Historical Jesus and His Crucifixion?

Did Jesus exist historically? Well, it seems John the Baptist is a historic person but it is fairly sure he would not even be historically known for anything if he had not baptised Jesus of Nazareth. So both must be historical. But there is more to it than that. Did Jesus actually die on a cross? John the Baptist made the future sacrifice of ‘the lamb of God’ his major message it seems. He did not live to see it. His own death is a historically attested event because it coincided with a historic war between Herod and the father of his first wife whose replacement wife infamously asked for John’s head on a platter. If Jesus had not died on a cross in a way consistent with something sacrificial then nobody would have bothered remembering John the Baptist. Yet they even kept some bones of John the Baptist which seem to have survived as fragments analysed by scientists recently. So he must have been vindicated by what happened to Jesus. It must have been either death on a cross or something very similar. Stands to reason - not just mine but historians down the ages.

Is having a sexual partner ‘living in sin’?

Is it ‘living in sin’ to have a partner with whom you are not married? Do scriptures sanction having a concubine or condemn it? The scriptures indirectly sanction it. They say David’s only sin was in the matter of Bathsheba. Plus they speak of Absolom going into David’s hareem. So by deduction they indirectly say David did not sin by having a hareem of concubines. “For David had done what was right in the eyes of the LORD and had not failed to keep any of the LORD's commands all the days of his life--except in the case of Uriah the Hittite.” 1 Kings 15:5 

It is not polygamy to have concubines - the ancient morality we see in scriptures is still preserved in non-western cultures and it allows for concubines. So did the Law of Moses. Leviticus 18:18 “"Do not take your wife's sister as a rival wife and have sexual relations with her while your wife is living.” Having a rival wife is not even condemned if she is sister to existing wife - only sex with one while other is alive is condemned. Likewise Leviticus 18 lists many kinds of sexual sin but never forbids concubines and polygamy. It forbids things we know are immoral quite exhaustively so if concubinage were immoral and sinful it would be listed here. Christians add to the law to condemn it. They imply falsely it is unbiblical. False teaching IS unbiblical. Fornication is really about sex with prostitutes, nothing to do with ‘sex outside of marriage’. Having a partner or a concubine or being a concubine is not ‘living in sin’. Even having several concubines is not condemned in scripture. Christian false teachers condemn it and call it ‘unbiblical’ and ‘living in sin’ but false teaching is not biblical and is sinful and is to be rebuked strongly.

Church Life

CHURCH - IN OR OUT

The Holy Spirit does do that blessed work of God especially on some blessed people who are part of a church as they gather in church. It is remarkable how important being part of church life is even still today. People drop church out of their lives these days often citing hypocrisy of church people as their reason. The sad thing about that is they are not wrong - hypocritical churches are a bane of our times. Often people go to church much of their lives - decades - never hoping to see the Holy Spirit working like scriptures say He worked in ancient times. Yet for some who are receivers and doers of the purest gospel there are times of refreshing to their souls in their churches where if you look closely and with discernment you might be able to see that God is there like He was in times of the Christ’s first apostles like scripture recorded. Yet even outside of such churches - so many lack a chance to go to such churches - still the Holy Spirit works the blessings of Christ - especially in occassional groups of kindred believers coming together socially but sometimes when believers are on their own too. Elijah was all alone but still heard the still small voice. Elishah had plenty of kindred company of prophets and saw endless miracles but Elijah is the one who stood at Jesus’ side on the mountain of Christ’s transfiguration along with Moses surrounded by apostles. 

One Side of the Moon

Looking at the Moon, do you ever consider how you only ever see one side of it? There is a hidden side with far fewer large craters. Never in history has it been facing us. What is the cause of this? It is simply and astonishingly that the Moon spins at EXACTLY the same speed as it’s orbit of the Earth so the same side always faces Earth. If it span such that one cycle of the Moon’s spin took either ever slightly more time or ever so slightly less time than its orbit of Earth then over time we would start to see the other side of it. Consider how such clockwork precision shows God’s hand in it.

The prophetic Book of Enoch chapter 2: “1. Observe ye 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. 2. Behold ye 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⌉. 3. Behold the summer and the winter, ⌈⌈how the whole earth is filled with water, and clouds and dew and rain lie upon it⌉⌉.”

Calling Himself the Son of Man

CALLING HIMSELF THE SON OF MAN

When you call yourself the ‘Son of Man’ as Jesus of Nazareth clearly did (as all the Gospel accounts make clear) it begs the question Why? There is only really one credible knowledgable answer to that question which is that the Son of Man passages in the Book of Enoch were well known at that time two thousand years ago. The only other messianic prophecy mentioning the Son of Man is in the Book of Daniel and there is an allusion to a young man messiah in Second Esdras. These would not be enough of a foundation on which to build an understanding of Jesus of Nazareth’s identity so it must be that the Book of Enoch with the parables sections mentioning the Son of Man existed and were well known at that time. This authenticates the Ethiopian Ge’ez version of the Book of Enoch we have translated into English today.

Violence

VIOLENCE

When God once said to me “Israel has sinned!” and showed me His sign like an eagle over the local church I believe He might have meant the complicity of His Church, His People, in the violent genocides that unbeknown to me then had just been happening in Africa. (This was at the end of 1994 and start of 1995.) The response of God was the wars in the Balkans and then later the Gulf and the sudden increase in the UK and Europe and the USA of mass survelillance and spying and monitoring the accompanied those wars. God does not condone atrocities and does not turn a blind eye to complicity even when it is His people who are complicit. Enoch said this (chapter 91):

“Love uprightness and walk therein.

And draw not nigh to uprightness with a double heart,

And associate not with those of a double heart,

But walk in righteousness, my sons.

And it shall guide you on good paths,

And righteousness shall be your companion.

For I know that violence must increase on the earth,

And a great chastisement be executed on the earth,

And all unrighteousness come to an end:

Yea, it shall be cut off from its roots,

And its whole structure be destroyed.

And unrighteousness shall again be consummated on the earth,

And all the deeds of unrighteousness and of violence

And transgression shall prevail in a twofold degree.”

God punishes severely those who mete out severe violence. We see Ebola on the increase after terrible times of violence in the Congo region. Exactly five years ago we saw worse Ebola plague in West Africa after terrible times of violence there. Do not let yourselves be complicit in extreme violence. God does not ignore it, especially when it is caused by His Church.

Fallen Humans

FALLEN HUMANS

https://www.wired.com/story/these-sumptuous-images-give-deep-space-data-an-old-world-look/ 

Look at these images of the orbits of the planets and asteroids. They keep their paths through space because they obey the commands God gave them and honour the name of the Son of Man whose name has power over them. The Holy Spirit through Enoch wrote: (Book of Enoch chapter 2:1-2)

“Observe ye 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 ye 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⌉. “

Yet we humans are not so steadfast. Yes we are commanded by God to love God and put all we have and are into doing so constantly but we lose our zeal and waver in our devotion. Yes we are under the power of the Son of Man’s name and teachings yet we lose sight of those teachings and knowledge of His name fades within us and eludes our conversations and laws and teachings of our children. As the Holy Spirit put it through Enoch: (chapter 5:4-6a) “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. Therefore shall ye execrate your days, And the years of your life shall perish, And ⌈the years of your destruction⌉ shall be multiplied in eternal execration, And ye shall find no mercy. In those days ye shall make your names an eternal execration unto all the righteous, And by you shall ⌈all⌉ who curse, curse, And all the sinners ⌈and godless⌉ shall imprecate by you,”

We need to let the Holy Spirit convict us and convince us of sin. We need to reach out to the Son of Man in our hearts and trust He is and lives forever and hold to His teachings and the truth shall set us free. We need to look at those planets and asteroids how they continue without wavering and know that it is by the power of the name of the Son of Man that they do so. It is the name by which we must be saved.

What better healing than resurrection

WHAT BETTER HEALING THAN RESURRECTION

“... that Christ would suffer. As first through resurrection from the dead, He is about to preach light both to our people and to the Gentiles."

— Acts 26:23

“... the Living One. I was dead, and behold, now I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of Death and of Hades.”

— Revelation 1:18

The Son of Man has suffered and has a message to preach out of it, having even died but been resurrected, and He preaches that it is all worth it because now He is alive forever and so much has been given Him by God through that experience. He now has all the light needed in how to overcome both death and Hades (the place of the dead). He preaches this light to us all.

Before the Big Bang?

BEFORE THE BIG BANG?

Now that we know about the existence of dark matter and dark energy we should consider the possibility that dark energy and dark matter were not a result of the Big Bang but existed before the Big Bang and fueled it and fed into it. They could result in further such events, perhaps different kinds, in future. We know little of such things but we know we do not know. We should now consider that what we commonly call ‘spirit’ might be like dark matter and dark energy. It might have existed before the Big Bang and to have caused the Big Bang and been materially of such a nature that it was unaffected by the Big Bang. We call it ‘dark’ because of its immunity to the affects of visible matter and visible energy. Now we have long had in human history a belief in divine spirits and we can now add a sentient aspect to the things we call dark energy and dark matter. Yet instead of being dark these spirits are pure light - ‘light’ in the sense of the opposite of dark. What do we mean by ‘dark’ in ‘dark matter’ and ‘dark energy’? They are dark in the sense that they provide no interactions with observable matter and energy. They are dark because nothing about them facilitates our ability to observe them scientifically. That is not to say they cannot ever be discovered since already we have discovered them, e.g. by their observable affect on the speed of the edges of galaxies. They do not provide us with particles we can monitor because they pass through millions of stars and planets without any interactions so likewise they pass through our instruments without any interactions. Now we have opportunity to consider that there can be ‘dark’ sentient beings such as what have long been known as divine spirits which are likewise able to pass through the matter and energy we observe scientifically without interactions - without leaving any observable trace and without themselves being affected materially. We might call these ‘dark beings’ yet they are light because they are able to make themselves known to us and do indeed make themselves known to us. They are pure light in the sense they make themselves known truthfully. Now we should also consider, metaphysically, that there must have been a time when laws of physics started to exist. Human reasoning seems to be behind these laws because they are comprehensible to humans. So before they had existence in reality they seem to have had existence in thought and reason. So sentient spirits existing before the Big Bang and were not affected materially by it, just like dark matter and dark energy might not have been affected by it, these spirits seem to have included sufficient qualities of humanness that their influences on the results of the Big Bang are understandable by our human minds. This leads to possibility our human minds we influenced to be as they are by such humanlike spirit or spirits. Now these spirits with humanlike qualities are not ‘dark’ in the sense of offering us no affordance to know them but on the contrary they do make themselves known to us and are well known by some of us. One in particular is especially known to some as the Son of Man apparently because of these very human qualities but also because this Son of Man has historically come in flesh and blood as Jesus of Nazareth called the Anointed One. He spoke of having come to make known the highest one of these spirits calling this spirit the Father, His own Father and God.

Matter is observable because it is affected by other matter. The sentient divine spirits’ matter is not affected and so we call it ‘dark’ because we cannot force it to show itself to scientific instruments. They can affect our matter and they do so which means they are known and knowable on their terms so they are really light.

When we experience their power it makes sense: They can act without affect on any matter and energy around except the matter and energy they deliberately want to affect.

Our fallen world power structures are but a poorer reflection of these invisible universe power structures. “Thy will be done on earth as in heaven”

Maybe the resurrection is going to unite both universes

Ebola Crosses Border

EBOLA CROSSES BORDER

As the DR Congo Ebola outbreak crosses its first border into Uganda it is time to reflect on what happens if it carries on like the previous big outbreak and around September 2019 reaches other continents such as Europe and the Americas. What causes such disasters? Globalisation of sin and love of money causes globlisation of plagues. People come to your door seeking your support and participation in their big potentially global political plans but behind their apocalyptic horse of economics comes a pale horse of death and the underworld places of suffering. There is one widereaching force we should welcome into our homes who offers hope of being spared this doom and He is the unique Son of Man approved by God to be followed by all. Let Him in but leave the globalisers outside.

So Precious

Perhaps the greatest truth the Book of Enoch shares with us in all those wonderful passages about the Son of Man (chapters 37 to 63) is how precious this Son of Man was, in Enoch’s time and before and after, over milllennia, to God the Lord of Spirits. It tells how delighted God was in this Son of Man who He anointed and set apart from all angels and men and who God hid away from all but a few. God was keeping this beloved righteous and faithful son away from public knowledge and corruption. Of everything that God had in all the universe He has made, His Son, the Son of Man is most cherished of all. This is a tremendous service Enoch has provided in recording all this because it tells us two things that Enoch might not at that time have even known himself. Firstly it tells us what an overwhelmingly great price God paid for a sacrifice for our sins: The one most precious member of His heavenly family so dearly loved from before time, the Son of Man, is the one He sent to suffer and die, and on the third day rise again. Secondly, in telling us how special this Son of Man was to the Lord of Spirits, Enoch reveals the height and breadth and depth of the love God has for each one of us to have paid this beloved Son for the ransom for our wretched souls. Other scriptures touch on this but none in quite as vivid depth of expression of true prophetic words as the Book of Enoch. God be praised forever!

‘They have the scriptures’

‘THEY HAVE THE SCRIPTURES’

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rich_man_and_Lazarus

The parable told by the Son of Man called ‘Rich man and Lazarus” is telling makind a lot about the Book of Enoch and how important it is to read it. The poor man named Lazarus went to be with Abraham in heaven when he died while a rich man who never helped him went to a place where he could see Lazarus and Abraham but from a distance and he was in a hellish place. The lesson relates how the rich suffering deceased man asked Abraham to send warning to the brothers the man left still alive to warn them to live such that they did not go to the hellish place when they died. All this relates to teachings about the afterlife only found explicitly in the Book of Enoch which was regarded as scripture. Then comes the telling part: Abraham replied to the formerly rich now deceased man “They have the scriptures”. So here the teaching of the Son of Man is that the Book of Enoch is not only scripture but is scripture vitally important to read and heed because of its warning about the afterlife and how to live to avoid immense suffering in it. The man had told Abraham that this man’s rich brothers would heed a resurrected man coming to speak to them and warn them even though they ignored scriptures like the Book of Enoch. Abraham replied “If they do not listen to the law and prophets they will not heed even if a man rises from the dead.” This teaching places the Book of Enoch in the category of the scriptures called the Prophets. It is sacred writing written by a prophet and contains prophecy in written form. Ignore it at your peril.

Miracles, Healings, Wonders, Lessons

God works miracles and healings among those who believe and trust God because they let it sink in that God raised from the dead His Son who died for each and every one of us: applying to themselves the love it shows God has for you after His Son died for your sins. This way God becomes Father to you and you can call Him Daddy in your heart. These who believe have miracles worked among them.

Sumerian Texts and the First Kings of Civilisation

In Roman times a Christian writer who knew Jesus (possible his biological brother) wrote of the ancient prophet called Enoch as being a true prophet, seventh in line from Adam, in real history. This disciple, Jude, among the first disciples of the Jesus Christ, has been so respected by Christians that his epistle (The Epistle of Jude) has been considered sacred to the extent it has been included in the Bible these past two thousand years. Yet is it at all feasible that his statements about Enoch were truthfully written? Does the concept of sacred scripture being actually true really stack up in this case? Archaeology might help answer this question. Archaeology of civilisation origins is illuminated by the success of translating Sumerian cuneiform writings from 3400 to 2400 BC although this has been tough and slow and some success has only happened recently. Several very important texts written around 2200 BC being translated from original cuneiform texts (extant texts as they are called because they are the actual physical texts written in those ancient times) are called Sumerian King Lists. Some of these record kings from the time of Enoch and the cities they made their capitals. One such king, the seventh in this dawn of history period, is a man described in other texts as having ascended to heaven with the angels and learned from them. Surely this is Enoch. His name in the texts is sometimes written En-men-dur-ana and sometimes Enmenduranki (this could have been shortened to Enoch over time). His capital was Sippar. The king that followed was Ubara-Tutu who another even more ancient text called the Instruction of Sharappak says was grandfather to the man who took some survivors into an ark when the world flooded who Sumerians named Ziusudra who was of course Noah. Ubura-Tutu must have been Methuselah son of Enoch. He had the city called Sharappak as his capital, according to the Sumerian King Lists. The Sumerian King Lists give large numbers for the periods those kings who were kings before a great flood (Noah’s flood as we call it) ruled, which traditions say were numbers of years which make ridiculously long reign lengths so these numbers might mean days. The archaeology shows these kings must have ruled prior to around 2900 or 2500 BC, the last of the kings (most lists say Ubara-Tutu) ruling up until that time. So the end of the period of these pre-flood kings is somewhere between 2900 and 2500 BC but there is less agreement about the beginning of these king’s period. The first two kings in the lists are associated with the city of Eridu, a city well known to archaeology. The first listed king (Alulim, who was possibly later known as Adapa who today is known as Adam) had a reign which started when Eridu was quite a major city around 3600 BC. So it really is feasible that Jude wrote truthfully about Enoch and Adam being historical real people and Enoch being a prophet “seventh from Adam”. Jude may indeed have been exercising good judgment and true, holy inspiration in writing confidently asserting such things. The reputation of sacred scipture is in this case intact as is the judgment of Christians these past two thousand years in regarding Jude’s epistle as sacred scripture worthy of sitting in the Bible. Furthermore, the fact that Jude quoted a prophecy of Enoch found only in the Book of Enoch known and highly regarded as scripture too in Jude’s time supports the belief of more and more people today that the Book of Enoch is genuine truly ancient holy writ. Refs: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumerian_King_List https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instructions_of_Shuruppak

Among us Today?

AMONG US TODAY?

Enoch long ago dreamt prophetically about angels in his father’s days (in the Stone Age) as stars and humans (of the Stone Age) as cattle and the angels sinning and living among humans:

Enoch 86

“And again I saw with mine eyes as I slept, and I saw the heaven above, and behold a star fell from 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⌉.”

THIS SPELT UNPRECEDENTED TROUBLE ON EARTH

Enoch 68

“And after that my grandfather Enoch gave me the teaching of all the secrets in the book in the Parables which had been given to him, and he put them together for me in the words of the book of the Parables. And on that day Michael answered Raphael and said: 'The power of the spirit transports and makes me to tremble because of the severity of the judgement of the secrets, the judgement of the angels: who can endure the severe judgement which has been executed, and before which they melt away?' And Michael answered again, and said to Raphael: 'Who is he whose heart is not softened concerning it, and whose reins are not troubled by this word of judgement (that) has gone forth upon them because of those who have thus led them out?' And it came to pass when he stood before the Lord of Spirits, Michael said thus to Raphael: 'I will not take their part under the eye of the Lord; for the Lord of Spirits has been angry with them because they do as if they were the Lord. Therefore all that is hidden shall come upon them for ever and ever; for neither angel nor man shall have his portion (in it), but alone they have received their judgement for ever and ever.'”

NOT JUST A STONE AGE PROBLEM

PROPHETIC WORDS OF THE SON OF MAN:

Mark 13:25

“... the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.”

Revelation 6:13

“... and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind.”

Revelation 9:1

“The fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth. The star was given the key to the shaft of the Abyss.”

Revelation 12:4

“[The dragon’s] tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that it might devour her child the moment he was born.”

Boundary Between Two Emerging Empires

BOUNDARY BETWEEN TWO EMERGING EMPIRES

There are three present or near future empires mentioned in the apocalyptic prophecies and two are geographically a reflection of past empires and likely to be important in the coming decades - Revelation calls one the Beast (empire) of the leopard, lion and bear (Balkans, Iraq and Iran) and the other the Beast (empire) associated with the Babylon the Great city (city of Rome). They are neighbours and there seems to be a border between them called by historians the Jireček Line https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jireček_Line . It is believed that Roman (Rome-origin) and Greek (Balkan-origin) empires of ancient times till today overlapped but with a rough border of this line. It might be of growing importance as the modern counterparts of these Beast apocalyptic empires emerge.

The Present Day Roman Empire

THE PRESENT DAY ROMAN EMPIRE

• pan-European with workdwide control of countries

• relies on romantic sentiments towards ancient Rome

• ruled by elite guided by stories of the Caesars 

• idolises huge sports events

• loves the fashion and luxury car industries of Italy

• corrupt and sinful

• liable to the occassional pandemic of horror

• doomed by prophecy to remain fragmented

• doomed by prophecy to fall

• being abandoned by true followers of God

Brexit - EU Election in UK

In the English part of the EU elections this weekend the results in the South West show how it was the strongly Roman city Bath and Holy Roman (Regency) town Cheltenham which voted anti-brexit and everywhere else pro-brexit (apart from Bristol which is strongly pro-environment voting these days, having so many young students). It reinforces the analysis that the EU is essentially an extension into present times of the Roman Empire. Pro-Roman sentiments bind people to it. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2019_European_Parliament_election_in_the_United_Kingdom_area_results_(South_West_England).svg#mw-jump-to-license

Brexit

‘And I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues.”’

Revelation 18:4

The British have always since 40 AD been ruled by the Roman Empire in one form or another: first Rome then the Holy Roman Empire under Rome then the Habsurgs and other royal houses including Saxe-Coburg (now House of Windsor in UK) forming modern Europe and now the EU. So to get free of Rome and Europe will be a truly historic and momentous event. Countries around the world have longed and fought bitterly for such freedom. To gain it without a war will be astonishing: A miracle of God on the lines of Book of Revelation 18.

Swaddling

Since the Stone Age it has been the normal practice to wrap a baby in tight cloth to restrict movement to help comfort and nurture the baby at the start of life. The practice was extended to wounded children and adults to help recovery of wounded limbs. The bandages used for swaddling babies and for binding the wounded were combined with first washing of the skin with salt or wine for antiseptic and with oil for healing. Yet over time the teachings of fallen angels about reliance of drugs and shaman superior knowledge called medicine has also grown and eventually the medics grew so influential in the seventeeth century AD Europe that medics overruled the knowledge of normal people and swaddling was banned and treatment of the wounded by ordinary people was outlawed in some countries. The teachings of the Son of Man were contrary to the medical dogmas and rather than supporting ideas of supremacy of knowledge-controlling medics and their drugs the Son of Man, who Himself had been swaddled as a baby, taught the simple techniques of the ‘Good Samaritan” tending the wounded by binding wounded body areas with bands to restrict movement and help healing and keep out dirt after washing with oil and wine. The medics will have to face Him one day and He has spoken in dire words about medical sorcery and shamanism about a lake of fire to those who refuse to repent now. Who do you trust most?

For You

The prophet Enoch knew the Son of Man personally 3000 years before the world did. Yet 3000 years after Enoch was writing about the Son of Man and went to be with the Son of Man this amazing thing happened:

Apostle Paul wrote about it like this: 

“... and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.” 2 Corinthians 5:15

Yes for you personally the Son of Man died. Not just for you but for you plus each other person. Not just for everyone but for you personally too.

Dear Atheist

Dear Atheist: It isn’t all about the existence of God but rather the existence of the Christian cross and the crucifixion that brought it into existence. It is beyond existence. It is what God is doing and what that says about God who started a major series of events with that cross as their crux.

Iraq: One Statue Ends, Another Begins

IRAQ: ONE STATUE ENDS; ANOTHER BEGINS

We all remember seeing those iconic images of the statue of Saddam Hussein being toppled by Iraqi people. Well the history of Iraqi leader statue toppling is crucial to prophetic history going back to Nebuchadnezzar and continuing to this day.  By prophetic power from God the ancient Babylonian greatest king of kings, Nebuchadnezzar, dreamt of a huge statue of himself with a gold head and silver upper body and bronze torso and iron legs and iron mingled with clay feet representing first the head Babylon (today’s region of Iraq), then Persia (today’s Iran), then Greeco-Macedonia (today’s Balkans), then Rome (legs of iron) and finally the feet - which seem to be the EU legacy of the Roman Empire today. Then a rock hewn from a mountain not by human hands strikes the feet and the whole thing shatters and turns to dust. The statue only has its feet left and seems to be on the point of being turned to dust by a heavenly cause. Just as this is about to happen and history fulfilled the Revelation prophecy of another Beast Empire rising seems to be emerging in our times: the rise of the Beast empire shown by God to Jesus as a mixture of Iraq - again the head - and Iran and the Balkans all allied together to become a new empire rising out of turmoil in Syria and surroundings. So Iraq appears these two crucial times in prophesied history. Each time it is the head - the brains of the setup. Each time it is part of something far bigger than itself. The EU is all that is left of the first manifestation of Iraq’s capacity to rule the world which took an empire sequence till today to run its course. The next phase of history led again by Iraq as head will be a three-way alliance between Iraq and Iran and the Balkans forming a new superpower never seen in this format before. But like the EU feet this too will be shattered by heaven-sent power - the power that is the Son of Man coming in the clouds. Enoch’s prophesies forshadowed these two later continuations of his apocalyptic thread forming a prophetic combined picture spanning thousands of years from 3000 BC till Daniel and from Daniel till the Son of Man resurrected from the dead. Today we have a culimination of the events these prophesies all foretold. Soon we will see Jesus coming in the clouds of heaven. 

The Primary Son of Man

The Peshitta translation of John’s gospel, especially where Jesus uses the phrase “I am” is profound beyond the other translations because the Aramaic conveys meaning of “I am” better than Greek or English can. It conveys a meaning of one who is primary. The tense of “I am” means was and is and will be but it also conveys primary importance and status. There are few primary beings in all the universe - the Father is one, the Son of Man is another. These are belngs so long in existence and eternal in the future too such that they are utterly pre-eminent and primary beyond all other beings. Believing Jesus is this primary being, the Son of Man, is first necessary step towards being free from sin. The next is then, once believing this, to hold to His teachings. See John 8 in Peshitta.

The Name of the Son of Man

NAME OF THE SON OF MAN

The Book of Enoch chapter 69: 

“13. And this is the task of Kâsbeêl, the chief of the oath which he showed to the holy ones when he dwelt high above in glory, and its name is Bîqâ. 14. This (angel) requested Michael to show him the hidden name, that he might enunciate it in the oath, so that those might quake before that name and oath who revealed all that was in secret to the children of men. 15. And this is the power of this oath, for it is powerful and strong, and he placed this oath Akâe in the hand of Michael. 16 And these are the secrets of this oath . . .

And they are strong through his oath:

And the heaven was suspended before the world was created,

And for ever.”

...

25. And this oath is mighty over them

And through it ⌈they are preserved and⌉ their paths are preserved,

And their course is not destroyed.

26. And there was great joy amongst them,

And they blessed and glorified and extolled

Because the name of that Son of Man had been revealed unto them.”

This great mystery of the natural world and the angels who govern it is in the third parable section of the Book of Enoch. It teaches truth about how angels around 3200 BC tackled growing unrest in Creation caused by the angels who rebelled. It opens a window on how the workings of Nature depend on a binding agreement to behave according to rules ordained by the Creator and how the angel overseeing this agreement was alarmed by the possibility of things slipping and evil breaching the peace and order once some angels had broken the agreement. There was more that needed adding to the agreement to keep it in place so that Nature would still adhere to it and continue to function as God intended. The extra strength that would suffice was seen to be the name of the Son of Man. What is that name - the aspect of His reputation that would keep Nature together and keep everything continuing as God intended? How does it strengthen the agreement underpinning Nature? We know a little now of the Name of the Son of Man and what He is known for now He has come and people have followed Him. He is especially known for obeying the Father despite it meaning death on a cross for Him. He pleased God in every way and carried through on this obedience to the will of God His Father. So now there is this example for Nature to follow. The weakening of all things caused by the fall of some of God’s angels is mitigated by the example of obedience seen and known in Christ. His name and reputation for this balances the whole of God’s creation and keeps all things working properly overseen by angels who were given knowledge of this Name so they could enunciate it in their swearing of that agreement, that oath. An understanding of what God wills and commands is now strengthened by the example of one man, the Son of Man, who has been faithful in obedience even unto death, dying on a cross.

Ebola 2020

EBOLA 2020

Ebola in East Africa (in a warzone hard to reach) stands at 2000 cases now and is perpetually doubling every three months. So at this rate it will be 32000 cases in a year a three months from now (August 2020). The West African outbreak (worst in known history) a few years ago got to 28000 cases before its end and had reached Europe at that point. So it seems likely this current outbreak will reach Europe within a eighteen months from now, perhaps even by the end of this year.

So Brexit might be a matter of life or death. The UK will need a strong decisive and sovereign government and need God on our side to cope and survive.

The Antonine Plague

THE ANTONINE PLAGUE

In the days of the height of the early Roman Empire the road system was highly developed throughout Europe but this allowed a great plague to spread freely. The Book of Revelation (chapter 18) had foretold plague because of sins of Rome. So even the merciful God did not stop this plague. God only warned against sharing in Rome’s sins and therefore being subjecf to Rome’s punishments. God’s warning then as now was to dissociate from Rome and from the associates of Rome who shared in the sins of Rome (of Babylon the Great). Nowadays the system left by Rome continues to spread the same deeds Rome had perpetrated. The punishments are stored up just the same. The new equivalent of the road system is the air travel system. A plague such as the brewing Ebola outbreak of East Africa can spread through this system of fast connections between airports. The connections are so fast that symptoms do not emerge during short flight times. Coming out and being separate is still the solution God provides for His own followers who heed His call. Maybe others who do not follow can be saved by being caught up in the obedient dissociation too.

English Bibles

ENGLISH BIBLES

We English readers have a heritage of translations of the bible coming through sixteenth and seventeenth century English early translations. The later translations in English usually never dare to vary from the older ones and copy a lot of the sentences. Perhaps it is because people who buy the later translations are already well versed in the older ones especially the KJV. Yet there is a major weakness in this because the seventeenth century England and France had a strong culture which got incorporated in these early translations into English. For example it was always a puzzle to me what the bible meant by “familiar spirit”. Verses in the books of Moses judged people with familiar spirits - or so it seems from the English translations. Yet actually the familiar spirit tradition is not in the Bible in the Hebrew but is an English traditional belief from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries (as emerged in the witch trials) and the translators finding words based on the Hebrew root “yada” simply interpreted it using the English and French folk tradition by translating it as “someone (or a woman) with a familiar spirit”. So familiar spirit got inserted artificially. So we can benefit from having other translations not part of this history of translation but from other cultures such as the Peshitta which comes from Syria and is translated into English with care to stay close to the Syriac meanings.

The Persecuted will be back

THE THREE BEASTS OF THE APOCALYPSE ARE RISING

I don’t know about what you are hearing but to me it seems like all three Beasts (great empires described by the Lord’s vision given through John in Revelation) are rising in full view of the media these days. First the Beast of Islam based around Iraq and Iran and soon the Balkans rising against the backdrop of Syrian turmoil. Second the Beast of the allies of Rome and the monarchies of Europe. Third the Beast of the New Globalisation System with its impending 666 oppressive campaign against the true children of God and the Lord’s testimony. All three are becoming main talking points in the mainstream media even by those who set aside the Revelation prophecies. In terms of Enoch’s prophecies it looks like we are entering a new phase of persecution of Jews and possibly Christian believers too. This might be the last of the seventy angelic shepherd tenures. This last tenure like some of the previous eleven might be one with most bloodshed. We might soon see the nations surrounding Israel turn violently against the state and the diaspora. We might see the Temple built in Jerusalem. We might see the rise of the last tame but greatly dreaded billy goat ruler and his strong horn and sword supporting the persecuted sheep and smiting the wild beasts who hate them. What might irke and bewilder and greatly trouble the world media if they are aware what is transpiring is that all the Christians killed in persecution who have real faith and are worthy - these will be back - and they will judge everyone for a thousand years.

Angels or Aliens?

ANGELS OF ALIENS?

The sixteenth and seventeenth centuries (AD) saw the sudden rise in witch trials. Suddenly everyone was afraid to be convicted. Scientists started strongly denying anything supernatural could possibly exist - because they too were afraid they would be found guilty of sorcery. So since then the sciences and other learned disciplines have suppressed any suggestion of belief in supernatural beings. This is strongly embedded in our culture and psyche although it belies our collective folk language which preserves the knowledge of the past. So to get around this fear of being thought to believe in the supernatural some clever writers started writing about supernatural beings by substituting terms with words like alien and by superimposing this knew philosophy onto very ancient words lost to society such as anunnaki which people did not know so could not associate with supernatural beings.

Brexit and the EU

What triggered the Brexit referendum? There was a growing belief that major changes in the treaties of the EU affecting national sovereignty could only be agreed by referendum. This was being neglected by the UK Conservative Party. The Maastricht Treaty had sought a greater integration of EU member states yet there had been no referendum in the UK to support or reject it. There was thought that Conservatives coming to power would fix this but initially they fell short. Backlash forced them to make good. Despite party political reasons the underlying justification of a referendum was still the growing integration of the EU into an ever closer union affecting member nation sovereignty and identity. So the real vote was on the UK agreeing to this move towards union and away from national identity and sovereignty. The result said ‘No’. (Nay)

Each Does Their Work in Love

”... From Him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.“ (Ephesians 4:16)

To build this body we each lovingly do the task God gives us and so the whole body of Christ is built as the Temple of God.

Taking Stock

TAKING STOCK

Book of Enoch chapter 5:1-4 : 

“Observe how the trees cover themselves with green leaves and bear fruit: wherefore give ye 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 no 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.”

Enoch gave such counsel which is food for beneficial meditation if we learn to be still now and then and consider how things truly are. We owe it to ourselves to reflect from time to time on the true nature of things to keep our minds balanced and to reset the compass that guides us. Taking stock. Getting our bearings. Adjusting the settings in our minds, like checking that our clocks are showing the true time. The truth should be a corner stone in how we live so it is good to dig down through accumulated junk from time to time to be sure it is still there and still correct. The truth is how Nature lives. Trees obey what is expected of them from the highest authority and they continue to do so whatever the weather and climate and surroundings. If trees can do it why can’t we. The truth is often how we DON’T live. We let ourselves lose touch with it as greed and desire and cravings and trickery well up from our human hearts like pollution that blocks out the sun of truth. We do wrong instead of always doing right like trees and sea and rivers do. We should meditate on it a little and face up to it so we do not get ahead of ourselves. Then we should look beyond it all to a brightest of bright lights - the Son of Man and His teachings which give us hope that a way back to truth can be found and our true selves as God intended us to be can be recreated as He puts us right if we hold to His teachings and let hope regarding Him take over our hearts and become our guide towards the light we so desparately need. This is why God sent Him and why He died on that awful cross for us: To put us back on track.

Lake of Fire

The Book of Enoch says much about the Son of Man and the lake of fire. In Revelation the prophecies continue the theme. The sufferings of the Son of Man are highlighted in Revelation. Clearly His death was major suffering for Him but even after His resurrection those sufferings continued for Him as He started to see His most faithful followers being persecuted and murdered. This still continues today. It is the Book of Enoch which most clearly relates another level of His sufferings still to come. When He returns it will soon be required of Him by the Father that He must set aside millions or even billions who must be thrown into a lake of firey destruction. He will surely do the Father’s will by taking this awful duty since He alone is the Son of Man who in God’s eyes is truly suited to this duty and is worthy of it. He did in fact mention this duty during His ministry in the first century AD. He described it in a parable as being like a shepherd separating the sheep from the goats. The Book of Enoch explained that it will be ‘sheep’ who are ‘blind sheep’ who will be cast into the fire. Enoch had a slightly different picture of it given him in a prophetic dream thousands of years ago but it was the same events depicted. It must be that designating from His  flock such blind sheep or goats for such destruction will be extremely painful for the Shepherd but He must do it.

Heavenly Places

Enoch’s accounts of visiting the heavenly place of God seem to be literal and not metaphorical. Ancient archaeology supports the fact that the ancients believed God inhabited a physical location possibly beneath a mountain in the vicinity of Mesopotamia. The Book of Enoch refers to the place where angels and God and the Son of Man dwell and have the throne of God they refer to a place where fire is underfoot and between the crystals of the walls and flows as a river of fire. The descriptions match caverns such as the Cave of Crystals in Mexico https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cave_of_the_Crystals but before the magma disappeared and so the mountain in question must have such caverns within it. These Cave of Crystals magma chambers were not at all accessible from outside until mining shafts were accidentally drilled into them. There must be many such caverns in many moumtains aroond the world. The descriptions in the Book of Enoch would be entirely consistent with some such caverns. These places originally huge chambers full of water and become lined with extremely large crystals which are thought to form on the walls and floor and ceiling as water seeps into the chamber bring into it sulphur and when magma heats the water the sulphur and other minerals are concentrated next to the chamber surfaces. If the heat of the magma drives away the water completely through gaps in the rocky walls the huge chamber lined with crystals and magma. These chambers are potentially extremely hot and potentially very humid because they are heated by the magma and there is no way for the heat to escape. The magma might flow around the floor too. Enoch described the pair of two chambers linked by a portal and these chambers were very both hot very cold and lined with crystals mingled with fire and with a river of fire and the crystal throne of God there in the middle and a huge expanse above it. In one of the crystal chambers he saw God and cherubim and other kinds of angels and that the archangels the Son of Man entered it. 

The Book of Enoch has two passages about these places - in the R H Charles translation they are chapters 14 and 71. 

Book of Enoch chapter 14: 

9. And I went in till I drew nigh to a wall which is built of crystals and surrounded by tongues of fire: and it began to affright me. And I went into the tongues of fire and drew nigh to a large house which was built of crystals: and the walls of the house were like a tesselated floor (made) of crystals, and its groundwork was of crystal. 11. Its ceiling was like the path of the stars and the lightnings, and between them were fiery cherubim, and their heaven was (clear as) water. 12. A flaming fire surrounded the walls, and its portals blazed with fire. 13. And I entered into that house, and it was hot as fire and cold as ice: there were no delights of life therein: fear covered me, and trembling got hold upon me. 14. And as I quaked and trembled, I fell upon my face. 15. And I beheld a vision, And lo! there was a second house, greater than the former, 

and the entire portal stood open before me, and it was built of flames of fire. 16. And in every respect it so excelled in splendour and magnificence and extent that I cannot describe to you its splendour and its extent. 17. And its floor was of fire, and above it were lightnings and the path of the stars, and its ceiling also was flaming fire. 18. 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. 19. And from underneath the throne came streams of flaming fire so that I could not look thereon. 20. And the Great Glory sat thereon, and His raiment shone more brightly than the sun and was whiter than any snow. 21. None of the angels could enter and could behold His face by reason of the magnificence and glory and no flesh could behold Him. 22. 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. 23. And the most holy ones who were nigh to Him did not leave by night nor depart from Him. 

The Book of Enoch chapter 71: 

1. And it came to pass after this that my spirit was translated

And it ascended into the heavens:

And I saw the holy sons of God.

They were stepping on flames of fire:

Their garments were white [and their raiment],

And their faces shone like snow.

2. And I saw two streams of fire,

And the light of that fire shone like hyacinth,

And I fell on my face before the Lord of Spirits.

3. And the angel Michael [one of the archangels] seized me by my right hand,

And lifted me up and led me forth into all the secrets,

And he showed me all the secrets of righteousness.

4. And he showed me all the secrets of the ends of the heaven,

And all the chambers of all the stars, and all the luminaries,

Whence they proceed before the face of the holy ones.

5. And he translated my spirit into the heaven of heavens,

And I saw there as it were a structure built of crystals,

And between those crystals tongues of living fire.

6. And my spirit saw the girdle which girt that house of fire,

And on its four sides were streams full of living fire,

And they girt that house.

7. And round about were Seraphin, Cherubic, and Ophannin:

And these are they who sleep not

And guard the throne of His glory.

8. And I saw angels who could not be counted,

A thousand thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand,

Encircling that house.

It might baffle us how the Almighty God could inhabit such a physical place without destroying it by the sheer glory and fire of His presence but think how that burning bush seen by Moses was all afire yet was not consumed. Clearly God can preserve His immediate surroundings from Himself. 

Several mountains in the Middle East region are candidates for this place but famous archaeologist specialising in Sumerian times who translated the Epic of Gilgamesh and many other texts from times just after the Flood identified Mount Lebanon as likely site. It is covered in cedar trees which ancient texts identify with what might be the home of God and the ancient text calls that home Meshu, which means ‘one of two’ (a cross symbol) and Mount Lebanon is one of two twin mountains. The twin mountain is actually Mount Hermon, a key mountain in the Enoch texts where the fallen angels congregated and made their unholy pact infuriating God with its devastating effects on mankind.

Tongues and Interpretation

“Consider the trees how they put out buds and leaves. They do so by the authority/power of the name of Lord Jesus Christ.”

Having met Him, I know for myself His character is magnificent. What this interpretation of a message in tongues by the Holy Spirit tells us is that His name and reputation based on that character is so magnificent that it is the power underpinning the whole of Nature, the fabric of the universe and the natural world.

Taking this to heart the next awareness given by the Holy Spirit is conviction that I’m a sinner falling short of this glory. “Israel has sinned”, is the word of the Almighty Father. Yet it is comforting to know that Jesus has it covered. Has me covered. “The Angel of the Lord surrounds those that fear Him.”

Science and Atheism

Since Robert Boyle a supposedly Christian alchemist (can there be such a thing?) started in seventeenth century England and Ireland the presumably European strategy of turning alchemy into chemistry to sidestep English witchhunts modern science has given purpose and power to atheism. Science was based largely on hermeticist sorcery but witchcraft was made illegal punishable by death so science needed a disguise to gain acceptance by Christians and ironically atheisn provided that disguise because by claiming to be atheists the scientists could deny spiritual aspects of alchemy and sorcery to produce chemistry and modern medicine. This has meant that even Christians who want to get careers in science had to be friendly in a symbiotic relationship with atheists. Atheists got to do science by Christians accepting it and getting it past the witchtrials. Christians got to do science by atheists making science look indifferent to matters of spirit so it looked unlike sorcery. Atheism has prospered ever since. But Wikipedia is here and wool pulled over eyes is getting pushed aside. Atheists beware!

The Good Message

What are the big benefits resulting from what Jesus Christ did when He was here? His name gives clues. Jesus means deliverance. Christ means someone who has an anointed head because he has no need of repentance and has full approval from God to take important office and fulfil a vital work. Because of this, hope is a major benefit from the sacrifice His death on a cross provided. The demolishing of guilt is now possible if you find you can hope for it. The cross death was long known to be payment for sins. This means God needed a sacrifice because of human wrong doings. The death of Jesus Christ on the cross provided this. The subsequent raising of Jesus Christ to life again after that death gives hope because it proves God was satisfied by the sacrifice and accepted it and also because it means God will raise others too, which could be you, and also because it means the work of Jesus Christ can continue - deliverance work. What is the deliverance work? Helping to free hoping believers from ongoing sins and guilt by bringing about a change of status from compulsion to do wrong to freedom to stop doing wrong and start just doing right and keep on like that all through life until purity results. The prospect is therefore very real now of being saintly and adopted by God as a potential permanent son or daughter forever and being made eternal. The hope this can produce in receptive people makes way for growth into loving members of a family of faith along with others like yourself, putting off lying and hating and speaking to eachother truthfully with willingness to admit sin and help eachother get free. To support those who are becoming part of this family God sends the Holy Spirit into their hearts.

Don’t Ignore a Major Referendum

What if politicians and sovereign ruling classes who call themselves Christians or Jews or Muslims ignore the result of a major, high-participation national referendum? Well then this happens; they must be shunned as national traitors (publicans) and as the heathen: 

——-

“If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a publican.”

“Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

— Jesus Christ

(Matthew 18)

Why trust medics?

Medicine, like other sciences, avoids witchcraft allegations by denying spirits exist and blessings and curses work but true religion says such denials are disinformation. So why should religious people trust medics?

Ebola

EBOLA

The current Ebola virus outbreak in East Africa is doubling every four months. It has reached 1000 already so if it continues at this rate of growth it will reach Europe and USA by mid 2021. The last most major outbreak reached Europe after claiming 28,000 victims in Africa. God very mercifully gave grace to end it when it reached Nigeria, thanks to the power of the blood of the Son of Man to intercede for humanity. Has anything changed since then? There is now more awareness of the need to protect airports. Yet the best protection last time did not prevent a lying aid worker getting through checks. Will the plagues promised to the Babylon the Great empire (Rome’s legacy) now see a new fulfillmemt? Coming out of her and being separate is important to help prevent spread through airports in 2021 to 2023. Ceasing from the guilt of sharing in her sins is vital lest the Ebola spread be deserved and intercession be in vain. God might take this incident as means to counter the destruction of the global environment by the indistrialised countries. Less people means less cars, less pertroleum, less plastic waste, less air polution, less distress and bombings. Will God be so merciful this time around? The Son of Man’s sacrifice prevails but ignoring the truth incurs a cost.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Kivu_Ebola_outbreak

Following the Lamb wherever He goes

Revelation 14:4 “These are they who have not been defiled with women; for they are pure, these following the Lamb wherever He shall go. These have been redeemed out from men as firstfruits to God and to the Lamb.”

I always wondered what it means ”following the Lamb wherever He shall go”. Once I thought it means physically where the Lamb of God, the Son of Man, goes, going there physically too. Of course the Lamb is physically mainly in the vicinity of the throne chamber of God as described by Enoch. So no, not physically. You cannot physically go to His actual location. Nor does He allow people to accompany Him when He goes anywhere physically or by spiritual means. No it must mean more a metaphysical following as a turn of phrase, an idiom like when we say in conversation or debate, when reasoning with someone “I know where you are going with this”. Can we follow where Jesus is going today? Yes if we learn from Him as a perpetual teacher and leader: If we let His actions be part of our lives. We can let Him make His workings evident to us and let Him guiide our ways and thinking and as we realise what He is doing we can go along with it and welcome its outcomes and fit our plans to these.

Mutual Feeding

Taking the Book of Enoch to heart you kind of know when the Son of Man comes into the world He and all His deeds were always going to be food for the righteous to live on. So He admitted pointedly (John 6) “My flesh is real food and My blood is real drink”. Yet in Revelation the fuller picture emerges that we who believe Him are food for Him too. What kind of food are we? Easily eaten food is usually served hot or served cold. It is not easy to swallow and enjoy when it is luke warm. You tend to want to spit it out and find a better meal. Here is what He said about some:

“I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm - neither hot nor cold - I am about to spit you out of my mouth.”

His deeds are so utterly wholesome we can be thrilled to dwell on thoughts and memories of Him. How thrilling His warmth and the vibrancy and appropriateness of His deeds. What about our deeds? We can focus on seeking that our deeds thrill Him too. He will be feeding on us like He wants us to feed on Him.