The Divine Timetable

From the Book of Enoch chapter 93: "And Enoch began to recount from the books and said: 'I was born the seventh in the first week, While judgement and righteousness still endured. And after me there shall arise in the second week great wickedness, And deceit shall have sprung up; And in it there shall be the first end. ...'"
Enoch was born around 620 Anno Mundi (AM, years from the creation of Adam) - 'seventh in the first week' - can be understood as being born in the seventh part of the first week so a 'week ' = 700 yrs. The account of subsequent week is consistent with this where the close of a 'week' is around 50 years into the last century of the week of seven centuries. Later in the chapter:
"And after this, in the tenth week in the seventh part, There shall be the great eternal judgement, In which He will execute vengeance amongst the angels. And the first heaven shall depart and pass away, And a new heaven shall appear, And all the powers of the heavens shall give sevenfold light. And after that there will be many weeks without number for ever, And all shall be in goodness and righteousness, And sin shall no more be mentioned for ever."
By the 700 year week reckoning the Final Judgement at close of tenth week will be around 6950 AM. This means the final Millennium starts around 5900 - 5950 AM. Very soon. 

Places of the Deceased

Places like the resting places of all the dead and places of punishment of fallen angels are real physical places hidden below regions of mountains and volcanoes. This is what the ancients were taught by prophets such as Enoch and patriarchal leaders such as Methuselah and Noah. These teachings found their way into mythologies and scriptures and have been passed down to us today. Even the word 'Hell' comes from the ancient word for 'hidden'. Enoch's teachings are preserved like this: "And I proceeded and saw a place which burns day and night, where there are seven mountains of magnificent stones, three towards the east, and three towards the south. And as for those towards the east, one was of coloured stone, and one of pearl, and one of jacinth, and those towards the south of red stone. But the middle one reached to heaven like the throne of God, of alabaster, and the summit of the throne was of sapphire. And I saw a flaming fire. And beyond these mountains is a region the end of the great earth: there the heavens were completed. And I saw a deep abyss, with columns of heavenly fire, and among them I saw columns of fire fall, which were beyond measure alike towards the height and towards the depth. ... And Uriel said to me: 'Here shall stand the angels who have connected themselves with women, and their spirits assuming many different forms are defiling mankind and shall lead them astray... '" [Book of Enoch 18:6-11, 19:1]

How are you doing? Really?

Jesus Christ's words recorded by John (John chapter 8) tell of liars being so like Satan in behaviour that they are still regarded by God as children of Satan. Likewise with totally unwarranted hatefull thoughts and intentions which are also characteristic of The Evil One. So does this still mean you and I? We have testimony of Jesus recorded in the scriptures in words given by the Spirit of God which have power to transform us into people characterised by the kind of behaviour associated with God The Father. These words can be kept within like seeds that can grow and change us in this way? Are they doing this yet? Are we becoming more like God in truthful speech and family love? Are you and I keeping those words within? The Holy Spirit nowadays comes direct when sent to those who believe and He too transforms those who believingly receive preaching that God gives so the characteristics of truthful speech and loving attitudes are planted to outgrow the evil lying and hating and displace it. Is that happening to you yet? Are you believing these teachings of Jesus yet in such a real faith that God seals with such visits by the Holy Spirit? Press on towards this goal and truly become a child of God.

WE ALL NEED MIRACLES

WE ALL NEED MIRACLES TO ACCOMPANY GOD'S PREACHING "And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power." (The Apostle Paul to his Corinthian disciples, '1 Corinthians' chapter 2, verses 1-5)

Jesus is 100% Human

"The Word became flesh" (John 1:14)
"This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God," (1 John 4:2)
"many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world" (2 John 1:7)
"Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have." (Jesus quoted in Luke 24:39)
"For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;" (1 Timothy 2:5)

The Day of Atonement

God through Moses provided for Israel an annual Day of Atonement. Now through Jesus of Nazareth God provides the atonement itself for all people. "He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world." (1 John 2:2) So we can avail ourselves of this atoning sacrifice for our wrongdoing by holding to the teachings of Jesus which are the light God gives the world. "If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin." (1 John 1:6-7) As John the Baptist used to say of Jesus for all to hear "See, the Lamb of God which takes away the sin of the world!" He died for you.

The Secret of Eternal Life

We keep to our side of the bargain - believing He is The Son of Man and holding to His teachings - and Jesus keeps to His - freeing us from our sins, giving us the Holy Spirit to lead us into God's truth.
"As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. And this is what he promised us—eternal life." (1 John 2:24-25)
"This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit." (1 John 4:13)
"We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the One who was born of God keeps them safe, and the evil one cannot harm them." (1 John 5:18)

What is the Holy Spirit?

WHAT IS THE HOLY SPIRIT? Here is one experience that might help understand who and what this Spirit is. I was meditating on things of God and I thought about how often when people tried to bring me down it was as if an angel was guarding me. A verse in a Psalm came to mind that might explain this but I could not think where it came from and wished it were confirmed to me that this was indeed what explained my experiences. "The Angel of the LORD encamps around those that fear Him to deliver them in times of trouble". Moments later it was like a voice spoke directly into my mind and said simply "Daniel 3". The words were so clear and striking I went to look up in The Bible, The Book of Daniel chapter 3. This Bible was one I was not at all familiar with having been given it as a gift. There was no mention in Daniel 3 until right near the end where the word "Angel" has a margin reference next to it. I looked up the reference: A reference to that Psalm where it said "The Angel of the LORD encamps around those that fear Him to deliver them". So I knew this was an actual holy spirit who gave me the simple words "Daniel 3" and so wisely proved to me that He was not a figment of my imagination. He exists as a reality and not imagination. He teaches the fear of God.

Wise Teaching of the Prophet Enoch to his Son Methuselah

Teaching of Enoch's to his son [from The Book of Enoch chapter 93] "And the holy Lord will come forth with wrath and chastisement
To execute judgement on earth.
In those days violence shall be cut off from its roots,
And the roots of unrighteousness together with deceit,
And they shall be destroyed from under heaven.
And all the idols of the heathen shall be abandoned,
And the temples burned with fire,
And they shall remove them from the whole earth,
And they (i.e. the heathen) shall be cast into the judgement of fire,
And shall perish in wrath and in grievous judgement for ever.
And the righteous shall arise from their sleep,
And wisdom shall arise and be given unto them.
[And after that the roots of unrighteousness shall be cut off, and the sinners shall be destroyed by the sword . . . shall be cut off from the blasphemers in every place, and those who plan violence and those who commit blasphemy shall perish by the sword.]
And now I tell you, my sons, and show you
The paths of righteousness and the paths of violence.
Yea, I will show them to you again
That ye may know what will come to pass.
And now, hearken unto me, my sons,
And walk in the paths of righteousness,
And walk not in the paths of violence;
For all who walk in the paths of unrighteousness shall perish for ever.'"

The Flood: Total but not Global

ENOCH: NOAH'S FLOOD TOTAL BUT NOT GLOBAL
From The Book of Enoch (ch 89) - part of a dream in which human characters were depicted as animals: "And one of those four went to othat white bull and instructed him in a secret, without his being terrified: he was born a bull and became a man, and built for himself a great vessel and dwelt thereon; and three bulls dwelt with him in that vessel and they were covered in. And again I raised mine eyes towards heaven and saw a lofty roof, with seven water torrents thereon, and those torrents flowed with much water into an enclosure. And I saw again, and behold fountains were opened on the surface of that great enclosure, and that water began to swell and rise upon the surface, and I saw that enclosure till all its surface was covered with water. And the water, the darkness, and mist increased upon it; and as I looked at the height of that water, that water had risen above the height of that enclosure, and was streaming over that enclosure, and it stood upon the earth. And all the cattle of that enclosure were gathered together until I saw how they sank and were swallowed up and perished in that water. But that vessel floated on the water, while all the oxen and elephants and camels and asses sank to the bottom with all the animals, so that I could no longer see them, and they were not able to escape, (but) perished and sank into the depths. And again I saw in the vision till those water torrents were removed from that high roof, and the chasms of the earth were levelled up and other abysses were opened. Then the water began to run down into these, till the earth became visible; but that vessel settled on the earth, and the darkness retired and light appeared. But that white bull which had become a man came out of that vessel, and the three bulls with him, and one of those three was white like that bull, and one of them was red as blood, and one black: and that white bull departed from them."

The Need

"So he [Jesus] said to them again, 'I am going away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.' So the Jews said, 'Will he kill himself, since he says, Where I am going, you cannot come?' He said to them, 'You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.'." ... "So Jesus said to them, 'When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me. And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.' As he was saying these things, many believed in him." [The Gospel of John, chapter 8, verses 21-24 and 28-30]

God is not unjust but we should not take His mercy for granted

An unjust judge or master having subjects or servants could rightly forgive them their wrongs against him and debts against him or not forgive and not be unjust either way, even though he is actually unjust. How much more then can God who is just be equally just in forgiving us as in not forgiving us who are indebted to Him and have done Him wrong. We cannot take forgiveness by God for granted. We are wise to forgive others their sins and debts towards us as we turn towards God asking His forgiveness. With the same God, we need to ask Him to give us the Holy Spirit and we need to follow this Holy Spirit's lead, again not taking it for granted but asking with faith because grace can be given justly and equally justly can be withheld. "The Lord gives and the Lord takes away; blessed be the name of the Lord".

Distant Past Sheds Light on Near Future

Going back to the beginning sheds light on the future. Going back to inspiration that first guided us helps to light the path ahead of us. A SACRED VISION CONCERNING THE DISTANT PAST: [Enoch 86:1-3] "And again I saw with mine eyes as I slept, and I saw the heaven above, and behold a star fell from heaven, and it arose and eat and pastured amongst those oxen. And after that I saw the large and the black oxen, and behold they all changed their stalls and pastures and their cattle, and began to live with each other. And again I saw in the vision, and looked towards the heaven, and behold I saw many stars descend and cast themselves down from heaven to that first star, and they became bulls amongst those cattle and pastured with them amongst them." A SACRED VISION CONCERNING THE NEAR FUTURE? [Revelation 9:1-4] "And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads."

Twenty Years Reading One Book

I started avidly reading The Book of Enoch in 1995. I read it sometimes daily. Always with great joy. At first it had so much new in each verse that I was overwhelmed but now I have learned to understand most of the most novel and curious features I can concentrate on its lessons and every time I read it I learn something more. I just read it on the train home from work (writing this as I nearly get there) and found a passage that explains the star falling from heaven in Revelation (a similar vision is there in the dream Enoch dreamt in the second half of the book and the explanation of it is clear so this helps unlock the similar passage in Revelation). To him who is faithful in litlle, more will be given.

An Ode to Joy

[Enoch 69:26-29] "And there was great joy amongst them" [the angels] "And they blessed and glorified and extolled Because the name of that Son of Man had been revealed unto them. And he sat on the throne of his glory, And the sum of judgement was given unto the Son of Man, And he caused the sinners to pass away and be destroyed from off the face of the earth, And those who have led the world astray. With chains shall they be bound, And in their assemblage-place of destruction shall they be imprisoned, And all their works vanish from the face of the earth. And from henceforth there shall be nothing corruptible; For that Son of Man has appeared, And has seated himself on the throne of his glory, And all evil shall pass away before his face, And the word of that Son of Man shall go forth And be strong before the Lord of Spirits."
... more than 2000 years later ...
"Do you believe in the Son of Man?" Jesus asked a man He had healed. "Who is He Lord? Tell me so I can believe in Him," replied the man. "You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you," answered Jesus. 

Wisdom from God speaks still today about those He calls His Israel: "Israel has sinned". Those who are led by the Spirit are sons of God as are those who love their brothers born of God. The gift of the Spirit from God is to the believers whether high or lowly, wellborn or common, none of them common in God's eyes. Yet believing in the Son of Man, God's Son Jesus is but the beginning and certain sinful things must be removed before God will endorse and side with believers. Lies are detested by the One True God who never lies. Hatred of those who do us good is equally reminscent to God of His hateful enemy Satan. All these and things like them which God will highlight and Jesus testify against and Spirit convict of - all must be removed permanently - they are devoted to destruction. Put off the old language of lies. Put on the new language of speaking truthfully until the old language is forgotten forever. Wait for God to show what else must be permanently removed. "Israel", He says, "has sinned."

The Writing of Jude about the Book of Enoch

Jude verse 14 “And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints…” This quote by Jude, a brother of the Jesus of Nazareth, from The Book of Enoch, asserts three things: firstly, that the Book of Enoch is historically authentic as writings of Enoch seventh king of Sumer in sucession from Adam and seventh generation descendant; secondly, that The Book of Enoch is inspired prophetically by the Holy Spirit; and thirdly that the extensive writings in the Book of Enoch about The Son of Man with God in Heaven matches up to what Jude knew with faith about his biological brother who persistently identified Himself as The Son of Man from Heaven who was with God long before Abraham was born. “Before Abraham was, I am” is a saying of Jesus. Another is “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he”. Now, “This is the Son of Man who is born unto righteousness; And righteousness abides over him, And the righteousness of the Head of Days forsakes him not.” is what Enoch wrote of the Son of Man. Jude clearly recognised that this is (was, will be) his dear brother, the Son of Man made flesh.

The Second Beast

If you look at what Messiah means (for example see Wikipedia entry) it is a special title given to a great ruler who uses his position and power to greatly save Israel. God gave the title to Cyrus. A ‘messiah’ could identify themselves with Cyrus who was of course the king of kings of Persia and Media (now Iran and the Kurdistan area). The USA and UK might say that like Cyrus they have used their power to create the State of Israel and continually save and champion it. Now that is a claim similar to a claim to Messiahship. The fact that Persia was famous for going into the background only to re-emerge later as Parthia is along the lines of it being called the bear in prophecy. The bear hibernates in winter and is powerless yet before that and after it revives it is full of deadly power. Persia is set to re-emerge again as part of the lion-bear-leopard first Beast empire. USA might say it is in the image of this Persia in that it created the State of Israel and champions it using its superpower status and therefore representing the Messiahly role Persia under Cyrus once had, given by God. Yet if it is false in any of this it might be a false Messiah. It should stay true and be faithful and not be a false champion of Israel but a true one. And stay out of future world takeover under the first Beast. If when the first Beast rises there is a boast of Messiahship on Americas part and claim to be a copy of Cyrus then it might be becoming the second Beast or laying its foundations.

The Son of Man is the Lamb of God

In ancient times the prophet Enoch wrote much about the Son of Man through whom God would make a people of righteousness in place of the wicked who God will destroy.
Enoch wrote what was taught him by an angel: 'This is the Son of Man who is born unto righteousness; And righteousness abides over him, And the righteousness of the Head of Days forsakes him not.' And he said unto me: 'He proclaims unto thee peace in the name of the world to come; For from hence has proceeded peace since the creation of the world, And so shall it be unto thee for ever and for ever and ever. And all shall walk in his ways since righteousness never forsaketh him: With him will be their dwelling-places, and with him their heritage, And they shall not be separated from him for ever and ever and ever."
Jesus Christ often referred to Himself as The Son of Man and He sometimes did so using terms Son of Man and Son of God interchangeably. "Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man." So the Son of Man prophetically written about in the Book of Enoch, read about by Jesus' brother Jude who quoted from Enoch in his own writings, this Son of Man is the Son of God loved as such most dearly by God. "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" Jesus asked a man He had healed. "Who is He Lord? Tell me so I can believe in Him," replied the man. "You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you," answered Jesus. The thought that this Son of Man seen with God by Enoch in ancient times is the person wickedly crucified though He did no wrong ever, this thought is encouraged by many of the sayings of Jesus. The Son of Man is the source of life to many from ancient times. "Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed" and "Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you". He is from heaven itself "What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before" and "No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven--the Son of Man" yet this very Son of Man is the one wicked men crucified - "When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things" and "the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified" because blood of this Lamb of God had to be shed so it is painted on our lives like the blood of the Exodus Passover painted on the doorposts. "The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again." "All will see the Son of Man coming in clouds of heaven."

Origins of Ancient Egyptian Eyelid Painting

How and why did those characteristic eyelid-painting customs of ancient Egyptians start? Enoch was a prophet whose writings were famous in the ancient world who lived in the Third Millennium BC and I believe the Book of Enoch preserves his writings to this day. It described how around 3000 BC there were angels who sinfully introduced their technologies to humans in the Middle East. "... And Azâzêl taught men to make swords, and knives, and shields, and breastplates, and made known to them the metals of the earth and the art of working them, and bracelets, and ornaments, and the use of antimony, and the beautifying of the eyelids, and all kinds of costly stones, and all colouring tinctures. And there arose much godlessness, and they committed fornication, and they were led astray, and became corrupt in all their ways. Semjâzâ taught enchantments, and root-cuttings, Armârôs the resolving of enchantments, ..."

Stone Circle Origins?

ORIGINS OF THE STONE HENGES? The ancient Sumerian prophet's prophetic 'Book of Enoch' chapter 72 "... And this is the first law of the luminaries: the luminary the Sun has its rising in the eastern portals of the heaven, and its setting in the western portals of the heaven. And I saw six portals in which the sun rises, and six portals in which the sun sets and the moon rises and sets in these portals, and the leaders of the stars and those whom they lead: six in the east and six in the west, and all following each other in accurately corresponding order: also many windows to the right and left of these portals. And first there goes forth the great luminary, named the Sun, and his circumference is like the circumference of the heaven, and he is quite filled with illuminating and heating fire. The chariot on which he ascends, the wind drives, and the sun goes down from the heaven and returns through the north in order to reach the east, and is so guided that he comes to the appropriate (lit. 'that') portal and shines in the face of the heaven. In this way he rises in the first month in the great portal, which is the fourth those six portals in the cast. And in that fourth portal from which the sun rises in the first month are twelve window-openings, from which proceed a flame when they are opened in their season. When the sun rises in the heaven, he comes forth through that fourth portal thirty mornings in succession, and sets accurately in the fourth portal in the west of the heaven. And during this period the day becomes daily longer and the night nightly shorter to the thirtieth morning. On that day the day is longer than the night by a ninth part, and the day amounts exactly to ten parts and the night to eight parts. And the sun rises from that fourth portal, and sets in the fourth and returns to the fifth portal of the east thirty mornings, and rises from it and sets in the fifth portal. And then the day becomes longer by two parts and amounts to eleven parts, and the night becomes shorter and amounts to seven parts. ..."

Instructions of Sharappak

Where did scriptures start? The earliest we have I believe is the Book of Enoch but it is preserved through the ages and retranslated over and over. Earliest extant ‘scriptures’ of the same kind of religious nature come from the descendants of Enoch. The Instructions of Sharappak is the best example we have preserved as extant text and it starts: "In those days, in those far remote days, in those nights, in those faraway nights, in those years, in those far remote years, at that time the wise one who knew how to speak in elaborate words lived in the Land; Sharappak [biblical name Lamech], the wise one, who knew how to speak with elaborate words lived in the Land. Sharappak [Lamech] gave instructions to his son; Sharappak [Lamech], the son of Ubara-Tutu [biblical name Methuselah] gave instructions to his son Zi-ud-sura [biblical Noah]: My son, let me give you instructions: you should pay attention! Zi-ud-sura [Noah], let me speak a word to you: you should pay attention! Do not neglect my instructions! Do not transgress the words I speak! The instructions of an old man are precious; you should comply with them! ..." -- translation of the 'Instructions of Sharappak', an extant Sumerian text from third century BC (full translated text here - http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/section5/tr561.htm ), the millennium of the Flood. Methuselah [Sumerian name Ubara-Tutu] was son of Enoch [Sumerian name En-men-dur-ana 'Ruler bridging heaven and earth', the great prophet, who ascended into heaven to meet God and the Son of Man and be taught by angels] who was son of Jared who was son of Mahalalel who was son of Kenan (a teacher of righteousness) who was son of Enos who was son of Seth who was son of Adam [Sumerian name Alulim who was first king of Sumer and ruled from Eridu the first city] who had no earthly parents because he was created by God [as Sumerian King Lists attest - translation here http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/section2/tr211.htm ].

Was the Crucifixion of the Son of Man Foretold?

What does ancient prophecy say about the cross of Christ - the crucifixion of the Son of Man? Christ's death was a very great sacrifice for sins. What it did, Jesus said, was establish a new covenant ('in His blood'). So to find prophecies about it from before it happened we are looking for prophecies of a new covenant. We have the prophetic teachings of John the Baptist too for comparison and confirmation. The obvious text is 'this is My covenant with them when I take away their sins'. So we can compare this with John the Baptist's great prophecy 'Behold the Lamb of God which takes away the sins of the world'. So the prophecies show Jesus established by His crucifixion a covenant where sins are not merely forgiven (repentance could result in forgiveness before the death of Jesus) but TAKEN AWAY, eradicated. So by this new covenant sin is not just repented of by the life is freed from its hold and a saint is made.

Hunger for Reality

Those of us who seek to really belong to God through the Messiah, Jesus, should look at ourselves with cold objectivity and ask whether we are truly actually seeking and holding to and practicing the teachings of Jesus and those He sends and of the Holy Spirit. We might follow religious traditions and doctrines and words of scripture and even words we think are from Jesus. If we seek the reality of what Jesus taught we might find what we were following was not the intended meaning of Jesus of Nazareth but something else superimposed, perhaps by misunderstanding or deniminational bias. Digging down to His original meanings is wise if our intentions are to put His teachings into practice because practising a misinterpretation could be folly and not the will of God. We can find the original meanings of Jesus' teachings more easily these days because resources are available such as online Bible tools. We should ask God's help so we can be assured of what we end up holding to that it is the truth from God and true counsel from God through Jesus and not a distortion or misunderstanding. God seals this kind of following by giving the Holy Spirit and miracles.

"Have you received the Holy Spirit since you believed?" was a question asked a group of a dozen or more followers of John the Baptist. When Apostle Paul asked this he went on to preach a gospel including their need of baptism into the teachings and name of Lord Jesus the Christ. It is all recorded in the biblical 'Book of Acts' by the gospel writer Luke. It continues to record that after they believed this gospel: "... they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied." Today this happens with various timescales and other variations of detail but the same kinds of events to a few here and there in churches and other groups. I know because it happened to me. I didn't speak in tongues but I interpreted tongues spoken by another believer. Days later I prophesied too. "Have you received the Holy Spirit since you believed?"

The Son of Man Suffered at the Hands of Evil Men

Jesus knew this before He died: that the Son of Man must suffer at the hands of evil men and be crucified and on the third day rise again. This Son of Man was made known to the ancient prophet Enoch as the one before whom every human will be judged "when He sits upon the throne of His glory". So the rightness of God's case against humankind is proven. Firstly there is the demonstration of the evils of humans that given they chance they unjustly crucify this faultless, perfect Son of Man. Secondly none of them are worthy to judge but this Son of Man is worthy. Thirdly this Son of Man having suffered at their hands has full rights to judge them. Fourthly humankind is forever at the mercy of this Son of Man. Fifthly, by raising this Son of Man from the dead the vindication of the Son of Man is complete and God's fatherliness to the Son of Man is revealed and sealed forever as is His perfect pleasure in all the Son of Man is and does. In the events that followed the prediction was correct that those who crucified Him came to realise who they had crucified as many believed Jesus to be this Son of Man, the Lord and the Messiah sent by God as Lamb of God slain for our sins to buy us from slavery to wrongdoing so we are owned by God.

Why Victory is not Assured

The LORD says it. "Israel has sinned" Consecrate the People. The people cannot stand against their enemies until things are sorted out. Sin must be put away and the right ways restored before victory is assured. "Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction." [Joshua 7:11-12] Meanwhile: "An eagle is over the house of the Lord because the people have broken my covenant" [Hosea 8:1] so wars will hover near until the forbidden things are removed from among God's people. We are not upheld as people of God while lies are tolerated on our lips and murder in our hearts. "Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister." [1 John 3:10] 

The Ancient Sages

The ancient Greeks were known for their wise sages. They were able to discern the workings of the Universe and the existence of laws of Nature organising how all things everywhere in the cosmos behaved. Some called it the great account and Heraclitus called it the Logos. Yet their wisdom, great though it was, fell short of what they needed to escape the doom of the Final Judgement Day because they did not discern the One Most High God. So Jesus came preaching and teaching and working miracles revealing God and calling God 'The Father'. When Jesus was executed, crucified, by jealous Jews there was a final great miracle revealing why God is The Father when God raised Jesus from the dead. The preaching of this can enable even fools to discern God and what God is like and stop sinning and believe, escaping from the doom of the Final Judgement Day with this Christ, Jesus, to help and set free from sinning. This is the glory of the preaching of the Christ and of Him crucified.

Educated to Preach?

What education does a lay preacher for God really need? When I got the calling and pressure compelling me to preach I complained to God that I would not know what I was preaching. He gave me a four part course: a day experiencing Him then a break then a day experiencing Lord Jesus then a break then a day experiencing the Holy Spirit then a break and then His word came to me and I started preaching it.

Thunder and Lightning

Many things in Nature are parables of the things of God. The ancient prophet Enoch knew this more than most. Sometimes it is not explicit but nevertheless implicitly duscernable through his writings. Take thunder and lightning: "For the thunder has places of rest (which) are assigned (to it) while it is waiting for its peal; and the thunder and lightning are inseparable, and although not one and undivided, they both go together through the spirit and separate not. For when the lightning lightens, the thunder utters its voice, and the spirit enforces a pause during the peal, and divides equally between them;" [Enoch 60:14-15] See how the Father and the Son go together like the lightning and the thunder. How inseperable they are. "And there I saw One who had a head of days, And His head was white like wool, And with Him was another being whose countenance had the appearance of a man,
And his face was full of graciousness, like one of the holy angels. And I asked the angel who went with me and showed me all the hidden things, concerning that Son of Man, who he was, and whence he was, (and) why he went with the Head of Days? And he answered and said unto me: This is the son of Man who hath righteousness,
With whom dwelleth righteousness, And who revealeth all the treasures of that which is hidden, Because the Lord of Spirits hath chosen him, And whose lot hath the pre-eminence before the Lord of Spirits in uprightness for ever." [Enoch 46:1-3]

The Spring Source

Many rivers start with a spring. If you want the water with the least impurities and the greatest clarity, go back to the spring where it starts. The ancients like Enoch - we are so lucky to have Enoch's writings in English. "You will do well to pay attention to them as to a light shining in a dark place." I long to look into them further and also discern what came even before these like the teachings of Kanan. There are extant texts we have from the times when such wisdom was still being passed from father or grandfather to son or grandson such as The Instruction of Sharappak. Remember the Holy Spirit has been speaking to humans from the beginning and still says the same kinds of things today so it is all relevant even to us today what was taught back then by those so inspired and theirs were times of the first water from the spring. The centuries of misinterpretations and denominations have muddied the later waters but luckily the denominations did not have these ancient texts to muddy so they are translated without so much of this bias and are not overridden in our minds and circles of discussion by such things.

Precious Promises

The words Jesus spoke to the disciples of His inner ring shortly before His crucifixion and resurrection provide a wealth of promises applicable to others who would follow Him faithfully. He gave such promises to provide a pathway away from the world into a fellowship with Him and with God who sent Him and with the Holy Spirit also sent by God in place of Jesus while He is away and fellowship one with each other so following Him, all fellows pulling the same set of oars to row, metaphorically, in the same direction - into the truth and the will of God. The promises provide a means to love Jesus by understanding and keeping in remembrance and either doing or preparing to do at some opportunity the commands and teachings and testimony He gave with hope that is real today that Jesus, alive now and evermore, will make Himself known and the Father make Himself known and the Holy Spirit make Himself known personally.

Goodness and Severity

"Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God" (Romans 11:22) God is your judge and mine. He is severe. Stern. Yet He is good and kind and He Himself gives us the advocate to be the real representation we each need before Him - the Son of God, Christ Jesus. The cross they killed Jesus on is a sign of Jesus being from God for each of us. You too, whoever you are. The advocate killed? Yes so He can properly represent us before God because not only was Jesus truly killed but God truly raised Him from the dead; and not only that. Jesus is flesh and bone but He was not always flesh; no He is the Son of Man from the right hand of God in Heaven who was born but was in Heaven before that birth and in Heaven again now to intercede for those who embrace His advocacy for them with God. He is eternal and will ever be the same Jesus the Son of Man so His advocacy for you and me can continue forever so we too can become what God wants us to be, His eternal children with Jesus. A new advocate is here from God called the Holy Spirit now that Jesus has gone back to God and this advocate acts for us in Jesus' name once we accept Jesus. He applies Jesus' words and high authority as Lord into our lives. He is a spirit but eternal having always been acting like this for the few but now available to the many who ask for Him. All this to represent our eternal interests in the eyes of God. Why? So we need not die still failing ethically but can live and in living have more and more fruitful lives that continue forever past the Judgment into greater eternal knowledge of the eternal Father, God. Peace to you and grace from God and from Jesus Christ His Son. In Jesus' name.

The Message

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross-ndj_(hieroglyph)  The Egyptian hieroglyph in the shape of a cross means, it is said, 'advocate' or 'counsellor'. God gave the sign that Jesus is the ultimate advocate for us by giving Jesus the work to do of being put on a cross and dying there and so that cross for a few hours carried the dead body of Jesus. Then in full view of the public and of our minds down the ages God raised this man Jesus from the dead showing Jesus to be as a truly loved Son to Him. This counsellor is who we need. This advocate is assigned by God to us to answer for us when we sin and God is grieved. This advocate is gone away for a time so God sends instead another advocate to be with believing souls who is the Holy Spirit. He is to be with us forever. If you believe then you too have this advocacy assigned you too by God.

Where Did it Start?

Want to have faith? Where did it all start? Look back at Abraham. Isaiah 51 starts:
“Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness
and who seek the Lord:
Look to the rock from which you were cut
and to the quarry from which you were hewn;
look to Abraham, your father,
and to Sarah, who gave you birth.
When I called him he was only one man,
and I blessed him and made him many.”
Here is where it all started when a man dared to question the accepted beliefs in idols and started kicking idols over that lined the streets and realised they were weak and incapable of stopping him kicking them and dissing them so they must be unable to help anyone so he dared to ponder whether there was a more real powerful god who could actually save and so God reached out to him as he reached out to God – and the rest is history.

The King James Version?

Some Christian teachers and pastors only believe in reading from one version of the scriptures and it is usually for these people the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible (the 'Thees and Thous' we used to call it). I was not bound to one version when learning to follow the precepts of Jesus - I took them from whatever version I could understand and tried to find an understanding of the original words using an interlinear bible. The important thing was building up a life of practising what He preached and His apostles preached even when it went into the realm of learning to do miracles by faith like He taught. Eventually though He Himself came graciously to me to teach me and show me what He is. This is what/who I cling to now.

The Wise Person Depicted in the Parables of Jesus

Who is the wise person in any of Jesus' parables? The person who hears God's word through Jesus and puts it into practice now if appropriate or if there is no opportunity now they get themself ready to do so when the opportunity comes.

The Letter and the Manager

Some might ask: Is the Bible accurately preserved? Say there is a day when everyone in the company department arrives at work to find a letter from HR on their desks. They find the letter tells them they will each now report to an official overall manager newly designated as line manager for everyone in the department. Some geeky fools might look at the letter closely and notice that the words used show it wasn't the head of HR personally who wrote it even though the head signed the letter. They might think to themselves that the letter probably isn't the original draft and some HR clerk might have changed the wording after it was signed. Some might notice it is not a copy printed from a printer but actually a photocopy of what was printed and they might wonder whether it was cleverly altered before being photocopied. Most of the department however, though they might guess all this is possible, will simply start reporting to the manager. 

Knowledge Puffs Up

"Knowledge puffs up but love builds up" -- we might search the scriptures to try hard to add to our knowledge but if we do not love Lord Jesus the Christ and do not love God the Father who sent Him we will never really understand what He says and we will die in our sins.

Isaiah 59

Isaiah 59. The passage primarily addresses Israel. It ends with the prophecy of Israel (Jacob) again being accepted by God - verse 20. This comes when the nations against Israel will be opposed strongly by the Holy Spirit. Apostle Paul in Romans 11 puts it after all the Gentiles who will believe have believed and been accepted when God turns back to Israel to bring Israel into full acceptance and implies that the Resurrection will quickly follow on from Israel's acceptance by God. This is a warning to other nations that the sand within the hourglass will one day all run through for acceptance by God. For the nations now is the day of salvation. Now is the acceptable time. Soon it will end and it will be Israel's turn again.

Before we die

The problem I feel we have in our lives is not just that people are ignorant of the pervasiveness of evil practices in everyday life and dependence of society on them day by day (in sanitised form) but the ignorance of the gospel Jesus Himself  preached in its true form since it is so diluted and muddied by misunderstanding among its preachers today. I spent months in my youth trying to go back to it as John  recorded it in his gospel and I recommend that. What we miss is for example in chapter 8, that it is all about not dying in our sin. Major sin can be eradicated from us by Jesus before we die but we need to believe in who Jesus is first and hold to His teachings always. And believing in who He is gets lost in modern Christianity because of historic issues. It is all about Him being a certain being who was with God from the dawn of time and is who He is now and forever still yet alive from the dead - the Son of Man. Believing this and holding to His teachings is essential to having Him free our lives from major sins before we die so we do not 'die in our sins'.

The Ark of the Covenant in Heaven

"Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and a severe hailstorm." [Revelation 19:11]  "The ark of the covenant... This ark contained the gold jar of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant." [Hebrews 9:4] The tablets of stone reminds me of God the Father writing with His finger the commandments on stone. The manna reminds me of the Lord Jesus Christ who is manna from Heaven. The budding staff reminds me of the Holy Spirit who uses the budding of trees to illustrate the authority of Lord Jesus Christ over Nature. All these signs stand ever in Zion before God as constant, enduring reminders to us all.

A Work Ethic

God entrusts heavenly matters to those who have served Him faithfully in worldly matters. “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?" -- Jesus Christ

Survive The Fire

Will you survive the fire or be burned up with your dreams? God is fire and eternal spirit and will destroy this world with fire and make all things new. Are your dreams and achievements eternal or all only part of this short-lived world? "Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire." (from Revelation 20)

The Eternal Things

"Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things." "things above ... where Christ is seated at the right hand of God" (Apostle Paul to the Colossians, c50 AD)
"... and the entire portal stood open before me, and it was built of flames of fire. And in every respect it so excelled in splendour and magnificence and extent that I cannot describe to you its splendour and its extent. And its floor was of fire, and above it were lightnings and the path of the stars, and its ceiling also was flaming fire. And I looked and saw therein a lofty throne: its appearance was as crystal, and the wheels thereof as the shining sun, and there was the vision of cherubim. And from underneath the throne came streams of flaming fire so that I could not look thereon. And the Great Glory sat thereon, and His raiment shone more brightly than the sun and was whiter than any snow. None of the angels could enter and could behold His face by reason of the magnificence and glory and no flesh could behold Him. The flaming fire was round about Him, and a great fire stood before Him, and none around could draw nigh Him: ten thousand times ten thousand (stood) before Him, yet He needed no counselor. " (Enoch, c2600 BC)

Constancy

Through Enoch, Sumerian Enmendurana, seventh from Adam, the Holy Spirit encourages the constancy seen in Nature. [Enoch 2:1-2] "Observe everything that takes place in the heaven, how they do not change their orbits, and the luminaries which are in the heaven, how they all rise and set in order each in its season, and transgress not against their appointed order. Behold the earth, and give heed to the things which take place upon it from first to last, how steadfast they are, how none of the things upon earth change, but all the works of God appear to you." ...  [Enoch 5:1-4] "Observe how the trees cover themselves with green leaves and bear fruit: wherefore give heed and know with regard to all His works, and recognize how He that liveth for ever hath made them so. And all His works go on thus from year to year for ever, and all the tasks which they accomplish for Him, and their tasks change not, but according as God hath ordained so is it done. And behold how the sea and the rivers in like manner accomplish and change not their tasks from His commandments. But ye -- ye have not been steadfast, nor done the commandments of the Lord, But ye have turned away and spoken proud and hard words With your impure mouths against His greatness. Oh, ye hard-hearted, ye shall find no peace."

The Resurrection

The Son of Man became a mortal human and in obedience to God the Father He preached to reveal God and truth and then died and rose to become the immortal resurrection human. Without a resurrection other humans cannot be raised and we need resurrection and to be made immortal in order to know  God. Without a resurrection our lives are temporary and not permanent and only permanent people can know God because God is eternal. This is why God sent Jesus.

How God Saves

The salvation of people that God achieves is by the same means as controls first the creation of everything and then the governance of all of nature. This is by the Son of Man as a template - so really that means all He is and stands for and the effect of stability and order and obedience and righteousness and faith it has first on Nature and then, once we believe in it (Him), on us, as we keep a close hold of His teachings - the teachings of this Son of Man who we come to realise is The Christ, The Lord, Jesus.

Enoch's Prayer

Enoch 83:6-8 (Enoch's prayer before The Flood when he foresaw it in a vision)  "Now then, O God, Lord and mighty King, I entreat thee, and beseech thee to grant my prayer, that a posterity may be left to me on earth, and that the whole human race may not perish; that the earth may not be left destitute, and destruction take place for ever. O my Lord, let the race perish from off the earth which has offended thee, but a righteous and upright race establish for a posterity for ever. Hide not thy face, O Lord, from the prayer of thy servant."

Human-Making and Human-Fathering God

The Gospel of John (chapter 8) contains the clear understandng given by Jesus of God being not just human-creating but human-fathering. Jesus explained it as being Himself from Heaven with words from Heaven. The existence of the Son of Man, Jesus explained, shows God as not impersonal but having been in conversations with a human-like being in Heaven since before the dawn of time. This is the human-like Son of Man there as first of God's works. Therefore when God made humans and made them through this Son of Man in likeness of Him, God was not doing this for the first time but was making more people like His Son because He had made the Son of Man His Son to be never forsaken but there with Him always and these humans could be like that too. Then Jesus goes on to explain the relationship between the Son of Man and God and shows this fact about God is that He is Father to the Son of Man. So as Jesus reveals in words what His hearers would later realise in their understanding, once they crucified Jesus and He was raised by God from the dead, that He is this Son of Man now made flesh and blood and mortal, it becomes clear that God can be Father to mortals because they too can be resurrected to be immortal so they can truly know this Father.

An Aside: Flat Earth?

The Book of Proverbs (8:27) probably contains the one proof in the Hebrew scriptures of the understanding existing a thousand years BC that the Earth is a sphere. "...when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep" (Proverbs 8:27) has two words that say it all - horizon and face. 'Horizon' or 'edge', Hebrew chug, indicates they could stand in a boat at sea and in each direction see an edge the same distance from them whichever direction they were and this would be the same in whichever geographical location they were at sea. 'Face' literally human face, Hebrew paneh, clinches it because this is used to describe that circle around the observer at sea formed by the horizon. A face is circular. It clinches the proof because a face on a person's head is curved so the nose is higher than the ears if the face is horizontal and looking from the surface in the centre where the nose is, all that can be seen is as far as the ears and chin and top of head which is here compared to the horizon; and of course the reason for this is that the head is spherical like a ball. So picking these words chuga and paneh to describe the Earth as observed from sea (the deep, Hebrew tehom) shows an understanding of not just a spherical Earth but how the horizon at sea proves that understanding.

Truly Being Saved

Truly being saved from the worst outcome of the Final Judgement is the result of God's work in a believing disciple of Jesus Christ. They're saved when the Judgement is over - those who are not hurt by the Second Death - and they are not among the dogs thrown outside the new Jerusalem city into the Lake of Fire because they are not found to have been unrepentant so they are not at that Judgement liars of any kind and nor are they druggers nor sex workers nor idolaters nor murderers nor fearful unbelievers afraid to face up to truth but they are freed from all this in this life by holding to truth and teachings from Jesus Christ and bearing good fruitful works that are written in the Book of Life to be read out on that terrible day.

Pharmaceuticals and Pharmacy and the Pharmakoi

Pharmacy and pharmaceuticals - are these practices related to what God the Almighty and Jesus Christ call 'pharmakoi' in Revelation 21 and 22? Pharmakoi is translated sorcery or practising of magic arts in many English Bibles but it is a word more connected to drugs and medicines than the supernatural concepts we nowadays associate with sorcery and magic. Pharmakoi was a word used to translate words in the Hebrew scriptures related to sorcery but it had wider connotations and still has today. One online translation tool I used to translate the same word from modern Greek translated it as 'medic'. Use of roots for drug purposes to carry out abortions for prostitutes and the like seems to be an origin of the art. In general, attempts to undo consequences of immorality, and trying to extend life, using substances such as those extracted from roots. So 'root'  may be the basis of the word 'pharma'. It also forms a basis for the related arabic word used to form the word 'alkaloid' which is an important part of pharmacy and 'alkali' too in chemistry. In fact chemistry and biochemistry too take their names from alchemy, one of the magic arts. However it is drugs and drugs work, legal and illegal, that seems particularly highlighted in words of Revelation 21:8 and 22:15 - a dire warning to us all.
I can understand Christians wanting to wish away the word used by God and by Jesus but the certainty is there in the word God gave because it came with a strong assurance of its veracity in Revelation 21 before mentioning pharmakoi: "And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto   me, Write: for these words are true and faithful...." then pharmakoi are listed for the lake of fire and likewise Jesus too said the same in Revelation 22:15 following pharmakoi listing among those to be in the Lake of Fire with assurance that it is He Himself who sent His angel to John to testify to it in Revelation. So certainly pharmakoi is there as one kind of person to be thrown into fire by God at the end Judgment. So many will want to bend it to mean something irrelevant and different to modern medicine and pharmacy and drug research, production and distribution both legal and illegal but God speaks for Himself.

How to be saved from damnation at the Judgment

How to be saved from damnation at the Last Judgement. [John 8:25-32] '... Then they asked him, “Who are you?" Jesus told them, “What have I been telling you all along. I have much to say about you and to condemn you for. But the one who sent me is truthful, and what I’ve heard from him I declare to the world.” They didn’t realize that he was talking to them about the Father. So Jesus told them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority. Instead, I speak only what the Father has taught me. Moreover, the one who sent me is with me. He has never left me alone, because I always do what pleases him.” While he was saying these things, many believed in him. So Jesus told those Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are really my disciples. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”'