Archive for May, 2017

Pentecost/Shavuot/Feast of Weeks: Reading the Book of Ruth

Posted in Pentecost/Shavuot/Feast of Weeks, Prophecy with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 30, 2017 by paulthepoke

Leviticus 23:15-16 ‘You shall also count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day when you brought in the sheaf of the wave offering; there shall be seven complete Sabbaths. You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall present a new grain offering to the Lord.

In the Old Testament and in the Hebrew, this holiday is referred to as Shavuot. The word means: weeks.

Shavuot is one of the three holidays where Jewish men are required to come to Jerusalem (Exodus 23:14-17). The men were to make their presentation and sacrifice before God at the Temple. This holiday is one of seven holidays appointed by God.

Shavuot and Pentecost are synonymous. Shavuot is often associated with God giving the Torah, the birth of Judaism. Pentecost is often associated with God giving the Holy Spirit, the birth of the church.

On a Gregorian calendar in the year of 2017, the holiday of Shavuot/Feast of Weeks/Pentecost begins at sunset on Wednesday, May 31. The God Appointed holiday ends at sunset Thursday, June 1. Although not indicated in the Bible, an interesting tradition of the holiday is King David died on Shavuot.

During Shavuot, Jews will read the book of Ruth. The story is about a gentile widow, Ruth. She was married to a Jewish man who died. His name was Elimelech (meaning “My God is King” per Strong’s Concordance). Ruth freely decided to follow her Jewish mother in law after her husband’s death.

Ga`al is the Hebrew word used in the book of Ruth of Boaz who is the kinsman redeemer. Boaz is a pattern or type for Jesus Christ. The custom of the kinsman redeemer is played out in Ruth 4.

There are two conditions for Boaz or any kinsman redeemer to meet. The land of the relative has to be purchased or redeemed and the bride of the deceased relative must be acquired if the deceased was married.  In this case, Elimelech was the deceased relative.

The legal transaction was made in front of ten city elders. Another relative of Elimelech was on board with land acquisition. But he was not interested in acquiring Ruth, the gentile Moabite. Boaz stepped in and exercised his full right as a kinsman redeemer. Boaz purchased the land and acquired Ruth.

The legal contract was a sandal. Witnesses were present and confirmed the transaction.

Ruth 4:7 Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning the redemption and the exchange of land to confirm any matter: a man removed his sandal and gave it to another; and this was the manner of attestation in Israel.

It is from this prophetic transaction, blessing would come to Israel and the world. Over 1,000 years later, a Savior would be born in Ephrathah, the area in and around Bethlehem.

Ruth 4:11 All the people who were in the court, and the elders, said, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, both of whom built the house of Israel; and may you achieve wealth in Ephrathah and become famous in Bethlehem.

So a Jewish groom born in Bethlehem purchases a gentile bride…

 

 

Our Daily Bread…Featuring Paul Beverly

Posted in Paul Beverly with tags , , , , , on May 29, 2017 by paulthepoke

pb bread

Words are powerful, but your actions are truth. Talk is only talk if you aren’t showing your words are true. Be the truth.

Be honorable in all you do. Treat others with respect & be fair always. By doing this, they will see you as trustworthy & that’s what people need to see & feel from you. That’s what you want from others as well. Treat them as you want treated.

1 John 3:18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed & in truth.

2 Corinthians 8:21 For we aim at what is honorable not only in the Lord’s sight but also the sight of man.

Have a truthful and honorable filled day my friends!!!

Trend Update: Pestilence, Cholera Outbreak in Yemen, May 2017

Posted in Pestilence, Prophecy, Revelation, Trend Update with tags , , , , , , , , , on May 29, 2017 by paulthepoke

Revelation 6:8 And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider’s name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth.

Pestilence and plague are the direct result of war and famine in the seal judgments of Revelation. It is the natural order of events. War breakouts. Food and supply lines are disrupted. Inflation occurs due to the scarcity of food. Sanitation breaks down and water is polluted. Disease is the result of the process.

 

This cycle of events is noted throughout Scripture. This is the order events in the early part of Revelation in the seal judgments.

The second seal in Revelation 6:4 is war.

The third seal in Revelation 6:5-6 results in the increased cost of food due to availability. Supply lines become disrupted and people are busy fighting instead of growing food. It is a matter of supply and demand. The end result is starvation of masses.

The cycle comes full circle in Revelation 6:8 as stated above: war, famine, and disease.

The pestilence cycle is noted in the Old Testament prophets. Two examples are noted below.

Ezekiel 14:21 For thus says the Lord GOD, “How much more when I send My four severe judgments against Jerusalem: sword, famine, wild beasts and plague to cut off man and beast from it!

Jeremiah 24:10 ‘I will send the sword, the famine and the pestilence upon them until they are destroyed from the land which I gave to them and their forefathers.'”

The context of Revelation 6:8 is the seal judgments. This is the beginning of the 7 year tribulation. One quarter (25%) of the earth is affected. This is roughly 1.75 billion people. As of May 2017, we are not in the tribulation. There is no Antichrist on the global scene.

May 2017: The country of Yemen is an example of the disease cycle discussed above. Yemen is a country of 27 million people on the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula. Civil war has broken out between Sunni and Shia Muslims.

A cholera outbreak is gripping the war torn country of Yemen. This is the second wave of cholera in the past month. Cholera is the result of poor sanitation, untreated water and food, and dysentery. Cholera is a vicious cycle of disease that spreads easily and quickly among the masses. 2,000 plus cases a day are being reported. At least 150,000 cases are expected in the next six months.

yemen trash

As a result of war, clean water is not available. Trash men are on strike. Food supplies have been cut off from the populous. Hunger and malnutrition are spreading throughout the country.

Hospitals have been damaged and destroyed in some cases. Medical supplies are limited and new supplies have been affected by war and supply chains. Up to six children are sharing a hospital bed. Trained medical staff is in short supply. Local medical professionals are going without pay.

The United Nations estimates 19 million people have been impacted.

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/may/24/scientists-race-against-time-yemen-deadly-cholera-outbreak-spirals

The pattern of history is in place. This is one country, Yemen. The scale of Revelation 6 and the seal judgments is one quarter of the earth.

 

Our Daily Bread…Featuring Paul Beverly

Posted in Paul Beverly with tags , , , , on May 25, 2017 by paulthepoke

pb bread

Tomorrow is never guaranteed, so don’t live like it is. Live each day as if it’s your last. Choose to spend your time wisely, doing what’s good & loving others. God gave us this life for a purpose, live with that purpose.

Ephesians 5:16 Make the best use of time, because the days are evil.

James 4:14 Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time & then vanishes.

Have a purpose filled Memorial Day Weekend my friends!!!

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By U.S. Navy photo by Paul Farley [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Grace Defined…Featuring Phil Kulis

Posted in Gospel, Phil Kulis with tags , , , , on May 24, 2017 by paulthepoke

PhilKulis Pic

Lots of people talk about grace, yet very few bother to define it.

What is grace? Although there are many terms that define it, the simplest way to understand what grace is, is to recognize what it isn’t.

Grace is the opposite of disgrace.

Everyone knows right away what disgrace is. It’s a state of shame.

The grace of God is something that comes to you because Christ exchanged places with you. Without Christ you are in a state of disgrace. But in Christ the grace of God is upon you.

dove grace

Grace is the state of pleasing or attractive quality or endowment, a manifestation of unmerited favor, mercy, clemency, pardon.

All these are the characteristics of God that God bestows upon us because Christ took our disgrace upon Himself and our disgrace was punished, put to death and buried.

Grace is how God looks at us. Not because of our actions but because of what Christ accomplished.

When we realize the magnitude of our disgrace and the grace that is instead bestowed upon us, then we are humbled. We don’t want to be a disgrace anymore.

Grace is getting what you don’t deserve.
Mercy is not getting what you do deserve.

Keep this in mind when you encounter the word grace in the Bible.
Ephesians 1:7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.

Trend Update: Operation Euphrates Wrath Moves East, May 2017

Posted in Euphrates River, Kurds/Medes, Prophecy, Trend Update with tags , , , , , , , , , , on May 23, 2017 by paulthepoke

Joshua 1:3-4 Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given it to you, just as I spoke to Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon, even as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and as far as the Great Sea toward the setting of the sun will be your territory.

The Euphrates River is a significant geographical landmark in the Bible. The text states the Euphrates River will be the eastern border of a future nation Israel. The Bible also states this river will dry up and allow the kings of the east to cross west towards Armageddon in Revelation 16:12. When today’s current events focus on the Euphrates River, we should pay attention. The Euphrates River matters to God and His chosen people, Israel.

May 23, 2017: Operation Euphrates Wrath is moving east from the Euphrates/Tabqa Dam towards Raqqa, Syria. Raqqa has been proclaimed as the de facto capital by ISIS. But over the past few months, leaflets from US and Kurdish forces have been dropped in Raqqa, Syria telling ISIS to surrender. ISIS is taking the leaflets seriously. They have been moving their capital from Raqqa to Deir ez-Zur, Syria. Deir ez-Zur is about 90 miles southeast from Raqqa down the Euphrates River to the southeast.

Supply routes to Raqqa, Syria have been cut off by the Kurds (Syrian Democratic Forces/SDF). Raqqa is located on the north bank of the Euphrates River. There are two bridges that cross the Euphrates River into Raqqa, Syria. Both of those bridges have been destroyed.

“Reliable sources confirmed to the Observatory that the operation to target the two main bridges, and other bridges around Raqqa came as attempts to prevent the Islamic State from bringing military reinforcements to the city of Raqqa.”  -United Kingdom based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights

http://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/05022017

http://aranews.net/2017/05/kurdish-led-sdf-cut-off-last-isis-supply-route-in-raqqa/

Revelation: Earth Prepares for the Big Quake…Featuring Bill Kitsch

Posted in Earthquakes/Volcanoes, Prophecy, Revelation with tags , , , , , , , , , on May 22, 2017 by paulthepoke

We are on the cusp of global tectonic shift (the continents move). The ‘cracks’ all over the earth are the lifting and jostling of the tectonic plates. Ice melt equals removal of vast weight. Removal of weight causes ‘continental rise’ and alters Earth’s isostasy.

Dawes Glacier calving
i·sos·ta·sy  /īˈsästəsē/ noun:
The equilibrium that exists between parts of the earth’s crust, which behaves as if it consists of blocks floating on the underlying mantle, rising if material (such as an ice cap) is removed and sinking if material is deposited.

Isostasy affects the imposition of centrifugal forces on the continental mass. Therefore at the pole of Antarctica, both a continent and a tectonic plate, the centrifugal force increase is exponential!

As Antarctica takes off moving sideways and rotating simultaneously, a chain reaction shift of the plates occurs to restore balance – stasis; isostasy. Furthermore, we are seeing the magnetic pole has moved a few degrees. This is the manifestation of Earth’s magnetism holding back the plates from moving on the plastic substrate. Of course the field is distorted or pulled!

continental driftWhen centrifugal forces and other forces of the movement of the plates overcome the ability of the magnetic field to hold the plates back, we have ‘polar flip’. And magnetic forces move rapidly. Then the field gets dragged right over just like a Slinky when it jumps a step. The magnetic reversals are seen in the geological record.

The laws of displacement dictate that the predicted ‘sea level rise’, even if all the ice melted, is minimal at best. Therefore we need not worry about sea level rise as such. It’s a fairy tale.

mastodonThe mastodon are in the ice in Siberia with tropical plants in their digestive tracts because that continent (tectonic plate) moved north over 2000 miles in days. I calculate about 15 to 25 mph which means it would move 2000 miles in a couple of days to a week. The animals froze foraging for the last of the surviving plants native to the prior latitudes, where the continent was just days earlier. There is no scientific reason or mechanism that would cause ‘cold’ to come down from the north fast enough to cause this ‘flash freezing’ and remain for the entire period of glaciation.

We know moving glaciers pushing south would pulverize everything in their path. Glaciers moving down rapidly as a theory is ludicrous.

The Earth is in preparation (tectonically) for ‘the great earthquake’.

Revelation 16:17-21 (the seventh bowl): Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl upon the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne, saying, “It is done.” And there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder; and there was a great earthquake, such as there had not been since man came to be upon the earth, so great an earthquake was it, and so mighty. The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. Babylon the great was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of His fierce wrath. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And huge hailstones, about one hundred pounds each, came down from heaven upon men; and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, because its plague was extremely severe.
But humans survived the onslaught…

Science and the Bible must and will line up in our understanding, regardless of our notions.

Rapture Poll…Hosted by Phil Kulis

Posted in Prophecy, Rapture, Trend Update with tags on May 22, 2017 by paulthepoke

1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.

 

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Our Daily Bread…Featuring Paul Beverly

Posted in Paul Beverly with tags , , , , , on May 21, 2017 by paulthepoke

pb bread

Why do we believe the words of those that hurt us, but can’t see what those that love us see in ourselves?

If you think those that are hurting you love you, you need to understand that they don’t know how to love. That’s not love or truth.  So many lack confidence in themselves because they only hear about the negative that some may see.

Focus on the good in others & build them up. Believe those that are building you up & try to see just a portion of what they see. Praise the positive you see in them. Give them confidence. Confidence is appealing.

Be confident in yourself…

Ephesians 4:29 Let no corrupt talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those that hear.

Have a grace giving week my friends!!!

Revelation: Thyatira, Stay the Course

Posted in Prophecy, Revelation with tags , , , , , , , , on May 20, 2017 by paulthepoke

Revelation 2:24-25 But I say to you, the rest who are in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not known the deep things of Satan, as they call them-I place no other burden on you . Nevertheless what you have, hold fast until I come.

This message is for those in the church at Thyatira who did not follow the teachings of Jezebel. These believers have not studied the ideas of Satan…allegedly. These folks are off the hook as far as Christ is concerned. These believers are encouraged to stay the course in their lifestyle in Jesus.

…until I come…This is the Greek word ηεκο/heko. Strong’s defines the word as: to have come, have arrived, be present. Metaphorically: to come to one, i.e. to seek an intimacy with one, become his follower: to come upon one (unexpectedly); to come upon one, of things endured.

This word ηεκο/heko captures the essence of Christ’s work in the resurrection and rapture of the church. Jesus is returning for His bride. Christ calls on us to persevere and endure the pressures of this world. He desires a personal relationship with believers, those who follow Him. And He will come like a thief in the night if one is not ready.

Revelation 2:26-27 The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father.

The one who conquers…This is the Greek verb νικαο/nikao. It is a term for a victorious military hero. Again, the shoe brand Nike comes from this Greek root word. The grammar states the action is continuous.

…and who keeps my works…Again the action of the verb is continuous. The believer is to continue the deeds and works of Christ. It should be the attitude of the believer to continuously do the will of Jesus. Again, until the end when He comes again.

Pay attention, there are rewards on the line. Believers will be political rulers in the future Millennial Kingdom. This is not an honorary position. Jesus is making the claim. Details of the leadership are noted below.

…I will give authority over the nations…What kind of authority are we promised? The Greek word is εξουσια/exousia. Strong’s Concordance defines the word as the following: power of choice, liberty of doing as one pleases; physical and mental power; the ability or strength with which one is endued, which he either possesses or exercises; the power of authority (influence) and of right (privilege); the power of rule or government (the power of him whose will and commands must be submitted to by others and obeyed); universal authority over mankind; the power of judicial decisions; the sign of regal authority, a crown.

two-edged sword

…and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces… Jesus is quoting the Psalmist. This is the power and authority promised to the Messiah. He will share in His power with His bride the church.

Psalm 2:9 You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware.

Notice the chain of command with authority in verses 26-27. It starts with God the Father. The Father hands authority to the Son. And the Son shares it with believers who are in Him. Believers will rule and reign with Jesus Christ in the Millennial Kingdom and into eternity.

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