The Invisible God

THE INVISIBLE GOD

The thoughts and ideas for this article have seemed to occupy my mind for the past several days.  It is being written down, for no actual purpose, for better or worse, other than to relay some of my thoughts and beliefs.  Before delving into the heart of this article, I would like to say that there is no doubt in my mind there is a God the Father inhabiting a dimension referred to as heaven.  There is also no doubt in my mind that God sent Jesus the Christ into the world as a man for the purpose of offering His life for the redemption of all other humans that have ever been or will be born on the face of the earth.  I completely believe that God is in complete control of all things and events; that Mystery, Babylon is currently being dismantled around the world; and before long the Kingdom of God will begin.

I could be wrong but it is my opinion that the majority of believers of today do not consider the location of heaven to be somewhere outside the universe as in times past, but rather in another dimension that can be as near or as far as needed. 

The Spirit of God

My faith and belief in God is not of my own will and intellectual decision, but comes through the power of the Holy Spirit of God.  Trinity believers, to whom I am not opposed, consider the Holy Spirit to be a person who is the same as God.  That may be true, but for me the Holy Spirit works as the power of God that can indwell certain individuals for the purposes of belief, righteousness, and for the accomplishment of certain acts of God that He (God) desires to be accomplished.  Anyone attempting to define and/or differentiate the difference or sameness of God the Father, God the Son, and the Holy Spirit is engaging in an impossible task that cannot accurately be done in this current existence with our current knowledge.

True believers cannot believe in God, or Jesus Christ, or the gospel of Christ, without receiving the power of the Holy Spirit in some manner.  This also includes believing that God is in complete control of all things at all times, even if it may occasionally not appear that way.  Although we should perform the tasks necessary for health and survival, scripture insists that we trust God with our life even if given the choice of renouncing our faith in God or death.

It is my opinion and understanding (although yours may be different) that all believers do not have the same amount of the Holy Spirit given to them.  For many, it is not given at all.  Only with the Spirit can someone truly believe.  An evangelist can talk to an unbelieving person until they are blue in the face but only through the power of God will they ever become a Christian believer.  Coming forward at the last hymn is essentially a useless endeavor if they are not called by God and it doesn’t need to occur within a church building.  It can happen anywhere at any time.  That may sound awkward, however, if God truly wanted everyone to believe, at this point in history, then everyone would believe.  Eventually, through resurrections of the dead and a thousand plus years, every knee will bow and every mouth will confess, and it will not be through forced coercion but though true faith and understanding.

Romans 14:11 KJV  For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.

The phrase “for it is written” refers to Isaiah 45:23.

Isaiah 45:23 KJV  I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.

Visions of God

There are several metaphoric word pictures within the Old Testament describing the appearance of God and His throne, but I would expect they are not actual valid portrayals.  Over the centuries various European artists have attempted to paint or draw a portrait of God and His throne based on Old Testament descriptions or their own mental image.  However, it is suspected that no one will see the actual God in this lifetime and possibly the next as well. It may be that He can’t be seen or perhaps not.

Moses saw God as a fire or flaming bush but no features were provided by him or written within scripture.  Abraham met three individuals – two were said to be angels and the third was called “the Lord” (possibly Jesus) but again no details are given.  The prophets Ezekiel and Daniel saw a vision of God and his throne but their descriptions were mostly metaphoric symbolism and not actual descriptive features, although the concept of fire or a type of fire was always present.  It has been suggested the fire of God is no ordinary fire but perhaps something along the idea of an atomic type of fire that blinds the eyes and evaporates the living elements.  The fire of God, whether symbolic or not, represents the justice and righteousness of God.

It could be said that many people throughout history, envision God as an older quite masculine gentleman with white hair and a white beard who shines brightly as the sun.  This description could perhaps be influenced by the renderings of various artists throughout the years.  There are several descriptive terms rendering this characteristic in some prophetic visions.

A Description of Jesus

The Son of God whose earthly name was and is Jesus (Yeshua or Yehoshua or Yahushua) was seen by many people during the time of 2 BC through 32 or 33 AD.  Jesus appeared in Judea around Jerusalem at a time when there were apparently no sketching, drawing, or painting artist-type people of any kind.  Egypt, Greece, or a few other places would not have provided that security.  Was this purposeful?  Apparently it was, because God is always in control.  An actual sketch of Jesus would most likely cause undue arguments and possible racism. 

There is actually no description of Jesus at all in the Bible or various secular sources other than the mention of a beard.  Regardless of various artistic renditions, which are probably wrong, no one has a clue as to the appearance of Jesus.

As a side note: it is my belief that people who claim to have momentarily died, almost died, or in a coma and claim to see God, heaven, or talk to Jesus are mistaken, deluded, or lying (either knowingly or unknowingly).  There is no one who has died and gone to heaven.  Some of the dead and living will be resurrected at the return of Jesus and the rest will be resurrected at the end of the Millennium.  If every Christian and person of God who have died were currently in heaven, would they be required to return to the ground for the resurrection?  That doesn’t sound reasonable at all.  The souls are pictured as residing under the altar of God in heaven (Revelation 6:9).  If that is a fact, and not metaphoric or symbolic, the souls will be returned to their glorified bodies at the first fruits resurrection because their glorified bodies are not currently in heaven.

The Kingdom of God

Scripture proclaims that every eye will “see” Jesus at His return “with the clouds”.  This could literally mean that Jesus will be seen by every human being on the face of the planet, which would be quite a supernatural event.  According to the Word Study Dictionary it could also mean:  “metaphorically, it means to open the eyes of the mind, i.e., cause to perceive and understand”.

Revelation 1:7 KJV  Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.

It has been my scriptural understanding that, at some point, after the dissolution of Mystery, Babylon (which is currently ongoing) the resurrected and living first fruits (overcomers, elect) will appear as glorified individuals and will be given the task of administering the Kingdom of God on the earth which will eventually include the entire earth as the stone in Daniel 2 crushes the feet of the entire world kingdom’s statue and spreads over the entire world.  This event (the appearance of glorified saints) will cause many to finally comprehend the truth of the Bible as the word of God although Jesus who will rule with a rod of iron may not be visibly present on the surface of the earth.  It is doubtful He will be sitting in an office in a building in Jerusalem or anywhere else for that matter.  For more information concerning resurrections see:  The Appointed Times Of The Lord  Appointed Times

Daniel 2:44 KJV  And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.

It is also my understanding that only the glorified overcomers will have access to the heavenly dimension.  What they will actually see is beyond my comprehension.  All others will live out their lives on the earth and all except the overcomers will appear before God at the second resurrection at or toward the end of the Millennium.  For more information see:  The Establishment of The Kingdom Of God   Millennium

The Transition of the Ages

The Transition of the Ages

Written by Dr. Stephen Jones

Jan 14, 2017

http://www.gods-kingdom-ministries.net/daily-weblogs/2017/01-2017/the-transition-of-the-ages/

Remember when newly-elected president Barack Obama was given the Nobel Peace Prize for his campaign promise to get the US out of Iraq? It was the first time the Peace Prize had been given to someone who had not yet done anything.

Well, we did leave Iraq, though such a pull back was inevitable and overdue anyway, regardless of who had won the war. Even the warmonger and long-time Mafia agent, John McCain, could not have kept us in Iraq for much longer.

More recently, it has become Babylonian policy to create World War III by attacking Russia, and our hidden masters are using the US military and government to do its bidding. The latest move is to bring US troops and military hardware into Poland to try to provoke Russia into attacking first, so we can say that they started the war. Putin, however, is smarter than that.

http://yournewswire.com/us-military-world-war-3-russia/

The motive of our Babylonian rulers is to try to stay in power, because they are fast losing power as the kings of the east close in on them. War is the ultimate power broker, and our Nobel Laureate president is complicit in this plan as well.

The plan was to make Hillary president and let her do it, so in the past couple of years Obama has issued Executive Orders laying the foundations for this war, and the two main warmongers in government, John McCain and Lindsey Graham, have worked hard to make it happen. But then the unthinkable happened. Hillary lost the election, and suddenly the Babylonians realized that all the power that they thought was going to be wielded by Hillary was going to be given to Trump instead.

Panic has ensued, and the entire Babylonian establishment has attempted to find a way to prevent Trump from taking office. First they tried recounts, which failed. Then they tried to pressure the members of the Electoral College from voting for Trump. Trump lost 2 votes, Hillary lost 5. Their final tactic has been to charge Russia with tampering with US elections, which is quite laughable, since the US government has tampered with nearly every other country’s election since World War II.

The “tampering” charge is based on Russia’s supposed leaks about Hillary Clinton and her illegal activities. They don’t even bother trying to refute or deny the clear evidence of Hillary’s illegal activities. How can they? The emails speak for themselves. If Russia actually did help Americans get the truth behind the scenes, they ought to be thanked. The Babylonians are the ones who ought to be brought to justice, because they are the ones trying to hide the crimes of their agents.

If the shoe had been on the other foot, and if Trump had done the things that Hillary had done, it is hard to imagine the decibel level of protest that would be sounding right now. Trump would have been impeached even before stepping foot in office.

I watch the BBC News (Babylonian Broadcasting Company) more than the others, because in recent years the US news media has watered down the news and has reported more entertainment than news. But the BBC has been quite appalling in their bias. They never fail to report something negative about Trump and then they interview the usual Babylonian talking heads, so-called experts, to bolster their views.

The BBC has outdone NBC, ABC, and CBS in its bias. I see this as evidence that our country is really ruled by Babylonians from Britain, namely, the Rothschild clan and its agents. In fact, if you study the early treaties, you discover that from the beginning, the new US government continued to recognize King George III of Britain as its king. We got a level of autonomy, but not true independence. The same model of background control was later seen in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and other former British colonies.

President Obama met with Donald Trump shortly after the election to negotiate a “smooth transition,” but then Obama immediately began to take steps to make that transition as difficult as possible. The latest move is so blatant that it almost defies imagination. Every inauguration requires a lot of security, and this time it is being coordinated by Major General Errol R. Schwartz, the black general who is the Chief of the National Guard. This week President Obama decided to fire him, effective at 12:01 pm in the middle of the inauguration on January 20.

https://fellowshipoftheminds.com/2017/01/14/obama-fires-general-of-d-c-national-guard-effective-1201-pm-inauguration-day/

The memo firing Maj. Gen. Schwartz was obtained by the Washington Post. Schwartz said his orders came from the Pentagon but that he doesn’t know who made the decision, nor is he told why he was asked to step down.

Schwartz said he would “never plan to leave a mission in the middle of battle” and that “My troops will be on the street. I’ll see them off but I won’t be able to welcome them back to the armory.” But since “I’m a soldier” and follows orders, he has no regrets — “I’m a presidential appointee, therefore the president has the power to remove me.”

This is probably the most juvenile action that Obama has taken so far. It resembles a child’s temper tantrum. It makes no sense from a professional standpoint to replace the head of security in the middle of his mission. But this shows just how acrimonious this transition is becoming, and it is likely that President Donald Trump will not forget it. Obama’s legacy will be in danger. Old issues will be raised, such as his fake birth certificate and certain other immoral activities that many know but which have never been reported in the mainstream media up to now.

I have to be careful about what I say as well, because God’s law commands us not to malign our leaders, no matter how bad they might be. But I believe that in the next year much is going to be shouted from the housetops, and we are going to see the cold war between Trump and Hillary turn into a very hot war. As Babylon falls, it will be hard to avoid some chaos.

Yet out of this, I believe, is going to come the final great outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Hopefully, it will affect many Babylonian agents as well, for as they repent, they will uncover many more crimes that have been covered up to now. Men will either repent or they will be brought to justice. The age is closing. A new world is ahead. The great shaking accompanies the great awakening.

Revelation as a Historical Narrative

THE REVELATION AS A HISTORICAL NARRATIVE

This article is essentially a "copy and paste" of information found in Dr. Stephen Jones book entitled The Revelation Book 3 which can be found at the following location:  http://www.gods-kingdom-ministries.net/teachings/books/the-revelation-book-3/ 

THE FIRST SIX SEALS

ROMAN GOVERNMENT

All four riders in Revelation 6 represent different stages of government in the history of Rome.  The horses were released to bring divine judgment upon the fourth beast empire which is the Roman Empire (refer to Daniel 7).

Seal #1

The white horse represents Rome at its height of glory, which began in 31 B.C. when it defeated Egypt in the battle of Actium.  A few years later, in 27 B.C., the Roman Senate conferred upon Octavian the title of Augustus Caesar.  Rome then ceased to be a Republic and became an Empire ruled by Emperors.  Roman emperors had begun to be deified, usurping the rightful place of Christ as King of the nations.

Seal #2: The Red Horse (193-282 A.D.)

The second seal brings forth the red horse of war, and Rome is in turmoil, having to fight many wars to put down revolts across the empire. The second seal covers the time after 193 AD, beginning with Emperor Commodus, whose debauchery and unjust rule caused a major shift in Roman politics. 

The time of relative peace and prosperity in Rome was broken in 193 A.D. after the murder of Emperor Commodus in 192 and the succession of three emperors in a single year. During the next 89-year period, Rome was plunged into one civil war after another.

In the next century, the empire would have 32 emperors and 27 pretenders resulting in a time of war and bloodshed.  The Red Horse beginning in 193 A.D. marked the shift from “civilian” power to military rule.

Seal #3: The Black Horse (250-300 A.D.)

The third seal brings forth the black horse of famine, and we see severe famines from 250-300 AD, mainly caused by war and other serious disruptions.

In the days of Valerian, the emperor of Rome from 253 A.D. to his Persian captivity in 260, the eastern part of the Roman Empire was in turmoil. The Goths came across the Black Sea from the north and invaded the cities of Asia Minor and Greece.

Soon afterward, the Persians invaded from the east, after destroying the Parthian Empire.  (This destruction of Parthia by the New Persian Empire is what drove the Israelite tribes (i.e. the ten northern tribes) living in that area to Armenia as refugees and then into Europe as pioneers.)

About the same time, Rome’s bread baskets, Sicily and Alexandria (Egypt), were ravaged by civil strife.  The Black Horse of famine was particularly devastating from 150-165 AD, and close to half of the people in the Empire died either from war or starvation.

Seal #4: The Fourth Seal (250-265 A.D.)

Death is the inevitable result of the famine that was revealed by the third living creature.  At least one-fourth of the population of the Roman Empire perished during this time from famine or famine-related causes, such as disease.  An estimate says that close to half of the population of the Roman Empire died of starvation in just a 15-year period!

The fourth seal not only brought death to numerous individuals in the Empire, but it also brought death to the Empire itself. After Diocletian came to power in 284, he divided the Roman Empire into East and West.  Though the empire was reunified by Constantine thirty years later, even that reunification was temporary. Diocletian thus set the stage for the empire’s permanent division a century later.

Galerius, the Caesar of the East, later induced Diocletian to persecute and to destroy the Church. The result of this legislation brought about the terrible “tribulation” upon the church (Rev. 2: 10) that lasted ten years (303-313 A.D.).

The two parts of the empire was later divided into four parts.  This division brought about a substantial increase in taxation.  The new taxes burdened the people further and added to the problem of famine that we saw earlier in the time of the third seal.

Summary Of The Four Horses

These four signs are patterns that are not necessarily limited to the decline and fall of Rome.  There have repetitions with a possible secondary fulfillment of sorts as of the present time.

This division of empire occurred just before its “Christian” phase under Constantine, beginning in 313.  When the persecution of Christians ceased with Constantine’s Edict of Toleration (313 A.D.), the church had almost unprecedented opportunity to spread the Gospel to all nations. By this time the church had a carnal mindset causing many leaders to seek political power and to destroy anyone who did not subscribe to their established creeds. Hence, for many centuries the opportunity to convert the world by the love of Christ and by the demonstration of His Spirit was largely lost.

Seal #5

The persecution, along with the earlier ten-year persecution under Diocletian, gave pause to the breaking of the seals to commemorate the souls whose blood had been poured out under the altar of sacrifice. Their voice is then heard crying out to God in the next few verses before the revelation of the three final seals.

Seal #6

Seal 6 depicts divine judgment upon the Roman Empire, which began in 310 A.D. when Constantine became Emperor.

This seal opens with “a great earthquake,” which, in prophecy, can represent either a literal quake or an event which emotionally or politically shakes the people and nations.

Such natural phenomena often depict political and social events. The sun represents the king, and the moon the political establishment who “reflect” (or carry out) the decrees of the king. After the change in government from Diocletian to Constantine, the moon represented (or included) church leaders who reflected the will of the new emperor.

This change in the political order of Rome also brought about a change in the church.  This is reflected in the change from the persecuted "Smyrna" church to the church of Pergamum which in turn runs parallel to the Old Testament "Balaam" church.

The sun being darkened depicts Constantine’s conquest of the Roman Empire and the beginning of the end of the pagan gods, particularly the god of the sun.  The great “earthquake” hit the entire political structure of the Roman Empire, and the pagan rulers fell from their positions of authority and were replaced by Christians. This was an unprecedented revolution in Roman history.

The moon is a symbol of the Church. This phase of prophecy began in 325 A.D. when the Church held its first Council at Nicea. The Emperor himself called for this Council in order to establish unity in the Church and in the empire itself after the controversy erupted over the nature of God and the trinity.

At the Nicean Council, some men believed that Jesus Christ was of the same essence as the Father while some said He was of like essence. Each side seemed more than willing to spill the blood of the other side over theoretical minutiae that really made no practical difference in one’s Christian walk.  The arrogance of men thinking that their carnal minds could precisely define an infinite God is truly astounding. They were willing to shed blood over the use or misuse of a single word shows the fanaticism of the carnally-minded rulers of the Church.

The Church came to be ruled by religious politics, and the Church Councils established “traditions of men” in the same way that the Jews had done in previous centuries.  The year 325 A.D. and the Council of Nicea marked the beginning  where the moon (Church) would begin to turn to blood.

Revelation 6:13: and the stars of the sky [ouranou, “heaven”] fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind.

The stars were called metaphorically “the sons of God” (Job 38: 7).  John saw that the stars “fell to the earth.”  Among the casualties of the newly-empowered Church religion were the overcomers.  When the Church came to be ruled by the traditions of men, anyone having a genuine revelation from God was likely to find himself differing with official Church leaders both in doctrines and methods.  In like manner Jesus was always at odds with the religious leaders.  Anyone following His example, would always be among the “heretics” from that moment to the present day.

Revelation 6:14:  And the sky [ouranos, “heaven”] was split apart [“ parted asunder”] like a scroll when it is rolled up; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.

Heaven being rolled up as a scroll speaks of the revelation of God being rolled up like a scroll or like closing a book.  As time passed, the Church stopped teaching the Bible to the average Christians. In 663-664 Pope Vitalian of Rome mandated that the Church liturgy itself be spoken only in Latin, depriving more people from understanding anything other than to remain subservient to the Church leaders. Any real understanding of the Word of God dropped to a very low level for more than a thousand years. The Bible became a closed book, and did not begin to reopen until Gutenberg’s use of the printing press in 1452 A.D.  His first project was the Bible in vernacular German.

Revelation 6:15-17:  And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;  (16)  And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:  (17)  For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

*****  Refer to Isaiah 2:19-21, Haggai 2:5-7, and John 3:19-21 for further enlightenment of Revelation 6:15-17.

Events that occurred during the early part of the 4^th century became a judgment upon the rulers and other great people of pagan Rome.  6:15-17 is a graphic way of describing the fear among the wealthy and powerful pagans, who were apprehensive about their own future under Constantine and the other Christian Emperors who succeeded him.  In 380 Theodosius declared the Roman Empire to be “Christian.” In 395 he banned all pagan animal sacrifices, closed the pagan temples, and prohibited pagan rites.

Roman senate saw that their political future hinged on their conversion to the religion of the Emperor.  The problem was that many remained secret pagans even while they maintained membership in the Roman church. In time, their secret paganism added perversions of Christianity, i.e. the worship of Mary Magdalene.  Catholicism included an overt and a covert religion under the same roof, which has only recently been uncovered.  Faith in Christ was replaced by faith in the church. The light of revelation waned; the artificial light of men’s traditions replaced it. The moon was darkened and turned red like blood.

Another instance of the political earthquake was seen in the transfer of the Empire’s capital to Constantinople— a new city, free of pagan temples— that Constantine built on the Black Sea at the border of Europe and Asia. This transfer occurred in 330 A.D.

After Constantine’s death, his policy of religious toleration was reversed by his sons.  Both sides of the empire (east and west) endured various flavors of Christianity and paganism through the years, depending upon the emperor in charge.  Theodosius in the East and Gratian in the West agreed to make Orthodox Christianity the official religion of Rome in 380 A.D.

The political upheaval (earthquake) did not take place all at once, but over a period of time from 313-395 A.D.  In 410 Rome was overrun and sacked by the Goths, and for the next half century, the Western half of the Roman Empire gradually disintegrated.

If we were to place a time frame on the sixth seal, it actually takes us all the way to the time of the end and the establishment of the Kingdom of God. But the seventh seal, with its trumpets and bowls, must also be given time for fulfillment. The sixth seal does not conclude the book of Revelation. Hence, it is clear that while the persecutions of the sixth seal are ongoing in the background, other events are also taking place.

We must therefore conclude that the sixth seal largely runs concurrent with the seventh. There is no strict linear time line that divides the two into distinct historical phases. The sixth seal has more to do with the long-running war (persecution) in which the saints find themselves, while the seventh gives us a more definitive time line of events that focus on the downfall of Babylon.