The following is the Haftora portion that Messiah read to His home congregation in Nazareth:
The spirit of the L-rd G-D is upon me; because the L-RD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the L-RD, and the day of vengeance of our G-d; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the L-RD, that he might be glorified. (Isaiah 61:1-3)
Who are the meek? They are those who have patiently endured years of insult and ridicule if they have dared to faithfully proclaim the acceptable year of the L-RD, and the day of vengeance of our G-d. They are those who are beginning to hear the L-rd say "come out of her my people" and see no place to go. Where can they worship on the Sabbath? Is there a church without the influence of the spirits of Nicolaitane, Balaam, and Jezebel? Is there not hypocrisy, or at least inconsistency, to say we are specially called to take the good news to the "Jew First" and then to say we believe we will be out of here before or during the "Time of Ya'akov's Trouble" the time when we know that "all Israel shall be saved?"
Rev 2:6 But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate.
Rev 2:15 So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate.
NICOLAITANS (Nihk oh lay' ituhns) personal name meaning "conqueror of the people."
If the Lord says twice this is something that He hates we need to know what it is all about and make sure we don't do it. Some churches had an elevated class of members. A clergy and a laity perhaps. We need to be under authority; however, if God is no respector of persons, how dare we be.
The Lord hates striving for status in His body, the church. If you want to be great in God's kingdom learn to be the servant of all. Everything we do for someone less fortunate we do for King Yeshua. There was also an heretical group in the early church who taught immorality and idolatry. They are condemned in Revelation 2:6,15 for their practices in Ephesus and Pergamon. Thyatira apparently had resisted the false prophecy they preached (Rev. 2:20-25). The Nicolaitans have been linked to the type of heresy taught by Balaam (Num. 25:1-2; 2 Pet. 2:15), especially the pagan feasts and orgies that they apparently propagated in the first-century church.
FIRST PROMISE - THE TREE OF LIFE IN THE PARADISE OF GOD
Rev 2:7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. The first promise is the main promise and we can have part of it now. The tree of life is Yeshua. We are the branches. He told Martha in John 11:25, Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: John 11:26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? Do we really believe this? He also told the apostles in John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. The worst anyone can do is kill our bodies. If we really believe this we really don't die. Our destiny is the paradise of God. If we really believe we would be happy about the Lord's soon return even though we know it probably means the loss of all of our stuff, the destruction of all of our plans, and possibly the loss of our life in this coming war with the Prince Antichrist. The dispensational, pre-tribulation rapture delusion, is now blocking the ears of many of the elect to what the Spirit would say to the churches in 1997. We must be overcomers, not people who expect no tribulation. The Spirit wants to prepare us to be overcomers in the coming tribulation war that the Prince Antichrist is soon to wage on the saints. Saints will be overcomers in tribulation. It is the only true means of escape. Any other means of escape is not what the Spirit is trying to say to the churches in 1997.
SECOND PROMISE - A CROWN OF LIFE
Rev 2:10 Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.
The second promise sounds very much like the first. Yeshua says that He will give the faithful a crown of life. What are the conditions or requirements to receive this crown of life? Fear nothing but God. Courage, through faith in God, is not optional, it is essential. Did He really say we shall suffer? Will He really let the devil cast some of us into prison to test us? Did He really say we shall have tribulation? Did He really say we need to be faithful unto death? Are the dispensational, pre-trib, false prophets making Him a liar? What is this crown?
CROWN: A special headdress worn by royalty and other persons of high merit and honor.
Both the king and the high priest of Israel wore crowns.. David's golden crown was a prize of battle (2 Sam. 12:30). As a symbol of his authority, the crown was worn when the king was on his throne and when leading his forces in combat (2 Sam. 1:10). The word "crown" was also used figuratively referring to the old man's gray head (Prov. 16:31), a man's virtuous wife (Prov. 12:4), and God's blessings on mankind (Ps. 8:5).
While most references to "crown" in the Old Testament point to the actual headdress, in the New Testament it usually has a figurative significance. Paul envisioned "a crown of righteousness" for himself and others (2 Tim. 4:8), and James anticipated "the crown of life" (Jas. 1:12). While the winning runner of that day received a garland of myrtle leaves, Paul looked forward to a crown that would not decay (1 Cor. 9:25). Not even the victorious athlete would receive his reward unless he obeyed the rules (2 Tim. 2:5).
James gives us the clearest insight regarding this crown:
James 1:12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.
What kind of endurance of trial is the pre-trib rapture? Are the dispensational pre-trib rapture teachers teaching us the rules? What are they prepared to endure for The King? What kind of endurance will their disciples have? Who is being taught?
Mat 24:13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
Do you want Yeshua to give you the Crown of Life with the great honor and authority associated with it? Be taught by His Spirit through His Word to faithfully endure to the end. The rule is simple. It is unfeigned faith in God. No reliance on anything else. It is not money we need now, it is faith. How can we get more faith?
Rom 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
We need this crown to have authority over the demonic forces in the war antichrist is soon to wage on the saints. What we need to escape is the second death, not the tribulation.
Rev 2:11 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.
Rev 2:14 But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.
BALAAM (Bay' luhuhm) Balak, king of Moab, urged Balaam, a non-Israelite false prophet, to curse the invading Iraelites for a fee.
Let us call and identify BALAAM just what it is today. Balaam was first and foremost a "Prophet for Profit." In the Bible year 5997, "in the midst of the shabow," the 4th year of the 70th week, or the final 7 years preceding the L-rd's triumphant return, the teachers of the pre-tribulation rapture, who are profiting from their teachings of this strong delusion and lying divination, represent BALAAM.
There is more to Balaam. He makes unity of the body impossible. Those who know the truth of bible prophecy by the quickening of the Holy Spirit, will not yield to Balaam. They are blamed for the schism of Balaam. Their stand for the truth of God's prophetic word labels them as heretics, crazies, and unloving. The doctrine of Balaam is pleasant to the itching ears of the majority, who will listen only to the prophets who tell them what they want to hear.
Many of these false teachers had great power and influence. When they pronounced a blessing or a curse, it was considered as true prophecy. What Balaam could not accomplish with a curse he did through seductive means.
Peter warned against false teachers and described their destruction. He referred to the fallen angels, the watery destruction of the unbelievers in Noah's time, and the fiery judgment on lawless Sodom and Gomorrah in Lot's day. Peter described his generation of false leaders as those with eyes full of adultery, who never stop sinning by seducing the unstable. He further said that they bore a curse as experts in greed. Peter wrote that they left the straight way and followed the way of Balaam (2 Pet. 2:15). Balaam was a money hungry false prophet who had a close encounter with the G-d of Israel, but not close enough. G-d is sovereign and did not allow Balaam to curse His people.
THIRD PROMISE - HIDDEN MANNA, and A WHITE STONE WITH A NEW NAME KNOWN ONLY TO YOU AND YESHUA
Rev 2:17 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.
The Bible emphasizes that God caused manna to appear at the right time and place to meet His people's needs. Yeshua assured the Jews that He, and not the wilderness food, was the true Bread from heaven which conferred eternal life on those who partook of it (John 6:30-58).
Hidden manna refers to the sufficiency of Christ for the believer's needs, as manna was for the Hebrews' during the wilderness wanderings. The white stone may refer to the custom of voting for the acquittal of an accused person by using a white stone. The believer can be assured of his acquittal before God. However, there is a much more important reason for us to hear what the Spirit is trying to say to the churches to prepare them to be overcommers in the great tribulation.
Some people think nothing at all of speaking presumptuously of God. Every other sentence is the Lord told me this or that. The Lord never contradicts His Word. We all want to hear from God. We can hear 3 different voices in our mind. You may hear yourself count to 3 in your mind for example. We all find a certain amount of uncertainty in knowing our own voice in our mind, and distinguishing that voice from the Holy Spirit or sometimes even a demonic suggestion. This is where we find the great importance of the white stone with a new name that no one except you and Yeshua know. Since only you and Yeshua know that name, when He speaks that name to you, you will know with absolute certainty that you are hearing from the Lord. He will be able to tell us just what we need to know in order to be an Overcomer in great tribulation.
We will know the directions and encouragement is directly from Him. Life saving decisions will be able to be made instantly with absolute certainty.
FOURTH PROMISE - POWER OVER THE NATIONS
Rev 2:26 And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations;
Earlier in the passage to this church we come across Jezebel. JEZEBEL is a personal name meaning "Where is the prince?" Have you heard Jezebel saying "Where is the prince, antichrist, doesn't matter to us, because we will be raptured out before he is revealed." Jezebel will also license, encourage, or excuse idolatry and immorality. Jezebel also wants to know "where is the prince" or church leader, so that she can seduce him.
The characteristic names of the evil spirits of Nicolaitane, Baalam, and Jezebel in the warnings that the Lord Yeshua gives to His churches in the Last Days are related, overlap, and are intertwined. They license or excuse immorality, idolatry, and false doctrine. To avail of the promises we must have ears to hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches in the Last Days regarding the five warnings. Believers will share the millennial rule of Christ. We shall rule with Him in His Millennial Kingdom.
FIFTH PROMISE - THE MORNING STAR
Rev 2:28 and I will give him the morning star.
What is the morning star? It is to walk in the same power and authority as Yeshua demonstrated. This is how we will be overcommers and more than conquerors in great tribulation. Did Yeshua need money? Did he worry about food or any material need? We need to have Him give us the morning star, the very power and authority in which He walked. Never forget, however, that we have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us. It is His power, for His glory. It will be our means of overcoming in great tribulation. It is what He referred to in John 14:12
"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go to the Father."
SIXTH PROMISE - SHALL BE CLOTHED IN WHITE GARMENTS
Rev 3:5 'He who overcomes shall thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father, and before His angels.
SEVENTH PROMISE - OUR NAME WILL NOT BE ERASED FROM THE BOOK OF LIFE
"Once saved, always saved." What is Yeshua talking about? Could our name be erased from the book of life? My friend, we have not lost our free will. Until God sends His angel to put His seal on us in the middle of the great tribulation we have a war with the world, the flesh and the devil, that is soon to become total war. Some of God's words to Ezekiel may help your understanding of what has caused schisms resulting in many denominations:
EIGHTH PROMISE - YESHUA WILL WALK US UP TO THE FATHER IN THE PRESENCE OF ALL HIS ANGELS AND SAY "FATHER THIS IS ___________."
Such things are almost too wonderful to imagine. What suffering or tribulation could compare to such glory? We must face up to the reality, that while we say we want the Lord to return, in our hearts we are saying, "but not yet."
While we speak of the prophetic and the Lord's coming, we really don't want Him to come. We have plans, and if He comes, then He will just mess up all our plans. That is why the majority of believers in America cling to the pre-trib doctrine of Baalam and Jezebel, regardless of the compelling evidence that the final 3 and a half years of great tribulation will begin in less than a year. While the Lord admonishes us to strengthen the things that remain, we follow teachers who train us to be like the ostrich and stick our heads in the sand. This allows us to continue with our plans, pursuing our stuff, without having any concern for His plan, or taking heed to His warnings.
NINTH PROMISE - PILLARS IN THE TEMPLE OF GOD.
TENTH PROMISE - GOD WILL WRITE UPON US HIS NAME & ULTIMATELY ALLOW US TO SIT WITH HIM IN HIS THRONE
Believers are sealed with the down payment or earnest of the Holy Spirit.
Rom 8:19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.
2 Cor 1:22 Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.
2 Cor 5:5 Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.
We have the earnest of the Spirit; but, we don't have it all. We have not yet arrived. We are not walking in the fullness of the Spirit because we all leak a lot. One of these days, soon, in the middle of great tribulation, God is going to send His angel to fix the leaks. This happens before the rapture.
Rev 7:2 And I saw
another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of
the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the
four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and
the sea,
Rev 7:3 Saying, Hurt not the earth,
neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the
servants of our God in their foreheads.
Ezek 9:3 And
the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the
cherub, whereupon he was, to the threshold of the house.
And he called to the man clothed with linen, which had
the writer's inkhorn by his side;
Ezek 9:4 And the LORD said
unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the
midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of
the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations
that be done in the midst thereof.
Hear what the Spirit saith unto the Churches in the Last Days:
NICOLAITANS
Name
meaning, "conqueror of people."
This is something that the L-rd hates. The L-rd hates striving for status in His Church. If the L-rd hates it we must know what it is and hate it also.
If you want to be great in G-d's Kingdom
learn to be a servant of all.
Balaam was first and foremost a "Prophet for Profit."
He makes unity of the body impossible.
Those who know
the truth of bible prophecy by the quickening of the Holy
Spirit, will not yield to Balaam. They are
blamed for the schism of Balaam.
Their stand for the truth of G-d's prophetic word labels
them as heretics, crazies, and unloving. The doctrine of
Balaam is pleasant to the itching ears of the majority,
who will listen only to the prophets who tell them what
they want to hear. (License for Idolatry.)
Name meaning, "Where is the prince?"
Jezebel is saying, "Where is the prince, antichrist, doesn't matter to us, because we will be raptured before he is revealed."
Jezebel tried to destroy all G-d's true prophets in Israel. The doctrine of Jezebel gives license to continue in idolatry.
Jezebel wants to know where the leader is in order to seduce him.
Return to Great Joy in Great Tribulation