Habakkuk 1:5 Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told. -LORD God
“The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.” Exodus 20:21
Like the nation of Israel, we are each called to the mountain of God, but few are willing to pass through the darkness to get there. God wanted to reveal His glory to the children of Israel, but they were afraid to enter into His presence. They only wanted to know about God, rather than know him personally like Moses did. This grieved the heart of God.
Why wouldn’t the people of Israel risk entering the darkness if it meant being in the presence of God? What did the people fear?
Perhaps they had fears like each of us. The fear of the unknown. The fear of what might happen. The fear that God might not like what He sees. Or, perhaps even the greatest fear: the fear of darkness itself and what lies behind that darkness.
Many of us have been satisfied to hear about God from God’s messengers. But there is a greater calling for each of you – a calling to enter into His presence. Sometimes entering into His presence means we enter through an unexpected door – a door that appears to have nothing good behind it.
“Love your neighbor, all of ’em.” -Christine Clarity McDonald
The Hebrew month of Elul initiates a 40 day period called Teshuvah. This is the Hebrew word for “repent”. It is a time to turn toward God. People are called to turn away from their sin, repent, and change course. It is a time of inward reflection and sincere self-assessment. The goal is a change in lifestyle away from sin to obedience in God’s word. Return to God and His ways.
This is the season to prepare for the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah and the Day of Atonement or Yom Kippur. The 40 day period of Teshuvah ends on Tishri 10 in the Hebrew calendar, Yom Kippur.
Elul is the last month of the civic calendar in Judaism. Elul is the sixth month of the religious calendar. Elul 1 marks the beginning of Teshuvah. On a Gregorian calendar in the year 2019, this would be Sunday, September 1st or Monday the 2nd depending on when the new moon is confirmed by two witnesses.
It is Jewish custom to blow a shofar (ram’s horn) one time every day during the season of Teshuvah. The trumpet is blown every day after the morning service except Shabbat or the Sabbath (Saturday for us in western culture) and the last day of month of Elul.
So what does Jesus and His ascension have to do with Teshuvah? Granted, Christ ascended in the spring, not in late summer or early fall.
There are some interesting similarities. For one, Christ traveled around the Jerusalem area for 40 days after His resurrection. 40 days is the length of Teshuvah. He proved He had overcome death to many. Jesus had dealt with sin. Jesus spent those 40 days preaching the Kingdom of God. He was turning others to the future in preparation to meet God.
Acts 1:3 He presented Himself alive to them after His suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.
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Yes, Jesus was sinless. He set the model for how we should repent and turn to our Heavenly Father. Christ completed His work on a sinful Earth and returned to His Father in a Holy Heaven. Even the perfect Son returned to His Father. Currently, He is face to face at the right hand of His Abba.
Acts 1:9 And when He had said these things, as they were looking on, He was lifted up, and a cloud took Him out of their sight.
Two thousand years ago, the apostles were questioned for looking to Heaven. The Spirit was soon to come to Earth. There was and is work to complete.
Now is the time to return to Jesus. His cross work paid for the sins of the whole world. All one has to do is believe in Him and His effort. One way or another, the time is drawing near when we will all have the opportunity to return to Him.
Acts 1:11 …and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw Him go into heaven.”
For more content on Teshuvah, click the link below.
Revelation 13:16-18 And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six.
As of August 2019, we are not in the seven year tribulation. There are no two witnesses. There is not a Temple in Jerusalem. The context of the mark emerges with the total domination and rule of the Antichrist. This takes place during the last 3 ½ years of the seven year tribulation.
Friday, August 23, 2019: Lost in the shuffle of all the tough tariff talk between President Donald Trump and China, was this nugget from England’s Central Banker Mark Carney.
bitcoin.com
Carney wants to replace the US Dollar as the world’s reserve currency. A major concern is a US Dollar that is getting stronger and affecting global markets.
“The dollar is the global currency, we know that. The challenge is that the U.S. share of the global economy has been reducing. The dollar share of payments – not just financial assets but payments, a lot of payments of countries that have nothing to do with the U.S. make payments in dollars. And what happens in situations like we’re in tonight, where the U.S. to its credit is relatively strong, doing better. The fed has been doing the right thing. They have adjusted policy, they have tightened policy as it was strengthening. Now they’re making – they’re doing the right thing, but they adjusted and it is relatively strong. That means the rest of the world policy is tighter than it needs to be, and that feeds back on the U.S. economy in a way that ultimately slows this economy.And it leads to a substandard outcome. And in a world where you only have limited policy space, it is a dangerous place to be.So, the trade issues we’re talking about are reinforced by the structure of the monetary system.
Now the issue is you don’t just jump to something new overnight. And what we want in a multi polar world, I think we would agree we have European engine, we’ve got the Chinese engine, we’ve got the U.S. engine of this economy, a multi polar world, you need a multi polar currency. The question is how you get there? And I laid out ideas of how you would get there.” -Mark Carney
For those who want to read the document. See the link below for the specifics of Carney’s idea.
Carney is not the only one talking about replacing the dollar on a global scale. Here is a brief list of global players who are on board with the idea: Christine Lagarde of the International Monetary Fund (IMF); Russia’s Vladimir Putin; China; Chief Economic Adviser at Allianz, Mohamed El Erian.
For more detail and an overview on global currency plans, see the link below from Zerohedge.
The concept of a single global crypto-currency is becoming mainstream in the press. This is not a right-wing wacko, fringe conspiracy theory. These folks have plans in place. It is time to pay attention!
Exhale and relax. We are not there. But we are trending towards the economic concepts of a one world system discussed in the book of Revelation.
Michael Douville and Paul Lehr discuss international economics and how it lines up with Biblical Prophecy. Biblical Prophecy is being fulfilled as we speak!
The economic situation in Turkey continues to deteriorate. The Turkish government is desperate for resources. How does the situation in modern day Turkey relate to Bible prophecy?
Ezekiel 38:12-13 to seize spoil and carry off plunder, to turn your hand against the waste places that are now inhabited, and the people who were gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and goods, who dwell at the center of the earth. Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish and all its leaders will say to you, ‘Have you come to seize spoil? Have you assembled your hosts to carry off plunder, to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods, to seize great spoil?’
For recent history regarding Russia, Turkey, Iran, and Ezekiel’s prophecy, see the link below.
Will a strong US Dollar lead to the scenario of hyperinflation described in Revelation 6?
Revelation 6:5-6 When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, a black horse! And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and do not harm the oil and wine!”
Exodus 25:17-20 You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold, two and a half cubits long and one and a half cubits wide.And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work shall you make them, on the two ends of the mercy seat. Make one cherub on the one end, and one cherub on the other end. Of one piece with the mercy seat shall you make the cherubim on its two ends. The cherubim shall spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, their faces one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubim be.
The mercy seat is the cover or lid for the Ark of the Covenant.
The Hebrew word for “mercy seat” is kapporeth. Per Strong’s Concordance it means: mercy seat, place of atonement; the golden plate of propitiation on which the High Priest sprinkled the seat 7 times on the Day of Atonement symbolically reconciling Jehovah and His chosen people; on the lid were two golden cherubim facing each other whose outstretched wings came together.
The Hebrew word kapporeth comes from kopher (means propitiatory or substitution).
The mercy seat or the lid of the Ark is a substitution for the covering of sin. Remember, cherubim are physically present on, covering, protecting, and observing the mercy seat.
Leviticus 16:15b-16 and bring its blood inside the veil and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it on the mercy seat and in front of the mercy seat. He shall make atonement for the holy place, because of the impurities of the sons of Israel and because of their transgressions in regard to all their sins; and thus he shall do for the tent of meeting which abides with them in the midst of their impurities.
For God, the shedding of innocent blood on the mercy seat is a satisfactory substitution for sin. Only the High Priest can make the sacrifice in the presence of God. Jesus Christ is our High Priest.
Hebrews 4:14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.
What role do the cherubim play in all of this? Matthew gives a physical description of one of the angels at the tomb of Christ. The being is clearly an imposing looking figure. The guards were literally scared stiff and rocked at their core.
Matthew 28:3-4 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men.
Luke describes their appearance accordingly. The women who followed Jesus had a similar response as the guards. They were mortified.
Luke 24:4-5 While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. As the women bowed their faces to the ground in terror, the two men asked them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead?
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At the core of the issue, the angels bear witness to humanity the gospel message. This is the reality of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Matthew confirms His death and burial and resurrection. John picks up from Matthew and informs of the burial and alludes to the resurrection. Luke closes with the confirmation of the resurrection. Angels present the evidence according to the gospel accounts.
Matthew 28:5-6 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying.
John 20:11-12 But Mary (Magdelene) was standing outside the tomb weeping; and so, as she wept, she stooped and looked into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been lying.
Luke 24:6 He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee…
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The angels were present with the resurrected Jesus Christ. See John 20:11-12 above for context.
John 20:14 Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus.
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Deuteronomy 19:15 A single witness shall not rise up against a man on account of any iniquity or any sin which he has committed; on the evidence of two or three witnesses a matter shall be confirmed.
God the Father sent angels to earth for confirmation of Christ’s good news. For Heavenly legal purposes, Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection are established, observable facts. At least two if not three angels confirm the events. Matthew 28 accounts for one angel. John 20 observes two angels. Angels present and confirm the fact of the gospel. Multiple angels verified. God’s legal standard has been satisfied.
Jesus Christ is the mercy seat. This gift is received only by faith. Nothing you can do.
Romans 3:25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.
Angels authenticate and substantiate our good news.
Genuine love and compassion, the kind that truly come from Christ and are imaged in us to a broken world, view every human being as treasured and precious. People, all people, were the single motivation God had that compelled Jesus to the cross. His sacrifice was made for all sins committed before He came, all sins committed during His earthly journey, and all sins we would think up, dream up, and commit after He died and rose again.
This means that every human being has equal value and access to God’s love and amazing grace. It means that none of us are worthy or hold more value in and of ourselves, but through Him we are redeemed to become treasures. Before you accepted Him, He loved you passionately and saw you as a “not–yet–redeemed” treasure. He wanted you before you were cleaned up and polished by His blood.
That redemption transforms our value to reflect His value, and He is priceless. That redemption also cleanses our hearts and minds so that we can take on His viewpoint. Our role, as believers, is to be the human extenders of what God grants us daily, moment by moment. If His grace is sufficient (2 Corinthians 12:9), then it is sufficient for us and a sufficient supply for us to give others. Christ is the great equalizer!
2 Corinthians 12:9 And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.
“Love your neighbor, all of ’em.” -Christine Clarity McDonald
Isaiah 19:5-7 And the waters of the sea will be dried up, and the river will be dry and parched, and its canals will become foul, and the branches of Egypt’s Nile will diminish and dry up, reeds and rushes will rot away. There will be bare places by the Nile, on the brink of the Nile, and all that is sown by the Nile will be parched, will be driven away, and will be no more.
Cairo, Egypt: The Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation has declared a water emergency.
“The job of an irrigation engineer in Egypt has changed. We no longer manage water flooding but manage water scarcity, and make precise plans to deal with it, so as not to harm the main interests and the citizens’ needs,” Mohammed al-Sibai, Spokesman for the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation.
The total annual Nile River flow has declined 5 billion cubic meters (1.3 trillion gallons, or 6.5 billion cubic yards) compared to last year 2018.
The Egyptian government tells its citizens not to worry. The available water supply will not be affected.
“Egypt’s annual water quota will not be affected by the decline. A state of emergency means keeping all of the Water Ministry’s departments on maximum alert to periodically follow up on the water situation in the main riverbed and all canals and water channels in the governorates.”
This emergency is occurring as Egyptian water needs are increasing.
“In addition to the declining water flow, Egypt is dealing with a water gap that is widening every year. Internal needs are now estimated at 114 billion cubic meters annually, while only 59.4 billion cubic meters of running surface water is available.”
In the long run, Egyptian officials are not concerned about water. They have Lake Nasser behind the Aswan Dam.
“It’s not possible to be in real danger, as long as there is a strategic water reservoir in the Aswan Dam, and official figures indicate that the water level there is so far within the safe limits. The most important challenge is to maintain safe [levels] of water in Lake Nasser.” -Abbas Sharaqi, Water and Geology Professor at Cairo University
There is also the matter of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam construction continues on the Nile River. Construction of the dam is located in northwest Ethiopia. When finished, the GERD will be the largest hydroelectric plant in Africa. As of 2019, the project is estimated to be completed in 2022. Once finished, it estimated to take 5-15 years for the reservoir to fill to capacity.
Man says, “Don’t worry. We can conserve and manage the Nile River.”
God says…
Zechariah 10:11b …And He will strike the waves in the sea, so that all the depths of the Nile will dry up…
Ezekiel 30:12 And I will dry up the Nile and will sell the land into the hand of evildoers; I will bring desolation upon the land and everything in it, by the hand of foreigners; I am the LORD; I have spoken.
Proverbs 22:3 The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it.
Time to wake up! Pay attention! International markets are changing quickly!
In a few days Argentina’s stocks and bonds took a nose dive. In one session, Argentina’s stock market dropped 48%! Could this be the start of dark times? Click the link below for Michael’s update.
Michael has been warning people for almost 3 years of a shift in Market Fundamentals. It is finally here. Michael is available to speak on your program or help in any way. He can be reached at 480-948-5554 or michael@michaeldouville.com
Do you have all your money in stocks and bonds? What happens if we see a sharp reduction in the markets. Have you prepared your life boat? Michael talks about alternate ways to make income without worrying about the markets. Check us out at michaeldouville.com. The first consultation is always free. Michael’s Book, How to Create a Real Estate Money Machine and Retire with Income, is available on line. Email Michael at michael@michaeldouville.com
Ecclesiastes 7:12 For the protection of wisdom is like the protection of money, and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of him who has it.
Genesis 3:24 He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.
The Hebrew word for cherub is kerub: probably
an order of angelic beings (Strong’s Concordance).
A form of the word “kerub” is referenced 91 times in the Old Testament per Strong’s. The derivation of the term is unknown. Cherub is the singular form and Cherubim is the plural form.
The first reference of the word cherubim is noted after the
fall of man in the Garden of Eden. The context is that of judgment and
protection. Fire is associated with the context indicating purification.
What are the physical characteristics of a cherub? They have
wings and they can be a vehicle of transportation.
2 Samuel 22:11 He rode on a cherub and flew; He was seen on the wings of the wind.
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The Prophet Ezekiel probably provides the best eye witness account and physical description of cherubim in the Bible. Like the seraphim, cherubim are associated with burning coals. The coals purify and cleanse.
Ezekiel 10:2 And He said to the man clothed in linen, “Go
in among the whirling wheels underneath the cherubim. Fill your hands with
burning coals from between the cherubim, and scatter them over the city.”
Cherubim have the ability to stand upright.
Ezekiel 10:3a Now the cherubim were standing on the south
side of the house…
Apparently, the wings of the cherubim are in constant motion
and the noise created is loud. Scripture tells us God’s voice is comparable to
rushing water or thunder.
Ezekiel 10:5 And the sound of the wings of the cherubim
was heard as far as the outer court, like the voice of God Almighty when He
speaks.
Like seraphim, heat and fire do not burn cherubim. They also
appear to have hands like humans which are located under their wings.
Ezekiel 10:7-8 And a cherub stretched out his hand from
between the cherubim to the fire that was between the cherubim, and took some
of it and put it into the hands of the man clothed in linen, who took it and
went out. The cherubim appeared to have the form of a human hand under their
wings.
The facial structure and appearance of a cherub is different than a human. They are unique in their appearance. This distinction is made in the physical description of a “whirling wheel” below.
Ezekiel 10:14 And every one had four faces: the first face was the face of the cherub, and the second face was a human face, and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.
As a child, Christine McDonald’s life at home was nightmarish. She was in a poverty-stricken, fatherless home. Her mother struggled with mental illness. She suffered from sexual abuse. She’d been in juvenile justice and foster care.
She ran away — dozens of time.
Now an author, whose first book about her journey out of sexual exploitation and human trafficking is to be made into a film, McDonald is a consultant and motivational speaker…
Christine is set to speak about under-served and marginalized populations during INSPIRE, a daylong women’s conference September 14, 2019 to raise money for homeless children and help women “nourish, beautify and feed their souls.”
INSPIRE is 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. September 14 at Miller Performing Arts Center, 501 Madison St. in Jefferson City, Missouri.
Tickets are $50 and may be found at haloworldwide.org. Once on the site, click on “Events,” then on “INSPIRE: A women’s conference to benefit HALO.”
A tab for buying tickets is on that page. VIP tickets, which cost $100, will allow ticket-holders to attend a meet-and-greet with speakers at a cocktail and hors d’oeuvres reception following the event from 4-6 p.m. in the Bella Vista Room at Double Tree by Hilton Hotel, 422 Monroe St. in Jefferson City, Missouri.
