Volu me 1 ~ Issue 1 May 2 0 1 7

In this Issue:

Deception
in the
Last days

Departures
and Arrivals

The Prophetic
Ministry of Jesus!

The New Whoever has ears,

Denominations let them hear what
the Spirit says to the
Churches!
MEGA CHURCH
MEGA PROBLEMS!
 WELCOME
W elcome to my
first edition of
The Patmos Papers.
The Isle of Patmos is
the place that John was
banished by the emperor Domitian
but it was also the place where he
received and wrote the book of
Revelation. Revelation was written
to both to the early church and the
endtime church. Jesus stood in the
midst of seven local churches and
commended or rebuked them. But
it is believed by many that these
churches represent church ages or
dispensations throughout history.
If that is so, than we are living in
the Laodicean age. This was the last
church and Jesus said he knew their
works were neither hot not cold.
It was a church that had become
luke warm and Jesus said He would
spew them out of His mouth. Does
the church today leave a bad taste
in the mouth of the Lord?
In this edition I have an article
on Mega churches. Interestingly,
this is becoming the norm today
and it fits in with what the Lord
says about the Laodicean church in
Rev 3:17:
Because you are saying `I are
rich, and have become rich, and
I have need of nothing`, and
you do not know that you are
wretched and pitiable and poor
and blind and naked.
He tells the last church to buy
eye salve to open up their eyes.
I hope that this publication will
be like eye salve and allow us to
see the condition of the church
and endtime Christians so we
will awaken and see not only our
condition but also the world we live
in. Timothy speaking by the Spirit
of God had much to say about the
condition of the endtimes and it
was not a flattering picture:
But know this, that in the last
days perilous times will come: For
men will be lovers of themselves,
lovers of money, boasters, proud,
blasphemers, disobedient to
parents, unthankful, unholy,
unloving, unforgiving, slanderers,
without self-control, brutal,
despisers of good, traitors,
headstrong, haughty, lovers of
pleasure rather than lovers of
God, having a form of godliness
but denying its power. 2 Tim.
3:1-5
The Laodicean church would live
in an age described above yet in spite
of the conditions of the world and
the powerless church of the last days,
Jesus offers hope! It is to this church
that we hear those famous words
spoken by our Lord:
Behold, I stand at the door
and knock. If anyone hears My
voice and opens the door, I will
come in to him and dine with
him, and he with Me. To him
who overcomes I will grant to sit
with Me on My throne, as I also
overcame and sat down with My
Father on His throne. He who
has an ear, let him hear what the
Spirit says to the churches.
Rev 3:20-22
-------
The Lord has put it on my heart
for sometime to put together an
endtime publication. I spent over 40
years in the printing and publication
industry and recently after retiring
felt like the Lord wanted me to use
my gifts and experience to write and
publish. I have spent 47 years as a
Christian witnessing, then teaching,
then pastoring and now writing.
I have moved often prophetically
so I may at times write in a
somewhat prophetic manner. We
are called to speak the truth in
love and with the condition of the
church and the world around us,
hard truths must be spoken but
hopefully seasoned with grace.
But he that prophesies speaks
unto men to edification, and
exhortation, and comfort.
1 Cor 14:3
2 3
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Deception in the Last Days . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Presently I am greatly concerned
about the condition of the church.
Much of this first magazine certainly
deals with it. We are most definitely Departures and Arrivals. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
living in the endtimes. Timothy
called it perilous times
Jesus said concerning today
that we should take heed to not be
deceived. I have written an article
on Deception as it seems to not The New Denominations! . . . . . . . . . . . 12
only be at the forefront of society
with fake news, false science and
political deception but also seems to
be preparing the way for the great
deceiver, the antichrist.
Society has become unhinged by
sin and as Isaiah said:
Mega Churches, Mega Problems . . . . 14
Woe unto them that call evil
good, and good evil; that put
darkness for light, and light
for darkness; that put bitter for
sweet, and sweet for bitter! The Prophetic Ministry Of Jesus . . . . . 18
Isaiah 5:20
An e-magazine is allot of work.
There is the writing of the articles,
the layout, the graphic content
then conversion and publishing to
a readable pdf. With that in mind The Case for Christ-. .A .Movie
. . . . Review
. . . . . . . . . . 21
I do not yet know how often I will
publish it but my goal is to hopefully
put a publication every month. I
will always make it free to the reader
but certainly am not oppose to
advertisements if they are decent. The Patmos Prophecies - a poem. . . . . 22
My hope is that you will take the
time to read the content and pray
for Gods people and the church and
that Gods Spirit will sustain us in
these last days!
Jerry Wall
Publisher / Editor
 Deception in the Last Days
IN THE LAST
DAYS
Deception in the Last Days
T
he disciples asked Jesus about
the end times and Jesus gave
a list of social, physical and
spiritual conditions of the end times.
Interestingly, the very first thing he
mentioned on that list was decep-
tion. He warned in Matthew 24:4
Watch out that no one deceives
you.
We are warned by Jesus and
other New Testament writers to
watch out for false Messiahs, (false
Christs), false prophets and false
teachers. The condition of the end-
times is a time of great deception
which entails believing in things
shall be like God. The first couple
quit believing the truth and choose
rather to believe a lie and mankind
has done the same. Jesus came to
expose the lie and bring us out of
deception by revealing the truth!
And ye shall know the truth,
and the truth shall make you
free. John 8:32
What is Deception
Deception is one of two things:
not believing Gods word and or
believing something false. In other
words deception is either believing
a lie or not believing the Truth!
How does this fit into the Last day
scenario. Well first we see a depart-
ing of the faith. Not just Christians
but society as it is, has become less
religious and more atheistic. It no
longer listens to sound judgment
or biblical perspectives. In other
words it no longer believes the truth
but believes a lie. Society no lon-
ger believes that the Bible is truth.
Colleges teach that it is just myths
and fairy tales and science views
it as archaic non historical banter
from times past with no relevance
to today! So they have supplanted
Gods truth with their own lies and
now many people have been de-
that are false. Not surprising that de- ceived into following their lies. Two
ception was the key to the beginning examples of these lies are Evolu-
of man as it is the end of man. Adam tion and same sexual orientation!
and Eve were deceived by Satan be-
cause they believed something that The Deception of Evolution!
was false. The serpent deceived the The Bible clearly tells us where
duo because he contradicted God man came from. The first book of
and got them to believe a lie. Satan the bible tells of mans origin and
questioned God by saying Hath it had nothing to do with mon-
God said? or as some versions put keys, or primordial goo. God made
it: Did God really say that? God man from the dust of the earth
told them that in the day they eat of (that He created) and breathed in
the Tree of the Knowledge of good him and gave him life. He didnt
and evil they would surely die. But want him to be alone so from his
Satan blatantly said You shall NOT side he took a rib and made him a
DIE But your eyes will be opened wife to be a helpmate and to make
to know good from evil and you a way of producing children and
4 5
populating the planet. The begin-
ning of the Bible tells the origin of
all things. We know from scrip-
tures that God simply spoke and he
formed everything from His words;
that is His very breath brought
forth the properties of all things.
Through him all things were
made; without him nothing was
made that has been made.
John 1:3
Our existence consists of time,
space and matter. The very first
sentence of the bible says that In
the beginning (God is eternal so he
create time by making a beginning)
God created the heavens (space)
and the earth (matter). The intent
was to create man but he started by
creating an environment for him
so in 6 days he made the heavens,
stars, sun, moon, seas, earth, plant
life, and animals and finally man
and woman to populate the earth.
Though the evidence is all
around them, so called scientists
and teachers would rather believe
that everything evolved from noth-
ing slowly over billions of years.
They mock at the idea of intel-
ligent design and foolishly cling
to a concept of random chance
being their God! The Bible says:
The wrath of Godis being
revealed from heaven against all
the godlessness and wickedness
of people, who suppress the truth
by their wickedness,19since
what may be known about God
is plain to them, because God
has made it plain to them.For
Deception in the Last Days
since the creation of the world gay churches and lesbian ministers
Gods invisible qualitieshis who twist the scriptures to justify
eternal power and divine their lifestyle. Companies have to
naturehave been clearly seen, deal with transgender bathrooms
being understood from what and colleges now teach gender neu-
has been made,so that people trality or personal gender identifica-
are without excuse. Romans tion (You are not what you were born
1:19,20 as physically but you are whatever
Evolution was a fanciful theory gender you identify with.) This de-
made popular by Charles Darwin ception of homosexuality and trans-
who had no scientific degrees. Mat- genderism is so wide spread that so-
ter a fact ironically the only degree he ciety delights when someone comes
had was a Theology degree. His dad out and celebrates when Bruce
had hoped he would be a parsons. Jenner becomes Caitlyn Jenner!
Darwin was basically a naturalist
but discarded his biblical teachings
for a humanistic approach to na-
ture and his theory of evolution has
now supplanted the Christian roots
of education so now in these last
days many have been deceived by
discarding Gods truth for mans lie!
The Deception of Sexual
Orientation!
The sexual revolution of the six-
ties not only brought in loose mor-
als, free love, fornication and unbri- Deception is refusing to believe
dled sex but also great perversions
such as swinging couples (adul-
the truth and instead choosing to
believe a lie. The Bible has much to
tery), homosexuality and pedophil-
say about homosexuality. We have
ia. Though these things certainly the example of the destruction So-
werent new, they were mostly hid- dom and Gomorrah, The bible calls
den and discrete and scorned public- it an abomination in Gods eyes. It
ly. Since the sixties the seed of these is referred to as unnatural and the
practices have grown from secret
bible concludes with the warning
sin to acceptable normal lifestyles. that homosexuals will not enter the
The gay lifestyle for centuries
kingdom of God and yet people who
was considered abhorrent and a
have no fear of God are militantly
perversion but now homosexual- antagonistic toward Christians who
ity is not only proudly displayed in try to show grace and love to them
parades and on many TV shows but without acceptance of their lifestyle.
the pressure for Christians to take a
In so many cases the false sup-
biblical stand against it is becoming
plants the truth in order to deceive.
more and more difficult. The social
Today we are bombarded by a liber-
stigma of being called homophobic
al media that peddles fake news to
and intolerant makes biblical Chris-
persuade people politically. Colleges
tians the target of these groups.
no longer teach historical truth but
Not only has same sex marriage
rewrite it to fit their agenda. Educa-
become legalized but there are many
 Deception in the Last Days
tion is less about facts and more about all sorts of displays of power
sensitivity and social safe places. through signs and wonders that
serve the lie,and all the ways
that wickedness deceives
The Deception of Christians those who are perishing.
They perish because they
and the Church!
refused to love the truth
Even the church is not immune to and so be saved.
For this reason
deception. Mega churches have left
the simplicity of the gospel to drive God sends them
a powerful
high tech entertainment services delusion so
filled with seeker friendly programs
that make church fun and not rel-
that they will
believe the
evant, excitingly and not anointed, lieand so that
The padded chairs are filled but the all will be
starving hearts are left unimpacted. condemned
who have
Jesus was talking to the disciples
therefore to the church when he said not believed
the truth but
Take heed that ye be not
have delighted in wickedness. 2
deceived, Luke 21:8.
Thess. 2:9-12
He warned that even the very The only antidote for decep-
elect would be deceived Matt. 24:24 tion is Truth. Jesus said He is the
Even Paul saw and warned
Way, the TRUTH and the Life
the church of his day of decep- and that no man comes to the Fa-
tion. He even told them that af-
ther but by Him (John 14:6). We
ter his death they would fall
must know Gods word and it will
into deception (Acts 20: 29).
cleanse us and keep us in the truth.
The Deception of the World Sanctify them in the truth;
your word is truth. John 17:17
The ultimate deception is about
The eyes of many are be-
to come upon mankind. Jesus, Dan-
ing blinded daily as people de-
iel, Paul and others warned about
part from the truth and believe a
an Antichrist, the lawless one; the
man of perdition who would come lie. We must speak the truth even
and deceive many. He will turn though many refuse to believe it.
many away from serving the true This is what Jesus did to Pilate:
God and will seek to be worshiped Then Pilate said to him,
by the world. Much of what is going So you are a king? Jesus
on is in preparation for this endtime answered,You say that I am
deception. The changes in society; a king.For this purpose I was
the political corruption and lies and born and for this purposeI have
come into the worldto bear
the cold deception of the church
witness to the truth.Everyone
will undoubtedly prepare the way
for one who serves the father of who isof the truthlistens to my
voice.Pilate said to him, What
lies! God himself will allow such
a deception because they choose is truth? John 18:37-38
not to follow the truth. Paul said: We are instructed by Paul to
The coming of the lawless Speak the truth in love Eph. 4:15
one will be in accordance with
how Satan works. He will use Jesus said that the
time would come when:
6 7
suit. Things will only get worse in
...you will be handed over to
be persecuted and put to death,
and you will be hated by all
nations because of me.At that
time many will turn away from
the faith and will betray and
hate each other,and many false
prophets will appear and deceive
many people.Because of the
increase of wickedness, the love
of most will grow cold,but the
one who stands firm to the end
will be saved. Matt. 24:9-14
We are to stand fast in our faith
and hold true to the Lord even
though the whole world lay in de-
ception we must be God pleasers,
not men pleasers. When men call
you homophobic you say no you are
Theophobic, That is you fear God
not men. When they scoff at you for
not believing in evolution you say
you would rather believe in intelli-
gent design than in a unintelligent
random, and purposeless existence.
When the church compromises
with the world and becomes indis-
tinguishable from it you seek out the
few like-minded believers that cling
to the Spirits moving rather then the
pumped up music and performance
based religion of the day! Deception
is something you decide to fall into
or not. Eve made a decision to not
listen to God and follow the advise
of Satan and her husband followed
the world. Jesus warned us of false
Christs, prophets and teachers. He
said the heart would grow cold and
many would depart from the faith
(a falling away). But he also said:
Be always on the watch, and
pray that you may be able
to escape all that is about to
happen, and that you may be
able to stand before the Son of
Man. Luke 21:36
And when these things begin
to come to pass, then look up,
and lift up your heads; for your
redemption draweth nigh. Luke
21:28
Scriptures on Truth
John 1:17For the law was
given through Moses; grace
and truth came through
Jesus Christ.
John 8:31-32So Jesus said
to the Jews who had believed
in him, If you abide in
my word, you are truly my
disciples, and you will know
the truth, and the truth will
set you free.
John 17:17 Sanctify them
in the truth; your word is
truth.
3 John 1:4 I have no
greater joy than to hear that
my children are walking in
the truth.
Psalm 15:2-3 The one
whose walk is blameless,
who does what is righteous,
who speaks the truth from
their heart; whose tongue
utters no slander, who does
no wrong to a neighbor, and
casts no slur on others.
PRAYER
Pray Daily for the Church.
I would rather teach one man to pray
than to teach 10 men to preach. -Spurgeon
1. Unity
2. God's will
3. Fruitfulness
4. Move of the Holy Spirit
5. Leadership
6. Holiness
7. God's presence
Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of
thanksgiving. -Col:42
For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not
stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the
knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that
the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and
please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in
the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to
his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience,
and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share
in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. For he
has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the
kingdom of the Son he loves. - Col:19-13 (NIV)
With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may
make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to
fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted
by faith. We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be
glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and
the Lord Jesus Christ. -2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 (NIV)
Do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in
my prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory,
may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge
of Him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that
you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of
the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing
greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance
with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about
in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His
right hand in the heavenly places. -Eph. 1:16-20 (NASB)
 ARTICLE - Departures and Arrivals
Departures and Arrivals
Have you ever driven to an airport and you
come across two signs. One says Departures
and one Arrivals. If you are picking someone
up you naturally get in the lane that leads to
Arrivals and if you or someone with you is
leaving they get in the lane
for Departures.
If you are traveling
you will ultimately go to both.
For Christians there is an arrival that we are
all waiting for which is the second coming of
Christ. He has promised to return to earth and
many Christians focus on that but forget that
there is also a Departure that we must prepare
for called the rapture. Some have in these
days so focused on the "arrival" of Christ that
they even go so far as to deny the Rapture or
catching away of the saints. Even in Paul's day
some thought they missed Christ's return and
so he wrote:
"Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ
and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers
and sisters, not to become easily unsettled or
8 9
alarmed by the teaching allegedly from uswhether
by a prophecy or by word of mouth or by letter
asserting that the day of the Lord has already come".
2 Thessalonians 2:2
Before Jesus returns to the Earth he will
gather the saints in the clouds for a Departure
to Heaven. Keep in mind that this is not a
one way trip but a two way trip! We will be in
heaven for 7 years having a marriage feast
while judgement falls on the earth and
then will return with him for the second
coming where he will set up his kingdom on
earth, judge all men and ultimately confine the
Devil and his demons along with the wicked to
eternal punishment.
Jesus and many New Testament writers
talked about preparing and looking for that
time of departure but also gave us indicators as
to its nearness without spelling out the exact
time. Numerous signs were spoken about by
Jesus in the gospels about both the physical
and social conditions to our departure.
There would be famines, pestilences,
and earthquakes in various places. There
would be deception, false Christs and
false teachers and false prophets. He said
it would have similarities to Noah's time
(violence and apostasy), Lot's time (Pride and
sexual deviancy) and Jonah's time (idolatry
and lawlessness).
There are many who call themselves
Christians who attend church and own a bible
and they think they
have a ticket to heaven
but their lifestyle and
doctrines betray them.
Jesus warned of those
who do not have the
wedding garment
and when the door is
closed they can not
enter in. Sadly many
ARTICLE - Departures and Arrivals
will miss the flight and there wont be another. the scriptures say is that the very opposite will
You may still enter in but the cost will be
enduring the 7 year tribulation and possibly
martyrdom. There is also many who are
happen. There will be a departure of faith, the
very elect will be deceived and many will even
fall into strong delusion. Many may cry out
looking for His revival before
return to come arrival but
and vanquish His Many things that were anathema years ultimately the
enemies and set ago have now become widely accepted. word says there
up His Kingdom will be departure
on earth and before arrival.
exclude the rapture, therefore they have This will be necessary for the Antichrist to
forgotten Jesus' warning to be looking for the come into play.
time of Departure: Already we are seeing signs of departure
"Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour in society and in the church. The Christian
your Lord is coming... ...Therefore you also be influence in society has slowly dwindled
ready, for the Son of Man is coming at with the removing of prayer in schools, the
an hour you do not expect." Matthew 24:42,4 legalization of abortion (Molech-and the
sacrifice of children), the legalization of same-
There is also another departure and arrival sex marriage, the acceptance of trans and cross
that many do not want to talk about or deal genders, etc. Evolutionary thought has gone
with because it is negative. It is another
from theory to acceptable science and thus
condition of his return and this is a departure nullifying the need for creation or the Creator.
from the faith and an arrival of an Antichrist
Jesus said the departure conditions would be
and Antichrist system. Again Paul spoke of this such that:
in Second Thessalonians.
"Because iniquity (wickedness, lawlessness) shall
"Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day abound, the love of many shall grow cold."
shall not come, except there come a falling away first, Matt. 24:12
and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is Another aspect of departure can found in
much of the church. Many denominations
called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God
have taken on strong anti-Semitic and pro
sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is
God." 2 Thessalonians 2:3,4 Palestinian positions. Many major protestant
denominations preach gay tolerance and
Hear we see there is a departure or "Falling
away" or apostasy and an arrival of an some have even ordained gay ministers. Many
Antichrist in the last days. I am amazed how so things that were anathema years ago have
many Christians today are focused on a revival now become widely accepted. Islam has now
before the arrival. They are convinced that become the worlds fastest growing religion
God is going to move by his spirit one more and many Christians even equate the false
time before he returns. This may or may not be God Allah with the true Judaic-Christian God.
true but it is based upon so called prophecies Jesus said that no man comes unto the father
of modern day men and very little biblical but by him, but now many claim that there are
evidence. Sure he said he would pour out his many ways to God as they paste their Coexist
spirit on all flesh but remember the apostles Sticker to their Prius. Compromise has crept
quoted Joel as to pertaining to their own events into the church and tolerance has become the
in the book of acts. Now that may also have a new Christian charity. As it was with the 7
duel meaning for an end time event but this is churches of Revelation and many established
more speculation then biblical evidence. What denominations in the past we are seeing
 ARTICLE - Departures and Arrivals
even in many of todays non-denominational
and charismatic churches a loss of power
and ineffectiveness. Many have become
no more than clubs and places of religious
entertainment.
They have left
the gospel of Departure from righteousness often
Christ for social leads to the Arrival of evil!
programs.
Though not true
of all churches, often many mega churches
have been motivated by greed and grandeur
and the lust for money, prestige and power as
many ministers are caught in adultery, money
schemes and hidden sins.
Ezekiel was caught up in a vision where God
took him to the temple and allowed him to
peer into a hole in the wall where he saw the
hidden sins of the priests. They had outwardly
portrayed themselves as worshipers of God
but behind closed doors had become idol
worshippers and involved in what God called
"abominations". The Lord told him:
Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of
the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the
chambers of his imagery? for they say, The LORD
seeth us not; the LORD hath forsaken the earth. He
said also unto me, Turn thee yet again, and thou
shalt see greater abominations than these.
Ezekiel 8:12,13
Time and again Ezekiel was shown the
sins of the Sanhedrin (70 elders of Israel)
for they acted as if God could no longer see
these things. Many of these same sins have
infiltrated our
houses of worship
today with great
compromise and
corruption and
God does indeed
still see these things. Soon everything hidden
shall be revealed! Peter warned of wickedness
and a departure of faith and falling away:
"You therefore, beloved, seeing you know these
things beforehand, beware lest you also, being led
away with the error of the wicked, fall from your
own steadfastness." 2 Peter 3:17
If we look at the pattern of Israel's kings,
many quit listening to the words of the
prophets and did what was evil in the sight
of the Lord and this often let to the fall
not only of the kingdom but
of the people as they too
fell into idolatry and
wickedness. Departure
from righteousness
often leads to the
arrival of evil and as
the church succumbs
to corruption and
society departs from
truth, it will give way
to the arrival of an
Antichrist spirit and
ultimately to the man of
perdition himself. Jesus said
he would not return until there is a falling
away (departure from God) and the Man of
Perdition be revealed (arrival of Antichrist.)
At that point it wont be revival before
arrival but survival after arrival.
So what are we to do. Sit back and watch
the decline and departure of the church?
No we must vigilantly pray for the church
and for the nation while we adhere to the
truth of God's word and continue to be a
10
ARTICLE - Departures and Arrivals
light even if the night gets darker. Second
Thessalonians gives a dire prognostication
of end times with a falling away, a rising of
the Antichrist, iniquity at work "...with all
deceivableness of unrighteousness in them
that perish; because they received not the
love of the truth"; It says that God will send
them into strong delusions and that many
would even be dammed for believing a lie
and not receiving the truth. But despite the
dark picture of what very well could be our
own generation, Paul concludes by saying:
But we are bound to give thanks always to God
for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because
God hath from the beginning chosen you to
salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and
belief of the truth: Whereunto he called you by
our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our
Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, brethren, stand
fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been
taught, whether by word, or our epistle. Now our
Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our
Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us
everlasting consolation and good hope through
grace, Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in
every good word and work. 2 Thess. 2:13-17
Jesus put it this way in his discussions of
the horror of the last days:
"And when these things begin to come to pass, then
look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption
draws near." Luke 21:28
Continue firm, abiding in Him, ready to
give a reason for the hope that lies within
you. Our departure can happen at any time;
one way or another and we must always be
ready. He will be there at our arrival after
death but while we are upon the earth,
should He tarry , when He does return we
must be ready for his arrival as well as be
ready for our departure to heaven and we
shall ever be with him! Shalom!
11
ROMANS 1:18-32
The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven
against all the godlessness and wickedness of people,
who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what
may be known about God is plain to them, because
God has made it plain to them.For since the creation of
the world Gods invisible qualitieshis eternal power
and divine naturehave been clearly seen, being
understood from what has been made, so that people
are without excuse.
For although they knew God, they neither glorified
him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking
became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.
Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools
and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for
images made to look like a mortal human being and
birds and animals and reptiles.
Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires
of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading
of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the
truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served
created things rather than the Creatorwho is forever
praised. Amen.
Because of this, God gave them over to shameful
lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual
relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the
men also abandoned natural relations with women
and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men
committed shameful acts with other men, and received
in themselves the due penalty for their error.
Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile
to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them
over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought
not to be done. They have become filled with every
kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are
full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are
gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and
boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey
their parents; they have no understanding, no fidelity,
no love, no mercy. Although they know Gods righteous
decree that those who do such things deserve death,
they not only continue to do these very things but also
approve of those who practice them.
 The New Denominations!
CHURCH
The New Denominations!
G
od recently woke me up
from an afternoon nap and
as I lay there he spoke to me
the words Come out from among
them and be separate. I know that
Paul was talking about Gods people
coming out of idolatry but as
I lay there I asked the Lord to
explain what He was saying.
He said Denominations are
dying because they have left
my precepts and squelched my
Spirit. I remember having recently
read how thousands of people
had left the Presbyterian Church
denomination since the 1970s
because they slowly compromised
the Word by embracing abortion,
homosexuality, and abandoned the
doctrine of the deity of Christ and
had ruled against many cardinal
foundational biblical truths. The
problem with denominations is that
they have a central headquarters that
often speak for or control the local
church.
The Lord then shocked me as he
continued to speak to my heart.
Come out from
among them and be ye
separate- 2 Cor 6:17
The time has come when many so
called non-denomination churches
are going to become denominations.
I thought to myself How is that
possible? and the Lord began to
tell be that it will be worse because
now one church will control many
churches and many churches would
give up their autonomy so they could
have the look and feel of big churches.
12
Then he simply said the word
campuses. I had recently heard
that word and knew that this was
becoming the new pattern in many
churches. In our area it started
with a local mega church called 12
Stones. They got so big that
they started opening up other
churches but instead of setting
up a local pastor to preach and
lead the services they bought
expensive lighting and screens
and remotely patched in the pastor
of the main church so that members
basically came to church and watched
the sermon of the main pastor on a
screen.
I thought this was crazy but soon
many mega churches followed suit
and now instead of local independent
churches there were large churches
in one city with campuses in others.
They streamed the same sermon and
often insisted that all the campuses
play the exact list of worship songs.
Now I am aware of at least four mega
churches that are following this
pattern in my city.
As I lay in bed with all this going
through my head, suddenly my iPad
on my night stand dings and its a
notification. When I look at it I see it
is a video notification from a world
renown TV prophet and teacher
announcing that the following day
in his church it would be historic
for they were officially setting up
his multi-million dollar church and
youth ministry to be more than a
by God to go preach the gospel and
church but an organization with
plans to set up campuses in other
cities later all across the nation.
godly men not organizations. They
Wow! Talk about confirmation.
This led me to do some research
online. I was shocked to see how
many non-denomination churches
are doing this. From IHOP in
Kansas City to Rick Warrens
Saddleback church you see the
trend of campuses being set up
rather than churches. Now there
are a lot of variations and different
levels of autonomy but clearly
the pattern is as the Lord told me.
Non denominations have become
denominations. I went to one of
their websites and was surprised to
see the heading: The same church,
many locations. Many are even
making online campuses as well
for those who cant make it to their
services (although their money sure
can).
It saddens me to see this trend
because it eventually is going to
make it harder for the Spirit of God
to work. I see the youth flocking to
these with all the hype, show and
entertainment. Though today you
may see the hands lifted up and the
name of Jesus often spoken it will
only eventually lead in the way of
the Presbyterian and Methodist and
other denominations. Many started
PROPHECY
EXCERPTS
Pagan Christianity
Frank Viola &
George Barna
...the church in
from great revivals by Finney and its contemporary
Wesley and were sparked by great
moves of God but sadly often in institutional form has
time spontaneous revival turns into neither a biblical nor
organized religion. a historical right to
Paul and Barnabas were called function as it does
raise up churches (initially in homes)
so they could be led by the spirit and People have little
knowledge of the true
were never intended to be controlled
foundations of their
by the church in Jerusalem or Rome
faith.
or anywhere else. This is a time when
we need more small churches to get
involved in and less big churches to
get lost in. We need to tone down We are conditioned to
the music and tune in the Spirit. We read the Bible with the
need revelations not sermons. In
other words we need to hear from lens handed to us by
the Christian tradition
God more and man less. The gifts
of the spirit have given way to plays to which we belong.
and production and concert like
entertainment.
We tickle the ear rather than prick The organic Church is
the heart. We mingle with the masses
simply a church that is
at the foot of the mount worshiping
the golden calf as we play rather then born out of spiritual life
climb the lonely mount to hear His instead of constructed
voice and tremble at his holiness.
The Jesus movement took by human institution
and held together by
three letters off and it became the
us movement. The charismatic religious programs.
movement left the gifts and power
and became the charisma pastor
Organic churches
are characterized
and all star band. Perhaps we should
consider that much of church has by Spirit-led, open
become and idol and heed Pauls participatory meetings
words to come out from among
and nonhierarchical
them and be ye separate.
leadership.
13
 Mega Churches, Mega Problems
ARTICLE - Mega Churches, Mega Problems
A
re churches getting too big!
All around me I see churches
growing but not in number,
just in congregation size. In the past 10
year three mega churches have sprung
up in my area! In the last few years
they have gotten so large that they have
opened up several campuses which
are nothing more than other churches
that follow them on wide screens.
I can see the reason unfortunately
for the formation of so many Mega
churches. A lot of small charismatic
and non denomination churches have
had splits or have dissolved over petty
as well as some legitimate reasons.
These have left many of the sheep
shocked, wounded and wandering.
Some have just given up on church
and no longer attend. Others have
joined these large churches to just sit
awhile and not get involved. Some
have put years of personal work and
commitment to their old church
and now are afraid to get involved
so they just want to go to a large
stadium atmosphere where they can
be entertained and just get lost in the
vastness of a huge congregation. After
awhile, unfortunately many get too
comfortable and fall into a luke warm
routine.
ADVANTAGES AND
DISADVANTAGE
There are of course some advantages
as well as disadvantages of going to a
Mega church! Many churches have
every kind of program going on for
the youth and kids of every age. I have
heard many times people said they
left their church because there was no
Sunday school or youth program or
nursery or what ever. Mega churches
have the power of personnel! They can
often draw from hundreds of people
to fill in slots and create programs
for every age group and gender. The
disadvantage is that they cant often divide and plant themselves in other
vet or qualify these people. In a small
church you can get to know everyone
pretty well. You can see their character
and have effective oversight over them
in their ministry. In a large church it
is much more difficult to get to know
everyone, so volunteers often get placed
in positions without proper vetting.
Recently two churches merged near me
and thus grew to a large congregation
overnight. They were immersed in a
new vision and the task of melding too
different congregations and different
church styles. As they were beginning
to effect the community one of the
youth pastors was caught up in a sex
scandal that made its way to the local
papers and TV stations. It was quite
an embarrassment to the Pastors and
leadership of the church as they had to
deal with this issue.
Mega churches are like cruise ships.
My wife and I love to take cruises
for vacations (money permitting!)
I always told people that cruises are
great because you can be as busy as you
want or as relaxed as you want. There
is so much going on cruise ships with
tons of food and dining and movies
and shows and casinos and excursions,
you can keep occupied as much as you
want. But at the same time you can
sit in your room and watch TV or sit
on the balcony and listen to the ocean
14
waves or stroll on deck and enjoy the
sights or lounge in a chair by the pool
and get some rays. When you want to
be active you can and when you want
to relax you can. Thats a mega church.
You can be as involved as you want
with dozens of programs and home
groups and prayer meetings and bible
studies and social events, etc or you
can just sit back and find a soft chair
and watch the show. Heck you can
even be a member and watch most the
sermons at home on TV or stream the
messages to your iPad or phone!
CONTROL, CONTROL,
CONTROL
I know it isnt always so but in
most cases you can see that Mega
churches are all about control! They
dont like to give up power readily
otherwise you would see that when
they get to a certain size they should
faith to be apart of their worship teams
places. More about that later. Even
in small churches you have people
with pastoral experience or at least
a pastoral calling that could use
cultivation. Pastors of mega churches
often get caught up in the power. Look
what I built. God has really blessed me
and made me successful so I need to
control everything. Thats why many
of mega pastors live in mega houses
(or mansions) and drive mega cars.
The leadership often are nothing
more than yes men or others that are
reaping benefits at the expense of the
sheep. Mega churches take in mega
bucks. I was a Pastor of a very small
church and lived fairly well so I can
imagine these churches that are Ten
times larger are overflowing with the
peoples tithes and offerings and the
Pastors are living like kings.
It is also no coincidence that many
of these mega churches have been
influenced by hyper-faith, prosperity
gospel and kingdom dominion
theology that all lend themselves
to person prosperity wealth and
abundance (but that is a topic for
another discussion). Jesus said that we
are to feed and lead the sheep but its sad
that many Shepherds shear the sheep
and eat mutton for dinner. When one
gets use to a larger than life living than
control is the key to self maintenance.
Hierarchy sets in and the congregation
is the means to success so they place
only their likeness on the screens of
their satellite churches and make sure
only their worship lists are played
exactly the same in all the worship
teams. I was a part of the church where
the youth pastor had to get the pastors
sermon before Sunday and teach the
youth the same thing. Sure he could do
it in his own manner but what happen
to the holy spirit leading.
I taught drums for many years and
once went to put an ad on Craigslist
for students. While I was browsing
the musician area I was shocked to
discover so many ads from churches
looking to hire and pay professional
musicians to lead or play in their
worship groups. Further investigation
found that it was quite common
for many large churches to hire
professional musicians regardless of
first tenets of the faith. Because they
so they could sound as professional
as possible and be able to follow the
direction of the worship elder or
pastor. Control!
HISTORY IS AGAINST YOU!
The reality is that mega churches
have been around for along time and
they simply do not work. If you think
of the Catholic Church and British
Anglican church you have two great
examples. Ken Johnson, an expert
on early church documents made an
interesting discovery. He found out
that prior to the age of Constantine
and the emerging of the universal or
Catholic church, the churches in the
major cities of the middle east and
Asia were actually almost all unified
in belief and doctrine. Each city state
had prominent church Bishops that
taught the same doctrines that the
reformed churches teach today. They
taught against the same cults and
fringe groups but the early church
though often persecuted by Roman
emperors held similar services,
functioned similarly and held to the
same doctrines and practices. They
were Christ centered, biblically based
(though having different cannons
but nearly the same as today) and
Spirit lead. In the new testament from
ARTICLE - Mega Churches, Mega Problems
the upper room we see Christianity
spreading as they met in homes and
small churches. With Constantine and
his Church councils, though it seemed
like it was do bring greater unity to the
churches it brought greater control.
Up to then churches were autonomous
but united. Constantine gathered the
bishops to influence them, control
doctrine and ultimately set what was
to be accepted and discarded in the
church. From there the Church in
Rome grew in power until it lorded over
all the other churches and ultimately
fell into corruption and hypocrisy. It
was a force of fear not faith and then
the reformation came. At this time The
catholic church was the ultimate mega
church and it controlled thousands of
other mega churches called cathedrals
all across Europe and Asia. Martin
Luther was not trying to change
the church but was trying to simply
reform it, that is bring it back to the
refused he and others formed small
groups which soon turned into many
reformed churches and the Spirit of
God was able to move again away from
man made traditions and back to the
simplicity of Christ and His word. The
Reformation brought us out of the
dark ages. Now thousands gathered in
small groups and churches again and
the power of God was moving.
But even some protestant church
became mega churches and fell into the
15
same trap. The Church in England in
defiance against Catholicism became
the State church and got so powerful
they started persecuting their own
counterpart protestant brethren. The
pattern has occurred in many places
and in many countries. Yes churches
can get to0 big. There may be some
exceptions but for the most part,
large congregations tend to become
self absorbed and spiritually blighted.
They go from being spiritual to being
simply religious.
THE LESSON OF THE
TWO CHURCHES IN
REVELATIONS
I recently had a discussion with a
friend of mine on this subject and
he brought out a great point. In the
book of revelations it talks about Jesus
and the seven churches. He stands in
the middle of 7 candlesticks which
represent the 7 churches and both
commends then and rebukes them
and threatens to take away their
candlestick from his presence if they
do not repent. Some had grown luke
warm, others had compromised while
others had grown wealthy and famous.
Yet there were two churches that
Jesus had nothing to speak bad about.
One of the churches was Smyrna. It
was a very poor church. Jesus said He
knew their affliction and poverty. He
called them rich spiritually but said
 ARTICLE - Mega Churches, Mega Problems
they would be persecuted but honored
if faithful. The other was the church
of Philadelphia in Asia minor. Jesus
said to them I know that you have no
strength! They obviously were not a
mega church. They were probably small
and not very powerful or influential.
It was to them that He said they had
an open door. They had kept his word
and were faithful. God was so pleased
with them He said He would keep and
preserve them from terrible things that
were to come. These two churches stand
out against the large corrupt churches
who were indicted for leaving their first
love, compromising with false teachers
and doctrine, becoming luke warm and
being deceived into thinking they are
not in need of anything. The analogies
of these two small faithful churches
are quite thought provoking. Mega
churches can too easily fall into the
category of the five churches but Jesus
said that even in these there were a few
that were doing right but they need
to repent or the candlestick would be
removed from their presence.
FOLLOWING THE BREAD
AND FISH
Unfortunately this is what has
happened to many mega churches.
They have lost the presence of the Lord.
The have replaced it with programs
and great worship and even insightful
sermons but ultimately they are
bringing people to themselves and
not Jesus. The sad thing is that many
Christians have come for the church
meal and not the spiritual manna.
Jesus sat on a hill and multitudes of
people gathered as he taught them
about His Father and the kingdom
of God. The hour had grown late and
Jesus saw that they were hungry and
he had compassion on them so he had
them sit down and took a boys lunch
and multiplied fish and loaves of bread
till they were all full. He performed a
miracle to confirm his words with signs
following and displayed the loving
heart of God in providing for them.
Many people are quite familiar with
the story. What many are not aware of
is the story that follows. Jesus sent his
disciple across the sea of Galilee and
went up too the mountain to pray. Later
we read the story of Jesus walking on
the water and they arrived at the other
side of the lake. The next day many of
the multitude saw Jesus wasnt there so
they crossed over and found Him but
Jesus said an interesting thing. He said:
Very truly I tell you are looking
for me,not because you saw the
signsI performed but because you
ate the loaves and had your fill.
John 6:26
They were no longer seeking Jesus but
the free hand out. They wanted more
free food. They just wanted bread and
fish not the one who breaks bread and
makes fisher of men. It is sad that many
Christians are after what they can get
from Jesus rather than after the Savior
himself.
When pastoring a small church I
remember people knocking on the
church doors with wife and kids in
hand with a sob story about Christian
husband loosing his job and being
evicted and children starving and if I
would give them enough money for
them to get on their feet they would be
so grateful. When I told them initially I
would not give them money but would
go with them to buy them groceries
they acted all excited But when I told
them to follow me in their car to the
grocery store they would follow for a bit
then high-tail out of there never to be
seen. I would find out later from other
pastors that con artist pretending to be
Christians were hitting them up too.
In a mega church you certainly
have sincere, dedicated Christians
but you also have nominal and fake
Christians as well as wolves who come
in to infiltrate and disrupt. Even in the
bad churches of Revelations Jesus said
16
there were some among them that had
kept their garments clean, yet they
were guilty of letting in false doctrines
and teachers (Nicolaitans, Balaam and
Jezabel). Certain people must of come
in and began teaching this stuff and
it took root in these churches. I have
seen so many times where an elder,
guest speaker or church member began
getting the ear of the pastor an sway
them in a certain direction. This is what
happened to these mega churches in
revelation. Because of the hierarchy
power and control issues it is nearly
impossible to uproot!
THE TEMPLE AND
THE SYNAGOGUE
Mega churches can cause mega
problems. Small churches have
their own but they also can be more
conducive to more intimacy, greater
sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, better
oversight and better receptivity to the
Lords direction than mans. Jesus dealt
with the Mega church and the small
church in a sense. He taught in the
temple often and usually encountered
resistance from the Priests, Pharisees
and Sadducees and religious leaders.
It was the temple that had become so
corrupt that He had to drive out the
money changers and greedy peddlers
trying to take advantage of the people.
Jesus mostly preoccupied himself by
going into small villages and entering
the synagogues to preach. Often it was
here that he did miracles and was more
effective in teaching and demonstrating
the power of God. The apostle Paul also
was effective in spreading the gospel
by going into synagogues and sharing
the messiah. It was when he later went
into the temple that they nearly rioted
and had him arrested. The temple had
become more religious and thus less
tolerant and opened to Jesus and his
disciples. Mega churches can easily
become more religious that Christian.
Tradition had replaced the power
of Gods word in the temple and the
parallel today is just as true.
The synagogues had mainly come
about after Babylon destroyed
Jerusalem and the Jews were scattered
to all the nations as predicted by the
prophets. Since the Temple was now
destroyed the Jews gathered first in
homes and then started meeting in
small buildings like many of our small
churches. To keep their faith alive they
built these small synagogues in towns
and set in Rabbis or teachers to keep
the people schooled in their faith.
Synagog means Assembly in greek or
house of Assembly in Hebrew and the
early church was patterned after it.
BIBLICAL EXPANSION
AND GROWTH
The great commission of Jesus was to
go to the world and preach the gospel
thus small churches sprung up in towns
across Asia and Europe. The church
was never intended to be centralized.
It was never intended to have a central
headquarters like the Vatican or most
our denominations. Churches were to be
independent and autonomous adhering
to the word of God yet collaborating
and supporting one another. This is
why Paul traveled back and forth from
these churches. This is why each church
was unique from each other and yet
unified in the mutual edification of one
another. God wants church growth but
not centralized growth. This is where
the mega church really fails.
Grass covers a lot of area not
because it bundles itself in one area but
because it sends out shoots that take
root nearby. Than that root sends out
shoots and so forth until a large are is
covered. Often after it sends out shoots
and forms a base interestingly called
crowns from which the grass grows
after it takes root. It is fascinating that
even after it sends out its shoots and
that shoot grows, it keeps its connection
to that new grass with a branch called
a stolen. Churches need to operate this
way. Instead of growing upwardly and
centrally, when they get to a moderate
size, they should grow outwardly and
plant themselves in other places while
connecting (not controlling) the new
congregation till it gets on its feet. It
is sad that Mega churches just want to
get bigger in one place and even if they
make campus churches they are still
one church controlled by one man or
group of elders.
Remember the tower of Babel? Noah
was told to go and replenish the earth
ARTICLE - Mega Churches, Mega Problems
not to stay in one place but Nimrod
defied God and built a city and tried
to centralize his power. Gods answer
was to confuse their language so they
could no longer work together and the
bible says from there the people and
their descendants migrated to different
parts of the earth. Many believe that
God allowed persecution in the early
church because they were forgetting
their mandate to go spread the gospel
to all the world. The Jerusalem church
was starting to centralize with James
and the Apostles becoming so popular
and Peters fame growing (raising the
dead and shadow healing people). We
do know that right after Stephen was
stoned and persecution began, many of
the disciple and followers were forced
to leave town and carry the message to
other cities.
COME FOLLOW THEN
GO PREACH
Jesus first told his disciples to come.
He said come follow me. They were
disciples, that is apprentices. The greek
word means learner or pupil. Jesus had
them observe his life and he taught
them and when they were ready he gave
them some practice runs. He sent them
out to heal the sick and cast out demons.
They came back amazed. This was all
preparation for his resurrection and
ascension when they would continue
his work on earth.
After His resurrection they were no
longer disciples, but Apostles. Apostle
means one sent forth or messenger. Now
they were no longer to come follow but
go preach and take the message of the
gospel to the world. No doubt there may
be many large churches that do focus
on Jesus and preach His word. But there
are also many that neglect the great
commission or the spiritual discipline
of Gods people and are no longer going
out but are staying in and having a good
time. Many Mega churches have often
become clubs or inbred communities
that make church exciting or fun.
They preoccupy the people with events
and programs and worship has often
become entertainment with plays and
skits and gimmicks, etc. They preach
a social gospel or worse a false gospel.
Some preach a cursory message of
Christ, and make some efforts to feed
the poor but in all their structure,
religious liturgy and pomp, they have
17
failed to make room for the Holy Spirit
to move, the prophetic to come forth,
and the giftings to be utilized.
People are looking for a revival. God in
times past shook the great foundations
of powerful church structures and
megalithic religious strongholds and
often decimated the embodiment of
so called Christian system. Cathedrals
have their beauty but are often empty
of spiritual power. Christian love often
has been replaced by Christian lifestyle
and Christian labor by outward works.
Paul said :
If I speak in the tongues of men
or of angels, but do not have love,
I am only a resounding gong or a
clanging cymbal.If I have the gift
of prophecyand can fathom all
mysteriesand all knowledge,and
if I have a faiththat can move
mountains,but do not have love,
I am nothing.If I give all I possess
to the poorand give over my body
to hardship that I may boast, but
do not have love, I gain nothing.
1 Cor. 13 :1-3
Perhaps we dont need revival.
Perhaps we need another reformation.
When Catholicism held sway and
controlled empires and a religious
institution had become so corrupt and
had drifted so far from its moorings
it seemed like there was no hope of
breaking its control or getting free from
its power. But a priest named Luther
read the word of God and his eyes
were opened and he defiantly walked
over to the cathedral door and nailed
his 95 theses of indictment to it. From
there a movement broke a return to the
New testament standards ensued. Mega
churches have become the cathedrals of
our day.
Not all are corrupt or religious
or spiritually lacking, but there is a
danger that lurks in the kind of system
it breeds. It is not contentment for the
masses through tickled ears or external
excitement by Christian entertainment
that will build up and edify the saint.
It is when the simplicity of the gospel
prevails, the word of God takes
forefront, the focus on Christ shifts and
the release of the Holy spirit begins
then we will see the heart of God in our
midst not the hand of man. Saints
pray!
 PROPHECY PROPHECY

The Prophetic Ministry Of Jesus teronomy 18 by Moses confirming by God himself that
this was the Prophet that was to come.
He would be the ultimate Prophet through whom
some of the people said, Surely this man is the
Prophet. Others said, He is the Messiah.
John 7:37-41
God would make Himself known to His people
Jesus is Prophet, Priest and King. Much has been written about the Priesthood ministry of Jesus. He was Our
through prophetic word and deeds! The woman at the well obviously saw Jesus not only
high priest and became our sacrifice. He came to save that which was lost and His death, burial and resurrection are After Pentecost, in the book of Acts. Peter is preach- as a prophet but The Prophet as Jesus told her about
the central redemptive theme of the work of Christ. The priesthood aspect involves sacrifice and intercession. He is our ing, and he quotes Deuteronomy 18. Youll find this in
mediator who prayed for us on earth (John 17:20) but even in heaven... He is able also to save them to the uttermost Acts 3:18 he says, in essence: Moses was talking about her adulterous life and yet offered grace.
that come to God by him, seeing he ever lives to make intercession for them. Heb. 7:25 Jesus! Sir I perceive thou art a prophet. John 4:19)
Much has been written about the Kingship ministry of Christ. We worship Him as King. We preach the kingdom
of God is at hand. We call him King of Kings and laud him above all rulers, principalities and dominions. Jesus when
asked by Pilate if he was a King replied: For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world. The People called Jesus a Prophet: She said! Jesus did not deny it. Then she left and
went to tell all the men of the city.
But little has been written about the Prophetic Min- After the feeding of the 5,000, The people knew it
was a sign that Jesus was a prophet sent from God. Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went
istry of Jesus. Jesus operated as a prophet under the old back to the town and said to the people, Come, see
testament and until his resurrection it was under this When the people saw the sign that he had done, a man who told me everything I ever did. Could
mantle that most people saw him. Yes he was a great they said, This is indeed the Prophet who is to come this be the Messiah?
teacher and thus called Rabbi or Raboni by many but into the world! John 6:14
Jesus miracles dont fall under his teaching ministry.
The religious leaders also were looking for The Proph-
When Jesus raised the dead son of the widow of et and thought that John the Baptist was him but
Nain the bible says, John denied being the messiah or prophet but pointed
Miracles, a Sign of a Prophet
And they glorified God, saying, A great prophet later to Jesus as the Messiah.
Jesus was a doer not just a teacher and he went has arisen among us! and God has visited his
about doing good and healing those who were op- Now this was Johns testimony when the Jewish
people! (Luke 7:16)
pressed by the devil. Many of his signs and wonders leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levities to
attested to the prophetic ministry of Jesus. Just as ask him who he was. He did not fail to confess, but
many signs, wonders and miracles were done by the When Jesus came riding on a colt into the city of confessed freely, I am not the Messiah.They asked
old testament prophets so we see Jesus doing the same. Jerusalem which is often called the triumphal entry as him, Then who are you? Are you Elijah? He said,
the multitude where crying out Hosanna, they recog- I am not. Are you the Prophet? He answered,
Elijah rased the dead as Jesus did. Elisha defies the
nized him as the great prophet and many knew he was No.
law of nature and causes an axe head to float on water.
Jesus defies nature and walks on water. Moses turned Messiah:
poisonous waters to drinkable waters. Jesus turns water When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city What is the Work of a Prophet
into wine. Jeroboams hand becomes withered when he was stirred and asked, Who is this?The crowds On the road to Emmaus, when Jesus met the two
tries to seize a prophet. Jesus heals the withered hand answered, This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth disciples who at first did not recognize Him, they
of a man and makes him whole. Elijah causes oil and in Galilee. Jesus entered the temple courts and asked Him if He was only a stranger since He did not
meal to multiply for a widow and Jesus multiplies fish drove out all who were buying and selling there. He seem to know of the things that had been happening in
and bread. Elisha healed Naaman from leprosy and LORD my God or see this great fire any more, lest overturned the tables of the money changers and the city. When He said, What things? they said,
Jesus healed the leper. The point is that a prophet often I die. And the LORD said to me, "They are right in the benches of those selling doves. It is written,
demonstrated the power and presence of God by per- what they have spoken. I will raise up for them a he said to them, My house will be called a house Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a
forming miracle and Jesus did the same to confirm his prophet like you from among their brothers. And I of prayer, but you are making it a den of robbers. prophet mighty in deed and word before God and
prophetic ministry will put my words in his mouth, [God said] and he John 21:10-13 all the people. Lk. 24:19
shall speak to them all that I command him. And Jesus displayed his prophetic authority as one who
whoever will not listen to my words that he shall A prophets work is action and utterance. In word
Moses called Jesus a Prophet : speak in my name, I myself will require it of him drives out wickedness from his temple as a prophet and deed means he speaks for God and displays the
Moses spoke of the Prophet to come referring to (Deuteronomy 18:15118). often rebukes sin and calls his people into holiness. works of God. We have spoken of signs, wonders and
Jesus. miracles. This is the Work of God. But a prophet also
Moses appeared with Jesus at the The Mount of On one occasion after speaking in the temple: speaks for God. Often we think this is foretelling and
The LORD your God will raise up for you a Transfiguration where Gods voice spoke from heaven
On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus indeed that is part of it bur mostly it is forth telling,
prophet like me from among you, from your the same commands of Moses :
stood and said in a loud voice, Let anyone who is speaking Gods word forth whether it applies to the
brothersit is to him you shall listenjust as you This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well past present or future. Jesus who was and is and is to
desired of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in
pleased; listen to him (Matt. 17:5). me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will come (past, present and future) knows all things so of-
of the assembly [when the law was given], when
you said, "Let me not hear again the voice of the Listen to Him!; the same words spoken in Deu- flow from within them... ...On hearing his words, ten spoke prophetically to all three realms. We already
18 19
 PROPHECY
mentioned the woman at the well
and how Jesus knew her past.
One of the first prophetic words
of Jesus was in the calling of Na-
thaniel.
Philip found Nathaniel and
told him, We have found the
man that Moses wrote about in
the law, and the prophets also
wrote about him. He is Jesus, the
son of Joseph, from Nazareth.
But Nathaniel said to Philip,
Can anything good come from
Nazareth? Philip answered,
Come and see. As Jesus saw
Nathaniel coming toward
him, he said, Here is truly
an Israelite. There is nothing
false in him. Nathaniel asked,
How do you know me? Jesus
answered, I saw you when you
were under the fig tree, before
Philip told you about me.
Then Nathaniel said to Jesus,
Teacher, you are the Son of
God; you are the King of Israel.
Jesus said to Nathaniel, Do you
believe simply because I told you
I saw you under the fig tree?
Nathaniel was a bit skeptic when
Philip told him of Jesus. Can
anything good come out of Naza-
reth? But when Jesus saw him and
complimented him on his character
Nathaniel was puzzled and said
Do you know me? Jesus had an
interesting answer and said:
I saw you when you were under
the fig tree, before Philip told you
about me.
Often an old testament prophet
saw things as they were occurring
or soon after. Nathan saw the sin
of David and Bathsheeba. Elisha
saw the plans of the King of Aram
against the king of Israel. When he
wondered How the King of Israel
knew his troop movements one of
his men said:
The prophet who is in Israel, tells
the king of Israel the words that
you speak in your bedroom.
(See 2 Kings 6:8-23)
Jesus knew the Samaritan womans
past and Nathaniel present but he
also knows the future.
Jesus prophecies Peter and
Johns fate. (John 21:18- 23)
Jesus prophesied the perse-
cution and martyrdom of
saints. (John 16:2 Matt 10:17)
Jesus prophecies end times
and last days. (Matt. 24,Mark
13, Luke 21)
Jesus predicts the destruc-
tion of Jerusalem and temple
(Mark 13:1-4)
The Book of revelation is full of the
prophetic revelations of Christ. The
prophetic spirit is actually the spirit
of Christ.
...for the testimony of Jesus is
the spirit of prophecy. Rev. 9:10
Long ago, at many times and
in many ways, God spoke to our
fathers by the prophets, but in
these last days he has spoken to
20
us by his Son . Heb 1:-2
Jesus was more than a prophet
but was Messiah. Messiah comes
from the Hebrew word mashiach
and means anointed one or cho-
sen one. The Greek equivalent is
the word Christos or, in English,
Christ.)
The threefold office of Prophet
priest and King is the depiction of
the Messianic office. The very first
thing Jesus did was claim this Mes-
sianic anointing when he started his
ministry and read from the scroll of
Isaiah 61:13
been a big fan of Strobel for years. I
The Spirit of the Lord God is
upon Me, because the Lord has
anointed Me to preach good
tidings to the poor; he has sent
Me to heal the brokenhearted, to
proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison
to those who are bound; to
proclaim the acceptable year of
the Lord,
The prophetic Spirit of Christ
still speaks today; still preaches
good news, still heals, still does
wonders and miracles and is still
mighty in word and in deed!
The Case for Christ
I dont usually do movie reviews but first
of all I am a big movie fan. I go nearly every
week (Wednesdays are senior day and I get in
for $7.50). Most movies are pretty bad
but many are entertaining and a way
of escape and I love a good story, but
you have to be discerning nowadays
as to what you watch. Oh yeah, second
of all, when I heard that The Case for
Christ by Lee Strobel was made into
a movie, I knew I had to see it. I have
read The Case for Christ in the late
90s and went out and got The Case
for the Creator and later The Case
for Faith.
I was somewhat surprised to find
that the movie was not what I expect-
ed after reading the books. It actually
was a pleasant surprise. In his book
he takes a lawyers perspective in
looking at the evidence to prove or
disprove the resurrection of Christ. This is part
of the movie but it is really about him coming to
know Christ. He was a so-called rational athe-
ist that only believed in facts and thought that
Jesus and the bible were fairy tales. Circum-
stances with his daughter and wife forced him
to set out to disprove Christ but the evidence
began pointing in a different direction.
I fully expected to walk into the theater and
sit down and watch a long dry apoligetical and
theological defense for the resurrection of
Christ.
MOVIE REVIEW
- a movie review
Instead it was a warm-hearted story of a
man hardened by scepticism who slowly
comes to grip with his disbelief. This movie
will tug on the heartstrings and dare I say
make some weep in the dark-
ness of the theater (thank
God)! There are moments
of frustration and anger at
the attack of Christianity
and Christ but then there are
Hallelujah moments where
you are hard pressed not to
shout amen out loud in a semi-
crowded theater!
The directing and acting are
surprisingly well done. I am not
sure why they dont use real
Christians for these major roles
(one is a devotee of the Church
of Scientology) but they still are
convincing actors (so are many
Christians.)
It is sad that few young people were there
to watch this. Perhaps it was because it was
senior day or maybe because it was early
afternoon; or perhaps because they were all
watching Fast and Furious or any of the other
action flicks out. I like action and entertain-
ment as much as the next guy but how great
it was to see a Christ-centered movie about
heart and hope and to walk away feeling edi-
fied instead of entertained (Now if only I could
get the same from Church!)
Something to ponder!
21
 The Patmos Prophecies - a poem

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22 23
Come unto me, all ye that labour
and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest.

Matt. 11:28

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