Learning truth from books

 Not everyone gets to experience the most important things such as things of God. So those who experience such things sometimes write them down for the benefit of those who don’t. Also, we might not experience advanced but valuable and necessary experiences until late in life, so it is good for the young to be able to read about such things in their youth, because the old have written what they know. This is how society and civilisation grows better with written records. Writing has downsides. It can be misunderstood. Most importantly, one downside is that people reading the writings tend to think they have done all they need to do to gain essential knowledge just by reading, but fail to go out there and find out for themselves what the writings are telling them to find or do. People read the writings academically, without incorporating their leadings into their lives. The Bible has books like this. You learn what you can from them, but still you need to go get the life and truth which is out there in Christ. It all points to Christ, but its point is that you need to go find him, not just read about him.

A developing end times scenario

 If the Beast empire described prophetically in the Book of Revelation as a lion, leopard, and bear is indeed alluding to the empires in the visions of the Book of Daniel, it will be historically surprising and unexpected to witness its development. Especially astonishing would be a coalition involving Iran (Persia/Medes and the Kurds), Iraq (Babylon), and Greece or the Balkans, as the prophecies appear to suggest. To see Iran and Iraq uniting would be particularly unexpected given current and historical tensions.

The prophecy, however, implies this outcome. In Daniel’s vision, the lion is identified with Babylon (modern Iraq) (Daniel 7:4), the bear with Persia and the Medes (modern Iran and the Kurds) (Daniel 7:5), and the leopard with Greece and Macedonia (modern Greece, the Balkans, and perhaps the western part of Turkey) (Daniel 7:6). Revelation 13:2 depicts the Beast as combining the lion, the bear, and the leopard, indicating an empire blending these components.

Such a coalition would indeed be extraordinary, not to mention a compelling sign that the end times may be approaching (Matthew 24:33). Historically, a similar empire existed during the reign of the Achaemenid Empire, which united Persia, Babylon, and parts of Greece. Revelation 17:12-14 hints that other nations could join this coalition, emphasizing its global scope.

Given the current political dynamics, the fulfillment of such prophecies could take several decades. This timeframe might suggest a prolonged period of preparation before the eventual emergence of the global Beast regime and, ultimately, the return of the Lord Jesus Christ with His saints to bring it to an abrupt end (Revelation 19:11-21; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10).

The brazen head that speaks

 Throughout the ages the idea of talking images has been a subject of legends, fables, some might say historic reality. It all seems to have started with wicked magic practices in which the wicked have kept heads of the dead and used black magic to make them answer questions, perhaps with yes/no answers of perhaps letting their own minds invent the answers and attribute them to the heads or skulls. This practice is mentioned in the apocryphal book of Jasher as an example of Canaanite wickedness, but through history it was often recorded that pagans practiced this. A variation of this theme is ascribed to a Middle Ages pope, Pope Sylvester II, who is said to have used a bronze statue head with the same effect, where he was able to get it to give yes or no answers to any question he asked it. Magician Roger Bacon is said to have had a similar device, back in the Middle Ages. In Revelation we have the foretelling of an empire being given global dominance by its use of an image which can speak. It speaks and what it says will cause the world to serve the empire and its blasphemous ruler called the Beast. Of course, we are no longer in the realm of fables and legends when we see how AI can make this a reality right now, and over a few more decades, could develop into a world empire based on what it says to everyone. I imagine they might call the empire based on it, a smart empire, but terminology and catch phrase jargon changes over the decades, so look out for a new catchy term to make it sound like something we should welcome. 

Sabbath keeping in the new covenant

 Grace is all about living by the Spirit. The biblicists’ law of living out life by the letter of scripture is weakened by the flesh, limited by human limitations, and can even be dangerous or deadly when we wrongly understand the letters on the page, so we need the stronger life-giving law of the Spirit. Note that Holy Spirit-filled living can include sabbath keeping. The two are not mutually exclusive. Jesus is real and his reality extends beyond merely human ideas. He is the lord of the sabbath who guides via the Holy Spirit. So if you have the Holy Sprit, you have Jesus guiding and he might choose to guide you to voluntarily keep the sabbath. It is up to him. The truth that is in Jesus is the truth the living Jesus teaches us when seen today: faith that moves mountains; neighbourly love. Taught by the Father too. They are one in their ways, their truth, and their life-giving teachings. Their commandments focus on such things and they give hope of eternal life. 

The truth that is in Jesus

 The truth that is in Jesus is the truth the living Jesus teaches us when seen today: faith that moves mountains; neighbourly love. Taught by the Father too. They are one in their ways, their truth, and their life-giving teachings. 

The Fourth Horseman of the Apocalypse and World War Two

 In Revelation 6:7–8, the fourth horseman, named Death and followed by Hades, is described as being given power over a fourth of the earth to kill through violence, famine, plague, and wild beasts. Importantly, the text does not state that the fourth horseman directly killed a quarter of the earth’s population. Instead, it highlights a domain of influence, specifying that the rider's authority extends over a portion of the earth. This distinction suggests that the "fourth of the earth" refers to a geographical area or scope of impact rather than a precise fraction of humanity. Historically, some interpretations have drawn comparisons to global events such as World War II, during which significant portions of the earth’s landmass—particularly in Europe, Asia, and the Pacific—were directly affected by the conflict. When calculating the territories involved in or impacted by the war, this could approximate one-fourth of the earth's surface, aligning symbolically with the passage's description of power over a "fourth of the earth." This perspective emphasizes the scale and reach of the devastation, linking it to specific forms of destruction without requiring a literal interpretation of population numbers. (ChatGPT) 

The human with whom we can identify

 The important thing about Jesus is that we can identify with him in his humanity in flesh. Like us, he has to do the will of God the Father as a human in flesh. Yet he took that flesh humanity having been non-flesh divine spirit. Not being flesh, and an entity with nature like God’s nature, we can call it divine, a form of what we could call deity or, to coin a word, Godness. Yet he is not like that now, since taking flesh. He is a resurrected flesh and bone human. So or salvation is to identify with him as this. As being bound to flesh human state like us, yet now immortally resurrected in this state.

Free from sin

 As the Lamb of God sacrifice, Jesus could not be polluted with any sins mentioned in Revelation 21:8. No lying of any kind. No drugs. No idols. No spinelessly giving in to dread. No murderousness. No sexual immorality. No unbelief. As the Son of Man soon to judge us all, he still has to be free of all these things. His teachings are key to us becoming like he is too.

Autobiographical

 Here is my autobiographical account of how I know the Holy Spirit has not ceased to be given miraculously today. 

I started giving gospel testimony, and preaching a little, only a few years after starting to believe in Jesus, but then I only started prophesying when two missionaries laid hands on me, which was years later, around a decade after my believers’ baptism. It was before I went on a Christian experience trip with a group of around twenty young people my own age, just after university, to try to get some missionary experience. I was afraid of what might happen because the trip was in a dangerous area, so I went to see my Pentecostal missionary grandparents before going and they laid hands on me. I went away from their house feeling like I was walking a foot off the ground. I know now, looking back, that it was because I received the Holy Spirit from their laying on of hands, because I did miracles and prophesied a bit while away on the trip. I had never prophesied before, not like that, and I did it a few times and one time I got filled with the Holy Spirit and was kept lying on my face by this. Nothing to boast about; the same happened to King Saul and look how that ended up. It was nerve-racking too because I felt such Holy Spirit blessing on myself that I believed if I had at that time prayed for a dead person, they would have risen. Two other believers in the group were very happy to share the overflows of this blessing which was on me, but all the others seemed to resent it and one or two outright opposed it, though it went badly for them, and they later admitted they were wrong. The opposers seemed to be from the more Reformed and Closed Brethren Evangelical backgrounds, whose cessationalism beliefs were challenged by what happened. They hindered me from preaching the gospel too. It was sad to see. 

So, back to the beginning: I believed in Jesus, early on in life, from my mother’s teaching me his sayings, and a decade later I was baptised as a believer by my father, a baptist pastor. A decade later again, I had hands laid on me for receiving the Holy Spirit. This was by my grandparents, Pentecostal missionaries. About four years later a close friend of theirs sent me on an evangelist experience training trip, and there it was I ended up in a Catholic church confessing my faith after hearing the gospel “Christ died for you” and realising my sinfulness, and the power of the Holy Spirit came upon me again and freed my lips from lying. The power was so obvious to others there in the church about to take Mass that the bishop let me take it too and both the bread and the wine, body and blood of Christ. Only someone just minutes after miraculously receiving the Holy Spirit is allowed to do this, if not known to be a Catholic. Then around seven years later still I was given more grace from the Holy Spirit and commanded to build the Temple. I met Father, and later the Son, and later the Holy Spirit, and I was given interpretation of a message in tongues in a Pentecostal church. Then, later, I prophesied again but more powerfully and cleanly. It was around a decade after my receiving laying on of hands and the Holy Spirit. Three further decades have passed since then. Mainly these were filled with social media outreach.

Pentecostalism a nemesis of American Fundamentalist Evangelicalism?

 The rise of Pentecostalism, which emphasizes the continuation of spiritual gifts like speaking in tongues, prophecy, and healing, has significantly challenged the cessationist stance traditionally held by Dispensationalist theology. Dispensationalism, developed by John Nelson Darby, asserts that such miraculous gifts ceased with the apostolic age, serving only to authenticate the apostles' message. This theological conflict came to the forefront in the early 20th century with the Pentecostal movement's dramatic growth, highlighted by events like the Azusa Street Revival, which showcased widespread reports of spiritual gifts. Despite vigorous opposition from Dispensationalist and Fundamentalist groups, who questioned the authenticity of these experiences and viewed them as emotionalism or even demonic, Pentecostalism not only survived but thrived, becoming a global movement. Its influence extended into the broader Christian landscape, particularly through the mid-20th century Charismatic Movement, which spread Pentecostal-like practices within mainline Protestant and Catholic churches. This broader acceptance and integration of spiritual gifts into various denominations have led to a more diverse theological environment, challenging the dominance of cessationism and demonstrating the dynamic and evolving nature of Christian faith and practice. (ChatGPT, 2025)

Tribulation a year closer

 2025 brings the Tribulation one year closer. 

Personally I think the future Tribulation, thirty years away, will be more dire than the pandemic-related nightmare we all just went through, because the future nightmare will be completely AI-controlled: Controlled by a kind of smart global regime based on AI, under the auspices of a lawless despot, supported by a new empire similar to the Achaemenid empire of the past. This means coping with the ever-looming appearance of it will require a lot of comfort by the Holy Spirit. The churches receiving the Holy Spirit can then pray for mercy for everyone in the world, and for perseverance of the saints.