The Chair and I

Well…well…well.  Here we are two years since publishing “The King and I” and, while the King has departed like a vagabond man, the Chair and I remain to reflect and ruminate upon our time spent with the King.  This is the final post in a three-part series that began four years ago with “Wasted” followed by “The King and I” two years later.  I included the groundbreaking message “Wasted” by Watchman Nee in these first two posts to provide a deeper insight into what it means to waste oneself on the Lord Jesus Christ.  While this post concludes this series, the message today is not about being wasted on the LORD.  I believe the past 20 years with an emphasis on the last four years has sufficiently demonstrated this principle and has been proclaimed on this blog.  In addition to my own example, I know the heart of the LORD has been blessed to see so many others waste themselves on the hill of the fools! 

With the departure of the King and His apostolic anointing, the last act of the House of Ephraim has been accomplished, therefore this will be the final post published on this blog.  The new blog, the Accidental Apostle, will provide context and additional material for the curious of mind and those who might have lacked understanding as to the true purpose of the House of Ephraim blog.  As I mentioned many times before, I refrained from publishing much more than what I actually published.  The time has come to share those experiences and events as I believe someone who is serious about the LORD and being about His business will greatly benefit.  But before doing that, I want to share some insights into my spiritual journey during the past 14 years 13 of which involved writing the House of Ephraim blog. 

During my first trip to the Ben Israel Fellowship in 2007, I received an apostolic anointing that had been the driving force of my life until the spring of this year.  Years before I had ever stepped foot on the Ben Israel property, I received a prophetic anointing as documented on this blog.  While moving and having my being under a double-portion anointing, both prophetic and apostolic, the Spirit of the LORD rolled like a “trojan horse” into the midst of various religious communities, particularly the Jewish community, where He could be unleashed and freed to not only touch but turn so many lives over, under, sideways, and down.  This move of the Holy Spirit not only disrupted individuals and groups but even nations too.  The House of Ephraim blog captured many of these events according to the Way established by the LORD Himself which is my way–demonstrate first then proclaim.  

This action is not a pastoral calling.  It is altogether something different and other from what is typically understood as a religious or church activity.  The one who embraces this mode of living realizes that the very nature of God is wild — not domesticated.  When you really think about it, it is amazing just how much men desire to domesticate God and how successful they have been at accomplishing this undertaking!  I believe that to the degree that men have domesticated God so also women have domesticated men.  It has been said that only dead men are free, but I say that only free men are alive and once they relinquish their freedom they are as good as dead.  Personally, I chose to let God run wild in my life rather than participate in efforts to try and domesticate Him.  In turn, He has allowed me to run wild with His Spirit like a Free Bird rather than succumb to the domestication efforts imposed by the fairer sex and her institutional men. 

In addition to the necessity of transferring the apostolic anointing back to Ben Israel, a more personal reason why I could never move, marry, or become employed was that my status as a free man would become jeopardized.  To give way to pressure from the authoritarians, religious or otherwise, would require the relinquishing of my freedom even though the LORD has now granted grace in all these things with the purpose of the House of Ephraim blog having been fulfilled.  But even with His grace, there will never be a marriage between myself and an American, Israeli, Russian, or Cherokee girl despite the increase in their workload and the decrease in my guilt — my pleasures remain the same! 

So as the final curtain on what has been a labor of love these past 13 years draws to a close, my interests are shifting in an entirely new direction.  Can anyone say Mexico, Latinas, and restaurants?  Of course, this might require moving and employment, but it certainly doesn’t require marriage!  Basking in the warm Mexican sunshine while writing my memoirs and sipping the finest tequila–honestly, as far as I’m concerned, life couldn’t get any better than that!  And God, I do love those Latinas although the Romanian girls aren’t too bad either 😉 

But this isn’t just about me.  I would be remiss to not acknowledge the one who has always been there regardless of the circumstances.  Behind every man of consequence is a reliable Chair!  Obedient, gentle, quiet, never moody, available 24/7, simply adorned outwardly, doesn’t need to be recognized on a special day or any other day for that matter.  Just does the job day in and day out without complaint or giving way to fear.  I’m a lucky man to have found such a companion!  To the Chair I say, “We saw it all the way through to the end baby!  We took the blows together.  Nothing happened to the one without the knowledge of the other.  And more, much more than this, we did it My Way!” 

And now the end is near
And so I face the final curtain
My friend, I’ll say it clear
I’ll state my case of which I’m certain

I’ve lived a life that’s full
I travelled each and every highway
And more, much more than this
I did it my way

Regrets, I’ve had a few
But, then again, too few to mention
I did what I had to do
And saw it through without exemption

I planned each chartered course
Each careful step along the byway
And more, much more than this
I did it my way

Yes, there were times
I’m sure you knew
When I bit off more than I could chew
But through it all
When there was doubt
I ate it up and spit it out
I faced it all
And I stood tall
And did it my way

I’ve loved, I’ve laughed and cried
I’ve had my fill, my share of losing
And now, as tears subside
I find it all so amusing

To think I did all that
And may I say, not in a shy way
Oh no, oh no, not me
I did it my way

For what is a man?
What has he got?
If not himself
Then he has naught
To say the things he truly feels
And not the words of one who kneels
The record shows I took the blows
And did it my way

Yes, it was my way

Say it Ain’t So, Hoe

Amos 9:13 

¹³ Behold, days are coming, declares the LORD, “When the plowman will overtake the reaper, And the one who treads grapes will overtake him who sows the seed;….”

They descended from the hills and ascended from the valleys to gather on the plain of Legacy Crossing to disrupt, dislodge and, ultimately, dismantle the fool in the chair.  As many as they could summon, both their great and their small, they came, all made equal in the Eyes of their Creator by their over-sized SUVs.  They came in such great numbers that they made the Florida Turnpike look like a hurricane evacuation in reverse.  As they converged on the Crossing, Sergeant Hoe stood on her pedestal with whistle in mouth and riding-crop in hand to direct them as they took up their positions.  Entrenched behind their breastworks, they laid siege upon the fool in the chair.       

They came brandishing their families like double-edged swords.  They brought their young, their elderly, and their K9s to exploit in ways that would make their Palestinian cousins blush.  In some cases, they brought the useful idiot who pays the bills.  They came to save the faith of their mothers and their mothers’ mothers, and their mothers and so on.  How could one misguided individual possibly threaten what they cherish most, that is, their families as being the reason for their existence. For them the family is the faith, and the faith is the family.  As far as they are concerned, these two are joined in such a way as to render them inseparable. 

And they have good reason to think this given that their thinking has been and continues to be validated, sustained, and augmented by practitioners of a religion who smoke cigars and sip whiskey around the grave of someone who was supposed to resurrect from the dead on the third day but nearly 30 years later they are still waiting—that’s a lot of cigars and whiskey consumed around the campfire!  Do you think they roast marshmallows too?  This scene raises the question of calling what is true false and what is false true and the implications thereof.  For the Practitioners and those who have relied on their guidance only one word can describe the fallout from such erroneous judgments—devastating.  Jesus came in His Father’s name, and they did not accept Him, but if someone else comes in his own name, they will accept him.        

This same Jesus, the One who has been tiptoeing around this spectacle, continues to intercede on the behalf of those who call on His name.  He prefers to not say much because He has already said what needs to be said.  He tried reminders before but has been disappointed time and time again.  He often wonders why what He created becomes more important than the Creator?      

Matthew 10:34-37

³⁴ Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. ³⁵ For I came to turn a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; ³⁶ And a person’s enemies will be the members of his household; ³⁷ The one who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and the one who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.

Life is meant to be lived poetically not systematically… 

When I worked for the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in Washington D.C., I found a niche for myself in the field of Project Management (PM).  In fact, I became known as Mr. Project Management throughout the BLS, and this eventually led to a promotion to the Office of the Commissioner.  I had come a long way from working on a procedures staff for the previous 16 years where my primary duty was writing user documentation for computer systems and other operations.  I was hired as an Economist but after realizing that my actual job was writing technical documentation, I referred to myself as the “Accidental Economist.”

Fortunately, I had an excellent mentor in Bob Kramer who encouraged me to think outside the office culture and explore acquiring other skills.  Bob always called the BLS the ‘Bureau of Lost Souls’ and this was the impetus that drove him to do what he did.  As I acquired new skills and built a network outside of the silo mentality my interest shifted to PM.  While I was very dedicated to the technical aspects of PM, I sort of took the soft skills for granted even though I was an experienced facilitator.  One day an Assistant Commissioner, who I respected a lot, told me that PM was more an art than a science.  I disagreed with him then, but today I would agree with him.  PM reflects many aspects of life itself and that brings me to two key PM principles:  Identifying Assumptions and Managing Expectations.

The first step for any project is to identify the assumptions.  Assumptions must be clearly identified and clarified to give a project a chance of success.  Overlooking a critical assumption or integrating a faulty or incorrect assumption can derail the project.  When developing the project plan, the project manager must not only manage the expectations of stakeholders, management, and resources for each task, but these expectations must be managed throughout the life of the project.  Soft skills such as facilitation help the project manager manage expectations. 

Why am I sharing this information about project management?  Because these two principles, identifying assumptions and managing expectations, are not just critical PM skills but also life skills.  The difference being that where PM assumptions require identification and clarity not all life assumptions are able to meet this standard and, in some cases, don’t even come close.  Every one of us makes assumptions about the things that affect our lives.  Some assumptions are a given like the daytime will eventually give way to the nighttime then return the next day, but others are not so easily understood or are easily misunderstood.  This lack of understanding is the space where our lives are truly lived even though our nature pushes us to a more black or white point of view that can result in an incorrect or faulty assumption.  The question is can people learn to not only co-exist with the gray areas of our lives but learn to live and thrive in those areas?  This might require more than our current thimble full of faith but at least it’s more than a mustard seed! 

This brings me back to my own experience at BLS during the summer of 2008.  I was having my annual review with the Deputy Commissioner of the BLS.  This position is second only to the Commissioner who is appointed by the President of the United States.  Since BLS was established in 1884, the position of Deputy Commissioner had always been filled by a career civil servant.  The Commissioner is usually some high-profile figure, but the Deputy Commissioner knows how the place works.  During the review, the Deputy Commissioner looked directly at me and said, “I can see you sitting in this chair” which meant he could see me in his position one day. 

Who could have ever guessed that one year later I would be submitting my letter of resignation?  Everyone was shocked.  Government employees just don’t do that after 20 years of service.  You are just beginning to realize your maximum benefits and pay that you most likely cannot match in the private sector.  After weeks of people trying to convince me to change my mind, I found myself in the elevator alone with the Deputy Commissioner.  While he and I rode together from the 4^th floor to the Lobby not a single word was exchanged.  As he stared at me in disbelief, I smiled knowing that I already have a chair that he knows nothing about where my new career as the “Accidental Apostle” was just beginning.  Honestly, it is moments like these that I treasure most in life! 

Can you imagine if I was married with a couple of kids and going home to tell Hoe that I’m giving up my career and my income?  I think the Chair and I would be out on the street in short order!  The kids would be crying because they can no longer expect an all-expense paid college education.  Divorce papers would be in the mail addressed to Curb@Side.  The whole thing would have been a non-starter.  I would still be working for the BLS counting the days until the last child graduated from college so I could retire to my back porch drinking my green label and listening to Led Zeppelin!  

Damn the pusher man…!

Let’s set aside the Practitioners, Sergeant Hoe, and the rest of disgruntled Hoeville and focus on who is having a ball pushing this caravan off the cliff.  While I have been known as a freewheelin’ dealer of love, joy, and hope, even if only for a season, unbeknownst to me behind the scenes a manipulative and insincere cartel has been conspiring to promote their own agenda.  These wise guys make the characters in Chaucer’s “Canterbury Tales” look like Norman Rockwell’s circa 1950 painting ‘Thanksgiving in America.’  The conspirators come from varied backgrounds such as a remnant from Rasputin’s Russian Roulette table, Kabballah Wizards, the Glee for free crowd, and Harry Potter’s cousin.  Other conspirators left the scene once they realized that the only path to the God of Israel is through Jesus Christ.  They either left with joy on their heads after receiving the good news or they were so distraught that they had to be taken away in straight-jackets.  This latter group currently resides at their local Rubber Room Community Center. 

Before political correctness took the English language captive, people with minds like the cartel conspirators were called pushers.  Our contemporary cream-puffed society calls them bullies, but I prefer pusher because bully implies that there is a victim—God, the whole damn culture has become feminized!  Unsure of his identity the pusher plays both sides of the fence with glee.  He is driven like a mist in the wind with an agenda that elevates only himself and his fraud squad at the expense of everyone else.  He seamlessly blends into his environment where no one would ever think to observe him or his actions.  But this is what the pusher specializes in.  He pushes and pushes until an unsuspecting individual finally takes the bait and before you know it—BAM!  Damn the pusher man!

Despite the pusher man wreaking havoc, I’m thankful for his efforts, in part, because they reveal a silver-lining in this on-going saga.  Whether intentionally or unintentionally, the pusher man has brought to light Hoe Nation giving us a new context in which to understand the faith and why it barely fills a thimble.  This revelation is helpful when choosing a girl for a communal living arrangement like the House where the sun always rises.  Sorry Charlie, but marriage is just not my cup of tea therefore it is not for me.  Cancel Children too.  I know this ruffles the feathers of the Practitioners and other religious and cultural flag-wavers, but this is my perspective.  And if I have learned anything from my 57 years I have learned to live with my perspective. 

I’m sure some of the things I say here on this blog might lead one to think that I have it out for certain groups but, quite the contrary, it is these groups that help me understand what I say and for that I say, “thank you.”  It’s like we are all in a psychedelic room, blind-folded, and trying to feel our way through a maze that isn’t there.  But in the case of the pusher, I don’t have much sympathy.  I probably should, but I just cannot find it within myself at the present time.  I know what I’m about to say is a bit out of character but, damn the torpedoes, and God damn the pusher man!

One last thing, does anyone know someone who can loan me four pistols and two large knives?  😊  Happy Holidays!

You know I smoked a lot of grass
Oh Lord, I’ve popped a lot of pills
But I’ve never touched nothin’
That my spirit could kill
You know, I’ve seen a lot of people
Walkin’ ’round
With tombstones in their eyes
But the pusher don’t care
Ah, if you live or if you die

God damn, mmm hmm, the pusher
God damn, yeah, I say, the pusher
I said God damn
God damn the pusher man

You know the dealer, the dealer is a man
With the love grass in his hand
Oh, but the pusher is a monster
Good God, he’s not a natural man
The dealer for a nickel, Lord, will sell
You lots of sweet dreams
Ah, but the pusher’ll ruin your body
Lord, he’ll leave your, he’ll leave your
Mind to scream

God damn, uh huh, the pusher
God damn, God damn the pusher
I said God damn, God, God damn the
pusher man

Well, now if I were President of this
Land
You know, I’d declare total war on the
pusher man
I’d cut him if he stands
And I’d shoot him he’d run
Yes, I’d kill him with my Bible
And my razor and my gun

God damn, ah, the pusher
God damn the pusher
I said God damn, God damn the
pusher man

House of Jasmin

They huffed, and they puffed, but they just could not blow the House down. You might be asking: who huffed? and who puffed? I call them Hoe Nation. You see them everyday. Chatting over coffee while complaining about their unmotivated lessor halves, marching for participation awards for all their children, and driving over-sized SUVs around town that they claim are needed for the family when they actually just want more space to buy more stuff. Woe is the indentured servant who they call husband! On the other hand, you will rarely find a girl from the House of Jasmin driving one of those behemoths or even having the desire to do so. She is inclined to drive something more sleek and sporty that can zip around town and, while she will gladly accept a fancy roadster as a gift from one of her admirers, she doesn’t have that expectation as she can buy one for herself.

While I can talk all day about Hoe Nation and their unquenchable presence in my life, I’m really here to exalt the virtues of the House of Jasmin (‘House’ for short). I first came into contact with the House about a year and a half ago. As written in my last post, the religious authorities, Hoe Nation, and other like-minded simpletons had pretty much brought an end to my apostolic journeys and forays into the surrounding culture at-large. One could say that they had me boxed-in. But just as the prophet Elisha said to his servant who thought they had been surrounded, “Don’t be afraid. Those who are with us are more than those who are with them” so also God in His everlasting kindness provided an escape route. And not just any escape route! This escape route would take me on a journey of discovery into a world that has existed in a state of uncorrupted innocence either unknown or just misunderstood by Hoe Nation.

The uncorrupted innocence I’m talking about is where authentic relationships are formed through uninhibited conversation on any topic the human mind can conjure up. Also, it doesn’t hurt that most of the women are young, beautiful, and dressed in sexy lingerie and, at the push of a button and a few bucks, one can enter into a blissful room where any fantasy can virtually be realized! But this is not what the House has primarily been for me. While the House has been a place to temporarily escape the escapades of those who surround me, what really has surprised me are the meaningful and loving relationships that have been formed with many of the girls there. So much so that I have told some of them that I wish I could put my arms around them and take care of them all! Of course, there have been jealousies and disappointments but such is life–something that Hoe Nation is very reluctant to accept. Not only are they reluctant to accept this fact of life but in some cases they have become downright hostile and quite possibly losing their minds!

I have personally witnessed an Hoe Nation devotee outside my bedroom window at the crack of dawn, dressed in jeans with pant legs tucked into rubber boots, a long sleeved shirt, a facial mask with matching head scarf, and wearing latex dishwashing gloves with one hand stuck halfway up her dog’s ass! At first I thought she might be giving the poor critter a colonoscopy, but I soon realized her intentions were much more sinister. I never cease to be amazed how people react when they feel their identity or understanding of their existence is threatened. It doesn’t matter if it is a culture, a religious group or, in this case, Hoe Nation. I didn’t know if I should call PETA, the veterinarian, or Bellevue! You don’t find these kinds of mental disturbances at the House of Jasmin even though it is obvious that some of the women would rather be doing something else.

Speaking of some of the women at the House, during my tenure there I have seen four or five women purposely leave that field of employment after discovering a personal relationship with God through faith in Jesus. I know there are others who have discovered the same relationship but they have their own reasons for remaining where they are. I’m not one to judge them one way or the other. Like the rest of us their decision is between them and God. In God we know we’ve won! It has been said that there is a hint of Jasmin in the air, but for me it is more than a hint it is the House of Jasmin!

Pass238over 2021: T-Day

It’s finally here…every one’s favorite time of the year!  Like past years this year will not disappoint!  So much is being revealed this Passover season like how Christ (Messiah) did not die for us, but rather he died because of us…why do we always have to make it about us?  Trust me, He didn’t sweat drops of blood in the Garden of Gethsemane because of his love for us!  But through His obedience to the Father’s will we stand as the beneficiaries of His ultimate sacrifice.  So where does this understanding leave us today as far as our relationship with the Lord is concerned?  To get some sort of a grasp on this question I had to go back more than a biblical generation to the genesis of my own experience with the Author and Finisher of our faith. 

“He who is forgiven much loves much, but he who is forgiven little loves little.” – Jesus

In 1976, I received my first Bible, King James version, from my parents on my 12^th birthday.  After their divorce around 1977 or 78, that Bible followed me wherever I went only to gather dust on a desk or some bookshelf.  The only time I opened it in an intentional way came during the 1990s when I was traveling to Spain and reading books by Ernest Hemingway like crazy—my favorite being “The Sun Also Rises.”  The title of the book was taken from the Book of Ecclesiastes which is found in the Bible.  Along with a quote by Gertrude Stein about Hemingway and his band of lost souls being a “lost generation,” the cover page included the following passage from Ecclesiastes: 

“One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh; but the earth abideth forever…The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down and hasteth to the place where he arose…The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth around continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits…all the rivers run in to the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.” 

I can’t believe more than three years have passed since the freedom of religion coalition posted my picture with the word “WANTED” in big bold letters.  After a couple of years in their crosshairs, they handed me off to the women’s rights movement.  One would think that this group might be satisfied with the right to vote but for some reason they now demand the right to be married!  Isn’t it amazing how they ended up where they began? 

            I am woman 

            hear me roar 

            give me a ring 

            you lazy boor 

            stop thinking only of yourself 

            you lusty little elf 

            don’t you realize that 

            my stuff don’t smell 

            when I’m finished with you 

            I’ll meet you in Hell

Not one to miss out on the fun, Highway 61 and his never-ending caravan broadsided me just as I was beginning to stand.  Or was I just beginning to fall?  I really don’t know.  And as if all this hasn’t been enough, what is left of my universe has been invaded by a constellation of loons, goons, and some girl who calls herself Moon.  Who just can’t seem to free herself from the stranglehold of her obsession.  Despite this circular firing squad, I’m thankful that like the sun, wind, and rivers that my end is where I began in my chair ministering unto the Lord.

Trump Won but God Chose Biden…

When I started to read that King James Bible on a regular basis in the spring of 2001, I noticed that I had underlined one particular verse in red pencil from when I was 12 or 13 years old—that verse being 2 Chronicles 7:14 

“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” 

Twenty-five years later this verse would become prominent everywhere my walk with God took me.  It seemed like every ministry and pastor with whom I had any kind of connection was preaching this verse in some context but usually in relation to our country—even up to the 2020 election.  I was once even a participant in a prayer group dedicated to praying 2 Chronicles 7:14 for the healing of our land.  What baffled me though was it seemed like God was not answering these prayers.

Then 2020 arrived with the COVID-19 crisis at the beginning of the year.  One of my early observations was that some individuals held in high regard by their constituents, you could call them idols, were making statements that made them look like idiots.  These individuals included professional athletes, government officials, and even ministers.  On the other hand, our new heroes were grocery clerks, delivery guys, health care workers, and others who through daily contact with people serve all of us.  I even found myself saying ‘thank you’ to these people as if they were going off to war.  This was the first indication that something bigger was happening than just the COVID crisis itself. 

As 2020 progressed into full election year throttle, radical groups began taking over major cities and even burning parts of these cities to the ground.  Another manifestation of this radical behavior involved the tearing down of statues.  What began with the tearing down of statues that represented racism, slavery, and oppression surprisingly morphed into the indiscriminate tearing down of any statue.  Again, I realized something bigger is going on than just social justice warriors wielding their own brand of revenge.  At this point, I began to connect the dots.  The idols in our country were coming down whether they be living people or inanimate objects. 

The final dot appeared in October 2020 just a few weeks before the election.  Around 100,000 Christians gathered on the National Mall in Washington DC under the shadow of the Washington Monument to pray, you guessed it, 2 Chronicles 7:14.  The featured speaker was a well-known and highly regarded Messianic Jewish Rabbi whose last name indicates a direct lineage to Aaron, the brother of Moses.  Ironically, this Rabbi was ministering under the shadow of one of the most famous phallic symbols in the world, also known as an Asherah pole in the Bible—just like his forefather before him who fashioned the golden calf in the wilderness, this minister was doing something eerily similar.  One might ask how come this gathering could not have been held in some obscure wheat field in Kansas?  I believe the answer is idolatry with the most insidious form being ministers who allow themselves to become idols in the eyes of their people. 

In 2020, God started to answer 50 years of prayers related to 2 Chronicles 7:14.  I don’t think His answer looks like what most Believers were expecting.  That’s because the idolatry is so deeply ingrained in us that we can no longer recognize it for what it is—so the discomfort and even dislocation is real when the healing actually comes.  Racism is real, but so is idolatry.  Maybe addressing the latter will help resolve the former. 

Being about the Father’s Business…

When you have women standing in the pulpit of God spitting out seed it is only a matter of time before you have men who want to have babies from their own loins.  This is the work of Jezebel but, my friend, the times they are a changin…

As the spirit of Jezebel is being evicted from the souls of women, from the Jew first then from those who eat the crumbs from the children’s table, the spirit of Ahab will surely follow suit in the men.  The spirit of Jezebel comes as an angel of light giving the appearance of performing some kind of “good” for man-kind.  Ahab jumps in-line and does the bidding of Jezebel.  As Jezebel goes so goes Ahab.  The manhood of the male, or the lack thereof, is reflected in his relation to the female.  Once the woman returns to her natural feminine character then the man will return to his natural masculine character. 

After 20 years of playing bumper cars with the religious establishment, the suffragettes, and the children of Israel, the man has come around to the understanding that he is a Wanted Man with a badge.  I’m beginning to identify more and more with Samson from the Bible.  Despite his parents pleading with him to choose a woman from his own people, Samson chose the hell he would go through because of his choosing Delilah as preferable to the hell he would go through by choosing a woman from his own people.  He chose the right woman.  Where he went wrong was when he decided to please her.  This decision changed Samson from a Wanted Man into a conquered man. 

While most people, especially religious people, prefer to be moving about, marrying and giving in marriage, and seeking some kind of employment for their lives—here am I, a Wanted Man, faithfully and steadfastly sitting in my chair with the same foolish grin unmoved, unmarried, and unemployed!  Times are crazy and people are strange.  This Wanted Man is out of range.  Oh my how you have changed! 

Wanted Man (Take 1) and call me in the morning…

Wanted man in Indiana
Wanted man in Ohio
Wanted man in Texarkana
Wanted man in Mexico

Wanted man in Sacramento
Wanted man in old Cheyenne
Wherever you may look tonight
You might see this wanted man

Wanted man by Lucy Watson
Wanted man by Jeannie Brown
Wanted man by Nellie Johnson
Wanted man in this next town

I’ve had all that I wanted
of a lot of things I’ve had
And a lot more than I needed
of some things that turned out bad

Wanted man in Sacramento
Wanted man in Tennessee
Wanted man in Oklahoma
Wanted man must go down in history

Wanted man in Indiana
Wanted man in old Cheyenne
Wherever you may look tonight
You might see this wanted man

Well I went to sleep in Shreveport
Woke up in Abilene
Wondering why the hell I’m wanted
At some place halfway between

So I went onto El Paso
Stopped to get myself a map
Went the wrong way into Juarez
with Juanita on my lap

Wanted man in Indiana
Wanted man in Mexico
Wanted man in Milwaukee
Wanted man in Buffalo

Wanted man in Kansas City
Wanted man in old Cheyenne
Wanted man wherever you may look tonight
You might see this wanted man

Wanted man in Washington D.C.
Wanted man in old St. Charles
Wanted man in Tennessee
Wanted man in Jerusalem

Palm Beach Gardens
Boca Raton
Bucharest
and the list goes on and on….

 

Beauty of the Blood

I can only imagine what Abraham, being a vessel made unto honor, must have endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath whom he encountered throughout his pilgrimage.  And this so G-d might make known the riches of His glory on the vessel of mercy (Abraham) who was prepared beforehand for glory.  But what made this mercy possible and how did Abram acquire it? 

In Genesis 15, G-d Himself makes a covenant with Abram by taking the form of a smoking oven and a flaming torch then passing through the blood of the split halves of the heifer, female goat, and ram. This covenant, like all covenants made by G-d, required blood. It is the beauty of the blood that seals the covenant thereby ensuring mercy for those who claim the blood. Abram obtained the mercy of G-d through the blood of the sacrifice. In his walk with G-d Abraham was covered by this blood for his past, present, and future transgressions. This is the manifest mercy of G-d as demonstrated through the vessel of mercy.

Exodus 23:27-30

²⁷ “I will send My terror ahead of you, and throw into confusion all the people among whom you come, and I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you.  ²⁸ I will send hornets ahead of you so that they will drive out the Hivites, the Caananites, and the Hittites before you.  ²⁹ I will not drive them out before you in a single year, that the land may not become desolate and the beasts of the field become too numerous for you.  ³⁰ I will drive them out before you little by little, until you become fruitful and take possession of the land.” 

Seven years ago, I entered the land that has been set aside for my possession with the mercy of God trailing me wherever I place my foot.  Many of the inhabitants of this land, you could call them Hivites, Caananites, and Hittites or those not covered by the Blood of the Son of God, have been driven out little by little as I become increasingly fruitful while taking possession of the land.  Walking as Abraham walked knowing that He who calls will demonstrate His glory through vessels of mercy just as He did through Abraham.  These vessels of mercy are completely dependent on the Blood of the Lamb of God and the appropriation of this Blood on our lives! Oh, the Beauty of the Blood! 

The beasts of the field conceal themselves by lurking in dark places and smiling behind masks to hide their identity.  When the vessel of mercy comes into their midst, they realize they have one of two choices: receive the Blood of Jesus of Nazareth or remain with the transgressors who have been numbered for judgment.  You can be born a Jew or an Eskimo but if you are not covered by the Blood of the Lamb of God it is as if you are a Hivite, Caananite, or Hittite in His eyes.  In the Old Covenant, the Mercy Seat of the Ark of the Covenant was stained in blood from all the sacrifices.  Thankfully for us, the mercy of God now only requires our acceptance of the blood of the once and for all sinless sacrifice. 

Blood with benefits other than just the mercy of God.  As the blood poured out of the Son of God on that ol’ rugged cross the peanut gallery shivered in shame as the Man was completely exposed.  It is interesting how most of us project the shame we feel onto the exposed Man who was pouring Himself out and ministering to us until His last breath.  But God the Father required this sacrifice that the people might come to not only receive His mercy but also understand the cost.  The blood covers the criticism that others might voluntarily or involuntarily project onto us.  Take comfort in the words spoken by the prophet Jeremiah, “His mercies are new every morning!”  I know the Jester and his thorny crown does.  I got Jester!  This courtroom is now adjourned 😊     

The Plight of the Good Jewish Husband

Genesis 3:6

⁶ And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. 

Those infamous words ‘and he did eat’ not only turned the history of the world on its head but also brought into existence one of the most puzzling creatures to ever inhabit the earth.  The first Good Jewish Husband is born!  Ironically, what was busy being born that day was also busy dying.  I’m sure when Adam saw Eve take an eat the apple he exclaimed, ‘What kind of woman is this?!”  What he should have done was to politely ask her to give him the apple so he could throw it out of the garden.  If she refused to give him the apple, then he should have promptly thrown both his wife and her apple out of the garden!  Unfortunately, what Adam did under that ol’ apple tree has been to the chagrin of all mankind.

Rather than honor the One who created him from the dust of the earth Adam chose to listen to his wife thereby ushering in the era of the Good Jewish Husband.  This first recorded incident of what has become a perpetual blight for the past almost 6000 years, that is, the man listening to and wanting to please his woman is best reflected in the timeless catchphrase “happy wife happy life.”  This is what Adam was thinking on that fateful day when ‘and he did eat’ giving us the first Good Jewish Husband.  Oh Yeah, maybe a happy wife but a shortened life with an unhappy ending.  Maybe the man feared the wrath of his wife more than he feared the One who scraped together some dust then blew on it giving Adam his life?  I don’t know.  What I do know is that this is the defining characteristic of the Good Jewish Husband that has been passed down from generation to generation.  You could call it a curse.

Of course, you really cannot fault the first Good Jewish Husband too much for his decision to listen to his wife rather than ask his Friend to make him a new wife.  The One who made his first wife could have surely made him a new wife.  This begs the question why did the man not request a new woman?  I’m sure the travail and suffering he went through to bring the first woman into existence had something to do with his decision.  My prophetic insight into the mystery of the Hebrew Scriptures tells me that what the man went through to bring the woman into existence makes what a woman goes through in natural childbirth seem like a Sunday picnic.  So the man chose to please his woman.

Genesis 2:21

 ²¹ So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. 

Despite this curse of the first Good Jewish Husband that has engulfed the world since the beginning, the LORD God in His goodness planned a route of redemption that would come through none other than the ‘Seed of the woman!’  This Seed would not only be the last Good Jewish Husband but the one and only true Good Jewish Husband. 

1 Corinthians 15:45-49 

⁴⁵ So also it is written: “The first man, Adam, Became a living person.”  The last Adam was a life-giving spirit. ⁴⁶ However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual. ⁴⁷ The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven. ⁴⁸ As is the earthy one, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly one, so also are those who are heavenly. ⁴⁹ Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly. 

I’m sure some will ask ‘then why don’t you get married and have natural children who can become spiritual?’  Let me state for the record that I love children—always have, they attract to me like ducks to water.  But I have no desire to have natural children of my own.  The LORD God has shown grace to me by giving me spiritual children many times over.  If I ever do get married, it will be to a helper well-suited to my sexual desires.  I neither need nor want a co-creator in any capacity or some mystical opposing force.  I know where to look for the kind of woman who will not only give me what I need but more importantly what I want.

Like the first Good Jewish Husband I also find myself asking, ‘What Kind of Woman Is This?’  

The gates of heaven must be open
I think I saw an angel just walk by
Hey, the gates of heaven must be open
I think I saw an angel just walk by

I heard a blind man screamin’, say
Now there goes a sight for my sore eyes
There goes a sight for my sore eyes
Now there goes a sight for my sore eyes
What kind of woman is this?

You should be locked up, pretty girl
In my bedroom with me
Hey, you should be locked up, pretty girl
In my bedroom with me

Ah, so we can do the same thing that Adam
Did under that ol’ apple tree
What he did under that apple tree
What he did under that apple tree
Well, well, well, well, well, well
Choke out

Here I come again

There’s always some good looking girls
Hanging ’round this famous place
Well hey, there’s always some good looking girls
Hanging ’round this famous place
Talking about Jasmin now

Ah, but this particular one
Looked like something from outer space
She looked like something from outer space

What kind of woman is this?
Hmm-hmm, what kind of woman is this?
What kind of woman is this?
Ooh-ooh, what kind of woman is this?

Look at that, she shakes all over when she walk
She made a blind man see
Made a dumb man talk, oh
What kind of woman is this?
Hmm-mm-mm, shucks

Tell me
Hey, ooh-ooh, oh-oh-oh-oh, hey
What kind of woman is this, man?
Please
Somebody gotta, gotta, gotta, gotta
Gotta, gotta, gotta tell me, tell me
What kind of woman is this?

   

New Jerusalem

Acts 1:6-7 

⁶ So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?”  ⁷ He said to them, “It is not for you to know times and epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority;” 

As has already been prophesied and discussed in recent months on this blog, Israel has entered into a false peace with her neighbors.  How do I know this?  Because the Scripture says that the government will rest on His shoulders.  On whose shoulders?  If not on the shoulders of Moses or David or even Natanyahu—then on whose shoulders? 

Isaiah 9:6 

For a child will be born to us, a

Son will be given to us;

And the government will rest on

His shoulders;

And His name will be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty

God,

Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

Any peace established on a foundation other than the shoulders of Him who was given to us is by definition a false peace.  I’m sure some will say, ‘Didn’t you hear about Rabbi Kaduri?  Who died in 2006 at the age of 107 and left an encrypted note that indicated that Yahshua (Jesus) is the Messiah?’  Yes, I did hear about that and thought it very compelling at the time, but I have seen scant evidence since then that the Jewish people, religious or otherwise, have embraced this proclamation.  If the Jews really believed this, they would be on the rooftops of Jerusalem crying out the Name of Yahshua HaMashiach (Jesus the Messiah) to the east, south, west, and north! 

Further, after the massacre of Jews at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh in October 2018, some of the most prominent Orthodox Jewish Rabbis from Chabad Jewish Community centers in south Florida took to the radio stations pleading for “more education and tolerance of speech.”  I couldn’t help but think ‘What about God?’  Their secular humanistic solutions were very revealing with no first reference, in fact no reference at all, to God let alone Jesus who they supposedly now believed is the Messiah!  I knew then that they either didn’t believe Rabbi Kaduri or they believed him but lacked the testicular fortitude to say anything.  They stayed within the parameters of political correctness and what is “acceptable.”  Who can argue with a plea for more education and tolerance of speech?

This understanding did not come without a cost as I had just been poisoned by elements within the Jewish community while in Key West the month before the tragedy.  After recovering for two weeks, I returned to Key West and received a double-portion of their poison that left me in a much worse state than the first time.  Within three weeks after the second poisoning, the massacre at the Tree of Life synagogue occurred.  In addition to the reaction of the Jewish religious leaders in Florida to this tragedy, the Chief Orthodox Rabbi in Israel came out with a statement that this incident occurred because the conservative congregants at The Tree of Life synagogue were not Jewish enough!  This extraordinary statement floored me.

The spirit behind this statement harkens back to Germany in the 1930s when Jews were examined for how much Jewish ancestry they had inherited.  One-eighth?  One-quarter?  Half?  The only difference being that with the Nazis a Jew could be too much Jewish and with the Chief Rabbi a Jew may not be Jewish enough in his practices.  According to Hitler and the Chief Rabbi, the fate of the Jew depends on the degree of his Jewishness.  As terrible as the massacre was, the tragedy was magnified by the reaction of the Jewish religious authorities. 

So here we are two years later with a so-called peace agreement between Israel and her neighbors with no reference to the Prince of Peace.  The LORD has made clear to me that there will be no more Appointments in Jerusalem or the land of Israel for this kid in my lifetime but, like our father Abraham, I’m looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God!

Revelation 21:2-3 

² And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.  ³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them.

This blog, House of Ephraim, has been and continues to be forward looking to the restoration of the kingdom of Israel—the new Jerusalem that comes down from heaven.  Where the One and only Messiah, Yahshua HaMashiach, will rule and reign for a thousand years! 

High Holy Days (5781/2020)

The High Holy Days officially begin at sundown, Tishri 1, the first day of the first month on the Hebrew calendar, which occurs at sundown on September 18th on the Gregorian calendar this year.  I have been publishing holiday posts for the past 12 years using the pamphlet I received from a Messianic ministry in 2008 that provides events and dates for both the spring and fall holidays thru 2020.  The year 2020 seemed a long way off when I published the first holiday post in 2008 but 2020 is now here with the fall holidays being the final entry in the pamphlet. 

Continuing with the theme of “Prophet as Message” it is important to understand that for the man to become the message he must first identify in a wholistic way with whatever God wants to communicate through him.  The preparation of the man is of an ultimate kind.  God weaves and watches over every detail of the man’s life from the time he is in the womb throughout the course of his life.  God literally has to rub the face of the man into what He wants to communicate through him to ensure the identification.  This process of slow growth and much reproach is how the man becomes the message in himself thereby enabling him to correctly discern the spiritual reality of a given situation.  God does not commit Himself through a human vessel in such a way unless the magnitude of the calling requires this kind of dedication.

With this understanding of the requirement placed on the prophetic man, opposition will always arise particularly from his foremost antagonist the spirit of Jezebel.  This spirit is first identified in the Book of Kings as the wife of Ahab the King of Israel or northern kingdom—hence, the name Jezebel.  The truth is that this spirit was around long before Jezebel the woman, but this is the first time she was identified as a person who has been taken up by this spirit.  The best way to understand the spirit of Jezebel is that she first inverts and then perverts the order established by God.  In actuality, she establishes a Matriarch inspired community.  She does this by propping up the man who is in authority by whispering in his ear seductions such as false doctrines and motives that ultimately undermine his first love.

As Satan relaxes on his chaise lounge smoking a Cuban stogie Jezebel his servant is doing her work.  HaSatan (The Accuser), being familiar with what the Bible says more than any human being, knows that God gives to and through the Jewish people first so if he can corrupt the part (Jewish community) then he can corrupt the whole (human race).  This is why the spirit of Jezebel entrenched herself within the Jewish community long before she ransacked other communities.  Thus, establishing the Jewish Matriarchal culture within the family that includes the token “Good Jewish Husband.”  The Rabbis validated and reinforced this cultural norm by creating fables such as the Jewish soul comes from the Jewish mother.  Excuse me…but every soul is individually unique and given of God!  Despite this weight of cultural conformity within the Jewish community, I do know of at least one Jewish voice of dissent that has been crying in the wilderness since the year I was born “It Ain’t Me Babe!”

While this spirit of Jezebel has had a stranglehold on the Jewish community for a long time, she didn’t make significant inroads into the American Christian community until the middle of the 20^th Century.  Jezebel found an open door through the Pentecostal Church that was already dabbling in the spiritual realm through the employment of the spiritual gifts.  What began with one woman stepping into the pulpit ultimately led to a widespread upheaval within significant segments of the American Church that would ignite a cultural revolution within the society itself.  One of the most egregious manifestations of this insurgency would be an Episcopalian Bishop of the National Cathedral in Washington D.C. who is not only a woman but also a lesbian.  Despite this jewel in her crown, Jezebel’s greatest achievement and most valued prize is the Transgendered Pentecostal Church. 

Why do I use the term ‘transgendered’ to describe the contemporary Pentecostal Church?  You have to look at what Jezebel does to the ministers who fall within the realm of her influence.  Essentially, she emasculates them as only she can do.  As mentioned earlier, she does this through seductions that ultimately render the Church null and void.  As she drives her turbocharged Prius Hybrid to church on Sunday mornings her trophy dangles from the rearview mirror with the following inscription “Pre-tribulation Rapture”—her most potent and lethal false doctrine.

Memo to pastors and church leaders:  if a woman in your congregation believes she has been called to the pulpit to preach, arrange to setup a booth at your local Wal-Mart.  Take the woman by the hand and lead her to the booth where she can talk to people all day and all night. 

1 Kings 18:19 

¹⁹ Now then send and gather to me all Israel at Mount Carmel, together with 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of the Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.” 

Elijah tells Ahab to go and assemble all Israel and the prophets who have come under the spell of Jezebel.  Notice that these prophets don’t eat at the table of Ahab the King of Israel, but rather they eat at the table of Jezebel!  I can see them sitting there waiting for Jezebel to lift her fork before they lift theirs.  You could say that this Matriarch led community represents the first Transgendered Church with Jezebel presiding over her emasculated ministers. 

1 Kings 19:2-3  

² Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So may the gods do to me and even more, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.” ³ And he was afraid and arose and ran for his life and came to Beersheeba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. 

After Elijah defeated and had slain the 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah, an outraged Jezebel declares the same fate for Elijah.  She doesn’t just seek Elijah; she relentlessly stalks him.  This has been the historical relationship between these two spirit entities with the one represented by the Spirit of the Lord and the other coming from the powers, principalities, and rulers in the heavenly realms.  While Elijah had little trouble trouncing Jezebel’s emasculated ministers, he runs like hell when she sets her sights on him!  How could Elijah act so confidently when confronting 850 transgendered ministers but fear for his own life when stalked by the Matriarch?

This same scenario would playout again in the New Covenant between John the Baptist who had the spirit of Elijah and Herodius the unlawful wife of King Herod.  Herodius would tell her daughter Salome who was King Herod’s step-daughter, after King Herod granted Salome anything she wanted after pleasing the King and his guests by her dancing, to request the head of John the Baptist who was being kept under lock and key in the King’s prison.  King Herod knew the people thought John was a prophet, so he was more than apprehensive about having John executed, but he ordered the execution anyway and John’s head was presented to Herodius on a silver tray.  The spirit of Jezebel must have been gloating over her apparent victory albeit short-lived.  Just like in the Book of Kings, a Jehu like figure arrives on the scene and throws Jezebel off the balcony. 

As God reveals His message through His servant the prophet so also must His plan of redemption come through the prophetic man.  God brings the man to the point where he is not only able to identify the demonic spirit but he has the audacity to proclaim deliverance for the people from the influence of that same spirit.  The spring holiday post published this year initiated this as God began to uproot and remove the influence of the spirit of Jezebel from the man as well as many in the Jewish community.  In the wisdom of God, everything is to and through the Jew first, so this is where He begins His work after demonstrating His plan through the prophet.  But His work does not end with the Jewish people.  Where is the next stop for the One who comes with His winnowing fork and fire?  I believe the Christian community comes next beginning with the Transgendered Pentecostal Church. This is the wisdom of God and there is nothing that man can do to alter this order. 

Despite having been “wasted” for the Lord Jesus Christ these past three years, as both a witness and a testimony, I’ve been filled with joy and encouraged to continue by the many Jews who I have seen or heard come to a true knowledge of their Messiah Yahshua (Jesus). It is difficult to count every encounter let alone recount every episode, but what I do know is that what has transpired is Tov, which means, I’m where I’m supposed to be doing what I’m supposed to do for His Glory!

Faithfully and steadfastly sitting in the same chair with the same foolish grin unmoved, unmarried, and unemployed! 

She looked under chairs
She looked under tables
She tried to find the key
To fifty million fables

They call her the stalker
She’s been searching low and high
She won’t get to get what she’s after
Till the day she dies

She asked Bobby Dylan
She asked the Beatles
She asked Timothy Leary
But he couldn’t help her either

They call her the stalker
She’s been searching low and high
She won’t get to get what she’s after
Till the day she dies

People tend to hate her
‘Cause she never smiles
As she ransacks their homes
They wanna shake her hand

Focusing on nowhere
Investigating miles
She’s a stalker
She’s a really desperate wo-man

She won’t get to get what she’s after
Till the day she dies

She learned how to raise her voice in anger
Yeah, but look at her face, ain’t this a smile?
She’s happy when life is good and when it’s bad, she cries
She’s got values but she don’t know how or why

She’s looking for me
You’re looking for you
We’re looking at each other
And we don’t know what to do

They call her the stalker
She’s been searching low and high
She won’t get to get what she’s after
Till the day she dies

Below is a schedule of the upcoming High Holy Days that occur during the Hebrew calendar month of Tishri.  The schedule is in Hebrew with English translation. 

Ethanim-Tishri Moedim/Fall Feasts (5781/2020) 

Tishri 1/Sept 18 (sundown) — Yom Teruah/Trumpets

Tishri 10/Sept 27 (sundown) — Yom Kippur/Day of Atonement 

Tishri 15/Oct 2 (sundown Full Moon) — Sukkot/Tabernacles-First Day 

Tishri 21/Oct 8 (sundown) — Sukkot/Tabernacles-Last Day 

Tishri 22/Oct 9 (sundown) – Shimeni Atzereth/Great 8^th Day 

On with the Message…

As we learned in the last post “Prophet as Message” the world is moving towards the time known as The Great Tribulation.  Whether this event is near or far away does not matter because it is closer today than it was yesterday.  This period of time, also known as the Time of Jacob’s Trouble as prophesied in Jeremiah 30, will be a period of distress for the Jewish people and the Church that has never been seen since the beginning of time or will ever be seen again as prophesied by the Lord Jesus Christ in Luke 21 and Matthew 24.  In fact, it is this Time of Jacob’s Trouble that will prompt Jesus to rescue the remnant of His people when he hears them cry out, “Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the LORD!” 

This prophet as message pattern becomes self-evident when others attempt to control the message by influencing the man.  Or they try to control the man to influence the message.  Regardless, those who have fallen in love with the cares of this life and what this life has to offer more than they love the LORD have a strong desire to make sure the message conforms to their own self-interest rather than hearing from the heart of God.  Enticement, manipulation, and intimidation are their preferred methods for carrying this out but, if these efforts fail, they are not averse to employing more sinister techniques that involve witchcraft. 

I can hear them in a dark room tossing their amulets and other lucky charms on the floor while waving their censors in anticipation of something or someone rising in their imaginations.  I myself have been placed under the influence of Kabbalah “love spells,” mind and body altering mysticism, and only God knows what else.  I can see how an eighteen-year-old Orthodox Jewish boy can be easily steered into fulfilling their first commandment “be fruitful and multiply” but this glorifies man not the LORD!  Religious people can easily pick on a boy born into their own culture but what about a man who has been given the Spirit without measure?  What about the Lord Jesus Christ and the apostle Paul?  Did the religious authorities employ their bag of divination tricks on these two?    

This scenario raises questions that the people of God must answer:  Do you love your spouse more than you love the LORD?  Do you love your children more than you love the LORD?  Do you love your country more than you love the LORD?  Do you love this life more than you love the LORD?  Of course, the LORD already knows the answers to these questions but being the LORD, he asks them anyway.  And the Lord Jesus Christ knows how to get his answers…    

Matthew 23:34-35

34 Therefore, behold, I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city, 35 so that upon you may fall all the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.

This was the fate of the prince of prophets Yeshayahu (Isaiah) who legend says they sawed in half to silence him, also Zechariyah (Zechariah) who they slaughtered between the temple and the altar, and not to mention the LORD of Glory Himself Yahshua (Jesus) who they had crucified.  They provided their answers then just as they do today.  There is nothing new under the sun.

Despite their fallen condition, the Church is called to show them love and compassion not because of their humanistic achievements and excellence or their political, secular, and Zionistic state, but because they are beloved of God.  It is for this reason and this reason only that we make of ourselves a living sacrifice in our demonstration first and then, and only then, of our proclamation of the life of their Messiah…Yahshua HaMaschiach (Jesus the Messiah) of Israel.

My friends, On with the Message….    

Prophet as Message

Amos 3:7 

Surely the Sovereign LORD does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets. 

On more than one occasion throughout this blog I have talked about the prophet as being the message in himself.  This is not a man with the gift of prophecy but rather a man who moves and has being in the Office of Prophet.  This man does not only minister the Word of God rather his very life is a demonstration of the Word.  The LORD not only reveals His plan to His servants the prophets but makes a demonstration through the prophet of this very plan.  This has been my own experience and I believe consistent with the walk of the biblical prophets who were the thing in themselves. 

In the early days of my walk in this prophetic call I was immature in the faith and given over to inclinations of a political kind as much as anything else.  This is not a surprise as I lived and worked in Washington D.C. and had been interested in politics since college.  Political literally means of, for, or relating to people.  Despite this idolatrous disposition, the LORD still demonstrated His faithfulness and glory time and time again.  Over time though, this political spirit which is of the flesh has had to be weaned from the mother’s milk and left to wither away in some theological dustbin.  This has occurred through various politically oriented disappointments while at the same time going through heavenly adjustments away from a people-centered humanism to a God-centered perspective. 

Unfortunately, the American Church has become increasingly political in one form or another.  This began when the Church adopted a right-leaning agenda that has now been countered by a left-leaning agenda primarily endorsed by a rising Millennial generation who do not quite agree with their parents on all things.  Sound familiar?  The latest iteration of this progressive agenda that is infiltrating the Church is called the ‘New Wokeness’ movement.  My friends, let us never confuse social justice that is centered on humanism for the biblical justice that comes from God.

 While the LORD was delivering me from the political proclivities that influenced my faith walk, my footsteps were still being ordered by the One who understands what it means to be about His Father’s business.  I knew things were about to take a serious turn into uncharted territory when I listened to Whipping Post by the Allman Brothers all throughout the drive home from Tennessee to south Florida in 2017.  I had no idea what was coming my way but after having just been delivered by the LORD from a demonically driven scene in Tennessee, I knew something was afoot. 

Then the last three years occurred. 

Just over three years ago, in a hotel room located outside of Cleveland Tennessee, I experienced the first pangs of what has turned into a personal tribulation of its own kind.  What has transpired since that time has to some extent been documented on this blog for the sole purpose of ministering the life of Yahshua HaMashiach (Jesus the Messiah) to the Jew first and then to the non-Jew.  Many details though, while relevant, have been omitted.  Who really knows the motivation behind the acts of some groups or individuals?  Of course, the LORD knows.  He will sort this out at some point but, in the meantime, our focus needs to turn to what is happening today and the rise of an incredibly unique individual. 

2 Thessalonians 2:8-12 

⁸ Then that lawless one will be revealed (who takes his seat in the temple of God in Jerusalem) whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; ⁹ that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, ¹⁰ and with all deceptions of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. ¹¹ For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so they will believe what is false, ¹² in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth but took pleasure in wickedness.  (parenthetical mine)

 Events currently taking place on the world stage, particularly in the Middle East, are setting the stage for The Great Tribulation along with the fulfillment of other prophecies.  The lawless one mentioned in the above passage is alive and already occupies a governmental position of influence that will enable him to facilitate a false peace between Israel and her neighbors.  Yours truly has been thrown into distress for the past three plus years as a prophetic statement of what is coming to the nation not only in the land where they have been assembled but throughout the diaspora. 

Zechariah 13:8-9 

⁸ “It will come about in all the land,” 

    Declares the LORD, 

    “That two parts in it will be cut off and 

        perish; 

    But the third will be left in it. 

⁹ “And I will bring the third part through 

         the fire, 

    Refine them as silver is refined, 

    And test them as gold is tested. 

    They will call on My name, 

    And I will answer them; 

    I will say, “They are My people,’ 

    And they will say, ‘The LORD is my 

    God.’” 

While the LORD has employed most of my adult life and the writing of this blog as a prophetic message, I am only a messenger and will not return to the land of Israel until Yahshua returns.  When that happens, He will have His kingdom of priests and a light unto the nations.  As the Jewish people enter their time of trouble (Jeremiah 30:7) the Church must be ready to “comfort ye, comfort ye My people” when coming panyim-mul-panyim (face-to-face) with the “Apple of His eye” in the wilderness of their distress.  The true Church will be here to do just that. 

What about those who are anticipating a pre-tribulation rapture?  They will mistakenly board that “Rapture Bus” driven by their blind guides whose teachings have tickled their ears for years.  I cannot bring myself to describe where that bus is heading.  With that in mind I lift up an earthly prayer to heaven, “Come Lord Jesus, come quickly!”