|City on a Hill - Writings for Refuge

In David's Tabernacle, there was a continuous night and day seeking of God as David's governmental plan. Even His military advisers had a role in setting up the worship! I Chronicles 25:1 Moreover David and the captains of the army separated for the service some of the sons of Asaph, of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who should prophesy with harps, stringed instruments, and cymbals. And the number of the skilled men performing their service was: This tabernacle worship "unlocked" heaven over earth. In fact, the worship was prophetic, by design. David wasn't ok to just have some good music, the whole point was to get heaven to start appearing on earth, and it worked! I Chronicles 25:2 Of the sons of Asaph: Zaccur, Joseph, Nethaniah, and Asharelah; the sons of Asaph were under the direction of Asaph, who prophesied according to the order of the king. We know it worked because David's generation recorded a lot of the prophecies! The Psalms are the greatest revelation of...

Ezekiel 28 describes one of the main facets of satan's fall. It describes his behavior that God identified as the root of his sin: trading. Ezekiel 28:12-16 “Son of man, take up a lamentation for the king of Tyre, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord God : “You were the seal of perfection, Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your covering: The sardius, topaz, and diamond, Beryl, onyx, and jasper, Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes Was prepared for you on the day you were created. “You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, Till iniquity was found in you. “By the abundance of your trading You became filled with violence within, And you sinned; Therefore I cast you as a profane thing Out of the mountai...

Agreeing with Jesus is a NARROW road. I warn about the trouble because Jesus wants a response. It is what God calls an "unusual plan" ***Some people hear the warning and are like "that will never happen"...wrong response: Isaiah 28:21-22 For the LORD will rise up as at Mount Perazim, He will be angry as in the Valley of Gibeon— That He may do His work, His awesome work, And bring to pass His act, His unusual act. 22 Now therefore, do not be mockers, Lest your bonds be made strong; For I have heard from the Lord GOD of hosts, A destruction determined even upon the whole earth. ***Some people hear the warning and brace for the worst...they accept a very negative fate...again, wrong response! God calls this a TERRIBLE sin!! Isaiah 22:5-14 Oh, what a day of crushing defeat! What a day of confusion and terror brought by the Lord, the LORD of Heaven's Armies, upon the Valley of Vision! The walls of Jerusalem have been broken, and cries of death echo from the mountains...

The main attack of end time false teaching is aimed to prevent God's people from responding to the end time trouble. If you look at Jesus' messages to the end time Church, His main warning is aimed at those who give false comfort to the people. I am immediately suspect of anyone who offers me the promises of the final generation without the required response. When someone starts talking about revival, I start listening for the exhortation to respond in holiness and seeking... without both sides of the truth, it can quickly become a false message. You will not find one instance in the Bible of God offering the promises of the end time revival, and spiritual SURVIVAL, without first responding to the end time trouble, called "getting ready." Being saved isn't ready. Jesus told saved people to be ready. Matthew 24:9-14 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, wi...

God judges sin, the rebellion of mankind against His perfect leadership, by letting the fruit of that rebellion be shown. For centuries, there has been a restraint on the desire of mankind. Evil men have wanted to rule the entire globe since the days of Babel... to gather together into cities to provide their own safety and to disperse God's resources in exchange for a system of man-based security. God looked down on Babel and foretold a time when this would be allowed...but it wasn't then. God paused the Godless desire of mankind by confusing the language...by breaking up the unity of fallen man: Genesis 11:1-8 Now the whole earth had one language and one speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there. Then they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar. And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, ...

This is important to understand: God never changes. The God of the Old Testament is the same God as the New Testament: James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. God's desire to live on earth hasn't changed one bit AND by the signs of the times, He is returning very soon. He is only coming back one way: with judgment...seven seals, seven trumpets, and seven bowls. Isaiah 9:7 Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. God judges sin. He always has promised to. The truth is there are literally HUNDREDS if not THOUSANDS of promises of judgment in the Bible...New and Old Testament...individual cities, nations, tribes, people groups, and behaviors are ALL pro...

Make no mistake: sin IS, contrary to popular teaching, a "heaven or hell" issue. The false grace message is very slippery. Jesus gives grace to OVERCOME sin, not to rationalize it. To rationalize sin with grace is what the Bible calls "taking the grace of God in vain": II Corinthians 6:1 We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain. It is true, we are saved by faith, but if it is saving faith...like you really believe, it should be active in changing your life...drawing you more and more under the leadership of Jesus. That is faith that saves. If your faith isn't changing you, then it isn't saving you: James 2:17-20 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! But do y...

Jesus has some concrete plans. They really aren't up for negotiation. Though many argue about how to interpret them, they are actually very simple and clear. Let me be as plain as possible: Jesus plans to destroy the quality of life for all those dwelling on the earth outside of pure and spotless loyalty to His leadership, in order to allow those in rebellion to His leadership to repent. This is actually really simple, but intense. Hundreds of chapters in the Bible are devoted to developing this end time truth...literally...hundreds. Here is one clip from Isaiah: Isaiah 24:1-6 Behold, the Lord makes the earth empty and makes it waste, Distorts its surface And scatters abroad its inhabitants. And it shall be: As with the people, so with the priest; As with the servant, so with his master; As with the maid, so with her mistress; As with the buyer, so with the seller; As with the lender, so with the borrower; As with the creditor, so with the debtor. The land shall be entirely emptied...

Question: Tom will you explain the Matthew 24 passage a little more. When it talks of Jesus coming “like a thief in the night” and “no one knows the day or hour”… does that actually mean we won't know the exact moment when he is coming? My answer: The answer is that you have to take the whole counsel of scripture to understand what Jesus was saying. Matthew 24 starts with the disciples asking a very specific question: Matthew 24:3-4 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?" 4 And Jesus answered and said to them: "Take heed that no one deceives you. Instead of saying "it'll all go down in 20 years, or 200 years, or 2,000 years" Jesus instead tells them the process it will follow. Then He says "When you see all these things beginning to happen, know that the generation they happen in will not pass until t...

The one characteristic that will mark the next several years is acceleration. The acceleration I am describing is actually a "speeding up" that will sift out people that are truly desiring to live with Jesus. Darkness and light are both accelerating at break-neck speed. This is what happens at harvest time. After months of planting, tending, watering, and laboring in the field watching a crop slowly grow, harvest season comes. Harvest season is the end, when the fruit of months of work gets gathered in a short period of time...a week or two. During harvest season, everything else gets put on hold; everyone gets involved in the labor until the harvest is brought in. It has always worked this way, even to this day, on family farms. If you belong to Jesus, then the truth is that you really do live on a family farm! It is harvest season brothers and sisters: Matthew 9:37-38 Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray th...