Monday 23 February 2015

The Rise of the Little Horn of Daniel?

By pastor Mike Taylor 




 Daniel 11:36  "And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvelous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.

 11:37  Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.

 11:38  But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.

 11:39  Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain."

 In this passage, the prophet Daniel was given information about a coming king who will exalt himself above the God of heaven in his abominations and blasphemy. Of course, this passage is about the coming Anti-Christ. And like other authors, I believe we should be looking for the return of the King of kings, our Lord, Jesus Christ and not looking for the Anti-Christ, BUT in the same breath, realize that as the time grows short for our Lord's return,  that there will be signs and symptoms present when the coming of the lawless one is close. So if the lawless one be close, the coming of the King of kings, is even closer.

 II Thessalonians :

 2:3  "Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

 2:4  Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

 2:5  Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?

 2:6  And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.

 2:7  For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.

 2:8  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

 2:9  Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,

 2:10  And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved."

 In this passage, Paul explains to the people who thought that they had missed the coming of the Lord, and all were scared to death that the Tribulation was upon them, even back in Paul's day. But Paul admonished them, and encouraged them that that day would not come, until certain things must happen. A falling away would happen, or apostasy within even the church. The Holy Spirit would be withdrawn "He who let will let, till HE be taken out of the way." I believe a clear passage that God will remove His protective hand, and the Holy Spirit's protection from the earth back to pre-Pentecostal times, and let Satan have full sway over the inhabitants of this earth, to deceive, to destroy, and to obtain worship for himself through one possessed individual, the Anti-Christ. Now saying that, let us turn to a recent event that will give any Bible believing person pause and turn their attention to a man who has risen to power, from out of no-where, in a country that is part of the revised Roman Empire.

 Rise of the Little Horn?

 Daniel 7:7  "After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.

 7:8  I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things."

 I have been watching and being amazed at the sudden rise of one man to power from out of "no-where" that has taken over the country of Greece. His name is Alexis Tsipras. From a Christian Blog:

 "One interesting candidate that is clearly different from most of the others is Greek politician Alexis Tsipras.  He is the nominee for the Party of the European left; he also is the youngest of all the candidates at 39 years of age. He is a total Marxist/atheist whose political roots are in socialism and communism. He remains un-married, but has cohabitated with his high school girlfriend for twenty years and they have one child."

 Since then, this mystery candidate has taken the country of Greece by storm and has risen as a rock star in politics with a charismatic personality that has adoring subjects looking upon him with tears in their eyes, in near worship of a man they call, "their savior".  So who is this man Alexis Tsipras and what does he stand for? What he is, is a man of charm and a orator of seductive words. He was described by Geri Ungerean on "Now The End Begins" thusly:

 "His name is Alexis Tsipras, and it seems that he meets much of the criteria of the prophesied Antichrist. He was just elected as the Prime Minister of Greece. He is an atheist and a far left winger. His party in Greece is called SYRIZA. He has appeared out of nowhere in the last couple of years, almost magically. He has landed himself in a most precarious situation. Greece is broken. Is he the one to fix it, and also the EU which is struggling and groping at almost anything to revive Europe? All eyes are on this man.

 On Sept 17, 2014 Mr. Tsipras met with Pope Francis at the Vatican. He was the first leader of a left-wing party that met the head of the Roman-Catholic church-ever!  This is not surprising with this Pope, because he is rabidly ecumenical, and very "Green", and always talking about global warming and people harming the earth. It has been said that Tsipras and the Pope get along famously, and are in one accord. No problem that one claims to be the head of the "faithful" on this earth, and the other, a staunch atheist. Could it be that there are unseen circumstances, not being divulged to the public? I would say, assuredly so."

 All of Europe, especially Germany, along with some in Greece itself, are afraid of what the new Prime Minister might do with the national debt and austerity measures that have crippled many into abject poverty. He has vowed to battle the "troika" or the IMF, the EC, and the ECB. (International Monetary Fund, European Commission, and the European Central Bank).

 The discontented have flocked to SYRIZA, partially encouraged by Tsipras' repeated promises to repeal the memoranda and abandon all deals with the troika if and when he is elected Prime Minister. This kind of talk is partially what many have been afraid of, both within Greece and abroad.

 And the most disturbing to any prophecy student is that the new PM is a Pro-Palestinian supporter and an enemy of Israel:

 "During last summer's Gaza war, Alexis Tsipras, the new prime minister of Greece, said Israel's "brutality cannot be tolerated." Senior members of his party - which in this week's elections nearly got an absolute majority - participated in the 2010 flotilla, which sought to break Israel's naval blockade of Gaza and resulted in a deadly clash between Turkish activists and Israeli troops. One of the party's delegates to the European Parliament is said to be openly sympathetic to Hamas." Israel is said to be concerned and nervous over this development in Greek politics.

 I was reading a post by Prophecy teacher, Terry James on Rapture Ready and his  comments were very strong to keep a close watch on this man. Here are two excerpts from that article:

 Antichrist Archetype Emerges

 "...There has surfaced, in my view at least, an archetype of the leader to come who will be the first beast of Revelation 13.  This generation is not yet in the Tribulation, but is experiencing precursors to that last seven years that makes us know that a time of unprecedented troubles is just ahead. Likewise, a leader has arisen from the area of the reviving Roman Empire, one whose emergence makes the observant Bible prophecy student suspect ever more assuredly that Antichrist is waiting in the shadows of the immediate future.

 Any such leader rising suddenly and dramatically out of the very nucleus of what was ancient Rome justifiably raises the eyebrows of Bible prophecy students.  The visible, physical reactions of those who have put him on his pedestal are quite interesting...glassy eyes filled with tears of joy, as they looked worshipfully at the man on whom they are hanging their hopes.  As a matter of fact, the slogan for his campaign was "Hope is coming!" - Terry James, RaptureReady.com.

 I would remind the reader, that besides this man we are discussing today, another politician who has some of the same credentials as Tsipras, and that is found in the current "usurper in Chief" that resides in the office of the POTUS. He also promised "hope and change", but there is little hope, and only change in our pockets. Mr. Obama and Mr. Tsipras are mirror images to some degree on either side of the "big pond".  Who will lead the "One World Government". I  remember reading that Henry Kissinger expressed hope that it would be Obama. Now, maybe he will change his mind? But back to Tsipras, the new PM of Greece.

 GREECE  ELECTS THEIR OWN VERSION OF OBAMA

 We know very little about this man.  He has a quality of being believed without a long established history of significant accomplishments or well accepted political plans or skills. Which reminds me of another politician that rose from obscurity as junior senator from Illinois and promised hope and change and is now the president of the most powerful nation on earth. So do they each sound familiar? I've long thought that Obama had the qualities of the Anti-Christ, but only as a pre-cursor to the actual man who would be the lawless one. Oh, Obama is lawless enough because of the way he conducts himself above the clear constraints of the U.S. Constitution or the rule of law, but he just doesn't quite fit the mold of a man that the world would flock to as their god in the Tribulation.

 But concerning this rising star in the EU, Mr. Tsipras has been forging an alliance with a sworn enemy of the aforementioned EU and of NATO and that would be Russia, and Vladmir Putin, its president. Earlier this week, Greece's defense minister and outspoken "Eurosceptic" Panos Kammenos announced that he was invited to Moscow to meet his Russian counterpart, Sergei Shoygu, in the near future.

 Greece is one of the 28 members of NATO, while Russia perceives NATO as its biggest threat. So if Russia and Greece do form a military alliance, then Russia will have found an ally within its biggest perceived enemy. So Greece is warming up to Russia, who is also in league with Middle Eastern enemies of Israel. That's only one part of this political intrigue that is being played out right in front of us.

 Another is the cozy relationship between a proclaimed atheist and the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, the pope. In a press release it was reported:

 "In our meeting with Pope Francis today, we had the opportunity to discuss the economic crisis, as well as the crisis in human values...we asked [Pope Francis] to take an international initiative for the termination of conflicts in the Middle East...we agreed that the dialogue between the Left and the Christian Church must go on. We may have different ideological starting points; however, we converge on common values, like solidarity, love for the fellow Human being, social justice, and our concern regarding world peace."

 Interesting, to say the least. Here is a proclaimed Atheist (who along with his significant other who he met while being a member of the "Students for Communism") who is meeting with the supposed leader of the "Christian" world and is asking for his intervention in the problems between the Palestinians and the nation of Israel. Now some would wonder, is this meeting with the coming believed, false prophet with a man who is unmarried and a communist /Marxist  be any cause for concern?

 THE ANTI-CHRIST WILL BE HOMOSEXUAL?

 There is a common belief that I've heard that the Anti-Christ will be a homosexual, as I believe his precursor to this role is also, Mr. Barak Hussein Obama, being a homosexual. Many use this scripture to promote this belief.

 Daniel 11:37  "Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all."

 Daniel says that this man will not regard the God of his fathers, (Tsipras is an atheist and a communist)...so he doesn't adhere to any god, or the God of the universe. The scripture saying that the man will not regard,  "the desire of women" doesn't necessarily mean he is a homosexual. In the times of Israel when the prophesied Messiah was believed ready to be born as prophesied, women of the nation, each "desired to be the mother" of the coming Messiah. This passage could mean that the Anti-Christ will not believe in the true Messiah of the nation of Israel and of the world, Jesus Christ. But something that made me take pause of this man that I read concerning his family history. The man, Alexia Tsiparis  is of Jewish ancestry. You heard me correctly. The man is an unbelieving Jew, an atheist who has no regard for the God of his fathers of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and who denies the Lordship of Jesus Christ, as the majority of Jewish people do. From a excerpt I read on this man's family history:

 ""The father of Alexis Cipra, Pavlos Cipra, died in 2012. He was a billionaire with a direct link with the Mossad, (Jewish Intelligence like our CIA) he was the father of a slave BHL entrepreneur in Africa where he was trafficking in Africans. He sent dozens of Africans in Greece in order to exploit them, giving them just enough to survive in its construction companies and public travux.

 The family business "SKAPANEA" was responsible for all major public works in Greece since the junta until today, construction / restoration of Orthodox churches through broadcasting. Like the Italian Mafia, the other companies have to pay a percentage to the "family" if they want to survive. "

 Yes, you read that correctly. I have been finding people in Greece saying that Tsipras is actually "Cipra" and is of Jewish blood.

 "Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers (Yahweh) , nor the desire of women (Jesus Christ), nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all." Many End Times scholars have concluded that this passage of Scripture from Daniel 11:37 shows the Antichrist to be atheist, since he no longer regards the God of his fathers, but not necessarily homosexual. Just a denier of the Son of God."

 TSIPRAS TIES WITH GEORGE SOROS

 Anytime I hear the name of George Soros, the hair on the back of my neck stands up. This is the same man that financed and brought Barak Obama to the forefront of American politics to the shame of the American voter. It seems this alleged "Illumanati" individual  uses his multiple-billions to engineer the political scene of any country to further his concept of a One World Government and of course, make him money is again involved in political intrigue and mystery behind the scenes. Hey, but it's all in a day's work for this evil man.

 Soros is the same man, while as a teenager worked to turn in his own countrymen, the Jewish people, into the Nazis to be loaded on trains to the death camps. Yes, Soros is Jewish. Why is it, that when an unbelieving Jewish person who rejects God of his fathers, becomes a reprobate? Ever look at the Hollywood community populated by unbelieving Jews in the movie/entertainment industry? The community is rampant with homosexuality, sexual deviancy, and anything that titillates the primeval, sinful nature of mortal men. It reminds me of when Israel went into idolatry and went so far from God, that God brought swift judgment on the nation. It almost seems in direct conflict with the plan of God to bring Israel and the Jewish (Hebrew) nation into direct worship of the God of the Universe again in the future. But God is in control and men like Soros will be judged along with other evil men that are either Jew or Gentile. But the point aside from this fact is, when George Soros is involved in anything politically, then no good can come from it, and the Christian student of biblical prophecy must take notice.

 IS TSIPRAS THE ANTI-CHRIST?

 It's too early to tell, and from my Christian point of view and what I have supported in my years of ministry, is that the "true Christian", the believer in Jesus Christ and Him crucified, will not know for sure. We may have a suspicion and a good idea of who the man MIGHT be.  But until the Church is removed according to II Thessalonians 2:7-8, and the Holy Spirit being removed prior to the AC being revealed, we will only have questions and suspicions. This revealing of the AC will be accomplished when the "son of perdition" signs a 7 year peace treaty with Israel, which is a pact with the devil. So if the Holy Spirit is removed, so shall the Church be removed, or Jesus would have been lying, when He said:

 Matthew 28:20  "Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world."

 John 14:18  I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

 14:19  Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.

 14:20  At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.

 Since we know that our Lord does not lie, Paul told us through Holy Spirit revelation, the church will be leaving sometime prior to the revealing of the Anti-Christ.

 Now I am not definitively saying that this new Greek Prime Minister, Tsipras is the prophesied Anti-Christ, but let us summarize what we have learned or has been reported concerning this man:

 1.     Tsipras came to the political scene from out of no-where. He was a brought to the scene of Greek politics by intrigue and money.

 2.     The man is a Marxist/Communist, an Atheist, and belongs to a hard left political party called Syriza. (will he be called a "Syrian"?)

 3.     The man is Jewish by ancestry. An unbelieving Jew of Grecian birth.

 4.     He has made alliances with both ends of the spectrum. Vladimir Putin and Pope Francis, the possible Gog of the Gog-Magog alliance, and the possible False Prophet, in that order. Pretty cozy, I'd say.

 5.     He comes out of the least of the NATO alliance countries, and smack dab in the middle of the revised Roman Empire.

 6.     He has rock star qualities and speaks with a charismatic speaking style that is not unlike Barak Obama, and the people are in near worship of him...again, like many do Obama here in the USA.

 7.     He is backed by a shadowy Illumanati type individual, George Soros.

 8.     He is a  rabid supporter of the Palestinian cause and supports a Two State solution to dividing Israel. Even being a Jew himself, he is against the nation of Israel.

 Much can be speculated about both this man, the new PM of Greece, and for that matter, our own POTUS. Both have Anti-Christ credentials and personality traits that would give any biblical student reason to keep an eye on either man and to see what develops. What it does tell me, is the hour is very late, and the AC is just out of sight, waiting to be revealed. Both these men are on the world stage with a mask over their true intentions. The time of the Church's departure grows ever closer and the date approaches of which no one knows for sure, except the signs which we have discussed in numerous messages found on my website and re-printed by Christian partners in prophecy forums. The picture become more and more clear, much as a slow forming film strip developing in a photographer's dark room. So we have another person and event to keep a watch on. What will develop? Only God and time will tell. Don't be misled by anyone who promises you the moon, especially in politics and religion. Keep your eye on Jesus Christ which is found in God's Word. He will never let you down, unlike men of this world.

 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosever believeth in Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16

 This is Pastor Mike Taylor, praying God's blessing into your life. If you have any need for prayer, counseling from God's Word, or just a caring, listening ear, email me at realteam1999@sbcglobal.net, or visit me online at www.churchofgod-usa.org,  for more truths from God's Word. God bless you all, till we meet at Jesus feet.

Friday 6 February 2015

“Do this in remembrance of Me” Luke 22:19



"In The Manner In Which Jesus Wanted To Be Remembered"

 Jesus fought a war against sins and death for our freedom. Should we not remember Him the way He wants to be remembered?

November the 11th, in Canada and United States of America, we pause from all our activities for 2 minutes in remembrance of those who fought for our rights and our freedom. Our military personnel fought for justice and democracy in foreign countries.

“A time to love, and a time to hate; A time of war, and a time of peace,” Ecclesiastes 3:8.

In time of peace, we remember for whom our veterans fought for; they fought for our next generation. They fought for our freedom from tyranny and oppression. They fought for our freedom to choose our destiny. They fought for our religious freedom. They fought for freedom to consume whatever we want to have, and to dress in whatever we want to be dressed in. They fought for our freedom to travel whenever and wherever we want to go within our borders. They fought for freedom of speech, even when disrespectfully challenged by others, that also our opponents have the freedom to do. Today, we take this freedom for granted to a point where we take this freedom to sin evermore.  Who would want to die for a sinful nation? Jesus did. He died for the whole world over 2000 years ago.

Jesus overcame the world, died to take away the consequence of our sins, and resurrected as proof that He was victorious. He appeared to over 500 people, including His apostles, 1 Corinthians 15:6. The apostles all died as martyr except for John, defending their testimony of Jesus resurrection. Why? So that you may also believe and in doing so, receive the gift of eternal life, John 19:35, 1 John 5:10.

Jesus wanted us believers, to remember Him.  He would be physically absent for an undetermined time, therefore He asks His disciples to remember Him when they gathered for a meal. A picture would have been a good substitute, however, cameras did not exist in those days. An object, a gift to each one of them, would have been a good idea, but it could gotten damaged, lost, or worst, it could has been used as an object of worship. Jesus did not give them a cross as a symbol to be remembered by.

John wrote in chapter 6, a teaching of Jesus to His disciples.  There was more then twelve then. As He taught, it became more and more difficult for His disciples to understand. Only the original 11 disciples believed and stayed with Him.  Judas did not believe, yet stayed because Jesus was profitable. You can read about it in the commentary title,  “John 6:66, The Unbelievers”. What was so difficult to understand?   What was so complex to comprehend and to accept?

“And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst,” John 6: 35.

“Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him,” John 6:53-56. 

The disciples believed without understanding. How about you, do you understand, do you believe?  Can you explain Jesus teaching if ask?  At one time, I did not understand. Now I do.  I teach best what I needed to learn most. This is what I learned; the meaning behind His requested to be remember - the substance in the body.

“This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me,” Luke 22:19.

In this commentary, I will attempt to convince you to observe this simple act of remembrance that Jesus requested us to do.  If you are already doing this, good for you, keep doing so.  In addition, I will attempt to explain Luke 22:19 and Colossians 2:17 in its simplicity, what it represents and its importance. 

God Remembered Us

God remembered us, therefore why should we not remember Jesus, and in the manner in which He wanted to be remembered? There are many examples of much-needed request to be remembered in the Old and New Testament. Those prayers centred on one’s special attempt to get God’s attention.  In those moments of extreme anxiety, the words “Remember me” were used.

Joseph

There is Joseph son of Jacob/Israel who requested to be remembered by the butler:

“But remember me when it is well with you, and please show kindness to me; make mention of me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this house,” Genesis 40:14.

Joseph pleads with the butler to remember him when he would be re-establish as Pharaoh servant.  Yet, the chief butler did not remember Joseph, but forgotten him, verse 23. Two years went by before the butler remembered Joseph.  How do you think Joseph felt about not being remembered? Joseph was sold by his brothers, and then taken to Egypt as a slave; the Egyptian master’s wife accused Joseph of sexual assault. Joseph desperately wanted to get out of prison, verse 15.  How would you have felt if that were to happen to you... anger comes to mind? God remembered Joseph. God had Joseph destiny planned. God has yours planned also.

Samson

Then, there is Samson. He desperately cried out to be re-established by God.  

“Then Samson called to the Lord, saying, “O Lord God, remember me, I pray! Strengthen me, I pray, just this once, O God, that I may with one blow take vengeance on the Philistines for my two eyes!” Judges 16:28.

Samson pride brought him to despair. Blinded and chained, he was brought up to the Philistine temple as a trophy to their gods. He had forgotten that his strength was in reality coming from God, not his hair. Samson did not fulfill God's calling as a judge for His people.  "Remember me", Samson cried out. This kind of prayer is indicative of a soul in need. God answered Samson prayer and gave him the strength to destroy the Philistine’s temple and killing those gather inside worshiping idols.   Some of us had experience despaired situation in life. We realized that our selfish ambitions kept us from pursuing God’s will for us which is to bear fruit, Romans 7:4. It is not too late to be re-established; go back to Him. God remembered us. God never left you nor forsaken you, Hebrews 13:5, 1 John 2:17.

Hannah

Then there is Hannah, wife of a polygamist.  Peninnah, the other wife bore several children but Hannah was barren, 1 Samuel 1:2. Peninnah belittled Hannah, v. 7.  

“And she (Hannah) was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the Lord and wept in anguish. Then she made a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant andremember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head,” 1 Samuel 1:10-11.

Remember me, was a prayer she implored with desperation and of broken spirit. God answered her request and gave her a son she named Samuel and more children after.  Have you not experience animosity by someone toward you in your life? No matter what you do to please, him/her puts you down. You never wronged them, yet they keep offending you.  Do not keep this bitterness in your heart.  Tell God what would make you happy. 

Nehemiah

Nehemiah representing God’s people, is another one who wanted to be remembered by God so that God would continued to bless the reconstruction of Jerusalem’s wall and the Temple, Nehemiah 5:19, 13:14,22,31.

Remember me, my God, for good, according to all that I have done for this people,” Nehemiah 5:19.

Remember me, O my God, concerning this, and do not wipe out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God, and for its services,” Nehemiah 13:14!

Ministers, pastors, and teachers who are God’s stewards, the example of Nehemiah is for you.  You love God and want dearly to serve Him.  You want to do more. I can assure you that God has not forgotten you.  In due time He will answer your prayers.

Job

Then there is Job.  In despair through physical pain and grief for his great loses looked at death for comfort. He asked God to take his life yet to remember him at the day of the resurrection:

“Oh, that You would hide me in the grave, That You would conceal me until Your wrath is past, That You would appoint me a set time, and remember me!” Job 14:13.

Are you suffering from an incurable disease?  Is your health so bad, that you are restricted to bed and isolated from family and friends? Your body aches and pain, no one seems to know what to say to encourage you, and you desire death.  God did not fail Job and remembered him. God have not forgotten you:

“Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you,”1 Peter 5:6-7.

David

David also pleaded to be remembered: 

“Do not remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions; According to Your mercy remember me, For Your goodness’ sake, O Lord” Psalm 25:7.

Have you done something that is so bad that you believe that no one, not even God would ever forgive the wrong that you did?  Think again. God desires only that you admit your sins and He will forgive you, 1 John 1:9.

Jeremiah

Then there is Jeremiah’s prayer, 

“O Lord, You know; Remember me and visit me, And take vengeance for me on my persecutors. In Your enduring patience, do not take me away. Know that for Your sake I have suffered rebuke,” Jeremiah 15:15.

Christians, you who are being persecuted, even at the risk of loosing your life, do not despair. Jesus visits you. He gives you strength to endure.  Your reward is great in the Kingdom of God, Matthew 5:10.

The Criminal

Another important example took place at Jesus crucifixion. A request using these words, ‘remember me’ was used.  One of the criminals who were hung adjacent to Jesus, in humility asked Jesus to remember him. 

“Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom,” Luke 23:42.  

What a great and wonderful example of the simplicity of the gospel; believing that Jesus is Lord, Romans 10:9. How great was the way Jesus responded.  Jesus did not reply saying that He must first die and resurrect before He remembered him. No, He answered: 

“Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise,” verse 43.   

The gospel is not complicated.  It is a simple decision in faith, to believe and to put your trust in the Son of God whom His name is Jesus, John 3:16.

“Jesus died for your sins, and raised from the dead,” is the gospel.  The only work you need to do to receive the gift of eternal life is to believe, John 6:29. We are justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law, Romans 3:28.

Cornelius

God never forget. In Acts 10:31 Peter said, 

“Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your alms are remembered in the sight of God.”

God remembers everything, from eternity to eternity. He even writes everything in books, not for Him but for us, Revelation 20:12.  It is the proof that He takes great important about everything we do and say.  We need to remember that. As a father, I kept a scrapbook to remember my children crafts.  They appreciate the memories. We can therefore go to God with confidence that He remembers us, and He is willing to listen to our plea.

While we pray, we want God to remember us.  When we pray using those words, “Remember me,” it mean, “Give attention to who I am in Your presence.”  We are one of many whom God has called to Himself.”

“Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified,” Romans 8:30.

It is importance to remember Jesus in the manner 
In which He wants to be remembered.



Now that you have realized how much God take importance to remember us, how important is it to remember Jesus in the manner He wants to be remembered?  If you feel that, it is not important, irrelevant because you are assuming that God is all love, and that He doesn’t care about how and when we are to remember Him, consider the fact that you might have a mind-like Cain, a spirit of Cain.  What is the spirit of Cain?  It is ‘not taking Jesus by His word’. In James 1:22, we read:

“But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves”. 

In the ERV it is read in this manner, “Do what God’s teaching says; don’t just listen and do nothing. When you only sit and listen, you are fooling yourselves.”

Cain knew what was required to please our Lord yet he decided to do things his own way; a vegetable platter he offered as sacrificial offering instead of a lamb. There was a prophetic meaning behind the offering of a lamb as there is a prophetic meaning behind Jesus’ manner to be remembered.  Do you have a spirit of Cain? Does keeping God's word (teaching) matter? The spirit of Cain is about disobeying Jesus’ instructions. You can read the detail about it in the commentary title, "Spirit of Cain - Is alive and doing well even within the churches."

Is it by celebrating Christmas, Jesus birthday that Jesus wants to be remembered? Was Jesus born on the 25th of December?  Find more by reading the commentary title,  “The Truth About Christmas.” What about Good Friday and Easter? Is there a scripture in the bible that suggests or command us Christians to remember Jesus by observing these days?

What about converted gentile believers who live like Jews by observing the Jewish Feast Days? Does Jesus want to be remembered by keeping the Old Testament Covenant? In the Old Testament, there were special days that the Jews observed to remember God’s covenant made to the Israelites.   They are:  

The Feast of Unleavened Bread
Passover
Feast of The First Fruits

Pentecost

The Feast of Trumpet
The Day of Atonement
The Feast of Tabernacles

The weekly Sabbath

These Feasts were calculated by using the Hebrew calendar.  It is based on the lunar cycle (lunisolar), the moon going around the earth. The Julian calendar (today Gregorian calendar) used the solar cycle. It origin is from the Egyptian calendar, which consist of 365 days long. The creation of the Julian calendar is an attempt from Satan to keep us from understanding God’s prophetic plan.  The sun represents the gentile's god, the sun god Ra.  The earth is God’s Son’s kingdom, temporarily hijacked by Satan but soon to be re-established (Luke 4:7).  The earth might not be at the centre of the universe but is the centre of God’s kingdom for eternity.  It is from planet earth and Jerusalem as capital that Jesus will govern with all His saints for eternity. Satan’s motto: “They must not believe,” and Lucifer is doing a good job hiding the truth.

The Sabbath and each Feast Days are sacred. Therefore, they are considered days of rest. Work is forbidden.  A Jewish rest days as all other days of the week, start at sunset and end at sunset of the following evening.  A weekly Sabbath would start at sunset Friday and end at sunset Saturday. All Feast Days start at sunset.  

I, personally, observed these feasts. For 10 years, I followed diligently these special Jewish festivals. I also kept the laws of tithing and the Jewish dietary laws. At that time, I believed that the Mosaic covenant was still mandatory. It took a while to finally catch on to the meaning of God's act of mercy, receiving eternal life was an act of His grace, by faith - a decision to believe what Jesus did for me and trusting Him in all the days of my life. He did it all for me.  It is not by work, as some do toward other gods. They appeased their gods expecting to receive favours. It is sad that so many Christians view God in such manner as I did for so long.  The fear to be rejected by God is real and strong.  The desire to be accepted by God is also very real. Inasmuch, as a child would do anything to be loved by his/her parent, many Christians will go to the extreme to be accepted by God.  The good news is, it is easy to be accepted by God.  Jesus did it all for us and assured us that nothing will ever separate us from the love of God, nothing:

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord,” Romans 8:35, 38-39.

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.  And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.  My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand,” John 10:27-29.

I cherish my experience living as a Jew. It took discipline.  At first, it was difficult to adapt, especially the observation of the Sabbath. The Jewish dietary laws were also a challenge, scrutinizing everything before eating. 

Through those experiences, I gained understanding about how difficult it could have been for the early church, which consisted of Jews, to let go of the old covenant to adapt the new covenant instituted by Jesus. Actually, the new covenant was not only the replacement of the Mosaic covenant but its fulfillment, Matthew 5:17-18, Galatians 6:2.  

In the Book to the Hebrews, the unknown author encouraged the converted Jews, not to go back to the sacrificial ritual.  They were under a lot of pressure by Jewish friends to return.  If you read the Book of Deuteronomy chapter 11, you will understand why – it was about curses or blessing.  Remember, they were brought into captivity to Babylon for disobedience. The fear of being under a curse again was real. So it is in many churches today, many view their mishaps in life as a curse from God, rather then regarding it as the sinful influence of this world.  They examine their spiritual condition according to feeling and emotional experience rather then relying by the word of God, in faith, Romans 1:17, Romans 8:4.

The Book to the Hebrews is meant for Jews to stay on course after conversion, and not to go back to the Mosaic covenant and the Leviticus’ ritual. The unknown author explained how those Jewish feasts and ritual were replaced by this simple act of remembrance. He explained that Jesus body was the substitute for the Leviticus rituals and the feast days.  Jesus has the authority to do so.  Jesus is after all Lord of the Sabbath, Matthew 12:8, Luke 24:44.

Today’s holidays that Christian celebrates are pagan origin, not ordained by God. They are Christmas, Good Friday, Easter, Halloween (all saints day) New Year Day, St Valentine Day and Thanksgiving.  The difference with pagan holidays, which are in fact called in the bible ‘tradition of man’ with God's appointed festival is that God's appointed festival are full of revelation of God's prophetic plan for man through His Son Jesus.

Some of those pagan holidays such as Christmas, Good Friday and Easter, remind us about the Jesus act of salvation, nevertheless it do not reveal God's prophetic events preceding God’s Kingdom. Halloween, New Year day, St Valentine day and Thanksgiving do not give understanding of God's prophetic plan yet are very popular among Christians. 

We are grafted on the olive tree (Israel) and not the other way around.  The foundation of our salvation is through the Jews, John 4:22. Ignoring our Jewish origin will keep us in the dark; we cannot understand God's plan. Replacement Theology is a grave error.  The Churches do not substitute God chosen people, Israel, Deuteronomy 7:6.

"I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles."

"For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches.  And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you," Romans 11: 11, 16-18.

Tradition not ordained by God

Nothing is new under the sun, as it were in the days of the Pharisees and the scribes so it is today within the churches. They refuse to admit that they are following tradition established by man.

“He answered and said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written:

‘This people honors Me with their lips,
But their heart is far from Me.
And in vain they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’
For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men —the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do.”

He said to them, “All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition. For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’ But you say, ‘If a man says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban”—’ (that is, a gift to God),  then you no longer let him do anything for his father or his mother, making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down. And many such things you do,” Mark 7:6-13

“All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition”...“making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down. And many such things you do,” Many Christians keep those pagan’s holydays, not realizing that they are not God ordained and once informed, do not care of letting go.

God's festivals are meaningful

I will go through God's festivals but not in detail.  However, I hope that it will be enough to help you comprehend their significance and how it applied toward Jesus’ request to be remembered in substitution for the Jewish festivals and the sacrificial ritual.

All these feasts were meant for us to understand God’s prophetic plan, not just for the Israelites but also to the gentiles whom some of us are. Jesus fulfilled them.

“Then He said to them, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me,” Luke 24:44.

“Remember the former things of old, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done, Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure,” Isaiah 46:9-10

God declare exactly what He is going to do, and nothing will stop Him. It is unfortunate that so many denominations put prophecy on the back burner.  Understanding God’s agenda for humanity gives Christians assurance to go through life with a sense of purpose.  That purpose is to grow spiritually and to be watchful for Christ return; our blessed hope;

"For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ," Titus 2:11-13.

“Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming,”Matthew 25:13.

“But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief,”1 Thessalonians 5:4.

Until his return, Jesus commanded us to remember Him with bread and wine as often as we want to when we get together as a substitute of keeping the feasts and the sacrificial sacrifice, which are celebrated at specific dates. Nothing stops you to observe these Feast Days and the Sabbath if you desire so, as so many do. However, it is not a requirement to receive salvation.

This act of remembrance with bread and wine is made to unite Jews and gentile into one new group, one new man or one body. In doing so, it reconcile Jews and gentiles, together to God.

“...having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace,” Ephesians 2:15.

In the Easy-to-Read Version (ERV), we read:

“Christ ended the law with its many commands and rules. His purpose was to make the two groups become one in him. By doing this, he would make peace.”

Who knew that?  I didn’t.  The sacrificial ritual and the feasts days have been replaced by the simple act of remembering Jesus’ body that was broken for us, and Jesus’ blood spilled on the cross for us. Together, Jews and gentiles could now be sitting around the same table, united in Christ.

Before Jesus ministry on earth, God view two groups of people: gentiles and Israelites.  God is not racist. Gentiles are all tribes of all nations.  Jews are descendant of one gentile man of one tribe whom God has called out from to make a nation who would live according to His law.  His name was Abram, Ezekiel 16:3.  The Israelites were commanded to love only one God and were considered God chosen people.  The Israelites were to represent God presence on earth.  They were to be an exemplary illustration of living by God's commandments among all gentiles.  The Gentiles had many gods and had a greater influence on the Israelites then what the Israelites had on the gentiles. The Israelites lived the consequences of their disobediences and were scattered around the world.   Whether Israelites or gentiles, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, both condemned to perish, Romans 3:23, John 3:16.  God has planned to reunite both into one - believers.  From the time of Christ resurrection and on, there would be two categories of people: sons of God by justification (believers), Romans 3:30, Galatians 3:8 and sons of disobedience (unbelievers, the world), 1 John 2:22.   

“Or is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also,”Romans 3:29.

In the Book to the Hebrews, the unknown author instructed the Christians Jews to live in harmony with gentiles, all nations, especially Christian’s gentiles. Remember, the Book to the Hebrews was written to Christians Jews.

“Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord,” Hebrews 12:14. 

It took three attempts from Jesus to convince Peter that the gospel of repentance and reconciliation was also available to the gentile, Acts 10:13-16.

Unity between the Christians Jews and the gentiles Christians did not prevail. Messianic Jews do not assemble with gentile Christians. Gentile Christian's institution has been infiltrated by Satan's worshippers, Luke 13:18-19. The Holy Roman Catholic Church is a false Christian church that persecuted Jews and believers in the past, and is continuing in doing so today by deceiving them.  From the beginning of the Protestant Reformation era until today, gentiles Christians have been separating themselves by petty differences and keeps on separating. The Centre for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary estimated 34,000 denominations in 2000, and rising to an estimated 43,000 in 2012[1].

“For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal?” 1 Corinthians 3:4.

What causes divisions among the protestant churches? Many churches came up with their own interpretation of Jesus teaching to fit their tradition and customs, 1 Corinthians 1:12, 1 Corinthians 3:4. Their Statement of Belief gives reason for being apart from the rest of the body, 1 Corinthians 12:15-19.

There are Christians that live their life based on emotional experience rather then being base on faith and believing what God said. They are the charismatic movement, Matthew 24:24. Some called themselves Christians but deny the deity of Jesus as Son of God, Matthew 24:5. Then there is the home base Christians, who have a hard time to fit in any denominations. 

Eschatology itself has caused division, where theologians cannot even agree on the prophetic events to come. Scholars, theologians with master degree pride in their intellect and made God's word too complex for the average believers.   Many Christians justify that the Bible is too difficult to understand for not spending time studying.  Could it be because their mind and activities are worldly oriented, 1 Corinthians 2:11?  Too many Christians treat the bible like a horoscope. I done that, opening the bible in random location to figure out God's will for the day.  The problem with that is that we try to fit God's word into our life rather then fitting our life to God's will.

The different measure of faith contributes more division then any other factors.  We all grow at a different pace. I have no doubt in my mind that the majority of Christians are genuine in living their measure of faith; fearing God (deep respect) and having the desire to do the right things.  Unfortunately, for many, insecurity over losing their salvation causes division also. If only they would take Jesus by His word.  His teaching is so simple for both Jews and gentiles.  We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, Romans 5:1. 

Tradition overtaking the Assembly

The Apostle Paul has observed that the Church started to go in another directions in Colossae, the Colossians. Traditions and customs started to infiltrate the church causing division. Let read his reproach and recommendation:

16 So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths,  which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ. Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, and not holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God.

Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations “Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,” which all concern things which perish with the using—according to the commandments and doctrines of men? These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh. Colossians 2:16-23

The substance (body) is of Christ, and not of man-made tradition.

In the King James Version (KJV) we read:

“So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ,” Colossians 2:16-17.

In the KJV translates Strong Concordance, the body, G4983 is defined in the following manner: Cover, or corpse, flesh body.  Paul is specific; he talks about the physical body of Jesus, not the Church. The Church is also view as the spiritual body of Christ; however, in this verse to the Colossians the body is the flesh, Jesus’ body.

Paul went right to the point. The festivals, new moon or Sabbaths were shadows of things to come. Christ body replace them.  In the Book to the Hebrews, the author goes in great length to explain the meaning between the sacrificial body of Christ over the animal sacrifice.  I will let the author explain:

Hebrews 10 New King James Version

Animal Sacrifices Insufficient

For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect. 2 For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins. 3 But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. 4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.

Christ’s Death Fulfills God’s Will

5 Therefore, when He came into the world, He said:

“Sacrifice and offering You did not desire,
But a body You have prepared for Me.
6 In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin
You had no pleasure.
7 Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come—
In the volume of the book it is written of Me—
To do Your will, O God.’” Psalm 40:6–8

8 Previously saying, “Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them” (which are offered according to the law), 9 then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.” He takes away the first that He may establish the second. 10 By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Christ’s Death Perfects the Sanctified

11 And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, 13 from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. 14 For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.

15 But the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us; for after He had said before,

16 “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,” Jeremiah 31:33, 17 then He adds, “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more,” Jeremiah 31:34. 18 Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin.

Hold Fast Your Confession

19 Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, 21 and having a High Priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

The Simplicity of the new covenant: Buying Bread vs. Baking Bread

Occasionally, I would bake bread starting from it original ingredient. It required floor, yeast, oil, sugar, salt and water. I mixed it together and let it rise.  I knead the dough and let it rise again.  I would do a final knead then put the formulated dough into baking bread pans. I would take the whole day to make bread. I know, there are many other ways to do bread. It is somewhat the same ingredient and process.  It is the ingredient and the work involved that I want you to focus on.  The feasts days, the Sabbath, and the ritual all represent the ingredients and the work involved to take away sins.  It would take a whole year cycle to purify the Israelites from their sins, only to start all over again.  Daily sacrificing animal and keeping those special seasonal feasts were a heavy burden.  Jesus perfect and final sacrifice replaces them all.

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light,” Matthew 11:28-30.

The heavy-laden is the observant of the Mosaic covenant with all it ritual describes in the Book of Leviticus. Jesus yoke is TO BELIEVE, accepting the work He did for us.

"knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified," Galatians 2:16.

The law was written and given to the Israelites so that we may realized that we cannot keep the law and that we will never be able to.  We will never be sinless. 

"Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith," Galatians 3:24.

Jesus desired that we observe His last request to remember Him with bread and wine. This observance helps us remember that it is by grace through faith in Jesus death and resurrection that we received eternal life. It also helps us keep in mind His promise of His return.

As it took all day to make bread, now, I just buy a loft of bread.  Do you get my point?   Jesus sacrifice is final, once and for everybody sins.  All we need to do is believe that He is Lord, who did all the works of salvation for you and me. He is responsible (not yours responsibility) to see that you would never lose your salvation, John 6:29. Take the time to study God's grace.  It will blow your mind. You will come to the realization that it is all God doing in your life, and all you have to do is to trust Him. To trust Him is to be faithful. Look in the Book to the Hebrews chapter 11 for the example of so many that walked faithfully with God not because of THEIR righteousness, but because God chooses to make them righteous, Genesis 15:6, 2 Corinthians 5:21.

This is a very important statement: To remember Jesus by breaking bread and drinking wine is not a requirement for salvation. As circumcision was a covenant symbol with Abraham and the Sabbath a covenant symbol with the Israelites, Jesus new covenant of His body and blood through bread and wine with believers does not qualify us as righteousness.  It would have been considered work if it did. It is Jesus' blood that pronounce believers righteous.

The new covenant is not the water baptism as some profess.  There is no place in the bible that indicated it so.  I am taking Jesus by His words:

“This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me" 1Corinthians 11: 25.

There is another element of importance. These precedent covenants, from the Ademic covenant to the Mosaic covenant and the present new covenant ordained by Jesus, are all representative of being in fellowship with Him.  Jesus’ new covenant with us is special and unique.  It is one, which reminds us that we abide in Him and Him with us.

“Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him, John 6:53-56.  

“He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.”  If you do not participate in this act of remembrance, you are not fully in fellowship with Jesus, and with God the Father, John 17:20-26. You have eternal life, yet your spiritual growth is hindered. 

“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing,” John 15:5.

The fruit are representative of spiritual growth, 2 Peter 1:5-11. As some wrongly misinterpret John 15:1-8, you do not lose your salvation, the gift of eternal life is not about bearing fruit. Salvation is not a fruit bearing process. Bearing fruit is about spiritual growth and growing in faith. Please read my commentary title, "Faith Applied is Faith Invested - Parable of the Talents"

“You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you,” John 15:3. 

Believing in the Son of God, Jesus as Lord saved us. The parable of The True Vine in John 15: 5-8 is all about being in fellowship with Jesus, and about growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 

"Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose," Phil. 2:12-13.

Many view this verse to support their belief in the possibility of losing the gift of eternal life.  They are in grave error. I am French, and to me it is so clear. ... I read, "Continue to work out your salvation" and NOT "Continue to work out FOR your salvation".

Replace the word salvation with the word Playdoh putty, now read it: Work out your own Playdoh putty with fear and trembling. Do you get it? Still not? You received as a gift, Playdoh putty. Work your putty. You are not working to receive Playdoh putty; you are not working to receive salvation. It already been given to you. "With fear and trembling," means to take your calling seriously.  It is all God doing not yours, it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose."  Do not repeat the mistake of Samson who did not take his calling seriously.

Peter explained how to continue to work out your salvation:

"You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ," 2 Peter 3:17-18

The "errors of the wicked" are the keeping of the tradition of man and by keeping the old covenant as a means to obtain salvation. The Roman Catholic Church misled their followers to pray to the dead saints to intervene on their behalf, instead of enjoying a direct relationship with God the Father through Jesus our Lord.  That is a grave error from the wicked.  The Roman Catholic Church mass communion has nothing to do to keep in fellowship with Jesus, in its official Catechism, it teaches that there is NO SALVATION without the sacrament of communion[2].

If you do not take part in the act of remembrance of the body and the blood of Jesus, you are hindering your relationship and you are not reaping the reward of growing in grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus.

Now let read John 15: 5-8 with this in mind:

 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit (spiritual growth); for without Me you can do nothing (it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose," Phil. 2:12-13). If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned (dead works not approved by God). If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you (works approved by God). By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples, (follower, student, steward).

A disciple is someone who study Jesus’ teaching and attempt to apply His instructions.  Those precepts taught must be ordained by Jesus and not from man's philosophy.  " If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered."  No matter how much good work you do in His name, if not in fellowship with our Lord’s, you will profit no rewards.  It is a very serious matter and should not be taken lightly.  The purpose to grow in the knowledge of the kingdom of God is to prepare us to reign with Christ. In addition, we are required to share what we learned, to edify each other, believers. The spiritual gift received through the Holy Spirit are to be use to help the saints grow. It is not for unbelievers.  We can only do that when we abide in Christ.

"And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,  till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;  that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting (tradition of man),  but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—  from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love," Ephesians 4:11- 16

Are we ever missing out when we do not abide in Jesus? This world has to many distractions that cause us to drift away from our calling, our purpose to live as believers, which is to bear much fruit, Matthew 13:22.  Fortunately, by Jesus grace, He called us to be His friend to help us in our growth. As a friend to a friend, would you not respect Jesus last will so that He would abide in us? 

“No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you,” John 15:15.

Jesus lived among His disciples for 3 ½ years, plus forty days after His resurrection, teaching everything pertaining the kingdom of God, Acts 1:3.  In addition, Jesus concluded His teaching with the Apostle Paul, 2 Corinthians 12:2-6.  Jesus taught them so much.  All things have been given to us to know and understand through His disciples, recorded in the Bible.

Unfortunately, there are so many who wants to continue to bake their bread from scratch or purchase ‘all ready mixed ingredients’ bread dough in a bag.  Add water, let rise, knead and bake.  There are also available frozen dough that only needs to be thawed in a baking pan and bake.  They even buy fancy bread maker to help them prepared it.  So many churches still as of today want to do it all by living according to the old covenant or by the tradition of man. They refuse Jesus’ bread of life; to buy a loaf of bread, all ready prepared and baked.

“And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst,” John 6:35.

What does Jesus mean by “shall never hunger”, shall never thirst”?  Remember, Jesus was talking to Jews who had the burden, the yoke to keep the Leviticus ritual to cleanse their sins. “Shall never hunger and shall never thirst” mean that you will never desire nor need to go back to the old ritual ways.

To understand the significant of the Old Covenants, let us review the old festivals, and the rituals:

Unleavened Bread - Leviticus 23:6-8, speaks of the Jesus life without sins of the sacrifice of the Lamb of God,

Passover - Jesus is the Lamb, Leviticus 23:5, prophetic of the crucifixion of Jesus.

Firstfruits - Leviticus 23:9-14, is prophetic of the Jesus’ resurrection, the first of many.

“But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep,” 1 Corinthians 15:20.

Pentecost - Leviticus 23:15-21, is prophetic of the creation of the church. Part of the Leviticus ceremony consisted of the simultaneous offering of two leavened (sinful) loaves (Leviticus 23:17), which represent Jews and gentiles. On the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2, the Spirit baptized two sinful “loaves” into one body: For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Gentiles (1 Corinthians 12:13) that He might make the two into one new man (Ephesians 2:15)[3].  Jesus works fulfill all the ingredients required to make one bread, by one sacrifice. Do you get this?

In addition, He fulfill also the fall feast, Day of Atonement - Leviticus 23:27, Jesus not only reconciled us to God but also united us as one with God.

“I do not pray for these alone (the disciples), but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they (Jews and gentiles) all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me,”John 17:20-23.

The Day of Atonement has a duel fulfillment.  The first one is fulfilled at the very moment we believe Jesus as Lord and Saviour. We receive the present of God the Father in us through the Holy Spirit, and the second fulfillment will happen at the event called the rapture, united bodily resurrected or translated and taken to heaven into the present of God.

Two more prophetic Feasts need to be fulfilled.  They are the Feast of Trumpet and the Feast of Tabernacle.  The event called the Rapture correspond with the Feast of Trumpet:

“Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.  For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality,” 1 Corinthians 15:51-53.

“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.  Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord,” 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17.

When will that happen?  In a matter of speaking, it will happen only when the bus is full. God has already determined a specific number of believers called to complete His plan.  God knows who they are.  We do not.

“For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren,” Romans 8:29.

“For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in,”Romans 11:25.

The Feast of Tabernacle represents the prophetic establishment of the One Thousand year reign of Christ after the seven years of God's judgement to all nations.

Until Jesus returns for the Church, His bride, Jesus asked us to remember Him by this simple act of breaking bread and drinking wine, a new covenant, since the old one is fulfilled by Him:

“When the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him.  Then He said to them, “With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”

Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves; for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes. And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.  Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you,” Luke 22:14-20.

With this new covenant, Jesus gave a new commandment to love one another:

“So, when he (Judas) had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in Him.  If God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and glorify Him immediately. Little children, I shall be with you a little while longer. You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come,’ so now I say to you.  A new commandment I give to you, that you love one anotheras I have loved you, that you also love one another.  By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another,” John 13:31-35.

"that you love one another; as I have loved you," is a higher standard of love than of the previous commandment " you shall love your neighbor as yourself," Leviticus 19:18, Matthew 19:19.  Jesus love toward His disciple was motivated by grace, to love someone without merit. It is a decision to love someone even though he/she does not deserve to be love.

The author of the Book to the Hebrews put emphasis to keep Jesus last request and encourages believers to remember Him in the manner He asked.  

“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.  And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching,” Hebrews 10:23-25.

In the Easy-to-Read Version (ERV), it is read this way:

“We should think about each other to see how we can encourage each other to show love and do good works.  We must not quit meeting together, as some are doing. No, we need to keep on encouraging each other. This becomes more and more important as you see the Day getting closer.”

It is a wonderful way to encourage one another by sharing a meal in remembrance of Jesus last demand.  The early Church saints did just that:

“For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”  In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s deathtill He comes,” 1 Corinthians 11:23-26.

“For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup”, meaning that there is no limit on how many time you could keep this simple act of remembrance.  At one time, it did get out of hand within the church at Corinth, the assembly turned out to be more of a Pot-Luck festival, getting drunk and disorderly, 1 Corinthians 11:17-22.

Is it Jesus request that we remember Him by celebrating His birthday?  What about Good Friday and Easter? What about those who keep celebrating the Jewish Feast days and the Sabbath as being mandatory for salvation?  If you do not remember Jesus with the sharing of the bread and the wine, you are missing an important resource of love and encouragement from others and more likely are not at rest with the Lord.

“There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His,” Hebrews 4:9-10.

It is very serious; whoever continued working for their salvation by observing days not appointed by Jesus or Jewish feast days might not be at rest at all.  Let read the whole context of Chapter 4:

“Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. 2 For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word, which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. 3 For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said:

“So I swore in My wrath, 'They shall not enter My rest',” although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. 4 For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all His works”; 5 and again in this place: “They shall not enter My rest.”

6 Since therefore it remains that some must enter it, and those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience, 7 again He designates a certain day, saying in David, “Today,” after such a long time, as it has been said:

“Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts.”
8 For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day. 9 There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. 10 For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.

11 Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. 12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

There are Christians who are not at rest.  The Sabbath day does not provide rest any longer.  Jesus’ final act of salvation does provide rest. Many Christians are thirsty and hungry.  They are busy with all kind of church observance and of keeping God’s feast days or man made holidays in the fear of losing their salvation, 2 Peter 3:17.  Some take this simple act of remembrance to the extreme with a sophisticated tedious and boring ceremony. Some never participate in the sharing of a meal in remembrance of Jesus, consequently are not at rest. This act of remembrance is not necessary to gain salvation but is required to be in full fellowship with Jesus. It is also commanded for the purpose to encourage one another while we wait for His promise appearance.

Since many churches do not teach the subject of prophecy, Jesus’ return is not expected in this generation. Many Christians will be taken by surprised at His appearance.  Another error is that so many Christians believed that they would go to heaven at the very moment they die.  Our resurrection is not being taught. We believe in Jesus' resurrection but not ours.  I encourage you to read the commentary title, “The Resurrection Gospel - Is Your Faith Built On The true Foundation?”

Christians have a lesson to learn from the example of Saul’s disobedience. In Saul’s mind, he meant well and so it is with so many Christians:

“God through Samuel, commanded the Amalekite tribe it total destruction, Samuel 15.  However, Saul made a fatal mistake of not completely obeying the instruction of Samuel in applying a total ban upon the people. Saul allowed king Agag to live. Animal belonging to the Amalekite were also kept alive as booty, presumably to be use as sacrifices. Saul attempted to justify the deeds of the people on the grounds that their intentions were good.  He assumed that any sacrifice, whether prepared in disobedience or obedience, would be acceptable to God.”  (He was wrong and rebuked by God.) “A true sacrifice was to be a genuine sign of faith and obedience. If sacrifices were offered in apostasy and unbelief, they were as worthless as the sacrifices of the Canaanites in the sight of a holy God.  The experiences of Saul are an unmistakable lesson to believers of all ages[4].”

Isn’t that what many churches are doing today, compromising?

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers;” 2 Timothy 4:3.

“Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ,” Colossians 2:8.

Paul encourages the Corinthians to keep the teaching they received pertaining the act of remembrance when they get together. 

“Now I praise you, brethren, that you remember me in all things and keep the traditions just as I delivered them to you,” 1 Corinthians 11:2.

In chapter 11 of the first letter to the Corinthians, Paul goes on explaining how to conduct themselves when they assemble.  He reminds them to be sober and to share with love by considering those who have least.  He reminds them to remember Jesus with dignity.

It really does not matter how many adult believers are gathered to remember Jesus’ request, and where it is done.  It could be done as it is done in so many churches today, at church services.  It could be done with a small group who assemble for bible study.  It could be done among friends at home or alone with husband and wife. I will not go into a debate whether or not Jesus drank wine or grape juice.  I will not go into a debate whether or not Jesus should be remembered with unleavened bread or with leaven bread. I will not go into a debate about how often it should be remembered. Just remember Him by this simple act of obedience.

 Christmas, Good Friday, Valentine Day, Easter, and Halloween (all Saints day) were created by man, and not ordain by God. The Feast of Unleavened Bread, Passover, Feast of The First Fruits, Pentecost, The Feast of Trumpet, The Day of Atonement, The Feast of Tabernacles, and the weekly Sabbath were ordained by God, and fulfilled by Jesus.

“You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons,” 1 Corinthians 10:21.

Paul warned the Corinthian about their double-minded worship attitude.  They would partake in breaking the bread and drinking of wine in remembrance of Jesus but continued keeping the tradition of the gentile unbelievers, such as it is today.

“Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.  I speak as to wise men; judge for yourselves what I say.  The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?  For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread,” 1 Corinthians 10:14-17.

“Do this in remembrance of Me” was ordained by Jesus, Son of God. Should we not remember Him the way He wanted to be remembered until His return? What do you think Abel would do?  ‘Malachi appeals to his people. The spiritual climate of the people had grown cold, and Malachi rebukes them for their religious and social compromise. If they return to God with sincere hearts, they will be bless’[5].  Does this not sound familiar for the churches today? The angel of the church of the Laodiceans wrote a letter dictated by our Lord Jesus. This letter accurately describes the present culture of our Western Christian society: lukewarm toward God’s word and ordinance.

“Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked,” Rev 3:17.

We feel secure in our present socialist society and we are not in need therefore, we do not focus on the Kingdom of God.  We are not watchful for Jesus' return.  The most popular gospel that we hear in our churches is " accept Jesus in your heart and all will go well." Really?  In the early church age, people were living in despair. Making a living was 7 work days, from sunrise to sunset. There was no social net and assistance to help go through life's mishaps. There was no free medical care. Crimes were in rampage and injustices were high.  Rape and violence were common.   Orphans and widows were left on their own, with no assistance. People were looking for hope, if not for this life, they were looking for hope in the afterlife. Their common gods were given deaf ears. The gospel of Jesus Son of God was a message of hope. Believing in the gift of eternal life was a breath of fresh air. They believed in the testimony past down from the apostles, 2 Thessalonians 1:10, John 17:20. They were looking forward for Jesus promise of His return. While waiting, there was love, support, and encouragement among believers.  They were sharing in one accord their surplus.

The true gospel is about the Kingdom of God, Mark 1:15, Matthew 6:33, Acts 1:3. To be part of it, we are to believe that Jesus is Lord and resurrected, Romans 6:23, Romans 10:9. God does not want you to be caught by surprise.  He wants you to be alert and watchful for His Son return. Many believed that the Laodiceans will lose their salvation because of their lukewarm attitude. Since when does a church cease to be a church? A church consists of believers, and once saved always saved. The letter to the Laodiceans is about admonishing the church to focus on the must important task after receiving salvation, which is to grow spiritually, to be watchful for Jesus return, and loving one another.  How do we do this?  We do this by being in fellowship with Jesus. Please read my commentary title “Laodicean’s Church Will Not Be Left Behind - When Does A Church Cease To Be A Church?”

“I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent,” Rev 3:18-19.

Let God's word explained the significant of these verses:

"How much better to get wisdom than gold!" Proverbs 16:16

"Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart; For God has already accepted your works.  Let your garments always be white, and let your head lack no oil," Ecclesiastes 9:7-8.

"When He had said these things, He (Jesus) spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay," John 9:6.

I cannot be more specific than God's own words.  Be wise by remembering Jesus with bread and wine, and Jesus will open your eyes in the knowledge and understanding of His teaching.

Do not be like Cain.  He knew what was required to please God but did not do it. As it was with the Israelites, God sent so many prophets to warn them. They did not listen and God severely chastised them out of their land.  You will not lose your salvation over celebrating non-designated holydays.  You will be caught by surprise at His appearance and in disbelief for not receiving your rewards. Eternal life is what you will have already received, that He cannot take away.  Your reward is to reign in a level of governance with Jesus. To receive rewards: grow spiritually, learn and applied His teaching. Keep Jesus request to remember Him as He has instructed.

“To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne,” Revelation 3:21

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me,” Rev 3:20.

In Easy-to-Read Version it is read this way:

“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in and eat with you. And you will eat with me.”

This new covenant is only for believers, which will end when Christ returns at the event called the rapture. There is no covenant with those left behind who repent and accept Jesus as Lord.  For this reason that I believe that this covenant with bread and wine also signified the era of grace that God has establish for Jews and gentiles.  The era of grace ends at the rapture. The only instruction that God has commanded to the tribulation believers is not to take the mark of the beast.  Whoever receive the mark of the beast "he/she shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God," Revelation 14:9-10. Your salvation is conditional.  If someone died by not taking the mark, he/she will reign with Jesus for a thousand years, Revelation 20:4. Not taking the mark will be the only sign use to witness your faith. 

Conclusion

If you are a believer who is not observing Jesus’ new covenant, start today celebrating it. Invite a Christian friend or two. Prepare a simple meal. Have a bottle of wine ready, and buy a loaf of fresh bread. Read the scriptures pertaining Jesus last supper with His disciples. Break bread and drink a cup of wine.  Jesus will be there with you. Promise.  You will be re-established, blessing in growing in the spirit will be restored, and your reward will be great in the Kingdom of God.

Joseph pleads with the butler to remember him when he would be re-establish as Pharaoh’s servant.  Do not be like the chief butler who did not remembered Joseph, but forgotten him. Jesus remembered you on the cross. Does not Jesus deserve to be remembered as requested?


“Do this in remembrance of Me,” seems to be more of a commandment then a simple request.



c u @ d rapture...soon




[1] http://theway21stcentury.wordpress.com/2012/11/23/how-many-christian-denominations-worldwide/
[2] Cf. Council of Trent (1547): DS 1604.
[3]http://www.raptureready.com/soap/mazon1.html
[4] A History of Israel by Davis & Whitcomb p.220-221
[5] The Open Bible Expanded Edition, p. xv