Showing posts with label watchman. Show all posts

October 14, 2014

Spiritual traveler’s notes : two dreams

The traveler Ying had two dreams. In the first he was with a group of fellow travelers packed tightly standing on a low oval shaped oak coffee table. They were trying to balance hard not to fall off. Aliens with laser guns were shooting and killing all who were not on the table.

In the second dream he was running with a group of fellow travelers with Cyclopes chasing them to kill them. Many ran ahead and he and his group knew they could not outrun the Cyclopes so they found a tiny space hidden behind some mountain rocks and hid there. It was a dead end. They could hear the Cyclopes running pass in pursuit of those who had run ahead. He knew the Cyclopes would turn back to search them out when they discovered that this group was missing from their targets. So he climbed on top of a brand new metal filing cabinet and looked for a way out. He saw a space with light at the other end in between two cliffs so narrow that only one individual could squeeze through side way one at a time. Then he woke in cold sweat.

He was a mere individual seeking divine direction to live this end times period. He never expected to face this kind of adventure with a group of strangers as if they were in a science fiction movie. Yet it’s real at this point of time when he woke and found himself still flying high in the rope carriage on two eagles’ wings.

What will all these come to? He asked himself. Will he ever return to his own comfort zone again? No one answered his thoughts.

He knew the dreams meant the assumed safety zone for many travelers were not real. They were crumbling down. The enemies were everywhere pursuing and the travelers were running as though they were helpless. How could this be? They were trained and given authority in the spirit and the power of the King’s name.

Yet they were running and hiding. The former secure private abodes and public gathering ‘clubs’ no longer afforded any shelter.

Each individual had to launch out and face the enemy head on. He thought.

He felt a pang of pain for some of his closer ones. But he soon found solace in the thought that time was still available on this planet. All was not lost yet.

He made a commitment that when he returned to his own place he would seek them out and help them to rise above the filing cabinet!

Meanwhile, the eagles continued to soar and they were climbing.

Isaiah 21:5

Prepare the table, Set a watchman in the tower, Eat and drink. Arise, you princes, Anoint the shield!

July 21, 2014

Prayer call: "take heed"

Today's message: "Take Heed"

Mark 4:24

Then He said to them, “Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given.

Mark 8:15

Then He charged them, saying, “Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.”

Mark 13:5

And Jesus, answering them, began to say: “Take heed that no one deceives you.

Mark 13:23

But take heed; see, I have told you all things beforehand.

Mark 13:32-34New King James Version (NKJV)

No One Knows the Day or Hour

³²“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. ³³Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is. ³⁴It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch.

April 17, 2014

Matthew 25: three in one life and death matters

We have walked with Jesus to this day of chapter 25 of Matthew (quoted from NKJV in parts; boldness added by this watchman). There are three utmost serious matters about ‘Christians’, the saved and the unsaved, the ins and the left-outs.
This watchman urges all to read and re-read the whole chapter on these three matters, as illustrated by Jesus and recorded in this Gospel as the last three parable teachings of Jesus. Pray and ask the Holy Spirit to show you what it means to you.
(1) the ten virgins (1-13) illustrating the kingdom of heaven
“Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom...⁴but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. ⁵But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.
⁶“And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’ ⁷Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps… ¹⁰And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.
¹¹“Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ ¹²But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’
¹³“Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.

(my personal notes: ‘Watch therefore’ appears to do with whether we have enough oil or not and whether we can be ready on the spot when Jesus comes. He expects us to wait and be ready at any point of time. Watch means praying and waiting before God. Watch means we read His words consistently and keep our lamp trimmed and ready. His words are lamp and light to us. His presence is light to us. In Him there is no darkness. He is light. Our body is a vessel for His light to shine through. He only knows those who are with His light shinning through and not otherwise. He knows them because they have constant fellowship with Him and are ever ready to meet Him face to face. This personal intimacy between each believer and the Lord cannot be shared or passed on to others, just as the oil cannot be shared.)

Lamp to my feet

____________read on and ask the Lord to reveal what He means to you personally. (This watchman too needs to read many times more and ask the Lord to reveal. )
(2)The Parable of the Talents (14-30)
¹⁴“For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. ¹⁵And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; …²⁹‘For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. ³⁰And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
(3)The Son of Man Will Judge the Nations (31-46)
³¹“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. ³²All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats…⁴⁴“Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ ⁴⁵Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ ⁴⁶And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

April 1, 2014

a letter: each must find his/her or its own course and follow through to its end

DEAR BELOVED OF GOD:

Last night I slept after 2 something.I came back from a posh French dinner and had a scare when my mobile phone was jammed at the starting screen and couldn’t be shut down. I did open both ends and found that they did not house the battery. Later I waited for the battery to run out using the fan at full blast to cool it to prevent explosion if any. my over imaginative mind…sigh.

Then I went on internet and discovered this phone’s battery was fixed and could not be removed!

How to shut if off ? A blogger advised that he did it by pressing the on-off button and the sound volume increase-decrease button at the same time.

Anyway my prayer was answered. The phone actually shut down itself when the battery was exhausted. Then I recharged the phone and discovered to my relief it came back to ‘life’ by itself. (Rather, by angels’ working overtime! )

While all these were going on, and I was sitting in darkness in the humid and sweaty night, I thought of how even a jumbo jet could exhaust its fuel and shut down itself wherever it 'happened' to land itself (on solid ground or on stormy raging waters).
So is life without God.

There is an appointed time for each appointed living being and even non-living thing. How awesome is our Creator.

Lesson and reminder learned:

1. appointed time cannot be ignored. It doesn’t change its course.

2. each must find his/her or its own course and follow through to its end.

3. Believers can ask the Lord and follow through without fail if we really want to. Jesus has promised each believer His Spirit to lead and enable us to complete the race in the time appointed to each.

4. Reminder to all: when time is up, it is up. Like choosing a path in the maze: once a wrong choice is made, it will still lead the mistaken to its end, usually a dead end.

Frightening without the Holy Spirit!

5. My resolution: Must spend the rest of my appointed time to use my spiritual gifts to the max., hopefully, to bring many to the Holy Spirit pathway.

love to all,

watchman

an appoinited time for each man

February 26, 2014

End days watchman countdown: Arise ! Heed the TODAY Time! (2014) !

This watchman started the journey in the Holy Spirit by faith several years ago, focusing the writing and sharing in most of the posts on just one topic: the Holy Spirit. Specifically listening to the Holy Spirit Who always points God’s people to Jesus, our God, our King, our Lord, our Savior, our Healer.
Often he has found that the journey is quite a narrow pathway as his own human physical, mental, emotional nature come in between God’s voice and his spiritual hearing and discernment. In recent years he received many good teachings on lifestyle of hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit, from those of faith who have been following the Lord Jesus faithfully all their born again lives. The teachings really helped. Many mistakes have been averted because of these teachings.
This blogger admits that the journey is ongoing for each individual. None of us, not even apostle Paul can claim we have made it. The only testimony each can claim is his own or her own. I pray for everyone who has been following this blog that your journey is always, like Paul, pressing on upward to higher ground, reaching for the goal that God has already set before you, in Christ Jesus.
Here is today’s testimony from this watchman:
He was woken after two hours of sleep as usual. He was tired as he has had a long and physically demanding day. But he could not continue sleeping as he was wide awake. So he reluctantly got up and asked the Lord, for whom he should be praying? Names came to him. So he went to his praying table: Here are what he was led to read and intercede for.
case one: read Malachi 4:6 ; then read 2 Timothy 2-3; intercede for a parent and her child, who are both facing the issue of a child turning into a teen soon and tending to ask many questions for which answers will be scrutinized for reasonableness and acceptability.
case two: read the Book of Malachi again in the sequence of 4 (whole chapter), 3 (verses 3:16-18). Interceded based on “those who feared the Lord” (called righteous by God) and those who did not (and are considered by God as arrogant and wicked). God says He does make a difference between those who serve God and those who do not. God records conversations
Notes: Interceded for rain. Grounds are deprived of rain from heavens for a prolonged period now and his spirit was told earlier on at the beginning of the year his prayers for rain for that ‘nation’ would not be answered. Something is happening in the spiritual realm beyond this watchman’s prayer. But here is the key: the name of Elijah is being mentioned in this last paragraph of Malachi, which is the last Old Testament Book. So he started interceding with hope again for the Elijah to be raised to intercede for rain, the seven thousands whom God has hidden and preserved somewhere all over this globe for this crucial time. He too interceded again over the footstep of rain fervently. Why? His spirit was led to believe that time of drought would be at hand for many and grounds will be left abandoned, cracked, desolate. There will be no crops. The poor will need food. Not just a small pocket conveniently tucked away somewhere in remote places with no name. A massive hungry multitudes will be like locusts described over and over in the Book of Micah, which typifies a modern rich city/nation. Revelation 6:6 is pressing. ( As he received two years ago when he was called to ‘come and see’ -posted in another blog, http://kzlam36.wordpress.com/2012/08/22/end-times-church-countdown-a-perfect-man/ )
Why is such a thing happening? He was led to read Malachi, which is self-explanatory.
Case three: then he was led further to read the Book of Zechariah in connection with case two. in this sequence: 4:10; 5:1-4; 6:1-8; 7:8-14; 8:1-3; 8:6, 9; 8:12, 13, 15, 16;
a special warning: 8:17 “I hate all these things!” says the Lord.
Notes: read carefully in the two last books of the Old Testament. They talked specifically about burning, fire, flames, and related events whereby the land would not produce and it will be exactly the enactment of Revelation 6:6. The shortage of water is critical and the resultant shortage of food. Artificial food and empty energy are filling the stomachs of the poor. But this cannot go on forever. People are waking up to the truth about real food and fakes.
The watchman cannot write all that he has heard and received in his spirit. The journey has been a life long one. he remembers praying for rain and water from the heavens since very young. Many times his prayers were answered. But now it is beyond what he can pray on his little self.

Arise! Watchmen and intercessors round the globe!

February 24, 2014

2014 Jerusalem Gates series -Prophesy to the breath, prophesy

January 15, 2014

Journey on: Jesus is the only solid ground

We continue to read the New Testament for Bible verses on the word “Ground” in the dictionary of God.

Mark 4:26 [ The Parable of the Growing Seed ] And He said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground,
Matthew 13:23 But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”
Mark 8:6 So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. And He took the seven loaves and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and they set them before the multitude.
John 8:6 This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.
John 9:6 When He had said these things, He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay.
John 12:23-25 ²³But Jesus answered them, saying, “The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. ²⁴Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. ²⁵He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
Acts 7:33 ‘Then the Lord said to him, “Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.
Acts 26:14 And when we all had fallen to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me and saying in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’
1 Timothy 3:14-16 ¹⁴These things I write to you, though I hope to come to you shortly; ¹⁵but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. ¹⁶And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God^[a] was manifested in the flesh, Justified in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Preached among the Gentiles, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory.

Some key Bible verses (in NLT version) from the book of Ezra (on rebuilding the Temple of God) and the book of Psalms on the word “Foundation” which also means “Ground”:

Ezra 3:6 Fifteen days before the Festival of Shelters began, the priests had begun to sacrifice burnt offerings to the Lord. This was even before they had started to lay the foundation of the Lord’s Temple.
Ezra 3:10 When the builders completed the foundation of the Lord’s Temple, the priests put on their robes and took their places to blow their trumpets. And the Levites, descendants of Asaph, clashed their cymbals to praise the Lord, just as King David had prescribed.
Ezra 3:11 With praise and thanks, they sang this song to the Lord: “He is so good! His faithful love for Israel endures forever!” Then all the people gave a great shout, praising the Lord because the foundation of the Lord’s Temple had been laid.
Psalm 24:2 For he laid the earth’s foundation on the seas and built it on the ocean depths.
Psalm 89:14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne. Unfailing love and truth walk before you as attendants.
Psalm 102:25 Long ago you laid the foundation of the earth and made the heavens with your hands.
Psalm 104:5 You placed the world on its foundation so it would never be moved.
Proverbs 9:9-11 ¹⁰Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment. ¹¹Wisdom will multiply your days and add years to your life.
Proverbs 10:25 When the storms of life come, the wicked are whirled away, but the godly have a lasting foundation.
Isaiah 28:16 Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “Look! I am placing a foundation stone in Jerusalem, a firm and tested stone. It is a precious cornerstone that is safe to build on. Whoever believes need never be shaken.
Isaiah 33:6 In that day he will be your sure foundation, providing a rich store of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge. The fear of the Lord will be your treasure.
Zechariah 4:9 “Zerubbabel is the one who laid the foundation of this Temple, and he will complete it. Then you will know that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has sent me.

Some key New Testament verses on the word “Foundation”:

Matthew 7:24 [ Building on a Solid Foundation ] “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock.
Luke 6:48 It is like a person building a house who digs deep and lays the foundation on solid rock. When the floodwaters rise and break against that house, it stands firm because it is well built.
1 Corinthians 3:11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have—Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 2:20 Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself.
1 Timothy 6:19 By doing this they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future so that they may experience true life.
2 Timothy 2:19 But God’s truth stands firm like a foundation stone with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and “All who belong to the Lord must turn away from evil.”
Hebrews 1:10 He also says to the Son, “In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundation of the earth and made the heavens with your hands.
1 Peter 5:10 In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation.

Jesus is our only solid rock!

Journey on: The word for this year is “Ground”.

The word for this year is “Ground”. Possess the land given by God . Possess the ground. Hold fast to the ground you already possess. Follow the Commander-in-Chief, Lord Jesus Christ Himself, like Joshua did.
Key Action points: hold fast to where you already stand in Christ, possess further spiritual promises/blessings God has already given in the heavenly places in Christ: repent for lost ground, realign with the plumbline of God, realize, restore, repair, rebuild, reclaim, restitute, reconcile, relate, remain faithful and truthful, rest.
Here are 28 sets of Old Testament Bible verses on the importance of “Ground” in the dictionary of God. Read and meditate on them. Find the message revealed to you by the Lord Holy Spirit.

Genesis 2:7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.
Exodus 3:5 Then He said, “Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.”
Deuteronomy 28:4 “Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks.
Joshua 24:32 The bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel had brought up out of Egypt, they buried at Shechem, in the plot of ground which Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for one hundred pieces of silver, and which had become an inheritance of the children of Joseph.
Judges 20:36 So the children of Benjamin saw that they were defeated. The men of Israel had given ground to the Benjamites, because they relied on the men in ambush whom they had set against Gibeah.
1 Samuel 3:19 So Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground.
1 Samuel 5:4 And when they arose early the next morning, there was Dagon, fallen on its face to the ground before the ark of the Lord. The head of Dagon and both the palms of its hands were broken off on the threshold; only Dagon’s torso was left of it.
2 Samuel 8:2 Then he defeated Moab. Forcing them down to the ground, he measured them off with a line. With two lines he measured off those to be put to death, and with one full line those to be kept alive. So the Moabites became David’s servants, and brought tribute.
2 Samuel 12:16 David therefore pleaded with God for the child, and David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground.
2 Samuel 14:14 For we will surely die and become like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. Yet God does not take away a life; but He devises means, so that His banished ones are not expelled from Him.
1 Kings 18:42 So Ahab went up to eat and drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; then he bowed down on the ground, and put his face between his knees,
2 Kings 13:17-19 ¹⁷And he said, “Open the east window”; and he opened it. Then Elisha said, “Shoot”; and he shot. And he said, “The arrow of the Lord’s deliverance and the arrow of deliverance from Syria; for you must strike the Syrians at Aphek till you have destroyed them.” ¹⁸Then he said, “Take the arrows”; so he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground”; so he struck three times, and stopped. ¹⁹And the man of God was angry with him, and said, “You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck Syria till you had destroyed it! But now you will strike Syria only three times.”
Nehemiah 10:35 And we made ordinances to bring the firstfruits of our ground and the firstfruits of all fruit of all trees, year by year, to the house of the Lord;
Job 1:20 Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped.
Job 2:13 So they sat down with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his grief was very great.
Psalm 44:25 For our soul is bowed down to the dust; Our body clings to the ground.
Psalm 143:3 For the enemy has persecuted my soul; He has crushed my life to the ground; He has made me dwell in darkness, Like those who have long been dead.
Psalm 147:6 The Lord lifts up the humble; He casts the wicked down to the ground.
Proverbs 13:23 Much food is in the fallow ground of the poor, And for lack of justice there is waste.
Isaiah 14:12 [ The Fall of Lucifer ] “How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations!
Isaiah 21:9 And look, here comes a chariot of men with a pair of horsemen!” Then he answered and said, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen! And all the carved images of her gods He has broken to the ground.”
Isaiah 44:3 For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, And floods on the dry ground; I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, And My blessing on your offspring;
Isaiah 53:2 For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him.
Jeremiah 4:3 For thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem: “Break up your fallow ground, And do not sow among thorns.
Ezekiel 12:6 In their sight you shall bear them on your shoulders and carry them out at twilight; you shall cover your face, so that you cannot see the ground, for I have made you a sign to the house of Israel.”
Ezekiel 28:17 “Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor; I cast you to the ground, I laid you before kings, That they might gaze at you.
Hosea 10:12 Sow for yourselves righteousness; Reap in mercy; Break up your fallow ground, For it is time to seek the Lord, Till He comes and rains righteousness on you.
Zechariah 8:11-13 ¹¹But now I will not treat the remnant of this people as in the former days,’ says the Lord of hosts. ¹²‘For the seed shall be prosperous, The vine shall give its fruit, The ground shall give her increase, And the heavens shall give their dew— I will cause the remnant of this people To possess all these. ¹³And it shall come to pass That just as you were a curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, So I will save you, and you shall be a blessing. Do not fear, Let your hands be strong.’

November 1, 2013

Journey in the Holy Spirit: being spiritual

Because this blog is all about God, I am reluctant to say much about my own thoughts or sharing my life. But I have been witnessing the increasing chasm between the spiritual and carnal Christians (those who are more accustomed to use their five senses) all over the world. So I have decided to share a bit here, despite the limitation of my words.
_______________________
I have lived in different parts of the world and have encountered different customs and cultures for the bulk of my life.
In the last ten years I have gradually encountered the reality of the holy God in the Spirit, in the Bible and in life. I realized what it means to have the reverent fear of the Lord (Isaiah 11:2). This means agreeing the spiritual existence of absolute good and evil and the final accountability everyone must give to the holy God, who abhors things done not of the Spirit, but out of man’s flesh or carnality.
Jesus has Himself declared, the ruler of this world has nothing in Him. His disciples followed the same principle.

When one aligns with God, one does not yearn to be the same as the Jones. What do Christians have to do with evil? Why bring in their customs and cultures which are abominations in the eyes of the holy God? God wants us set apart for Him, away from the world and its customs, just as He had warned the Israel people.
Being spiritual means we live in awareness of two realms: the physical and the spiritual. The spiritual reality governs the physical. All customs and cultures have a spiritual realm where the spiritual rulers rule and direct their adherents’ lives. Apostle Paul had revealed this truth in Ephesians 6:12.
Our Lord Jesus warned the disciples to be spiritually discerning when sending them into the world! “Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. So be as shrew as snakes and harmless as doves.” (Matthew 10:16) Jesus was talking about the physical as well as spiritual enemies. Why? Because they were stepping into spiritual enemy’s territory as they go out and witness for Jesus!

The pagans know better about the spiritual. They are wise on what to avoid and when. For example, different cultures round the world have their own ‘ghost’ festivals. The Chinese called the Halloween in the West, the Westerners’ ‘ghost’ night, the night when the evil spirits paraded, (like the Chinese July month when hell opened its gates and let the hungry demons come out) and they avoid going out that night! Other pagan religions too have their own ghost periods and festivals.
A spiritually discerning person can see spirits. They see spirits in unclean houses, the streets, schools, offices, hospitals, shopping malls, movie theaters, and funeral parlors. A normally fit and healthy rational German Christian man recently testified that he walked under the air vent of a shopping mall, and saw this huge black thing coming at him, entered and went through him. He was instantly hit with severe pain and collapsed on the floor. His wife and daughter who regularly attend a Spirit-filled, Bible believing and adhering church, took authority using the name of Jesus, prayed fervently, as he lied there near dead, gasping for breath. he finally survived. The experience was traumatic.
When Christians stay away from certain locations during certain time, they merely obey the leading of the Spirit of the Lord, who is holy. The evil spirits know too whether you are walking in the Holy Spirit or not. The seven sons of the priest were attacked by the evil spirit because they knew Jesus and apostle Paul walked in the power of the Holy Spirit, but this group of exorcists did not. This group of believers were trying to do the right thing, casting demon, using the mighty name of the Lord Jesus. But they were not sent by the Lord. They went on their own flesh and of course they suffered the terrible consequences.
When God sent Moses to Egypt to confront Pharaoh, the Lord gave him spiritual power to overcome the territorial evil spirits controlling the land there. When the prophet Samuel patrolled the Israel land he was just one man, but the territorial spirit of the Philistines feared him, because he walked in the Spirit of the Lord. None of his words fell to the ground. He merely spoke and the words took effect.
Unless we are sent by the Lord and walk in discernment of the spiritual realm and in the power of the Holy Spirit, we do not do exploits. This is what I have learned over thirty years being a born again Christian, after having suffered immense loss.
So what shall an ordinary Christian do? Find out more about the reality of God and His words, the Bible. The Bible cannot be read as a knowledge book. Do not rationalize away the real meaning and purpose of the holy words. Jesus has warned clearly, as the pharisees and other religious leaders, even His own followers/disciples did not believe in the spiritual reality of Jesus and what Jesus has represented. Read the four Gospels again. Ask the Lord Holy Spirit to guide you. Daily pray the prayers of apostle Paul in his letter to the Ephesians (1:16-23; 3:14-21).
What happens if some still cannot hear the Holy Spirit? I believe in the grace and mercy of God. Keep seeking to know God, keep asking His Spirit to reveal to you. For a start, daily praying the Lord’s Prayer can help you a lot, if you believe!
John 6:61-65 (NKJV)
⁶¹When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, “Does this offend you? ⁶²What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before? ⁶³It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. ⁶⁴But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him. ⁶⁵And He said, “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.”

____________________

Hell is real!

March 16, 2013

Watchman’s letter to Junior: end times here, persevere to watch after midnight

Dear Junior: (a watchman/intercessor who started young) Greeting to you in peace.
The following sharing is also for the benefit of those aspiring to be watchman/intercessor.

The end times watchman was admonished lately after he had moved away from his Mount of Olives attic for sometime, giving way to some overseas visitors. The visitors had returned to their country but the watchman was too lazy to clean up and move back. But now his two trees outside the prayer window had shown charred leaves and the third one too started to show brown color. (He admitted in his spirit he had not prayed consistently. He was earlier told that the first three bread fruits from a breadfruit tree planted by him in a former prayer house he attended were plucked and wasted before they matured!) The warning word from the Lord is “BEWARE DESOLATION”!
Thus he decided to move back and he completed the task after a day of spring cleaning. The first midnight was truly different and fruitful. He was woken after midnight. He was led to read Zechariah 3-4, Malachi 3-4, Luke 13-14.
The message came to him clearly, confirming the signs he had received intensely even during the last quarter of 2012: The Lord is talking about end times. Two types of burning: those refined and those perished. Two outcome: those who will enter and those who will be left out of the kingdom of heaven. The message is for both Christians (even the high priest Jeshua was like a burning stick snatched from the fire! Zech. 3:2, 3:8) and unbelievers. It was a last call to repentance. Luke 13:2-8; the Lord’s personal urge for all to work hard to enter the narrow door Luke 13:24-30.

On the second night the watchman was again woken after midnight. He was led to read Ezekiel 3-7.
Chapter 3 message is for all watchmen to be alert after midnight. He was tired and sleepy as he had not practiced for sometime. For those who do not know, the watchman has to learn and practice to live divine. He is human like anyone. He learns to fast and pray. He learns to read Bible and listen to the Holy Spirit speaking to him through the Bible. He learns to do various types of fasting as led by the Lord (Holy Spirit). Often it is tough. For example, fasting the Esther fast (three days no food no water), or even Daniel fast, no meat, only light vegetable soups, a bit of rice and mainly liquid (water) for prolonged period (like 21 days or more when the Lord prompts him to extend). Often he just sleeps or stays very still and silent, using only his eyes, his ears and his spirit. But now the Lord wants him to reduce sleep and even intercede.

While lying on the floor he heard this very clearly in his spirit, read Ezekiel 3-4. He finally got up reluctantly and open his Bible. Not surprising, the warning to lazy watchmen is here.
3:20-21 warns: ““If righteous people turn away from their righteous behavior and ignore the obstacles I put in their way, they will die. And if you do not warn them, they will die in their sins. None of their righteous acts will be remembered, and I will hold you responsible for their deaths. ²¹But if you warn righteous people not to sin and they listen to you and do not sin, they will live, and you will have saved yourself, too.”

Nothing can compare with this way of waking him. He continued reading and soon knew the prayer he made on the previous day, asking the Lord how he should intercede for his nation, had been answered. The warnings are shocking.
chapter 4: A sign of the coming siege
chapter 5: A sign of the coming judgment
chapter 6: Judgment against Israel’s mountains (idols, false gods, pagan shrines etc.)
chapter 7: The coming of the end
By reading the headlines above one should understand and hear what the Holy Spirit is saying.

What should a watchman do in this time? A novice watchman may ask.
The answer is: obey your calling and watch and pray like never before.

Be soaked in the joy of the Lord Holy Spirit!
love in Christ from uncle watchman.

____heavy reading from the Word

Ezekiel 7

New Living Translation (NLT)

The Coming of the End (excerpts)

7 Then this message came to me from the Lord: ²“Son of man, this is what the Sovereign Lord says to Israel:

“The end is here! Wherever you look— east, west, north, or south— your land is finished. ³No hope remains, for I will unleash my anger against you. I will call you to account for all your detestable sins.
⁵“This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
Disaster after disaster
is coming your way!
¹²Yes, the time has come;
the day is here!
Buyers should not rejoice over bargains,
nor sellers grieve over losses,
for all of them will fall
under my terrible anger.
¹³Even if the merchants survive,
they will never return to their business.
For what God has said applies to everyone—
it will not be changed!
Not one person whose life is twisted by sin
will ever recover.

January 7, 2013

Watchman’s adventure: uncharted waters 2013

watchman’s uncharted waters 2013 The watchman continued his journey to see God this year. His understanding is that this will take the whole of 2013.
On the new year eve a small group gathered in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to worship, read God’s words and prayed. On the same day a number of Scripture songs in two languages were identified and chosen. Amazingly some could not be recorded in the special edition CD for the occasion. Some others were recorded repeatedly at least three times in the same CD! One crucial song sang the Scripture from Revelation 19:5-7, “ Then a voice came from the throne, saying, “Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both^[a] small and great!” ⁶And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, “Alleluia! For the^[b] Lord God Omnipotent reigns! ⁷Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.”
The gathering started at 9pm and ended reluctantly before 2pm. During the worship and prayers in the Spirit, the group sang ‘Alleluia’ many many times. When the alarm clock rang at 11:59 to alert them for the cross over to a new season of time in the Lord, they were all refreshed. Later one of them received a message from his family who were also worshiping and praying in their main church, at that time, that two prayer groups at two different locations were also singing the same ‘Alleluia’ verses at that time even though they had never communicated prior to this event!
That means the three groups (big and small) of believers were all being led by the Holy Spirit at the same time that night! This confirmed the Bible verse,1 Corinthians 6:17 (NKJV) “But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.“ Romans 8:14 (NKJV) “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”
Revelation received regarding what Bible books to read was: start from the Book of Genesis. See the faith journey of Abraham. The Bible reading was very rewarding. Indeed, the journey to see God is a journey for all believers. Abraham’s life is a type for all Christians who walk by faith and not by sight, led by the Spirit of God and not by flesh.
The Lord God has revealed Himself to one man, Abraham and called Himself the God of Abraham. The same Lord God Almighty had also revealed Himself to Abraham’s son Isaac (through the promise of God, born according to the Spirit of God, Galatians 4:29), and called Himself the God of Isaac. He also revealed Himself to the grandson of Abraham, Jacob (later changed to Israel), and called Himself the God of Jacob.
The same God makes sure each born again Christian knows He expects each to know Him personally as his or her own God. God is Spirit and not bound by time or space or any point of history. When He looks at each man He sees the whole life of the man at a glance. When He looks at a group of men He looks at all at the same glance, regardless of the different time and space in which they are placed at any point of time or space.
It is impossible to describe God using our human mind. We can only know a bit of God when He reveals to each of us by His Spirit. This is an exciting journey indeed for each members of the group as fresh revelations are being received daily by each individual.
This is the journey of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Uncharted waters. Very refreshing and real to each of us. Our God is awesome!

December 11, 2012

Be intercessors/watchmen after the heart of God!

Dear Junior: (a watchman/intercessor who started young)
Today aunt E joined us. we were all being trained and raised as intercessors/watchmen after the heart of God!
I woke around 4:30am and managed to bath, open the doors and waited for the arrival. I prayed in the spirit and cleansed the compound not knowing why I did that. I normally did not do that early in the morning binding and casting. However, when they arrived the dogs were quiet and calm and still. Your cousin was so fed up with all the recent 5am daily commotion (e.g. attic door opening, footsteps on staircases, keys turning, dogs barking, and of course loud Bible reading and praying!) that she went and complained to aunt E last night about her not sleeping enough. Anyway, today the Lord led me to do the spiritual cleansing in the garden.
Now we have aunt Priscilla, uncle Aquila, uncle Mil (his son Z sleeping in the car), uncle MW, aunt E and me.
Today we received the same song in the spirit, Philippians 3:7-8. “But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ .”
So we decided to read the verses. The Lord then led us to look at Jesus in 2:7-8 “but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.”
After that we knew we were to continue looking at the Son of God and learn to be sons of God which was the main theme yesterday in the song 1John 3:8b. We prayed and asked the Lord to help us be aligned with His heart, having the mind of Christ. (1 Cor.2:16)
We looked forward to a Bible Study led by the Lord, but after our Holy Communion, the Lord Holy Spirit led us to burst forth in tongues and we prayed in tongue for a long time, until the Lord gave us the burden of His heart to weep and intercede for churches (naming all the Chinese pastors we know and crying for them)! There was no dry eyes or faces.
We experienced the reality of the Bible verse that we have prayed daily as we meet and partake Holy Communion in the name of the Lord Jesus, “But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.” (1 Cor.6:17)
Then the Lord led us to pray for the children in Sunday schools churches, Christian organizations, orphanages, youth homes and other Christian training programs and education activities, seeing in our spirit how they copy the unbelievers’ worldly customs and traditions, leading the children to pagan altars and offer them as sacrifices to pagan gods, trying to please man and not God, bringing the children up the worldly secular way and not God’s way.
They do not heed the Lord’s clear warning in Deut12:4 “Do not worship the Lord your God in the way these pagan peoples worship their gods”.

²⁸Be careful to obey all my commands, so that all will go well with you and your children after you, because you will be doing what is good and pleasing to the Lord your God. ²⁹“When the Lord your God goes ahead of you and destroys the nations and you drive them out and live in their land, ³⁰do not fall into the trap of following their customs and worshiping their gods. Do not inquire about their gods, saying, ‘How do these nations worship their gods? I want to follow their example.’ ³¹You must not worship the Lord your God the way the other nations worship their gods, for they perform for their gods every detestable act that the Lord hates. They even burn their sons and daughters as sacrifices to their gods. ³²^[a]“So be careful to obey all the commands I give you. You must not add anything to them or subtract anything from them.

After that those among us who are parents repented too for wrong values and negligence and not taking up spiritual authority and parent the children to fear God, resulting that there is no godliness and holiness in the second generation. All pledged to re-build our family altars.
So today we have the Lord as the Spirit of intercession in our midst. We were all elated and felt refreshed after all the tearful prayers (including bind and cast too). By the time we broke off reluctantly, aunt E was amazed to discover that it was already almost 9am! Four hours (5am-9am) swept past us without anyone knowing as we were soaked in the joy of the Lord Holy Spirit!

love in Christ from uncle watchman.

November 25, 2012

A List of Items for watchman-intercessor

How to be an effective watchman and intercessor? Often this question is raised by the enthusiastic watchman to be (who must be born again by the Spirit of Christ). There is a harvest field for watchmen/intercessors who are spiritual harvest laborers as well. So here are some words for those who really desire to soar into the spiritual realm watching and praying just as the Lord Jesus had commanded. The list is not exhaustive and is not arranged in any sequence of importance. Some of the items are inter-related or are expansions from previous items. (Note: Some may find some items on the list challenging or even ‘offensive’. Do not be offended. After all, it is between you and God who calls you.)
Always be led by the Spirit of the Lord, Jesus Christ Himself!

You need to be called.
You need to be spiritual, able to see, hear and discern in your spirit.
You need to be a disciple of Jesus.
You need to know the words of God.
You need to have faith.
You need to spend time, a lot of time, (for some, all the time) with God.
You need to know how to pray.
You need to love praying.
You need to live before God.
You need to live a solitary life, often misunderstood by close ones.
You need to be up when others are sleeping.
You need to travel far, often in the spirit.
You need to know and obey God’s will.
You need a variety of spiritual gifts, including the gifts of discerning spirits, word of knowledge, word of wisdom, tongues and interpretation of tongues when needed to pass on a message. For some who double up as prophets or teachers, they need the gift of prophesy or teaching.
You need to be after the heart of the Father (God), as David did.
You need to live a godly and holy life.
You need to fear God.
You need to know the will of God.
You need to know you have no option but to obey the Lord when called. You need to obey His will and His word.
You need to confess and repent of your sins as convicted by the Holy Spirit and the word of God.
You need to constantly examine your own thoughts and intents (motives) so they would not fool you into thinking you have heard from the Lord.
You need to know how to do spiritual warfare.
You need grace and truth.
You need the blood of Jesus.
You need Psalm 91 protection.
You need to put on the full armor of God.
You need to know to pray the right things at the right time for the right people.
You need to know how to use the sword of the Spirit.
You need to know how to pray and sing in the Spirit.
You need to live divine. (This means you can pray, bind and cast out your own demons, heal your own sickness, and deliver and cleanse yourself).

July 13, 2012

End Time church witnessing: How to hear God's voice?

The watchman recently went to a house of God where people worship God day and night, read His words and pray. Their lifestyle is God-focused and Holy Spirit directed. He visited this place nearly four years ago and this time he noted the significant transformation. A whole new generation of godly young people has been raised. The current teaching is on “hearing God's voice”.

Increasingly Christians want to know God and hear His voice.
When the end time comes if one cannot hear God's voice (i.e. be led by the Holy Spirit), he would be trapped in the physical worldly system which would require everyone to take the beast's mark as an access key to conduct all transactions: monetary/food supplies/medical/utilities/education/work/ citizenship entitlement etc.
Christians who follow Jesus will have no option but to learn to hear God's voice NOW as this requires CONSISTENT preparation and CONSTANT practice.

Obedience is required for those who want to hear God's voice.

In the Bible there are many examples of those who heard the voice of God and obeyed. Hearing the voice of God transformed lives.
Abraham: He heard God and obeyed. At an advanced age he moved from his secure homeland to a place whereabouts of which he did not even know. He even had to give up his only son Isaac through whom God had promised to make a great nation and descendants as numerous as the stars.
Moses: He heard God and obeyed. At the peak of his personal worldly success as an Egyptian prince, he stood up against the dark power of Egypt, accepting the loss of power, status, wealth, relationship and even his life.
Noah: He heard God and obeyed. He endured being mocked and scoffed at for 100 years by the whole nation of people among whom he dwelt forgoing all credibilities built up over his past 500 years of life.
King David heard the voice of God and obeyed when he was told not to build the temple of God. He was described by the Lord to be the man after His heart and indeed he was.
The prophets heard the voice of God and delivered His messages faithfully, to people who may or may not listen or obey. Many were persecuted and even killed.
The Apostles and disciples heard the voice of God and obeyed faithfully. They spread the Gospel with signs and wonders confirming the word, and they witnessed fearlessly even to death.

How to hear God's voice? The watchman summarized below some of the valuable teachings he received during the three days' stay in God's house.

To hear God's voice you must get rid of the following obstructions:

Any personal agenda (no matter how 'right' it may seem to you). Haggai 1:4-5 “Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in paneled houses, and this temple lies in ruins?” Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, “consider your ways!” 7 Thus says the Lord of hosts, “consider your ways!” (Note: verse 6 lists out a whole list of their personal problems!) Be concerned with what God wants and not what you want.
Self (me, mine, my, us, we, ours, I am). Gen.11:4 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,” Gen.3:5 “and you will be like God”; John 8:43-44 “Why are you not able to understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do.” Let your 'anti-Christ-self' be crucified with Christ. Gal.2:20
lifestyle that reflects the values of the world and its way (the lusts of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life). 1 John 2:15-17 “Do not love the world or the things of the world. If anyone loves the world the love of the Father Is not in him. For all that is in the world-the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life-is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.”
Any plans or ambitions that follow the dictates of your own heart (no matter how grand and beneficial your expected/perceived outcome would do to the 'church' ). Jeremiah 13:10 “this evil people, who refuse to hear My words, who follow the dictates of their hearts, and walk after other gods to serve them and worship them, shall be just like this sash which is profitable for nothing.”
Anything that is not spiritual in origin, process and of no spiritual value in outcome. John 3:5-6; John 4:23-24; 6:63 “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.” Hearing God's voice is therefore a life and death matter. Romans 8:1-14. 8:13 “For if you live according to the flesh you will die,”

The key to hearing God is to walk (live) according to the Spirit. Rom 8:13 “For if you live according to the flesh you will die.”

The Lord continues to speak to those as follows:

who have a poor and contrite spirit and who trembles at His word. Isaiah 66:2
who listen to His words. Haggai 2:2 “Speak now to...the remnant of the people.” God is specific and knows who will listen.
who work with God. Haggai 2:4 “Yet now be strong...all you people of the land, and work, for I am with you.”
whose mind is stayed on God because he trusts in God (God will keep him in perfect peace). Isa.26:3
who is not rebellious or turn away from God. Isa.50:4-5 God awakens and opens the prophet's ear morning by morning to hear as the learned.
who know the Lord. 1 Sam.3:7 (When Samuel did not yet know the Lord, the word of the Lord was not yet revealed to him)
who know the word of the Lord. 1 Sam.3:21 (God revealed Himself to Samuel by the word of the Lord)
who persistently stays in the presence of the Lord. 1 Sam.3:19 “And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground”. 20 “And all Israel...knew that Samuel has been established as a prophet of the Lord.” 7:2-3 “So the ark remained in Kirjath Jearim a long time; it was there twenty years...” “Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel,”
who always live in the realm of prayers, staying in the presence of God by prayers and supplications with thanksgiving. Eph.6:18; Col.4:2; 4:12; Phil.1:3,9,11; 1 Thess.1:2-3; 3:10-13; 4:3, 7, 12, 18.
who live the watchman lifestyle. Matt.26:41 “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation.” Luke 21:36 “Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.” Matt.24:42 “Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.” Mark 13:33 “Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is.” 13:37 “And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!”

God is Spirit (John 4:24). An effective intercessor enters the spiritual realm. So does one who watches. It takes a life time of practicing living before God. Samuel took 20 long years to prepare himself. Moses took 40 years. Noah took 600 years. Samuel and Moses were described as powerful intercessors (those who called upon the Lord and He answered them Psa.99:6; Jer.15:1). Noah was described as man of righteousness together with Daniel and Job (Ezekiel 14:14) . Daniel entered the lions' den when he was an old man. Job too was old when he was hit by the colossal tragedy of losing all his children and everything with one blow. These were men who lived their life consistently before God. They could hear the voice of God. They lived by the Spirit. They lived their lives obeying God.

July 12, 2012

End Time Church Witnessing: Back to the Ancient Way -how to hear God’s voice?

“Unless we do understand the principles of the interpretation of the Bible, the Bible is not an open book.” (Austin Sparks)

The watchman has been thus convicted. It is his heart desire that the Bible be open to everyone who seek to hear God’s voice with all his heart, soul, mind and strength.

Recall the time when our Lord Jesus walked the Emmaus Road (a road out of the Old Gate) with his two disciples, how He walked the seven miles and expounded the Scripture to them about Himself. (Luke 24:27 “And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.”)

Below is the whole passage (from Austin Sparks’ book “the Persistent Purpose of God”) on how to interpret the Bible from the Ancient Way. Readers may download the whole book using the link to the author’s site.

_____ Chapter 1 – God’s Full Intention Governs Everything That He Does

We are going to occupy the first part of this morning with preparation for what we are going to consider later, and I want to speak now about some principles of Biblical interpretation. It is very important for us to be able to know how the Bible is to be interpreted, and this will be especially seen in what we have to consider later on. Unless we do understand the principles of the interpretation of the Bible, the Bible is not an open book; we may know what is in the Book as a book, but we do not understand it until we have the principles of interpretation. So I ask you to try and remember what I am going to say now and bring it over into our later study. We will consider five important principles of interpreting the Bible:

1. The Eternity of God;
2. The Comprehensiveness of Christ;
3. The Interpreter of the Bible is the Holy Spirit;
4. The Final Mention;
5. The Only Real Value is the Spiritual.

(1.) The Eternity Of God

The first principle of the interpretation of the Bible is the eternity of God. We must always remember that all time is present time with God. There is no past and future with God: all that is past and future with us has been present with God always. At any moment in what is time to us, eternity is present with God.

The architect always has the completed plan before him. If he is the designer of a ship, he has a model made of that ship before anything is done. He sees in the model the completed object, that is, exactly how the thing will appear when it is finished. If it is a great building, or even a city, it is the same. The architect draws what we call a scale model, and he sees in that model exactly how the building, or the city, will be when it is finished. The builder works day by day according to that completed plan. Those who only see the parts cannot understand, and must not take the parts as being the whole. Sometimes when you look at the parts of a building, you cannot for the life of you understand what it is going to be. It is only as the completed thing is seen that you can understand the parts.

Now the Bible is just full of parts, but they are all the parts of something that God sees in completion. God is the Great Architect, He has the completed and perfect plan before Him before He begins any work. God’s eternity is in every part. So we must realize that God has His full Mind behind everything that He does! GOD’S FULL INTENTION GOVERNS EVERYTHING THAT HE DOES! You must realize that God’s Mind never grows – God Himself is incapable of development.

The temporary form of anything contains the eternal and full thought of God. You must realize that there are always TWO MEANINGS in anything that is in the Bible. There is the present meaning, that is, how that applies to the present situation; but there is also the future meaning. Everything in the Bible, while it has a present application, has a fuller meaning in the future. That is the first law of interpretation: it is the eternity of God.

(2.) The Comprehensiveness Of Christ

The second law of interpretation is the comprehensiveness of Christ. Christ is the interpretation of all the Bible, to know Christ is to understand the Bible. Men like Peter and Paul knew the Bible, but they did not understand it until they knew the Lord Jesus. We first know the Lord Jesus, and then we take Him back into the Bible, and He is the interpretation of the Bible. Therefore, we cannot really understand the Bible until we know the Lord Jesus. That results in this – that the Bible is really a Person, and not a book. The Bible is a Living Person, and not a dead letter. Because this Person is inexhaustible, He makes the Bible inexhaustible.

Now that is a more important principle than perhaps you realize. It is possible to exhaust the Bible as a book. We have known great Bible teachers who went through the Bible teaching it again and again, but at the end of their lives they were having difficulty in finding something fresh; and they were only repeating again and again things that they had said in past years. The reason for this is that they dealt with the Bible as a book. That will never happen if you know the Lord Jesus and see the Bible in Him, and Him in the Bible. I repeat that the Lord Jesus can never be exhausted. As the Holy Spirit reveals the Lord Jesus to us, the Bible is always more alive. So, we have our first two principles of interpretation: (1) The Eternity of God and (2) The Comprehensiveness of Christ.

(3.) The Interpreter Of The Bible Is The Holy Spirit

Now we come to number three: the interpreter of the Bible is the Holy Spirit. I have said that Jesus is the interpretation of the Bible. I am saying now that the Holy Spirit is the INTERPRETER of the Bible. We are familiar with the words in the Letter to the Corinthians, but let us just look at them again now. The First letter to the Corinthians, chapter two and verse thirteen: “Which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.“

Now I do not know if you have marginal references in your Bible but the more correct translation of those words is this: “interpreting spiritual things to spiritual men.” Let us read the whole passage again in that way:

Which things also we speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Spirit teacheth; interpreting spiritual things to spiritual men.

That scripture is a very important statement, and it definitely affirms the principle that we are now setting forth – the interpreter of the Bible is the Holy Spirit. First of all then, the Bible is the Holy Spirit’s Book. The Bible is not firstly man’s Book, it is not our Book, we have not got the Book. We have got certain writings which are called Scripture, but in truth we do not possess the Book.

You remember the case in Acts of the Ethiopian eunuch. When Philip came near to his chariot, he heard the Ethiopian reading. He was reading the Book at Isaiah 53. Philip said to him, “Do you understand what you are reading?” and he said, “Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?” Here is a man who had the Book in a certain sense, but in a real and profitable sense he did not possess the Book. We can have the Book as a volume, and yet we may not possess the Book, because the Bible is the Holy Spirit’s Book first. The mind of man and the Mind of the Spirit are two altogether different things!

Do you know that there are many, many Christians who do not recognize that! There are many Bible teachers who do not recognize that! And this is the cause of very much confusion, and the reason for very much spiritual smallness and weakness. I think this may lie at the bottom of most of the controversy. THE BIBLE IS A CLOSED BOOK TO ALL BUT SPIRITUAL MEN. This is the principle that the Lord Jesus set before Nicodemus: You must be born from above before you can see what is above.

Our measure of understanding of the Bible will be just in accordance with the measure of our spiritual life. This is why the Lord takes us through experiences in order to bring us to understanding. The measure of our death to the natural mind will be the measure of our understanding of the things of the Spirit. Please remember that in these days which are before us – something has got to happen IN US before we understand the Scripture. We cannot understand the Word of God by just deciding that we are going to have a training course, that we are going to have some classes for Bible teaching. No, that is not the way in which we come to understanding of the Word of God. We shall only understand according to the measure of our spiritual life. That is the third principle of Biblical interpretation. Now we come to the fourth.

(4.) The Final Mention

The final mention of any particular matter in the Bible is usually a key to all its meaning. That is something that we must think about! We find certain things mentioned again and again in the Bible; but when we come to the final occasion where that thing is mentioned, we usually find the key to all that has been said about that matter before. If you take a particular matter, where it is mentioned for the last time, and then note the setting and the context and the relationship, you will get the full meaning of all that has been said about that before.

Now that is a statement that I have made, and you will need to think and to work on that, but I will help you by taking just one illustration. In the last chapter of the Bible, Revelation twenty-two and verse two, we have the last reference to “the tree of life.” Now when we go right back to the beginning of the Bible, we have “the tree of life” mentioned, but we are told nothing about it – it is just referred to as something that exists. We have no explanation, we are not told what that tree is, or what it means; it is just referred to as “the tree of life.” We have to go to the end of the Bible for the explanation, and when we come to this last chapter of the Bible, by the context and relationship, we have a very large explanation.

Let us look at the passage. Revelation 22: “And He showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb,” - note the context, ‘the throne of God and of the Lamb.’ you have got to read the whole book of the Revelation to understand that! There is a tremendous amount in the early chapters of this book about “the throne of God and of the Lamb.” And you need to understand what the throne of God is and what is the significance of the throne of the Lamb – in the midst of the throne is a Lamb!

Now in relation to “the throne of God and of the Lamb,” there is “a river of the water of life… in the midst of the street thereof. And on either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve manner (kinds) of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be therein: and His bond servants shall serve Him.” There is “the tree of life.” It bears immortal fruit. THERE IS NO PLACE FOR DEATH HERE. Its fruit is born every month: this is fruit immortal, or fruit without death. The leaves of this tree are for the HEALTH of the nations. I am sorry that in most versions the word “healing” is wrongly translated. I do not know what the word is in your translation, but the original is not for “the healing of the nations,” but for “the health of the nations.” You may ask, “What is the difference?” Well, one is THE REMOVAL OF DISEASE and the other is THE PREVENTION OF DISEASE.

In Revelation 22, we have come to the time when the spiritual diseases of the nations have been healed, but the health of the nations needs to be preserved. It is a state that is to be maintained. Thus, the leaves are not for healing, they are for preservation. And so it says: “And there shall no longer be any curse.”

You see, you have got the whole history of the Bible in those words. You have got all that came on the nations through Adam’s sin. You have corruption and death – moral disease – the result of a curse. All that is now cleared up, and “the tree of life” represents VICTORY OF LIFE over all that, Life Triumphant, and Life Abundant. Here the full meaning of “the tree of life” is revealed. And it is like that with all other matters. When you come to the last mention, you have the key to the whole subject. That is a principle of the interpretation of the Bible.

(5.) The Only Real Value Is The Spiritual

Now I come to the last principle for the present, number five: the only real value is the spiritual. We must remember this when we are reading and studying the Bible, and we must keep this in mind in these times in which we are together. We must not come here just with a thirst for more information or a craving for more knowledge. There are people who just want to get more and more knowledge and education. Now that constitutes a danger. That is exactly how Adam was caught. You see, Satan said: “If you take of this tree, you will know”; it was “the tree of knowledge.” And there is always a danger in eating of that tree. It might just lead us into death and not into life. So, I repeat this principle of Biblical interpretation: the only real value is the spiritual. And spiritual value is just how something affects our life with God! I do wish that Adam had recognized that! When Satan tempted him to take of “the tree of knowledge,” if only Adam had said, “How will this affect my life with God?” he, and we, should have been saved all the trouble.

So, let me say this again, spiritual value is just how something affects our life with God. Shall I put that in another way – spiritual value is just how much something increases the measure of Christ. If Christ is the interpretation of the Bible, then the spiritual knowledge of the Bible results in an increase of Christ. If our days together do not result in an increase of the measure of Christ, we have missed the Way. If we do not go away more Christ-like men and women, with a larger measure of the Lord Jesus, this training course has failed. So I beg of you to pray all the way through that this time together may mean SPIRITUAL INCREASE and not intellectual enlargement, but SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE.

Everything has got to be judged by how much it contributes to the Ultimate Purpose of God. We have to ask, “Where does this lead us? Is it leading us anywhere? What is it leading us to?” All spiritual knowledge leads to an increase of Christ; it contributes to the ultimate purpose of God.

The question always is “How much of Life is there in it?” It is not a matter of interest; it is not a matter of fascination with Bible truth; it is not a matter of making us more important people, by the enlarging of our natural stature, but it is just a matter of the measure of Christ. That is the real spiritual value.

Now, let us go over our five principles of the interpretation of the Bible. In our second hour together we shall take them over into our special subject for study, just as we will continue to do in the coming days: (1) The Eternity of God; (2) The Comprehensiveness of Christ; (3) The Interpreter is the Holy Spirit; (4) The Final Mention of Everything Containing all its Meaning; and (5) The Real Value is the Spiritual.

Also, brethren, before the next session, I would like for you to read the first three chapters of the Prophet Ezekiel. You will have to read them more than once in these coming days, but it would be a help if you will refresh your minds with what is in those three chapters.

One man's Journey in the Holy Spirit