Archive for October, 2020

Archaeology Find: Caesarea Philippi

Posted in Uncategorized on October 31, 2020 by paulthepoke

Matthew 16:13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”

Photo: Google

The following is from The Watchman with Erick Stakelbeck.

Host Erick Stakelbeck interviews Israeli tour guide and archaeologist Danny “The Digger” Herman about a stunning new discovery just uncovered in Israel: the remains of a 5th century Byzantine-era church in Ceasarea Philippi that may commemorate a pivotal New Testament exchange between Jesus and the Apostle Peter.

Significant Biblical artifacts are being unearthed with increasing frequency.

To the critic… you want science and evidence???

Mark 8:27 And Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way He asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?”

Quakes in Various Places, Izmir, Turkey, October 2020

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Earthquakes/Volcanoes, Prophecy, Trend Update with tags , , , , , , , on October 30, 2020 by paulthepoke

Luke 21:11a There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences.

Map: Google

October 30, 2020: A 7.0 magnitude earthquake and aftershocks have struck southwest Turkey in the Aegean Sea. Izmir, Turkey appears to have taken the brunt of the damage.

As of this post, 21 people have died and over 725 have been injured. Small tsunamis were reported throughout coastal populations on the Aegean Sea.

For video and pictures of the event. Click on the link below from the Daily Mail.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8897247/Powerful-6-6-magnitude-earthquake-hits-Turkey-Greek-islands.html

This area is the home office to the seven churches in the book of Revelation.

Patmos is an island in the Aegean Sea. The word “Patmos” means: my killing. The Apostle John was sentenced to the island of “my killing”. Where are you going? My killing.

Patmos is a small island approximately 10 miles by 6 miles. It is a rocky island. Tradition has John receiving the “Revelation” in a cave on the south side of the island.

Historical Ephesus was the largest city of the seven churches.

This is the city for Paul’s letter to the Ephesians.

Ephesus was located on the Cayster River. The city was between the Maeander River to the south and the Hermus River to the north. The city was also a great seaport on the Aegean Sea. The geography allowed Ephesus to be a significant commercial destination. It was the most important port in the Aegean.

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Ancient Smyrna today is Izmir, Turkey. It is located about 35 miles north of Ephesus. Smyrna was founded by the Greeks approximately 3,000 years ago. Ancient Smyrna was a port city and relied on commercial trade. The city was destroyed by an earthquake in 178 AD.

Today, Izmir is the most populous Aegean port city in Turkey. The city is predominantly Muslim. It is the third most populous city in Turkey. Izmir is home to Turkey’s second largest Jewish community of about 2,500. (Wikipedia)

Trump & the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, October 2020

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Egypt/Nile River, Prophecy, Trend Update with tags , , , , , on October 28, 2020 by paulthepoke

October 23, 2020: During the announcement of the Israel and Sudan peace deal, President Trump took the time to comment on Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia and the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). Trump made some remarkable comments encouraging Egypt blowing up the Ethiopian Dam.

“It’s a very dangerous situation because Egypt is not going to be able to live that way. They’ll end up blowing up the dam. And I said it and I say it loud and clear, they’ll blow up that dam. And they have to do something. They should have stopped it long before it started. I had a deal done for them and then, unfortunately, Ethiopia broke the deal, which they should not have done. That was a big mistake. They will never see that money unless they adhere to that agreement.” -President Donald Trump.

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/trump-says-egypt-may-blow-ethiopia-dam

Watch and listen to Trump’s comments in the Tweet below.

The Nile, Tigris, and Euphrates Rivers are prophetic markers for the end times scenario. The prophets state the Nile River will go dry prior to the coming of the Messiah.

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.

There are multiple prophets in the Bible that says the Nile River will dry. The LORD states He is the cause. God tells Zechariah He will strike the waves in the sea, so that all the depths of the Nile will dry up… Something major in the Mediterranean Sea is going to happen.

See Isaiah 19 for more details and economic consequences of this event.

https://paulthepoke.com/category/egypt-nile-river/

All of these key prophetic rivers are in the headlines trending towards prophetic fulfillment. All of these rivers have significant and strategic dams that are affecting water and electrical resources for millions of people.

https://paulthepoke.com/2020/09/06/euphrates-tigris-rivers-going-dry-september-2020/

https://paulthepoke.com/?s=mosul+dam

God’s chosen prophets warned us over 2,500 years ago. We should probably pay attention.

Property Purchased for Christine’s Place

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Christine "Clarity" McDonald with tags , , , on October 26, 2020 by paulthepoke

The following quotes are from Christine McDonald. She was recently interviewed in an article for http://northeastnews.net/

Local effort seeks to end prostitution ‘from all angles’ was written by Abby Hoover on October 23, 2020.

http://northeastnews.net/pages/local-effort-seeks-to-end-prostitution-from-all-angles

“I guess it’s multi-faceted, number one, the girls have a place to go consistently to take a shower, grab a sandwich. They have needs, their challenges that got them into the places where they’re at oftentimes have left them excluded and invisible, or dropped through the cracks of systems and institutions.”

“The reality is, if we didn’t have buyers, we wouldn’t have traffickers exploiting our most vulnerable.”

“We’ve been trying to arrest our way out of this, and that hasn’t worked. [The prostitutes] go in, they get arrested, they move them to another corner, and then we create insurmountable barriers by giving them a criminal record that when it is time to get out, nobody wants to rent to them, nobody wants to hire them, nobody.”

“I’d never had a job and when I tried to get some services when I was in my 30’s, people had told me that my arrest record was too long. I had felony convictions and my chances at success were too small because my barriers were too huge.”

“Even a sandwich comes at a cost, even something as simple as going to sleep in safety comes at a cost, or the privilege of having healthcare, being treated, comes at a cost, and whether that’s your body being exploited or whether that’s a monetary cost, the rest of the world doesn’t operate in that same way.”

“You can choose to come in here and you can choose to go back out, but hopefully every time you choose to come back in, you’re reassured that you are worth a pathway out.”

“If we could start shifting those conversations about, ‘We need to do something about these girls’ to, ‘We need to understand there are men driving from all over the state and across the state line, other counties, to pay for these girls. Some of these girls grew up in Northeast and now they’re being paid for by people who are not necessarily from the Northeast community.” -Christine McDonald

Christine McDonald is working with Relentless Pursuit Outreach and Recovery in Kansas City, MO. Their location is at the corner of Independence and Quincy Avenues.

https://www.rpor.org/our-story

Below are links and highlights to Kansas City’s Memorial to Sex Trafficked Individuals at Lykins Park.

https://www.kcur.org/arts-life/2020-10-22/first-memorial-to-survivors-of-sex-trafficking-to-be-unveiled-at-lykins-square-park-in-kansas-city

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Contact Information:
Christine C. McDonald
636-487-8986
Christine.CryPurple@gmail.com

“Love your neighbor, all of ’em.” -Christine Clarity McDonald

Through The Eyes of Grace –Christine C McDonald 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEj5RbFpuzjx_CuksAqgyXA/featured

https://crypurplemovie.com/

Gabriel’s 70 Weeks

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Angels, Prophecy with tags , , , on October 25, 2020 by paulthepoke

Daniel 9:24 Seventy weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place.

Most translations use the phrase “Seventy weeks”. The New International Version uses the phrase “seventy sevens”. The New Living Translation indicates “seventy sets of seven”.

The first part of the time equation is straight forward. Shibim is the Hebrew word for the number 70.

The second word is a bit more complicated as we see it from a western perspective. The Hebrew word of “weeks” is shabua. Per Strong’s Concordance, shabua is defined as a period of seven (days, years), heptad, week. The term is plural for the number seven.

The math is straight forward. 70 X 7 = 490.

So, is it 490 days or 490 years for the prophecy to be fulfilled?

Daniel 9:1 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, by descent a Mede, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans…

We know from Daniel 9:1, that Gabriel is visiting Daniel in roughly 539 BC. We can rule out 490 literal days pretty easily. Sin did not come to an end. Atonement for sin and everlasting righteousness did not come to be in a little over a year.

Christ was not due on the scene for at least 500 years. If this were the case, currently in the 21st century would be past the Millennial Kingdom and into a blissful eternity… hardly the case.

There is also the day-year or the year-day principle. The idea is a day represents a year of time. Scripture supports this idea with the several examples. God Himself uses this principle after the Exodus in Numbers 14.

Numbers 14:34 According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, a year for each day, you shall bear your iniquity forty years, and you shall know my displeasure.’

God instructed the prophet Ezekiel a day for a year on two separate occasions.

Ezekiel 4:5 For I assign to you a number of days, 390 days, equal to the number of the years of their punishment. So long shall you bear the punishment of the house of Israel.

Ezekiel 4:6 And when you have completed these, you shall lie down a second time, but on your right side, and bear the punishment of the house of Judah. Forty days I assign you, a day for each year.

Many liberal scholars will disagree. Some don’t think this passage in Daniel 9 is even prophetic. But the most likely answer is a 490 year time frame for this prophecy to be fulfilled.

Israel & Sudan Agree to Peace, October 2020

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Peace Plan, Prophecy, Trend Update with tags , , , , , , , on October 24, 2020 by paulthepoke

Washington, D.C., October 23, 2020: President Donald Trump announced yet another historic peace deal. This time, Israel and Sudan are partners. Sudan has been entered as a member of the expanding Abraham Accords.

President Trump made the announcement with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and Sudan’s Chairman of the Sovereignty Council General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan on a conference call. Below is a YouTube link of the press conference from the White House.

The focus of the plan is cooperation in agriculture, economy, trade, aviation, and migration issues.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/joint-statement-united-states-republic-sudan-state-israel/

President Trump says there are more Muslim nations looking to join the Abraham Accords including possibly Iran.

President Trump’s Senior Advisor Jared Kushner weighed in with his comments.

November 2017: Russian President Vladimir Putin invited then Sudan President Omar al-Bashir to Sochi for a meeting. Sudan was asking for Russian protection against American aggression. The Sudan president was removed in a coup. He was wanted by the International Criminal Court for genocide and war crimes. Omar al-Bashir is currently in jail for several accounts of corruption.

Genesis 2:13 The name of the second river is the Gihon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Cush.

This is the first mention in the Bible of the land south of Egypt. The Hebrew word is Cush. It is translated as Cush or Ethiopia in the biblical text. It is a land in the southern Nile River valley. This is modern day Sudan.

Ezekiel 38:5 Persia, Ethiopia and Put with them, all of them with shield and helmet…

With this announcement, we have some intrigue on Magog’s southern front…

The prophet Ezekiel stated Russia, Turkey, Iran and allies are prophesied to invade Israel (Ezekiel 38-39). Arguably, Sudan may join Gog and Magog (modern day Russia) in their invasion of Israel at some point in the future.

Reaching Out… Paul Beverly

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Paul Beverly with tags , on October 20, 2020 by paulthepoke

It saddens me deeply when a life is lost too soon. We never know what someone else is fighting on the inside. Be kind to everyone. Be there for them. Be someone that hopefully they can come to when they are struggling. Depression is so real & so scary. It feels like you’re alone, even if you’re around others a lot. If you are struggling, reach out to others. There are those of us that want to help & understand. Reach out to God, because he does truly heal.

Psalm 147:3 He heals the broken-hearted & binds up their wounds.

Have a healing week my friends!!!

What is Christian Giving?

Posted in #PaulthePoke with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 18, 2020 by paulthepoke

First, defining what is not Christian giving is necessary. Christian giving is not tithing. Tithing is the practice of giving 1/10 of one’s income for the support of the Levitical priesthood, tabernacle, and temple system under the law. 

The Mosaic Law was given to the Jewish people and this was their guideline for moral living and civic law, as a nation with God as their “King”. If the Law was not upheld, punishment occurred according to the infraction.

These statutes are noted in the first 5 books of the Old Testament, which are also called the Torah (Hebrew for instruction).

This is defined in Numbers 18:21-32 and restated in Hebrews 7:5.

Hebrews 7:5 And those descendants of Levi who receive the priestly office have a commandment in the law to take tithes from the people, that is, from their brothers, though these also are descended from Abraham.

Under the law, tithing was required of produce and livestock, a currency of the day. Tithing is a statute under the Law. 

Along side the tithing system, Israel also gave “freewill” offerings in addition to their required giving as a form of worship to God (Exodus 35:21, 29; 1 Chronicles 29:9, 2 Chronicles 35:8, Ezra 3:5, 8:28).  This giving was based on “whose heart moved them” and “willingly”, rather than under compulsion of the Law.

Exodus 35:29 All the men and women, the people of Israel, whose heart moved them to bring anything for the work that the LORD had commanded by Moses to be done brought it as a freewill offering to the LORD.

The Law, being given as a part of the Mosaic Covenant, was to be replaced by a coming “New Covenant” as promised by the prophet Jeremiah.

Jeremiah 31:31-34 Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.

Therefore, the law is for a specific time period and a code of conduct which ended with Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ instituted this “New Covenant” at the Last Supper (Matthew 26:26-28; Luke 22:19-20; 1 Corinthians 11:24-25) prior to His death & resurrection.

Romans 10 clearly states the end of the Mosaic Covenant in Christ Jesus. Romans 10:4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

Photo: Pinterest

As Christians, we are not required to keep the Law, but rather apply the “Spirit” or the principles laid forth by the Law. 

Romans 7:6 But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.

Christian living is not a checklist of “dos & don’ts”. Nor is Christian giving a specific amount according to a statute to follow. This is legalism.

Romans 7:4 Therefore, my brothers, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, that we might bear fruit for God.

Paul chides the Galatians for legalism.

Galatians 3:13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us, for it is written, (Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree).

A reminder to us all, if you practice the Law, you shall live by the Law (Galatians 3:12). This is a serious standard. Do you really want to go there? Do you even want to try and live by the one standard of a tithe?

Galatians 3:10 For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.”

Translated another way, you break one, you break them all. This is reinforced by James.

James 2:10, for whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.

We are under grace and not under the Law.

Romans 6:14 For sin shall not be master of you, for you are not under the law, but under grace. 

What is the standard of grace giving? Give as you see fit from the heart. Give in a cheerful manner and because you desire to do as such.

2 Corinthian 9:7 Let each one do just as he has purposed in his heart; not grudgingly or under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver.

Whose Mind Are You Listening To??? Rodna Epley

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Rodna Epley with tags , , , , on October 16, 2020 by paulthepoke

The definition of worry is this: when we try to find the answer for a problem in our own mind, but the answer is found only in God’s Mind, in the Mind of Christ. Answers from His Mind are only imparted to our mind by the Holy Spirit through revelation that He brings to our spirits. Answers are not analytically figured out or deciphered through the tools we have in our minds.

Our minds without His mind operating in us is only human reasoning or some type of philosophy. It might sound right or intelligent, but it falls short of the glory if there’s no revelation. When the revelation comes in, our spiritual eyes open at the same time, then the transfer of wisdom is made to the mind that we experience in our every day lives. Jesus called it understanding.

The kingdom of heaven is built on revelation. We can read the Bible all day long and never understand it until revelation comes in, until light to the eyes and mind comes in.

The Father has hidden His glory on purpose so that the diligent, His kings (male or female), will seek out this treasure that belongs to our Father but has been given to us in Christ. This treasure is only found in Christ where Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father of glory on the throne of glory as Lord and King of glory.

So when we worry, we are not operating in the mind of Christ. Worry is constant because the answer is never found in our own minds. Some kind of answer can be found and all kinds of variations. But a lasting answer, one that completely liberates us from the problem forever is only found in Christ through revelation by a treasure of truth from His glory that enters in and takes up permanent residence in our thinking.

When perfect peace manifests and the worry is gone, we have stopped striving and looking for the solution within ourselves. The permanent solution is only found in Christ.

When we read the Word of God looking for an answer to a problem or to just spend time with Jesus, it’s okay to use our exegetical skills as we are mining for truth, because we can learn a lot of things that way about culture, words that were added and changed, alternate meanings, etc.

But even in all of our exegetical prowess that we think we might have, we still only know “Truth” when revelation from the Holy Spirit enters into our spirit and His Mind comes alive in us.

When we read we should be expecting to hear from God. We aren’t reading black and white words on a page. We are reading and expecting to hear the Living Word come into our spirits and open our blind eyes. We know this happens when we find ourselves saying, “Wow! I’ve never seen that before! Thank You Father!”

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)

“It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows; for so He gives His beloved sleep.” (Psalm 127:2)

“I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.” (John 6:51)

Worry, anxiety and fear are experienced when we “eat the bread of sorrows”. We are looking for solutions in our old minds of the old nature where the answers are never to be found. The old mind knows nothing about the Lord, that’s why Jesus put it to death on the cross.

We have to wake up in us the new mind in Christ. The glory of the Father raised Jesus from the dead and raised us too when we have placed our faith in him. Jesus is now with the Father and this is our position too in Christ, where we have His mind and we belong to Him.

Instead of eating the bread of sorrow, we eat the Bread of Life when we take communion. In Christ are the answers that bring perfect peace. When revelation comes in, the Father’s glory is being released, worry immediately leaves, and perfect peace manifests as a result.

So we let go of worry, fear, and anxiety by ceasing to find the answer within ourselves. Instead of medicating the pain in order to temporarily calm it’s incessant nagging threats, we make a willful decision to speak God’s promises that have been revealed to us which release His glory and radiate perfect peace.

“For all the promises of God in Him (in Christ) are Yes, and in Him (we say) Amen, to the glory of God through us.” (2 Corinthians 1:20)

“The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness.” (Matthew 6:22-23)

“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. (That thing making you afraid is NOT your god) I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’” (Isaiah 28:10)

“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27)

“You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.” (Isaiah 26:3)

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things.” (Matthew 6:33-34)

“Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their own craftiness”; and again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.” Therefore let no one boast in men. For all things are yours: whether…the world or life or death, or things present or things to come—are all yours. And you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.” (1 Corinthians 3:19-23)

Blessing to everyone! Be free from worry, fear, and anxiety. If you are Christ’s then those things don’t belong to you. The peace and joy that Jesus gave does belong to you. Thank You Father for Your wisdom. Thank You Father for Your favor. In Jesus mighty name Amen!

Parenting… Paul Beverly

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Paul Beverly with tags , , , on October 13, 2020 by paulthepoke

Of all the jobs I’ve had, the one constant is being a parent. It’s the one I’m most proud of & strive be better at. It’s the one that’s most important to me. It’s the one I feel I probably fail at the most, but I truly hope & pray I get better at & my children respect, appreciate, & love me for. I know there are some that for whatever reason, will not have kids, but believe me when I say there are kids that look up to you. You have a job with them too. It truly takes a village. Have a heart for children & be an example…

Psalm 103:13 Just as a father has compassion on his children, So the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him.

Hebrews 12:7 It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline?

Have a great week my friends!!!

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