False Shepherds
Zechariah 10:2 For the idols speak delusion; The diviners envision lies, And tell false dreams; They comfort in vain. Therefore the people wend their way like sheep; They are in trouble because there is no shepherd.
Amos 9:9-12 “For surely I will command, And will sift the house of Israel among all nations, As grain is sifted in a sieve; Yet not the smallest grain shall fall to the ground. All the sinners of My people shall die by the sword, Who say, ‘The calamity shall not overtake nor confront us.’ “On that day I will raise up The tabernacle of David, which has fallen down, And repair its damages; I will raise up its ruins, And rebuild it as in the days of old; That they may possess the remnant of Edom, And all the Gentiles who are called by My name,” Says the Lord who does this thing.
There are several realities that tie together the prophecies concerning the last 7 years leading up to Jesus' return. I have been writing a lot lately about night and day prayer being one of the most-prophesied events regarding Jesus' plan to return. The re-building of David's worship movement, 24/7 prayer is Jesus' plan for His Church...this is the context He is using to mature her. The pressures of maintaining 24-hour prayer amongst a large group of people from diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and theologies is like "Sermon on the Mount" bootcamp. It is supposed to be hard to do. Overcoming the struggle within the Body will prepare the Bride for the time of victory, which is the tribulation.
In the time heading into the tribulation, Jesus addresses the 7 distinct Churches that represent the Bride to be. To every separate church, Jesus says the same thing: "to Him who overcomes..."
Revelation 2:7 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.” ’
Revelation 2:11 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.” ’
Revelation 2:17 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it. ” ’
Revelation 2:26 And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations—
Revelation 3:5 He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.
Revelation 3:12 He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name.
Revelation 3:21 To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.
Overcome what?! Every church Jesus address is called to overcome the time of trial, that comes in the next chapters (Rev 6-18, with several angelic explanations). This is the Great Tribulation that will come upon the whole world:
Revelation 3:10 Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.
This promise to Philadelphia is one of the most misused to tell people no trouble will come to them. God hates this. This is what He told Amos:
"All the sinners of My people shall die by the sword, Who say, ‘The calamity shall not overtake nor confront us.’"
That is a stark warning. The sinners of His people...his people will advance this lie of no trouble coming.
The promise to Philadelphia from God was that, because they are already "overcoming," God had already prepared them to be kept through the time of trial...they already were pressured into that Sermon on the Mount lifestyle by the circumstances where they lived, are pressing in, and know how to overcome the tribulation (picture the persecuted church in the 10/40 window). Jesus used the same phrase "keep them" when praying for His disciples:
John 17:15 I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.
So, to be "kept from" the time of trial isn't to be taken off the planet...it is to be given a safe place to dwell through the trouble!
This is why God is so against the false message of comfort when the storm is clearly coming! There is much to do to prepare for the storm! Saying no trouble will come is exactly the lie that keeps people, who would otherwise press in to God in victory, from doing anything. The responsibility for this breach falls squarely on the shoulders of those who call themselves shepherds.
God's plan for saving cities...for "keeping" His faithful ones "through" the time of trouble...is the Joel 2 plan. This is a harvest pattern intended to create safe zones throughout the earth, to provide geographic locations for the Spirit to be poured out on, so that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. This is what GOD wants...everyone who is willing to be saved. This happens in full through the Great Tribulation, which the Bible is quite clear about. There is only one time the moon is going to turn blood red (for real...red, not pink) and the sun is going to be blackened like sackcloth is covering it:
This is the pattern found throughout the Bible:
Joel 2:1, 11-12, 16, 18, 21, 27-28, 30-32 NKJV
Step 1: warn the people
Blow the trumpet in Zion, And sound an alarm in My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; For the day of the Lord is coming, For it is at hand: ...The Lord gives voice before His army, For His camp is very great; For strong is the One who executes His word. For the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; Who can endure it?
Step 2: Know the time:
“Now, therefore,” says the Lord
Step 3: Turn to God wholeheartedly (Sermon on the Mount)
“Turn to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.”
Step 4: to Build the Tabernacle of David in your town
Gather the people, Sanctify the congregation, Assemble the elders, Gather the children and nursing babes; Let the bridegroom go out from his chamber, And the bride from her dressing room.
Step 5: watch God change the land in response to the night and day cry
Then the Lord will be zealous for His land, And pity His people. Fear not, O land; Be glad and rejoice, For the Lord has done marvelous things! Then you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel: I am the Lord your God And there is no other. My people shall never be put to shame.
Step 6: Victory in the Holy Spirit being poured out in signs and wonders
“And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions. “And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: Blood and fire and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, (this is the sixth seal of Revelation 6:19) Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord .
Step 7: Bring in the great harvest!
And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the Lord Shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, As the Lord has said, Among the remnant whom the Lord calls.
This is what happened at Pentecost: disciples prayed in one accord in the upper room, the Holy Spirit came, and Peter, anointed by the Holy Spirit, preached to the gawkers. 3000 got saved. This is the Joel harvest pattern. This is what we are supposed to be getting ready for right now...building night and day prayer, AT COST. It is supposed to be costly, because the cost is what gets us ready to overcome the time of trouble...which hasn't really started yet...but it is at the door.
Trouble IS at the door...and coming into the foyer uninvited.
BUT, Jesus is also standing at the door for anyone willing to cast off the comfort of Laodicea and start building the House of Prayer like they really mean it! Not lukewarmly! Either be hot or cold, says Jesus...not conveniently warm.
The rewards are immense, but the cost is real. 24-hour prayer is expensey, because THAT is what it takes to move your heart to stand on solid ground!
Matthew 7:24-27 “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”
If the people don't hear a clear warning, they will not prepare. Everyone is shepherding someone. Now is the time to sound the alarm, not to fear, but to build for victory! Now is the time to cast off the comfort of a false dream of constant entertainment, storing up, and prosperity in the present age, and put on zeal for Eden to come! God is looking for those who will hasten the day!
I Corinthians 14:8 For if the trumpet makes an uncertain sound, who will prepare for battle?
Amos 9:9-12 “For surely I will command, And will sift the house of Israel among all nations, As grain is sifted in a sieve; Yet not the smallest grain shall fall to the ground. All the sinners of My people shall die by the sword, Who say, ‘The calamity shall not overtake nor confront us.’ “On that day I will raise up The tabernacle of David, which has fallen down, And repair its damages; I will raise up its ruins, And rebuild it as in the days of old; That they may possess the remnant of Edom, And all the Gentiles who are called by My name,” Says the Lord who does this thing.
There are several realities that tie together the prophecies concerning the last 7 years leading up to Jesus' return. I have been writing a lot lately about night and day prayer being one of the most-prophesied events regarding Jesus' plan to return. The re-building of David's worship movement, 24/7 prayer is Jesus' plan for His Church...this is the context He is using to mature her. The pressures of maintaining 24-hour prayer amongst a large group of people from diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and theologies is like "Sermon on the Mount" bootcamp. It is supposed to be hard to do. Overcoming the struggle within the Body will prepare the Bride for the time of victory, which is the tribulation.
In the time heading into the tribulation, Jesus addresses the 7 distinct Churches that represent the Bride to be. To every separate church, Jesus says the same thing: "to Him who overcomes..."
Revelation 2:7 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.” ’
Revelation 2:11 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.” ’
Revelation 2:17 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it. ” ’
Revelation 2:26 And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations—
Revelation 3:5 He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.
Revelation 3:12 He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name.
Revelation 3:21 To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.
Overcome what?! Every church Jesus address is called to overcome the time of trial, that comes in the next chapters (Rev 6-18, with several angelic explanations). This is the Great Tribulation that will come upon the whole world:
Revelation 3:10 Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.
This promise to Philadelphia is one of the most misused to tell people no trouble will come to them. God hates this. This is what He told Amos:
"All the sinners of My people shall die by the sword, Who say, ‘The calamity shall not overtake nor confront us.’"
That is a stark warning. The sinners of His people...his people will advance this lie of no trouble coming.
The promise to Philadelphia from God was that, because they are already "overcoming," God had already prepared them to be kept through the time of trial...they already were pressured into that Sermon on the Mount lifestyle by the circumstances where they lived, are pressing in, and know how to overcome the tribulation (picture the persecuted church in the 10/40 window). Jesus used the same phrase "keep them" when praying for His disciples:
John 17:15 I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.
So, to be "kept from" the time of trial isn't to be taken off the planet...it is to be given a safe place to dwell through the trouble!
This is why God is so against the false message of comfort when the storm is clearly coming! There is much to do to prepare for the storm! Saying no trouble will come is exactly the lie that keeps people, who would otherwise press in to God in victory, from doing anything. The responsibility for this breach falls squarely on the shoulders of those who call themselves shepherds.
God's plan for saving cities...for "keeping" His faithful ones "through" the time of trouble...is the Joel 2 plan. This is a harvest pattern intended to create safe zones throughout the earth, to provide geographic locations for the Spirit to be poured out on, so that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. This is what GOD wants...everyone who is willing to be saved. This happens in full through the Great Tribulation, which the Bible is quite clear about. There is only one time the moon is going to turn blood red (for real...red, not pink) and the sun is going to be blackened like sackcloth is covering it:
This is the pattern found throughout the Bible:
Joel 2:1, 11-12, 16, 18, 21, 27-28, 30-32 NKJV
Step 1: warn the people
Blow the trumpet in Zion, And sound an alarm in My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; For the day of the Lord is coming, For it is at hand: ...The Lord gives voice before His army, For His camp is very great; For strong is the One who executes His word. For the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; Who can endure it?
Step 2: Know the time:
“Now, therefore,” says the Lord
Step 3: Turn to God wholeheartedly (Sermon on the Mount)
“Turn to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.”
Step 4: to Build the Tabernacle of David in your town
Gather the people, Sanctify the congregation, Assemble the elders, Gather the children and nursing babes; Let the bridegroom go out from his chamber, And the bride from her dressing room.
Step 5: watch God change the land in response to the night and day cry
Then the Lord will be zealous for His land, And pity His people. Fear not, O land; Be glad and rejoice, For the Lord has done marvelous things! Then you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel: I am the Lord your God And there is no other. My people shall never be put to shame.
Step 6: Victory in the Holy Spirit being poured out in signs and wonders
“And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions. “And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: Blood and fire and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, (this is the sixth seal of Revelation 6:19) Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord .
Step 7: Bring in the great harvest!
And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the Lord Shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, As the Lord has said, Among the remnant whom the Lord calls.
This is what happened at Pentecost: disciples prayed in one accord in the upper room, the Holy Spirit came, and Peter, anointed by the Holy Spirit, preached to the gawkers. 3000 got saved. This is the Joel harvest pattern. This is what we are supposed to be getting ready for right now...building night and day prayer, AT COST. It is supposed to be costly, because the cost is what gets us ready to overcome the time of trouble...which hasn't really started yet...but it is at the door.
Trouble IS at the door...and coming into the foyer uninvited.
BUT, Jesus is also standing at the door for anyone willing to cast off the comfort of Laodicea and start building the House of Prayer like they really mean it! Not lukewarmly! Either be hot or cold, says Jesus...not conveniently warm.
The rewards are immense, but the cost is real. 24-hour prayer is expensey, because THAT is what it takes to move your heart to stand on solid ground!
Matthew 7:24-27 “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”
If the people don't hear a clear warning, they will not prepare. Everyone is shepherding someone. Now is the time to sound the alarm, not to fear, but to build for victory! Now is the time to cast off the comfort of a false dream of constant entertainment, storing up, and prosperity in the present age, and put on zeal for Eden to come! God is looking for those who will hasten the day!
I Corinthians 14:8 For if the trumpet makes an uncertain sound, who will prepare for battle?
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