Where are the Sheep?
Preparations for the Bride
Praise Jesus. Hallelujah! Things are getting ugly across the world and GLORY BE TO GOD. I believe with all my heart, the rescue mission is “underway”. AWESOME!!
As I continue to listen closely to hear the voice of the Lord, the regular readers of Tribulation-Now know that I take “supernatural” queues from the things that happen around me. Often times there are so many of them I get confused and am not sure which way to turn. This morning, however, started out quietly. An email came in from an awesome spirit filled Christian named Rick.
You see, Rick is one of those very blessed few, that “gets things” immediately. It was Rick’s vision of Jesus taking us “back to earth” that I sent out earlier to our email list entitled …
A Vision of our Fall to Earth with Jesus
Brother I have to tell you something that happened to me over 15 years ago. Now what I am about to tell you is nothing short of breath taking and the Holy Spirit has been “bugging” me to tell you this for sometime, I repent that I have not done it sooner.
THIS IS ABSOLUTE CONFIRMATIONON WHAT YOU ARE SHARING ABOUTOUR PRE-EXISTENCE!PERIOD!As I said over 15 years ago we were living in Alaska and going to and Assembly of God church, the church we went to for years. One Saturday night I had a vision (NOT A DREAM).
In the vision I was standing in a field of sorts looking out over this incredible vastness when all of a sudden from behind me I was picked up like from under my arm pits like you would a child and began moving at the speed of light.
Now I know fast, I build racing engines for a living so when I say fast I MEAN FAST!
The next thing is see the same thing happening to others and as I looked out across space there were thousands and they were (the people being escorted by angles) and they weren’t fat little baby’s with harps, they looked as though they [were] surrounded by diamonds and a light was behind them. So I looked down toward my legs and the same thing was around me.
Then all of a sudden something happened, things CHANGED and we started back down and Jesus was following me and I remember I said Lord what have I done? A sadness came over me like I can not begin to describe brother.
Jesus keeps calling me His friend, (WOW bro, I can hear Him saying It now) and that he would come and get me and that things were going to be the way they were before.
(all these years I never knew until now what that meant)
Then I was back in bed and woke up feeling like I had just lost everything I ever held dear. I cried like a baby.
The next day we went to church and something that had never happened before, I felt led to sit in the front row. (I HATE SITTING THERE). So to the front row we went. It gets crazier, service starts and the pastor gets up and says STOP!
Looking very distraught he says “someone here has been touched by God and told or shown something and you need to tell us.”
DUDE, that has never happened to me and now I am shaking […]. So now I am balling like a 3rd grader and get up and tell my story.
Now please pay attention here, for all this time when I told that story (and believe me I have been very picky on who I told) they would say […] “Oh brother that is about the Rapture”. And I would agree but deep down I knew that was not it.
NOW I KNOW
We got the boot out of the heavenlies. The thing that really sticks in my mind is that the whole time I was “descending” (getting the boot as it were) and remorse, was Jesus saying that He was (IS) my friend and that He would FIX this.
Bro I got to stop. I am crying out of control and need to worship the One who FIXED ME!
Later
Ricky
So I give all the Glory to Jesus Christ, who had the love and mercy to supernaturally help us all understand what we are doing here in the first place. I’ve always told people, my whole life, that we are going through some kind of “test” here on earth. That is obvious from just reading the Bible. But God has been so awesome in these “last days”, that He is helping us to understand things that have been hidden “since the Foundations of the World”.
Awesome Awesome God.
Praise Jesus.
Rick’s Letter to Me this Morning
Anyway so I come into my office this morning feeling at peace because I have finally answered all the emails that have backed up over the last couple days. I open my inbox and take a look, and there is another letter from Rick.
Rick is a great source of encouragement for me. He prays in emails back and forth with me. Very few people take the time to actually write their prayers and words of encouragement into their emails like Rick does. And he regularly sends me songs of praise from You Tube and we worship together 3,000 miles apart. Amen PRAISE GOD!
But this letter was one where Rick was a bit “out of character”. He, like many of us, struggles with why no one will listen to us. We “try” to plant seeds and help the “church goers” see the things that are unfolding in the world around us, but to no avail.
So here below is Rick’s letter to me this morning.
John,
I have a question? Been feeling a bit down the last few days and was wondering why my life has been so messed up by the worlds standards. Add to that I had to quit my job and once again we are back to square one. As you, I try to share this info that the Holy Spirit seems to be poring out in these last days to all sorts of folks most of whom are “christian”. They just look at you with a thousand yard stare. I e-mailed my cousin some info (an excerpt form a book) and all she did was rant about the fact that the guy that wrote it is just about selling books. Why is it that a looser knot head like me gets it and they don’t. I know a couple that fasts and prays and they don’t get. They belong to Rick Warrens church of all things. Now these are all decent folks and seem to love God, but you bring this stuff up and watch the hair fly.
Any answers Big Bro?
Rick
What is Going On Here?
The reason this is happening is in the Bible. We are living in the end times (as you know). The churches pastors have led the flock astray. They have “scattered the true flock” to the hills. Those who truly seek Jesus are no longer in the churches. Ezekiel prophesied this is Ezekiel 34.
However, it is first important to make it clear, that in Revelations 2 when Jesus is handing out the report cards to the Seven Churches, when he makes his appeal for them to “turn things around”, he is speaking to the SHEEP, not to the Pastors. This means that many good churches and pastors are doing quite well in the eyes of Jesus Christ. But sadly many are not.
Those that are properly FEEDING their sheep are teaching their flocks to “DO” and not just “HEAR”. Faith without works is DEAD. It’s all about “itchy ears” doctrine these days. If the “Shepherds” are not teaching their flocks how to 1) Heal the Sick, 2) Cast out Devils, 3) Preach the Gospel, 4) Feed the Poor, 5) Cleans the Lepers, and 6) Help the Widows (amongst other things) they are NOT good Shepherds. A proper Shepherd must get the sheep, Baptised in the Holy Spirit and TEACH them to become LIKE JESUS.
This is not optional.
Let’s examine the scriptural warnings that apply to what SHOULD be happening in the Church today and what God intends to do about it.
This is a prophecy given to Ezekiel thousands of years ago. I will italicize and underline key words and phrases so it appropriately jumps out at the reader. If the words are in parenthesis, it is me adding additional meaning to emphasize the applicability to our times.
Ezek 34:1-17
Irresponsible Shepherds
34 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God to the shepherds: “Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks? 3 You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool; you slaughter the fatlings, but you do not feed the flock.
4 The weak you have not strengthened, nor have you healed those who were sick, (divine healings) nor bound (by the Devil) up the broken (casting out of demons), nor brought back what was driven away, nor sought what was lost; but with force and cruelty you have ruled them.
5 So they were scattered (like those who do not go to church) because there was no shepherd; and they became food for all the beasts of the field (subject to attack from the Devil) when they were scattered. 6 My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and on every high hill; yes, My flock was scattered over the whole face of the earth, and no one was seeking or searching for them.”
7 ‘Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 8 “As I live,” says the Lord God, “surely because My flock became a prey (to the Devil), and My flock became food for every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, nor did My shepherds search for My flock, but the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My flock” —
9 therefore, O shepherds, hear the word of the Lord! 10 Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will require My flock at their hand; I will cause them to cease feeding the sheep, and the shepherds shall feed themselves no more (the churches will be closed down); for I will deliver My flock from their mouths, that they may no longer be food for them.”
(Note: Churches all over America are closing right now in record numbers due to foreclosures and other reasons. This is just the beginning of the “building based church” coming to an end. Be careful here because the demon-run ecumenical churches will likely continue to stand to support Lucifer’s army)
God, the True Shepherd
11 ‘For thus says the Lord God: “Indeed I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out. 12 As a shepherd seeks out his flock on the day he is among his scattered sheep, so will I seek out My sheep and deliver them from all the places where they were scattered on a cloudy and dark day. (THE BRIDE)
13 And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land; I will feed them on the mountains of Israel,
JUMP NOW TO REVELATION 12
Rev 12:6
Then the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days.
(THE GREAT TRIBULATION)
NKJV
Ezekiel 34 continued:
… in the valleys and in all the inhabited places of the country. 14 I will feed them in good pasture, and their fold shall be on the high mountains of Israel. There they shall lie down in a good fold and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. 15 I will feed My flock, and I will make them lie down,” says the Lord God. 16 “I will seek what was lost and bring back what was driven away, bind up the broken and strengthen what was sick; but I will destroy the fat and the strong, and feed them in judgment.”
(Important Note: The Sheep (e.g. the Bride) will be “fed during the judgement” which will happen in part during the Great Tribulation …. get it?)
17 ‘And as for you, O My flock, thus says the Lord God: “Behold,
Amazing.
So what you see here in the scripture is a prophecy from thousands of years ago, talking about what is happening today. And God says he will judge between the SHEEP. WE are the sheep. Get it? So when Jesus gives the report cards to the Seven Churches in Revelation, it is a type of “calling out” to the SHEEP to get their acts together, and start DOING what Jesus said to do. Be about the work of the Father. Stop drinking milk, start eating MEAT. Faith without works is DEAD. Get it?
Rev 3:8-12 (To the Church of Philadelphia write…)
“I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, (did what Jesus said to do) and have not denied My name. 9 Indeed I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but lie — indeed I will make them come and worship before your feet, …
(INSERT JUDE)
Jude 14-15
Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, (but wait, where were they before He comes with them … Ohhhh, they were getting fed in the wilderness for 1260 days!) 15 to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.”
NKJV
Rev 3:8-12 Continued (To the Church of Philadelphia write…)
… and to know that I have loved you. (Note the past tense here … before the Foundations of the World) 10 Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, (The Great Tribulation) to test those who dwell on the earth. 11 Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.
Then in 1 Thess. 5 we see this. Here Paul is talking to OTHER “spirit filled” miracle working Christians. These are super excited ecclesia that are Baptised in the Holy Spirit and are performing “healings, and casting out devils, while they “preach the Gospel” to the lost.
1 Thess 5:2-5
For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. 3 For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. 4 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief.
NKJV
So in Jesus name, you THE READER, are no longer in darkness either. PRAISE GOD. You must seek the Baptism of the Holy Spirit NOW and get your plane ticket off this rock before the Great Tribulation begins. It’s not optional. Start filling your vessels with OIL now. Make sure you are OUT THERE doing good things for the Kingdom. Join a mission, feed the homeless, give to the poor, lay hands on people and COMMAND the unclean spirits to GO! Command their bodies to HEAL in Jesus name.
Do it now.
Matt 25:6-10 Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins
(Oil = The Baptism of the Holy Spirit)
6 “And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; (Jesus the Thief in the Night) go out to meet him!’ 7 Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ (They did NOT have the Baptism of the Holy Spirit or they did, but were backslidden and NOT doing what Jesus said to do) 9 But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ 10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, (Jesus came) and those who were ready went in with him (raptured, or “called up” to be fed in the wilderness) to the wedding; (the Marriage Supper of the Lamb) and the door was shut.
NKJV
Summary in Jesus Name
John 16:1-4
“These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble. 2 They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service. 3 And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me. 4 But these things I have told you, that when the time comes, you may remember that I told you of them.
NKJV
Matt 5:11-12
“Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
NKJV
Just curious, but why do we think it all will happen the same to everyone? Did all the churches in Revelation chapters 2 & 3 receive the same treatment, or the same words from Jesus? I think He told one of those churches He would keep them from the hour of tribulation. But didn’t He also tell another one that He would cast them onto a bed of suffering?
Look at Enoch. He was “raptured” when God took him. He “was not” because God took him up. Why did that happen to Enoch alone? By the way, did you notice how the scripture says Enoch was “the seventh from Adam?” I am convinced the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart that we, today, are likewise “the seventh from Adam.” Think about it.
I look at it this way… we’ve all heard the argument how the word “rapture” doesn’t even appear in the greek new testament, but the word “harpatzo” which basically means to be “caught up.”
I’m not really making a point, not so much as just asking some questions, maybe to stir up as food for thought.
But what do we always say about someone who gets really, really, really INTO something? You know, like “so and so gets really ‘caught up’ in his art work” or things like that.
So what about Enoch? He was God’s friend. He walked with God. These are phrases about his life that we can read in the scriptures. Can you imagine how Enoch got so “caught up” in Christ that he never came back?
This kind of begs the question: how “caught up” are you in Christ Jesus our Lord? Is your love and passion for Him consuming your life?
Something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately is how I’ve heard it all my life that “it’s not a religion; it’s a relationship with Jesus.” So I’m asking, well, if that is the case then we could ask ourselves some questions… like ….
Am I more apt to “go to church” and “do good deeds” and “attend the weekly bible study” (or just insert your “church” activity of choice in this blank ______________________)…. or am I more likely to spend time alone in my closet to be with Jesus, just because I want to spend time with Him, because without Him I feel like I’m going to die?
Wasn’t Martha pretty busy doing a lot of good things? I mean after all, she was being practical and attending to Jesus’ needs by her busy preparations at fixing dinner while her sister Mary sat on her butt listening to Jesus.
I’ve been in Christ for a long time. Probably 35 years or so. I can remember being told from the early days to beware of being “so heavenly minded that I’m no earthly good.” I have come to realize that is utter hogwash. It is complete nonsense. I wonder, what sort of person was it that told me those things? I wonder, what was the practice of their life? I am convinced that those same people, had they been in the room with Jesus and Mary and Martha, et. al, would have corrected Jesus by reminding Him that Martha was being useful and putting her talents to use by preparing the meal He was about to eat. They would probably have scolded Jesus because according to them, Mary was being so “heavenly minded” that she was being of no earthly good.
And yet, the Master told a very upset Martha that her sister was choosing the best thing and He would in no way be taking it away from her.
So what about you? Do you have a relationship? Or is it actually more about “doing things” with you? Are you “serving the Lord” by go around doing things “in His name” or are you really and truly more “caught up” in your relationship with Him?
Are you more likely to catch yourself doing things FOR Jesus, or actually spending time being “caught up” in His revelation of Himself to you by the Holy Spirit operating energetically in your inner man?
Remember how Jesus fed all those people? It was amazing. Afterwards, what did He do? Didn’t He retire into the mountains to pray? Seems like to me that Jesus was “caught up” in His relationship with the Father. He couldn’t stay away. His passionate love for the Father took over and compelled Him into the mountains.
And then, the next day, all those people went hunting for Him and they found Him and the twelve. He taught them about Himself being the bread of life that came down out of heaven from God. They wanted more of that bread! Give us more of this bread so we no longer have to worry and fret. Jesus says, “Then do the works of God. Work for the bread that does not perish, but rather for that bread that endures to eternal life.”
What did they say? “Tell us the works of God, so we may do them.” Doesn’t that sound exactly like Israel at Mt. Sinai, saying they would do the law?
I’ve heard sermons about these verses, about doing the works of God. But it seems to me the sermon always misses the real point, which is all wrapped up in Jesus’ response. “Believe in Me. This is the work of God.”
Wow did you get that? We as people are so ignorant. We think that we can actually DO the WORK of God, if only He would tell us what it is. We actually think we are capable of doing anything of lasting eternal value, if only God tells us what. “Just tell us what you expect, God, and I will take it from here (and by the way, dear God, you will end up so proud of me.)”
That isn’t how it works, dearly beloved ones, chosen by God to be in Christ. The work of God isn’t wrapped up in YOUR doing. It is wrapped up in Christ. It is being absorbed, caught up if you will, by Christ.
Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the reality of things not seen. Faith is knowing Christ, or that is to say, being known by Him.
Doing the work of God is to yield to God’s working in us. Read the Song of Solomon; the Song of Songs. We who are in Christ Jesus are the planting of the Lord. We are a garden unto Him. Is your heart being planted by the Lord? Ask Him, “Dear Father, You are the Gardener. Come and plow up my field, my heart, which is so filled with hard rocks and thorns and thistles and scorched, barren ground. Please God come and tend this barren wasteland called ‘my heart’ and make it a planting of Your Holy Spirit.” Let your tears fall on the ground as you weep and cry out to the God and Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Weep and wail and mourn because of the desecration you have made of the temple of God, His dwelling place, when you have so proudly thought of yourself as being able to produce even ONE good thing. For is it not the Spirit of Jesus Christ dwelling in you Who alone is capable of living the life that pleases God? Do we do things to be noticed by others (maybe even to prop up our own self-image of ourselves?) Or do we ask for God’s mercy, that He might come and do we say “may the south winds blow, and stir up the fragrances of Your garden” and invite the Lord to come into His garden to enjoy those fragrances. In other words, do we ask God to make our hearts into a garden merely for His own pleasure? And what if no one else ever sees or knows about it? Are you prepared to sit before the Lord and enjoy His presence if He sets you away in a secret place where all of your service to the Lord is for Him only, where no one else even sees except for Him? What if that was all He asked you to do until He comes?
Let Christ be your passion. Let Him consume your heart. Ask Him to make your inner life a garden for His own pleasure. It isn’t something you can do. Only He is capable.
Be caught up in Christ Jesus. It seems to me that to be so “caught up” in Him is the prerequisite to being caught up “by” Him. Carried away, if you will.
I’m sure not meaning to argue, but you surely can cast out devils and you can heal the sick and you can work miracles and you can preach the gospel and in the end hear the Lord say, “Get away from Me you workers of iniquity, for I NEVER KNEW YOU!” I don’t want to be one of those people, for sure.
It is easy to think that your life in Christ is measured by how much God “uses” you, especially I am talking about in some outward and visible way. It saddens my heart when I think of how much the church in America is focused on programs and activities, and yet the power is missing. Kind of reminds me of the verse “holding to a form of godliness, yet denying the power thereof.”
Now listen up, dear sheep! Listen to what God says in the verses above, when He says, “I will feed them in good pasture, and their fold shall be on the high mountains of Israel. There they shall lie down in a good fold and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel.”
What are the “high mountains” of which He speaks? It is important, because THAT IS WHERE He will feed you, and not anywhere else.
The “high mountains” is “the heaven-lies” or “heavenly places” or “spirit world.”
What is the difference between “milk” versus “meat?” Well, milk has been pre-digested by the mother and breast fed to the kid. Meat is getting nourishment direct. Even the word of God is called (by Peter) the “pure MILK of the Word.” How do you get meat? You have to get it direct. Direct from where? Direct from the spirit. You get meat in the heaven-lies, that is to say, “on the high mountains of Israel.”
Here is a sign of unbelief: if you think that the phrase “the high mountains of Israel” is symbolic then you have fallen prey to unbelief. It is time we grow up and stop thinking and acting like little children. You think something is either symbolic, or it is real. You think “symbolic” is synonymous with “spiritual” and so something that is spiritual is ephemeral, murky, symbolic, not so solid, not like “real” life here in the “real” world.
I am stating plainly that is a sure sign of deception and of unbelief. The eye needs to be adjusted in order to see correctly.
This world which we think is the “real” world is the illusion. This is the dream. This is what is fleeting and ephemeral. I challenge the reader with this: if you are reading this and thinking to yourself that I am speaking symbolically or euphemistically about how spiritual life is more real, then you are still caught up in the illusion. Don’t be mad at me. Don’t be discouraged. Please, don’t stop reaching out until you actually “see” it. Until you actually see the world is ephemeral and fleeting, like a mist that evaporates in the noon sun.
I mean see it. I don’t mean “think of it that way.” I mean ask God to change your very perception to the point where you look around you and you see it visibly.
Then you will begin to understand what it means to enter into the heavenly places and to feed there on the high mountains of Israel. That is where the Shepherd feeds His flock. (Again, read Song of Songs, it is right there, praise GOD!)
I am still talking about rapture, about being caught up in the Lord. I have another question…
In Revelation chapter 12, they (we) overcame him (the accuser) by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of God, and they did not love their lives even unto death. Therefore, rejoice, “you who dwell in the heavens.” (Notice the plural? More on this later.)
Yet, in Revelation 13, he (the beast) was given authority to make war against the saints (that’s us) and to kill them, and he overcame them. Therefore it says, “Woe to the earth-dwellers.”
So here is my question. Which one is it? Do we overcome him (chapter 12) or does he overcome us (chapter 13)?
I’ll share one word that Lord keeps driving home to me over the past few years REPEATEDLY. It is literally one very tiny word – “AND.” We are so accustomed to thinking that it has to be “this OR that.” It is either “spiritual” OR it is “literal.” Something is either symbolic OR it is real.
But what the Lord has revealed to me is that AND is a better word in this regard. Did you know something can be literal AND symbolic? Spiritual AND physical?
Some people are beginning to understand “dimensions” as in there being another dimension. Some can accept there being “another dimension” but think it is “out there” somewhere. Some can imagine “going there” when they die, for example.
But have you considered not only another dimension, but MANY dimensions?
Now, here’s the kicker… have you yet considered being in MULTIPLE dimensions yourself? Do you still think that you are either in this dimension OR another one? Please understand that you are in this dimension AND (multiple) other dimensions AT THIS VERY MOMENT.
What do you think it means, (for example, in Hebrews chapter 10) where it speaks that we have confidence to “ENTER INTO THE HOLY OF HOLIES” through the blood of Christ? If you think that is only a doctrinal statement, a symbolism of a positional standing, then you have missed the point.
It is time to awaken the understanding and allow the Lord to enlighten your awareness and your perception in order to be able to see. It is time to learn of your multi-dimensional, hyper-dimensional self, existing NOW. He is telling us, commanding us actually, to ENTER IN to another dimension! Not symbolically. Not doctrinally. Not euphemistically speaking. But for real. Literally and actually to learn to exercise your hyper-dimensional self.
Do you see? It is possible to be a heaven dweller NOW and be an overcomer of satan AND simultaneously be overcome by the beast. It is all a matter of perception, and perspective. Because if you will look very closely, in Revelation 12, the context, or the scene, is “in heaven” and in chapter 13 it is clearly “on earth.” These are two different dimensions, and we are not so much in one OR the other as we are in BOTH at the same time!
That is to say, you are in BOTH to the degree that you are in BOTH. Does that confuse you? Then let me restate it by saying that for everyone who has put their faith in Jesus Christ, to them He has given the RIGHT to enter into the heavens, but having the RIGHT to do something and actually DOING it are two separate things.
A lot of people miss this point. They think that they have been “positionally” granted access but they fail to exercise the privilege and actually learn to “enter in.” Don’t fail to practice, and walk in the truth… reality.
Now, if this begins to sink in, then go back and read Hebrews with a fresh eye and you will see the entire message has to do with this “entering in” that I’m speaking of. And there it speaks of the difference between milk and strong meat.
Why is strong meat for the mature, for those who are accustomed to the word of righteousness? Do you see? Here we are, talking about the shepherds who have not been feeding the sheep. But think about it… shepherds don’t actually FEED the sheep. Shepherds LEAD the sheep to where the sheep can feed. And where is that? It is on “the high mountains of Israel.” That is where the sheep can feed.
So what are shepherds actually supposed to do? They should actually be training the new little sheep how to ACCESS THE HEAVENLY DIMENSIONS. But they must train them carefully, lest they fall prey to dangers that abound there.
Some might think that oh, if we’re going into the heavenly dimensions then how could there be any dangers? Read your bibles again, my dear fellow sheep. For the term “heavenly places” or “heaven-lies” is found five times in the new testament, and those are all in Ephesians. In the fifth reference, we learn that we must take up the whole armor of God against the hosts of hell, among which are referenced the “spiritual forces of wickedness IN HEAVENLY PLACES.”
So we learn that other beings (i.e. other than Jesus, God, angels) are in the HEAVENLY PLACES…………. that demonic forces, world rulers and fallen angels and every sort of wicked entity is also in those same heavenly dimensions.
The heavenly dimensions are therefore EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. They are fraught with peril. THEREFORE it is needful to have shepherds who can lead the little flock of sheep into the heavenly places with oversight.
So THIS is the indictment against the shepherds… they have “thrown away the keys” to the kingdom, and prevented the sheep from entering in. They are soothsayers who teach a form of godliness while denying its power and its reality.
Now all of this ties together under the subject of rapture. Notice I didn’t say “the” rapture. What gives us the authority to change a verb into a noun as we “reinterpret” God’s word for Him? I’m just making that up 🙂 It might be a noun, but I’m just speaking for effect to drive home a point. My purpose is to make us THINK and not just read words glibly with eyes glazed over from familiarity.
What I’m saying is, I think we should not be so caught up (hey there’s that phrase!) by thinking of “THE rapture” that we fail to grasp the significance of being rapture-able, or enraptured, or so caught up in passionate love with Jesus Christ that we can’t see straight.
Consider it this way…. just suppose for a moment that where you “go” when you die is wherever the “magnet” inside your heart, your passionate desire, takes you. Imagine your body dying and you soul is no longer encased in the body, but is flying. Where would you go, if you went wherever your passion, your desire, your love takes you?
Or maybe I can ask it another way. If Jesus did appear in the sky this very night, is there a “pull” inside of you that would cause you to be snatched up, caught up to Him? Or would you be busy with some reruns on the television?
And believe me when I say that I’m not trying to lay a trip on anyone about watching television, or whatever. I’m just asking questions. Like the one I started with: why do we think it will happen the same to everyone? Is it possible that “one will be taken, while one will be left” could refer to believers? Could the five foolish virgins also be believers (they are, after all, said to be “virgins.”)
This turned out to be such a long comment. I must go to sleep. God bless you.
Amen brother. You have a lot of good thoughts in your comment. I was thinking of opening up a new web site for your comment (kidding). God Bless You. May we all be ready to see our King soon. Glory to Jesus.