THE SPINE OF BIBLICAL PROPHECY

THE "SPINE" OF BIBLICAL PROPHECY

This term is taken from the book by Derek Prince called "Prophetic Guide to the End Times". He says that whenever people wish to assemble the bones of a human skeleton, they always start with the spine, and then fit the other bones to it. He goes on to say that chapters 24, and 25, of the Gospel of Matthew, are the spine of Biblical prophecy, which directs us how and where to fit in the other scripture passages pertaining to the end time scenario. A careful reading of these passages, realizing they are the direct words of Jesus in answer to the questions of His disciples, give us the much needed outline of coming events. And if anyone should know how they will play out, it is certainly Jesus. I choose to believe the words of Jesus over the words of some man any time!

 

The 2 questions asked are recorded in (Matt 24:3). The first was "When will these things be?", and the second was "What will be the sign (singular) of Your coming, and of the end of the age?". The rest of chapter 24 answers these questions in chronological order. Verses 4-13 give the signs (plural) that will be the "first of the birth pains, with more to come". Then in verse 14 Jesus answers the first of their questions with " And the Good News about the  Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so all nations will hear it, and then the end will come." This is absolute proof that Jesus can not return at "any moment" because there  are still hundreds of "people groups" who have never heard the Name of Jesus. In (Rev 7:9-14) we see the great multitude that can not be numbered, that we are told are those who have come out of the "great tribulation", from every "nation, and tribe, and people, and language"! Therefore at least one person from all these "unreached people groups" must hear the Gospel of the Kingdom and be saved, in order to be part of this multitude John saw before the Throne in heaven! This is only part of this "spine" we see outlined in (Matt 24:4-51), but it answers the first question asked in verse 3. One important word  to look for when reading this chapter is the word "then", which indicates the order in which one event follows another. This is very important in keeping the right sequence for a proper understanding of end time events!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer

A BOND SERVANT OF JESUS CHRIST

A  BOND SERVANT OF JESUS CHRIST

 

The Apostle Paul often used this expression in his description of himself, for example read the opening sentences of his letter to the church at Rome. Slaves were common to the Roman culture of that day, but their slavery was forced. A bond servant was also a slave to his master, but someone who could have been set free from his forced slavery, but chose to remain as a slave to his master by his own free choice. This is the context in which Paul uses the term. I encourage you to read the first 7 verses carefully and see how well Paul defends the roots of the gospel from the OT by declaring the lineage of Jesus, presents the power of this gospel to change lives, and then challenges his readers to become involved in spreading this gospel of "The Good News" of Jesus Christ! (Rom 1:1-7)

 

This is the key to living a victorious spiritual life of following Jesus, we must be bound securely to Him "by Love's strong cords", to borrow the word from an old hymn. This means much more than just praying a so-called "sinner's prayer", and claiming to be a Christian. I have met many such people in my day, who think they are followers of Jesus, but don't have a clue as to what is involved on their part! A true follower of Jesus must be able to declare like Paul did in (Gal 2:20), which can only come after obeying his instructions given in (Rom 6:1-11). I believe many people are trying to live a "Christian" life in their own strength, which is impossible! We must die to our own desires and what we believe are our own "rights", and realize that if we are to become "bond servants" to Jesus, we no longer have any of our own rights. As a slave to righteousness, the only right we have is the right to obey the commands of God which are clearly laid out in His Word! That's where a relationship with the Holy Spirit is absolutely necessary, as Jesus promised His disciples in the Gospel of John, in chapters 14, 15, and 16. These same promises given to these first followers of Jesus, are still available to us today who want to be true followers of Jesus. But the conditions laid out by Paul and the other original apostles are also still valid for today, and must be followed by hearing, and obeying the still small voice of the Holy Spirit!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer

A SPIRIT FILLED LIFE

THE SPIRIT-FILLED LIFE

 

This is the title of a little book in our library written in 1895 by John MacNeil. His name came to light from reading a book about the Welsh Revival last week. He was mentioned in the book, although not one of the key players in that revival, which centered around Evan Roberts. I knew we had this book by him, so found it and have been reading it with renewed interest. It is a small paper back, only 126 pages, purchased sometime in the mid '60s for 45 cents, believe it or not! It was published by Moody Press Publications, bearing a  number MCL49, which apparently stood for the 49th book put out by Moody Col portage Library. This was written several years before the Pentecostal denomination was formed shortly after the Azusa Street Revival of 1906, and was not written from a denominational, or a sectarian perspective.

 

It covers everything you might want to know about the Spirit-Filled life, in a simple easy to understand style, and I highly recommend it. If you ever see a copy in a used book store sometime, I suggest you buy it for sure! Brother MacNeil states that a Spirit Filled Life is every believer's birthright, and is a command to be obeyed, "Be filled with the Spirit" (Eph 5:18). He speaks a lot about the need for "cleansing", before we ask to be filled with the Spirit.  And he does an excellent job of explaining the difference between "the baptism of the Spirit", and the "filling of the Spirit". Basically there is only one baptism, but there can be many fillings after the first one, which is called the baptism as well as the filling. (Acts 2:4). There has been much confusion around this issue due in part to different terminology, as near as I can determine. Another matter he sheds light on is the difference between our being "blameless" and "faultless". We can be blameless in this present life, provided we are doing the very best we can with the revelation that we have received, (1 Thess 5:23). However we can only be faultless when we stand before God in our resurrected bodies (Jude 24). How sad when some people who have been made blameless by accepting what Jesus has done for us on the cross, then consider themselves faultless, or to have arrived at a state of "sinless perfection", which is impossible to achieve in this life!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer

SOME THOUGHTS ON TIME

SOME THOUGHTS ON TIME             

 

The little word "time" is a very interesting word, that the Concise Oxford English Dictionary recently stated is the most often used noun in the English language. And the Bible has a lot of scriptures that speak about time. With our finite minds, it is very difficult for us to properly understand time. Most people complain about never having enough time, but the fact of the matter is that we all have the same amount of time. Every day has 24 hours, and every week has 7 days, that gives us all a total of 168 hours a week, or 10,080 minutes! The best description of time I ever saw presented was a large circle drawn on a sheet of paper to represent time and space inside the circle, surrounded by eternity. God exists outside of time in eternity, and is not confined to operate in our circle. From His perspective it is always "now", and in (Ps 90:4) Moses stated when referring to God "For you, a thousand years are as a passing day, as brief as a few  night hours" NLT. And Peter was probably referring to this OT passage when he wrote "----a day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day" (2 Peter 3:8).

 

There are lots of scripture passages that warn us that the day is coming when time will be no more, and that God is giving us time to get things right with Him. But I believe He has an appointed time to roll up time as a scroll, so to speak, and our universe will become part of His eternity again. One of the most challenging scripture passages to me is the third chapter of 2 Peter, from which we quoted part of verse 8 above! If you read the whole chapter carefully you will see several references to "The Day of The Lord". This is probably the most important day mentioned in all of scripture, and is certainly worthy of some careful study. For the redeemed children of God it will be a glorious day, but for the wicked children of Satan, it will be a horrible day when God starts to pour out His wrath.  (Rev 15:5-8) Listen to the last two verses from the NLT, "I am warning you ahead of time, dear friends. Be on guard so that you will not be carried away by the errors of these wicked people and lose your secure footing. Rather you must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. All glory to Him, both now and forever! Amen."

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer

KING DAVID'S JOURNEY

KING DAVID'S JOURNEY

 

I recently listened to a teaching by Charles Simpson that was given at CFNI in Dallas Texas back in the mid 70's, based on the life of David. He divided it into 4 parts, based on places that David had lived in during his journey from the time of his anointing to be king, until finally being crowned. His journey compares to our spiritual journey from the new birth to the completion, when we receive our resurrected bodies, and are joined to our heavenly bridegroom. Then we will spend eternity as His companion in ruling and reigning!

 

David was anointed by Samuel in Bethlehem (1 Sam 16:1), but it was some 20 years later that he finally became king over the nation of Israel. David was "faithful in the natural", until the right time to advance to his next assignment. This next place he found himself in was a cave in Adullam, hiding from the jealous wrath of king Saul. While he was there, people who were distressed with various needs were attracted to him, and he became the captain of some 400 men. Here he proved himself "faithful to meet needs". (1 Sam 22:1-2). His next move was to Hebron, which means covenant relationships. Here his band of followers were nearly ready to stone him after their families were taken captive by enemy raiders while they were off to a battle. But David encouraged himself in the Lord, and after they had recovered their wives and children, they repented and realized that David was "faithful in relationships". The final stage of his journey was to Jerusalem, which became known as the City of David. Here he proved himself to be "faithful in ruling".

 

These four stages in David's journey, can be compared to the stages in our spiritual journey as followers of Jesus. First we are born again into God's family, and start out as baby believers. Like a natural baby there is a certain time when we need others to care for us, and teach us how to do things for ourselves. Then we need to prove ourselves "faithful in natural things", like David did in Bethlehem. Next comes our Adullam experience where we find ourselves able to minister to others in need. Here we can prove that we are "faithful to meet needs". Then comes the stage that many of are in now, that of realizing the need of forming covenant relationships with other fellow followers of Jesus, and learn how to be "faithful in relationships". This stage is absolutely necessary to prepare us for ruling with Jesus, which is yet future, but we must be prepared. Jesus was "born to rule", and we are "born again to rule with Him"! (Rom 5:17) "---will reign in life through the one Jesus Christ".This is all part of our growth in spiritual maturity, until we become mature sons and daughters of our Father God! This has always been God's intention from the beginning of time, to have a mature "Bride" for His Son Jesus Christ. This is what the True Church that Jesus said He would build (Matt 16:18) should look like, and will have to become before the Father will allow Jesus to come back to receive her!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer

THE PROCESS OF SALVATION

THE PROCESS OF SALVATION

 

Because we humans are created in the image and likeness of our Creator, we are triune beings, after the pattern of our God who has chosen to reveal Himself as a Trinity. We are a spirit, we have a soul, and we live in a body that is suited for life on planet earth. The scriptures therefore teach that salvation  has to be in three stages, so to speak, so that our entire being can benefit. Our human spirit, which is that innermost part of us that has the ability to communicate with God, is the first to be "saved". This takes place when we realize we are sinners, separated from God, and repent of our sins and receive this first stage of salvation. Then we can say "I have been (past tense) saved" and really know it to be a fact because of God's Word. (John 3:3-8), (Eph 2:1-10) Once our "spirit" has been saved, we begin the second stage of our salvation which involves our "soul". This part of us includes our mind, our emotions, and out will, another trinity, so to speak. This stage of salvation is referred to in scripture as "sanctification", which is a process that begins when our spirit is saved, and continues until our "body" is finally saved at the time of receiving out new spiritual body that will be like unto the resurrected body of Jesus. (1 John 3:1-3)

 

Therefore is perfectly proper to refer to our salvation experience as something that is"past" referring to our spirit, It is "present" referring to our soul that is gradually being changed into the likeness of Christ, and "future" referring to our body! This can be confusing unless we understand the three distinct parts of our human personalities. The Holy Spirit of God, which we can think of as "The Presence" of God is involved in all three stages of this process of salvation. In the gospel of John chapters 14, 15, and 16, we read about the instructions Jesus gave to His followers just before He went to the cross to complete the work of redemption. His main message was meant to prepare them to receive the Holy Spirit who would be sent by the Father to take the place of Jesus on earth, when He returned to heaven. He is presently seated with His Father, and will remain there "until" His Father gives Him permission to return to earth for His "Bride" at His promised second coming! (1 Thess 4:15-18).

Sincerely submitted.

DaveJamer

life is a journey

LIFE IS A JOURNEY

 

Every journey consists  of a "beginning", and an "ending", and all of us are somewhere in between on our journey of life! The Bible, which is God's "Manufacturer's Manuel", begins  with "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth". And the gospel of John starts off  with "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God". And we know that the Word was Jesus, who is God the Son! In (John 17:20-26) we read part of the prayer of Jesus to His Father shortly before He died. Here He declares that He and the Father are one, and also that we who are followers of Jesus are one with them! This is truly a great mystery, and the very core  of the Gospel of the Kingdom that Jesus spoke about. God is love, (1 John 4:7-8), and this love is what distinguishes us as followers of Jesus from people who are still part of the world system. In (Eph 2:1-10) the apostle Paul clearly states that we all started out on our journeys from the same place, "dead because of your disobedience and your many sins." (NLT)

 

Our journeys are lived on two levels, one is on the "natural plane", and the other is on the "spiritual plane". As stated above we all started out on the natural plane as a baby in our mother's womb. Then after nine months in this "secure" place we were born into this world. We then began the process of growing up to become an adult human being. There were many different phases to this process; first infancy, when we needed everything done for us; then as a toddler when we started to do things for our self, then to kindergarten, elementary school, high school, university etc. hopefully leading to full maturity!

 

Growth on the spiritual plane follows the same basic pattern. First comes our spiritual birth, when we are "born again" of the Spirit (John 3:3-21). At this stage we need spiritual mothers and fathers to care for us, but gradually with the proper disciplining and training we grow into mature sons and daughters of God. Or at least that is God's intention for us! Unfortunately some believers never seem to grow up, but remain as "baby believers" the rest of their lives. Read (Heb 5:11-6:3), and (2 Peter 1:3-11), for instructions on how to become mature followers of Jesus, with the help of the Holy Spirit who was given to replace Jesus on earth.

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer