the true meaning of names: life or death matters. Be named.

A NEW NAME FOR EVERY BELIEVER
I pray you who come to this place understands the meaning of names today. This is the first word for this year, 2017. There is a meaning for you personally, just as there is a deep meaning for me too. I am a believer of Jesus Christ. So you are, or shall be. There is no other name but His name that can save and transform you from the Kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of Light. Hear today His message for you. Why do I mingle His name with each believer’s new name recorded (or to be recorded) in heaven? Because without believing to His name, you cannot be a believer. When you become a believer you are given a new name in heaven by the Holy Spirit who gives you the new birth, just as a parent does at the birth of their child. Jesus has said it clearly, you need to be born of the Spirit in order to belong to His name (God’s name). Your new name is spiritual. Without this new spiritual name you cannot enter His Kingdom which is here on earth and/or later the eternal life with God in heaven for that matter. Names means life or death. It does matter, my friend. 

Be named. This is my New Year’s wish for you.

Revelation 2:17 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.”’

Revelation 3:5 He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.

Revelation 3:12 He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name.

Revelation 21:12 Also she had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:

Revelation 21:14 Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

Revelation 22:4 They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads.

Revelation 19:12 His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself.

Revelation 19:13 He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.

Revelation 19:16 And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

Matthew 12:21 And in His name Gentiles will trust.”

Matthew 18:5 Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.

Matthew 18:20 For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”

Matthew 19:29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life.

Luke 10:20 Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”

Matthew 28:18-20
And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

BELIEVER SHALL LIVE BY WHOSE NAME
Acts 2:38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 3:6 Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.”

Acts 3:16 And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.

Acts 4:7 And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, “By what power or by what name have you done this?” Acts 4:10 let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole.

Acts 4:12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

GOD KNOWS HIS OWN PEOPLE BY NAME
Exodus 33:17 So the Lord said to Moses, “I will also do this thing that you have spoken; for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name.”
Exodus 28:11 With the work of an engraver in stone, like the engravings of a signet, you shall engrave the two stones with the names of the sons of Israel. You shall set them in settings of gold. Exodus 28:21 And the stones shall have the names of the sons of Israel, twelve according to their names, like the engravings of a signet, each one with its own name; they shall be according to the twelve tribes. Exodus 28:29 “So Aaron shall bear the names of the sons of Israel on the breastplate of judgment over his heart, when he goes into the holy place, as a memorial before the Lord continually.

All Scriptures are quoted from New King James Version (NKJV)

Jesus said: Who are the overcomers?

Who are the overcomers? We read what the Bible says.
Psalm 112:5-7 New King James Version (NKJV) He will never be shaken because his heart is steadfast and trusts in God

⁵ A good man deals graciously and lends;
He will guide his affairs with discretion.
⁶ Surely he will never be shaken;
The righteous will be in everlasting remembrance.
⁷ He will not be afraid of evil tidings;
His heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Psalm 119:133 God’s words overcome evil.

Guide my steps by your word, so I will not be overcome by evil.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mark 9:23-24 Turn to Jesus and you will overcome your unbelief

Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jesus told His disciples He has overcome the world (ruled by Satan)

John 16:33

I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jesus’ disciples overcame too! So can Jesus’ followers today -those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus. (Revelation 12:17)

Revelation 12:11 end time overcomers against “the great dragon, the serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world” (Revelation 12:9)

“And thy overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and thy did not love their lives to the death.”

James 4:7

Therefor submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

I saw no Temple in the city

Revelation 21 Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)

21 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth,[a] for the old heaven and the old earth had passed away, and the sea was no longer there. 2 Also I saw the holy city, New Yerushalayim, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 I heard a loud voice from the throne say, “See! God’s Sh’khinah is with mankind, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and he himself, God-with-them, will be their God.[b] 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will no longer be any death; and there will no longer be any mourning, crying or pain; because the old order has passed away.”

5 Then the One sitting on the throne said, “Look! I am making everything new!” Also he said, “Write, ‘These words are true and trustworthy!’” 6 And he said to me, “It is done! I am the ‘A’ and the ‘Z,’ the Beginning and the End. To anyone who is thirsty I myself will give water free of charge from the Fountain of Life. 7 He who wins the victory will receive these things, and I will be his God, and he will be my son. 8 But as for the cowardly, the untrustworthy, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those involved with the occult and with drugs, idol-worshippers, and all liars — their destiny is the lake burning with fire and sulfur, the second death.”

9 One of the seven angels having the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues approached me and said, “Come! I will show you the Bride, the Wife of the Lamb.” 10 He carried me off in the Spirit to the top of a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city, Yerushalayim, coming down out of heaven from God. 11 It had the Sh’khinah of God, so that its brilliance was like that of a priceless jewel, like a crystal-clear diamond. 12 It had a great, high wall with twelve gates; at the gates were twelve angels; and inscribed on the gates were the names of the twelve tribes of Isra’el. 13 There were three gates to the east, three gates to the north, three gates to the south and three gates to the west. 14 The wall of the city was built on twelve foundation-stones, and on these were the twelve names of the twelve emissaries of the Lamb.

15 The angel speaking with me had a gold measuring-rod with which to measure the city, its gates and its wall. 16 The city is laid out in a square, its length equal to its width. With his rod he measured the city at 1,500 miles, with length, width and height the same. 17 He measured its wall at 216 feet by human standards of measurement, which the angel was using. 18 The wall was made of diamond and the city of pure gold resembling pure glass. 19 The foundations of the city wall were decorated with all kinds of precious stones — the first foundation stone was diamond, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh turquoise and the twelfth amethyst. 21 The twelve gates were twelve pearls, with each gate made of a single pearl. The city’s main street was pure gold, transparent as glass.

22 I saw no Temple in the city, for Adonai, God of heaven’s armies, is its Temple, as is the Lamb. 23 The city has no need for the sun or the moon to shine on it, because God’s Sh’khinah gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. 25 Its gates will never close, they stay open all day because night will not exist there, 26 and the honor and splendor of the nations will be brought into it. 27 Nothing impure may enter it, nor anyone who does shameful things or lies; the only ones who may enter are those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

 

Extreme weather is here to stay: “almost Biblical”

almost biblical weather ; what is going on?

Angry summer Australia

Weather Gone Wild

Excerpt quoted: “Rains that are almost biblical, heat waves that don’t end, tornadoes that strike in savage swarms—there’s been a change in the weather lately. What’s going on?

“What’s going on? Are these extreme events signals of a dangerous, human-made shift in Earth’s climate? Or are we just going through a natural stretch of bad luck?”

stormy

(National Geographic, September 2012)

stormy

flood

is our weather getting worse?

freezing

(The New York Times: Jan 10, 2013) Excerpts Quoted: “Britons may remember 2012 as the year the weather spun off its rails in a chaotic concoction of drought, deluge and flooding, but the unpredictability of it all turns out to have been all too predictable: Around the world, extreme has become the new commonplace.”

“China is enduring its coldest winter in nearly 30 years. Brazil is in the grip of a dreadful heat spell. Eastern Russia is so freezing — minus 50 degrees Fahrenheit, and counting”

“Bush fires are raging across Australia, fueled by a record-shattering heat wave. Pakistan was inundated by unexpected flooding in September. A vicious storm bringing rain, snow and floods just struck the Middle East. And in the United States, scientists confirmed this week what people could have figured out simply by going outside: last year was the hottest since records began.”

“The heat wave in Australia; the flooding in the U.K., and most recently the flooding and extensive snowstorm in the Middle East — it’s already a big year in terms of extreme weather calamity.”

“in Britain, people are used to thinking of rain as the wallpaper on life’s computer screen — an omnipresent, almost comforting background presence. But even the hardiest citizen was rattled by the near-biblical fierceness of the rains that bucketed down, and the floods that followed, three different times in 2012.”

“The same thing is true in Australia, where bush fires are raging across Tasmania and the current heat wave has come after two of the country’s wettest years ever. On Tuesday, Sydney experienced its fifth-hottest day since records began in 1910, with the temperature climbing to 108.1 degrees. The first eight days of 2013 were among the 20 hottest on record.”

“To the north, the extremes have swung the other way, with a band of cold settling across Russia and Northern Europe, bringing thick snow and howling winds to Stockholm, Helsinki and Moscow. (Incongruously, there were also severe snowstorms in Sicily and southern Italy for the first time since World War II; in December, tornadoes and waterspouts struck the Italian coast.)

“China is enduring its worst winter in recent memory, with frigid temperatures recorded in Harbin, in the northeast. In the western region of Xinjiang, more than 1,000 houses collapsed under a relentless onslaught of snow, while in Inner Mongolia, 180,000 livestock froze to death. The cold has wreaked havoc with crops, sending the price of vegetables soaring.”

“Way down in South America…The summer has been punishingly hot. The temperature in Rio de Janeiro climbed to 109.8 degrees on Dec. 26, the city’s highest temperature since official records began in 1915.”

“At the same time, in the Middle East, Jordan is battling a storm packing torrential rain, snow, hail and floods…”

“Israel and the Palestinian territories are grappling with similar conditions, after a week of intense rain and cold winds ushered in a snowstorm that dumped eight inches in Jerusalem alone.”

“In Beirut on Wednesday night, towering waves crashed against the Corniche, the seaside promenade downtown, flinging water and foam dozens of feet in the air as lightning flickered across the dark sea at multiple points along the horizon. Many roads were flooded as hail pounded the city.

Several people died, including a baby boy in a family of shepherds who was swept out of his mother’s arms by floodwaters…”




extreme weather

 

end times church countdown: Revelation 13 signs here and now

This is a record of events experienced by a brethren in Christ during and after a recent Esther fast (three days ultimate fast without food or water). 

1. The fast was urged by the Spirit of the Lord, whose urgent prompting was received around 23-24th February. But there was a delay in the intended fast from 25th until 28th due to unforeseen reasons.

2. The fast was finally instituted on 1st March to 3rd March. Throughout the fasting there was no serious discomfort except for body aches especially around the lower back. A bit of dullness was felt in the head (possibly due to not drinking coffee). But the dullness did not affect normal functioning. He could still drive long hours and spent most of his time reading or listening to the audio Bible.

3. On the third day he had the usual Lord’s Day worship. They listened to a powerful recorded sermon on the true meaning of Holy Communion and Passover instead of the usual preaching by the brethren.

The brethren then received news of a strategic place under siege by a group of armed men from another nation that same afternoon. he was asked to intercede for the Christians (including a watchman intercessor prophet) there. The prophet had earlier prophesied of impending persecution during peace time.

4. That night he was led to listen to the book of Daniel and Hosea.

5. At midnight the brethren completed his fast and was prompted in his spirit to read a book which someone had put on a coffee table during a recent spring cleaning. He had seen this book before but never paid attention to it. The book is David Pawson’s “Come with me through Revelation”. But he obeyed and read up to Revelation chapter three. Then he put it aside.

6. Later that day, he helped a senior citizen to attend to a banking matter. Their country had devised a smart card which chip stored all essential information about an individual. The problem is the senior citizen’s fingers had become so smooth that her prints could not be read and verified by the computer! They waited for a long time during which the elderly lady was asked to try numerous times alternating her left and right thumbs under the scanner to no avail. She was treated as if she had no identity unless the computer confirmed her ‘true’ existence. She could not access her account! No one had any authority to over-ride the computer system. She was asked to sit and wait until they could give her another try. After a long time, the bank staff allowed her to try once more. This time the brethren and the senior lady decided to pray as she press her thumb on the screen of the scanner. The computer managed to verify her finger this time. However she was told that since her accounts were all joint accounts she needed to come back with all her grownup children in order to apply for a replacement ATM card. So the lady left without further ado. Her children lived quite a distance away. 

7. The shocking thing was that the the brethren was led in his spirit to bring the above mentioned ‘Revelation’ book along to read during waiting. He originally brought another book on end times strategy but was turned back at his front door to bring this book instead. He continued to read this book while waiting in the bank. At the exact time when the computer was rejecting the senior citizen’s identify, the brethren was reading the part covering Revelation chapter six, which passage recorded a remark from a Christian to the writer pointing out that we were already under the control of numbers (digits), for unless we had a series of numbers that could be accepted by the computer, we could not use any public transport system, buy stuff etc. and indeed such days are already here!

When the brethren read this passage and witnessed the immediate enactment of such a scenario before his eyes, he felt the chill in his spirit. The appearance of this book on the third day of his fasting, the bringing and reading of the book at the bank, and the appearance of this exact passage when the senior’s smart card could not be accepted by the computer compiled an urgent message from the Lord. 

The siege of a hitherto peaceful haven and the computer incident in the bank are end times signs. The signs are here. At this time. Are watchmen all over the world seeing these signs? What are you doing about the signs?

Everyone needs to examine whether the Lord has words for you and your loved ones at this time. The increasing quantity and intensity of signs says something to the one who is discerning in his spirit. When the day comes to make a clear demarcation between you and the worldly system, are you able to stand and hold fast to your faith just as Jesus has commanded?

There is no corner in the world where there is no opportunity for anyone to access the Good News of Jesus and for any believers of Jesus to follow Him as disciples. Disciples are ordinary people. God is merciful and know who we are. He does not give us difficult messages or laws which we cannot understand and follow. The watchman has witnessed illiterate housewives, vegetables sellers, fish mongers, rubber tappers, people living in the remotest corner of the world who have faith and live by faith. The words of God become real to them as the Holy Spirit enables them to understand His words. They witness and experience the mighty power of God in their daily lives.

2 Peter 1:3-4 clearly states that God’s divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness and we may become partakers of His divine nature! This is a powerful start for any Christian. You can live the victorious life that Jesus has promised.

Mark 11:22 English Standard Version (ESV)

22 And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God.

2 Peter 1:3-4 English Standard Version (ESV)

Confirm Your Calling and Election

3 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, 4 by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.

End Times Church Countdown: LIFT UP the Sword of the Spirit now

The end times message since last August was: "LIFT up the Sword of the Spirit". Indeed this has proved the final piece of the armor of God for all Spirit-filled Christians. No church can afford to hide behind the facade of any excuses of activities any longer. There is no enough time if you have not already come back to this first love, the word of God.
Small groups of individuals, most of whom are watchmen and intercessors who obey the Lord Jesus' command to 'watch and pray', have already received this call and started to group together and read the word of God regardless what other programs in which their respective churches are still preoccupied.

How else do churches expect to live the Son of God’s life despite the ravages of the four horsemen in Revelation 6?

Here is the Bible passage if you cannot recall the Revelation 6.

Revelation 6

New King James Version (NKJV)

First Seal: The Conqueror

6 Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, “Come and see.” ² And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.

Second Seal: Conflict on Earth

³ When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come and see.” ⁴ Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword.

Third Seal: Scarcity on Earth

⁵ When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come and see.” So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. ⁶ And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine.”

Fourth Seal: Widespread Death on Earth

⁷ When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come and see.” ⁸ So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him. And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth.

Fifth Seal: The Cry of the Martyrs

⁹ When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. ¹⁰ And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” ¹¹ Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.

Sixth Seal: Cosmic Disturbances

¹² I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. ¹³ And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. ¹⁴ Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. ¹⁵ And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, ¹⁶ and said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! ¹⁷ For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”

The Holy Spirit of Truth asks: What will you wear on that day?

Around 3am the watchman woke and when he asked the Lord to reveal to him His words for the following meeting (at 5am) with the Lord, he was shown the vision of the prophet Zechariah in the following Bible verses: Vision of the High Priest, the essential clothing that each Christian must wear on that day when Jesus comes for the churches: the white robe. He was also shown what an overcomer means, what testimony the overcomer give to the world and what an overcomer needs to overcome the world.

Zech3:3Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the Angel. ⁴ Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, “Take away the filthy garments from him.” And to him He said, “See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes.” ⁵ And I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head, and they put the clothes on him. And the Angel of the Lord stood by.
⁶ Then the Angel of the Lord admonished Joshua, saying, ⁷ “Thus says the Lord of hosts:‘If you will walk in My ways, And if you will keep My command, Then you shall also judge My house, And likewise have charge of My courts; I will give you places to walk Among these who stand here. ⁸ ‘Hear, O Joshua, the high priest, You and your companions who sit before you,For they are a wondrous sign;

After that, he was shown today’s theme is ‘be overcomer’. The song as follows is sung in his spirit.
Revelation 3: 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, 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.¹² He who overcomes, I will make him… ¹³ “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”’
More about white robes in Revelation 7: A Multitude from the Great Tribulation ⁹ After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands…¹³ Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?” ¹⁴ And I said to him, “Sir, you know.” So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb...”
But who are the overcomer? Revelation 12:11 has given the answer: ¹¹ And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.
A further revelation on the testimony of the sons of God, the overcomer:

1 John 5: 4-9 (NLT) ⁴ For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith. ⁵ And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus Christ was revealed as God’s Son by his baptism in water and by shedding his blood on the cross—not by water only, but by water and blood. And the Spirit, who is truth, confirms it with his testimony.  So we have these three witnesses— the Spirit, the water, and the blood—and all three agree. Since we believe human testimony, surely we can believe the greater testimony that comes from God. And God has testified about his Son.

The word of testimony of an overcomer must agree with the testimony of God. God has testified His Son. Surely there is no other testimony greater than that of God. What testimony can an overcomer give that is worthy of mention? The same testimony: The Son of God -Jesus Christ.

TODAY’S MESSAGE TO CHURCHES THAT SPEAK ENGLISH: THE WAY OF LOVE

The watchman asked the Lord and received this as Today’s Message to Churches that speak English:”THE WAY OF LOVE”

1 Corinthians 13 (ESV) The Way of Love

13 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. ² And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. ³ If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned,^[a] but have not love, I gain nothing.
⁴ Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant ⁵ or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;^{[b] 6} it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
⁸ Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹ For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰ but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. ¹¹ When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. ¹² For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
¹³ So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Footnotes:

1. 1 Corinthians 13:3 Some manuscripts deliver up my body [to death] that I may boast
2. 1 Corinthians 13:5 Greek irritable and does not count up wrongdoing

The watchman has no other words. His only prompting is that we read the word from the end. There are seven love letters from the resurrected Lord Jesus Himself. Go and read them, church!

Day after the superstorm: the Holy Spirit says, come!

The watchman woke and heard the verse from Revelation 22:11 "Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy." He prayed for the East Coast and New York in particular before he fell asleep. He asked the Spirit of intercession helped him to pray as he ran out of words. When he heard this verse he knew what it meant. He got up and asked for mercy and time. But then the Lord told him not to despair and read the whole chapter. So he read. There is still HOPE for ALL.

(His notes are in bracket. The boldness of some words were added by him.)

Revelation 22 (ESV)

The River of Life (the good news first!)

22:1 Then the angel^[a] showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb ² through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life^[b] with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. ³ No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants^[c] will worship him. ⁴ They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. ⁵ And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.

(The Lord showed John the river of the water of life first. This is the same river that the prophet Ezekiel saw in his vision in Ezekiel 47, that flowed from the temple of God and became deep enough to swim in. "For this water goes there, that the waters of the sea may become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes." On the banks will grow trees, "Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing." This is how the Holy Spirit works. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead gives lives to our mortal bodies. )

Jesus Is Coming -This is imminent: "must soon take place"; "behold I am coming soon" (said twice); "for the time is near"!)

⁶ And he said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.”

⁷ “And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”

⁸ I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me, ⁹ but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant^[d] with you and your brothers the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.”

(Who are the servants of the Lord? the angels who do His work, the prophets of God, and those who keep the words of the Bible. They worship God. They live before God lives of living sacrifice: Romans 12:1-2 "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.² Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.^")

¹⁰ And he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. ¹¹ Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.”

(This is the key message today: the Lord looks at two things. Who you are and what you do physically. Indeed, what you do in your physical bodies impact whether you will be acceptable to God in eternity. This is a frightening message. Often Christians do not think much of what their bodies do. But reading the Bible as a whole, from Genesis to Revelation, one message is clear: God is holy. He only accept holy sacrifices. Someone may argue that it is impossible to keep our bodies holy all the time, or for some, anytime at all. But God is still holy. He still demands His called ones to be holy. Without holiness one just cannot enter into His presence in eternity. reading this key verse which appears at the end of the Bible, the last 11th verse, we just cannot ignore what the Spirit is telling us.)

¹² “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. ¹³ I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”

¹⁴ Blessed are those who wash their robes,^[e] so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. ¹⁵ Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

(This is the final list of defilement that will disqualify one's entrance into the presence of the holy God in eternity.)

(The Lord wants us to take heed of the defilement pertaining to the body. In his letters to the Corinthians the Apostle Paul was adamant that the Christians keep their bodies holy for the Lord. 1 Cor.6:13b “The body, however, is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.” 18-19 “ Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own,” 2Cor.7:1 “Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.” Defiling the body defiles one's spirit too. The key again is we must be aware of the spiritual and not just the seen physical world.)

¹⁶ “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”

(This warning is issued to churches, not the unbelievers.)

¹⁷ The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.

(The good news is repeated here by the Spirit. Come and drink from the Holy Spirit. He can cleanse and sanctify you! )

(1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (ESV) 9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. )

¹⁸ I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, ¹⁹ and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.

(God's words are forever settled in heaven. Psalm 119:89)

²⁰ He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

(Jesus is coming soon!)

²¹ The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all.^[f] Amen.

Footnotes:

1. Revelation 22:1 Greek he
2. Revelation 22:2 Or the Lamb. In the midst of the street of the city, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life
3. Revelation 22:3 Greek bondservants; also verse 6
4. Revelation 22:9 Greek fellow bondservant
5. Revelation 22:14 Some manuscripts do his commandments
6. Revelation 22:21 Some manuscripts all the saints
   
   

   Watchman’s summary:

   God is holy.

   God wants His people to be holy.

   Jesus is coming soon.

   The Holy Spirit is here to make us holy.

   All who thirst for holiness are invited to come and drink from the Holy Spirit’s river of living water (which washes us by the word of God)!

   Today is the time. Do not delay anymore.

   The spiritual realm is real. You can be transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit. There is still hope for all!