NEWS AND WATCH DATES
By Dr. Stephen Jones
2-14-2020
Blog Post Date: 2-14-2020
72
years ago today (1948) the Latter Rain outpouring of the Spirit began to take
place under the leadership of brothers George and Ern Hawtin.
Six
years ago today, the well-known prophet Bob Jones died.
Some
years ago we received revelation that January was a “Passover” month, being our
first month that correlated with the Hebrew first month. By extension, this
made February a “Second Passover” month, specifically February 14.
So
today is the start of the Passover season, and the parallel time of Unleavened
Bread then extends seven days from February 15 through the 21st.
Special attention should also be given to February 16, which is a type of resurrection
day for the Second Passover.
There
is too much happening in the world to keep up with all the news. I have to
leave that to other people, as my main focus must be on teaching the
Scriptures.
But
we should watch the spread of the coronavirus from China to other countries.
China now has 400 million people under lockdown and quarantine. Early
scientific studies found that Asians were more susceptible to the coronavirus
than other ethnic groups.
However,
further study has shown that this is probably not due to genetics but to the
fact that there are so many smokers in Asia, especially Asian men. The
coronavirus affects the lungs, especially in those whose lungs have been
weakened or compromised by smoke or pollution in general.
China’s
pollution problem is near catastrophic, although now with the lockdowns, the
air in the cities are reported to be much cleaner, as the use of coal has
dropped dramatically.
The
lockdown, however, means a third of China’s population is unable to work or
travel. This is proving to be disastrous for China’s economy, and I expect
Walmart to start having some empty shelves soon. Sixty percent of their
merchandise comes from China.
Europe
will probably be affected more than the USA, because it normally imports more
from China than we do here.
Likewise,
if China’s economy slows down, their banks will start to collapse as well.
Since
all banks in the world are connected now, these bank failures could easily
spread to Europe and the rest of the world even faster than the coronavirus
itself. It makes me wonder if perhaps this will prove to be the catalyst for
the global reset, with power taken away from the Central Banks and being
returned to the sovereign nations where they belong.
Another
concern is that many of those on lockdown have limited supplies and food in the
house. Many could starve, as reports from China are already suggesting.
Trucking
companies here could also suffer, as container ships from China no longer
unload cargo on the West Coast to be shipped inland. Five cruise ships are
already quarantined.
18
Royal Caribbean cruises have been canceled, as their ships have become petri
dishes for the coronavirus.
No
doubt other companies will follow suit shortly. It’s probably not fun being
quarantined in a cruise ship cabin for many weeks without being able to enjoy
the public activities or get off at a port to do some sightseeing. I suspect at
some point all cruises will be cancelled and will probably be suspended for a
year or more. The problem is that the cruise ship companies will still have to
make payments on their billion-dollar ships. Most could go bankrupt, so I would
not want to own any shares in those companies right now.
I
wonder how long people will want to travel on airlines. I expect the airline
industry to suffer, more than it did after the Twin Towers demolition using
airliners. Because we are just now getting ready for a world-wide ministry,
this crisis suggests that God will soon provide us with our own plane. That, of
course, has much wider implications for the future.
Meanwhile,
the plague of locusts in East Africa, Yemen, and Pakistan threatens millions of
people with famine and starvation. A normal sized swarm of locusts can eat as
much as the entire nation of Kenya. Locusts were the most feared plague in
ancient times.
These
are things that we should all be aware of, so that we can prepare accordingly.
As
for myself, I have been expounding on the Gospel of John and have been
formatting the studies into books as I go. The fourth book on John was finished
at the end of John 17 when Jesus’ prayer was concluded. I am now on Book 5, and
this should complete our study of the last four chapters in John.
In
my “spare time,” I have also begun writing my fifth novel, covering the story
of King Saul. I have only done four chapters so far, and even these will be
modified as I go. Nonetheless, I finally received sufficient revelation to
begin the book and to know the main themes that need to be set forth.
I
can only write two or three pages at a time, because it takes far more mental
energy to write creative novels than to expound on the Scriptures. The styles
of writing are totally different. My main goal in doing Bible study is clarity,
simplicity, and accuracy. Novels, however, replace clarity with some mystery,
obscurity, and symbolism.
Simplicity
is not as important as eloquence in the manner of communication. And although
accuracy is obviously important in historical novels such as this, I do enjoy a
certain amount of literary license to fill in the details not directly stated
in Scripture.
I
enjoy this type of writing, but it takes time and energy. When I finish the
Gospel of John, I hope to have more time to finish the book. At the present
time, I do not know if I will start another commentary on a book of the Bible.
Things are changing, and we are getting closer to getting the Bible school(s)
up and running. The study in John seems to be the climactic study for Module 5
(“Apostolic Studies”).
Meanwhile,
teachers are being trained, and they are now writing test questions for each of
the books in the curriculums. They discuss portions of the book every Saturday
morning, and so this serves to teach the teachers as well.
So
we are making progress, and once the full curriculum is in place, we can begin
to implement the studies that have been written over a long period of
preparation.
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