Yeshua: The Law Fulfilled and Grace Revealed*

This is Christmas - the day when we celebrate the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. Although the exact date of Jesus' birth is not known, and was perhaps chosen for secular reasons, the fact remains that Jesus was born, and born according to prophecy. Through Jesus, as we will see, the Law and the prophets were fulfilled, and God's living grace was revealed. Both the Law and the prophets, and God's Spirit of grace were evident from Christ's conception: "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother, Mary, was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily. But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins." (Mt. 1:18-21). The penalty under the Law of Moses for a betrothed woman to become pregnant by another man would have been death by stoning. Joseph showed Mary grace by seeking to put her aside quietly and privately. God declared His grace in the situation by revealing to Joseph that the child is by the Holy Spirit, not another man. The birth of the child through Mary would also fulfill the prophecy given to Isaiah: "Therefore the LORD himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a Virgin shall conceive, and bear a Son, and shall call his name Immanuel ("God with us")." (Isa. 7:14, Mt. 1:22-23). Joseph rose up and took Mary for his wife, and did not know her untill after the baby was born. The child of a virgin was also prophesied from the beginning in Gen. 3:15, when God told the woman that she would bear a seed (only men were spoken of as producing "seed") that would crush the serpent's head. Jesus specifically stated that He did not come to destroy the Law: "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven." (Mt. 5:17-20). Jesus then went on to teach that the Spirit of the law defines the letter of the law. Commandments regarding killing and adultery, for example, also extend to the thoughts of the mind and intents of the heart, even if the physical breaking of the commandment is not committed. Jesus said that hatred or disparagement against a brother is considered the same by God as killing him, thereby breaking the commandment: "Thou shalt not kill.". In God's eyes, the Spirit of the law demands reconciliation with the brother (see v. 21-28). At the beginning of Jesus' ministry, He physically left one location, Nazareth ("the guarded one"), and moved to another - Capernaum ("covering of atonement, purging, forgiveness, cleansing, comfort, repentance"), which borders the Zebulon and Nephthalim territories (Mt. 4:12-13). Jesus began to preach: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Again, this fulfilled the prophet Isaiah: "The land of Zebulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death, light is sprung up (Greek - "raises himself") (Mt. 4:14-16). This fulfilled Isaiah's prophecy (see Isa. 9:1-2). In John 2:13-22, Jesus zealously cleansed the temple at the time of Passover, of moneychangers, and those who made merchandise out of the house and people of God. They asked Him to show them a sign that entitled Him to do such a thing. If they knew their scripture, they would have known that this zealousness for the house of God was a fulfillment of Psalm 69:9, a Psalm of David. Jesus answered them instead, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." They rejected Christ's words as foolishness, but Christ was speaking of the temple of His body, raised from the dead. In an important lesson about grace and the Law, a woman caught in adultery was brought before Jesus in the temple. Where was the man who was involved in this sin?! The accusers told Jesus that the Law demanded that the woman be stoned to death, and, testing Jesus, they wanted to know what He would say about it (Jn. 8:1-5). However, Jesus stooped down, ignoring them, and began to write on the ground. Then He raised Himself up and said, "He that is without (that) sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her." (v. 6-7). Then again Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground. With their consciences convicted, all of the woman's accusers left, and only she remained. When Jesus had lift up Himself, He saw that only the woman remained and asked, "Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?" She answered "no man". And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more." (v.8-11). It is written that Jesus next said: "I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." (v. 12). Grace does not excuse sin. We are not to view grace as a pass given to us so we may continue to sin. As we will see with the next example, grace flows through genuine repentance, and likewise, repentance flows from grace. As Jesus passed through Jericho, the chief tax collector named Zaccheus, who was rich, climbed a sycamore (fig) tree to get a look at Him. Zaccheus was short, and could not see over the crowd that had gathered (Lk. 19:1-4). Jesus looked up and said to him: "'Zaccheus, make haste and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house'. And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully." Jesus addressed the tax collector by name. The people murmured because Jesus would be dining with a corrupt tax collector, a sinner. Jesus, of course, knew Zaccheus not by the flesh, but by the Spirit. The name Zaccheus means "pure, innocent, clean, bright, shining, fragrant, justified, translucent". Zaccheus' life was changed by his encounter with Jesus. He said: "...Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold." Jesus answered him: "This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." (v. 5-10). This is grace - to seek and save the lost, changing hearts and lives. Later, as Jesus was about to enter into Jerusalem, He instructed His disciples to go into the next town where they would find a colt tied. They were to bring the colt back to Jesus, and if anyone questioned them, they were to say, "...the Lord hath need of him." (Lk. 19:30-31). Jesus would then make His triumphant entry into Jerusalem sitting on the colt, as the whole city welcomed Him with waving palm branches. Even this fulfilled prophecy from Zech. 9:9: "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King commeth unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass." Their King came to them, not to subdue them with a heavenly army, but in beauty, grace, and humility. That very week, He would be crucified. He would provide the one-time offering for sin by way of His blood in order to perfect forever those being sanctified (Heb. 10:14). Jesus did this in order to fulfill a prophetic promise of God, of which the Holy Ghost is a witness: "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; and their sins and iniquities will I remember no more." (v. 15-17, see Jer. 31:33-34). There is no more offering for sin than this. Because of this one-time eternal offering, and the remission of sins, we have, therefore, "...boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the vail, that is to say, his flesh...Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession of our hope without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) (v. 18-23). The profession of our hope is the lining up of our words with the Words and promises of God (homologia meaning "to say the same as"), as Abraham did in faith, as he looked for the city whose maker and builder was God (See Heb. 11:10). Through this profession of hope by mouth and life, Abraham became the first Jew - not by letters written on a stone tablet, but the Word of the LORD's promises written in his heart, and witnessed within him by the work of grace of His Messiah to come, Jesus, and by the Spirit of Grace, the Holy Spirit. *Based on Dr. Kenneth E. Stevenson's 12/25/2022 message to the church. To contact us, submit a prayer request, give a praise report, or to support this ministry: P.O. Box 154221, Waco, TX, 76705 OR Everlastingcovenant@ymail.com. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, theshroudofturin.org, and END TIME SCHOOL, also on Facebook.

A Spiritual Rededication*

Today will begin the Feast of Dedication, also known as Hanukkah, commemorating the cleansing of the temple of God from the defilement of heathen occupiers, and the miraculous provision of oil for the Lamp of God in the temple. The candles of the menorah are lit to celebrate this miracle. Most Christians do not understand the meaning of this feast, and do not celebrate it. However, Jesus did observe this feast, as we will see: "And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch. Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly. Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believe not: the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me. But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand...If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him." (Jn. 10:23-38, excerpt). Jesus brought this saving revelation to them on the Feast of Dedication, in the Temple of God, but for these words, they sought to stone Jesus for blasphemy. They missed the significance of the connection between what Jesus said, and the fulfillment of the Feast of Dedication that they were observing. The Law is not to be followed in the flesh, but in the Spirit. The prophets wrote about the work of spiritual rededication that God would bring to His people: "Therefore say, Thus saith the LORD God; I will even gather you from the people, and assemble you out of the countries where ye have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel. (This was fulfilled in 1947.) And they shall come thither, ad they shall take away all the detestable things thereof and all the abominations thereof from thence. And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh: That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God." (Ezek. 11:17-20). To walk in the statutes of God as He intended man to do, requires a new heart and spirit. The LORD also said to Ezekiel that for those who continued to walk in their detestable things and abominations instead, "...I will recompense their way upon their own heads..." (v. 21). The apostle Paul, who was thoroughly trained in the Law of Moses, also brought the same understanding between the carnal and spiritual: "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are." (1 Cor. 3:1, 16-17). We are the holy, Spirit-filled temple of God, not to be defiled. Our being the temple of the Holy Spirit does not preclude the building of an actual physical third temple in Jerusalem, of which the prophets wrote. Preparation for that planned third temple is being carried out now in Israel. Again, however, Paul wrote about the price paid by Christ for the presence of the Holy Spirit in the body of the believer: "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." (1 Cor. 6:19-20). Giving us an understanding of what Ezekiel wrote above, Paul taught that by the Holy Spirit, we are a living epistle, or letter, rather than the stone tablets of Law: "...ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tablets of stone, but in fleshly tables of the heart. Not that we are sufficient of ourselves...but our sufficiency is of God; Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life." (2 Cor. 3:3-6). The Flesh profits nothing, but the Spirit brings inner life and grace to the eternal, unchangeable statutes of God. This is only made possible through Christ: "...be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him (Christ) to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." (2 Cor. 5:20-21). Although through the sacrifice of Christ we have received the grace gift of the righteousness of God, that grace does not justify continued sin. Jesus taught that the two great principles of the Law still apply: Loving God, which is reflected in the first five of the Ten Commandments, and loving our neighbor, which is reflected in the second five Commandments. Paul wrote that, because of this, we are not to commune or join ourselves with unrighteousness, darkness, or idolatry. He wrote of rededication: "...ye are the temple of the living God...as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them,; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." (2 Cor. 6:14-18, 7:1). The Book of Hebrews pointed out that the repeated sacrifices that had to be made yearly under the law, was but a shadow of the true and eternal sacrifice found in the blood of Christ offered for our sins. Of God's provision for sin, Paul wrote: "He taketh away the first (yearly offerings), that he may establish the second. By which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all...For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us...'This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days', saith the Lord, 'I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; And that their sins and iniquities will I remember no more'. Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin." (Heb. 10:9-18). There is only one way now that has been made available by God to cleanse us of sin, as the spiritual temple of the Holy Spirit of God: the one-time sacrifice fulfilled by His Son for us. Because of this cleansing sacrifice, Paul wrote: "By a new and living way, which he (Jesus) hath consecrated for us, through the vail, that is to say, his flesh...Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession of our hope without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;). (v. 19-23). The prophet Haggai wrote to the people of God during a time that he described as the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, regarding the temple of the LORD. The time mentioned lines up with today's date on our calendar. The promise of the LORD to His people, represented by the governmental leader, the spiritual leader and the rest of the people, is: "...be strong all ye people of the land, saith the LORD, and work: for I am with you, saith the LORD of hosts....my spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not. For thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts." (Hag. 2:4-7). During this Feast of Dedication, the LORD desires to fill His house, His living temple, which we are, with His glory. Let us rededicate ourselves this season, having our lamps lit, and our hearts sprinkled with the cleansing sacrifice of Jesus. If you would like to read more details regarding the original cleansing and rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem, you can read the account in the Apocrypha, in 1 Maccabees 4:36-46. *Based on Dr. Kenneth E. Stevenson's 12/18/2022 message to the church. To contact us, submit a prayer request, give a praise report, or to support this ministry: P.O. Box 154221, Waco, TX, 76705 OR Everlastingcovenant@ymail.com. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, theshroudofturin.org, and END TIME SCHOOL, also on Facebook.

A Covenant of Law or Grace?*

We are to be at a whole new level of understanding covenant. This includes the everlasting covenant, which is spoken of fifteen times in scripture. You can also find more information on this topic in my book "Law, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Godliness", available through Amazon. The following is the first mention of "covenant" in scripture, as God spoke to Noah after the flood: "I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth...And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no longer become a flood to destroy all flesh. And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth....This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth." (Gen. 9:13-17). Although the rainbow has been used in a profane manner in our times, it is really a sacred reminder of the mercy and grace that God sovereignly promises to all living on earth to assure them that He would not bring another destructive flood. In Gen. 6:8, we read that Noah found (attained) grace in the eyes of God. Grace is something attained between God and man. Jesus taught that the days of His return would be as the days of Noah (Lk. 17:26), so we need to understand now especially what it means to attain grace with God. The prophets wrote about the new covenant by which grace would be attained between God and man. Jeremiah wrote: "Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers...which my covenant they brake, although I was a husband unto them, saith the LORD. But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days...I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour..., saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest...for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more." (Jer. 31:31-34). Ezekiel also wrote about a new work of grace by God: "Then I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them." (Ezek. 36:25-27). We know that we are washed with the water of the Word of God. The LORD desires a relationship with all flesh, and has desired it since the beginning, or Bereshiet in Hebrew, whose individual pictographic letters mean "the son of God crushed, His hand on the cross". Revelation tells us that Jesus is the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world. This move of God in our hearts and spirits prophesied in Jeremiah and Ezekiel is repeated in the New Testament, in Hebrews 8:10-12, where the LORD God concludes His covenant promise: "For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more." This work of grace is created by God within us. Jesus taught what is called The Sermon on the Mount, or The Beatitudes, to His disciples, not to the crowd at large (Mt. 5:1). Jesus didn't just choose disciples. He taught and trained them in discipleship by Word and Spirit. The blessings of the Kingdom of God that were taught by Jesus that day to His disciples, reflect the perfect unity of the Word, or the Law, and grace produced in the new heart and spirit by God. Those who are blessed by God according to this sermon are the poor in spirit, or the humble. The Kingdom of God belongs to them. Those whose soft hearts mourn are the ones who receive the comfort of God. The meek, strong in faith but self-sacrificing, who put themselves last in the earth, will inherit it. Those with a hunger and thirst for righteousness, which is created by a new heart and spirit, will have that hunger satisfied. Those whose hearts and spirits show mercy to others through grace and the love of God's Word in them, will receive mercy themselves. Those whose hearts have been purified in the manner promised by the prophets above, will see God. Those whose new hearts and spirits cause them to be peacemakers in the middle of strife, will be called the children of God. Those who have been persecuted and reviled because their hearts love righteousness, and love the Righteous One, Jesus, can rejoice in this life because they belong to the kingdom of heaven, and will receive their great reward in heaven (Mt. 5:3-12). These who have sought after the new heart and spirit promised by God, live these blessings, and are living according to Kingdom principles. The covenant of grace does not operate separate from the Torah, the Law. Jesus assured His listeners that He didn't come to destroy the Law, but to fulfill it. Heaven and earth will pass away, but the Word of God will not pass away until even the finest points of it are fulfilled (v. 17-18). In this context, Jesus told His disciples to be salt and light in the earth (v. 12-16). The Law of the Torah is not limited to the written letter, but it is joined with the Spirit of God, and the spirit and soul in man. This is grace. It is in this understanding that Jesus told us: "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." (v. 48). Paul wrote of a circumcision that was not outward, but inward, a circumcision of the heart, which makes one a Jew. It is Spirit, rather than letter, which receives praise from God, rather than men (Rom. 2:28-29). The letter of the written Word must become living Spirit within us. David, confronted by his terrible sin, sought this saving renewal that could only be attained by this work of God in him: "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. Then I will teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee...The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise." (Psalm 51, excerpt). This is the grace work within David of the LORD's Spirit through the Law, the Torah, that David had treasured in his heart. The Word, it is written, is quick and powerful, like a two-edged sword, cutting to our deepest parts and discerning the thoughts of our hearts. James the apostle wrote: "But whoso looketh into (stooping into) the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed." (James 1:25). *Based on Dr. Kenneth E. Stevenson's 12/11/2022 message to the church. To contact us, submit a prayer request, give a praise report, or to support this ministry: P.O. Box 154221, Waco, TX, 76705 OR Everlastingcovenant@ymail.com. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, theshroudofturin.org, and END TIME SCHOOL, also on Facebook.

Perilous Times*

There has been a great increase across all of the forms of media of those who deny the existence of God. Our response is to teach truth to them. The times are perilous now, and will become more so, because, according to all of the signs, we are living in the last days before Christ's return. As we read last week in Second Timothy: "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away." (2 Tim. 3:1-5). These are people who may know God in a certain way, but do not allow Him to have any power or authority over them, or anything else. Paul also warned Timothy that persecution would come for those who live godly lives through Jesus Christ. Evil men and deceptions shall grow worse (v. 12-13). Timothy is told to continue in the things he has learned from Paul, and from the scriptures, for they are sure: "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect (complete), thoroughly furnished unto all good works." (v. 16-17). There is no other book on earth which is produced by men that is like the scriptures, which is written by men, but those men wrote the scriptures under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The Word of God does not need man to prove its truth, because it proves itself. The scriptures do not lead men into a legalistic or religious relationship with God, but rather, a personal relationship with the Savior, Jesus our Salvation, as Saul/Paul discovered on the road to Damascus. He had been a persecutor of the believers in Christ, but after his supernatural encounter with Christ speaking to him from heaven, Paul dedicated the rest of his life to living as a servant of Jesus Christ. Paul told Timothy: "Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables." (2 Tim. 4:2-4). We see now that society demands that sin be tolerated, accepted, and even celebrated. Even the Church is afraid to teach against sin, and its sure wages of death. However, the scriptures say that all have sinned, and are only saved by grace, the gift of God through Jesus, and not by good works nor good intentions. Again, Paul wrote of the perilous last days, and the deceptions that come with them. There was a deception being taught at the time of Paul that Christ had already returned. There were also letters going to the churches claiming to be from Paul, teaching false doctrines, but they had not been written by him. Paul wrote to correct this: "Let no man deceive you by any means: For that day (of Christ's return) shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God." (2 Thess. 2:1-4). Paul is speaking of the acts of the antichrist who will come before Christ's return. However, this spiritual evil is already at work, seeking to sit in God's spiritual temple of men's hearts. Paul wrote that there is a restraining force to hold back the actual event that reveals the wicked one until the time is right, but "the mystery of iniquity doth already work" (v. 6-8). This wicked one will come with deception, and the works of Satan, "with all power, and signs and lying wonders". God will send a strong delusion to believe the lie upon those who are doomed because they do not accept the truth, and take pleasure in unrighteousness. The wicked one to be revealed will be consumed by the Lord "with the spirit of his mouth", and shall be destroyed "with the brightness of his coming." (v. 8-12). The perilous times, as we see, include a pandemic of lies and strong delusions, and the supernatural, lying works of Satan. Part of the perilous times were told by Jesus concerning the Kingdom of God and the coming harvest of those who were righteous in Christ, and the unrighteous. Both parables involve the sowing of seed, and then the harvest. In one parable, the Kingdom is like a man who plants seed in the ground, and then sleeps. The earth does its job, and the seed germinates, gradually bringing forth a shoot, then a plant, then finally the mature ear of corn. Then the man knows it is time to "putteth in the sickle" to harvest the crop that the seed and the earth has produced (Mark 4:26-29). In the second parable, again a man has sown good seed in his field. However, this time, while men slept, an enemy came and sowed tares among the man's wheat crop. The man's servants noticed that as the wheat matured and brought forth fruit, the tares showed themselves because of their lack of fruit. He realized that an enemy had done this to his crop. He instructed his servants: "Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn." (Mt. 13:24-30). In perilous times, men teach false doctrines, sowing tares that do not bear the fruit of Christ. There are those who profess Christ, but in works, don't know Him. The prophet Joel prophesied about the harvest, and the judgment of the Day of the LORD, at a time when the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem has ended, and God's people have been brought back to the land (fulfilled in Israel, 1947): "Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come get you down; for the press is full, the fats (vats) overflow; for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision." (Joel 3:12-14). Joel described the Day of the LORD as a day when the sun, moon, and the stars are darkened. It's a terrible day when the heavens and earth shake and quake. We need to know the signs of that Day, and when the harvest grows ripe. The New Testament speaks of the same signs. As it becomes evident that the Day is drawing near, it is a fool who says in his heart that there is no God. Joel wrote of the purpose of God's people as this Day of the LORD approaches, and it is what sets the difference between "the wheat and the tares" of the ripening harvest: "Blow ye 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 cometh, for it is nigh at hand...Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: And rent your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of gret kindness, and repenteth him of the evil...Then will the LORD be jealous for his land, and pity his people. Yea, the LORD will answer and say unto his people, Behold, I will send you corn, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith: and I will no more make you a reproah among the heathen." (Joel 2:1, 12-13, 18-19, see also 1:13-15). Joel called the people of God to repentance, as we have often said the same in referring to 2 Chron. 7:14. The Book of Revelation also prophesies about the harvest to come. One who looked like the Son of Man, with a golden crown on His head, and a sharp sickle in His hand, heard the loud command that came out of the temple in heaven: "Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe." (Rev. 14:14-15). Then additional angels came with their sickles also, but this time, the grapes of the vine were ripe and ready for harvesting (v. 17-18). "And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God." (v. 19). Much blood came out of that winepress of wrath (v. 20). As we saw in the parable of Jesus, there were two reapings here of the ripe harvest - one was reaped by Jesus for the Kingdom, and one was reaped by the angels for the wrath of God. We see the harvest ripening all over the world, and we see wickedness waxing worse and worse. Isaiah warned, "Woe" unto you who call evil good, and good evil...and justify the wicked for a reward. We must continue to sow seeds of righteousness, and keep our lamps lit, for darkness is here. *Based on Dr. Kenneth E. Stevenson's 12/4/2022 message to the church. To contact us, submit a prayer request, give a praise report, or to support this ministry: P.O. Box 154221, Waco, TX, 76705 OR Everlastingcovenant@ymail.com. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, theshroudofturin.org, and END TIME SCHOOL, also on Facebook.