Fear is the Mind Killer that Prevents Action

There are two major obstacles we must overcome in order to walk with God and serve Him.  These are pride and fear.  Pride keeps us so focused on ourselves and our own little world that we are unable to look to God for His leadership and direction.  Prideful people are so busy taking care of themselves that everything else is invisible to them including God.  That is why God hates pride. 

Fear is the other obstacle in our way of serving God.  We can be humble and strive to follow God’s direction, but if we are too fearful to do what He says, we fail miserably.  We see the consequences of fear and what God thinks of fear in the story of the 12 spies that Moses sent into the land of Canaan.

In Numbers 13: 25-33 we read “When they returned from spying out the land, at the end of forty days, they proceeded to come to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the sons of Israel in the wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh; and they brought back word to them and to all the congregation and showed them the fruit of the land.  Thus they told him, and said, “We went in to the land where you sent us; and it certainly does flow with milk and honey, and this is its fruit.  Nevertheless, the people who live in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large; and moreover, we saw the descendants of Anak there.  Amalek is living in the land of the Negev and the Hittites and the Jebusites and the Amorites are living in the hill country, and the Canaanites are living by the sea and by the side of the Jordan.”

Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “We should by all means go up and take possession of it, for we will surely overcome it.”  But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are too strong for us.”  So they gave out to the sons of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land through which we have gone, in spying it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants; and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great size.  There also we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak are part of the Nephilim); and we became like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.” (NASB)

Ten of the twelve spies were filled with fear and did not want to enter the Promised Land.  The bad report resulted in the Israelites becoming fearful and rebelling against God’s appointed leadership in Aaron and Moses.  God offered to wipe the Israelites out and start over with Moses and his descendants.  Why, all because of fear that was crippling the people from going in and taking possession of the land that God had promised to the Israelites.  Moses pleaded on behave of the Israelites and then God pardoned and rebuked them.

God’s rebuke is recorded in Numbers 13:20-25.  “So the Lord said, “I have pardoned them according to your word; but indeed, as I live, all the earth will be filled with the glory of the Lord.  Surely all the men who have seen My glory and My signs which I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet have put Me to the test these ten times and have not listened to My voice, shall by no means see the land which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who spurned Me see it.  But My servant Caleb, because he has had a different spirit and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land which he entered, and his descendants shall take possession of it. 25 Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites live in the valleys; turn tomorrow and set out to the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea.” (NASB)  The Israelites then spent the next 40 years wondering in the wilderness while that fearful generation passed away one by one.

God cannot use fearful people because fear kills the mind and prevents action to follow God’s leading and direction.  God has promised over and over to be with us and to “Fear not”.  Those crippled with fear may be forgiven if they repent, but will fall by the wayside and not be used as God had intended.  Those filled with confidence in their God will be victorious and conquer their enemies and the land!  Fear indeed is the mind killer that keeps us from fulfilling the destiny that God desires for us!

Escaping the Matrix

We are really not of this world, but are spiritual beings.  Our physical body is the vehicle by which we function in this 4 dimensional world.  Who we are is our soul and spirit and only a portion of our higher self actually resides in our physical bodies.  This concept was recently popularized in the movie “The Matrix” where there was a holographic construct that people were plugged into and thought was real.  In the movie, Neo’s first step in escaping the Matrix was the realization of what it was and that there “is no spoon!”  It looks like the spoon is there but it is an illusion.  Once he detached from what he thought was real, he could see beyond the artificial construct to see the reality behind the holographic world.

I find it interesting that the Bible instructs us to the do same thing.  We are to recognize that this world is an illusion and is temporary.  It will dissolve in the coming judgment with fire.  Those who cling to the physical world will dissolve along with it.  The real world is the spiritual world outside of our physical dimensions.  It is only through your spiritual connection to God that you will come through the fire of judgment into God’s Kingdom.

Some Christian denominations refer to this as the rapture or catching away of God’s people.  It is meeting the messiah in the air to come into the restored Kingdom of God.  There is a notion that heaven is above everything so we meet the messiah in the air on our way there.  However, the heavenly realm may actually be dimensions hidden to us behind and alongside our own.  In Hebrew, the word for wind is ruach which is the same word used for spirit.  This may be implying that we transition into the heavenly dimensions by our spiritual connections to God which is accomplished by repentance and faith in Him.  It requires being filled by God’s Holy Spirit (ruach) which resides in us and in all the dimensions since God is everywhere.  This spiritual connection is what allows us to transition into the heavenly dimensions while our current dimensions dissolve in God’s judgment.

Christians often argue and debate the timing of this transition.  As with most things in prophecy, we don’t see the fulfillment clearly until it is either happening or has already been fulfilled.  I have heard convincing arguments for all of the various rapture timing theories.  After much thought, I concluded that I am just going to watch bible prophecy unfold and see how God actually does it.  In the meantime, what is important is the spiritual preparation.  We must know God which implies a personal relationship with Him and His words in the Bible.  We must connect with God’s spirit through repentance and obedience to Him and then love God with all our hearts and soul. 

During the soon coming transition, we have to realize that this world is an illusion and will dissolve with only spiritual things remaining.  We have to detach from the material and attach to the spiritual.  It is only our relationship with God that allows us to escape the Matrix instead of dissolving along with it.  Remember, “There is no spoon”!  There is only God!

Zephaniah 1:18 “Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them on the day of the Lord’s wrath; and all the earth will be devoured in the fire of His jealousy, for He will make a complete end, indeed a terrifying one, of all the inhabitants of the earth.” (NASB)

Zephaniah 3:8 ““Therefore wait for Me,” declares the Lord, “For the day when I rise up as a witness.  Indeed, My decision is to gather nations, to assemble kingdoms, to pour out on them My indignation, all My burning anger; for all the earth will be devoured by the fire of My zeal.” (NASB)

When is the End?

People that have eyes to see and ears to hear inherently know that this world is an illusion and that our current reality will end at some point in time.  There is much speculation and date setting as to when the end will come.  There is a growing sense the end is close as we watch world events unfold to fulfill Bible prophecy before our eyes.  However, nobody really knows the final date except the Creator Himself.  The Bible states that even God’s angels do not know the date of the end.  It is a closely guarded secret by the One who is above everything.  However, there are and will be many dates that come and go which are significant in the end time’s process.  March 22, 2013 may be one of those dates and I am sure that there will be other dates in the future as there is still much that is prophesied to yet occur.  As with most things in prophecy, we don’t see the fulfillment clearly until it is either happening or has already been fulfilled.  People speculate, argue, and debate the dates while looking through a glass darkly trying to peer into the future.

In the Bible we are told to watch and to prepare.  Part of watching involves understanding what the Bible says and then speculating on possible watch dates.  It helps us to keep things in perspective and gives a sense of urgency in the necessary preparation.  Physical preparations are important, but spiritual preparations are the most critical in order to be ready for the end date when it finally comes. 

We are all at different stages of readiness.  Some are awake while most are asleep.  Those that are awake are like Neo in the movie the Matrix, desperately trying to figure things out and escape the illusionary world we are captive to.  In order to escape, we need a survival guide to the universe.  The universe survival guide for both living in this world as well as escaping it are all contained in God’s words given to us in the Bible.  Read it carefully and meditate on it continually!  It contains the required instructions for life both in this world and the world to come.

UFOs and Angels

People often speculate whether or not there is life on other planets.  We hear reports of all kinds of strange things that people see from UFOs to Bigfoot.  Some people are true believers in these things while others are skeptics.  I have a good friend that had a close encounter with a UFO here in northern Utah.  It made such a profound effect on him that he refused to talk about it for years.  I made repeated efforts to him to hear his story as I have always been fascinated by UFOs.  Finally he relented and shared his story with me.

He and his cousin had gone archery deer hunting in the mountains along the Wasatch front near Salt Lake City, Utah.  They had built some tree stands high up in a tree that they had planned on deer hunting from.  To make sure that they didn’t scare the deer away, they hiked in the evening before the hunt to spend the night in their tree stand.  They awoke in the middle of the night to see huge UFO hovering near the top of the tree that they were in.  It made no noise and glowed with multi-colored lighting.  He described the UFO as being just feet away next to the tree that they were in.  He said he and his cousin while petrified, whispered back and forth on what to do.  In the end they decided to remain in the tree as quiet as possible not wanting to be detected.  After a period of time the UFO was gone in a flash.

After my friend finished telling the story of his encounter, I asked him what he thought it was.  His answer was that he didn’t know.  It wasn’t like anything he had seen either prior to or following this experience.  That is why it had such a profound effect on him.

So what was it?  One possibility is that it was advanced military technology that most citizens know nothing about.  A second possibility is that it was some sort of alien transport vehicle operating through time, or space, or dimensions.  Any of these options could be the truth. 

I recently saw a video teaching entitled “Alien Encounters” by Dr. Chuck Missler that dealt with UFOs (see http://www.khouse.org/pages/special_events/alien_encounters/ ).   He based his teaching on both available testimonies from UFO eye witnesses as well as what the Bible teaches.  He concluded that most likely the UFOs are transport vehicles for angels, both good ones and bad ones (demons).  These beings are likely coming into our world from what we refer to as the heavenly realm.  Other dimensions beyond what humans are capable of interacting with. 

For the skeptics out there, just because UFOs and alien beings are usually not visible in our dimensions does not mean that they don’t exist.  The wind is a good analogy.  It is normally invisible.  We can’t see it but we can experience the effects of the wind.  We feel the pressure of the wind blowing on us.  Under the right conditions when hot and cold air masses collide, the wind can form into turbulence called a tornado that becomes visible to us due to all the debris that it carries in its whirlwind.  If nobody had ever told us what a tornado was and how it was formed, I wonder what we would think of it when it appeared.  Likewise, UFOs which are normally invisible to us might materialize under certain, unique conditions.

In these end times we are living in, we are more likely to see and experience extraordinary things.  My friend saw something he could not explain and we may someday see things.  Things that could include UFOs and alien looking beings.  Instead of believing we are seeing alien races from another planet; keep in mind what the Bible has already told us.  There are beings alien to our world called angels and demons that are normally invisible to us.  This may not always be the case.  Today we fight invisible evil forces which may become visible in the future as God brings all the dimensions together for final judgment.  When that time comes, Fear Not, for God will be with us and His angels will be beside us to assist in the battle!

In Isaiah 41:8-13 God says – “But you, Israel, My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, descendant of Abraham My friend, you whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called from its remotest parts and said to you, ‘You are My servant, I have chosen you and not rejected you.  ‘Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’  “Behold, all those who are angered at you will be shamed and dishonored; those who contend with you will be as nothing and will perish.  You will seek those who quarrel with you, but will not find them, those who war with you will be as nothing and non-existent.  For I am the Lord your God, who upholds your right hand, who says to you, ‘Do not fear, I will help you.’”  (NASA)

The Battle is in the Mind

Spiritual battles are fought in the mind and hearts of people.  In biblical narratives of both the tower of Babel and the fall of King Nebuchadnezzar, God did not strike people with anything physical like a bolt of lightning.  Instead God sent His heavenly angels to attack the minds of people.  The angels confused the languages of the people building the tower of Babel and they attacked the mind of King Nebuchadnezzar who ended up with the mind of an animal.

Angels have the ability to attack human minds and that is where spiritual warfare takes place.  They can either strengthen our minds to be closer to God or destroy them to become more like an animal.  It depends on our relationship with God.  If we love God and acknowledge Him, angels strengthen our mind and assist us on our spiritual journey through life.  If we rebel against God and make ourselves supreme, the angels will attack our minds and we will become more like animals than humans created in God’s image. 

As we look at the world all around us today, few recognize the spiritual battle that is raging behind the scenes.  Most only see the physical manifestations of the spiritual battle.  They see evil people who lack common sense and act on impulses like mere animals.  Some even recognize the culture war that pervades society.  What few see is the spiritual battle that is behind it all and invisible to the eye.  It takes spiritual intuition to see beyond the physical and recognize the true battle.

Many that recognize the battle for what it is become “prayer warriors”.  They enter the spiritual domain through prayer to face the enemy head on.  With faith in God and perseverance in prayerful petition, they can and do make a difference in both this world and the world to come.  All of God’s people can and should be engaged in the spiritual battles that lie ahead.  The choice to pick up the sword and join the battle is yours!  The call is out.  Accept the challenge and fight the good fight.  We may lose the early battles but God will ensure victory in the end!

The War Within

When you look into the mirror, do you see a divine being crafted by God for His purposes or do you see an animal that has no divine purpose other than to gratify itself with life’s pleasures?  The answer to that question identifies to which group you belong in the current culture war that is going on worldwide.  God’s people strive to elevate the spiritual nature of humans above the physical so that they can better serve their creator while evil people live for the here and now.

 Animals live for the moment and pay no attention to consequences.  They care little about tomorrow and what tomorrow provides.  They are self-centered and live in delusional worlds of their own making designed to insulate themselves from the consequences of their behavior.  They resent God and any divine plan that exists.  Their whole goal is to get what they can and elevate themselves above all else.

How does the transition from human being to animal occur?  There is a classic example recorded for us in the Bible in Daniel chapter 4 regarding Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon.  In the beginning of the chapter King Nebuchadnezzar is a human being praising God - “How great are His signs and how mighty are His wonders!  His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom and His dominion is from generation to generation” (Daniel 4:3 NASB).  The King then had a dream of a great tree being cut down that made him fearful and he called in Daniel to interpret his dream.  In his dream the great tree was cut down by an angel from heaven and only the stump was left.  The angel shouted in verse 16, “Let his mind be changed from that of a man and let a beast’s mind be given to him”.  It is clear from this verse that God had ordered an angel from heaven to change King Nebuchadnezzar’s mind from a man’s to an animal’s.

Daniel reluctantly interpreted the dream to the king that the great tree in the dream represented the King himself.  Daniel went on to advise the king to turn away from his sins and do righteousness (Daniel 4:27) so that the king’s prosperity might be lengthened and the judgment avoided.  However the king failed to listen to Daniel’s advice and 1 year later boasted in pride in Daniel 4:30 “Is this not Babylon the great, which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?”  Then Daniel 4:31 states “While the word was in the king’s mouth, a voice came from heaven, saying, ‘King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is declared: sovereignty has been removed from you, and you will be driven away from mankind, and your dwelling place will be with the beasts of the field.  You will be given grass to eat like cattle, and seven periods of time will pass over you until you recognize that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever He wishes.” (NASB)  The judgment was fulfilled and the king acted like an animal until he again acknowledged Almighty God in verse 34 “But at the end of that period, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever”(NASB).  The kingdom was restored to the king once he recognized that his authority really came from God and not himself.

Just like King Nebuchadnezzar, the choice to be a human being or an animal is up to each of us.  God created us with both a divine spiritual nature and an animal physical nature.  These two natures constantly struggle for dominance.  The nature that we choose to feed will dominate who we become whether a human in God's image or an animal.  It depends on whether we acknowledge God’s authority over us or try to make ourselves the ultimate authority.  The choice is ours.

When you look in the mirror, if you are an animal, acknowledge God before it is too late.  Otherwise God will send heavenly angels to remove what little common sense you have left.  If you are currently a human being, do not let pride get the best of you like King Nebuchadnezzar did.  Instead, keep humbly serving God by doing right and standing for truth.  Your example and truthful words could be used by God to bring the animals surrounding you to repentance.  For human beings it is nearly impossible to get animals to behave and pay attention.  It is a task that only divine intervention from above can accomplish!

The Corruption of Communication at the Tower of Babel

During the building of the tower of Babel, God sent angels to confuse the language of the people to stop their efforts.  The Bible says in Genesis 11:1 “Now the whole earth had one language and one speech.”  Most readers of these words assume that the literal interpretation is the correct one - that all the people on the whole earth spoke one language.  Since language comprises the words we communicate and speech is the method we communicate those words, everyone assumes that again the simple text is talking about oral communication with the same words.

However, there is another possible interpretation that few think about.  Since the text goes on to say that God sent his angels to confuse their language, is the text implying that mankind’s whole method of communicating was being changed?  Some scientists have speculated that humans may have latent telepathic powers.  Could it be possible that before the building of the tower that the one language and one speech being referred to involved mankind communicating mind to mind in perfect communication?  The angels may have come down and simply turned that switch off in our brains so that mind to mind communication was no longer possible.  Can you imagine the confusion this would create?  Mankind would then have to learn to communicate through verbal speech through a mouth that was formerly only used to eat food and drink water.  Even today, most of the problems we encounter are rooted in miscommunication even when we use the same language.

Mind to mind communication is the perfect communication where miscommunication does not occur.  That is one way God speaks to us, in our minds.  He also speaks to us in his written word, the Bible. However, written words yield communication problems.  My friend Rabbi Avraham Feld in Israel once told me that you cannot really grasp the deep meaning of the Bible by reading and studying translations.  With any translation you inherently loose some of the meaning in the original language.  Christians spend hours discussing which translation is the best and most literal?  The answer is that some are more accurate than others, but all translations are imperfect.  The original Hebrew contains the truest and most profound revelations from God.  The need for translations is part of the communication problem that stemmed from the tower of Babel and mankind’s rebellion.  Maybe when the messiah arrives pure communication, mind to mind will be restored.  There is a passage in Jeremiah 31 that says that God’s people would not have to teach each other about knowing God anymore since God’s words would be written in our hearts.  Wouldn’t that be something!

Jeremiah 31:31 “Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord. 33 “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the Lord, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the Lord, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”  (NASB)

 

Was the Tower of Babel an Ancient Star Gate or Advanced Weapon?

Many are familiar with the story in the Bible of the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11:1-9.

1 Now the whole earth had one language and one speech. 2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there. 3 Then they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar. 4 And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”  5 But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. 6 And the Lord said, “Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them. 7 Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.” 8 So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city. 9 Therefore its name is called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth. (NKJV)

One of the questions that arise after reading this account is what was so worrisome about the city and tower that were built that God sent angels down to stop mankind?  Most theologians have taught that it was arrogant rebellion of mankind against the Creator that was the reason.  Now that could be the reason since God hates arrogance and rebellion.  But was the mere construction of a city and tower because of mankind’s arrogant attitude enough for God to take drastic action?

People today have a misconception that ancient man was very primitive based on the history that has been passed down to us.  But is this necessarily true?  For example, modern humans marvel at the Great Pyramid in Egypt which we would be unable to duplicate today even with our modern technology.  Because of secular humanism, modern man tends to view history with a minimalist view going from cavemen to today.  However, the simplest explanation may be that ancient man was more advanced than we think.

Rabbi Ariel bar Tzadok at http://www.koshertorah.com/ has an interesting essay on the Tower of Babel.  He looks deeper into the Hebrew words within the text for a more clear understanding of what actually was going on in the narrative.  He notes that the Hebrew words for “journeyed from the east” is ‘m’kedem and it has the connotation of moving away from the Ancient or away from God.  He then points out that the words “found a plain” is not the Hebrew word bik’a which means valley, but it is bik’ia which means opening or discovery.  Based on the Biblical text and ancient rabbinical commentaries he concludes that the people in this story may actually have found ancient technology from before the flood of Noah’s time.  Technology advanced enough for Heaven to pay attention to and take corrective action by confusing mankind’s languages to stop their efforts.

As we push the envelopes of our modern technology and try to distance ourselves from the Creator, maybe the same fate awaits us?  God’s angels led by the anointed messiah will descend to do battle with mankind as the judgment of evil and redemption of the righteous take place!

Who are the Watchmen?

Jeremiah 31:6 - “For there will be a day when watchmen on the hills of Ephraim call out, ‘Arise, and let us go up to Zion, to the Lord our God.’” (NASB)

Due to the quantum nature of Bible prophecy, this verse has meanings at different levels.  At the literal level it is talking about watchmen calling out from the hills of the territory of Ephraim just north of Jerusalem.  However, on a deeper level it could be referring to the northern Kingdom of Israel (Lost 10 Tribes) calling out from where they were exiled and scattered to return to their original homeland.  Mountains and hills in the Bible often are used symbolically as kingdoms.  So the verse in this context is saying that there will be watchmen from the kingdoms of the 10 tribes associated with Ephraim calling out and wanting to come home to Zion.  These “Watchmen on the hills of Ephraim” are those of the northern kingdom of Israel waking up to who they are and desiring to return to the Promised Land and to their God, the God of Israel.

So who are the “Watchmen on the hills of Ephraim” today?  There is a hint of who they are in the actual Hebrew text of this verse.  The Hebrew word translated as Watchmen in the word Notzrim.  According to Wikipedia, “In Modern Hebrew, the word "Notzrim" (נוצרים) is the standard modern word for Christians, but Meshiykhiyyim (Hebrew: משיחיים‎) is used by many Christians of themselves, as in the BFBS New Testament of Franz Delitzsch; 1 Peter 4:16 "Yet if any suffer as ha-Meshiykhiyyim (Hebrew: משיחיים‎), let them not be ashamed, but let them glorify God in that name."  In the Hebrew New Testament Tertullus' use of "Nazarenes" (Acts 24:5) is translated "Notzrim", and "Jesus of Nazareth" is translated "Yeshu ha Notzri".”

Consequently, today in Israel, Notzrim (Watchmen) is the word that the Israelis use for the term Christian.  I don’t believe that this is a coincidence, but a divine clue as to what group of people includes the Lost 10 Tribes.  They are found within Christianity.  Specifically, I believe they are the Christians that have a strong affinity and love for the Jews and the State of Israel.  Their eyes are being opened to who they are and a movement referred to as Hebraic Restoration has been building momentum for over a decade now.

It is time for the rest of the “Watchmen on the Hills of Ephraim” to wake up to who they are and make the call – “Arise, and let us go up to Zion, to the Lord our God.”

God’s Two Great Houses – The Key to Understanding End Times Prophecy

When the Israelites entered the Promised Land they settled in areas according to the tribes.  God was their King and they were initially led by Judges.  Eventually, there naturally developed two Kingdoms.  The Northern Kingdom of Israel led by the predominant tribe Ephraim and the southern Kingdom of Judah led by the tribe of Judah.  The United Kingdom under Kings David and Solomon brought both groups together as one nation.  However, even under their reign, the Bible refers to the kingdoms as separate entities.

Later in biblical history, the northern kingdom of Israel was conquered by Assyria in 721 BCE and exiled beyond the Euphrates River while the southern kingdom of Judah was conquered by Babylon and exiled to that area in 586 BCE.  Seventy years later the Jews returned to their homeland while the northern kingdom never did return in significant numbers and are to this very day referred to as the Lost 10 Tribes of Israel.  There were two separate Israelite kingdoms conquered and exiled at two different times to two different places.  The Jews retained their identity while the northern 10 tribes did not.

Most Bible believing people today, both Christians and Jews read the Old Testament and understand that the United Kingdom under King Solomon was divided following his death into the northern kingdom of Israel and southern kingdom of Judah.  However when they read the books of the prophets related to the End of Days they fail to distinguish between the two groups and lump them together as Judah or the Jews.  Part of the confusion lies in the name that the returning Jews called their new State as they called it Israel instead of Judah.  In fact, President Harry Truman was even surprised by this choice in 1948 as he assumed that the Jews would call their new state Judah (A Case of Courage, Newsweek magazine, May 14, 2007 issue).

When you read Bible prophecy concerning the end times events, you will not understand the full message of what God is going to do unless to keep this distinction (Israel and Judah) in mind while reading.  It is clear that God’s plan is to bring both kingdoms back for restoration in Greater Israel.  In Jeremiah 33:7-9 it says “I will restore the fortunes of Judah and the fortunes of Israel and will rebuild them as they were at first.  I will cleanse them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against Me, and I will pardon all their iniquities by which they have sinned against Me and by which they have transgressed against Me.  It will be to Me a name of joy, praise and glory before all the nations of the earth which will hear of all the good that I do for them, and they will fear and tremble because of all the good and all the peace that I make for it.”(NASB)

In the book of Ezekiel we see that the Messiah brings all the tribes home and settles them in their tribal territories (Ezekiel 47:13-23).  The Messiah will implement God’s plan to unite and restore His kingdom.  Ezekiel chapter 37 describes the process of uniting the House of Joseph (10 Lost Tribes) with the House of Judah in the vision of two sticks that become one nation in God’s hand.  We are partway through the process.  Judah has returned home and the 10 remaining tribes are waking up to who we are and God is burdening our hearts to return as well.  We are anxiously waiting on God’s anointed messiah to call the remaining remnant of his people (Lost 10 Tribes) home to complete the process and restore all things as the prophets foretold long ago. 

The prophet Isaiah says in Isaiah 11:10-13:  “Then in that day the nations will resort to the root of Jesse, who will stand as a signal for the peoples; and His resting place will be glorious.  11 Then it will happen on that day that the Lord will again recover the second time with His hand the remnant of His people, who will remain, from Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, Cush, Elam, Shinar, Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.  12 And He will lift up a standard for the nations and assemble the banished ones of Israel, and will gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.  13 Then the jealousy of Ephraim will depart, and those who harass Judah will be cut off; Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah, and Judah will not harass Ephraim.”(NASB)

 

Then in Hosea 11:9-11 God says “I will not execute My fierce anger; I will not destroy Ephraim again.  For I am God and not man, the Holy One in your midst, and I will not come in wrath.  They will walk after the Lord, He will roar like a lion; indeed He will roar and His sons will come trembling from the west.  They will come trembling like birds from Egypt and like doves from the land of Assyria; and I will settle them in their houses, declares the Lord.”(NASB)

Last time I checked, our country was located to the west of Israel!  Are you ready for His call?  When He roars, will you be one of the ones that come trembling from the West?

Joseph, The Interpreter of Dreams

In the bible there are examples of dreams and visions.  All without exception are symbolic and can be interpreted through spiritual intuition.  God’s people had dreams and often had the ability to interpret them.  In Genesis, Joseph not only dreamed but he, along with his father Jacob and his brothers, could interpret the symbolism of the dreams.

An example is in Genesis Chapter 37 verses 5-11.  Then Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more.  He said to them, “Please listen to this dream which I have had; for behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and lo, my sheaf rose up and also stood erect; and behold, your sheaves gathered around and bowed down to my sheaf.” 8 Then his brothers said to him, “Are you actually going to reign over us? Or are you really going to rule over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.

 Now he had still another dream, and related it to his brothers, and said, “Lo, I have had still another dream; and behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”  He related it to his father and to his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have had?  Shall I and your mother and your brothers actually come to bow ourselves down before you to the ground?” His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind. (NASB)

Neither dream was literal.  They were both symbolic.  A key point is that not only did Joseph understand what they meant, but his family understood the message in them as well.  They all knew that dreams were symbolic and that the symbols could be interpreted through intuition.

After Joseph was sold into slavery in Egypt he encountered more dreams and his ability to interpret them resulted in his rise to power in Egypt.  The Pharaoh recognized that Joseph had spiritual intuition and a connection to God to be able to interpret dreams when nobody else could.  In Egypt it was not Joseph having the dreams but Egyptians.  First Joseph interpreted the dreams of his fellow prisoners, the Pharaoh’s cupbearer and baker.  This opened the door to Joseph being called to interpret Pharaoh’s dream.

Pharaoh had two dreams and they are recorded in Genesis 41:2-7.  And lo, from the Nile there came up seven cows, sleek and fat; and they grazed in the marsh grass.  Then behold, seven other cows came up after them from the Nile, ugly and gaunt, and they stood by the other cows on the bank of the Nile.  The ugly and gaunt cows ate up the seven sleek and fat cows. Then Pharaoh awoke.  He fell asleep and dreamed a second time; and behold, seven ears of grain came up on a single stalk, plump and good.  Then behold, seven ears, thin and scorched by the east wind, sprouted up after them.  The thin ears swallowed up the seven plump and full ears. Then Pharaoh awoke, and behold, it was a dream.  Now in the morning his spirit was troubled, so he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt, and all its wise men. And Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them to Pharaoh.  (NASB)

Then the Chief Cupbearer remembered Joseph’s ability to interpret dreams and recommended him to Pharaoh.  Joseph came before pharaoh and said the two dreams were one in the same.  The 7 fat cows and 7 plump ears of grain represented 7 good years of harvest while the 7 gaunt cows and 7 thin ears of grain represented 7 years of famine.  The dreams were never about literal cows and ears of grain.

So how does this relate to us today?  The answer is that it is critical for God’s people to understand dreams, dream symbolism, and develop spiritual intuition to interpret dreams.  In Joel Chapter 2 verses 28-29 which relate to the End of Days it states:  “It will come about after this that I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; and your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.  Even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.  (NASB)

God would not be pouring out His spirit on all mankind to dream and have visions if He didn't intend for us to understand those dreams and visions.  God’s people have spiritual intuition to interpret dreams like Joseph did while the world will be given dreams as well but will not understand them just as Pharaoh did not understand his dreams. 

Dreams come from multiple sources.  First, they can come from eating the wrong food in the evening.  Another source that dreams can come from is our subconscious minds.  Our brain is split between conscious and subconscious.  The conscious deals with the physical world we live in while our subconscious deals in more of the spiritual realm.  Many times our dreams are our subconscious mind trying to communicate unresolved issues that we need to deal with in our conscious minds.  A third source of dreams involves messages from the Spirit of God.  These are the kind of dreams that when you wake from them you know that it is a significant dream due to the detail and impact that it leaves on you.

As God’s people, we need to start chronicling our dreams and then develop the spiritual intuition to interpret them.  If we don’t, our eyes will stay blinded to the messages that God promised to give us in these last days.  Pay attention to the symbols in the dreams and then look them up on dream interpretation websites.  The websites will give you multiple potential meanings for the dream symbol you are looking up.  When reading the various meanings, the one that rings true to you is likely the true meaning.  In the end you will discover both messages from your subconscious for dealing with your personal issues and powerful dreams that are messages from God.

In Joel 2:28-29 God says He will pour out his spirit on all mankind and speak to us in dreams in the end of days.  I am convinced we are now at the end of the age of the kingdom of man and God is speaking to us as He promised.  It matters not who you are.  It doesn’t matter if you believe in God or not.  He is speaking to all mankind as He promised.  It is up to us to wake from our slumber and listen closely to His message while there is still time to act.  The days of mercy are nearly over and the days of judgment are about to start!

The Messiah Comes

We are in the end of days when the messiah appears to restore the Kingdom of God here on earth.  He will come at the appointed time that only the Creator has knowledge of.  He will likely not be here as soon as God’s people would like.  Many of us are weary of battling evil.  We see common sense and decency disappearing all around us as they are replaced with self-centered ideologies.  Truth is ignored and condemned by people desiring to live according to their own rules instead of God’s.  It seems that the battle is being lost on multiple fronts.  We earnestly and expectantly desire God’s anointed messiah here to lead us in the final battle to overcome all the evil that is gripping the planet.

We must stand strong for what we believe.  We must do what is right and decent.  We must spiritually prepare and equip ourselves for the coming battle by reading the bible and praying.  The Messiah will come with the armies of Heaven at his side to wage the final battle.  We need to be prepared to continue the fight and join in the final battle.  It will not be a time of mercy but a time of judgment on the ever growing evil.  Judgment will come on the final empire of man and the last king of the kingdom of man.  The world has forgotten that God is both merciful and just.  They have experienced His mercy in our lifetimes and seen little of His justice and judgment.

Time is very short!  The final battle is likely going to occur within the next few years.  I sense the Messiah’s presence growing stronger each day.  The Creator is working behind the scenes putting all the pieces of the puzzle into place.  He is setting the stage for the final battle that is soon to come.  Those that have eyes to see are aware of what is going on.  Are you ready?  Soon we will hear the Messiah say, “Ready or not, here I come!”  Only it will not be a kid’s game, it will be all out war!

Joel 2:1 states:  “Blow a trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm on My holy mountain!  Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming; surely it is near.”

The Great Satan

The Arabs refer to the US as the Great Satan and most of the world hates the US as well.  Americans often wonder why the world hates us so much.  They can reason that the Little Satan, Israel, is hated because they are Jews surrounded by sea of Arab enemies.  However, they are puzzled by the almost universal hatred for Americans.  America is surrounded by water, not hostile neighbors.  Americans lead the world in generosity and giving to disasters of all kinds.  American liberal minded citizens blame our foreign policy and support for Israel as the reason for the world’s hatred.  This may be part of the blame, but I believe the answer is deeper than that.

America was founded on Inalienable rights given to man by God.  The whole concept of our government was freedom.  Freedom to worship God as each man saw fit.  The country was founded by God fearing people that left tyrannical countries to find freedom to live righteously.  Because of the sacrifice our ancestors made and the government they established, the US is filled with God fearing people.

The world hates the US for its heritage of faith and freedom.  It hates the US because it is filled with God’s people, both Christians and Jews.  As long as we as a nation stand for God and what is right, the world will continue its hatred towards us.  And if we continue on our current path to be like the rest of the world, our own government will hate the righteous remnant.  The evil taking over the world is seeking to establish a New World Order where Bible believing people are not welcome and will not be tolerated.  In the end God defeats and destroys the evil and the system it is trying to establish.  In the meantime, it is up to us to remain faithful to God and the freedoms He gave us!

The Coming War

There is a war that is raging is behind the scenes.  It is between good and evil.  It is between godly love and satanic hatred.  There are many voices around the planet talking  about the war.  Folks like Bill 0’reilly and Glenn Beck who describe the culture war between traditional values and progressives.  Good people feel the evil that is coming upon us.  They see evil all around as decency and common sense are becoming rare commodities. 

Part of evil’s plan is to get good people attacking each other instead of seeing the real enemy.  When I frequent internet sites, I am shocked by the labeling and hatred that I sometimes come across.  It is mostly one religious group saying derogatory statements about another group or member of another group.  A recent example I can point out is the well-known radio, television, and internet personality Glenn Beck.  I have heard Christians call him the Anti-Christ and point to his Mormon theology.  I have heard Jews critical of him for the same reason.  Both groups caution their followers to be wary of Glenn, a potential wolf in sheep’s clothes.  They say he says good things but has evil intentions based on their view of his Mormon theology.

I have lived in Utah for 25 years as a non-Mormon. I have close friends that are Mormon and they are good people that love God.  I may not agree with their theology, but I know that they are good people with good values.  So to me it is clear who Glenn Beck is.  He is a man that is standing up for truth.  He loves God, his country, and fellow man.  He is doing everything he can to wake people up to what is going on all around.   

He is trying to wake us up and show us where the evil is and who the real enemies of God are.  They are the intolerant ones that are filled with hate and want to kill everyone not like themselves.  They hate anything godly and focus their hatred on Bible-believing people (both Christians and Jews).  They have a global agenda and want a global government.  They want to control us and eradicate our freedoms, especially our freedom to worship God as we see fit.  They are an unholy alliance of haters, both non-religious and religious in contrast to God’s people that are identified by God’s love!

We need more Glenn Becks!  We need more people that will shine forth God’s love and truth against the evil that is growing.  We need to quit arguing about theological differences and stand with God and all God’s people for truth, freedom, and what is right. 

The emphasis in God’s word is on action.  The Hebrew word for love is Ahava and it is a verb, not a noun.  We demonstrate our love and faith by what we do.  Most God fearing people believe in God and his word.  We just differ on the interpretation of God’s word which leads to theological differences.  These theological differences don’t really matter when it comes to the Greater War between good and evil.  A war that is about to break out full force soon.  A war that will mean life and death!  We should choose wisely who we demonize for if God’s people demonize each other we will surely lose the battle and die!  Seek God’s guidance to recognize truth where ever it comes from!  It is easily identified by love and not hatred!  When the war explodes in full force, you will need to be on the side of truth and God even if it means that you will be fighting for truth alongside of people with different theological views than your own.

Did the Christian Messiah Teach Reincarnation?

In studying the teachings of Orthodox Jews, one teaching I came across was the concept of reincarnation.  At first I dismissed the concept, but as I studied more about it, I started to realize that that the Jewish view of reincarnation was vastly different from what I had initially thought.  I always thought that people who believed in reincarnation believed that the entire person was sent back and reincarnated into another body.  I learned that the Jewish concept is more that a spark of one person’s soul can merge with our own and continue a process of rectification.  The Jews teach that the original spark of a soul that was given by God can be divided and reunited unlimited times.

According to Wikipedia, “Reincarnation is not an essential tenet of traditional Judaism.  It is not mentioned in the Tanach ("Hebrew Bible"), the classical rabbinical works (Mishnah and Talmud), or Maimonides’ 13 Principles of Faith. Medieval Jewish Rationalist philosophers discussed the issue, often in rejection. However, Jewish mystical texts (the Kabbalah), from their classic medieval canon onwards, teach a belief in Gilgul Neshamot (Hebrew for metempsychosis of souls: literally "soul cycle", plural "gilgulim"). It is a common belief in contemporary Hasidic Judaism, which regards the Kabbalah as sacred and authoritative, though unstressed in favor of a more innate psychological mysticism. Kabbalah also teaches that "The soul of Moses is reincarnated in every generation".   Other, Non-Hasidic, Orthodox Jewish groups while not placing a heavy emphasis on reincarnation do acknowledge it as a valid teaching.” (Wikipedia)

As I pondered the concept reincarnation, I thought of the fact that life comes from God through our DNA which is inherited from our parents.  This DNA is the blueprint that directs the formation of individual cells into our bodies.  We inherit physical and psychological traits from each of our parents.  Basically the spark of life from each parent is subdivided and then recombined to produce an entirely new individual with inherited characteristics from both parents.

Last month I came across an article describing how scientists had stored information or data on DNA http://www.foxnews.com/science/2013/01/23/potential-dna-for-storing-digital/ .  Now if data can be stored on DNA and we inherit DNA from our parents, could it be possible that memories from some of our ancestors could be stored on that DNA and some people have the ability to access those memories?  If so, that would explain why some people can remember things from other lives and believe they are a reincarnation from that individual.  They have inherited a “spark” or memory from that person.

According to the New Testament, the Christian Messiah was asked about Elijah coming to prepare the way for the messiah.  His answer was that he had come and was John the Baptist.  The Disciples had assumed that the literal Elijah was supposed to come back.  Was the Christian Messiah teaching reincarnation?  Possibly, he was a Jew and that is what some Jews believed and taught and still do teach.  If so, then he was teaching that Elijah’s spirit or a spark of his soul was in John the Baptist.  An alternate explanation that most Christians believe is that John the Baptist was fulfilling the role of Elijah that was foretold prior to the coming of the messiah.

So do I believe in reincarnation?  I do not believe in the popularized notion of reincarnation that is portrayed in books and movies.  However, I think we have a stronger connection to our ancestors than modern thought accepts.  We inherited DNA from our parents and maybe even a spark of their souls that joined together to form our own.  Ultimately, God hard wired us for his purposes and who is to say if He injected some other sparks of souls to the mix.  After all, he is the potter and we are the clay of His workmanship.

Soul Mazal – Your name is your destiny

Your parents did not name you.  God did and he has encoded your potential destiny in your name.  My name is Daniel bar Zohar in Hebrew.   Daniel bar Zohar = Daniel son of Zohar.  My father’s name is Hobart which in Hebrew translates to Zohar.   I discovered that by having a name analysis done by Rabbi David Katz in Israel.  His website at http://soulmazal.blogspot.com/ offers the information on name analyses as well as other resources that are available. 

Rabbi Katz initially did a name reading for me where he was able to reveal the essence of who I am even without knowing me or ever meeting me.  I followed the name reading up by requesting an in depth analysis based on finding my name encoded in the Torah reading at the time of my birth.  Rabbi Katz discovered my name encoded in the Numbers 8:1-2 where I was again astounded by the mission and focus that was revealed for my life in that portion of scripture. All of the information echoed truth to who I am, the major challenges I face, and what I need to work on to accomplish God’s will for my life!  It confirmed that my spiritual journey is on track in the search for absolute truth in connecting with my Creator.  It also emphasized that being honest and true to myself was critical in elevating my soul to reflect God’s divine light to those around me. In short, the analysis revealed my spiritual path and inspired me to stay the course with additional effort!  I am so thankful for the information and blessing that Rabbi Katz’s in depth analysis provided me based on discovering my name in the Torah! 

What is the destiny that your name reveals?  It is who you are and who you could become.  It is the potential God has written on you with the name that He gave you.

What does God require of man?

Growing up in a Christian church I was taught to love God, to love His word the Bible, to love my fellow man, and to spread the truth of God’s word.  I attempted to implement those items in my life.  However, some of the things the church wanted me to do, like door to door missionizing, just did not feel right.  It seemed to me to be forcing my beliefs on another person instead of letting them seek truth and God’s calling in their life.  I believe that those that truly are seeking truth will hear God calling and find the answers that they need.  So I struggled with the whole proselytizing aspect of Christianity.

One day while studying my Bible I came across a verse that really spoke to me.  It became my life verse because it was God answering my struggle with what He required of me.  The verse was Micah 6:8 which states:  “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”

Now I had an answer for how I should live my life.  A life exemplified by justice, kindness, and humility as I walked along my spiritual path learning from God.  Instead of letting people direct my path by telling me what to believe and what to do, I study His word and humbly seek God’s direction.  I try to implement justice by always doing what is right tempered with loving kindness.  It is what God asks of me and I do my best to answer this request by the way I live.  It requires a spiritual journey from selfishness to selflessness.  A goal that is worth striving to implement because doing so allows God’s divine light to shine through our love and actions.  The Hebrew word for love is Ahava.  It is a verb and not a noun.  May you learn how to transform your love from a noun to a verb!  Doing so will please God.