Ezekiel 21:27: God's Judgment on the Wicked

Dreams from the Lord 2011-2021

16 November 2021

Last night I had a dream where I met two of my classmates from high school.  We were smiling and talking with each.  It was a positive dream.

The last time I saw these guys, they were not that friendly with me.  One guy I saw in 1983 and the other guy was in 2001.  As I waited on the Lord and reflected on the dream, I believe the Lord showed some significant things in the dream.  To get gold, silver and precious stones, most of the time you have to dig deep to find the gold.  Wood, hay and stubble are above ground; gold is below ground and it does take some effort to extract the gold from the ground.  Waiting on the Lord is digging deep for the gold of revelation.

Both of these high school classmates of mine have something in common.  The guy that I saw back in 1983 worked in Estherville, Iowa at that time.  The other guy that I saw in 2001 later worked in Estherville.  So maybe Estherville is the key.  (I have read the Book of Esther many times over the years, but I don't think that Estherville represents the Book of Esther in this dream.)  The fact that we were all smiling at each other and talking with each other meant that we were all in agreement on something; we were all on the same wavelength.  In the mouth of two or three witnesses, let every word be established (Matthew 18:16).

Something very providential happened to me in Estherville back in 2002.  I hitchhiked from western Nebraska all the way to Estherville in one day.  I got dropped off in Estherville at around 10 PM.  I was walking down main street when I noticed this car drive past me, pull into this parking lot and stop just before I walked past it.  This guy popped his head out of the window and asked, "Are you Tim?"  I was surprised and I said yes.  He told me to get in the car.  He told me that he had picked me up hitchhiking north of Humboldt, Iowa three months previous.  He was a Christian.  We drove to his apartment and he told me that the Lord told him to give me a scripture.

We walked up to his apartment, he took his Bible, opened it up and showed me Ezekiel 21:27:  "I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him."  Ezekiel Chapter 21 is full of God's judgment on the wicked.  Maybe this dream is confirmation that we are going to see much more of God's exposure and judgment on the wicked at this time.  Maybe Ezekiel 21:27 is being fulfilled now or in the very near future.

Psalm 92:7:  "When the wicked spring as the grass, and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish; it is that they shall be destroyed for ever."

Blaise Pascal

A Sword

A Sword is Sharpened

A Conversation about High Plains Drifter

This is an exchange of comments between Belinda Thorne, formerly from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, and Tim Shey, author of High Plains Drifter:  A Hitchhiking Journey Across America.  These comments were taken from Belinda's post "Remember Lot's Wife" on her blog Grace and Truth:

September/October 2020

Belinda:  Tim, why is your book called High Plains Drifter?

Tim:  Now THAT is a very good question. I think that in all of my years of hitchhiking around the United States and in all of the years that High Plains Drifter has been available via manuscript, book, Internet Archive or blog, no one has ever asked that question.

I named my book High Plains Drifter after Clint Eastwood’s film High Plains Drifter (1973). I don’t know how many times I have seen that film. I absolutely identify with the main character played by Eastwood (the Stranger) who rides into town and kills some bad guys and then burns the town to the ground.

The Stranger in the film at one time was the town marshal: he was whipped to death by some bad guys who were paid by the owners of the local mining operation. To me, it reminds me of the death of Jesus Christ. There is a scene in the film where the townspeople are having a meeting at the local church and you see this Bible verse on the bulletin board: Isaiah 53: 3-4. The town marshal was rejected by the townspeople and then killed; I have been rejected by family, friends and church people because of my testimony, so I have been alone most of my life (that’s why I identify with the Stranger in the film).

I have a film review on my High Plains Drifter blog that you might like to read: “Clint Eastwood’s film High Plains Drifter (1973)”.

[Here I posted some links pertaining to my book High Plains Drifter.]

I hope these links aren’t overkill to your question, but as far as I can remember, no one has ever asked why I titled my book High Plains Drifter, so I am pleasantly surprised and a little bit flattered.

Belinda:  No, not overkill at all, thank you for answering my question.

Two things have stood out to me. One where you said in your short story that you like wide open spaces. And two, hitchhiking you are on the fringes of society.

I’ll tell you why I asked you that question. Last night I was praying. Praying about what to do. It’s so hard here now. Can you imagine, you who like open spaces, that we are in home prison now for 23 hours a day. Allowed out for one hour of exercise or one of us is allowed to go get essentials. And our Premier has extended this lockdown for an indefinite period till we get to less than 5 cases. I am now convinced he is a madman, full of demons.

Of course I am not sticking to these ridiculous rules. I’m doing what God leads me to. My husband and I have been running an underground church in our home for months, because church is now banned. We have mainly men come, those who’ve just left rehab and prison and we sing and praise and read the Word. They park up the road and walk to our house in the dark and sneak in one by one. It’s the only thing that’s kept me going during this dark time.

So I’m praying last night and the Lord takes me to a cliff top and we look down together over a dusty plain where there is dirty, tattooed, fighting people. He has shown me this before. A few weeks ago He showed me it and said “this is the land I am giving you”.

But last night He just showed me it again and I thought how we were on a high plain looking out over.
Then your book title from nowhere came into my head “High Plains Drifter”.
And I felt to ask you why.

The fringes of society, the outcasts who God has called us to. It has always been them. We can never fit in a church. We fit with the homeless and mentally ill and drug addicts. No one else I know is doing anything at the moment. All the churches are quiet and obediently closed and it makes me sick and angry.

I love your Shiloh poem, wow. The line about Cain bludgeoning Abel to death….

Anyway I am going to buy your book, it’s on Amazon yes?

Thank you for reading this, I don’t know what’s happening to me at the moment, it’s all very strange but I know my Lord and I trust Him.

Bless you Tim

Tim:  I think it is VERY interesting that you asked about the title of my book on a post that has the title “Remember Lot’s Wife”. If you watch Clint Eastwood’s High Plains Drifter, at the end of the film, the Stranger burns the town of Lago to the ground (God’s Wrath). The Scripture “remember Lot’s wife” is alluding to the destruction of Sodom & Gomorrah by fire and brimstone (God’s Wrath). So maybe eventually the Lord will lead you out of Melbourne into the wide open spaces (the Outback?) before God’s Wrath hits Melbourne?  You are led by the Holy Ghost; the Lord will reveal to you what you need to do.

About my book on Amazon. I think there is one copy left, but Amazon is charging an exorbitant price for it (probably because it is the last copy). You can read High Plains Drifter for free on my blog.

Yes, I am definitely on the fringes of society. The Lord led me out of the church back in 1991. The Lord has had me alone for most of my life. The Lord’s thoughts are higher than my thoughts. I know that the Lord has you and your family in the palm of His hand (I am thinking of Psalm 91).

Belinda:  You make a very good connection there . . .I had not connected that! I am going to watch that Clint Eastwood movie.

Yes I believe the Lord is leading us out of Melbourne. I am praying for His specific guidance as to where, but we are quite sure we are going.

Thank you for your link to your book. I look forward to reading it.

I have a scripture for you Tim:

Micah 4:6-8 ["In that day, saith the LORD, will I assemble her that halteth, and I will gather her that is driven out, and her that I have afflicted;  And I will make her that halted a remnant, and her that was cast far off a strong nation: and the LORD shall reign over them in mount Zion from henceforth, even for ever.  And thou, O tower of the flock, the strong hold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion; the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem."]

Jesus was an outcast. If we follow Him we also will be. You have to be an outcast to intercede for the outcasts.
You have blessed me greatly and I pray God will bless you greatly in return.

[A few weeks later . . .]

Belinda:  Hi Tim. I am reading your book. I’ve just finished chapter 7. I love this chapter.

I felt to share with you this:

“The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” John 3:8

Tim:  I am glad that you liked that chapter. I remember that time back in 1998 when I was in San Luis Obispo, California. I stayed in a motel one night and then I slept outside on the side of this hill the next night. I was in this Burger King having a meal and for some reason I began to think of northern New Mexico (I worked on an apple farm in New Mexico back in 1986). Then all of a sudden the Holy Ghost fell on me very heavy, so I knew that the Lord wanted me to go to New Mexico.

So I was hitchhiking in New Mexico and that guy named Israel gave me a ride. Then the next day, that pastor preached about Jacob wrestling with the angel and then the angel named him Israel. It was quite a trip. When you are led by the Holy Ghost, your life is never boring, let me tell you.

When you are led by the Holy Ghost, your life looks a bit crazy. I thought at times that all of that hitchhiking was crazy. But usually some God-thing or something profound would happen virtually every day, so I knew that the Lord was in the hitchhiking. I knew that the Lord protected me and provided for me in my travels.

So why did the Lord have me hitchhike all those years? I talked to a lot of people about my Christian faith. Intercession was a big part. I was taking up my cross and following the Lord which helped to break curses off of my life and I was delivered of many demons (I am still being delivered of demons). The devil hates a life that is dead to self. Also, hitchhiking was simply obedience to the Lord: when we enter the Kingdom of Heaven, our life is obedience unto the Lord: “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven”.

Thank you for the Scripture above (John 3:8).

Belinda:  Amen the devil does hate a life that is dead to self. But the Lord loves it, because He can use that one. And that one has power to prevail with Him.

[Twelve days later . . .]

Belinda:  Hi Tim, I have just finished reading chapter 9 of your book. It struck me that God was training you to be led by the Spirit. That your life was /is a literal representation (like Ezekiel's was) of how God wants to lead us and how we are to respond. We think to go east but we don’t get a ride so we go west and immediately God sends a ride. The children of Israel had to get their feet wet before the Jordan River parted.

You will hear a voice behind you say this is the way, walk ye in it.
To be so trained by the Spirit, to be sensitive to Him, this is it. This is everything. Just some thoughts that have struck me reading your book.
Blessings.

Tim:  Amen. I was definitely led by the Holy Ghost as I hitchhiked the United States.

Hitchhiking, also, was fasting and prayer. A lot of people think of fasting as fasting from food. Fasting can also mean fasting from a former lifestyle: I used to work at a lumber yard back in Iowa before I started to hitchhike. I would get odd jobs here and there on the road, but most of the time, I really had to put my trust in the Lord for Him to provide for me, protect me and find a place for me to sleep. Working at the lumber yard or working for that construction company was a vacation compared to hitchhiking.

Remember when Jesus said that these (demons) can only come out through fasting and prayer?(Mark 9:29)  So many curses were broken off of me while I was hitchhiking around the country; I was delivered of so many demons while hitchhiking. Why? Hitchhiking was fasting and prayer and hitchhiking was taking up my cross and following the Lord. The cross is death to self-will. Demons hate a selfless body; demons love a selfish, sinful body.

In hitchhiking, I met many people on the road and talked to many people about my faith in Jesus Christ. My hitchhiking also reminded me of when the Lord told Isaiah to walk naked and barefoot in Egypt as a witness against them (Isaiah 20:3). Even if I was not able to talk to people on the road, my hitchhiking was a powerful witness of my obedience to the Lord. Obedience is an end in itself. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done.

Thank you for reading my book. I greatly appreciate your response.

Romans 8:14: “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.”

Sent Ones

What God is trying to tell us

Book Review:  High Plains Drifter

The Representation of Justice in High Plains Drifter

Secrets Revealed

This is from the blog A Word in Season:

“For nothing is secret,
that shall not be made manifest;
neither anything hid,
that shall not be known and come abroad”
Luke 8:17

The Day of Revelation is upon us. The secrets of people’s lives will no longer be hid within the inner sanctum of their hearts. All things will come to light in this day. “For nothing is secret that shall not be made manifest”.

Ezekiel beheld the idols and wickedness of the Elders of Israel of his day…

“And there stood before them seventy men of the ancients of the house of Israel, and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan, with every man his censer in his hand; and a thick cloud of incense went up. Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery? for they say, The Lord seeth us not…”
Ezekiel 8:11-12

It was in a time of great judgment of God’s people that the wickedness and secrets were revealed. The sin was dark and deep within the hearts of these men of prominence. Not only was the sin revealed but named by the Revelation of God. It is not a day to hide our sin but to forsake all things which would contaminate our hearts in the sight of Him. Paul declares…

“In the day when God shall judge
the secrets of men by Jesus Christ
according to my gospel”
Romans 2:16

We live in a time when the illumination of the Holy Spirit is lacking because of the apathy and neglect of the people of God. In the early Church Paul, speaking to the church at Corinth, testified of those in whom the Spirit of Prophecy was active.

“But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all, the secrets of his heart are disclosed, and so, falling on his face, he will worship God and declare that God is really among you”
1 Corinthians 14:24-25

How far we have fallen even from the standard of the Church at Corinth which Paul called carnal.

“For while one saith, I am of Paul;
and another, I am of Apollos;
are ye not carnal?”
1 Corinthians 3:4

The power and the light of God’s Glory is returning to His Church and in His penetrating gaze the secrets of all will be revealed. This is the time to find grace to come to His light for His coming is nearer now than when we first believed. It is upon the slothful, the unfaithful and those lacking the fear of the Lord that this day will come and all will be revealed. The Light is growing within the hearts of a new prophetic people who have allowed the “spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning” (Isaiah 4:4) to purge away the filth of their own hearts. It is to such that there will be given insight and wisdom to confront the sin in His house.

Ananias and Sapphira

“And Peter answered unto her, tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much. Then Peter said unto her, how is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out. Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband. And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things”
Acts 5:8-11

It is a false Gospel that preaches any other truth than that of a God who Judges in truth and righteousness. We must prepare our hearts for His Presence in our midst. Let us seek righteousness and holiness to be found pure in the Day of His visitation.

“Gather together, yes, gather,
O shameless nation,
before the decree takes effect
before the day passes away like chaff
before there comes upon you
the burning anger of the Lord,
before there comes upon you
the day of the anger of the Lord.
Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land,
who do his just commands;
seek righteousness; seek humility;
perhaps you may be hidden
on the day of the anger of the Lord”
Zephaniah 2:1-3

Brian Troxel
http://www.aword.info

The Staggering Question

This is from the blog Theological Jon:

What is man without God? Is man good or able to be good without divine help? Can man achieve favor with God based on their own merits? Ezekiel and the Apostle Paul have valuable insight on these questions and Oswald Chambers does a marvelous job on a familiar passage from the Old Testament to present a brilliant explanation.

The staggering question 

Son of man, can these bones live? -Ezekiel 37:3. 

Can that sinner be turned into a saint? Can that twisted life be put right? There is only one answer: ‘O Lord, Thou knowest, I don’t.’ Never trample in with religious common sense and say—‘Oh, yes, with a little more Bible reading and devotion and prayer, I see how it can be done.’
It is much easier to do something than to trust in God; we mistake panic for inspiration. That is why there are so few fellow-workers with God and so many workers for Him. We would far rather work for God than believe in Him. Am I quite sure that God will do what I cannot do? I despair of men in the degree in which I have never realized that God has done anything for me. Is my experience such a wonderful realization of God’s power and might that I can never despair of anyone I see? Have I had any spiritual work done in me at all? The degree of panic is the degree of the lack of personal spiritual experience.
“Behold, O my people, I will open your graves.” When God wants to show you what human nature is like apart from Himself, He has to show it to you in yourself. If the Spirit of God has given you a vision of what you are apart from the grace of God (and He only does it when His Spirit is at work), you know there is no criminal who is half so bad in actuality as you know yourself to be in possibility. My ‘grave’ has been opened by God and “I know that in me (that is in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing.” God’s Spirit continually reveals what human nature is like apart from His grace.

Chambers, O. (1986). My utmost for his highest: Selections for the year. Grand Rapids, MI: Oswald Chambers Publications; Marshall Pickering.

The remarkable truth of the gospel is that God can, and does through the work of his Son on the cross and his resurrection, give dry bones new life. This work does not come through the prophet Ezekiel who was called the son of man, but the power to give the dry bones life only comes from the Son of Man, Jesus Christ. Do you believe that? Will you be like Ezekiel who responded, “O LORD God, you know!” Can you say with the Apostle Paul, “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out!” These men knew the power required to give dry bones life and the power could only come from the Son of God, the Son of Man, Jesus Christ. Apart from him, we can do nothing. His grace is sufficient for you.

Killing the Prophets

"The Murder of Zechariah" by William Brassey Hole

This is from The Book of the Bee: 

CHAPTER XXXII

OF THE DEATH OF THE PROPHETS; HOW THEY DIED, AND (WHERE) EACH ONE OF THEM WAS BURIED.

 MANASSEH the son of Hezekiah slew Isaiah with a wooden saw; he was buried before the outfall of the waters which Hezekiah concealed by the side of Siloah⁶.

   Hosea the son of Beeri, of the tribe of Issachar, (was) from the town of Be`elmâth. He prophesied mystically about our Lord Jesus Christ who was to come; saying that when He should be born, the oak in Shiloh should be divided into twelve parts; and that He should take twelve disciples of Israel. He died in peace, and was buried in his own land.

   Joel the son of Bethuel (Pethuel), of the tribe of Reuben, died in peace in his own land. Others say that Ahaziah the son of Amaziah smote him with a staff upon his head; and while his life was yet in him, they brought him to his own land⁷, and after two days he died.

   Amos (was) from the land of Tekoa. The priest of Bethel tortured him and afterwards slew him. Others say that it was he whom Ahaziah the son of Amaziah⁸ killed with a staff, and he died.

   Obadiah from the country of Shechem was the captain of fifty of Ahab's soldiers. He became a disciple of Elijah, and endured many evil things from Ahab, because he forsook him and went after Elijah. However he died in peace. After he followed Elijah, he was deemed worthy of prophecy¹.

   Elijah the fiery, of the family of Aaron, (was) from Tashbî², a town of the Levites. When this (prophet) was born, his father saw in a dream that one was born, and that they wrapped him in fire instead of swaddling bands, and gave him some of that fire to eat. He came to Jerusalem, and told the priests the vision that he had seen. The learned among the people said to him, 'Fear not, thy son is about to be a fire, and his word shall be like fire, and shall not fall to the ground; he will burn like fire with jealousy of sinners, and his zeal will be accepted before God.' He was taken up in a chariot towards heaven. Some say that his father was called Shôbâkh³.

   Elisha his pupil, from Abêl-Mehôlâh, (was) of the tribe of Reuben. On the day of his birth a great wonder took place in Israel; for the bull⁴ which they worshipped in Gilgal lowed, and his voice was heard in Jerusalem. The chief priests in Jerusalem said, 'A mighty prophet is born to-day in Israel at this time, and he will break the images and idols to pieces.' He died in peace, and was buried in Samaria.

   Jonah the son of Amittai⁵ (was) from Gath-hepher⁶, from Kûryath-Âdâmôs⁷, which is near to Ascalon and Gaza and the sea coast. After this (prophet) had prophesied to the Ninevites in the time of Sardânâ⁸ the king, he did not remain in his own land because the Jews were jealous of him; but he took his mother, and went and dwelt in Assyria. He feared the reproach of the Jews, because he had prophesied, and his prophecy did not come to pass. He also rebuked Ahab the king, and called a famine upon the land and the people. He came to the widow of Elijah, and blessed her, because she received him, and he returned to Judaea. His mother died on the way, and he buried her by the side of Deborah's grave. He lived in the land of Serîdâ, and died two years after the people had returned from Babylon, and was buried in the cave of Kainân¹. This (prophet) prophesied that when the Messiah should come, the cities of the Jews would be overturned.

   Micah the Morashthite (was) of the tribe of Ephraim, and was slain by Joram the son of Ahab. This (prophet) prophesied concerning the destruction of the temple of the Jews, and the abrogation of the Passover on the death of the Messiah. He died in peace, and was buried in Anikâm.

   Nahum, from the city of Elkôsh, (was) of the tribe of Simeon. After the death of Jonah this (prophet) prophesied concerning the Ninevites, saying, 'Nineveh shall perish by perpetually advancing waters, and ascending fire;' and this actually took place. He prophesied also concerning the Babylonians, that they would come against the Israelitish people; and therefore they sought to kill him. He prophesied that when the Messiah should be slain, the vail of the temple should be rent in twain², and that the Holy Spirit should depart from it. He died in peace, and was buried in his own country.

   Habakkuk (was) of the tribe of Simeon, and from the land of Sûâr (Zoar)³. This (prophet) prophesied concerning the Messiah, that He should come, and abrogate the laws of the Jews. He brought food to Daniel at Babylon by the divine (or, angelic) agency. The Jews stoned him in Jerusalem.

   Zephaniah (was) of the tribe of Simeon. He prophesied concerning the Messiah, that He should suffer, and that the sun should become dark, and the moon be hidden. He died in peace in his own land.

   Haggai returned from Babylon to Jerusalem when he was young. He prophesied that the people would return, and concerning the Messiah, that He would abrogate the sacrifices of the Jews. He died in peace.

   Zechariah the son of Jehoiada returned from Babylon in his old age, and wrought wonders among the people. He died at a great age, and was buried by the side of the grave of Haggai.

   Malachi was born after the return of the people, and because of his beauty he was surnamed 'Angel.' He died in peace in his own land.

   The Jews stoned Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah in Egypt, because he rebuked them for worshipping idols; and the Egyptians buried him by the side of Pharaoh's palace. The Egyptians loved him much, because he prayed and the beasts died which used to come up from the river Nile and devour men. These beasts were called 'crocodiles.' When Alexander the son of Philip, the Macedonian, came (to Egypt), he made enquiries about his grave, and took and brought him to Alexandria. This (prophet) during his life said to the Egyptians, 'a child shall be born--that is the Messiah--of a virgin, and He shall be laid in a crib², and He will shake and cast down the idols.' From that time, and until Christ was born, the Egyptians used to set a virgin and a baby in a crib, and to worship him, because of what Jeremiah said to them, that He should be born in a crib.

   Ezekiel the son of Buzi was of the priestly tribe, and from the land of Serîdâ³. The chief of the Jews who was in the land of the Chaldeans slew him, because he rebuked him for worshipping idols. He was buried in the grave of Arphaxar, the son of Shem, the son of Noah.

   Daniel (was) of the tribe of Judah, and was born in Upper Beth-Horon. He was a man who kept himself from women, and hence the Jews thought that he was an eunuch, for his face was different (from that of other men), and he had no children. He prayed for the Babylonians, and died in Elam, in the city of the Hôzâyê¹, and was buried in Shôshan the fortress. He prophesied concerning the return of the people.

   Ahijah (was) from Shilo. A lion slew this prophet, and he was buried by the oak at Shilo in Samaria.

   Ezra the scribe was from the country of Sâbthâ², and of the tribe of Judah. This (prophet) brought back the people, and died in peace in his own land.

   Zechariah the son of Berachiah, the priest, was from Jerusalem. Joash the king slew this (prophet) between the steps³ and the altar, and sprinkled his blood upon the horns of the altar, and the priests buried him. From that day God forsook the temple, and angels were never again seen in it.

   Simon the son of Sîrâ (Sirach) died in peace in his own town.

   Nathan died in peace.

   Here ends the first part of the book of gleanings called 'the Bee.'

   To God be the glory, and may His mercy and compassion be upon us. Amen.

   Again, by the Divine power, we write the second part of the book of gleanings called 'the Bee,' regarding the Divine dispensation which was wrought in the new (covenant).

___

Prophets killed in the Old Testament:

Isaiah
Amos
Micah
Habakkuk
Jeremiah
Ezekiel
Ahijah
Zechariah

___

This is an excerpt from The Book of the Bee:

Chapter XLI

OF JOHN THE BAPTIST, AND OF THE BAPTISM OF OUR LORD 

When John rebuked Herod, saying that it was not lawful for him to take his brother Philip's wife, he seized John, and cast him into the prison called Machaerûs¹. And it came to pass on a certain day, when Herod on his birthday made a feast for his nobles, that Bôzîyâ, the daughter of Herodias, came in and danced before the guests; and she was pleasing in the sight of Herod and his nobles. And he said to her, 'Ask of me whatsoever thou desirest and I will give it to thee;' and he sware to her saying that whatever she asked he would give it to her, unto the half of his kingdom. She then went in to Herodias her mother and said to her, 'What shall I ask of him?' She said to her, 'The head of John the Baptist;' for the wretched woman thought that when John should be slain, she and her daughter would be free from the reprover, and would have an opportunity to indulge their lust: for Herod committed adultery with the mother and with her daughter. Then she went in to the king's presence and said to him, 'Give me now the head of John the Baptist on a charger.' And the king shewed sorrow, as if, forsooth, he was not delighted at the murder of the saint; but by reason of the force and compulsion of the oath he was obliged to cut off John's head. If, O wretched Herod, she had demanded of thee the half of thy kingdom, that she might sit upon the throne beside thee and divide (it) with thee, wouldst thou have acceded to her, and not have falsified thy oath, O crafty one? And the king commanded an executioner, and he cut off the head of the blessed man, and he put it in a charger and brought and gave it to the damsel, and the damsel gave it to her mother. Then she went out to dance upon the ice, and it opened under her, and she sank into the water up to her neck; and no one was able to deliver her. And they brought the sword with which John's head had been cut off, and cut off hers and carried it to Herodias her mother. When she saw her daughter's head and that of the holy man, she became blind, and her right hand, with which she had taken up John's head, dried up; and her tongue dried up, because she had reviled him, and Satan entered into her, and she was bound with fetters. Some say that the daughter of Herodias was called Bôzîyâ, but others say that she also was called by her mother's name Herodias. When John was slain, his disciples came and took his body and laid him in a grave; and they came and told Jesus.

_____ 

Matthew 23: 29-36:  "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous,   And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.   Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets.   Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.   Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?"

"Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city:   That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.   Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation."

Josephus on John the Baptist
Shiloh
A Prophet's Eyes
How the Apostles Died
Wearing a Rough Garment
John MacArthur Rebuked by a Prophet
The Spirit of a Prophet

Martyrdom of the Apostles

“If ye were not strangers here, the dogs of the world would not bark at you”

--Samuel Rutherford

_____

"Shock disorders are more common than people think. Deus Vult ['God wills it']

"The Linguistic Fraud - The ancient Hebrew language is highly precise when it comes to the taking of life. When the text describes killing in battle or striking down an enemy, it uses words like nakah. When it describes authorized capital punishment or a general execution, it uses words like muwth or harag. But the specific word used in the Sixth Commandment (Exodus 20:13) is ratsakh. Ratsakh does not mean a blanket prohibition on taking a life. It specifically and exclusively translates to murder—the unlawful, malicious, and unjustified killing of an innocent.

"2. The Contextual Absurdity - The pacifist reading of this commandment is not just linguistically bankrupt; it requires the reader to believe the text is completely schizophrenic.

"If the Sixth Commandment mandated absolute non-violence, then the very same Lawgiver who handed down the stone tablets immediately contradicted Himself. In the very next chapters of Exodus, and extensively throughout Leviticus and Deuteronomy, the text explicitly commands capital punishment for severe crimes and lays out strict, authorized rules for waging righteous warfare."

Why Medieval Knights Went Completely Insane

Death of John the Baptist

A Vision about George Washington and America

[4 July 2015]

Earlier today I got a ride from Lewiston to Grangeville, Idaho.  I walked out of Grangeville about a half mile and this car pulled over to give me a ride.  It was an older couple.  They knew some friends of mine that lived in the Kooskia neighborhood.  They said that they could drop me off at my friends' place.

As we were driving down the road, the husband told me about a vision that an ex-Muslim had from the Lord.  He had been a dyed-in-the-wool Muslim for a number of years and then he surrendered his life to Jesus Christ.  He had been in hiding because he had a lot of death threats from his Muslim family.

Here is the ex-Muslim's vision:

He saw the Lord in all of His glory.  Then he saw George Washington kneeling before the Lord.  George Washington was pleading with the Lord and said, "Please don't let the wicked take over my country [the United States]."

The Lord replied, "I will not let the wicked [unrepentant abortionists, homosexuals, earth worshippers, etc] take over your country, but I will have to destroy it first."

Romans 1: 24-28:  "Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:   Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.   For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:   And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.   And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient."

Ezekiel 21:27:  "I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it:  and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him." (King James Version)

Ezekiel 21:27:  "A ruin, a ruin, I will make it a ruin!  And it will not be restored until the arrival of Him to whom it belongs, to whom I have assigned the right of judgment." (Berean Study Bible)     

Psalm 92:7: "When the wicked spring as the grass, and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish; it is that they shall be destroyed for ever."

God Will Draw the Wicked into Cities Marked for Destruction
The Bullet Proof President
Vladimir Putin on Barack Obama
National Abortion and the Great Awakening
When I Came to Destroy the City
The Killer Angels
The Forsaken Roots Of Our Country 
George Washington's Prophecy of the Coming Invasion of America
Las Vegas Earthquake
A Dream about Donald Trump

God Reigns in America - Dr. David Mackereth

Bible Hub - Bible Translations - Ezekiel 21:27

George Washington Prophecy of America - Trey Smith

Watchman

This is from the blog Daily Meditation:

Isaiah 21:11: The oracle concerning Dumah. One is calling to me from Seir, “Watchman, what time of the night? Watchman, what time of the night?”

The watchman has certain role to play. In the focus verse, certain questions were being asked that the watchman should know about. That means that the watchman is a man of unusual insight, understanding and vision. A watchman is known by the ability to see beyond the natural, beyond the obvious.

God told Ezekiel that he is making him a watchman, which means he will have insight into the future and he will be sent to people to warn them against going on routes that will lead to destruction (Ezekiel 3:17), when it comes to their behaviours.

The bible says there is a way that seems right to Man, but the end is destruction (Proverbs 16:25). The higher insight is the divine one. It keeps us safe and the watchman gets to be the voice of God.
The watchman role is attached to the prophetic gift. It is being able to peer beyond the veil of time and natural sight.

Jesus manifested as a watchman on the earth, he is the greatest of all watchmen because he is God. All true watchmen derive their function from him.

John wrote: no one has seen God at any time, but the only begotten of the father who is in the bosom of the father he has declared him (John 1:18). He has the ultimate insight into who the Father is.

He is the word of God. Someone in the bible prayed: open my eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of your law, your word (Psalm 119:18). With that, we can see from God’s point of view about the situations in which we find ourselves. When we see the word as we should, we also see ourselves as we should because the word is mirror (James 1:23-25). If we do not see ourselves correctly and want to be watchmen for others, it will be like seeing the speck in the eyes of others when you have a plank in your own eyes (Matthew 7:3-5). The watchman applies the word, first to himself, then to others (1Timothy 4:16).

A watchman does not only know what will happen, but also what God wants to get done and so is able to get the people ready to fall in line with the plan of God.

Moses came to rescue the children of Israel from the house of bondage by the word of God to him (Exodus 3). God told him I have now come down having heard the cries of the people the children of Israel. Later on, the bible says that by a prophet, God led the people of Israel from Egypt and through a prophet he preserved them (Hosea 12:13). Moses was watchman for the nation of Israel at that time. He connected the whole nation to the desire and demand of God for them because he was enabled to know them.

They followed God’s timing, walked on God’s path; and were guaranteed the very presence of God, they were granted safe journey. When they rejected the word of God through Moses, they suffered for it.

Jesus said he must work the work of him who sent him while it is day because the night comes when no man can work (John 9:1-5). The day is when the sight is active. That shows that we need divine insight, the light of God, to do his work.

This is because it is not the work of God if it is not directed by him. That is why Jesus said that certain people will call to him on the last day that they have done many things in his name, but he will tell them: depart from me you workers of iniquity, I know you not (Matthew 7:21-23).

Whatever they did was a manifestation of self-will, and not God’s will. The watchman is careful about the will of God since he moves, and leads others to move, according to what God is showing.

The watchman needs his eyes, and David prayed that God should open his eyes. Elisha was a watchman at a time in Israel, and gave so much insight about the plans of the enemy that he became more important to that enemy than the king, and was number one on their most wanted list (2Kings 6:8-18).

He frustrated their plans time and again. By the sheer force of his role as the watchman, he kept the nation safe. He was Israel’s edge against a more formidable army, and no weapon fashioned against Israel prospered. He was watchman indeed. He saw traps before they are even set and helps the people of Israel to escape. He was the eyes and ears of Israel in the camp of the enemy. Before he died, one king called him my father my father the chariots of Israel and the horsemen thereof. He was a one-man army. That was how important spiritual sight, the watchman is (2Kings 13:14).

Some sons of Issachar were once described in the bible as those who understood the times knowing what Israel should do to get the right results (1Chronicles 12:32). They helped others with their insight, helping them navigate through difficult situations.

And Daniel wrote that those who are wise will instruct many (Daniel 11:33). The teaching process is about impartation of insight, i.e. the right sight, the right understanding, to others.

Jesus came from heaven to impart the right understanding of God to us. He came to call us to repent and embrace the kingdom of God; to repent because of the coming of the kingdom of God; repent, because of the need for us to align to the ways and knowledge of God (Mark 1:15).

We do not stumble into ways of God by wishful thinking, we need to be taught. The bible says:  we will hear a voice behind us saying: this is the way walk in it (Isaiah 30:21). Without this kind of guidance, we are susceptible to deception, to come to the wrong conclusion, to embrace lies which look like truth.

Jesus does not just tell us the truth, he is the truth. That distinction is important because if Jesus merely told the truth, people who say things similar to what Jesus said might pass for truth speakers and deceive people. But since Jesus is the truth that means he is the only custodian of the truth. If the truth you are espousing is not his truth then it is no truth, you are not seeing well.

You can depend on him no matter what. If it is not him, then it is nothing. If it is not coming from him, then it is deception. The bible says: to the law and to the testimony if they do not speak according to this word it means there is no light in them (Isaiah 8:20).

When God called Jeremiah to the prophetic office he asked him: what do you see? To which he answered: I see the branch of an almond tree (Jeremiah 1:11-12). And God said to him: you see rightly. So, because you see something does not means it is right thing, because you have come to certain conclusions does not make them right conclusions. There are delusions and illusions.

John said that we should test all spirits and confirm if they are from God (1John 4:1). Because demonic spirits comes with deceptive agenda, create false revelations for the gullible to swallow, create false impression for the spiritually weak to embrace. This is the call to be strengthened in the area of spiritual sight, become true watchmen.

Snare

This is from the blog Daily Meditation:

Ezekiel 12:13: And I will spread my net over him, and he shall be taken in my snare. And I will bring him to Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans, yet he shall not see it, and he shall die there.

The theme of the snare runs through the bible. In the book of Genesis, Adam and Eve fell into the deceptive trap of the devil (Genesis 3). The serpent approached Eve with a proposition, acting as if he was only looking out for her best interest, but it was a trap, a distraction from the will of God.

People around us come with similar propositions, they seems to have your best intention in mind. They may even mean well, not knowing their advice if taken would be nothing more than a major distraction from the will of God, from the best of God.

During the time Job was down and seemingly out with many troubles (Job 2:5, 9), his wife told him to curse God and if he was struck by him in judgment of death (showing her jaundiced view of God) them he will die and he will be free from pain. His wife wanted the best for him, but her definition of the best was short-sighted at best and satanically inspired at worst.

It will like cutting your nose to spite your face. It will like cutting off the head to solve an headache problem. In the confusion of his difficulties, to a lesser man that proposition would have been appealing. But Job said that even if God strikes him he will still trust (Job 13:15). He did not bite that bait; on that snare, he passed.

David wrote about the snare of the fowler (Psalm 91:3). In the snare, the benefit is presented while the danger is hidden, like the fine print, too fine to be see, and the smooth talker trying to sell you a broken down vehicle.

Before you take an advice check in your heart, and ask yourself what God is saying? Because something is appealing does not mean it is good. Because something glitters does not mean it is gold. Because everyone is doing it does not means you should. Because it is the fad does not mean you should tag along. You are not a photocopy. you are an original.

Anything that pulls you away from the will of God is a snare, it doesn’t matter how it is presented. Paul said that Demas departed from him having loved this world (2Timothy 4:10). Demas was trapped by the love of the world (1John 2:15-17), as he was distracted from being part of Paul’s ministry team.

When Jesus told the disciples that he would soon be hung on the cross, Peter thought he was taking things too far and told him to perish the thought (Mark 8:31-33). But Jesus rebuked him, saying: get behind me Satan, you are not after the will of God but self-will.

Abraham experienced a snare from his wife Sarah, she gave him the suggestion the way out of their childlessness that he should sleep with their Egyptian maid (Genesis 16:1-9, 21:8-15). It sounded cool, culturally acceptable, and naturally sensible.

But that was the end to the peace in his household. First the pregnant Hagar acted up against Sarah, and after Ishmael (standing for the self-will of Abraham) was born, about a decade later Isaac (standing for the will of God, the word of God, the promise) was born. And Ishmael (self-will) became a threat to Isaac (God’s will), mocking him. So Abraham had to die to his own will. He had to chase Ishmael away. And it was painful for him to do that. That was the cross he had to carry, he had to die to self-will to be able to elevate the will of God to its place of preeminent. But what was meant to be a means for him to have children turned out to be a snare. On the long run, Ishmael did nothing but complicate Abraham’s life. Self-will always does that. It is a trap.

For David, Bathsheba was a snare. It was supposed to be an unannounced adulterous event, but it made him a bull’s-eye for God’s judgment (2Samuel 11). Same with Adam and Eve. What was sold to them as a good thing, eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, made them enter into the judgment of death. If that was not a trap, then nothing else is.

The temptations of Jesus by the devil were snares. He told him, bow down and worship me and I will give you the kingdoms of the world and their glory (Luke 4:1-13). Jesus did not yield. He was able to judge the situation correctly, and dodge the satanic snare. Paul said: we should not give any foothold to the devil, lest he takes advantage of us (2Corinthians 2:11).

Because what you want is being offered does not mean you should take it, it may come with strings attached.

When Pharaoh first agreed to let the children of Israel go, to worship God in the wilderness (Exodus 10:8-11, 24, 12:31), he gave some conditions. He said they should not take their children with them, or that they should leave their cattle.

But Moses refused, he had his eyes on the will of God, which is full freedom for the children of Israel, just as He spoke to Abraham (Genesis 15:13-16), that his children will be enslaved in a foreign land and by the supernatural hand of God, they will released after 400 years in the land.

The will of God is freedom, total freedom, because to the limit that we are free from anything else is the limit is the limit we can serve God. Therefore God sent Moses with a message to Pharaoh: let my people go that they may serve me.

God does not want anything holding you down, no ideology, no sentiment, no sin. The book of Hebrews teaches that we should lay aside every weight and sin which doth easily beset us and run with patience the race that is set before us (Hebrews 12:1-2).

Paul said he was careful so that after he had preached to others he will not be a cast away, having been snared (1Corinthians 9:27). He doesn’t not want anything holding him back from the fullness of God, and he wants the same thing for those he wrote to.

He doesn’t want them snared, he doesn’t want their affection taken over by anything/one else but Christ, knowing that any attachment other than to him is a trap in disguise.

Jesus and Paul warned about the trap of money. Jesus said we cannot serve God and Mammon (Matthew 6:24), we cannot serve two masters, we cannot swear allegiance to Mammon and God at the same time. Attachment to money is a distraction from God. Paul said that the love of money is the root of all evil (1Tiimothy 6:10).

That was Judas’ undoing. He was in charge of the money bag for the twelve and Jesus (John 12:1-6). He stole some of it. He sought to get money by selling Jesus out (Matthew 26:15), fully entrapped by money.

And later he killed himself, racked by guilt for betraying Jesus. Suicide is indicative of a man in a snare. Ditto depression. In a snare you do not see a way out, seeing everything from the fulcrum of your pain or even need.

Negatives habits are snares, they are shackles that we should be free from. Because Jesus was free, he can help us to be free. He said that the enemy came to him and found nothing in him (John 14:30). He was free from all satanic entanglements, of the mind, spirit and body.

So because Jesus is free we are also free, because he is truth and when we grow in his knowledge we grow in freedom. Understand that the “truth” that does not lead you to more freedom is a lie, is a snare.