ECCE

      We are currently in the month of Elul on the Hebrew calendar. This month is dedicated to repentance and our return to the LORD in preparation for the fall Feasts of the LORD that will begin soon.  This period of repentance is called teshuvah , or "Return", when we repent for our sins and return to the Lord, and to His commandments. Jesus told a young man who questioned Him that the two great commandments of the Law were to love God with all our heart, mind and strength, and also to love our neighbor as ourselves. These two commandments are those which the whole Law and the prophets fulfill.      The month of Elul is mentioned in scripture. Nehemiah and the workers, with permission from the foreign ruling king, were re-building the wall of Jerusalem after the people's return from exile. During the course of building the wall, Nehemiah was falsely accused of planning rebellion against the foreign king by some of the inhabitants of the land. These e...

      The central truth of Christianity is the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Many now however are turning away from belief in that truth, even some in the Church. Even ancient civilizations, such as the Egyptians believed in a kind of life after death. In this age, though, Nihilism, the philosophy that life holds no meaning, and no hope has taken hold.       Jesus made clear the promise of eternal life, everlasting life, from the Father in heaven: "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is co...

      We are continuing our study from last week of The Unveiling By and Of Jesus Christ, which is a study of the Book of Revelation. We ended our study last week with the Church of Ephesus in Ch. 2. The seven churches to which Jesus sent His messages were located on a wealthy trade route area of western Asia. Today, we will begin with Jesus' message revealed to John for the Church at Smyrna: "And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive; I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan. Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you in prison, that you may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto t...

      The Book of Revelation has caused consternation as people have tried to interpret it. "Revelation" means "unveiling". It is unveiled by Jesus and we will see what Jesus intends to unveil to the Church. This Book begins: "The Revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly ( tachos - quickness, speed: [when it happens it will happen quickly]) come to pass, and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: Who bare record of the word ( logos - word uttered by a living voice [see Jn. 1:1 , speaking of Christ]) of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw. Blessed is he that readeth ( anaginosko - read, to distinguish, to recognize, to know accurately), and they that hear ( akouo - hear, to attend to, perceive, understand) the words of this prophecy, and keep ( tereo - keep, attend to, guard, hold fast {do it, observe it]) those things which are written ...

      Some say that the Book of Revelation is difficult to understand. The word revelation means "unveiling". Something was covered or hidden but is now revealed. Before we begin our study of the Book of Revelation, I intend to lay the foundation for our understanding.      In Luke 21, Jesus taught about the signs, that we are seeing today , that would occur before His return. There would be fearsome signs in the heavens and upon earth as the powers of heaven were shaken. Jesus said: "And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh." (v. 25-28). Then Jesus told a parable : "Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled....

      Abraham Lincoln gave a famous speech at Gettysburg and part of what he said to describe the United States' republic was "a government of the people, by the people, and for the people shall not perish from the earth." But is this what we really want? By the people?      Scriptures tell us that the welfare and deliverance of a nation does not come from the people: "I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth . My soul shall make her boast in the LORD: the humble shall hear thereof and be glad. O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together. I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and he delivered me from all my fears...This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles...Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the LORD...The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles." (Ps. 34:1-17, excerpt, see also Ps. 50:1...

      I have been calling the Church to a 2 Chron. 7:14 repentance and return to the LORD. This scripture says: "If my people, which are called by my name , shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." This is the only way for a nation to get it right, but how can His people who are called by His Name accomplish this if they do not understand what the Name means?      In Proverbs, the Book of Wisdom, a man named Agur, whose name means that he is among the assembly of wise men or sages, wrote that he felt ignorant and brutish as he contemplated the greatness of God: "Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name , and what is his son's name , if thou canst tell? Every word of God is pure:...