Many of you may recall about two months ago, I posted a blog on a dream I had where everything was turned upside down and I received revelation on it after extensively seeking the Lord to understand what it meant. If you have not yet read that blog I recommend checking it out.
Recently, I was praying and asking the Lord why so many seem unable to see what’s taking place in the world. Though I run this blog and do so to lead people to see what’s going on, the fact it still appears that many can’t see weighs on my heart a lot. It isn’t just what leadership is doing on both sides to destroy this country and many lives through manipulation, but many believing there is still going to be what they would call normal coming back when I know in my heart that’s not true where it comes to the world.
Because this question weighs on my heart so much, the Lord has begun revealing to me that many have been blinded because they have placed their trust in spirits of apathy, fear, greed, and idolatry. After having done much study, some of you may recall that I mentioned this possibility in a podcast I did not too long ago titled, “Do You See?” At the time I said, “I hope that’s not occurring but the scriptures the Lord has been revealing to me lately that He wanted me to focus on indicate this. Many of His people have been misled. The Lord has told me the things that were, are no more and never will be again but many are unable to see because they have placed their faith in idols or have placed their faith into the lies of the idols.
Many say they have faith, but they are placing this faith in the wrong place. Our faith should be solely in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He comes before anything else. Yet, many have believed in false hope and the Word is very clear that in the last days we will witness this;
2 Timothy 4: 3-4 (NLT)
3 For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will reject the truth and chase after myths.
One of the Words the Lord has given me to study has been Romans 11. When we take a look at the following verses, we can see why His people were blinded;
Romans 11: 2-12 (NLT)
2 No, God has not rejected his own people, whom he chose from the very beginning. Do you realize what the Scriptures say about this? Elijah the prophet complained to God about the people of Israel and said, 3 “Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.”
4 And do you remember God’s reply? He said, “No, I have 7,000 others who have never bowed down to Baal!”
5 It is the same today, for a few of the people of Israel have remained faithful because of God’s grace—his undeserved kindness in choosing them. 6 And since it is through God’s kindness, then it is not by their good works. For in that case, God’s grace would not be what it really is—free and undeserved.
7 So this is the situation: Most of the people of Israel have not found the favor of God they are looking for so earnestly. A few have—the ones God has chosen—but the hearts of the rest were hardened. 8 As the Scriptures say,
“God has put them into a deep sleep.
To this day he has shut their eyes so they do not see,
and closed their ears so they do not hear.”
9 Likewise, David said,
“Let their bountiful table become a snare,
a trap that makes them think all is well.
Let their blessings cause them to stumble,
and let them get what they deserve.
10 Let their eyes go blind so they cannot see,
and let their backs be bent forever.”
11 Did God’s people stumble and fall beyond recovery? Of course not! They were disobedient, so God made salvation available to the Gentiles. But he wanted his own people to become jealous and claim it for themselves. 12 Now if the Gentiles were enriched because the people of Israel turned down God’s offer of salvation, think how much greater a blessing the world will share when they finally accept it.
Verses 2-12 explain why the God’s people were cut off. It was the sin of idolatry -that is, placing their wealth or other causes before God. Verses 2-4 explain part of the persecution of God’s people who are trying to warn. But what is key to mention here is in verse 4 where the Lord says to Elijah, “No, I have 7,000 others who have never bowed down to Baal.” Now for those who are unaware, Baal was an idol. The people the Lord is referring to is those who have remained faithful to Him when you move on to verse 5. His people did not fall beyond recovery, but it is a call to return to the Lord. In other words, stop placing faith in things that don’t matter. You will note that, in verses 7-10, God punished His people because they put their faith in these things instead of Him.
In all that we are seeing unfolding right now and have been for the last year, can you not see the warnings? The job losses, the dividing, the manipulation, the strife, the stress -whatever else you want to add to this list, it is a pleading by the Lord to get your attention BEFORE the judgments. These have ALL been a merciful call to repentance and one of the things the Lord does when His people have strayed (and I know because I’ve been through it) is He will take things away, one at a time. All avenues of trying to maintain will be stripped away. You will be brought to your knees one way or another. This is not only a call to repentance, but a refining in true faith. A call to return to the Lord and understand how to trust only in HIM. So if it seems it’s one thing after another and you can’t keep your footing, understand it for what it is.
If it hasn’t already been revealed we can see that things are not changing for the better. Hope or should I say having this faith that they will return to better by means of electing someone is considered blind faith and it also signifies the sin of idolatry. I see so much hope placed in Donald Trump returning as president but the reality is that ship sailed long ago and when the problem is spiritual that we are contending with, electing a man is not going to change anything. That my friends, is misplaced faith. Scripture must be fulfilled, the four horses of the apocalypse are beginning to gallop across the globe, so our hope and our faith should be in Jesus Christ and not in anything or anyone else. The Lord is coming soon and we should be excited about His return and getting our spiritual houses in order. Focusing on the proper attire for the uniting of the bride-groom, not freedom rallies that will end up resulting in nothing.
Faith and hope should not be in a man or a ‘vaccine’ and placing blind trust in fear we are sold, to return to normal. The dangers in misplaced faith is that when it doesn’t work out many are left in a state of apathy, confusion, distress and because they are allowing their emotions manipulate them, they are willing to ostracize anyone who doesn’t agree and this my friends is where the persecution and hatred of others come into play in maintaining that illusion of normalcy.
We are already witnessing that in the indifference and cognitive dissonance taking place now and I emphasize this so you are aware and do not fall into that category. The bottom line here is this; Many have fallen away. Polls conducted in the last several years have indicated that many have renounced their faith or said they no longer believe or have a use for God. This is alarming and it further goes to show why we are in the shape we’re in. Folks can deny it all they want, but that’s the reality; America and others have abandoned God.
What folks need to realize is, this was the devils plan. It was a trap. Polluting our mind and spirits with all these things that make us ‘feel good’ when they are actually a detriment to our eternity and not God’s will at all. God did bless us greatly, but when we began kicking Him out of everything we brought this on ourselves because we allowed evil to take hold and now it’s out of control and still not realized by many.
Hang with me here because I’m going to explain where all of this is going in addition to what I’ve already explained above.
Going back to Romans 11, when you look further on in verses 13-19, this shows us that God’s people were disobedient and where they initially were grafted into the olive tree as a branch (meaning being part of it), they were cut off because they drifted away and disobeyed His decrees and placed faith elsewhere;
13 I am saying all this especially for you Gentiles. God has appointed me as the apostle to the Gentiles. I stress this, 14 for I want somehow to make the people of Israel jealous of what you Gentiles have, so I might save some of them. 15 For since their rejection meant that God offered salvation to the rest of the world, their acceptance will be even more wonderful. It will be life for those who were dead!
16 And since Abraham and the other patriarchs were holy, their descendants will also be holy—just as the entire batch of dough is holy because the portion given as an offering is holy. For if the roots of the tree are holy, the branches will be, too.
17 But some of these branches from Abraham’s tree—some of the people of Israel—have been broken off. And you Gentiles, who were branches from a wild olive tree, have been grafted in. So now you also receive the blessing God has promised Abraham and his children, sharing in the rich nourishment from the root of God’s special olive tree. 18 But you must not brag about being grafted in to replace the branches that were broken off. You are just a branch, not the root.
19 “Well,” you may say, “those branches were broken off to make room for me.” 20 Yes, but remember—those branches were broken off because they didn’t believe in Christ, and you are there because you do believe. So don’t think highly of yourself, but fear what could happen. 21 For if God did not spare the original branches, he won’t spare you either.
22 Notice how God is both kind and severe. He is severe toward those who disobeyed, but kind to you if you continue to trust in his kindness. But if you stop trusting, you also will be cut off. 23 And if the people of Israel turn from their unbelief, they will be grafted in again, for God has the power to graft them back into the tree. 24 You, by nature, were a branch cut from a wild olive tree. So if God was willing to do something contrary to nature by grafting you into his cultivated tree, he will be far more eager to graft the original branches back into the tree where they belong.
Now what is being said here are two things;
- The Lord is warning His people not to believe that their faith is strong if it is a blind faith and faith of the wrong things or that your faith is a foley if you place it in the wrong ideals. Meaning, you value those things more than you reverence the Lord. For if we fall away from the true faith and place it in idols, we run the risk of being one of those branches cut off or grafted out from the olive tree. It is a warning, specifically, verses 18-22.
- On the flipside, it is a calling to repentance. Only through true repentance and NOT placing faith in money, political figures or normalcy are we truly on the righteous path where we are allowing the Lord to transform us. He wants His lost sheep to be found and return. He wants to graft them back into the olive tree.
To continue on in Romans 11, we are promised that if we repent, God’s mercy is for everyone as is written in verses 28-32;
28 Many of the people of Israel are now enemies of the Good News, and this benefits you Gentiles. Yet they are still the people he loves because he chose their ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 29 For God’s gifts and his call can never be withdrawn. 30 Once, you Gentiles were rebels against God, but when the people of Israel rebelled against him, God was merciful to you instead. 31 Now they are the rebels, and God’s mercy has come to you so that they, too, will share in God’s mercy. 32 For God has imprisoned everyone in disobedience so he could have mercy on everyone.
33 Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways!
34 For who can know the Lord’s thoughts?
Who knows enough to give him advice?
35 And who has given him so much
that he needs to pay it back?
36 For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory. All glory to him forever! Amen.
Now some reading this may scoff at me and say I’m wrong and I can understand that if you have attended a church where they only teach pretty things and prosperity. It’s not that you are necessarily a bad person, but you have been greatly misled and have been promised only the blessings. These blessings do apply but only when we are living for Christ. The Lord does desire to bless His people but this blessing should not take precedence over our reverence for Jesus and I’m sorry to say but greed and extortion (manipulating and/or trampling over others to get what you want) and wanting has become a staple of the western world;
Psalm 62:10 (NLT)
Don’t make your living by extortion or put your hope in stealing. And if your wealth increases, don’t make it the center of your life.
We need to recognize where we went wrong and turn from the wrong teachings. How can people know the righteous way if they are not told? There has to be a healthy balance to know what is good versus what is evil and I’m sorry to say, many have gotten away from the true teachings. Either it’s not brought up or it is omitted. I have personally seen comments where some will say the old-testament doesn’t apply and I will tell you with certainty, if someone tells you that they are lying. It very much does apply. Believing it doesn’t is yet another form of distortion. If the old-testament did not apply, we would not have the ten commandments, the number one rule being “Thou shall have no other gods before me for I am a jealous God” as it is written in Exodus 20:4-5.
1 Timothy 6: 6-10 (NLT)
6 Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. 7 After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. 8 So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content.
9 But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction.
10 For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.
Now you may be wondering where all of this is going. Well, the Lord has put it on my heart to write about this because He has said that these sins of idolatry and greed will ultimately lead to the betrayal of many in this season. Christ Himself, was betrayed by Judas over money. Why? Because of temptation. Judas was promised riches and sold Jesus out.
Mark 14:10-11, 18-19, 40-46 (NLT)
10 Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve disciples, went to the leading priests to arrange to betray Jesus to them. 11 They were delighted when they heard why he had come, and they promised to give him money. So he began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus.
18 As they were at the table eating, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, one of you eating with me here will betray me.”
19 Greatly distressed, each one asked in turn, “Am I the one?”
40 When he returned to them again, he found them sleeping, for they couldn’t keep their eyes open. And they didn’t know what to say.
41 When he returned to them the third time, he said, “Go ahead and sleep. Have your rest. But no—the time has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 42 Up, let’s be going. Look, my betrayer is here!”
43 And immediately, even as Jesus said this, Judas, one of the twelve disciples, arrived with a crowd of men armed with swords and clubs. They had been sent by the leading priests, the teachers of religious law, and the elders. 44 The traitor, Judas, had given them a prearranged signal: “You will know which one to arrest when I greet him with a kiss. Then you can take him away under guard.” 45 As soon as they arrived, Judas walked up to Jesus. “Rabbi!” he exclaimed, and gave him the kiss.
46 Then the others grabbed Jesus and arrested him.
Brothers and Sisters, though it may not be realized at first, many of the verses I am posting here in connection to what was done to Jesus are very much connected to what the Word says in Matthew 24 -of which is playing out now. For example;
Matthew 24: 9-10 (NLT) -relates to these verses in Mark 15:19 when Jesus was beaten after He stood trial before He was crucified.
9 “Then you will be arrested, persecuted, and killed. You will be hated all over the world because you are my followers.
Mark 15:19 (NLT)
19 And they struck him on the head with a reed stick, spit on him, and dropped to their knees in mock worship.
Jesus went through exactly what He warned us of.
In another instance, you can relate Mark 14:40 above to the parable Jesus gave in Matthew 24:42 & 44;
42 “So you, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know what day your Lord is coming.
44 You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.
This is why we must be on guard and watching and we can’t do that if we are distracted by the things that do not matter or have little if any resilience in what is coming.
I’ll give a few more examples. When Jesus stood trial;
Mark 14:60 (NLT)
60 Then the high priest stood up before the others and asked Jesus, “Well, aren’t you going to answer these charges? What do you have to say for yourself?”
61 But Jesus was silent and made no reply. Then the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?”
62 Jesus said, “I am. And you will see the Son of Man seated in the place of power at God’s right hand and coming on the clouds of heaven.
Now compare this verse to Mark 13:11 where Jesus told us;
11 But when you are arrested and stand trial, don’t worry in advance about what to say. Just say what God tells you at that time, for it is not you who will be speaking, but the Holy Spirit.
And just as Jesus was betrayed by Judas, so it is written further in Mark 13:12;
12 “A brother will betray his brother to death, a father will betray his own child, and children will rebel against their parents and cause them to be killed.
Also compare Mark 14:62 to Matthew 24:30;
30 And then at last, the sign that the Son of Man is coming will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning among all the peoples of the earth. And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
Friends this is why we need to be devoting our lives to the Lord, not an idol, not greed, not throwing others under the bus in apathy and indifference. Not clinging to the things of the earth for we do not know the day or the hour. We want to be found in the Lord’s presence. If we are not living as true children of God, do we not understand that we are not exempt from this when times get tough and people can’t eat or have the same comforts due to it being arranged this way by the powers that be? Have folks not already demonstrated they will jump to take experimental shots for the promise of money even though most will never see it or be alive to enjoy it in the times coming?
Do we further not think that when the man of lawlessness comes onto the scene that laws will not be created to turn in Christians in exchange for their goods (betrayal & persecution)? The Word says, as it was before, so it shall be again in the end but never will be again;
Ecclesiastes 1:9 (NLT)
9 History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new.
Matthew 24:21 (NLT)
21 For there will be greater anguish than at any time since the world began. And it will never be so great again.
I gave the comparisons of this above when tying the persecution of Jesus into what He warned us would happen. Laws are being passed on this very matter right now if they haven’t been already in secret. Pray that you worthy to escape these things. This is why I push so hard to demonstrate where things are and have a grave concern for those whom are lost. The Lord will determine who belongs to Him truly and we should be seeking to escape that which is coming and that is why the Word says in Luke 21:34-36;
34 And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.
35 For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.
36 Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.
Jesus also told us to keep watch and pray to avoid temptation;
Mark 14:38 (NLT)
38 Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”
Fear is a big part of what can also lead to temptation and there is no short supply of that right now as that is a product of Satan himself. This is why I have talked about endurance so much and having those proper garments to show you what is righteous. Living in the light, works by faith, showing others by example. Take heed from Mark14:19 above that you do not fall into the category of one who betrays as there is consequence (recompense) for this. In this season, everything you do matters and carries great weight. Everything I mentioned above concerning the prevalent apathy, greed, indifference, and idolatry is building to a crescendo in how it is conditioning many to behave. This is a dangerous trap for the Word says in Revelation 13:10, those who lead into captivity will become captives themselves;
Revelation 13:10 (NKJV)
10 He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity; he who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.
This is why we are warned throughout the Word, to do what is righteous and Paul wrote about this in many verses. These are the fundamentals of the Christian faith which I mentioned greatly in a recent podcast I did titled “Shining Light into Darkness.” You do not want to deny the faith and that is why when we are doers of the faith, doers of the Word, and we tell the truth. We build up not only ourselves in the Lord but others as well as we lead by this very example.
1 John 2 (NLT)
22 And who is a liar? Anyone who says that Jesus is not the Christ. Anyone who denies the Father and the Son is an antichrist. 23 Anyone who denies the Son doesn’t have the Father, either. But anyone who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.
24 So you must remain faithful to what you have been taught from the beginning. If you do, you will remain in fellowship with the Son and with the Father. 25 And in this fellowship we enjoy the eternal life he promised us.
26 I am writing these things to warn you about those who want to lead you astray. 27 But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true—it is not a lie. So just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ.
28 And now, dear children, remain in fellowship with Christ so that when he returns, you will be full of courage and not shrink back from him in shame.
29 Since we know that Christ is righteous, we also know that all who do what is right are God’s children.
We do not want to deny our faith as by doing so is denying Jesus as we are warned of. We especially need to be vigilant of that which is misleading because it is causing many to stumble. In the times ahead we need to be cautious to endure patiently and be aware of the snares that would lead us astray which I have talked about many today.
2 Timothy 2:12 (NLT)
11 This is a trustworthy saying:
If we die with him,
we will also live with him.
12 If we endure hardship,
we will reign with him.
If we deny him,
he will deny us.
And lastly my dear brothers and sisters, in closing, a little encouragement for those of us who are living in the light -may we remember the words of Paul in 2 Corinthians 4;
3 If the Good News we preach is hidden behind a veil, it is hidden only from people who are perishing. 4 Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.
5 You see, we don’t go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.
7 We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.
8 We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. 9 We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. 10 Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.
11 Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be evident in our dying bodies. 12 So we live in the face of death, but this has resulted in eternal life for you.
13 But we continue to preach because we have the same kind of faith the psalmist had when he said, “I believed in God, so I spoke.”16 That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. 17 For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! 18 So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.
May our Lord Jesus continue to bless you in all that you do and may our Lord lift you up if you are struggling. It is my prayer that what I have presented here today resonates in the spirit with you.
To those of you looking for answers call on the name of the Lord; for the Word says;
Romans 10:11-13 (NKJV)
11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. 13 For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
If you will call on the Jesus, if you will turn from your sins, He will come into your life -and not just into your life, but into your heart and you will be transformed.
Have a great week everyone.