Broken Cisterns*

We have been talking about the Torah and the Prophets, and how they express the grace of God. In the present political turmoil that has gripped the globe, debates have arisen regarding the forms of governments that exist or should exist. Three forms of government, especially, are prominent in the world today: democracy, autocracy, and theocracy. We should define these terms because each of these forms of governing also appears in the Word of God. Democracy is defined as a system in which eligible members of society elect politicians to represent them. The term "eligible" can unfortunately be interpreted in different ways. There have been times in our history when women, blacks, and poor people have been considered ineligible to vote. An autocracy is defined as absolute rule by one person. We have seen the negative aspects of this type of government in Russia, China, North Korea, and other nations. Finally, a theocracy, it may surprise you to hear, is a government where people rule in the name of God or a god. Some theocracies, either currently existing, or proposed by certain groups, rule in the name of a god of another name who is nothing like the God of the Bible, or is an outright misrepresentation of God, and of the government which God has planned for man. The title of this message comes from the prophet Jeremiah who wrote a Word from God in correction of His people: "...I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness...Israel was holiness unto the LORD, and the firstfruits of his increase...What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they are gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and are become vain?...And I brought you into a plentiful country, to eat the fruit thereof and the goodness thereof; but when ye entered, ye defiled my land, and made mine heritage an abomination." (Jer. 2:1-7). The LORD also condemned the fact that His priests did not seek Him, the rulers that handled the law didn't know Him, and the prophets prophesied by the demon god, Ba'al: "Wherefore I will yet plead with you, saith the LORD, and with your children's children will I plead...my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit. Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the LORD. For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me (written with an Aleph-Tav, which identifies Jesus Christ) the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water." (v. 8-13). Jesus spoke of the rivers of living water coming from Him that Isaiah prophesied. These living waters were the waters of the Spirit of God, and eternal life (see Jn. 7:37-39, Jn. 4:13-14). Zechariah prophesied of the living waters of God also: "...And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem...And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day there shall be one LORD, and his name one." (Zech. 14:7-9). However, the people of God forsook Him, and chose ways, like broken cisterns, that could not hold these life-giving waters. Men have rejected God and His life-giving waters before. Descendants of the eight people who came off of the ark after the flood, having one language among them, sought to build themselves a different system in order to avoid the commandment of God to have dominion over the whole earth. They built a city instead so as not to be scattered across the earth, and then they built a tower to reach the heavens. Like the broken cisterns of Jeremiah, they built these things of bricks and mortar, but God confounded their language and scattered them anyway (Gen. 11:1-9). The name of this city and tower was called Babel, which means confusion, or to confound. We can say that the government systems of the world today that men have built have also confused and confounded us. We see an example of God's people choosing an autocracy in 1 Samuel 8. Samuel was a prophet and judge of Israel. His two sons who were also judges were corrupt and took bribes and perverted justice. The elders of the people gathered together and demanded that Samuel make them a king to rule them instead like the other nations around them (v. 1-5). This was not God's plan of government for them. The LORD told Samuel that the people were not rejecting Samuel, but were rejecting Him, "that I should not reign over them" (v. 7). The LORD told Samuel to to give the people a warning about the manner of the king that shall reign over them: "He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots...he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, to be cooks, and to be bakers. And he will take your fields...your vineyards...your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants...he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work...and ye shall be his servants. And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the LORD will not hear you in that day." (v. 9-18). The people refused to listen to Samuel's warning, and said, "...Nay, but we will have a king over us; That we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out befoe us, and fight our battles." The LORD told Samuel to listen to the demand of the people and make them a king (v. 19-22). The people of God thought it would be better to have a man rule them, than God - to become the servants to a man, rather than God. In a similar manner, the people of God insisted to Pilate that the oppressive Caesar was their king, thereby rejecting Jesus (Jn. 19:10-12, 15-16). This kind of choice did not reflect God's plan of government for His people. We have another example in scripture where a group of men convinced two hundred and fifty of the princes of Israel to overthrow the government that God had established, being Moses and Aaron, to lead His people to safety, and into their inheritance. The rebels used the argument against Moses: "...Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them: wherefore then lift you up yourselves above the congregation of the LORD? And when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face..." (Num. 16:1-4). Moses then brought forth the Word of the LORD that the LORD would show who were His, who is holy and chosen by Him to come near to Him. The LORD caused the earth to open and swallow those who had challenged Moses and Aaron based upon a self-serving twisting of the truth of God's presence among His people (v. 30-35). Paul wrote to Timothy of the perilous times of the last days saying in part that men would be "lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away." (2 Tim. 3:1-5). This describes the men who rebelled against Moses, Aaron, and most of all, God, and it also describes what we see in people and governments of today. Paul's advice to Timothy in the face of these things: "Preach the word...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. 4:1-4). God's government is superior to what man chooses as government. This is God's vision of government for His people: "Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine." (Ex. 19:5). The LORD then commanded Moses to sanctify the people, and to tell the people to wash themselves: "And be ready against the third day: for the third day the LORD will come down in the sight of all the people upon Mt. Sinai.(v. 10-11). The New Testament also testifies of this same government of God: "...Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone (referring to Jesus), elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded...a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed. But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy." (1 Peter 2:6-10). God's kingdom government, built upon the chief cornerstone who is His Son, creates a holy nation of people that serve Him as kings and priests, a royal priesthood, whose purpose is to show forth the praises of God. There are people who call themselves Christians who believe that this kingdom government of God is made up of only certain kinds of people, from certain races or ethnic groups, but this is a lie. The Book of Revelation clearly describes the kings and priests of God (Rev. 1:6) as coming from every kind of people saved by the Lamb, Christ, the chief cornerstone: "...for thou (the Lamb) wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; and hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth...and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years...Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years." (Rev. 5:9-10, Rev. 20:4-6). The government of God for the earth, promised from Exodus onward is the reign of Christ, and our reign with Him as priests and kings, being partakers in His resurrection. This government of God is not based upon being Democrats, Republicans, Liberals nor Conservatives, but a government ruled by the living waters of Christ, resurrection life, and the praises of God. *Based on Dr. Kenneth E. Stevenson's 2/26/23 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. You can also get a free ebook titled "The Shroud of Turin- A Perfect Summary" at www.TheShroudofTurin.org/freebook.

What Can the Righteous Do?*

The basic concepts of God, righteousness, justice, and truth are being attacked daily in our nation. King David sought the LORD about these same conditions: "In the LORD put I my trust...the wicked bend their bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string, that they may privily shoot at the upright in heart. If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do? The LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD's throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men. The LORD trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth...(Help, LORD; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men. They speak vanity...with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak...Who have said, 'With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own: who is lord over us?...The wicked walk on every side, when the vilest men are exalted.) Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and a horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup. For the righteous LORD loveth righteousness; his countenance doth uphold the upright." (Ps. 11 (Ps. 12)). 'What can the righteous do?', David asked and answered. We can trust in the LORD who loves righteousness, and upholds the upright. David wrote here of the foundations, and we can discover in the scriptures what those foundations are. Paul wrote: "According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ." (1 Cor. 3:10-11). Christ is the foundation. Jesus is also described by Peter as the chief cornerstone of the foundation upon which God is building His spiritual house: "...laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and all evil speakings...desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious, to whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God and precious, ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ...also it is contained in scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded (shamed, dishonored, disgraced). (1 Peter 2:1-6). Psalm 118:22-23 says that this cornerstone, refused by the builders, "...is the LORD's doing; it is marvellous in our eyes." This chief cornerstone, which is Christ, is precious to us who believe, but to those who are appointed to disobedience, this same cornerstone becomes a rock of stumbling and offense because they stumble at the Word of God (1 Pet. 2: 7-8). For those to whom this cornerstone of Christ is very precious, they have been chosen to be "...a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy." (v. 9-10). Peter also told the people of God to abstain from the lusts of the flesh, which war against the soul (v. 11). Our warfare and victory were accomplished at the cross, and in the promise of the resurrection of the dead. Although others may do all that they can to avoid or deny that truth, it is true nonetheless. Not only do the scriptures bear witness to the deth and resurrection of Christ, but also many testimonies of near-death experiences, and the resurrection witness of the Shroud of Turin are available for all to see and hear. As we consider again the question of what the righteous can do, we can be that royal priesthood, that holy nation, "shewing forth the praises of him that hath called you...". Jesus spoke of the prophecy from Isaiah (28:14-16) and the Psalms (118:22-24) concerning Himself as the precious chief cornerstone, rejected by the builders, about which Paul and Peter wrote above (Mt. 21:42). Jesus gave this warning at the same time about the continued rejection of Him as that chief cornerstone by those called to build with it: "Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder." (v. 43-44). The priests and Pharisees wanted to kill Jesus for saying this, because they knew He was speaking of them, but they were afraid to harm Him because the people thought of Jesus as a prophet (v. 45-46). The LORD said that He laid this precious cornerstone, Christ, in Zion, and gave the prophetic Word to Isaiah to be delivered to the scornful, to those who said that they made a covenant with death and hell, who did not fear the "scourge", who have made lies their refuge, and have hidden themselves under falsehood, which we also see today (Isa. 22:14-16). However, this precious chief cornerstone, although rejected by some, caused those who did believe on Him to be changed: "Now therefore, ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto a holy temple in the Lord: In whom you also are builded together for a habitation of God through the Spirit." (Eph. 2:19-22). What can the righteous do? We can be built together by the Spirit, not into any kind of building made by man, but into the building that has Jesus Christ as the cornerstone of its foundation. That living building is the habitation of God. This is also a spiritual building about which, when trouble and pestilence flood the land in judgment, God says: "If my people, which are called by my name, shall 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 will heal their land...For now have I chosen and sanctified this house, that my name may be there forever: and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually." (2 Chron. 7:12-17). The LORD also instructed Solomon at that time, who had built His house, to be sure to walk as his father, David, walked before God, observing and doing the statutes and judgments of God, which are the Torah and the Prophets. We see the results of a king following the example of his "father", David, when young King Josiah, broke down the places of idolatry in Judah, repaired the house of the LORD, and read all the words of the rediscovered Book of the Covenant before the people: "And the king stood in his place, and made a covenant before the LORD, to walk after the LORD, and his testimonies, and his statutes, with all his heart, and with all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant which are written in this book...And Josiah took away all the abominations...and made all that were present in Israel to serve, even to serve the LORD their God. And all his days they departed not from following the LORD, the God of their fathers." (2 Chron. 34). Along this same line, as we consider what the righteous can and must do when we see this holy foundation come under attack, we must consider the correction of the LORD to His people given through His prophet, Isaiah. This correction came even when God's people thought that they were fasting "righteously" on a day of repentance in accordance with the law of Moses: "Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins. Yet they seek me daily, as a nation that did righteousness...ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite (naka - slay, kill, slaughter, strike, wound, give stripes (whip), beat, hurt) with the fist of wickedness...ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high...wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD?" (Isa. 58:1-5). This, on the other hand, is what the LORD is looking for from His people in their repentance and fasting: to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, to break every yoke, to give bread to the hungry, to house the poor in your own house, to cover the naked, to acknowledge your own flesh, to cease the pointing of the finger and the speaking of vain things. "Then shall thy light break forth as morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy rereward (asap - rearguard, to gather in)...thy light shall arise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday: and the LORD shall guide thee continually...and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not...thou shalt raise up (qum - to establish, raise up, rouse, endure, stand, to carry out, to give effect to) the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in." (Isa. 58:6-12, excerpt). The righteous can do this, according to the prophecy of Isaiah - raise up the foundations, with Jesus Christ as the chief cornerstone, which was laid by God Himself in Zion, and is precious to God, and to us who believe in Christ. *Based on Dr. Kenneth E. Stevenson's 2/19/23 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. You can also get a free ebook titled "The Shroud of Turin- A Perfect Summary" at www.TheShroudofTurin.org/freebook.

A Remnant By Grace*

A lot of things have been going on this week that should be causing the Body of Christ to think and consider. Jesus scolded the people saying that they could interpret the signs and anticipate the day's weather by the appearance of the sky, but they could not interpret the signs of the times (Mt. 16:3). Men may debate interpretations concerning the day of the return of Christ, or the timing of the rapture, but truth is found by comparing scripture with scripture, not by man's interpretation. Regarding these events, there will be a remnant by grace, so believers need to know how that remnant is spared throughout these prophesied events. Jude wrote of the dangers ahead by looking at past events from the history between God and the ungodly in scripture: "...it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that you should earnestly contend for the faith (pistis - in the New Testament: of a conviction of the truth or belief respecting man's relationship to God and divine things) which was once delivered to the saints...certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ." (Jude v. 3-4). The work of the ungodly turns the grace of God into lasciviousness. The Church of England, and other Christian denominations have approved same-sex marriage, rather than believing and teaching the Word of God. The apostle Jude wrote examples from scripture of those who chose ungodliness, and contended against the Lord, and the inevitable consequences of it: Although the LORD saved the people out of Egypt, Jude wrote, He destroyed those among them who did not believe. WWhen the angels left their first estate and habitation, and sinned against God, He placed them in everlasting chains under darkness until the day of judgment. When Sodom and Gomorrha, chose strange flesh and fornication against the law of God, they suffered eternal fire as an example to others (v. 5-7). These examples given by Jude are for the purpose of a warning to all. In Numbers 26:9-10, a sign is provided to us as a warning regarding those who rebelled and strove (struggled, laid waste, made desolate) against both Moses and God, in this case, respected men in authority among God's people: "The earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up together...the fire devoured two hundred and fifty men...". The men who strove with Moses and God were in positions of respect and authority among God's people. Men in authority, especially in the Church, should not go against God's law, which is to love God, and to love their neighbor. Our nation is also continuing to be plagued by injustice with cruelty. There is a denial of its existence as books are banned that deal with racism, like biographies of Roberto Clemente and Jackie Robinson. Jesus warned: "And shall God not avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith (the conviction and belief regarding the relationship between men and God, and divine things) in the earth?" (Lk. 18:7-9). There are those who turn away from the idea of God, because they believe that the truth of His judgment is cruel. However, even as He commands His people to carry out justice, love mercy, and to walk humbly before Him (Micah 6:8), He also does so, and He will not let the cries of the abused and oppressed of His elect go unheard, as Jesus said. Jesus also described terrible signs that would appear before His return, such as ethnic groups and kingdoms rising up against each other, great earthquakes, famines, pestilences, fearful sights and great signs from heaven (Lk. 21:10-11). We have seen those signs occurring this week! His warning to those who look to be part of the remnant by grace: "And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be counted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man." (Lk. 21:34-36). There is a remnant by grace. There is a snare that is coming upon all who dwell on the earth, including the cares of life that draw us away from our watch and prayers. We are not meant to be caught unprepared and without faith, and not walking in the grace that fulfills the law and the prophets: to love God, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Paul wrote regarding the watchfulness of the remnant: "But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night...But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore, let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober...But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for a helmet, the hope of salvation. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Thess. 5:1-10). There is a remnant by grace, not meant for wrath, who are of light, and not darkness, of faith and love, sober and watching with hope in our salvation through Christ. The prophets brought the warning Word of the LORD to His people who mistakenly believed that they were righteously walking with Him, and in His law. However, all that became left of His people was a small remnant: "#xcept the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah. Hear the word of the LORD, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah. To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the LORD....I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats....Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths...it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them. And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide my eyes from you: yea, when you make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood. Wash ye, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. Come now, let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." (Isa. 1:9-19). Empty religious observances, even of the law of Moses, means nothing when our hearts and souls are full of sin, being unrepentant before God. Where is justice among God's people, especially towards those who are powerless? The two commandments that incorporate all the law and the prophets are to love God, and to love our neighbor (Mt. 22:36-40). The LORD said that because of these things, God's people would be reduced to a "very small remnant". The prophet Amos similarly said: "Shall not the day of the LORD be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it (see also 1 Thess. 5 above)? I hate, I despise your feast days...Though you offer me burnt offerings...I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts. Take...away from me the noise of thy songs...But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream." (Amos 5:20-24). Amos also added: "But ye have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch and Chiun your images, the star of your god, which ye made to yourselves. Therefore I will cause you to go into captivity..." (v. 26-27). His people, while practicing ritualistic and vain observances of God's law, really dwelled within a different spiritual "tabernacle". They were worshipping false gods like Moloch, who was worshipped with child sacrifice, as we also practice today in child murder, and Chiun, involving astrology and the worship of the heavens. However, God was in the beginning, before the demon Moloch, and before the stars in the heavens, having created them: "B'reshiet (meaning 'the Son crushed, His hand on the cross') Elohim aleph-tav (Alpha and Omega)", and His name is The LORD, YHWH: "Behold the hand, Behold the nail". The prophet Ezekiel also wrote that even if Noah, Daniel and Job were in the land, when God sends His judgment against the sinful land that has trespassed against Him, they would only be able to deliver themselves by their righteousness. All others would be cut off, both man and beast. When God sends the the sword, the beasts, the famine, and the pestilence in His judgment, even these three righteous servants would be able to deliver none but themselves - "Yet behold, therein shall be left a remnant that shall be brought forth, both sons and daughters...and ye shall see their ways and their doings: and ye shall be comforted concerning the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem, even concerning all that I have brought forth upon it." (Ezek. 14:12-22). Jeremiah wrote saying that even Moses and Samuel, if present in the land, would not be able to save anyone from the judgment of God (Jer. 15:1). Our nation, like Israel, is consumed in sin. Men have crept in, turning the grace of God into lasciviousness. We have made public prayer illegal, removed the Bible from our schools, while our leaders strive against God. Instead of the grace found in the law and the prophets: loving God with our whole hearts, and loving our neighbors as ourselves, and doing as the LORD requires of us: to do justice, love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God, this nation is concerned with the cares of this life, and the corrupting gods that we have made for ourselves. There is a remnant by grace, however. The LORD is calling for a remnant that has washed and made themselves clean. This remnant is called to be watching, praying, being the children of light, and not the children of darkness, being the children of the day, and not the children of the night. This also is the law and the prophets. This is the gift of grace. *Based on Dr. Kenneth E. Stevenson's 2/12/23 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. You can also get a free ebook titled "The Shroud of Turin- A Perfect Summary" at www.TheShroudofTurin.org/freebook.

The Perfect Summary*

"The Perfect Summary" is a new free book that I have recently written and released with Brian Donley Worrell in order to get the truth of the Gospel, which is the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, to as many as possible. I have researched the Shroud of Turin for forty years, having also handled it personally in Turin, Italy, and I believe that it is a valuable witness to the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. So far, "The Perfect Summary" free book has been read in 37 countries, and we are believing for many more. This free book is currently being translated into Hebrew (see Rom. 1:16), and will eventually be translated into additional languages. Because of current troubling international and national events, prophesied as part of the last days before Christ's return, it is more important than ever to reach as many as possible. The account of the Gospel starts from the beginning: "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;" (1 Jn. 1:1). John wrote that this is knowledge from the beginning, using the Greek word arche, meaning "origin, that by which anything begins to be, the active cause". The fact that Jesus Christ and His sacrifice is "from the beginning", or B'reshiet Elohim aleph-tav (Alpha and Omega) in Hebrew, is attested to in several places in scripture (see John 1, Rev. 13:8). John bears direct witness to the events of the Gospel in four different ways: he heard (akouo - to hear, to attend to, to consider, understand, perceive, and learn from hearing); he saw for himself (horao - to see with the eyes and with the mind, to perceive from experience, to pay heed to); he looked upon (theaomai - to behold, to view attentively, contemplate, meeting or visiting with a person, to learn by looking); he handled (pselaphao - to handle, touch, feel, to seek after a token of a person or thing, to verify by contact, to feel after). John wrote that he identified Jesus as "the Word (logos - uttered by a living voice, the sayings of God, doctrine (the Law), Old Testament prophecy given by the prophets) of life (zoe - life, every living soul, the absolute fulness of life which belongs to God, ...in Christ after the resurrection as a more perfect body to last forever)". These things not only pertain to John's personal contact with Jesus, but also may relate to the Shroud. The Gospel tells us that John was convinced of the resurrection by the burial cloth that he saw for himself in the empty tomb of Jesus (Jn. 20:5-6). 1 John 1 continues: "For the life was manifested (phaneroo - to make visible or known what has been hidden or unknown, expose to view [of a person], to become known, plainly recognised and thoroughly understood who and what one is), and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew (apangello - declare, bring tidings, make known openly) unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us)." (v. 2). Then John wrote the purpose of his witness to them: "That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ." (v. 3). The purpose of relating his eyewitness testimony is to bring others into the same fellowship as himself with God and Christ. John wrote that as a result of this living fellowship with God and Christ, our lives and understanding are changed. As a part of God, we are no longer part of darkness but of light. If we are still walking in darkness and committing acts of darkness, we lie when we say that we know Him (v. 5-7). If we indeed have fellowship with Christ, and His blood that cleanses us of sin, then we must have an understanding of the effect of sin upon our lives. If we do not have this knowledge, and do not feel the need to admit and confess our sins to Him and be cleansed, then we don't know Him (v. 6-10). Jesus is our advocate with the Father regarding our sin, not only being the atonement or propitiation for our sins, but for the sins of the whole world (1 Jn. 2:1-2). Finally, the evidence of whether we know Christ, and have this fellowship with Him and with the Father, is that we keep His commandments (v. 3). This is the power of the Gospel, the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The prophet Isaiah wrote the Word of the LORD concerning the life-changing purpose and power of this truth. Isaiah wrote: "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation (Yeshua - the name of Jesus); that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth! Thy watchmen...they shall see eye to eye, when the LORD shall bring again Zion...for the LORD hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem. The LORD hath made bare his holy (aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the (aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) salvation (Yeshua - the name of Jesus) of our God." (Isa. 52:7-10). In these verses from Isaiah as noted, two words, "arm" and "salvation" have an "aleph-tav" connected to them in the written Hebrew. Jesus identified Himself with the aleph-tav, the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet, when He called Himself "the Alpha and the Omega (the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet), the beginning and the end, the first and the last." (Rev. 22:13, 1:8, 11, 21:6). Isaiah said that all nations would see it. This is why we are releasing the free book, "The Perfect Summary". Isaiah wrote of the stunning effect the marred appearance, and the wounds of this special Servant of God would have upon kings of nations: "As many were astonied (samem - astonished, amazed, appalled, desolated, stunned, stupified, causing horror) at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men: so shall he sprinkle (nazah - spurt, spatter, sprinkle - especially in expiation) many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider." (Isa. 52:14-15). This is something that would be able to be seen without anyone telling them. We saw something similar to this when Paul stood before Festus and King Agrippa and told them that the king was already aware of the events pertaining to Christ's death and resurrection (Acts 26:25-26). Isaiah prophesied hundreds of years before the birth of Christ, the purpose of this Servant's terrible suffering: "Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?...He is despised and rejected of men...But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray...and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all...for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin...and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand." (Isa. 53:1-10, excerpt). This Gospel, like the Word of God, will not return to Him void, but it will accomplish what the LORD has set it out to do. He will uphold His Son, His Servant, and the testimony of His suffering, death, and resurrection triumph - not for His own sake, but for our sins, and as John said, for the sins of the world. I urge you to get the free book, "The Perfect Summary" at www.TheShroudofTurin.org/freebook, not only for yourself, but also to forward to all that you know. *Based on Dr. Kenneth E. Stevenson's 2/5/23 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. You can also get a free ebook titled "The Shroud of Turin- A Perfect Summary" at www.TheShroudofTurin.org/freebook.