Palm Sunday: Then Jesus Brings On A Purge

Palm Sunday: Then Jesus Brings On A Purge                         Capt. Kelly Durant

Mark 11: 9 Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted, “Hosanna!”, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” 10 “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!”, “Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

2. Today is one of celebration! Jesus gets praised and everyone is happy…but right after that He declares a purge! Palm Sunday represents a time when Christians should be tuned into what Jesus is purging! With all that is happening in the world with the corona virus, I would suggest the Lord is still animate against false religious leaders being rebuked and cast out! The fruitless, the hypocrites, the merchants in all church bodies have got to go. It’s time to separate the wheat from the tare weeds. 

Today is Palm Sunday and it is a special Sunday celebrated by all Christians worldwide! At first glance praising and palms in the road seems all wonderful as most everyone in Jerusalem was praising Jesus. Isn’t that beautiful? In places where church members cannot get palm branches they use other types of branches, or at least they do a special observance of some kind. 

Jesus triumphal entry into Jerusalem was something outstandingly phenomenal fulfilling prophecy and this is why all Christians everywhere keep this tradition alive. It is a way for all Christians to relive the honoring of Jesus as the King of Kings, as the King of Jerusalem (the New Jerusalem!), and as the promised Messiah from the linage of David. 

Let’s follow the series of events as Mark records it in Chapter 11. There is first the grand arrival into Jerusalem, but then there is fig tree that gets cursed on the way to Bethany because it does not have any fruit? Why a curse after such a huge happy reception? Soon we will see.

3. Jesus takes the initiative in preparing His entry as His instructions to his disciples were that they should bring Him a colt not ridden before. It was not customary for pilgrims to going into Jerusalem riding an animal, they generally completed the trip to the temple on foot. But Jesus always did things differently!  Zech. 9:9 “Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. 

Jesus fulfilled all prophetic scripture as He is the eternal King of the Jews and the gentiles, and the people are jubilant. He rode upon a donkey, and humility and purity were represented. Jesus knew the messianic significance of his entry there and later all could see it for what it was. 

The fact that the people shouted, “Hosanna!” or Hoshana (Hebrew) implies that they knew they were honoring Him as the Lord, as that word of praise was applied for one who would “save”, so they were recognizing His messiahship as the “Savior”! Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!

4. After all that praise and excitement Jesus and his disciples were hungry and you would expect be in good spirits, right? But then they came upon a fig tree that made Jesus mad because the tree was barren, and Jesus cursed it! Why? If you take into account the Old Testament you can discover how the fig tree and bearing fruit is symbolic. Jesus spoke clearly about bearing fruit comparing it to spiritual fruit. We as Christians must have fruit good or we will die dry and be cursed. Those connected to Jesus should be as a flourishing vine that produces good fruit… healthy saved souls serving God! 

Jesus was letting the world know that Israel in His day was finished; it was as a dried tree yielding no fruit for God. Go to Jeremiah 8:13 “I will surely consume them,” says the Lord. “No grapes shall be on the vine, Nor figs on the fig tree, And the leaf shall fade; And the things I have given them shall pass away from them.” That is a very clear prophecy! Matthew 21:43 “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it.”

The O.T. prophets used metaphors to illustrate what God was going to do for or against the nation of Israel. Here Jesus does the same; this event has meaning beyond its face value. When Jesus says to the tree in vs. 14 “Let no one eat fruit from you ever again.”, he basically was affirming that no one would ever get fed spiritually ever again by remaining with spiritually barren Israel. Jesus was the new Israel bearing fruit, and Jews, gentiles, and all nations now were the fruit God accepted through Jesus as the Messiah.

5. The destruction of the fig tree is associated with judgment as we find in Hosea 2:12 “I will ruin her vines and her fig trees, which she said were her pay from her lovers; I will make them a thicket, and wild animals will devour them.” 

John chapter 15, which was a message after the last supper, makes it clear that we as followers of Jesus are not to be fruitless or you are in danger of a fiery judgement. 5 “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. 6 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. Jesus warns there is a purge, a purge for those who have no fruit for God.

I see a contrast here of signals here. For one, Jesus is praised in the streets as never before and Jesus instead of mentioning it or elaborating on it, makes a symbolic point that He wants to be honored not by loud praises, not by coats and palms in the street, but rather by real fruit for God! It reminds me of his words to the Samaritan woman in John 4:23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” The ones of Jerusalem were not worshipping Him in truth as one week later the Jerusalem crowds yelled to crucify Him! 

6. Palm Sunday begins a chapter of purging; it all happened within a few days. We just covered how the event of the fig tree was a symbolic miracle event to show God’s purge on the fruitless followers. Now let’s notice, it was right after all that praise going into Jerusalem that Jesus went into the temple of the Jews to purge it of its greediness and worship of money over worship of God. Another purge, right after Palm Sunday!

Jesus was angered that the temple of God, where believers gathered supposedly with the intent to worship, pray and learn from God’s word, had been made into a market where the teachers were seeking filthy lucrative. They were there not to worship God but there for the money!  He took a whip to the money changers and overturned tables and what did He say?  Mark 11:17 “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it a ‘den of thieves. ” 18 And the scribes and chief priests heard it and sought how they might destroy Him; for they feared Him, because all the people were astonished at His teaching.

So this is why here in our Salvation Army we don’t allow people to come in and sell merchandise on Sunday! Some churches sell DVDs and books written by the pastor on Sundays, but we don’t allow any of that. This modern materialistic trend is making merchandize of the people. 2 Peter 2: 3 And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not. Some mega churches ask to see your W-2 to be sure you will give 10% of that and your membership is just to finance their luxuries! In John 15 Jesus was speaking to His followers so Christians are forewarned of judgement as well for worshipping money using the name of Jesus! He will say one day to their spirit in the judgement, “I never knew you!”

7. Jesus’ purging out of the Temple is a prophetic sign that religious model, being corrupted, would no longer be needed or relevant. Why? Because in a short time, Jesus was going to die and be resurrected!  Jesus’ sacrifice of atonement is a sacrifice that is effective for all time, past, present, future. Heb 7:27 Who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he (Jesus) did once, when He offered up himself.

No longer would there be a need for the animals to be sold at expensive prices and sacrifices be made in their Synagogue temples anymore, because Jesus was going to be the sacrifice for all nations forever! And believing on Jesus, praying, worshipping, and studying is something anyone should have cost free! Many people come to our Corps with no money and always our doors are open to anyone, and those who know me, know that I treat those who cannot support with us money still get the same respect and love as those who do!

This purging act has another meaning as well. It is to remind us how God is a jealous God and we are to gather to worship only Him with no other interests! Through Jesus reactive actions we get a confirmation that God violently hates people who are in a temple for any reason other than to pray, worship, and study. Making money is what most everyone does 6 days a week, so to continue to desire profit on the 7^th day instead of a time out with God is an offense to Him breaking the law to keep the Sabbath holy. We are not legalistic, but God had reason for all his commands.  

8. So the initial evidence, the first event of Jesus going into Jerusalem at first appears to be the highlight of His ministry. He is finally recognized as the promised savior and messiah fulfilling prophecy being a descendant of King David. You would think that going there to get honored with palms and coats was all the picture you needed to see. The disciples were not focused on this: Mark 10:33 “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles.

There are two events of Jesus that are those of judgement and purification. Jesus multiplied fish and bread, He could have just caused figs to grow instantly on the tree but He didn’t. He wanted those who knew the words of the prophets to bear witness to the fact that God will totally dry up a fruitless tree. The tree is symbolic of a nation, or even of an individual life. The disciples were astonished at how quickly the unfruitful tree shriveled up. Jesus will purge or even curse those who do nothing for God!

9. Now the next purge; Jesus let explode His Godly wrath against those who were starving others spiritually using the temples of God for their monetary personal gain. In a final display of disgust Jesus overthrows the money changers. The temple teachers were useless being, “Blind leaders of the blind” (Matt 15:14) They sought wealth from the people that they were exploiting everyone in the name of God not practicing the love of God.   

Briefly before Jesus crucifixion he said this to the hypocrites: Matt 22: 15 “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves”. Jesus hates hypocrites who rob God of souls!

So on Palm Sunday here is what we understand: 1) that Jesus is the Son of God, the savior of the world that takes away all sin and praise and total submission is due Him; 2) that Jesus will not tolerate and will purge and judge those who produce no good fruit for God, 3) that Jesus gets violently angry to purge out those who exploit worshippers for their own material gain profaning the intended purpose of worship.

10. In conclusion, we know now that many of the praises heralding Jesus were hypocritical as they cried out to, “Crucify Him” a week later. This type of hypocrisy is hard to deal with as the false worshippers sing praises while in church and then they will curse the person who will not let them quickly turn out of the church parking lot! Ask yourself, am I a hypocrite in my worship of Jesus? Do I praise Him always no matter the circumstances, good or bad? Do I praise Him with a clean and honest heart? Praise is not just a “hallelujah’ or a ‘Hosanna’, praise to Jesus is a lifestyle of love and service to God and others! These times prove God is still purging  all.

We can observe today that many churches and religions do not have Godly fruits, but rather they are a collection of thorns with rude and arrogant personalities. Today God is doing a purging to see who is true and who is false. Matthew 7:16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Matt.7:20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them. Each individual must bear fruit but that only comes only if they are infused with the sap (the Holy Spirit) from the true vine, Jesus Christ. Ask yourself, am I sweet good fruit, loving God or am I like a thorn and a dried up tree? Speak up, shine your light, what are your good works?

Never forget, Jesus violently hated the hypocrisy of those whose God was not our  true God of love, but rather money. Are you angry with the false hypocrites and thieves?  You should be! There are many out there today! This law of only 10 people in a church is purging the followers, are people true, or are they false? I suppose many will not return! Palm Sunday was immediately followed by a purge for being fruitless and greedy! Ask God examine our hearts and to purge us so you and I can worship Him in spirit and in truth, bearing fruit for Him in our lives,  clean of hypocrisy, loving Him above any other thing. Let’s pray… 

The Crisis of the Shut Down: When Will People Start Seeking God?

The Crisis of the Shut Down: When Will People Start Seeking God?  

Capt. Kelly Durant. 3-29-20

Matthew 6: 31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

2. What do you think of hoarders? These are people who buy up a year’s supply of toilet paper and you think inside, hum, I wonder do they have a year’s supply of food to go with that?

What we have seen lately is a what we have suspected all along, we are surrounded by neighbors who do not have much faith in God to supply their daily needs. They also have no faith in other people, the government, or the system as they are storing up as if the system is going to totally break down. And it might one day! There is that possibility you know, but hoarding is contributing to the current crisis, do we not all see this? Overwhelming the system is a communist tactic to break down a society so new dictators can take over.

I concur with what Mahatma Ghandi said, “The world has enough for every man’s need, but not enough for his greed.” Proverbs 11:1 A false balance is abomination to the Lord: but a just weight is his delight. In other words, we do not need more than what is fair as it offends the Lord, like a balance out of sync, we need only what is essential for everyone which is ‘our daily bread’, as Jesus prayed. God wants us to take things day by day and not stress over the future. Bigger barns are not needed but instead bigger hearts to take care of one another in need!

3. So what is the balance concerning how we prepare? How long will people stay caged up until they say, “I have had enough, virus or no virus, I am getting out of these 4 walls to get life back to how it was!?” In Bolivia, Peru, Italy, etc. the military will beat you up or shoot you if you are out. That is the style elsewhere. People will submit to all kinds of orders, some orders serve a good purpose, like the prevention of spreading this killer virus, yet other orders might be for an agenda for the benefit of a few powerful men and these kinds of orders bring destruction upon many. We must learn from the past.

History around 100 years ago proves extreme power abuse as in Russia and the Ukraine. Joseph Stalin told all pf them to stay home, they did, and then he starved 3 million Ukrainians to death! And 20 million Russians were killed as well! Mass death is not what is happening here currently by means of a military dictator, but the Georgia Guide-stones prove the globalist elites want to see 90% of the human race  dead so they can create their New World Order! We all must research who is saying what and for what motive. When a globalist minded authority is giving an opinion on this crisis, you know that their agenda is never the right one.

When there is a clear and present danger, we must use our God given brains and prepare to pass through the difficult times. It is wise to be prepared to live in isolation a few weeks with some basic needs ready. But I observe that people today are more prepared physically to survive, with food and shelter, than they are psychotically or spiritually. Do common people even own a Bible anymore? After all most everyone seems to be in fear from the uncertainty of what new evil is on the horizon. If they were to read the Bible, their fears could be calmed. 

4. Think about this irony, under totalitarian godless systems, such as in Venezuela, you see 5 million people marching on the streets of Caracas every month demanding the government allow the supply of their basic needs of food and toilet paper. But the government hoards it, and keeps it from the people in order to manipulate and dominate them. You can never overthrow the government if you are busy waiting in line to get your daily bread! They took their guns years ago too so the people are at their mercy. Thank God this is not our situation here.

And in this country we have sort of the opposite; most everyone has stored up all of what they need, no one is going to the streets over injustices, and  yet we see people panicking and living in fear as if there were a murderous regime in the streets killing anything that moves! The emptiness of our streets is historic!

It’s sad to see that some people have gone over the edge as if it is the end of the world. These thoughts and fears could produce something good if people were to repent and get right with God! But too few are seeking Him even in this crisis! When will people turn to God? My wife and I had to turn to God with all the regime changes in Bolivia. We were often forced to stay inside for up to 2 weeks at a time. I always keep enough food for 2 weeks to a month? How about you?

5. The news media, the tech giants, and even the government must be amazed to see how the people have responded so obediently to the news of the virus prohibitions. Evil leaders, such as dictators, often refer to the average people, who are your non-analytical passive followers, as sheeple. But I contest that sheep are the nice people who follow Jesus voice and are considerate of others and obey practical laws. They also live without fear and do things balanced.

But people in general are more like rude insensitive selfish rambunctious goats who trample all over you to get what they want for the preservation of their decaying bodies. No matter how many laws exist, people in general are lawless, they do not obey God, nor authorities. We see so many afraid to die, and this is a torment. Be careful with goats as they will get ugly as we have already seen. During crisis times everyone must get serious about our faith in Jesus!

Job 2:4 So Satan answered the Lord and said, “Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life.” Satan was correct here referring to most of the people! That most every human will submit to anything, even to compromising with Satan losing their souls, losing essentials in this life, even resorting to the killing others, if it they believe it will help keep them alive and save their skin! However, his tactic did not work with Job who worshipped God only! Be like him!

6. So will this country ever be without a supply of basic needs? We could reach that point one day. We should keep allowing migrant workers to work on our farms, our we might reach a point of extreme food austerity! But in our system, I don’t foresee the absolute disappearance of anything. Even if they charge $5 for a roll, people are still going to get toilet paper! Day by day God takes care of us all.

Imagine, during the recession period in the 1920’s, when money was tight, and prohibition laws were enforced, what happened? There was almost as much moonshine and Cuban rum flowing around this country as there was when all liqueur was legal. Today, as back then, the money and power shifts into new hands. We cannot stop it, so we will do as we always have, and that is to trust God. And…“No!”; just because money has germs on it we do not want electronic money only… and a mark of the beast chip in our hands as our new currency! Watch out for all the propaganda that is out there right now!

People love the challenge of circumventing the law and the system and making big bucks on crisis situations, and the elites who often generate these crisis, never waste a good crisis. We witnessed last week politicians wanted to make new laws to control people; laws that have nothing to do with this crisis! And there are other horrible evils that for me are horrible global crisis practices provoking many deaths daily and these are… Illegal drug trades, human trafficking for sexual exploitation or labor, and the sell of harvested body parts! These and other evils are destroying innocent people in this city and around the world! It is amazing how we are blessed in this country despite the sins being practiced by so many.

7. Proverbs 29:3 Whoever loves wisdom makes his father rejoice, But a companion of harlots wastes his wealth. This country has come full circle. Our grandparents lived in times of poverty and it was a terrible sin to not eat everything on you plate giving thanks to God. In the depression in the 1930s many Americans died of starvation! There was no money to waste in those days on unnecessary material goods and drugs and sex. But now in this nation a majority have forgotten God in our prosperity and they use and abuse and waste so many things such as new clothes, expensive electronics, food etc.. And notice the laziness! How illogical it is to presume there will always be an abundance! I value every little thing I have and thank God for it and waste as little as possible. 

This crisis, which may impoverish many of us for many months, we possibly hopefully may see many people wake up to conclude that materialism, man’s systems, and stored up goods is not the answer to everything in life and they will in their despair start seeking God. Globalist systems are not the answer either. Many parents today are appalled to observe that their children waste their money and inheritances on drugs, partying, prostitutes, porn, and luxuries. Some parents prefer to donate their houses to The Salvation Army than to leave it to their abusive Godless wasteful children. Our national crisis is not just a virus problem, it is rampant sin problem! The combination of all corrupt dictatorships’ also kill millions of people in other countries and the media is silent on that!

Some world leaders are calling this virus a purge, and it is a purge, not just with lives dead from the contagion, but a purge of a disturbed stability, a purge provoking a change of habits, a change of jobs, a total lifestyle shift. We already observe that not anything people want on Amazon will they be able to get instantly as before. Many Chinese products may become scarce. These new social distancing rules seem to make us feel colder towards others. Society has already changed, and so many are shocked at how fast! Our entire world seems to have entered a nightmarish twilight zone entering into a dark tunnel whose length is unknown. You, as a child of God, must be the light in that tunnel for others!

8. Wisdom and the Holy Spirit must help us to discern what is correct to obey and what is not, what we should store up and what not to. The Lord does reveal to his servants what is relevant to their welfare. Amos 3:5 Surely the Lord God does nothing, Unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.

Proverbs 22:3  A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself, But the simple pass on and are punished.  We must pray that people will get back to God in these perilous times. 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. God wants us serious with Him. With no sports, no live shows, no public meetings, could it be that God may finally get people’s attention!? Will people trust God for their day to day needs?

Wherever there is suffering, God is near to console! We, as His servants, must also be present in the lives of others during this time to console the fears they may have. We must guide them through this crisis, that God is in control of their lives, that God will take care of us if we seek him first. Hoarded items will run out, salvation is not found in our wealth and abundance but it is in our day to day faith in God. He provides for His own, even for those who live day to day. The deal is, you must be one of God’s own and that only comes by accepting Jesus, by repenting, and by having a life change. What an eternal upgrade it is to live for love, for God’s love, and to love others!

2 Chronicles 7:14  if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.  Prayer…

Social Distancing & Time Out; Where is that in the Bible?

Social Distancing & Time Out; Where is that in the Bible?             Kelly Durant

1 Peter 1:21-23 New King James Version (NKJV)

21 who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

22 Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart,

2. How many of you have lived in quarantine for a few weeks or months? I have! When Regina and I traveled to Brazil from Bolivia, I mysteriously came down with hepatitis one day. I had a fever so high that I sweat out gallons of water several nights and I was having vivid hallucinations.  The folks in the clinic said I could have gotten it from someone on a bus (in Brazil you are usually one foot away from a person’s face) but no matter where I got it from I had a problem, I was extremely weak and my skin was bright yellow!

It was a miracle by God’s design that we had already agreed to go live on a friend’s farm that was 6 hours away from Belo Horizonte in the Amazon. We got a ride there via muddy slipper roads where no little towns were close by (4 hours by foot away) and we were at the mercy of nature and the Lord. I lived in a pup tent big enough to sit up in and my faithful wife brought me rice and beans daily, feeding me from a plate like you would feed your dog. God bless her patience! She was pregnant, I did not want her getting what I had!

That time out was a big trial but in some ways it was wonderful experience. I observed nature up close. I saw the black ants, an inch and a half long, fight with the red ants, I saw fresh water dolphins swim through the river nearby, and I saw 6 inch big around (10 feet long) boa constrictors pass by. But what made this experience good? I finally had time to read the Bible from cover to cover in 6 weeks time! 

3. When a community is going through a time out as we see now, how do you think people will use their free time? Will they watch movies all day? Will they scrub clean their whole house with bleach and alcohol 10 times a day like a crazed obsessed manic? Will they talk on social media all day? Will they tremble with each news cast that claims 1 in 5 are going to die?! We shall see, but wouldn’t it be transformational if a person were to read their Bible?

Most people think they do not have time for God! They wake up and run through the day stressed in traffic, stressed at work, and then stressed at home in the evening to attend to the kids or to the house. The problem is by not taking time with God in prayer and in His Holy Scriptures, they are cheating their selves of gaining wisdom, peace, and a joy that only comes by investing in the things of the Spirit. What a relief, what a needed break, let’s spend it with God!

We learned about the benefits of having time with God many years ago, but how many people really practice it right and get to that ideal holy platform of a living a blessed life. Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

4. So lets’ compare the world’s treatment of the sick to God’s way of treating them. For one, I was very thankful to the farm owners who let us stay there allowing me to be healed without wanting a payment. That is Christian love, to support one another when we are down! We are to care for one another. 1 Peter 5:7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

It is obvious when someone has something contagious, or something that could negatively affect the majority in the community common sense tells us that we should separate them. Leviticus 13:46 He shall be unclean. All the days he has the sore he shall be unclean. He is unclean, and he shall dwell alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp.

In God’s law we find that the sick should be separated to be in a separate city, and of course, be allowed to heal. But how is it happening in the world today? The Chinese are barricading the sick in their homes and leaving them to die and rot inside! The Italian government gave the order to just let die anyone elderly with the Coronavirus! What insane cruelty, right? People could heal, as many already have, but in our atheistic, insane world of today, murder seems to be the solution to so many problems! Satan’s specialty is executing lies and murders as he hates us, God’s creation!

metro.co.uk/2020/02/02/wuhan-woman-screams-chinese-authorities-barricade-inside-home-12162599/

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/16/world/europe/italy-coronavirus-funerals.html

5. So we conclude that the practice of ‘social distancing’ is as old as Moses! There is nothing wrong with separating the sick where they can heal, that is practical and wise. Today hospitals play the role of providing quarantined areas for the sick. All is well unless they get overwhelmed! 

All that is happening in our world today is provoking either more good or more evil to augment. It is like the separating of the wheat from the weeds. In this time of being more isolated and socially distant will it create in a person (in you) a desire to hug and love others more when it is all dissipated? Or will it cause a permanent phycological damage, that the new normal will be just to remain distant and cold to everyone?

It is predicted, Matthew 24:12 ‘And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.’ Have you ever prayed, “Lord please never let me grow cold towards you or others?” I have! We all must fight Satan in our heads to go against the current of the world and to keep on loving with even more fervor! If you do not love God and life, then the default is to join the murderous and psychotically disturbed crowd who really are sick as if they have a deadly spiritual virus!

6. Now let’s look at time out. What comes to your mind? The children of Israel wandering in the desert? The time David spent in caves running form Saul? My mind goes to Jesus when He was first called to begin His ministry.

Matthew 4 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry.

Imagine, 40 days totally alone with only sand and sun everywhere and no food at all! That is an isolation that would probably kill most of us! Some people cannot even stand to be alone one full day and for sure insanity would set in after a week! Especially without food! So Jesus gave us the example, He knew some of us on earth would have times of being alone for weeks at a time, and in our helpless loneliness we must learn to resist Satan and seek God as He did!

7. So even though the quarantined time out we are living through is generated by men, (I think their motives are in part political and financially motivated!) but we must recognize it can be a blessing from God in disguise.  For one, it prevents the spreading of this contagious Corona  virus, and this time of ‘time out’ can be used constructively, for example, for your spiritual growth!

Few people in life ever take a long pause from the daily busy activities and this is what drives people to madness, exhaustion, and premature aging! Unless you have been a prisoner of war, a person in a jail in solitary confinement, or a person sick and separated for quite some time, it is doubtful you have ever had a few weeks alone to bond with God. Will you use this time for Him? It will positively change you!

I think everyone should appreciate being alone at least once in their lives. It gives you time to escape an evil attack and to recharge. The Lord had several of his servants spend weeks alone over certain bad circumstances, such as in the case of Elijah escaping the evil queen Jezebel. 1 Kings 17:3-5 “Get away from here and turn eastward, and hide by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. 4 And it will be that you shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.” 5 So he went and did according to the word of the Lord, for he went and stayed by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan.

8. So what about you? Do you obey Jesus in this command? Matthew 6:6 But you, when you pray, go into your room (closet), and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

Job for sure was alone many days, it was for many months! Imagine, nearby enemies come and rob all his herds, a natural disaster kills his family, and then he comes down with boils all over his body! This was not just a fever, it was a horrible disease making all his skin be an open wound! He cried out to God in his anguish and loneliness! His friends could not even get close to him to console him!

But what did he do with his time? He cried out to God! He wrote down many spirit led poetic wise words! God spoke to him in an amazing way! And for more than 4,000 years his words have served as a comfort to us all. His wife, seeing his misery told him to curse God and die. But his faith was strong and what did he reply? Job 13:15 (a) Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him. 

9. Catherine Booth, the powerful wife of the founder of The Salvation Army, was sick a s a young girl and at age 12 spent more than 12 months in a bed! And what did she do with her time? She read the entire Bible 4 times!  And that paid off as she became one of the first women preachers in the 1800s converting dozens of thousands of souls to Jesus! What will you do in this time-out period? How will you use it?

So you and I would not be a member of this church had it not been for her and William Booth obeying God’s calling to serve the ‘worst of the worst’. From the beginning many thousands that we have helped have had to have a ‘time out’ period in their life, and that is in our alcohol and drug rehab centers, homeless shelters, and refugee camps, or after a disaster had destroyed everything!

So do not fear the distance of people as God is always near! Never fear isolations and ‘time outs’, as God will be working in your life to reveal to you many amazing things by His Spirit as he did with the prophets and Jesus. Take advantage of the unsolicited interruptions we face in life, as they are a ‘God send’ if used for his purposes. 

10. Read your Bible & pray everyday! And quote the promises of God. Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. 

And on a final note repeating the verses of today, 22 ‘Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart’; We must make of this a time a time to purify ourselves: A time out away from others for doing a soul searching.

After this is passed, the outcome should be that we will love each other more than ever! Maybe we have taken for granted the presence of our brothers and sisters, so when we are finally back together in normal meeting settings, we must express our increased love for each other, and for God too, of course! Romans 8: 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

Pandemics: The Fear, God’s protection, & The Opportunists

Pandemics: The Fear, God’s protection, & The Opportunists 

2 Timothy 1:7

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

2. I recall one time in Atlanta our Headquarters had arranged for all the employees and some of the folks from our Booth Towers (assisted housing) to have a fun day at Six Flags Over Georgia. I was with some folks and we got on a few rides and one of them was in a cable car elevated above the ground. Little did I know I was going to confront a crisis of someone having a nervous breakdown while on the ride.

The person started yelling, “I am afraid of heights! I don’t want to die!” They were almost passing out and I had to pray for them on the spot and tell console them everything would be alright! Later I found out the person in such fear was proud to declare he was not a Christian. As a matter of fact they were living a life of sin and did not want to know anything about the Christian faith. 

Their sin, and their lack of desire to repent of their sin, dominated their life. I was sort of in shock to see someone so afraid to die! Inside I thought, why such fear? Why such torment? Well, deep inside those who do not repent of sins know that after they die they will lose it all. I really do not understand the deceptive idea that so many people have. They lie to their selves that one can do as you please while in this life, disrespecting God, harming others and yourself, and then think God will not punish you. If there exists no God to punish, then why do they fear?

3. I am reminded of the verse, 1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. In the Salvation Army we often refer to holiness as perfect love; do you want to know if you have it or not? See how you react when you are in a life and death situation! Are calling out Jesus name?

If you really are not afraid to die, then I think you will convince us all that you are sure about your destiny after this life, and that is to be with Jesus in heaven! God does not want any of His followers to fear anything, not even death! But if you do fear death, it could be you have some things to confess to the Lord to make right before your day comes. And that day could be today, or a week from now! Search in your heart , confess anything you need to today, be ready!

People ask me if I am afraid of the pandemic of the Corona virus…well, I think you and I should be more afraid of Satan tempting us to fall away by doing some damaging sin. I think none of us should ever get psyched into doing anything irrational just because there is mass hysteria in some places. Also, obsessive behavior to self-quarantine and tremble in fear is not healthy either! Do you see how some people react to fear, it torments them! We must fear God above all things more than being afraid of anything else outside our body. We need to fear our own weaknesses, and pray every moment to be close to God responding to all things as He wants us to! And we must confront all challenges with prayer, love, and boldness. Scripture tells us to ‘Be courageous!’ (See Joshua 1)

4. If you really want to know what to fear, it is not some germ, it is not any man, not any demon or witch, nor Satan himself, we are to fear God as He has control over what will happen to our souls. Anything that happens to you is in His timing, and we cannot control that. God wants to bless us, but too many disrespect Him.

 Matthew 10:28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Jesus came to save us from hell, but by default that is where a person’s soul ends up unless they fully trust in God for salvation through Jesus Christ. Just calling on Jesus does it!  Acts 16:31 So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” We must live ready to pass on or to stay for some mission God still has for us!

We all must adopt the posture of Paul. Philippians 1:21 For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. This life is full of dangers but they will all disappear when we go to live with Jesus on the other side. Well, now that I hope we have our priorities straight, we can confront anything, any situation with the confidence that God will bring us through it. Will you have faith even when in fear and danger?

5. So now I want to expand your thinking on how to interpret all the voices out there telling you what to do. In these cases of danger you cannot even trust all of what the authoritative voices say because quite often what they just want to do is to control you within the masses of people.  They know that some people will be sacrificed during a containment control, but that is just the consequences of triage implementations; In emergencies people become as cattle.

So who should you and I listen to? Pray and the Lord will guide you! A few people are guided by the Holy Spirit and have common sense (I have seen it in most of our Officers who have done disaster work), but what are the people of the world telling you? You already know as you are hearing it on the news! That we must shut down the country and live in quarantine! But what is fake and what is real?

Did you know last October 2019 there was a World Economic Forum to discuss what the nations could do if there were a global pandemic? And what was the main theme? Was it about how to help save the people with preparedness and safety? Was it about what to do when medical staff are lacking? Was it about logistics and disaster planning? It wasn’t! Observe that we must not be so naïve! 

6. It was about how mega financial groups could shift money and global power around in a crisis to create global controlling systems in threatening  situations. The discussions were centered on how to override the sovereignty of each nation, because leaders of countries, in these types of emergency situations, according to these social engineers, cannot be trusted to respond with the correct global medical and economic standards they deem as necessary. 

But whose standards? Intimidated by fear and non-stop pandemic news, the idea is to get every nation to submit to their global solutions.  For you to understand better, I will share with you a few of the names of the global crafters, the main players in setting up global laws to control the world’s finances during a world crisis. Oh yes, the finances of these repercussions are of priority interest than the health and safety of the people!  

At the World Economic Forum for Epidemic Planning there was The World Bank, The United Nations Foundation, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, The Bloomberg Group, NBC, John Hopkins, the CIA, along with the CDC and The WHO. Shouldn’t this type of planning be done more with the CDC or the WHO instead of them? The concerns discussed were more over economic outcomes, and how to control the nations on a global scale than it was about how to help people survive. It was almost as if they were hoping a crisis like this would come about so they could exercise their power over the nations and even profit from it. They even did a practice run, ‘Event 201’, on how the media giants would be expected to shut down ‘misinformation’ (or what was actually true information!) and predetermine what were to be the preprogramed exercises. Did they know something was on the horizon? I personally think they did. Here is the site they removed already:   https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/02/coronavirus-pandemic-epidemic-health/

7. Again we learn that the powers that be, those who reign with ‘spiritual darkness and wickedness in high places’ as described in Ephesians 6:12, are out to subdue the world’s people employing fear tactics. Is the corona virus real? We conclude it is. But is it affecting the masses as reported? We really don’t know. 

Never forget the tactics of Satan is always deception, deflection, denial and outright lies! Does anything real ever get leaked out of China? Knowing that they kill anyone making their government look bad, I conclude we are not seeing leaks, but phycological tactics. When the entire news media sing the same song over and over you know something sinister is going on. Either way, the news is bad.

Proverbs 29:25 The fear of man brings a snare, But whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe. Psalm 119:110 The wicked have laid a snare for me, Yet I have not strayed from Your precepts.

8. So as Christians we do not fall for what the world tells us. What we must do, is pray for protection, consult wise leaders of God (not so called professionals), and wait for the Lord to show us what to do. If you compare this to the Spanish flu, which lasted from 1917 to 1918, that is only one year of danger. God does protect.

Does the Bible guide us on how to respond to the curse of plagues? It does! Do you recall when Moses was in the desert with the children of Israel that they were attacked by a plague of snakes and dying by the hundreds daily? What happened? 

Those who had faith got to survive, but how did they survive, was it by any protective clothing or human effort? No! It was because God made a way for them to simply prove their faith to be saved by looking at the snake Moses lifted up on the pole.  Numbers 21:8 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.”

Numbers 21:9 So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.

9. We can live with common sense, our God given sense, in life and not be as a fool like this verse,Proverbs 22:13 The lazy man says, “There is a lion outside! I shall be slain in the streets!” Ignorance it is to say, “The corona virus is in our land and will kill us all!” And might I add people who say these kind of things usually want to place the blame on some political person, right?

But we can look at this as a test from the Lord, will it cause some in the world to repent and have faith in God, but for the rebellious it will just be taken as some new killer wave that no one can stop! Do you claim God’s promises? Psalm 91: A thousand may fall at your side, And ten thousand at your right hand; But it shall not come near you. Read the whole chapter as it addresses pestilence attacks!

And what Caduceus serpent are we to look at today for salvation? To Jesus, He is the savior! John 3:14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up. Will God spare all Christians from this plague? Not necessarily, as we all have a time set by Him on our departure. But never live manipulated by fear! Live right and be ready for anything, use your God sense, and also reject Satan’s voices who always want to gain power by manipulation of plagues and scourges. Warn others against deception, do not fear any danger, and trust in God for salvation! 

SCI-FI, The Bible, and Our Future

SCI-FI, The Bible, and Our Future                                          Kelly Durant

Revelation 9:20 And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk: 

2. How many of you enjoy science fiction? There have been so many television series on this subject and probably Star Trek or Star Wars comes to your mind. Most of you, like me, grew up in the time when landing on the moon seemed to start a new frontier elevating mankind into a brave new world. This new world however, started offering us many new insecure situations such as the possibility of computers, robots, or aliens taking over the world.  Then we witnessed some of our spaceship failures, and this brought on the exposure of our human weaknesses, of our own self inadequacies confronting new unimaginable things. Self-destructive by social or mechanical failures has now become the new paradigm. And now we see bio destruction, viruses and locust plagues.

Within the past 60 years, suddenly man has become capable of surviving in space. Only 60 years before the arrival of the 1960s Jules Vern wrote about the present future and how man would travel to the moon. It is uncanny how many of his sci-fi prophetic writings have come to pass! Especially in horror films!  Maybe there are other ideas in books and movies about the future that we should start paying more attention to! Usually sci-fi tales end with war, destruction, and hard lessons for people who get out of control. How interesting the Bible mentions all of this happening towards the end-times as well!

The things that are imagined within the minds of men (& women) do deserve attention as they offer precursors or forewarnings of possible things to come. Actually, I sincerely hope we never develop into what is predicted, for example, with cyborgs (the combining of robotic computers with humans), but it seems that we are headed that way as already hundreds of brains have had implants mostly to help move artificial limbs. However, lab rats have been programmed to obey by remote control! I am sure Satan dreams of his army to be controlled like this so they can be programed to kill God’s people as the scripture predicts!

3. How do we know we are on the brink of becoming slaves to our own demise and inventions? Revelation 9:20 And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk: 

The reality is Satan has always been trying to get man to fabricate idols that actually do imitate seeing, hearing, and walking. Cameras, recorders, computers, and electronics in general have become the new idols of man. How crazy it is today that like in the sci-fi movies that even our cell phones can talk with us and take verbal commands being a computer that 30 years ago would be the size of your house! Our robotic age is taking over the society and the military employs killer drones and robots. Technology is helpful but also misused. Daniel 12:4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.

We live in an age of great advancements where the volume of knowledge doubles every 5 years but the sad part is little of this knowledge is being applied to spiritual growth and for help for those suffering. The current world offers us more comfort and mobility at the expense of exploiting the dying earth, and more materialism at the expense of slave labor. The love of things, in particular technology, which is in essence idol worship, has produced a degenerate freedom to ethereally indulge in most any kind of immorality such as lust, greed, and pride.

4. There is another futuristic writer to take note of that was not of a Godly nature as Jules Vern was but he was of a dark nature, and that is Aldous Huxley. In his book ‘Brave New World’ he describes a future world full of pleasures (without the guilt of God of course) with a one world government that provides peace but controls every person with strict limits on human reproduction, work production, and basically all aspects of life. People are drugged daily to be happy and grouped by classes. It is a totalitarian horror scenario that is slowly happening.

In essence this humanistic philosophy, the opposite of the loving kingdom of God as revealed by Jesus Christ, seems to have become a new type of lifestyle of many of today’s people. Many people dream for a world government that would control and manipulate everything for the so called ‘good of the people’. And what a benevolent dream it would be to also provide free drugs to keep everyone in a happy slumber! The Bible already warned us of the characteristics of Satan’s anti-Christ empire where all people must worship him or suffer death. Fascists and atheistic socialistic despots always have employed mass murder upon dissidents and resistors!

Today the anti-Christ agenda has infiltrated a majority of our current governments and most media sources of news, music and movies is planed controlling propaganda. It seems many current day agendas are copied straight from the fictional pages of Brave New World. What political correctness are we hammered with daily?! The acceptance of any kind of sexual activity that involves no reproduction, the persuasion that people are expendable and are to be controlled (abortion, euthanasia, etc.), and an acute indifference to the extreme sufferings of people! Many millions every year fall by war and starvation but this is deemed as non-newsworthy, such as the case of Christian refugees in Africa.  Protesting government injustices today makes you be labeled as a savage… worthy of death! Essential for the future new world order is the mocking and demonization of those of the Christian faith since faith to them is only for the ignorant who want a crutch. Man’s secular utopia dream world can only happen when a shared coalition of God hating nations take over under Satan!

5. Romans 1 warns us... 21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.

Reflecting on these verses, bio-genetic engineering is becoming our next curse. People are already protesting the negative effects of GMO foods which are usually sterile (these are plants with insect and other genes spliced into them). Imagine how already many experiments have been done with animals and people to create a super sizing and enhancing. There already exists half-human, half-animal labs in parts of the world as in the sci-fi creations such as, ‘The Island of Dr. Moreau’! Investigate yourself and you will be in shocked how many transhumanism genetic engineering is being developing and who knows what vile creatures are being created daily! Transgenderism is only a gateway intro to the ultimate acceptance of transhumanism and cyborgs! And observe what kind of bio-generated viruses are coming out? Men in labs being careless are killing us either on purpose or by accident!

In Genesis 6 we discover that the fallen angels intermingled with the daughters of men and their offspring were godlike and superior so this basically exposes that humanity’s gene pool has already been tampered with. Genesis 6:4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. The demi-godization of humankind has always been Satan’s goal and such were the motivations of Hitler to purify the gene pool into a superior race. (The genome project is revealing which genes do what, and many people aspire for a future where they can choose blue eyes and traits they desire when designing their lab baby). The knowledge and ability is here, it is just a matter of time before we see strange war creatures appearing from out of the labs from deep caves as described in Revelation 9.

6. We have spent some time studying Revelation, but it is necessary to keep revisiting it as we live in the end-times. We live in a time that all the strange things mentioned therein are possible. For example, the Mark of the Beast, Revelation 13:17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Today we understand this, 30 years ago this type of control was not possible, but today it is not only plausible but plans are being made to implement it!

Currently animals are ‘chipped’ to keep up with their vital signs and location and these same RFID chips are being experimentally put into humans. Many important diplomatic people already have them, and there is a plan within the next few years to mandate that everyone get one according to many articles. I hope you protest the implanting of a chip in you because listen to this warning…

Rev. 16:2 ‘And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image.’ What people are unaware of is within these RFID chips is the potential for a poison to be released into the body. Imagine, God is permitting this, but basically it’s design is under Satan’s New World Order. It means you would have no control over your life anymore! Satan could torture and destroy you either by his whim or by his technology failing (as we have seen in recent failed computer systems from big governments). Please share this verse to warn people who think the RFID chip is so convenient!

7. One more delusion  from sci-fi I wish to mention is the belief in aliens. Matthew 24:24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. There probably will appear in the future a creature of high technology manufactured by man (as described in Revelation 9) shockingly making the news  affirming the superiority of the ‘The Beast’ (anti-Christ) and deceive others that they are from outer space. If these are aliens, people will think, then how can we defeat them? (This is the theme of practically all Sci-Fi movies!)

There is plenty of evidence that strange man made flying vehicles exists (drone experiments, or possibly spirits?) but in reality no one can prove that aliens exist. There is a fact that millions have had delusional experiences with encounters and abductions but personally I think this is the trick and lie of the demons in the heads of people unprotected by the Holy Spirit. It actually is a pride thing as they claim, ‘I was chosen’, I was entrusted with their message to man, etc.   

8. Angels are real, their visitation to earth is recorded in the Bible in many places. The existence of lying deceptive demons and fallen angels is also very real and they are active today! How else do you explain the acts of people who commit mass murders and horrible crimes? They themselves always take pride in revealing their disturbing demonic destructive delusions.  Any person who wills it can summon a demon, and in the same manner, anyone who wills it can call on Jesus and the Holy Spirit to save them from the demons!

The whole issue is in sorting truth from lies in our modern amazing age.  John 14:  16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. 18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. No matter how many get deluded we have consolation.

Today entire nations are deceived by demonic rulers and they are plotting a New World Order dominance! The verse from Ephesians ring true, 6: 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

9. We live in the age of this prophecy fulfillment, Daniel 12:4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased. Plagues and dead are increasing!

Come join me in the fight to counter the evils upon us! The global powers that be are not being held accountable for unethical and criminal actions, carnality is celebrated while spirituality is mocked, the most cruel and intolerant of religions demands our tolerance, words and concepts of logic are refined into a devious manipulative paradigms, moral persons and law abiders are deemed as antiquated and irrelevant to the brave new secular world order, and this new order only offers its subjects idiocy and self-destruction!

The issue is… what knowledge are you accepting as true? God’s truth from the Holy Scriptures divinely recorded for our guidance, or man’s concocted lies, causing souls to live under the oppression of complex demonic delusions from demagoguery?