and unfold the petals of our heart care. He wants to pierce our darkness with the light of his love. He desires to transform us.   This is what true prayer is all about. Imbuing all that we do, indeed all that we are, with the life of God Himself.  Prayer takes the traumatic — such as seeing the reality of our condition — and makes it life changing. It takes our pain and our sorrow — such as broken relationships and unhappy decisions — and gives them eternal value. It takes our suffering — such as rejection, betrayal, and misunderstanding — and fills it with joy. In the end, prayer takes us — weak as we are — and makes us instruments of light and truth by transforming us into the object of our desire — Christ Himself. And we are sent forth to share the way, the truth, and life with others. we are instruments of light Mysteries remain, but in spite of them, let us persist in prayer and then rest in the sovereignty of God as we ask how came we to be so like our Jesus…our prayer life explains the mystery.

God is reproducing Himself God's purpose is something far bigger and far more important than we can totally comprehend. He is reproducing Himself. In broad generalities this purpose is shown in the opening chapters of Genesis. Right from the beginning, God wants to make sure that we understand where He is headed with His Word so that we can begin to process the information that comes along as we are guided into changing behavior and ingraining new spiritual objectives that the powerful truths of His purpose present. Spiritual objectives such as increased compassion, the certainty of faith, and sacrificial worship. The first most important clue…we are created in His image. Embedded in this image is the accommodating power of choice. This empowers us to heed God’s instructions in the very beginning, to choose life consciously, to avoid sin and death with the utmost of energy. Here is the intent of this purpose: that we be transformed from glory to glory - from the glory of man to the glory of God.   What truth can give us the confidence that we know and are fulfilling God’s purpose for our life? After all we are in a chaotic and unsettling time. It is sometimes hard to understand what God’s purposes may be and especially how God’s purposes are being worked out in our lives. This may not be yet revealed to us but this we do know…that God is indeed working out His plans in our lives. He uses His sovereign authority to determine the revelations His purposes contain and the sequence in which they are given and brought forth.  May we hear this suggestion: we can’t work it up on our own through human intellect and positive thinking. Rather, it is produced by the Holy Spirit, who works primarily, though not exclusively, through the holy scripture, which He uses to enlighten our minds and kindle faith in our hearts.    It’s as though God presents us through reasoning His character, purpose, and plan. We must intricately approach our need for guidance in the present time, which seem so urgent, in the context of God’s larger purpose. We must situate ourselves in a spiritual framework, whereby we can more readily discern and embrace God’s purposes in the unique circumstances of our lives, keeping uppermost in our minds that the God of the bible is our God of purpose. Specific purposes. And His purposes extend from eternity past to eternity future, encompassing not only the ultimate destiny of His creation, but every aspect of our personal lives, as well.   Specific purposes Everything was set determinately clear, fixed, and exact in counsel from the beginning. Then the employment of immense power and wisdom gave notice of the purposes by staging in the beginning, defined limits, periods of time, orders of precedence, essential events, settled consequences, certainty of truth. Before ever anything was brought forth, the Triune, in accord declared, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose’. With that, the forever faithful has assurance and comfort of knowing that God is more than simply a purposeful, all-powerful Creator; God is good! God is going to reveal Himself in deeper ways by demonstrating more of His sovereign purposes and power by calling those who accept the gift of His Son to be as saviors of the world. God…has purposes and performs particular actions,…does one thing and not another, is a choosing, commanding, prohibiting God with a determinate character. Have you ever consciously wondered why God ceased a previous system, an array of disparate parts, an earth without form, void, and dark and fashioned them into a form appropriate for His next step? Supreme order and direction in what He will reveal originates in and from Him. Though normally invisible to humanity, He is clearly in control, initiating what will happen and also continuing to completion what He began. God readies His purpose for man that was determined. The orderly progression of time began, and activity continues as God arranges the environment in which purposed intentional events will take place in both a natural and spiritual progression. First, there must be light. From this point on, everything coming into view is made new. The “let there be” is purposefully instructive. His purpose is that we become as fully manifested in His image as He was when He made that pronouncement and remains to this day. The Father and Son are eternal spirit Beings of awesome intellect, character, power, and purpose. Being in the image of God does not mean becoming God. We were to choose to not know evil. And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever. But what had the first pair reasoned to be the full effect of what was said. God implies that from the beginning, He intended that mankind live forever! He means “forever”, even as He and the Son live forever. From the beginning in counsel, God providenced the “in the beginning”. It was His ultimate purpose that, when His creative efforts are complete, those whom He created would live forever in His image. And God made sure that the first pair was not ignorant of the truth. Let’s offer a conceptualization of this performance; divine love shall be brought to its most glorious perfection in every faithfilled individual ransomed by Christ. Then, in every heart, that love which now seems but a spark, shall be kindled to a bright and glowing flame, and every ransomed soul shall be as it were in a blaze of divine and holy love, and shall remain and grow in this glorious perfection and blessedness throughout all eternity.   In spite of sin, God’s purposes continue to move toward fulfillment through His elect, then finally and supremely through Jesus, God’s own Son. We are commissioned to go into the world and teach the word of truth to people where they are. If called by God, they will be born again. This begins the process of transformation designed to conform them to the likeness of Jesus, displaying His grace and glory in this present time to make them fit to live in His presence. These will come to know that they are God’s works of art, created in Christ to do good works, which God has prepared in advance for them to do. These will manifest the change of heart and character that comes from the new birth - the process of becoming holy in daily life through grateful, spirit-empowered obedience.   Being “holy” is the unfolding of a metamorphosis as we follow the teaching and example of Jesus, drawn forward by a grateful love. It is guided by holy scripture, empowered by the Holy Spirit, and manifested in the fruit of the Spirit, as we contend against the world, the flesh, and the enemy of God. The position of being set apart as God’s child, which is conferred upon us through new birth, justification and adoption into God’s family, and the process of change, sanctification, makes that position a progressively experienced reality. The goal of this process is to “be conformed to the image of His Son”, and it happens as we “present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is our spiritual worship” and seek to “be transformed by the renewal of our mind”.  T his involves every area of personal and moral and spiritual life, whether one is educated or illiterate. We were known, consecrated, and appointed before formed in the womb. And now God has purposed to reveal His Son in us. God’s calling us is predicated upon this: that we embrace His grace and love through faith in Jesus His Son Christ and that we respond to His grace with wholehearted surrender and the pursuit of Christlikeness. God calls us by a direct word or in rare cases, a word through others, or through an unusual circumstance. But normally, He works through a process using His written word, by which any other guidance must be judged. This process, which we usually find too slow, is purposeful, for it serves to draw us closer to Him in prayer, to keep us dependent on His word and Spirit, to help us surrender to His will, and to teach us about Himself and His ways and to so grow our faith as to have complete dependence upon Him. In a word, it is for our maturing.    process of growing in Christ is slow Think of the choices that we make each moment. How they forge the context in which God’s purposes are worked out; more important, they shape our lives and contribute to our transformation. It is an inescapable law of life that we make our choices, then our choices make us. Choices are transformative - for good or ill. This is why God calls us to reason. Every time we make a choice we turn the central part of ourselves, the part of us that chooses, into something a little different from what it was before the choice was made. It is so very important to reason with God for wisdom and guidance that unfold truth that establishes faith. We gain much insight and wisdom from the relevant biblical precepts and promises of God. Humility of heart and reverence for God are essential in God’s guiding us. He counsels us with His eye on us, indicating a more personal level of guidance. So, this is not a automated process of studying the bible as a book of rules, regulations, policies, and procedures, then coming up with the right answer. Rather, God is personally guiding and directing us through the Holy Spirit opening our understanding to the meaning and application of His word to the circumstances of our lives and the situations we face based upon His purpose for us. Choose not to be spiritually dull and rebellious to His guidance but rather docile and surrendered. We are to have wholehearted surrender and active faith in our commitment and trust to do His will whether we like it or not. We must resist the tendency to rely on our own understanding and instead seek God’s wisdom. We are to subordinate our understanding to God and His wisdom and never default to “what feels right”. Trusting God means waiting in the posture of faith. God sometimes uses delays to work deeply in our lives, testing our motives, deepening our faith, developing our patience, and aligning the circumstances required for His answer. Only then will we be in a position for Him to direct our paths.  T here is also a place to “listen to wise counsel and accept good instruction” from spiritually mature believers, parents or friends, who are known to be wise, godly, and well grounded in scripture, who have your back and want the right for you. All of this must be done with serious prayer and sometimes fasting and sometimes journaling your discourse with God. Have the confident assurance that in everything God has a purpose.     There is a caveat to the purposes of God that is so confounding. It is truly a mystery. Let’s reason here with God…we are always living in God’s purpose. God is God and He works all things, including our life, according to His purposes. Nothing can happen without God ordaining it. He has numbered our days and will fulfill every purpose He has for us. He has numbered our days However, our choices also really matter. In some ways, this is a mystery not fully understood, but that doesn’t mean it’s not true. God’s purpose already determined, yet my choice matters…? We are created so uniquely that the pursuit of God is not optional. It is not an “extra” that a person might grow into after he comes to faith. God knows this and from a relationship, not choosing God renders you purposeless. See, God wants to give us purpose. He wants to bestow divine wisdom on us. He gave us faith that we would expect Him to give us purpose to begin to understand the heart of God.    God's mind is absolutely undivided. This means that His sovereignty can never be separated from His love; His grace cannot be separated from His omniscience; His judgment cannot be separated from either His mercy or His wrath. God is absolutely and constantly purposing change that was determined in His counsel because His faithful providence cannot be separated from any other of His attributes. God is whole and complete. Under every circumstance, He is never confused or uncertain about what to do. He is always headed in the right direction, which is to complete His purpose. It is absolutely impossible for Him to do anything that is not wise and at the same time loving. It is He who tells us how to live and how to be like Him. What God is has awesome ramifications for us because we are so different, and He wants us to be like Him, to be one with Him, to be whole, to be complete, to be undivided in mind with Him. Becoming this way requires a measure of cooperation from us. And God gives every person that measure. Note this spectacular performance. God is always working two things at once: He is performing His overall purposes for His creation, and simultaneously working His specific purposes for us as individuals and for His people. Out of this comes a principle. God is Jehovah-jireh, Jehovahnissi, Jehovah-shalom. He is Jehovah God, the Eternal who sees, the Eternal who provides.    Many have not yet heard the call. But God is certainly manipulating events to His own ends in their world as well as ours. God determines their preappointed times as well as where they will come to where we are to hear of Him. This means that He has predestined when they will rise to understanding and when they will fade from self. God has overseen the path of every person, the coming and going of every kingdom, the ploys of devils, and the gathering of His Israel nation over millennia, and has kept all of them moving toward the successful conclusion of His purpose! What kind of God is this we serve? How awesome His mind, purpose, wisdom, and love! Man does not merely owe his life to God's creative acts, but his movements across time are to the very extent ordered by our Sovereign God. Almighty God works in this manner to the end that all might seek and find Him. God's purpose is all that counts! In addition, since He is God, He can bring it to pass. God has the right, the will, and the loving nature to do anything He pleases to anybody at any time - and good will result. God’s sovereignty and involvement with the details of events persist from beginning to end; everything happens when, where, and how God planned. Our acceptance shows our faith in God. Through it all we trusts Him, not fully understanding every detail sometimes until after it is over. But God works throughout moments, days, years and in all the details toward a purpose and a time He has determined in advance.   The need for a relationship with our Creator is beginning to emerge. A spiritual creation, a creation process begun in Eden continues. Not as an expression of newness in the sense of “makeover.” The sense of being completely and newly formed. God’s hand forming every part how He wants it and determining how every part would function with every other system in His creation. A purposed person as a new individual with a new family, a new set of values, new motivations, and new possessions. Nothing new in this sense creates itself. But in Christ we have an idea what it is we are in the process of becoming. Are we making ourselves spiritually? We are no more making ourselves spiritually than we did physically. However, this creation is far more difficult and important because it requires our mindful and willing cooperation   with our Creator. God’s determination is of such a high purpose that He clearly and precisely allows us to foresee where our spiritual Creator is headed. To say it bluntly, without God's calling to His election, found in His purpose which creates the relationship with Him, there is no possibility whatever of knowing anything meaningful about what God is in the process of creating, and therefore no eternal, spiritual salvation would exist. God is purposing us for everlasting life. Therefore, it is our responsibility always to do whatever is necessary to seek Him and glorify Him, helping to keep the relationship going and knowledge increasing. Without the relationship that He invited us into, there is no possibility of ever accomplishing the end that He is heading toward and yielding to what He desires. It is as though He has removed the cherubims from the eastward entry of Jesus to allow us back into the Garden of Eden, right into the very source of every good and perfect gift that will enable us to glorify Him by fulfilling our responsibilities to Him. It is as if He says, as He opens the gate, “now there, let's begin the next step in My overall purpose!”   We are to take certain factors into consideration, because they affect our lives. And God does have an overall purpose. How near is Jesus’ return?  Might there be occasions when God deeply tests our faith because other people's situations whose lives touch on ours must be resolved first? We may be called to suffer mightily in the process, not really understanding what is happening. We appeal to God, but we hear no answer because other things were being worked out through, around, for and about someone in our sphere, of which we are totally unaware. We are not privy to every purpose God has for another. The individual may not know until the episode is resolved. We may have to endure much emotional anguish while the whole situation plays out. For a while, God was a God from afar. But faith tells us that God was near because He strengthened us. We limit not God. He can work from afar for our good while always being nearby. As we think on God and His intent, remembering His purpose, we no longer think and act from an earthly point of view. Our minds open the possibility of an "above the sun" perspective of life that can teach us that God is to be considered in all things. By being a means of helping Him to form us into what He desires, our internal disgust with self can motivate cooperation with God and produce growth to maturity. God's calling, His reasoning with us, and the revelation of Himself and His purpose are favors beyond calculation. We have only one opportunity for salvation. Tremendous gain rests in what the called children of God are experiencing. We must choose to direct our lives to follow an "above the sun" perspective so that our lives are not meaningless. The choice lies between searching out earthly imaginings or submitting to what God has revealed. Understanding God’s purposes reveals much about our consideration for Christ. God's concern is for events in life involving moral, spiritual, and ethical choices. Whether one chooses a red or blue car makes no difference morally, but red car or blue car? whether we buy a car when other family needs are more pressing is another situation altogether. This choice may shape character and therefore purpose. Too many today are stiff-necked, opinionated, and self-willed. Sometimes this occurs because of ignorance or cultural influences. Far too often however, the cause of our poor moral and ethical choices is pride and self-righteousness. So much so, to the point that some will actually choose the lake of fire! Others, though their inferior works burn because of their poor choices, God will mercifully spare them.  In this we come to know that prayer's major purpose is to give us an additional, effective way to draw near to and harmonize with the Spirit. We must have access to God…to His nature to live right, to live according to His purpose. So what is meant as God says He changes not. He has never altered His purpose from the beginning. Because God has a purpose that He has been working out from the very beginning, He looked beyond what people do to destroy and remove themselves from His purpose. God, in a sense, overlooks what people do all the way to the last day, to the conclusion of His purpose for them. He did not carelessly call us. We may want to consider more deeply how valuable our conduct and attitude are to the entirety of the purpose of God. No challenge in our life is without divine purpose and approval. God's providence is in control in every aspect of our lives. We understand, if we are His election, that God assigns a place in the outworking of His purpose to everyone He calls. We must respond to God's grace, to His calling, to His gift of Christ, to His gift of the Holy Spirit, to His gift of revealing to us knowledge and understanding of what is happening. We must respond - that is, love God in return. We must be one of "the called according to His purpose," one of the elect.    God is reproducing Himself. He will not limit His options to avoid offending a humanity that lacks His Spirit and is therefore wholly incapable of sharing His perspective. He will bring His purpose about. His purpose and plan, is a mystery, a secret that is impossible to penetrate except by reasoning with God Himself. Man would never find out what God intends, except that God gives it to us by revelation. We have in no way earned this revelation. We have it because it pleased God to give it to us. He withholds it from others, but He has given it to us. He is in no way beholden to us, as if He owed us something. We could dig in His Word over our entire lifetimes and never come to what He freely gives to us for His purposes, for His own reasons. Had we not responded to and accepted His command to come we would never have caught the vision of His purpose. If you are called as His election in His purpose you are as the one man among the many at the Pool of Bethesda. Why was this one purposed? It was God’s will. Clearly, He treats and responds to individuals according to the counsel of His own mind, and He answers to no one. He does this even in the lives of His children. What right do we have to murmur about the discomforts He creates for us to endure and grow within? He could rescue everybody in every uncomfortable circumstance, but He does not. Have we fully accepted that He may choose difficult things for us? Pay attention intensely to what God is doing in our lives! What we see going on in the world during our time has not been brought to pass by men but by the invisible God. This unseen unseen hand hand is manipulating events so that the person of faith can understand that history is not an endless cycle of repetition; it is getting ready to end. God is drawing things to a conclusion. When we come to understand the design of His purpose we will come to the wisdom to understand the overall subject is the return of Jesus Christ. Then will be revealed to us the whole panorama of God’s purpose. God has the whole process planned out, and He is so confident of His ability to accomplish it that He perceives it as already done!   He knows the end from the beginning…

the Direst Time In God’s mysterious plan each of us has a precise role to perform. Contribution to the fulfillment of God’s providential will, will be those whom God prepares to serve Him. God has a purpose in all that He does. And He calls forth in us full trust, a total abandonment to His divine plan. Nothing happens by chance in the history of salvation. Know that if you be God’s, you will not be relegated to the background in these final few days of time. Much self giving will be required of us. This is as an invitation to our humility in the last moment of time. We are to persist in studying the word of God knowing that scripture does not yield up all its riches, while having aspects that escape our understanding, and we must progress patiently without forcing the text into a ready-made framework. We must be cautious with hazardous assumptions. But let us welcome God’s mysteries as we are called to continually reason to understand His revelations. Let the Holy Spirit introduce us into the purposes of God through scripture. Full clarity will be given us when we faithfully walk in the truths offered to us. Truly scripture will serve to return us to our Creator Christ who unlocks the wisdom of the purposes of God for us, in the shadows of his return. He is the incarnate word. The wisdom and the truth that comes down to the night that is engulfing the world. We are coming to know him as he is one like us that we may know ourselves. Christ is the culmination of God’s purpose. We must contemplate his ways ceaselessly in the direst time. Brothers, sisters, what a mystery of this crazy love…God making Himself near, coming out from His inaccessibility to make Himself visible, tangible, knowable in Jesus. This uncreated light enters into the darkness. Such is the good news, the heart of our faith. He has shared our human condition and given himself that we may follow him in this final determination of time.           Extremely serious, calamitous, violent, ruinous, and dreadful are but the sane words of description for the time that is so very soon to come upon the world, and have a most distressing effect on God’s people. The world will come to know a clear link between disobedience and devastation.   They will attempt to offer human explanation for what takes place to deceive the masses while God’s people will proclaim a divine causation. We must get ready for the invasion that's coming from sin. We must do some sackclothing and some serious weeping.   Satan really isn’t that creative.  Demonic forces exercising their power over susceptible human beings will cause these to oppose truths. Had they reasoned with God’s word and His people they would be under the safeguard of Christ. Defiant rejection of God's Spirit will result in the complete removal of His restraining power. The world is in unrest. The surety of war is enraging the people of all nations. And when the story reaches its worst, it will only get more worse from there. There will be a darkness that can be felt. God is going to get everyone’s attention. This will be God’s forsakenness. This is a mystery beyond our human ability to understand. The earth will be turned upside down.   earth will be turned upside down Truth will reside only with those who source the bible as their only truth. The human mind has become so seared that it cannot contend with the pace of technological change. Mass manipulative narratives will cause broad swathes of people to simply give up on being informed. People are too polarized for any and every reason conceivable. We are in the country that promotes divergent points of view based on political and social subcultures; that champion false information. Belief systems – not ‘truths’ – help to cement identities, forge relationships, explain the unexplainable. Hatred has obliterated common knowledge. Sudden judgment is coming upon the earth, and it will change everything in a single hour. Within that short span, the whole world will witness fast-falling destruction upon cities and the world will never be the same. There will be no cure for the judgments of God. Utter chaos will erupt. All civic activities will stop, and society will descend into massive disorder. Government agencies will be helpless to restore any kind of sanity. No state troopers, no national guard, no army will be able to bring order to the upheaval. With certainty, this time will see calamity clearly beyond humankind’s capacity to respond. The economy will be devastated. In the midst of the terrible time, God’s people will message a truth and its sound will grow steadily stronger. The truth will be heard from the uttermost parts of the earth. East, west, north, and south — from Arab lands to China, Indonesia, Africa and all parts of the earth. Hypocritical veils are going to fall away. But God has a people not appointed to wrath. We are not to tremble or sorrow as the world does. Instead, we are to comfort one another in faith, knowing that God rules over every aspect of our lives. God has forewarned mankind of a great and terrible chastisement. Think not that these things are far-fetched and severe, but rather in face of so much impiety; blasphemy; desecration; corruption and immorality pervasive in our time; it wouldn’t be superfluous to surmise that the world indeed deserves such grave punishments. Thus, while the world faces a fearsome and terrible destruction in light of mankind’s insolence and impiety, God assures us that He will not abandon those who are faithful to Him. But let us understand this time. Central to our vision must be God on the mercy seat where His mercy met our sin and God judged it blotted out there. The mercy seat concentration of force against us will come with such cruelty and treachery that men will hate God and consequently those who remain faithful to Him, until even the atheist will acknowledge God’s existence, but question His sovereignty. There is going to be this seemingly suspension of order, as if God steps out of His creation and a cloak of darkness appears. Nothing in creation could have produced the darkness of these dimensions that will spiritually reflect the total abandonment of the spirit of God from man. Prepare my friends, for a silent sudden somber as we witness the last breath of many as God draws the curtain across His Holy of Holies so no outsider could see or hear within our cries. We will know of the desolate isolation and loneliness of persecution. This kind of loneliness – knowing our responsibility for what God is calling us to do no matter what, is an absolute truth of our faith. None of us will think to escape it. There is a unique burden that comes from knowing that God purposed this - that there is something that has been given by God for us to do, and that to renege would be akin to Jonah hiding out in the bottom of the boat trying to pretend that Jonah hiding from God he had not received a call from God. We can do what God purposes, but it may not leave us with much life. We are at the point where we can no longer distract ourselves from the disquiet sorrow that fills our inner being as we seek God in the here and now. Because this is the moment when we know to the fullness of our being that the nearness of God is for our ultimate good and we are not willing to sacrifice that for anything. The goodness of the Lord - which fills all emptiness - is with us. We will have faith to meet ourselves and to meet the infinite love and riches of God dwelling inside our beings. This transforms all loneliness. The sorrowfulness of the time will be extreme anguish of spirit. We will not seek community with others. This, that we be drawn intimately with God first and then wait to see how God meets us and who God brings us to, or to us. Prepare ourselves…the spiritual suffering we are asked to endure is to be so intense and terrible that God will hide it from the eyes of sinful people. Our cries will declare the unfathomable woe as such suffering is humanly inconceivable. But my God! Never before in our lives have we been more pleasing to the Father than at this hour of obedience to come to this climax and for Christ’s sake suffer grief, sorrow, and pain. This nation specifically intends to provoke collective fear and uncertainty among all peoples. This fear is today spreading rapidly and is not limited to those experiencing the events of today directly. Soon many more will be affected as God’s people are exposed through broadcast images showing the attempts of psychological suffering broadcast news before they revert to physical injury that leads to death. These events will produce individual responses. Some, few, will come to Christ. Societal functioning will be completely disrupted. Erosion of the sense of humanity will void all cohesions. The racial or ethnic, economic, and religious cracks that exist in our society, as evidenced by an increase in hate crimes, will so broaden the aftermath until adolescent persons will manifest traumatic violence against relatives, friends, schoolmates, rescue workers, witnesses who stand for godliness. Prepare yourselves; neither gender, age, experience, or personality will ward off the worse events to happen to God’s people until the retributive plagues of God befall the wicked. There will be no hoaxes and copycat events, actual terror will reveal the preparedness of God’s people to so identify with Christ that this purposeful act of God will bring conviction to the people who questions the severe tactics put upon a people of prayer. These will note the apparent shift in intensity from conflict to unprecedented concern for life or death toward targeted people. The wicked will all be devoid of any ethical compass. It is this critical moment in time that God knew our faith. We show to be no contradiction to His law, His love. This is the faith that sees eternity made real.    We are in an astounding time. God’s people must be strengthened by greater faith in the word of God. Our salvation cannot lie in addressing and alleviating the grievances being exposed by hatred. Consider the Israel-Hamas situation…is there a right side? The american people are being governmentally directed by a constant trickle of angry, bloody-minded individuals and groups, often in the grips of crazy ideological constructs, eager to kill and destroy for some ideal or cause. This will soon turn to what binds this country – worship and hate. Today, we are witnessing the unravelling of humanity. God’s people are about to face a very real and serious dilemma. Civil liberties in the sense we have known them, are inconceivable in this country. Government has the power to undertake secret investigations of individuals and groups that give off warning signs; bible studies, talk of Christ in the workplace, personal witnessing in public areas, sabbath keeping. Government thinks to have the power to collect information about what individuals are doing on the basis of mere suspicions or indicators that correlate with a disposition to differ from the norm. National and global instability are transparent. Sin is no small act. It is not a little thing. It was magnified greatly at the cross. God is done with sin. What Jesus went through, we could never go through. Salvation is not universal. Yes, God so loved the world but that does not automatically save anyone. If you have not the faith of Jesus in what Jesus did by faith, then you don’t believe. We have the end of the story. We know the difficulties we are to face in this lifetime. There is a deep mystery to suffering. While the bible makes it plain that we must expect to encounter times of sorrow and loss, of trial and grief, we often don’t know the full extent of this time to come. We do know however, that God is weaving together a marvelous God is weaving together a marvelous tapestry tapestry that will wondrously display His glory, we also know it is a time we will fully appreciate only when faith becomes sight and substance. Please understand this brothers and sisters, why would God choose this for us, and why would God choose us for this? Because we have friends who are alive and who have died, that we come to know through the book and through the studies that counsel and console us. This was purposed by God in His calling for those to endure loss, suffering or sorrow, not because there is any particular good in them, but because the Lord needs their witness to answer the question of faith. What is this question? Lovest thou me? In every age, we hear of professed believers who abandon the faith as soon as they are called to suffer. They are glad enough to express confidence in God as long as His will seems perfectly aligned with their own, as long as His providence decrees what they would choose anyway. But when they are called to lose instead of gain, to weep instead of laugh, to face poverty instead of prosperity, they quickly turn aside and fall away. Even we, as sincere believers wonder whether our faith is sufficient for times of deep sorrow, whether it could withstand a dreadful provocation. But here is our faith…being   confident that God has important purposes for our suffering, and we can be equally confident that one of these purposes is simply for us to stand strong by faith. From the valley of the shadow of death we affirm faith in the comfort of God, for we know that His faithfulness is great. God does not have to account to us for His providence. Our faith rests not in His explanation but in His character, not in what He has done but in who He is. He has been true to His every promise. In this time we love Him more now than ever.    as evil escalades As evil escalades, those of us who are in Christ will cling to the truth. And God will not rescind the Holy Spirit. Throughout the entire history of the world, we can identify times of cruelty and periods when the most horrific deeds are perpetrated by evil men against the people of God, but the period that precedes the last plagues will be so intense that half of the world’s peoples will die by the sword, famine, pestilence, or demonic entities, except that number that was heard to be sealed. This time that God puts us through are trials such as no others go through. There will be such a spiritual dryness that we must learn to recognise. We must also accept that when we endure such dryness of soul that it is for a reason. The reason is to save souls through such suffering.   Very few of us respond to suffering with resolved faith and hope. Pain and frustration are coiled together like thorn bushes, pricking us, drawing out blood. And with the sting fresh and the blood meeting the open air, we ask, “God, are you really   in control? Are you really   letting this happen right now? This is precisely when Christ, through the Holy Spirit, is closest to us.  He draws near to our experience. He says, “I know…I know…I know.” It’s not a knowing that comes from some detached knowledge of human pain. It’s an intimate, personal knowledge. It’s a with-us knowledge.   It’s the knowledge that will bring others to him as they hear, “why are you persecuting me?”   That’s how close he is to his people. He identifies himself with us. He suffers with   us, even though he’s already suffered for   us.   T here is the external persecution we will suffer because of our work. Then there is the physical suffering, offered freely to us, as a gift, to be a witness to save the souls of many. Then the worst suffering of all is the spiritual emptiness where we cannot feel the love of Jesus, as we experience the trial he endured when he cried “my God, my God”. We will know what it feels like to be despised and rejected, to be someone acquainted with grief, to be a person of sorrow. We will think no amount of praying releases us from the prison of desolation. This will be the trial of our faith! Try as we will to feel love and compassion for others, we will struggle. This is the appearance of spiritual abandonment where we seem to be so far away that we can no longer reach out to Jesus. What we do not know is this: this suffering is a gift, a grace from God. It raises us up in His eyes and the trials and sufferings we endure are purposed and allowed by God because of our generous and pure love to save blackened souls.  Keep in mind that our trials can be separated by not just days or weeks or months. It may seem unfair but the closer we come to Jesus, the more we will suffer persecution, because of the sins of mankind. This is our knowing the fellowship of his suffering and becoming like Christ. Only those with pure humble hearts, with no personal regard for themselves, when we place God before all that is of this earth, can endure what God purposes for our good. Such souls are chosen divinely by God and will work with Him, through the gift of suffering, to help Jesus in God’s plan of salvation.  Our faith must be such where n ever fear enters our thoughts. We may not feel God’s presence in the darkest of trial, see Him or understand the deep love for us as we would do in normal times, but He is with us. Always trust in Him, even when we find it hard to pray in the depth of sorrow or pain. Trust in God when we have a longing for Him, which cannot be satisfied or quenched, no matter how hard the trial. Know when this happens that He is much closer than we realize. Know that it is at these times that He elevates us to become a true friend. Never feel disillusioned. The day will come when the suffering will be forgotten. In its place will be a joy which will surge through the creation and which will only be possible because of our sacrifices, for all of God’s children who need our help in the last time.  In this world, in this direst of time, suffering will be inescapable. Suffering is much broader than physical pain. Yet, we must not allow suffering to become a threat to our spirituality. Suffering will focus our attention on the moral evil of the time, while our spirituality will thrive upon truth and goodness. We are not to lose sight of the purpose of God, for that is to lose sight of the truth, and to open ourselves to the lies of suffering; that is, that evil is all-encompassing, that our life lacks meaning, that there is no benevolent God. Our faith defeats this lie, that others may view God’s goodness in strengthening us to endure, to overcome. When we defeat the lie, the killing begins. The enemy will seek to put us to death. And so we say, “whatever God allows”, and if this be the means of God saving others…then our suffering becomes a means of grace.  Spiritual growth is a path we walk, not a moment we arrive at.  We know this path spiritual growth to be an extended experiment, offered to each one of us, with its twists and turns, dips and descents. Our entire life is a holy experiment as God’s hand shapes us into the image of His Son.  A holy, Son-shaping experiment, that’s what’s happening. Right now. As we trod the path of our day, our spirit is being tended and pressed in the ordinary moments. As we walk, we’re molded. We’re shaped. We are being purposed.   And suffering plays a major role in this divine experiment. We are coming to realize that our spiritual growth’s attainment is due, without question to God’s holy calling. It is our response to that calling that claims us as His election. It is our faith first to reason, secondarily to come to the revelation of his truth that, lastly positions us to enter upon to enter upon the suffering for God's sake as did His Son. This willingness to suffer for the purposes of God draws out true thoughts, attitude and desires of the heart, to not show what we want to be, but who we are. Suffering is the mirror that reflects our soul. That doesn’t mean we’re excited about suffering, but it does mean that if we can see what’s happening by faith, we can benefit God from it in ways we otherwise couldn’t. All of this resonates with our experience as being His election. And so, our eyes turn to others who might need the wisdom and encouragement we can offer. This is one of the ways in which God shapes us into givers after His own heart. He lifts our face and turns our eyes to others. As Christ encouraged us, we encourage others. We testify to the hands of the potter, even as we’re still wet from the water of suffering, even if we are meeting death. hands of the Potter We show others just how God can take something wretched and make something beautiful, how the muck and mire of pain can be shaped into a vessel that carries God’s beauty and redemption to someone else. We become cups of grace and hope, and the offering in the hand of God to those who thirst. We know the potency of the gospel message: even the worst things of the world can't ultimately destroy us. Our faith know who God is, and who we are in Him. When it's all said and done, the Holy Spirit within us holds us up.

Human Cruelty Now let’s look at the providential reality of Revelation 22:11. The scattering of God’s covenant people into lands where they would be despised, enslaved, and regarded as less than human is one of the deepest mysteries of divine providence. It is not explained simply by human malice, though human cruelty has filled its pages with horror. Rather, it is explained by the sovereign hand of God, who in judgment, discipline, and hidden mercy allowed His people to be sown into foreign soil so that His ultimate purposes could ripen in the last days. When Israel rejected the covenant through disobedience, God’s word in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28 foretold their dispersion among the nations. The curse was not random but measured, for He determined not only the scattering but also the land of their exile. In the transatlantic passage and the bitter history that followed, God’s people found themselves in the very heart of a civilization that would exalt freedom in word only yet deny it the darkest soil in practice to them. In this contradiction—where men who claimed to be Christian could reduce others to chattel—the testimony of heaven was preserved. For only in the darkest soil can the seed of God’s truth shine so sharply. By being made “less than human” in the eyes of men, His people bore witness to the dignity heaven placed upon them, a dignity no chain or law could erase. This mystery of placement was not accidental but prophetic. Just as Egypt revealed both oppression and deliverance, so the land of hatred became both the crucible of suffering and the stage for God’s vindication. The very hatred poured out upon them became a furnace of refinement, stripping away false glory and worldly identity until what remained was the incorruptible testimony of divine election. Their suffering was not purposeless—it was a mirror of Christ, who was “despised and rejected of men,” yet in His rejection bore the world’s redemption. This brings us to the solemn word of Revelation 22:11. In this final decree, final decree God announces that humanity’s moral direction will reach its completion without reversal. The unjust and filthy will be sealed in their rebellion; the righteous and holy will be sealed in their consecration. The scattering of God’s people into lands of hatred prefigures this division. For in their degradation, the nations revealed what was already within their hearts—a hatred that could not see the image of God in their fellow man. In the same way, the last generation will reveal its true character when confronted with the witness of God’s sealed remnant. Thus the hatred against God’s people was not only a judgment upon them but also a revelation of the nations. By placing His people where they would be most despised, God exposed the depths of human corruption and prepared a stage upon which righteousness would stand in sharp contrast to iniquity. The suffering of the scattered was therefore prophetic, pointing to that hour when humanity would be polarized forever. In their abasement, the pride of the nations was unmasked; in their endurance, the righteousness of God was preserved. When Revelation 22:11 is fulfilled, it will be seen that God’s purpose in the scattering was to bring all things to a head. The nations that hated will be revealed as unjust and filthy still; the remnant that endured will be revealed as righteous and holy still. Nothing will remain hidden, for God’s design in history has always been to bring truth to its final unveiling. Therefore, the mystery of being despised as “less than human” is not the negation of God’s covenant but its confirmation. For in the land of hatred, His people bore the weight of prophetic identity until the hour when God Himself would declare the irreversible verdict. Their journey from chains to consecration embodies the very movement of history itself—from scattering to sealing, from judgment to glory. the cornerstone The story of God’s scattered people does not end with oppression. What begins as abasement culminates in exaltation, for God allows the cruelty of men only to magnify the glory of His redemption. The land of hatred, where His people were treated as less than human, becomes the very soil out of which His final testimony grows. This is the divine irony: the stone which the builders rejected becomes the cornerstone, and the people whom nations scorned become the vessels of His end-time witness. The great reversal is a theme woven throughout Scripture. Joseph was sold as a slave but became ruler in Egypt. Israel groaned under Pharaoh’s taskmasters but walked out as a nation with God’s presence. Christ Himself was crucified in weakness but raised in glory to sit at the right hand of God. Each of these is a pattern pointing to the final generation. The scattering of the covenant people into lands of hatred fits this same design. For what appeared to be their destruction was, in fact, the setting of a stage upon which God would reveal the surpassing greatness of His power. Revelation 22:11 reflects this very turning point. The decree that fixes destinies forever is not arbitrary—it reveals the outcome of the long struggle of history. Those who hardened themselves in hatred, justifying injustice and refusing repentance, are sealed in their filthiness. But those who endured suffering, clung to the promises, and were refined through tears are sealed in holiness. The very contrast that was sharpened in the land of exile becomes eternally ratified by God’s word. Here the beauty of the reversal shines most brightly: the people once dehumanized will stand as the most human, for they reflect perfectly the image of Christ. They who were denied identity by men are given the very name of God in their foreheads. They who were shut out of earthly citizenship are welcomed as citizens of the New Jerusalem. They who were forced into silence by chains and oppression will sing the new song that no other company can learn. Their rejection prepared them for consecration, and their humiliation became the womb of holiness. This reversal also serves as God’s answer to the great controversy. Satan sought to erase the dignity of God’s image-bearers by reducing them to property, declaring that they were unfit for divine election. Yet God allowed this history to unfold so that, at the end, He could vindicate His covenant people as the very ones chosen to reflect His glory most perfectly. The despised ones become the final evidence that grace is stronger than hatred, that truth is stronger than lies, and that love is stronger than the chains of history. In this light, the scattering was not abandonment but positioning. God placed His people in the center of the world’s stage, where the contradiction of freedom and slavery, Christianity and cruelty, humanity and dehumanization could be seen most clearly. When the great reversal is revealed, the nations will recognize that those whom they counted as nothing were the hidden jewels of heaven, prepared for the crown of eternal life. Thus the prophetic arc bends toward vindication. The hatred of men sharpened the contrast; the decree of Revelation 22:11 seals the result. The ones who endured contempt will shine with glory; the ones who perpetuated contempt will be left in darkness. In this final unveiling, all of history’s questions will be answered, and the God who scattered will be seen as the God who gathers, who turns sorrow into song and ashes into crowns. ashes to crowns The scattering of God’s people into the land of hatred was not simply a judgmental punishment; it was a school of refinement. In chains, on plantations, under laws that denied their humanity, the scattered remnant learned to cry out to God in ways the prosperous never could. Stripped of worldly honor, they clung to the eternal. Denied dignity by man, they found it in the presence of their Maker. Suffering became their tutor, pressing upon them the reality that this world held no lasting city, but that a kingdom not built with hands awaited the faithful. This process matured them into the very righteousness and holiness described in Revelation 22:11. Holiness is not forged in ease but in fire. The endurance of unjust suffering without retaliation, the preservation of faith while surrounded by hatred, the refusal to let bitterness consume the soul— these are the marks of a people refined like gold. Their chains became the crucible in which their faith was purified, their tears the baptism that consecrated them for God’s final purpose. In this way, the despised became prepared to be sealed as righteous and holy still, embodying the mystery of godliness in its highest expression. Indigenous peoples But the same history that refined the oppressed also exposed and condemned the oppressor. America’s treatment of its Indigenous peoples and enslaved Africans became a monumental revelation of its moral failure. By stripping Native nations of their land, erasing their cultures, and treating their lives as expendable, the nation revealed its willingness to sacrifice righteousness for greed. By reducing Black people to chattel, justifying slavery with distorted scripture, and institutionalizing racial hatred even after chains were broken, the nation displayed the spirit of filthiness that Revelation declares will one day be sealed forever. This dual history cannot be separated. For while the oppressed were forced into humility and dependence upon God, the oppressor was hardened in pride, greed, and cruelty. The very systems that dehumanized others also dehumanized the perpetrators, robbing them of conscience until they could no longer discern right from wrong. By refusing to repent, by clinging to privilege at the expense of justice, multitudes sealed themselves in the very condition Revelation 22:11 describes: unjust still, filthy still. Herein lies the paradox of divine purpose: the same history that became the refining fire of the righteous also became the condemning evidence of the unjust. America’s record toward Indigenous and Black peoples stands as a prophetic witness. It shows how far humanity will go when blinded by the love of power, and how deep grace can reach when sustaining those crushed beneath that power. The contrast is eternal. In the end, the righteous and holy will shine all the brighter for having endured hatred, while the unjust and filthy will stand condemned for having inflicted it. This is the mystery of God’s judgment—that through suffering and injustice, the final division of humanity is revealed. And when the decree of Revelation 22:11 is spoken, it will confirm forever what history has already made plain: the oppressed who clung to God are righteous still, and the oppressors who refused repentance are filthy still. The scattering and the hatred were the furnace in which this eternal testimony was forged. America was a beacon of promise Let us lift the veil on the present. In the final hour of earth’s history, America stands as both a beacon of promise and a monument of hypocrisy. Its leaders drape themselves in the garments of liberty, democracy, and faith, yet beneath these robes lies a spirit steeped in wickedness. The same nation that once justified the chains of slavery and the dispossession of Indigenous peoples now justifies oppression through polished rhetoric and policies cloaked in respectability. What is presented as “security,” “progress,” or “freedom” often masks the spirit of control, greed, and deception. The tragedy is not only that such leaders exist, but that multitudes cling to their every word as though it were truth itself. This is why spiritual discernment has never been more necessary. Only those who have been refined in the school of suffering, who have learned to hear the voice of the Spirit above the noise of propaganda, can perceive the evil power at work behind the throne. The outward show of patriotism and religion conceals a darker reality: leadership animated by the dragon’s breath, guiding a nation ever deeper into rebellion against God. Without discernment, many are blind to this power; with discernment, the righteous see that the stage is being set for the final conflict between the kingdom of Christ and the kingdom of antichrist. And here the words of the apostle Paul find their dreadful fulfillment: “For this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness”. Because the heart of the nation has so long resisted repentance—because it has exalted its leaders’ lies above the plain truth of God—divine justice allows delusion to take root. Men and women who once had the capacity to discern right from wrong are swept away by the torrent of deception. They believe lies about race, lies about justice, lies about God Himself, until their very consciences are seared. Thus, in America’s present condition, Revelation 22:11 becomes increasingly visible. Those who drink deeply of these lies are hardened—unjust still, filthy still. Their leaders speak, and they follow blindly, their trust misplaced in human power rather than the living God. But those who are righteous, who have endured hatred and oppression yet held to truth, perceive the deception for what it is. They are not seduced by the outward show of power. Instead, they cling to Christ, whose word alone cuts through the fog of delusion. They are righteous still, holy still. Christ's word alone cuts through the fog of delusion This is the great unveiling of the end. Leadership that appears noble is exposed as wicked; a nation that claims liberty is revealed as enslaved to lies. Yet out of this environment of deception, God’s remnant shines with greater clarity. Their discernment, born of suffering and sharpened by the Spirit, testifies that God’s truth stands unmoved while the world falls under delusion. America’s treatment of the oppressed revealed the heart of its injustice; America’s leaders in the last days reveal the fullness of its filthiness. And through both, God prepares His final witness: a people so refined in holiness that no lie can deceive them, a people sealed forever in His truth. There is a reason for your hearing truths repeated…truths enlarged. Repetition and enlargement of God's truth build faith and wisdom by embedding and deepening divine principles within a believer's heart and mind. Repetition reinforces the foundational truths of scripture, while enlargement expands upon them, revealing greater depth and complexity. This process transforms spiritual understanding from superficial knowledge into a confident and deeply rooted trust in God. Major themes are highlighted. Spiritual challenges build spiritual minds and reinforce memory. Understanding is expanded. It moves knowledge from the head to the heart: enlargement helps spiritual truths move beyond mere intellectual assent to become a transformative, internal reality. It broadens a believer's understanding of God's character and plan while increasing spiritual capacity to receive more from God. Your foundation is principled, and your understanding is structured to give you wisdom. Repetition here is not vain. It is deliberate to create enduring minds and spirits to focus on God’s truth. Before continuing study II Peter 1:12 and 13. Engaging with God's truth in a deeper way strengthens theological convictions and equips believers to discern the greater light of truth. This is the difference between having a shallow faith and a robust faith that can withstand life's trials. The scattering of God’s covenant people into lands where they would be despised, enslaved, and counted as less than human is one of the most painful yet purposeful mysteries of divine providence. Human cruelty wrote the chapters, but divine sovereignty permitted the story. God allowed His people to be carried into the heart of nations that would strip them of dignity, for in that very soil of hatred His plan for the last generation was planted. Their abasement was not their end, but their preparation. When Israel rejected the covenant, their judgment was measured: God transatlantic passage Himself determined both the dispersal and the lands of exile. In the transatlantic passage and the bitter centuries that followed, His people endured the paradox of being planted in a land that proclaimed liberty yet denied it most cruelly to them. In this contradiction—freedom for some, bondage for others—the testimony of heaven was preserved. In this place of the darkest deception God’s truth shines in piercing contrast. Being brought to this land the scattered generationally bore witness to the indelible dignity that heaven had placed upon them. No lash, no law, no lie could erase the fact that they were chosen. Their humiliation became their refining fire. Holiness was forged not in ease but in affliction. In today’s America, this contrast grows sharper still. This is the strong delusion foretold in Scripture. Because the people have so long resisted repentance, God allows deception to overtake them. Lies are no longer perceived as lies; they are embraced as truth. Falsehoods issuing from the mouths of corrupt leaders are believed as gospel. Consciences grow dull, and the love of power blinds the heart to justice and mercy. In this condition, multitudes are sealed—unjust still, filthy still—because they prefer the comfort of deception over the cost of truth. Now let us reason with the other “still” in the cosmic trial. The still of America’s enduring hatred is to expose how the same permanence is manifest, though in a darker form. The still of America’s nature is the refusal to repent of a sin woven into its fabric from the beginning—the hatred of God’s chosen and the contempt for His image in oppressed peoples. Despite centuries of bloodshed, struggle, reform, and appeals for justice, the still of hatred endures. It mutates in form, but not in essence. The spirit that once justified slavery still justifies oppression. The voice that once cried for segregation still whispers for exclusion. The arrogance that once denied humanity still mocks truth and dignity. This is the unrelenting still that testifies to the prophecy of strong delusion: America is still settling into her historical sins, confirming her character before the Judge of all the earth while still clinging to the hidden venom of hatred. The still of hatred that has never been repented of. The two stills—one sealing holiness, the other sealing enmity— move side by side toward their appointed end. One is the fragrance of Christ unto life; the other, the stench of rebellion unto death. The solemn word “still” is the word that settles it. From the first Indigenous murder to the first lash laid on enslaved backs to the last unarmed child gunned down in Minneapolis, America has shown that her deep wound is not healed. The outward forms of progress shift, but the inward poison remains. Hatred is still here. Racism is still whispered into policy, hidden in systems, preached from pulpits of nationalism, and justified under banners of freedom. It mutates, disguises, reforms—but it does not die. It is still. This still of America’s nature stands as a fearful counterpoint to Revelation’s promise. Where holiness matures in God’s people, cruelty matures in the oppressor. Just as the saints grow into the image of Christ, so too the wicked ripen into the likeness of the adversary. Both are reaching fullness, each under the influence of a master—one Spirit of life, one spirit of death. The tragedy is that America as a nation persists in believing the lie. The deception is strong because the desire for truth is weak. And so God allows delusion to prevail, that those who love not the truth might be judged. The hatred that was once excused as ignorance is now willful, stubborn, and unyielding. It is still. Therefore, the two stills—the holy and the hateful—stand as witnesses in the last generation. The righteous are still faithful though despised; the wicked are still cruel though warned. The sobering truth is this—America’s refusal to release its sin is not just a blemish on her history but a prophecy of her destiny. The land of freedom will be revealed as the land of strong delusion. The still of Revelation is the dividing line of eternity. And the still of America’s hatred proves how close that line is. The closing decree of Revelation 22:11 is more than a verdict; it is the final verdict crystallization of character. America’s history bears witness to this strange providence. By absorbing hatred without returning it, the people of God are conformed to Christ’s likeness. By being despised, they are driven deeper into the secret refuge of divine intimacy. Thus, the still of hatred is permitted, for it sharpens the still of holiness. The wicked are blind to this mystery. They believe their cruelty crushes the righteous, when in truth it sanctifies them. Every slander teaches the saint the language of silence before the Lamb. Every act of injustice teaches them to lean more heavily on unseen promises. Every threat exposes the hatred that still dwells in the nation, while confirming that the righteous are still unmoved. In this way, the furnace of hatred becomes the forge of eternal righteousness. And so the two stills advance together: the wicked still hate, because their hearts love the lie. The righteous still endure, because their hearts love the truth. At the end, America’s unrepented hatred matures into open hostility against God’s people, sealing her under delusion and judgment. The word still in Revelation 22:11 is not merely the closing of human probation; it is the conclusion of the great controversy itself. It signifies the moment when the universe beholds two peoples, fully matured, their characters set in stone—one in righteousness, the other in rebellion. No middle ground remains. No mask can cover what has ripened within. America’s enduring hatred, unrepented and unhealed, is not an accident of history but a testimony of prophecy. It is the soil in which the adversary’s seed has grown unchecked. Where open slavery ended, systemic oppression worsened. Where strange fruit hanged from trees, veiled hostility is the rope of underlying prejudice and animosity – rooted terrorism. What was once codified segregation has become cultural exclusion. And yet, beneath every disguise, the same venom still flows. This persistence is not only evidence of human stubbornness—it is the mystery of iniquity reaching maturity. God, in His wisdom, allows this hatred to remain until it is fully ripe, for the same reason He allowed Egypt’s cruelty, Babylon’s arrogance, and Rome’s violence. Evil must be revealed in its naked form so that the universe may see its true character. The hatred that is still alive in America becomes the stage upon which the final scenes of the controversy unfold. anvil of hostility But here lies the paradox of God’s design: the still of hatred becomes the very catalyst for the still of holiness. The saints do not mature in times of ease, but in the furnace of contradiction. Their patience, their purity, their discernment, and their unshakable faith are hammered out against the anvil of hostility. Without an enemy’s hatred, the elect could not display the depth of God’s love. Without the world’s rejection, they could not embody the fullness of Christ’s cross. The unrighteous are still hardened by hatred; the righteous are still softened into love. Thus, the two stills reveal the climax of the controversy: Satan’s kingdom reaches its apex in delusion, hatred, and violence. God’s kingdom reaches its perfection in faith, endurance, and holy love. The still of hatred and the still of holiness together declare the eternal answer: love has triumphed over hate, truth has outlasted lies, and the Lamb has conquered through the very cross that the world despised. In this way, the persistence of America’s hatred does not overthrow God’s plan—it fulfills it. The universe sees with perfect clarity: sin matures into death, but holiness matures into life. O world, the decree is spoken. Choose your still, for the hour is late. And then comes the voice from the throne— final, irreversible, and eternal: “It is done” . Prophecy compels us to look deeper. The still of righteousness does not emerge in a vacuum, nor does the still of wickedness. Each is matured under pressure, ripened through conflict, revealed in contrast. In America especially, the hatred that has persisted is a dark testimony of this truth. Despite centuries of light, appeals, and opportunity, the nation is still steeped in unrepented hatred. This persistence is not accidental—it is prophetic. It shows the ripening of the mystery of iniquity, preparing the stage for final judgment. The maturing of holiness can be traced through the seven thunders—the hidden dimensions of divine intimacy is given only to those having the mind of Christ. Each thunder unveils a stage of transformation by which the righteous are prepared to stand “holy still” when the decree is spoken. And in each stage, the opposition of hatred serves as the backdrop against which holiness shines. The journey begins with the indwelling of Christ within the believer. Hatred still surrounds, but the saint learns that the true temple is not in human approval but in the heart where Christ abides. America may still scorn their identity, still deny their worth, still mark them as “less,” but in this pressure they discover the unshakable presence of Emmanuel. They are becoming holy still because Christ is dwelling still. As hatred condemns and the world accuses, the Spirit writes God’s law upon their minds and hearts. Every lie spoken against them—every “you are nothing,” every denial of justice—meets the inner witness of forgiveness and cleansing. Though the world still accuses, the blood of Christ still speaks better things. In this collision, they become a people who no longer live under shame, but under divine acquittal. Their conscience is clean, their identity secure, their holiness sealed deeper. eat the Word Here the remnant are sustained by bread the world cannot see. Hatred denies them access, strips them of earthly security, and mocks their need. Yet in their wilderness, God feeds them with hidden manna. America’s hatred may still deprive, still oppress, still withhold, but the saints eat the bread of heaven. Their survival no longer depends on the world’s systems, but on Christ Himself. This hidden sustenance matures their faith to stand independent of earthly provision, holy still in famine and rejection. Hatred provokes retaliation, yet the remnant are drawn into the ministry of intercession. They learn to pray for their persecutors, to carry the sorrows of the oppressed, to plead for mercy even on those who hate them. The wicked are still hardened, still cruel, but the saints are still compassionate, still burdened with Christ’s priestly heart. This thunder lifts them into heavenly places where their prayers mingle with Christ’s own, shaping them into His likeness. Hatred crucifies, but here the remnant embrace the mystery of the cross within. They accept not merely the cross of Christ for them, but the cross of Christ in them. As America still despises, still mocks, still oppresses, they learn the deeper truth: to die with Christ is to live with Him. Their lives are no longer their own, and even in death, they are still faithful. Thus the cross becomes the seal of unshakable holiness. bride awaiting her Groom The remnant are not only purified but betrothed. Hatred seeks to isolate, to make them despised and forsaken, yet it drives them into bridal intimacy with the Lamb. The more the world still rejects them, the more Christ claims them as His beloved. They are adorned with the beauty of holiness, entering into covenantal union that hatred cannot sever. In this union, they become holy still—faithful as a bride awaiting her Groom. At last, the remnant stand with the Lamb on Mount Zion, having the Father’s name written on their foreheads. Hatred is still burning in the world, but they bear the seal of divine identity that cannot be erased. America may still deny their heritage, still obscure their history, still despise their existence, but heaven has revealed their true name. They are sons and daughters of the Most High, sealed for eternity. Here the contrast of the two stills reaches its perfection: the wicked are still hardened, and the righteous are still holy. When the decree of Revelation 22:11 is spoken, the seven thunders will have completed their work. The remnant will have passed through the furnace of hatred, refined into vessels of eternal holiness. At the same time, the world will have ripened in rebellion, clinging to hatred as its final testimony. The still of wickedness will prove that sin matures only into death. The still of holiness will prove that God’s love is stronger than the grave. Together, these two stills form the eternal answer to the great controversy. The universe will see with perfect clarity: hatred cannot destroy holiness; instead, it forges it. Lies cannot silence truth; they only reveal its power. Cruelty cannot erase love; it becomes the backdrop against which love shines brightest. Thus, the two stills meet at the end of the age—the one sealing rebellion, the other sealing holiness. And in this final collision, the mystery of God is finished, and the Lamb is vindicated forever. We speak the final testimony as we stand as witnesses before heaven and earth. “O world, you are still hardened. Your hatred has endured every call to repentance, and it is still burning. You clothed it in laws, you baptized it in nationalism, you whispered it in policies, and you sang it in hymns of pride— but it was hatred still. You chose lies over truth, cruelty over mercy, self over God. Your end has come. But we are still here. Hated, yet faithful. Despised, yet beloved. Rejected, yet sealed. Through your fires, we found His presence dwelling within. Through your lies, we heard His blood cleansing our conscience. Through your deprivation, we ate the hidden manna. Through your hostility, we prayed as intercessors. Through your cruelty, we bore His cross. Through your rejection, we entered bridal union. And now, through your denial of who we are, the Father has revealed our true name. Nothing you did could turn us. Nothing you withheld could starve us. Nothing you accused could shame us. Nothing you inflicted could silence us. We know whose we are, and we will not be moved. We are in the end of the controversy: your still condemned you; our still vindicates our God. The universe beholds the answer—love triumphant, truth unbroken, Christ is all in all.

Still Revelation 22:11 resounds with a voice unlike any other in Scripture: “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.” In this solemn pronouncement, Jesus declares the final and irreversible state of all humanity. It is the divine closure of probation, the moment when every soul’s moral trajectory is sealed, never to be altered again. The most striking term in this verse is the word “still”—a simple adverb, yet carrying infinite depth. It is not merely descriptive; it is judicial, prophetic, and eternal. It denotes the permanence of character and the immutability of one’s chosen path once the door of mercy closes. In ordinary speech, “still” conveys continuity. It tells us that what is happening now will persist into the future. Yet in Revelation, this word “still” does more than mark continuity—it fixes continuity eternally. It is not just that the unjust remain unjust for a few more hours, or the righteous remain righteous for another day. Rather, it is that their chosen character becomes unchangeable essence. “Still”, here does not point to a temporary extension of present conduct, but to a forever state of character. When Christ utters it, He is not speaking of possibility but of permanence. This permanence pierces the heart because all through life men and women are accustomed to change. The unjust may repent, the filthy may wash, the the filthy may wash righteous may stumble, the holy may grow weary—but here, all that ceases. Change, which has defined the human story since Eden, is arrested. The final utterance of “still” signals that the fluid stream of time has reached its delta in eternity. No new chapter will be written; the book of character is closed. Throughout history, God has extended mercy, permitting transformation at every stage. Adam could be clothed after his fall. David could cry for forgiveness after adultery. Peter could weep bitterly after denial. Saul of Tarsus could be struck blind and reborn as Paul the apostle. The beauty of grace has always been its elasticity—that sinners may turn and the faithful may grow. Yet “still” marks the end of elasticity. It is the divine freezing of the soul’s moral state. The possibility of exchange—filth for holiness, unrighteousness for righteousness—expires. “Still” is the voice of Christ declaring that mercy has accomplished its work, and each soul has fixed itself in its chosen identity. Notice the balance of opposites in this verse: unjust versus righteous, filthy versus holy. Each pair represents not merely actions but states of being. The unjust are those who persist in injustice; the righteous are those whose lives have been aligned with God’s justice. The filthy are those polluted by sin’s dominion; the holy are those purified through union with Christ. What makes the verse terrifying and beautiful is that both conditions—defiled and purified—are pronounced to continue “still.” Heaven does not force change at the last hour; it ratifies what the soul has freely embraced. In this sense, the word “still” is heaven’s Amen to human choice. It is not arbitrary but reflective: God simply allows each to be stayed in the state they cultivated in time. Spiritually, “still” teaches us that life is not a rehearsal for eternity but the very formation of eternity itself. Every thought entertained, every habit cherished, every loyalty displayed is not lost in the air but becomes part of the permanent record of who we are. “Still” is the future echo of today’s choices. What we are becoming now, we shall “still” be when the voice of Christ declares probation closed. This magnifies the urgency of daily life, for eternity is hidden in every decision. To live as though tomorrow will always offer another chance is to mock the reality that someday the “still” of Revelation will render tomorrow obsolete. the sweetest music For the righteous and the holy, the word “still” becomes the sweetest music. It means their righteousness will never be corrupted again, their holiness never stained. No more fear of falling, no more danger of temptation, no more tears of repentance. Their standing is not provisional but eternal. “Still” for them means they are forever fixed in the likeness of Christ. Their purity will endure through ceaseless eternities, untouched by sin’s shadow. What they once pursued by faith will be theirs by permanent reality. “Still” becomes the guarantee of everlasting security—the sanctification completed, the image of God restored, the union with Christ eternal. eternal shackles Yet for the unjust and the filthy, “still” is a word of infinite sorrow. It signifies that their bondage to sin is not only present but fixed everlastingly. The very chains they refused to break become eternal shackles in the forgottenness of their absence from eternity. They will never repent, never turn, never love righteousness, never desire holiness. “Still” declares that the cessation of their conscience is permanently hardened, their appetite for sin eternally quenched in its finality - their end is destruction. There is no more gospel for them, no more pleading Spirit, no more interceding Christ. Their destiny is locked, and “still” becomes a tombstone over their eternal identity. The judicial brilliance of the word “still” is that it respects human freedom. God does not compel righteousness or holiness upon the unwilling. Neither does He arbitrarily damn the righteous. Rather, He simply declares that each person “still” is what they chose to be. Divine justice, therefore, is not tyranny but confirmation. It is heaven affirming the direction the soul insisted upon. If the wicked are wicked still, it is because they have loved wickedness still. If the holy are holy still, it is because they have loved holiness still. The pronouncement is not God’s imposition but His recognition of the irreversible fruits of freedom. The most sobering thought is that when this decree is made, heaven is silent toward earth. The intercessory work of Christ ceases; the Spirit no longer pleads with hearts. Angels who once ministered to bring souls to repentance now withdraw. The silence itself is a witness: God has spoken His last word of mercy, and the word is “still.” In this silence, humanity faces eternity with only the character it has prepared. The weight of this silence, when the mediatorial voice has ceased, is too deep to measure. It is the echo of probation closed, the eternal pause in which the universe waits for the unveiling of final destinies. Revelation 22:11 stands as one of the most solemn texts in all of Scripture because of the word “still.” It teaches that every breath we take is shaping what we shall “still” be when the heavens utter this final decree. For some, it will be joy everlasting; for others, ashed in sorrow . Yet the word is not given to terrify but to awaken. It is heaven’s warning that today is the day of salvation, that now is the acceptable time. The “still” of tomorrow is formed in the choices of today. What we cling to now, we shall cling to forever. Thus, the word “still” is not only prophecy but mercy—revealing the gravity of life, the permanence of character, and the urgency of decision. It is God’s final word to humanity: Be what you are, for the final view will only mirror the present self you have chosen. Each state was fixed by choice and revealed by testing. Daniel 12:10 says: “the wicked shall do wickedly.” Here the focus is not merely on a single act of injustice, but on a settled life-pattern of lawlessness. The unjust are those who knowingly refuse God’s standard of justice and persist in rebellion. The Revelation seals this reality word “still” in Revelation seals this reality: those who have lived in injustice will be permitted to continue in it, without restraint, until judgment overtakes them. Daniel highlights their blindness: “none of the wicked shall understand.” This is crucial—the unjust not only do wickedly, they lose the capacity for spiritual discernment. Sin blinds the conscience until truth itself appears foolish. And so, when Revelation 22:11 declares the unjust “still” unjust, it affirms Daniel’s prophecy that wickedness will perpetuate itself without repentance. The unjust remain locked in a cycle of blindness and rebellion, cut off from the wisdom that could have saved them. Daniel 12:10 describes a world where testing refines some, but leaves others hardened: “the wicked shall do wickedly.” To be “filthy” in Revelation 22:11 is more than being unjust in behavior; it is to be morally polluted at the core of one’s being—defiled by sin’s corruption and unwashed by Christ’s blood. The filthy in this sense are those who resist purification, who cling to defilement despite the offer of cleansing. Daniel provides the reason: the wicked, even when tried, do not turn from their ways. The fires of testing that purify the righteous only intensify the filth of the wicked. Trials reveal what is within: the filthy show their refusal to be cleansed. Revelation’s “still” therefore confirms Daniel’s principle—testing does not automatically purify; it divides. Those who resist grace emerge from trial not refined but encrusted more deeply in filth, sealed in their defilement forever. fires of testing Daniel 12:10 continues: “Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried.” Here we see the exact parallel to Revelation’s “righteous.” The righteous are those who have allowed the fires of testing to refine their character. They are not righteous in themselves, but by faith they have embraced Christ’s righteousness, which empowers their obedience. To be “righteous still” means that the refining process has reached its intended result—they are permanently established in a life aligned with God’s justice. Notice how Daniel emphasizes three stages: purified, made white, and tried. Purification cleanses away sin; being made white signifies imputed righteousness; and being tried confirms their faith through testing. Revelation’s “still” locks in this final product of grace. No more danger of compromise, no more wavering— the righteousness they once pursued is now their eternal reality. What was once probationary becomes permanent. Daniel 12:10 distinguishes between the wicked and the wise: “the wise shall understand.” Wisdom here is not intellectual brilliance but spiritual perception granted to the holy. Holiness is deeper than righteousness in outward action—it is inward consecration, the full sanctification of the heart. The holy are not only just in behavior but set apart entirely to God, filled with His presence. Revelation’s decree fixes them in this sacred union: they are holy “still,” forever united with God’s holiness. Daniel shows that this understanding is a gift the wicked cannot access. Only the wise—the holy ones—see through the confusion of the last days. They discern God’s purposes in trial, and their insight deepens their consecration. Revelation’s “still” assures that this holiness will never fade, never be compromised again. It is the eternal sealing of those who have chosen to walk in wisdom and intimacy with God. Together, Daniel 12:10 and Revelation 22:11 present a prophetic mirror: the unjust of Revelation are the wicked who do wickedly in Daniel; the filthy of Revelation are the wicked who resist purification in Daniel; the righteous of made white Revelation are those who in Daniel are purified, made white, and tried; the holy of Revelation are the wise who understand in Daniel. The “still” of Revelation is the divine confirmation of the process Daniel foresaw: trials would divide humanity into only two camps—the wise purified, and the wicked hardened. By the end, no middle ground remains. Revelation then seals these conditions eternally, ensuring that what Daniel described as a process becomes the unalterable destiny of every soul. The tie between Daniel 12:10 and Revelation 22:11 reveals that the end-time division of humanity is not arbitrary but the culmination of a process long in motion. Trials, purification, and testing expose the true condition of each heart. The wicked grow more wicked; the righteous become righteous through cleansing; the holy discern God’s will with wisdom. Revelation’s word “still” declares the final and eternal state of these categories. The door door of probation closes of probation closes, and every life’s trajectory reaches its permanent destination. Together, Daniel and Revelation tell us that now—before the “still” is spoken—is the time to choose whether we will be among the wicked who understand nothing, or the wise who are purified, righteous, and holy forever. In Revelation 22:11, Jesus declares two enduring conditions of the saved: “He that is righteous, let him be righteous still; and he that is holy, let him be holy still.” These are not synonyms, but complementary realities. Righteousness relates to God’s justice manifested in human life, while holiness signifies full consecration—separation unto God’s own being. This twofold identity of the redeemed finds its most vivid reflection in the two groups of Revelation: the great multitude and the 144,000. Together, they embody the fruit of grace in time and its permanence in eternity. In Revelation John beholds “a great multitude”. Their description perfectly parallels the “righteous” of Revelation 22:11. Their righteousness is not inherent but received: they are washed, not self-cleansed; they are clothed, not self- garbed. Their character has been transformed through faith in the blood of the Lamb. They are righteous because they trusted God’s justice revealed at Calvary, and because they surrendered to the purifying work of Christ in their trials. Daniel 12:10 foretold this when he said: “Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried.” The great multitude fulfill this word. They are the purified ones, made white through Christ, their faith tested in tribulation. Their righteousness is the evidence of God’s saving power across every age and nation, a testimony that grace is stronger than sin, no matter where one is born or how one suffers. Thus, the great multitude stand as the “righteous still.” Their character development is the victory of faith under trial, the robe of Christ imputed and imparted, and the enduring witness that the blood of the Lamb cleanses to the uttermost. By contrast, Revelation 14 describes the 144,000 with words that go beyond righteousness to the essence of holiness: “These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.” Here is holiness—complete consecration, union, and transparency before God. To be holy is not merely to be just in conduct but to be wholly God’s in being. The 144,000 embody this reality. They are not just washed; they are sealed. They are not only righteous in deeds; they are without fault in essence. They the Lamb follow the Lamb with unbroken intimacy. Daniel 12:10 again foreshadows this: “the wise shall understand.” The 144,000 are those wise ones. Their holiness grants them spiritual discernment in the most deceptive hour of history. They spiritually embody the understanding of every word given Jesus by His Father. They see through the fog of Antichrist, for their eyes are fixed on the Lamb. Their holiness is not only separation from sin but incorporation into the very mind of Christ. They stand as firstfruits, showing what God can do in human clay fully embued with and fully surrendered to His Spirit. Thus, they are the “holy still.” Their character development is the consummation of sanctification, the restoration of Eden’s lost image, and the witness that humanity can be united with divinity without mixture or compromise. It would be a misstep to set in opposition the great multitude and the 144,000 with each other, as if one is lesser. Rather, they reveal two dimensions of the redeemed community. The great multitude displays the universal scope of salvation—men and women from every age, nation, and circumstance who by faith receive Christ’s righteousness. The 144,000 display the ultimate depth of salvation—the sealing of a last-day remnant whose holiness demonstrates the full recovery of what was lost in Eden. Together they show that salvation is both breadth and height. It gathers a multitude no man can number - righteousness across humanity - and it produces a remnant no one can imitate - holiness in sealed intimacy. In waving palm branches eternity, both groups will stand side by side: the righteous multitude waving palm branches, and the holy 144,000 singing the song no other can learn. There is a profound alignment that God presents to His people in the bible. Hebrews 11 closes its gallery of faith with two verses that lift the veil on God’s ultimate plan. Here we see two groups: the faithful of the past who died in hope, and the final generation who will receive the promise in fullness. When united with Revelation’s vision of the great multitude and the 144,000, these verses form a prophetic symmetry that reveals the purpose of God according to Romans 9:11: “that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth.” The great multitude of Revelation 7 parallels the faithful witnesses described in Hebrews 11:39. Both groups are countless in scope, drawn from every nation, era, and circumstance. They endured trials, tribulations, and hardships, yet through faith “obtained a good report.” The faithful of Hebrews 11 “received not the promise” because they died before the consummation of God’s plan. Likewise, the great multitude stands as the full harvest of redeemed humanity who by faith trusted the promise, though they did not live to see the end of the story. Thus, the great multitude embodies Hebrews 11:39: they are the vast company who believed in God’s promise, lived by faith, were purified in trial, and entered eternity through the Lamb’s righteousness. Their character development is righteousness fulfilled in diversity — the testimony that God has always had a people who trusted Him, whether in ancient Israel, under persecution, or in the countless tribulations of history. If the great multitude corresponds to Hebrews 11:39, then the 144,000 correspond to Hebrews 11:40. The 144,000 are the final generation, the very elect remnant who live to see Christ’s return without tasting death. They do not merely “obtain a good report” — they enter into the “better thing” provided at the close of history: the sealing of holiness, the finishing of the mystery of God, and the vindication of divine purpose in the great controversy. Their role is to bring the journey of the faithful to its appointed climax. All previous generations cannot be perfected apart from the 144,000, because the purpose of God demands a final witness — a people who stand in holiness without an intercessor, proving the sufficiency of grace under the most extreme test. In them, the testimony of faith begun in Abel and carried through every age reaches its consummation. The words in Romans 9:11 explain why this twofold witness exists: “that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth.” The great multitude represents God’s elect across time, chosen by grace, not works, to live by faith in promise though they died before 144,000 fulfillment. The 144,000 represent God’s very elect at the end of time, chosen not by merit but by divine calling, to demonstrate the perfection of God’s purpose in a living witness. Together, these groups prove that election is not favoritism but function. God calls one group to believe without seeing, and another group to finish what has been promised. The multitude reveal the breadth of salvation, the 144,000 reveal the height of consecration — both existing so that the purpose of God may stand unshaken through eternity. The great multitude and the 144,000 are in covenantal harmony. The multitude testifies that faith has always triumphed, even without receiving the final promise. The 144,000 testify that the final promise has come, and the faith of all ages is perfected in them. In union, they answer the cry that God’s purpose in election is eternal, rooted not in human effort, but in divine sovereignty. God is vindicated as just and merciful, having preserved a people in every age, and raised up a remnant at the end to seal His victory. The elect endured in righteousness by faith yet died in hope. The very elect are those who live to see perfection come, completing the testimony of faith. Both are God’s purpose. Together, these two groups form the eternal answer to sin, showing that God’s promise never fails: whether through death or through life, His people will stand, righteous still, holy still, to the glory of His eternal purpose. breadth and height

Now is the tossing on the waves of a troublsome world Christ is all our hopes for time and time to come. Hope is reasonable only as it is scriptural. For it is by scripture that we have a good look forward. A look that Jesus Christ is coming very soon, coming for all His people, to gather together all His family, that we may be for ever with Him. We can bear hard things without murmuring. We know the time is short. Now is the schooling, then the eternal knowing. Now is the tossing on the waves of a troublesome world, then the quiet harbor. Now is the scattering, then the gathering. Now is the time of sowing, then the harvest. Now is the working, then the wages. Now is the cross, then the crown. I have no power to discern the complete purpose of God. But how deep is that little expression “God is love”. Christ will open the mines connected to that sacred truth. And Christ will open the minds connected to that sacred truth. Take heed that we do not make a Christ of our faith. It is not to be sacrificed; it is not to suffer death. Our faith is the eternalness of God. The beginning from everlasting. Scripture challenges our faith by the assertion that everything, without exception, is of God. What is not of the power of God? All things are of God. God is responsible! Let’s put reason and thought to it so we can see amazing implications. God is responsible for everything. He is responsible for the good and the bad. Whatever happens, know God is behind it. If there is calamity in a city, will calamity in a city not the Lord have done it? He orchestrated it because. God pays punctilious attention to every of even the smallest of things. There is nothing random with God. Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? Who would limit Him, perhaps seeing Him as a one-dimensional God. Life is at God’s discretion. We must understand the supremacy of God. His election relinquishes the control of their thoughts and their words to God. The wicked desires to kill us, but God constrains them. Why are all things of God purposed in faith? Accordingly, we will not be judged by our actions and inactions. We will be judged by our thoughts, which is where we reign supreme. But it is God who allows us to carry out or not to carry out the thought. God is the God of the heart, and He knows it is our thoughts that determine who we are. This is how our belief depends not on natural human investigation but on God’s own words and promises, the faith once delivered to us. This is the acclaim bursting forth in the hearts of all who have come into contact with the living Christ and have been freed from sin. It is extremely satisfying when we can express ourselves completely and forcefully, especially when we are uttering a deep conviction or are putting into words a strong feeling of love for all these things that Christ is doing in our lives. Upon reflection, we can appreciate that when God the Father speaks eternally from His own depths, His “Word” is perfect, complete, and utterly expressive of Himself, for His Word is Jesus Christ, the Son who became man. We all should approach every passage in God’s word with a real sense of expectancy. That the world might see us, his people, is in accordance with the eternal purpose which God carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord. Christ is the mystery of truths to be embraced in loving contemplation. And God is the manifold wisdom of every cause which can never be resolved by investigation but is to be savored and reverenced. All these things are hidden from the natural mind. But are revealed to the spiritual mind in terms of faith. There is a higher meaning to mystery accessible to those who know and are higher meaning to mystery initiated into the mystery and come to grasp some dimension of it; it is the deeper reality of things. Mystery finds its principal role in the concept of revelation. Built on the pillars of the covenant, God’s self-revelation makes the history of salvation available to us, a history in which the God of Israel with reason bestows the revelation of mystery. He not only reveals the mystery of His will, but He communicates to men and women the mystery of His personal triune life. In the Incarnation of the Son, God comes in person to communicate Himself to humans. The Incarnate Son is the perfect revealer of the Father and the mystery of the Father’s love for the world, which is followed by the pouring out and sustaining gift of the Holy Spirit. In the logic of revelation, there is no need for conjecture regarding what the divinity keeps hidden because God takes the initiative to make Himself known to His election. In biblical revelation, mystery no longer represents the realm wherein God hides Himself but instead represents the rich sphere in which He communicates and directs Himself toward us. Mystery ceases to be a certain withholding of knowledge and instead becomes a certain offering of knowledge. As in the Old Testament, the secret, or the mystery, refers to the revelation of the “last things.” This revelation presents the relationship between God and human beings finding its completion in the New Testament, wherein the economy of salvation, is that part of divine revelation that deals with God’s creation and management of the world, particularly His purpose of salvation accomplished through the elect, whose economy of revelation is dominated by the event of the Incarnation of What Jesus tells us in darkness... the Son of God. Mystery, then, does not deal with a knowledge reserved for the elect few. On the contrary, it refers to a message destined to be conveyed freely to all people through the teaching of the word. What Jesus tells us in darkness, that speak we in light: and what we hear in the ear, that preach we upon the housetops. We direct truth to all people, without exception. It is the offering of the personal life of God Himself. We are at the final moment, and we are to know all these things by faith. Please reason spiritually with this next set of words. Our faith, as it is of Christ, needs to understand itself as dwelling in the realm of mystery, of that which exceeds and overwhelms any language and concepts with which we seek to understand it. We must never think that just because God knows His election by purpose and we have reasoned with Him to come to this understanding, that we are saved in that reasoning, in that understanding. We are saved by faith. Our faith is in every thing that God purposes. This includes seeing the death of our children, the sufferings of the world, and knowing by faith that if these young ones suffer not death at this time they might loose heaven in growing to hate their oppressors in later years. We may ought to eliminate our desires in order to observe the mysteries. We may ought to have desires in order to observe the manifestations of God’s purposes. There is this great barrier in the repairing of the breach. It is the lacking in wisdom because of the abandonment of reason. It is reasoning all these things that explodes our understandings beyond our apprehension and comprehension, not only because our knowledge has certain irremovable limits, but because in it we come upon a something inherently ‘wholly other’, whose kind and character are incommensurable with our own, and before which we therefore recoil in a wonder that strikes us chill and numb. This Wholly Other in mystery is the unknown, but through forgiveness this 'unknown' becomes known, is disclosed, as 'The Holy One'. God is the Highest Being that is the key to the meaning of the whole of being. And His highest task may be known in His purpose according to election. Let us not be overly concerned with the “what” for we know what the “what” is in His purpose. We are to consider the “how”. For the “how” of it is based on our accord with Christ. This accord requires and determines that and how the faith enters into the deity of Christ. The faith of Jesus makes the whole of being transparent to our human understanding. This faith in conjunction with the principle of sufficient reason. Please, please, think on this; the result, following from the intention, is the mystery in relation to the whole of being, including, of course, the Highest Being. And so, where everything that presents itself in the light of coherence, God can, for representational thinking in the exalted and holy mysteriousness of His distance bring us into His election by purpose. Let us not be arrogant in our thinking. May we fall on our knees in awe before our Most High and Holy God. What gives reason to all these things is that God is that which is our faith. For if the revealed God is not simultaneously the hidden God, the life of faith is itself threatened. If our faith is, then we shall never want to define God. For we cannot worship what we can comprehend. This is that mystery which remains concealed even in its unconcealment. We walk by faith, not by sight, that faith may be converted into sight by the power of reason. Reasoning narrows the gap between human knowledge and divine knowledge. When any neglect the counsel to come to reason with God they deceive themselves to be the sites of absolute knowing, to be the possessors and embodiment Israel-Palestine Conflict of absolute truth. This is the attitude displayed in the Israel-Palestine conflict. That their project becomes the end which justifies virtually any means results in violence, both literally and rhetorically. Faith lessens human zeal for violence for there is no confusing ourselves with God. The truth of faith enables those who have attained it to perceive the possibility of a revelation, a higher view of scripture, in a way which is not open to those who have never ventured beyond the frontiers of the realm of human intellect. Any who fail to reason, puts God in a box and hearing is finished. The God who is a Spirit and truth can never fit into our concept without remainder. Our concepts are not adequate to God. If, on the other hand, we understand that God and God’s works of purpose always overflow our understanding of them, we just may remain open to ever new and renewed hearing of the Voice that comes to us in revelation. How do you understand your faith? The answer is always to avoid that which is not of God in the strictest sense. Studying with others who resists reasoning is like studying the bible as divinely revealed misinformation about God. The purpose of “misinformation” is to cause to fall short. God is unknowable. Yet that does not excuse our conscience to forget what truth we do know. It is in all these things that faith must reign. In this concept faith is giving all I know of myself to all I know of God. It involves my whole person suggesting that as a believer I am not transparent to myself, and that God is not the only mystery in this relation. I benefit from the understanding that I do not fully understand myself, and that just as only God knows who God is, so only God knows who I am. God’s reasoning is a great service to those for whom thought is faith which seeks understanding. To God we say, “help me, help me, help me” and “thank you, thank you, thank you”. thank you God! .

When God Missed His Son Something so very terrible happened in this country that the Black man’s mind was stripped of its commitment to be either husband to the woman or father to the son. In order to save their lives the Black man was forced to reject them, else see them used as threats to enforce human debasement. Having a wife, a son, a daughter gives a man a fresh exploration of a precious truth that so many take for granted today. The advantages of fatherhood and sonship are not afforded. What might it be like to miss that which is of you? God’s missing His Son is a mystery that highlights the divine love of the Triune while forecasting the humanly love that was intended for the created beings of God. The mystery that Jesus himself became something of a prodigal son for our sakes. He left the house of his heavenly Father, came to a foreign country, gave away all that he had, and returned through a cross to his Father’s home. All of this he did, not as a rebellious son, but as the obedient son, sent out to bring home all the lost children of God. Jesus is the prodigal son of the prodigal Father who gave away everything the Father had entrusted to him so that we could become like him and return with him to his Father’s home. We who are Israel is God’s Son, in effect, Jesus is the ultimate Israel. He who did not withhold His own Son, but gave him up for all of us. No christological designation is as essential as ‘Son of God’. Jesus is indeed the Son of God and that the title ‘Son of God’ carries far more truth and wonder than we can imagine. If we want to know Christ let us first consider how much His Father missed him. Christ was only always with the Father. Jesus did not become Son of God through the virgin birth, he was always the Son of God. This Son of God, the only-begotten of his Father, of the substance of the Father, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father was graced to man that we might know God. Before anything was brought forth, from everlasting to everlasting Christ was with God. So close that they were incomprehensibly one. Who was in heaven and came down? Who gathered the wind in his fists? Who wrapped up the waters in a garment? Who established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is His son’s name?   Surely we know! Was Christ here with us? Is he still our Savior in heaven and weeping for us still even though he has finished his atoning work? Christ’s suffering was not just limited to the cross. He misses his children until his Father declares that “it is done”. Privations of the flesh are still his until surety of the full performance of the Alpha and the Omega. Because God is the Triune, He enjoyed perfect companionship within Himself before ever anything was created. The Persons of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit loved each other, shared in the divine glory, and had a perfect relationship to each other. God missed His Son when he became incarnate in the Person of Jesus Christ, He took on a human body and nature. God’s Son had to set aside His divine glory and independent use of His divine powers which were rightfully His. The Father knew He would again glorify His Son just like they had been for eternity before the creation of the universe. Jesus so wanted to be glorified again and to be with the Father, and to let his disciples see his glorification as well. Their togetherness was so characterized by love, that it was that love that grounded the Son’s request for his Father’s will to be done. God did not create us because He needed companionship or that He was lacking something. God already had perfect, complete fellowship within Himself with His Son. Such a uniquely unfathomable love that God did not need anyone outside Himself to love, because the members of the Triune love each other was wholly complete. So complete that we are chosen by God in Christ His Son before the foundation of the world. It is important to know how closely love is connected with God and His Son’s plan for the kingdom. They didn’t need a kingdom - they already had everything they needed within God Himself before creation. God created the Kingdom for His Son, but also for us, whom He wanted to bless. The ultimate purpose of salvation is to glorify God—but it also results in our glorification when we love His Son Jesus. There is this reason why God will remember sin no more. God exists outside of time, He is timeless. Rather than experiencing a sequence of events, God experiences all events as an eternal now. If God would not cease to remember then that crushing, heart- wrenching pain of watching His Son die, and the sense of deep loss that lingers afterwards in the heart, is the pain that God would experience for an eternity over the death of His Son. But likewise He eternally experiences the joy of being with His Son for eternity. So, God missing His Son is not in the same vein as a human. When Jesus lived on earth and died on the cross, it is true that God did not experience his absence and his death the same way that humans’ experience is. But this does not mean that there was no loss on the part of God, that there was no pain, that there was no suffering. God experienced greater loss, greater pain, and greater suffering than do humans. God is holy, righteous, and good. He is love and light. What then must it mean for His Son who knew no sin to become sin for us? What must it have been like for God to see the holiness of His one and only son get exchanged or covered by flesh, or whatever term satisfies the theology of the atonement with the totality of all sin ever committed by every human in caused a rift to open the history of the world? We humans cannot imagine the suffering and the torment that this must have caused. Think of the moment the sin that Jesus bore caused a rift to open in his relationship with God the Father. God the Father had to hear that cry from the cross. This is the cry of God the Son experiencing for the first time in eternity a separation from God the Father. God the Father and God the Son have existed eternally in relationship with one another. Sin caused them to be separated. Let’s reason this way: plants are “alive” and by sense, they do experience pain or loss when one of their created relations, and particularly their related species of plants die. Every life form must be able to do that in order to react appropriately. The first falling leaf experienced pain showing the first signs of decay. Adam and his companion mourned. Animals, though without conscience, experience pain or loss when one of their offspring dies. We humans experience the greatest pain and suffering when we are separated from our children. The path to greater harmony between all life forms was the object of the order of creation. At creation, man held converse with leaf and flower and tree, gathering from each the secrets of its life. With every living creature, from the mighty leviathan that playeth among the waters to the insect mote that floats in the sunbeam, Adam was familiar. He had given to each its name, and he was acquainted with the nature and habits of all. Let’s up the creation spectrum above the creature level to the creator who is infinitely higher in every way. Even though our faith tells us that our loved ones who are right with God will be with us again if we are right with God, that truth does not diminish that fact that we miss them profoundly. How much more so for God knowing that He not only missed His Son, but He knows our heart’s condition when we miss our loved ones. God suffers with us. He cries with us. The essence of both the Father and the Son is exactly the same. We can say that the Father engenders the personal subsistence of the Son, but thereby also communicates to him the divine essence in its entirety. So wonderfully of God it was one indivisible breath of a whole divine essence, without any derivation, division, alienation, or change. For this cause God created loneliness in His heart. He missed Adam. The bible tells us that God grieves. It is an expression of His love. The Holy Spirit dwells within all who know and love Jesus and we know that God loves His Son and we know that the Holy Spirit is as much the essence of God the Father as is God the Son. The Holy Spirit is God’s personal presence and the third person of the Triune. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are all, in a very real sense, God. The Holy Spirit is therefore a person whose identity "let mine eyes run down with tears" is God. God, having sent His Son to die for humans shows His great love for us while also expressing the depth of His missing His Son. Grief is a powerful emotion that can be associated with death; however, it can mean intense sorrow of any kind including missing someone or caring deeply. God is holy, God is spirit, and God is from all eternity to all eternity. God as spirit does not cry tears but His is such a release of emotion that His longing for us to be home is such that He sent His Son in human flesh to shed tears for us. God incarnate, a supreme Being who says, “let mine eyes run down with tears”. When we express sorrow, grief, for another, it is closely connected with love. We grieve when we love and the depth of our grief is proportional to the depth of our love. And scripture clearly states that all three Persons of the Godhead can and do grieve. This is where reason and mystery enters. How can divine God miss someone and feel grief as to how we can understand it? Consider that man was created in the image of God. We actually receive our ability to emote from Him! We can experience emotions because He is the cause, He is an emotive Being. God’s foreknowledge does not negate this characteristic. What does God grieve and why? God grieves because of our sin. Because of our sin He had to flood the entire earth. Because of our sin He had to miss the presence of His Son and He had to see His Son offered for us that we can be saved. We cause Him pain, sorrow, and grief. Our sin ruined His “very good” world. And what grieves Him most is that He knows we choose to do this thing called sin. This sin not only separate ourselves from the God who loves us more than we can ever fully appreciate, but it separated Him from His only begotten Son. Not merely from a biblical or theological perspective, but from a personal, circumstantial perspective consider the sobering assignment of exiting the vastness of creation to come to dwell with man. God, because He so deeply loved all He created, gave up the only one who would qualify as a holy sacrifice to pay the price for humanity’s sin, God missed His Son.   This kind of love plunges to the deepest recesses of how, what, and why we feel. Can it be truth that God having observed all things in the Determinate Counsel purposed this excruciating sense of mourning in order to suggest to us the assault that sin placed upon all things holy? There was never night in heaven and there will be no night when we are with God. Could He have purposed to let there be light divided from darkness that we might reason that for six thousand years the God of all creation would have a weeping spirit, a spirit that is cloaked in the mystery of godliness that we might come to miss being with Him? God was revealing to us the dark night of the soul that man would go through. There would be a time of stillness where we must be anchored by a spiritual necessity. This would be our transition in the last day from soul work to spirit work. Soul work is the inward movement of the mind. It is the endeavoring to disconnect with what is dark and not necessarily pleasant. Spirit work involves the upward, ascending movement of the mind. It is during spirit work that we find renewed meaning and joy in coming to Christ. The scriptures are profoundly aware that most heartbreakingly manifested in the life and the experience of our Lord Himself is his not being with His Father as he was the Word with God and the Word as God. Jesus was described as a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. His acquaintanceship with grief was not merely a sympathetic or empathetic awareness of other people’s pain, but of what sin was costing God. He is God, he felt it within himself. His sorrow was the result of his perception, not of his own shortcomings, but of the great evils that plague this world. It is God’s foreknowledge and our faith that does not allow this sorrow to turn into bitterness. To do that would allow sorrow to abscess and become poison. God purposed the cross to turn sorrow into joy. Jesus despised the shame because of that joy. Christ is our example. We are to understand how God missed His Son and examine the sorrows and griefs we experience and take care that they never become the occasion for sin. In the realm of spiritual discernment and time God waited and watched eagerly for His Son’s return. His longing at the cross overshadowed the sinfulness that was represented of the son. The memory of their goodness showed in the embrace and kiss of approval honoring the Son. God's ability to suffer does not disturb His peace of mind. His fatherly love that shares the sorrows of His human family contains no anxiety over our eternal welfare. With Divine serenity His wisdom has planned for the eternal welfare of all, and in His serenity He knows His Divine love and power will attain that end. This is why the bible says “we are known of God”. The scriptures speak of God dealing with only a few for a specific purpose. When the testings of this life are over, as we stand at the threshold of eternity, we will thank God for every sorrow. Compared to eternity, it will seem but a moment. And when "God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death neither sorrow, nor crying" - then God too will have stopped crying .  And in the realm of spiritual discernment will be heard, “who is this King of Glory…the Lord”. . "God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death neither sorrow, nor crying"

examine ourselves in the light We have learned who we are…God’s purposed called election! We have learned what we are…God’s people which signify accord by truth! We have learned when we are…God’s people in the last days! We have learned why we are…God’s people who unveil unchangeable truth! We have learned where we are…or have we? The power of truth lies in its revelation, in its inspiration. America and the rest of the world is experiencing what we know to be the final shaking. Many people will pull away from this movement having all manner of reasons, some are personal (hurt feelings) and others are doctrinal (willing ignorance of truth). Everyone has to make their choice. It is their right to do so. These are not the issues to be addressed in the last days. God’s word says leave these to their idols. There are greater matters to be considered. The Lord has been, and is still, leading this present reformatory movement. One of the keys to understanding Revelation is to realize that it is structured as a series of visions based around the number seven. It must also be understood that as with many Old Testament prophecies, the book of Revelation is not strictly chronological in its fulfilment. Sometimes we read something which is actually the final picture, and then we read how this situation came about. At other times, we find a series of visions give us as it were 'snapshots' of different aspects of the same process. The seven final visions are introduced by the category "And I saw...". Each show different aspects of the process of setting up the Kingdom. The seventh thousand year is climactic! The ”sevens” are: the churches, the letters, the Spirits, the lampstands, the stars, the seals, the horns, the eyes, the angels, the trumpets, the thunders, the heads, the crowns, the plagues, the vials, the hills, the kings. Of these only the thunders utterances are not yet known…not yet. We know the nature of the symbol of thunder…a voice from heaven. The seven thunders are seven waymarks deemed to be a delineation of events which would transpire under the first and second angels’ messages before midnight. There is no prophetic timeline given, but the light of truth is unfolding in regard to and in parallel with what the world is proposing to establish in the last days. We need more oil and a deeper awakening. We must leave off subjects kindled with a strange fire. The terrors of our day are being spoken by the world. Are we hearing what is being said? In the unfolding of new light not all things are, at first, clearly seen. Also, we know that the light which shines in the fresh unfolding of truth glorifies the old and that any who rejects or neglects the new does not really possess the old. We have the solution to this dilemma…a more thoughtful reading of the bible and the Spirit of Prophecy. Let’s read… Revelation 10: 1. And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire: 2.  And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth, 3.  And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices. 4.  And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not. 5.  And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, 6.  And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer: 7.  But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets. 8.  And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth. 9.  And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey. 10.  And I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter. 11.  And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings. There is a deep connection between these passages in Revelation and Daniel chapter 12 which cannot be overlooked. Daniel is sealed until the time of the end. It is the little book open in the hand of the mighty angel in Revelation 10. Daniel is unsealed in the Revelation…time prophecy no longer. But, just as Daniel was sealed, so too are those things which the seven thunders uttered. It then follows that just as the book of Daniel was unsealed prophetically in history, so too are the seven thunders to be unsealed in our history eventfully in a way providenced by God. The Lord is leading us. The time for our understanding in now. SOP - The mighty angel who instructed John was no less a personage than Jesus Christ. Setting His right foot on the sea, and His left upon the dry land, right foot on sea, left foot on dry land shows the part which He is acting in the closing scenes of the great controversy with Satan. This position denotes His supreme power and authority over the whole earth. The controversy has waxed stronger and more determined from age to age, and will continue to do so, to the concluding scenes when the masterly working of the powers of darkness shall reach their height. Satan, united with evil men, will deceive the whole world and the churches who receive not the love of the truth. But the mighty angel demands attention. He cries with a loud voice. He is to show the power and authority of His voice to those who have united with Satan to oppose the truth. After these seven thunders uttered their voices, the injunction comes to John as to Daniel in regard to the little book: “Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered” (Revelation 10:4). These relate to future events which will be disclosed in their order. Daniel shall stand in his lot at the end of the days. John sees the little book unsealed. Then Daniel's prophecies have their proper place in the first, second, and third angels’ messages to be given to the world. The unsealing of the little book was the message in relation to time. 1MR 99.1 (see CTr 344.2 - 344.6) We are now about to see those concluding scenes being spoken of. That is, we are on the verge of the Sunday law crisis that reveals those who are on the side of God and those who are on the side of Satan. It is Christ who is acting His part in the closing scenes. How does He do this? This is symbolically represented by His standing with His right foot on the sea and His left upon dry land. He is ready to give a loud cry. He stands ready to show His power and authority to those opposed to the true Sabbath. The disclosing of the thunders is referring to our time. The seven thunders tell of and show a relationship to the events that are future. It is the order of events that transpire under the first and second angels’ messages that will be disclosed, giving light upon future events - the events that we are now a part of. This is then how Daniel’s prophecies will have their proper place in the giving of all three angel’s messages to the world.The special light given to John which was expressed in the seven thunders was a delineation of events which would transpire under the first and second angels’ messages. It was not best for the people to know these things, for their faith must necessarily be tested. In the order of God most wonderful and advanced truths would be proclaimed. The first and second angels’ messages were to be proclaimed, but no further light was to be revealed before these messages had done their specific work. This is represented by the Angel standing with one foot on the sea, proclaiming with a most solemn oath that time should be no longer. (19MR 320.3) Where are we? We are in the time and events of the revealing of the secrecies of the thunders!

the Greek Empire after Alexander the Great This vision is layered with prophetic truth. Spiritual discernment uses the natural characteristics of a creature in prophecy, each detail can reveal spiritual and historical insight. Daniel 7:6 Let’s reason the natural characteristics of the leopard and how they prophetically portray the nature of the Greek empire, especially under Alexander the Great, and they reveal deeper end-time patterns. Natural traits show the leopard is known for stealth, speed, and lethal precision. It strikes suddenly, often from an unexpected direction, and are highly adaptable to different environments. Prophetic fulfillment corresponds to Alexander the Great’s lightning-fast military conquests. Within a short time, he overthrew the mighty Persian Empire and extended his dominion from Greece to India. Spiritual insight shows this swift expansion mirrors how certain end-time deceptions and spiritual movements will emerge suddenly and spread rapidly, seducing many before they realize what is happening. Matthew 24:24 The leopard reflects the power of ideas to conquer minds with speed and subtlety - just as Hellenistic culture permeated nations long after the military campaigns ended. Wings represent swiftness and heavenly elevation, but in this case, they are not eagle’s wings like Babylon but those of a common bird, indicating less earthly ambition. Prophetically, the four wings intensify the theme of rapid conquest. Alexander moved with extraordinary velocity. The deeper meaning suggests that the kingdom’s momentum was unnaturally fast, driven by divine permission as “dominion was given to it”. This shows how God sovereignly allows the rise of empires - even when they embody worldly wisdom and ambition - as part of His unfolding plan. A beast with multiple heads can see in many directions, implying divided authority, multiplicity of thought, division of power. Prophecy was confirmed after Alexander’s death. His empire was divided among his four generals: Cassander, Lysimachus, Seleucus, and Ptolemy. The four heads represent these divisions. End-time parallel shows how earthly power, when rooted in human glory, cannot sustain unity. Likewise, end-time kingdoms and false religious systems will fragment, though they may appear united at first. Revelation 17:12–13 Can the leopard change its spots? An unchanging nature, concerning sin or character. The prophetic insight here worthy of study. The Greek empire spread was not just territory, but a worldview – Hellenism - centered on human reason, aesthetics, philosophy, and pleasure. These “spots” were not easily removed and remain embedded in modern culture, education, and even theology today. The spiritual warning in the vision: end-time believers must discern how the "spots" of Hellenistic thinking - self-glory, intellectual pride, moral compromise - have infiltrated the church. The leopard’s enduring pattern warns us that cultural corruption is persistent and must be overcome by transformation, not adaptation. Romans 12:2 Here’s the heaviness of the vision…dominion was given to it. The leopard did not seize dominion solely by human might - God gave it. This shows divine sovereignty behind human history. As with all kingdoms, God useseven fallen powers to fulfill His purposes. The Greek empire spread the Greek language, which later enabled the rapid spread of the gospel, the New Testament was written in Greek. So, the leopard, though representing a carnal kingdom, indirectly prepared the way for the Messiah’s message to reach the world. The leopard not only portrays the Greek empire but serves as a type of deceptive, seductive world systems in the last days. Systems that conquer not by brute force but by intellectual seduction, culture, and false unity. Just as Greece conquered with culture more than swords, so too will the final antichrist systems seduce rather than destroy, unless resisted by truth. Listen to the repetition of lies coming from American so-called leadership. Look how the executive orders conflict with constitutional declarations. “The beast I saw was like a leopard...” This shows that the final kingdom will bear the characteristics of Greece - stealth, speed, cultural domination, and subtle corruption. It will look beautiful and wise, but it will devour the souls of men. The remnant must discern the leopard spirit at work in education, media, religion, and even false spiritual movements.

77 times The Lost Verse, the Last Judgment, and the Power of Prophetic Precision Today we are resuming our verse-by-verse breakdown of the 2300-day prophecy. But before we dive back into the text, I want to briefly interject with something that sparked deeper reflection. Recently, a friend sent me a video and asked,  “Is this  true?”  She knew I loved to study the Word and considered me a trustworthy Bible student. In the video, a pastor said,   “Today we are going to unpack…Matthew 18 verses 10 through 14…(but) as we go through this text, you will not  see verse 11…I teach out of the ESV because verse 11 was redacted from the scriptures because it was not part of the original manuscripts of the Bible.”   That caught my attention. As I researched his claim, I discovered that the ESV (English Standard Version) does indeed draw from Greek manuscripts that omit certain verses—one of which is Matthew 18:11.   “For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.”   That’s no minor omission - it states Christ’s mission with unmistakable clarity and power. Yet out of 18 Bible versions I compared,  4 of them omit this crucial verse , including the ESV and the NIV. This single verse encapsulates the very heart of Christ’s mission. Its removal isn’t just a scholarly concern—it carries spiritual consequences. When you  remove the purpose , you  distort the plan — and when you distort the plan, you risk  severing the prophetic thread that ties Scripture together.   And that led me to dig deeper. Just a few verses later, in the King James version:   “Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.”(Matthew 18:21, 22, KJV)   Most interpret this as a call to unlimited forgiveness, but  Jesus was also invoking a prophetic principle —specifically, the  490-year prophecy of Daniel 9 , a probationary period for national Israel. However, in the  ESV and several modern translations , this number is changed to  “seventy-seven times” —a subtle but significant shift that  obscures the direct prophetic connection .   Instead of pointing back to the  490-year timeframe  that highlights God's long-suffering mercy and covenant dealings with Israel, this change reduces the verse to merely symbolic forgiveness.   Yet Jesus’ words were carefully chosen. His reference wasn’t arbitrary—it was rooted in  prophetic history . And that’s why understanding the original phrasing matters so deeply. When translations alter key terms, they can unintentionally  blur the connections  between prophecy, grace, and the divine timeline.   “For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy , God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” (Revelation 22:18-20)   That’s why it’s vital to study with tools that preserve the prophetic structure of Scripture. The  King James Bible , in harmony with a  Strong’s Concordance , gives readers direct access to the original Hebrew and Greek meanings—ensuring that vital truths, like the “seventy times seven,” are not lost in translation.   “I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.”(Matthew 18:22)   But the phrase  “seven times”  reaches even deeper: the  curses and blessings of Leviticus 26 . God warns four times that if Israel walked contrary to God,   “I will punish you seven times more for your sins.”(Leviticus 26:18, 21, 24, 28)   Here,  “seven times”  is more than just numerical, nor just about punishment, but a  measured, complete period of redemptive discipline —a shaking, sifting, and ultimately sealing process. God was not aiming to destroy His people, but to  purify and prepare them for restoration.   The same principle was at work during the rebuilding of the literal temple in  457 B.C. , which marked the beginning of the 490-year prophecy. Christ was preparing not just a physical temple, but a  spiritual temple —His  church —to be fully established by  34 A.D. Jesus hinted at this dual meaning in  John 2:19 : “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”   While His listeners thought He meant the physical temple, He was speaking  both literally and prophetically . Literally, He would rest in the tomb for  three days . But prophetically, using the  day-for-a-year  principle (Numbers 14:34; Ezekiel 4:6), those three days symbolized  three years, days symbolizing the remaining three years of Christ’s ministry to the Jewish nation, culminating in 34 A.D. when the gospel commission shifted to the Gentiles.   On a personal level, this shows that the “ seven times ” was never punishment for punishment’s sake, but a  refining fire . A period of testing, shaking, and restoration—first for Israel, and now for us.   “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.”(Revelation 3:19)   When seen through the lens of history, prophecy, and personal sanctification, the “seven times” becomes a powerful framework for understanding God's justice, mercy, and His call to obedience. The number seven in Scripture consistently represents  completion, perfection, and divine fulfillment . Thus, in Matthew 18:22, when Jesus said, “until seventy times seven,” He was alluding not just to unlimited forgiveness, but also to the cleansing and probationary work of God—both personally and corporately—in preparing a pure people for His kingdom . Individually, this speaks to the present reality of the investigative judgment, where each believer is being examined in the heavenly sanctuary. Our faith, motives, and lives are being brought into review—not to condemn, but to cleanse, refine, and seal us for the soon return of Christ.

will in a wheel We must remember that in the words recorded in the bible heaven itself leans in to listen to our understanding. Jesus, in the midst of an urgent crowd, does not flinch in saying something that, on the surface, appears dismissive of natural ties – both familial, cultural, and also social. But beneath the veil of the moment, a deeper thunder resounds: Christ is redefining family—not by blood, but by obedience. Not by genetics, but by surrender to the will of God. genetics or the blood of Christ? In this brief but thunderous exchange, the King of Glory draws a line through history, separating flesh from spirit, custom from covenant, and sentiment from sanctification. And in so doing, He opens a door into the eternal household of God, accessible not through the womb but through the will— the will of God our Father. I pray that as a family we explore this journey of truth together. In the image granted us may we create an amazing intimacy of relationship and situation. Not what’s natural, but rather what’s spiritually connecting. Let this become our memory by gathering the gravity of the moment. Jesus has just been told that His mother and brethren seek Him. They stand outside, seemingly concerned for His mental well-being, worried by the rumors, or perhaps even offended by the fervor that now surrounds Him. His notoriety has grown; His enemies conspire. The religious elite have accused Him of operating under Beelzebub. Yet amid this storm, it is not merely a question of location—inside versus outside. It is not the reality that his dearest kin - his mother, his brothers, his sisters – those who observed him growing in stature and wisdom – are standing outside where Jesus invited his accusers to reason— it is a question of alignment: Who is aligned with the will of God? Who sits at His feet not just to listen but to obey? The dividing line here is spiritual, invisible, yet absolute. This aspect of his story presents our preeminence of spiritual relationships. It is not that Jesus ceases to honor His earthly mother—no! And he has no disdain for his siblings. For He fulfills the law in every jot and tittle. Rather, He illuminates a higher allegiance, a new creation bond, a spiritual household whose unity is founded upon the unshakable will of the Father. This scene is a mareh and chazon present prophetic preview of the divine order that governs the Kingdom of God. Please understand the terms “present prophetic”. The mareh being the particular clarifying aspect appearing that day gives us understanding. While the chazon requires further revelation being the broader, encompassing, entire concept. No longer will tribal affiliation, lineage, or human association grant access to intimacy with Christ. Rather, the will of God becomes the umbilical cord the umbilical cord connecting to the Family connecting every true member of the heavenly family. In this way, Jesus is parting waters, he is moving mountains, he is bringing forth light from darkness. Just as Moses stood before the Red Sea and saw the division between captivity and covenant, so here Christ stands before the crowd and declares the new way: Obedience is the passage; doing God’s will is the Exodus into divine family. This is the spiritual circumcision that cuts deeper than flesh—dividing soul and spirit, joint and marrow. It is not what one is born into, but what one is born again into that matters. In a culture built on patriarchal identity, where inheritance and spiritual privilege were traced through male descent, Jesus’ statement is revolutionary. It was a mountain of tradition—and with one sentence, He moves it. He is revealing that the true heirs of the Kingdom are not necessarily those of Abrahamic blood, but those of Abrahamic faith. This is a statement so vast that it stretches through the gospels into the epistles - “There is neither Jew nor Greek… for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed…” Here the spiritual geometry of the Kingdom is drawn: all distinctions collapse into one criterion—doing the will of God. Yet there is more—more weight, more reality, more mystery, more reasoning, more glory, more revelation. When Jesus looks around at “those who sat about Him,” He is not merely identifying proximity in terms of space. He is recognizing posture. These were not just scribes. There was a multitude of curious onlookers; they were seated in readiness to hear and obey. In the Hebrew mind, when Jesus tells us to “hear”, this is never passive. To hear is to obey. To truly listen is to respond. So Christ, seeing these hearts tuned to obedience, calls them family. This is the remnant principle—those who will not merely admire Him from afar or attempt to control Him through blood ties, but who give themselves wholly to the Father's will. Here, light breaks forth. In a dark world where family is often idolized or weaponized—used to manipulate, oppress, or define identity apart from God—Jesus liberates the soul to find its true belonging in the purposes of heaven. For many, earthly family is fractured, abusive, distant, or gone. But earthly family is fractured, abusive, distant, or gone in these words, Christ unveils a family forged not in time but in eternity, united by the Spirit and sealed by obedience. This is the family that will remain when heaven and earth pass away. Subjectively, the implications are piercing. This is not a verse to read merely for comfort, but for consecration. It cuts to the very marrow of what we love, who we belong to, and what we are living for. Many today claim kinship with Christ through religious ritual, cultural inheritance, or emotional sentiment. But He is clear: the true measure of kinship is not profession, but practice; not affection, but alignment. Whosoever shall do the will of God, He says—this is the entrance qualification into the circle of the Beloved. It is not enough to admire Jesus, to respect Him, or to speak well of Him. One must do the will of His Father. And what is this will of God? That we believe on Him whom He has sent. That is a holy reality—profound in simplicity, yet infinitely deep. To believe on Him whom God has sent is not a casual intellectual assent, nor merely an emotional agreement with a historical figure. It is the eternal pivot upon which every soul’s destiny turns. So that no illusion remains and the soul may stand naked before the truth it demands let us experientially reason through this. To believe does not mean merely to think something is true. It carries the weight of trust, reliance, dependence, and surrender. To believe on Jesus is your breath not to give Him your opinion, but your breath, your identity, your purpose, your allegiance. It is to rest the entire weight of your soul on Him—not just for salvation from sin’s penalty, but for transformation into His likeness. It is to abandon all self-sufficiency, letting go of performance, pride, and merit, and cast ourselves completely upon the grace, truth, and power of the Son of God. To believe on Him means accepting that Jesus is not one option among many. He is the Sent One—God’s final and full expression of truth, mercy, judgment, love, and power. This belief recognizes that He is not just a messenger, but the very embodiment of the message. His life is the truth. His death is the atonement. His resurrection is the seal. His words are Spirit and life. To believe on Him is to agree with heaven’s verdict: that Jesus alone satisfies the justice of God, reveals the heart of God, and restores the image of God in man. Belief is not a momentary confession—it is an abiding relationship. This is proven by obedience, sustained by intimacy, and purified through trial. We do not merely believe once—we go on believing. We do not merely receive once—we go on receiving. To believe on Him whom God has sent is to be pierced by the scandal of the cross. It is to admit that you cannot save yourself, that your righteousness is as filthy rags, that the wisdom of this world is foolishness, and that God's grace is the only hope for man. It is to come bankrupt, broken, and humble, admitting that Christ crucified is the only payment God accepts for sin. It is also to endure the offense of a gospel that calls for death to the flesh, rejection by the world, and loyalty to a kingdom that is not of this world. To believe on Jesus is to stand in opposition to every false identity, system, and glory. It is to say, “Not I, but Christ.” Many believe in what Jesus did, but not in who He is. To believe on Jesus is not just to receive salvation, healing, or eternal life as things—but to receive Him. He is the gift. He is the bread. He is the truth. He is the life. He is the reward. To believe on Him is to make room for Him—not just as Savior but as Lord, not just as Helper but as Master, not just as Comforter but as King. It is to give Him the throne of your heart, the keys to your every day, and the the key to your every day right to inspire and reside over every thought, motive, and desire. It’s the way to being born again. It’s not an upgrade…it is a new birth! It is to receive a new heart, a new mind, a new spirit, and a new identity. It is a divine union. We have the reality. Now the revelation – belief in Jesus begins where he was before “beginning”. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us. For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one. If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son. He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. Because of this understanding we stand at the cross continuing in sanctification, to culminate in glorification. It is the soul’s joyful surrender to the person, work, authority, and beauty of Jesus the Son of God. For to believe on Jesus is to do the will of God. And to do the will of God is to belong to His eternal family. That we present our bodies as living sacrifices offering ourselves completely unto God - our whole self – spirit, soul, heart, mind, and physical body. Our thoughts, desires, will, talents, time, energy, words, and actions. All for God’s purposes. That we love not the world nor the things in it. We are not to be consumed of values, pleasures, and aspirations that oppose God. That we forgive as we have been forgiven. God has given us That we forgive as we have been forgiven the ability and willingness to forgive others stemming from recognizing the depth of God's forgiveness extended to us. Because believers have received immense grace and forgiveness from God for their own sins through faith in Christ, they are called to extend that same grace and forgiveness to those who have wronged them. It reflects God's mercy and love towards others, not based on their worthiness, but based on the unmerited grace believers have received. Forgiveness is a choice that leads to reconciliation. That we keep His commandments mirrors our obedience rooted in genuine love, imitating Christ’s life and character. That we walk even as He walked, making conscious choices aligned with Christ's principles, showing kindness, forgiveness, and service to others. The will of God is not vague— it is vibrant, personal, and holy. It is the calling to take up one’s cross, deny self, and follow the Lamb wherever He goes. It is the choice to yield one’s own desires, reputation, and plans for the higher honor of being counted among His own. This brings us to the deep prophetic tones embedded in Christ’s words. For just as He looked about those seated around Him and identified them as His true family, so too will He do at the end of the age. There will be a great separation—between those who named Him but never knew Him, and those who knew Him and obeyed Him through love. The will of God will once again be the measure by which heaven draws the line. Jesus will say, “Depart from me, ye workers of iniquity,” to those who called Him “Lord, Lord” but did not do the will of His Father. The essence of these words in Mark 3 is a foreshadowing of the final sealing of the elect—those who have made His will their bread and His law their delight. There is also a tenderness here—one that cannot be ignored. Jesus does not say “this is My soldier” or “this is My servant.” He says, “My mother, My brother, My sister.” He reaches into the deepest human need—the desire for familial intimacy, for connection, for love—and sanctifies it with divine meaning. In calling obedient followers “mother,” He honors womanhood. In calling them “brother,” He invites intimacy. In calling them “sister,” He embraces wholeness. Each relationship is transfigured by its connection to obedience. These are not merely roles of reality—they are revelations. They show us that the Kingdom of God is not built on hierarchy, but on harmony. Each one who does the will of God becomes a member of the same holy circle, cherished, necessary, and eternally beloved. Let the heavens witness: these words are not a dismissal of family, but a divine exaltation of it. They call the faithful into a greater fellowship—one that was hidden from ages past but now revealed. Jesus is not shrinking the family but expanding it beyond biology, race, class, or nationality. He is gathering a people for His name—those who live not for themselves, but for the will of Him who called them out of darkness into His marvelous light. And finally, let us return to the beginning, where the phrase “He looked round about” holds such weight. That divine glance is happening still. Even now, Christ surveys the hearts of men and women, looking not for ancestry but for allegiance, not for sentiment but for submission to the divine will. And when He finds it, He speaks over that life the most precious affirmation possible: “You are Mine. You are My family.” “You are Mine. You are My family.”This is not merely a statement—it is an invitation, a mountain-moving truth, and a light that shines even in the darkest night. Heaven is pleased by it. Hell is angered by it. And the faithful are sanctified by it. For the words of Mark are not bound to one time or people—they ring across generations, calling forth a remnant who will do the will of God in the last days, and who, by doing so, will be named by Christ Himself as His eternal family. We are to be a will in the middle of a will. When the Spirit leads, the deep calls unto deep, and the mysteries of God are revealed not in letter alone, but in Spirit. What Ezekiel saw as “a wheel in the middle of a wheel”, and what Jesus declared as the supreme qualifier for divine kinship—“He that doeth the will of my Father”—are not unrelated. In truth, they are reflections of the same eternal mechanism: the inner workings of divine purpose moving through surrendered vessels. Let us venture, then, into this holy pattern. What is this wheel within a wheel? An inner will driving the outer will. Symbolically, it is divine intelligence wrapped in divine movement. It is purpose within purpose. An inner will driving the outer will. It represents the harmonized layers of God's sovereignty, where the seen is guided by the unseen, and the natural turns according to the spiritual. The outer wheel reflects visible obedience; the inner wheel reveals the invisible cause—the will of the Father. We are God’s creation. This image is not meant to be static. “Whithersoever the spirit was to go, they went”. This “they” is “us”. This is not random motion but responsive motion—perfect union with divine direction. The wheels, full of eyes, are aware, discerning, intelligent. They are alive. And in them, we see a holy pattern for those who belong to Christ: the will of man swallowed up in the will of God, yet not erased. The two wheels turn as one, not by force, but by surrender. The will of the Father is more than command; it is communion. It is the Father’s heart made active in present time. It is the divine mind of Christ working through yielded vessels, even as the inner wheel moved the outer. Jesus lived by this alignment. His humanity was the outer wheel. The Father’s purpose was the inner wheel. In perfect sync, they moved together. Not once did the outer deviate. That is why He could say, “I do always those things that please Him.” And now, as Christ forms His body in the earth—His remnant, His bride—He is calling forth a He is calling forth a people, a pattern people in whom that same pattern is replicated. Not mechanical obedience, but intimate synchronization with the Father’s will—just like Ezekiel’s wheels, full of eyes, aware, discerning, willing to move where the Spirit moves. So what do we find when we join Ezekiel’s wheels with Jesus’ will? We find the architecture of a spiritually awakened life. The outer wheel is man’s choices, actions, words, and posture before the world. The inner wheel is the indwelling purpose of the Father—the Holy Spirit actively working to conform the soul to the image of the Son. When the two are aligned, the movement is divine. When they diverge, the motion becomes chaotic or stagnant. The wheel within a wheel is thus a picture of the will within a will. The inner wheel turns invisibly, powerfully, without noise—much like the secret obedience of a consecrated heart. It is in this inner wheel, this surrendered will, that heaven recognizes its own. To do the will of the Father is not only to obey externally but to have one’s inner life fused to the divine intention. It is to become like the living creatures: sensitive to the Spirit’s flow, dependent on His direction, inseparable from His purpose. The final generation, the sealed remnant, are not merely religious. We are the mobile sanctuary of God’s presence. We go where the Lamb goes. We move not by ambition but by Spirit. We have become wheels in the divine chariot, bearing the glory of the Lord into the final battle between light and darkness. Like Ezekiel’s vision, we burn with fire, flash with lightning, and see through spiritual eyes. But none of this is possible unless our outer life is governed by the inner wheel—the will of the Father. Jesus is calling us not merely to understand the will, but to become synchronized with it. As the wheel within a wheel, so must we be: our own will nested within, turning only as the inner turns. This is not passivity, but deep, active surrender—an obedience that moves because it sees. This is why Jesus could say, “Here are my mother and my brothers.” He wasn’t rejecting natural kin—He was identifying those whose inner wheels matched the Father’s. Those in whom the divine pulse could be felt. Those who lived not by convenience, fear, tradition, or self—but by the deep will of God. They are the family He will return for. The wheel within a wheel is not a riddle—it is a roadmap. It tells it is a roadmap us how heaven moves: through yielded vessels, through spiritual obedience, through intimacy and vision. And when that movement is alive in us, heaven calls us family. I thank Jesus for his reason for expediency – to send the Holy Spirit. Jesus’ departure was needed to fulfill God's plan of salvation. This plan involved the coming of the Holy Spirit to empower believers, glorify Christ's work, and spread the gospel to the world. For it is by Him that I was given the revelatory truth—to link Ezekiel’s vision with Jesus’ words. They are thunder and lightning of the same storm. One is prophetic vision; the other is incarnate reality. The wheel in a wheel is the mystery of divine will embedded in human will. And Jesus, the true and faithful Son, became the pattern of that mystery fulfilled. The call to us is clear: Let the inner wheel turn. Let the Spirit draw the soul into perfect unity with the will of the Father. Let the outer be moved only by the inner. Let the obedience be not only external but elemental—born from love, aligned with truth, and full of eyes. For only then will we move where God moves, see what He sees, and be named as Christ’s own family in the day when all other wheels shall cease turning. The will is a divine gift. It is recognized as our ability to choose between different courses of action, to direct our intentions and make decisions. It is fundamental to our humanity and even reflecting God's own free choice in creation. Our choices, driven by our will, shape our character and influence our spiritual path. Spiritually, this means that aligning our will with divine will, with spiritual principles can lead to blessings and a life of purpose. In essence, the spiritual nature of our will lies in its capacity for choice, self- determination, and its role in shaping our character and spiritual journey, ultimately influencing our relationship with the divine. Let us draw the fullness of these mysteries into one living statement—a declaration as dynamic as the breath that gave man life, as radiant as the wheel within the wheel, and as eternal as the will of the Father who formed us. We were made in the image of God—not as statues carved in stillness, but as living vessels designed to move with His Spirit, respond to His will, and carry His glory into His likeness. Our design is not passive reflection, but active participation in divine intention. The image of God is not mere form— it is function and fellowship. We were made to see with His eyes, to feel with His heart, to choose as He would choose, and to walk as He would walk. We are not just creatures of dust—we are a wheel within a wheel, will within Will, made to mirror His movement and manifest His purpose in the earth. And only when we live in surrender to His inner wheel—His perfect will—do we become what we were always meant to be: the visible expression of the invisible God…both in image and in likeness. Let this be written in the conscience, sealed on the forehead, and spoken with the authority of those who know why they were made, who they belong to, and what they are becoming. Every word we've received should stir deeper worship, clearer vision, and a walk so aligned with the Father's will that even heaven pauses to hear God say of each of us - “There…walks one made in My image.” Amen. “There…walks one made in My image."

what of the children...and Us You might want to gird up your loins for this one! When God places the spiritual lackings of our young people upon our hearts, it is not a casual nudge—it is a sacred summons requiring the highest level of spiritual discernment. This is no ordinary observation of youthful immaturity, but a divine entrustment from the heart of God, revealing that eternity itself is being threatened in the choices and distractions shaping the next generation. It demands of us a trembling sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, an unwavering commitment to truth, and an unclouded view of the times in which we live. To rightly interpret what God reveals, we must weep where He weeps, grieve where He grieves, and war where He wars. Discernment at this level is not merely the ability to see sin or error, but the wisdom to perceive how the enemy has subtly severed the connection between youth and purpose, between their identity and the call of God. We are being invited to stand in the gap—not in criticism, but in intercession, mentoring, and holy example. The hour is late, and what we fail to discern and act upon in the hearts of our youth today may determine whether they stand sealed in Christ tomorrow or fall in the deception that is swiftly coming upon the whole world. In the most vivid details of terror imaginable we must understand the utter devastation to come upon humanity because we failed to recognize the word of God. How our failure to monitor the youth’s time spent playing online games contribute to their neglect of the word of God that could have saved them and will reach such a threshold of sound as to cause a level of spiritual discomfort beyond measure.  It is imperative that we spare no language, no insightfulness that may awaken us to the reality of what is coming. In the final throes of a world that rejected its Maker, terror unlike any that has ever pierced the human soul will descend like a shroud over the earth. The skies will turn sin-black with the wrath of the ignored Word, and men’s hearts will fail them for fear, knowing deep within that they played and laughed while eternity pleaded and bled at the door. The screams of children, long desensitized by the games of digital war, will echo without comfort—children desensitized by the games of digital war who spent their formative years conquering virtual worlds, only to awaken too late to find they have no sword for the real one. Parents, who once beamed at their children’s gaming achievements, will collapse in despair, realizing too late that their silence was complicity. The Word of God—so near, so freely available—was traded for pixels and fantasy. It was not just unread but despised, gathering dust while the spirit of the age seduced the young with dopamine and distraction. Now, when they cry for truth, it will be as a dry well. Famine will stalk not just the body but the soul—a famine of hearing the words of the Lord. And in the silence, amid the ashes of nations and the stench of spiritual death, humanity will understand the price of its forgetfulness. But understanding will come without mercy, and regret will no longer be redemptive—it will be eternal. Our hearts will be rung with spiritually charged lamentation and warning, conveying both the horror of the coming devastation and the deep neglect that brought it upon humanity—particularly through our failure to guard the hearts of our children. In the closing scenes of earth’s history, when mercy withdraws her hand and the Word of God is no longer preached in the streets, the world will finally come face to face with the full terror of its rejection of divine truth. What is soon to fall upon humanity will not be a mere sequence of natural disasters or political upheavals, but a cascading torrent of divine judgment, meticulously storm clouds restrained for millennia, now unbound. The sky will darken with more than storm clouds—it will grow heavy with the weight of divine silence. No thunder will be as dreadful as the absence of God's voice. Communities will crumble from the implosion of meaning itself. Towers of pride will fall, economies will disintegrate, and the ground will seem to recoil from the dead it has absorbed. The world will be plunged into a terror so thick, so unspeakably dreadful, that men will crawl into caves and cry for death to shield them from the face of the Lamb they once mocked. Among the most damning indictments of this generation will be its treatment of the youth—our most precious charge. The very ones entrusted to inherit the knowledge of God were instead handed glowing screens and allowed to dwell in digital illusions. We gave them war games instead of warfare prayers, fantasy worlds instead of the Word of Truth, and hours of ceaseless stimulation while their hearts and minds withered from lack of living water. Where once family altars were built and the scriptures opened morning and night, there will be coffee tables cluttered with controllers, headsets, and devices—silent monuments to a war we never fought. Parents, intoxicated with their own distractions, failed to see the eternal consequences of a child's unguarded mind. Every hour spent slaughtering enemies in a game was an hour lost to knowing the One who died for theirs. Every achievement in virtual reality etched away their hunger for divine reality. Their innocence was not stolen—it was surrendered, sacrificed on the altar of convenience and cultural conformity. no oil in their lamps What’s coming is not just punishment—it is the final consequence of spiritual erosion. The youth, when faced with the collapse of the world they once escaped into, will have no sword of the Spirit to wield, no oil in their lamps, no memory of the Shepherd's voice. Their cries for help will rise, but they will fall back like echoes in a sealed tomb. For they were not taught the name of the Lord, nor trained to discern His voice amidst chaos. The Word of God— so full of life, so radiant with hope—was shut away, unopened in their homes, unread in their hearts, not taught in love. The prophets warned of a famine in the land—not of bread or water, but of hearing the words of the Lord. That famine is here. And when it fully matures, it will leave no harvest of repentance—only sorrow without seed, no blade, no fruit, and silence without solace. In that day, regret will be a plague in every household. Fathers will curse their passivity. Mothers will sob over children who grew up under their roofs but outside the ark of salvation. The weeping will be for the knowledge that life eternal was within reach, and we let it slip through fingers too busy, too entertained, too dulled by endless texting, endless scrolling. The judgment will not only be on the wicked but on the negligent—those who knew the truth, felt its tug, but refused to change the course of their homes. We will see too endless texting, endless scrolling late that spiritual indifference is generational treason. What we ignored, our children inherited. And what they inherited will crush them unless divine intervention breaks through the fog of apostasy. This writing is not merely a condemnation—it is a last-hour cry. While breath remains, and the Word can still be opened, and the child still listens, there is hope. But that window is closing, and the storm is nearer than we dare admit. Let the fathers rise and tear down the altars of entertainment. Let the mothers gather their children and weep between the porch and the altar. Let the Word be lifted high in the home until its light drives out every shadow. For what is coming will demand a faith forged in truth, a faith stronger than fantasy, a faith that can stand when all around collapses. We are not preparing for mere hardship—we are standing at the threshold of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. May our tears water the ground now, that our children may yet bear fruit in the day of famine. And may we all remember: the Word we neglect today may be the very Word that could have saved us tomorrow. Yet even in this encroaching darkness, there remains a path lit with the soft, unwavering glow of divine mercy. The terror that awaits the unprepared is not yet sealed against those who turn and seek the Lord with all their heart. And astonishingly, the turning point—the beginning of revival and rescue— may hinge on what seems the simplest of commitments: just one sacred hour a day spent in the Word of God. Not out of obligation, nor as a ritual token, but as a deep, expectant, Spirit-filled meeting with the mind and heart of God. One hour in the Word is not merely time spent—it is time exchanged: our weakness for His strength, our confusion for His wisdom, our fear for His courage. one sacred hour a day spent in the Word of God In one single hour a day, the soul begins to remember what it means to be human in the image of God. The pages of scripture become mirrors, showing us who we were meant to be, and maps, guiding us back to the narrow road. Our young, whose minds have been trained to flicker from screen to screen, will begin to taste the richness of stillness and revelation. The Word will break through the digital static and speak—yes, speak—as living fire into their hearts. The verses will no longer be lifeless text but living thunder—each passage a voice from eternity preparing them to stand when the earth trembles. In that hour, faith will grow—not in spurts, but in roots, anchoring them in the promises of God which cannot be shaken. Imagine a 10-year-old boy, his room once darkened by hours of gaming, now lit each morning by the glow of scripture and the quiet rustle of pages turned in search of God. Imagine a 13-year-old girl whose identity was once shaped by the approval of peers, now rising in quiet confidence because she has spent an hour learning what her Father in heaven thinks of her. Imagine families gathering—not just for meals or logistics—but for eternal equipping, where the Word is read, discussed, and sealed with prayer. That single hour becomes more powerful than any school curriculum, more life-giving than any entertainment, more stabilizing than any therapy. It becomes the source of discernment when deception increases, the balm of peace when chaos swells, and the sword of truth when lies swarm like locusts. this hour is not about checking a box This hour is not about checking a box—it is about building an altar. It is about planting within the heart a hidden manna that no one can take away. When the Word is sown daily, the Spirit waters it hourly. And when trial comes— and it will—it finds a prepared vessel. The one-hour soul stands, not because they are strong, but because they are rooted. The youth who gave God one hour a day will find in crisis that God gives them the strength of ten thousand. The adult who reclaimed just sixty minutes each day to meet with the Lord will find that they are not shaken by reports of war, pestilence, or persecution, for the Word has already trained them to love, to have faith, to trust, to wait, to endure, and to overcome. This hour—this single hour—is not the end of devotion, but the gateway. It reorders the day. It cleanses the mind. It fuels intercession. It renews vision. And when multiplied across households, communities, rooftops, it becomes an ark of preparation for the storm to come. The floodwaters of deception and destruction will not drown those who have made the Word their daily dwelling. For the Lord Himself has said, “The man that doeth them shall live in them”. In the hour that we give Him, He gives us life—abundant, eternal, unshakable life. Let us not despise the small beginnings. One hour a day in the Word may be the very difference between collapse and courage, between apostasy and endurance, between eternal ruin and eternal reward. The terror ahead is real—but so is the power of God to prepare a people who know Him intimately. Let us rise now, and build again the family altar. Let us trade entertainment for endurance, distraction for discernment, apathy for authority. And let us begin today—with just one hour. I pray that this writing reaches the very nerve center of covenant, conscience, and endurance in this time of final testing. We must examine ourselves with utmost gravity and clarity of spirit. As the end of all things draws near, the enemy of truth has deployed his most sophisticated tactics—not only to deceive the masses, but to infiltrate the private sanctum of the godly household. Nowhere is this assault more cunning and soul-threatening than within the sacred bond of marriage. In the time of trouble such as never was, when the powers of the state, the marketplace, and even religious systems unite to enforce falsehood and suppress righteousness, husbands and wives must do more than simply coexist—they must stand face to face and reaffirm, with solemn trembling and unwavering faith, their loyalty first to God and then to each other in the presence of divine witness. This is no longer a theoretical conversation, but a matter of spiritual survival. The hour has come when the union of marriage must be forged not by the fleeting fires of passion or convenience, but by the eternal fire of truth that cannot be quenched by pressure, persecution, or loss. every couple that names the name of Christ must hold a sacred conference of the soul, with eyes locked in... In this final stretch of earth's history, every couple that names the name of Christ must hold a sacred conference of the soul, with eyes locked in candor and tears not withheld, laying bare every point of potential compromise. No subject is to be off-limits—in-laws who mock the faith, employers who require moral concessions, social networks that demand conformity, educational paths that train rebellion, or reputations built on the sinking sands of worldly favor. Each one must ask the other: “When the furnace is heated seven times hotter, will you stand with God if I am taken from you? Will you obey His voice if I falter? Will we both love the truth more than our own flesh, more than comfort, more than even each other?” For the storm that now gathers will shake every hidden motive and expose every secret allegiance. There can be no assumption of unity in the final hour unless that unity has been forged through conscious and sacrificial loyalty to the voice of God. The government—and the systems aligned with it—has already begun weaponizing every form of coercion imaginable to turn hearts against righteousness. Policies are crafted to undermine godly convictions, media narratives are shaped to shame those who resist compromise, and economic pressure is increasingly used to silence dissent from truth. In this climate, it is not hard to imagine a husband threatened with the loss of livelihood for refusing to affirm a lie, or a wife facing state intervention for instructing her children in the truth of God’s Word. When those moments come—and they surely will—the covenant must already be settled in the secret place between husband and wife. There must be no double mind, no divided house, no uncertainty in who will be obeyed when Caesar commands what God forbids. This is why the spiritual preparation of marriage cannot be postponed. It must be deliberate, prayer-soaked, and rooted in Scripture. Couples must together study the examples of Ananias and Sapphira, whose joint disloyalty cost them their lives, and contrast them with Aquila and Priscilla, whose unity in truth made them pillars in the early church. They must examine the fate of Lot’s wife, who looked back in longing while her husband pressed forward. They must weep over the tragic consequences of Eve reasoning apart from Adam, and Adam choosing loyalty to Eve over loyalty to God. These are not merely historical events; they are prophetic warnings tailored for our generation. The decisions made in kitchens and bedrooms today will echo in the courts of heaven tomorrow. Let every husband therefore lead not just in provision or protection, but in spiritual consecration. Let every wife respond not just with affection, but with holy fear and divine resolve. The final crisis will strip away all illusions of neutral ground. The marriage altar must be rebuilt—not with the stones of sentiment, but with the fire of covenant faithfulness. Where there is disunity, seek repentance. Where there is silence, pursue truth. Where there is doubt, invite the Spirit of God to awaken and convict. For soon the cry will go forth, “Who is on the Lord’s side?” and only those who have prepared in private will stand in public. This is the call for face-to-face courage—not the bravery of defiance against men, but the meek and immovable obedience to the God who sees in secret. When the final test comes, no vow spoken before men will matter unless it has been sealed in the secret chamber of truth between two souls and their Creator. Marriage, rightly understood, becomes the proving ground of endtime faith.  Deception is at its peak, love is waxing cold, and the line between loyalty and betrayal is razor thin—God is not speaking casually, nor in riddles, nor with the voice of thunder alone, but with the trembling tenderness of a Father who knows what eternity costs. He is speaking in terms no less than eternal, and with a love that demands nothing less than everything. Listen to Him now. “My son. My daughter. You were never merely given to each other for companionship, nor for convenience, nor to fulfill the customs of men. I joined your hearts as one flesh for My glory—to reflect the image of My eternal covenant. Your union is not yours to define. It is Mine. I made it sacred. And now, in the hour when the world shakes and truth falls in the streets, I call you to rise together as one voice, one altar, one witness. Only the undivided, undefiled, and unshakable will enter My kingdom.” Only the undivided, undefiled, and unshakable will enter My kingdom. “You must be as one now—refined together in the flesh, the bone.” “You cannot serve Me while harboring secret vows to self, family legacies, cultural comfort, or earthly security. If one of you is hiding behind silence, or deferring out of fear, or compromising under the weight of affection, you both may fall. If either holds back the truth to preserve peace, that peace will become your prison. If either exalts human loyalty above My Word, your house will crumble. I do not dwell in divided temples.” “Therefore, husband—lead her not as a master, but as one who has first bowed at My cross, trembling at the price I paid to redeem your soul. Love her with the kind of love that lays down its will for her sanctification.” “Wife—honor not just his strength but the Word I’ve placed in him. When he speaks truth, follow not because of culture but because you hear Me in him. But if he turns from My voice, call him back in tears and in truth.” “You must speak face to face—not just of bills or schedules or children, but of the war for your souls. You must ask each other: Do you love truth more than me? Do you love Me more than comfort? Will you stand with Me if I lose all else? Will we endure if God strips us to the dust? If these questions are not asked now, they will be answered in agony later.” “You are no longer your own. The seal of the Lamb must be written across your marriage. In the final hour, the only marriages that will endure are those who have already died to this world. I do not require your perfection. I require your yes—together.” In the final days, God would not appeal merely to emotion or theology. He would speak of eternal union, covenantal loyalty, the battlefield of conscience, and the cross between us. He would urge us to look beyond time into eternity, and then return to our knees, hand in hand, and ask Him: “Lord, what must we do to be saved?” And His answer would be: “Die together that you may rise together. Submit to one another in the fear of God. And become a living ark where My presence can dwell when the whole earth is flooded with fire.” Let every couple count the cost, speak the truth in love, and prepare to endure—not merely to survive, but to glorify God as one. Please pray for the conviction, the preparation, and the sealing for unwavering loyalty to heaven and to each other. The Word is waiting. So is the Spirit. And so is the hour of decision. hand in hand