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The humanity project preserved

First posted: February 11, 2008

 

This article is the thirteenth in a series of articles dealing with the spiritual events --- as prophesied by the Lord in Matthew 24 --- that are already taking place prior to the coming of the Son of Man. This article will share on the words spoken by the Lord in Matthew 24:21-22.

 

Index

Mega oppression

The beginning of the world

Until now

Cutting short

Flesh saved

Faith, hope, and love

 

 

Mega oppression

In Matthew 24:21-22, the Lord goes on to declare the following:

 

"21For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened." (Matthew 24:21-22)

 

The phrase "great tribulation" (v21) was translated from the Greek words megas meaning "great, big" and thlipsis meaning "tribulation, affliction". As we have studied before, the word thlipsis comes from another Greek word meaning "to press", and has the connotation of a strong pressure that afflicts the person's emotions. Thus, thlipsis tribulation speaks of a Hittite-Jebusite onslaught since, as we have said before, Hittite spirits attack the emotions and Jebusite spirits are "threshers" who like to press people down. On the other hand, the word megas points to the Amorite spirit, since Amorites are evil giants who turn people into glory-seeking megalomaniacs. Therefore, the "great tribulation" mentioned by the Lord in Matthew 24:21 points to a Hittite-Jebusite barrage targeted at those who dare oppose an Amorite king; such barrages are designed to enforce the "supremacy" of the Amorite over anyone who dares to question it. This means that "great tribulations" that come from the enemy involve the Hittite, Jebusite, and Amorite spirits, which are the spiritual distortions of the 3 "male" ministry endowments and are the spirits at the top of the "triangle of evil".

 

The words megas and thlipsis appear together in only 4 verses of the New Testament, with Matthew 24:21 being the first. The next verse where they both appear is in verse 11 of the following passage:

 

"9And the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt: but God was with him, 10And delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him favour and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house. 11Now there came a dearth over all the land of Egypt and Chanaan, and great affliction: and our fathers found no sustenance. 12But when Jacob heard that there was corn in Egypt, he sent out our fathers first. 13And at the second time Joseph was made known to his brethren; and Joseph’s kindred was made known unto Pharaoh. 14Then sent Joseph, and called his father Jacob to him, and all his kindred, threescore and fifteen souls." (Acts 7:9-14)

[The phrase "great affliction" in verse 11 was translated from the Greek words megas and thlipsis, so a more consistent translation of the New Testament would read "great tribulation" in verse 11]

 

Notice how verses 9 and 10 speak of the afflictions that green-horse Joseph was put through on account of his envious brothers; notice also that verse 10 says that God delivered Joseph "out of all his afflictions", which confirms the fact that Joseph went through much tribulation due to the unrighteousness that surrounded him. The word "affliction" in verse 10 was translated from the word thlipsis, so it points to the "great tribulation" of Matthew 24:21 that God's green-horse remnant must go through. Notice that, as Joseph's great tribulation came to an end, great tribulation began for those who had sold him into his affliction. This reveals a spiritual principle: The great tribulation of God's green-horse remnant is a seed that reaps a green harvest of great tribulation amongst those who upheld or were indifferent to the matriarchy of the soul, for that is the matriarchy that led to the remnant's tribulation in the first place. In short, the great tribulation of the righteous triggers the great tribulation of the unrighteous.

 

The word "sustenance" at the end of verse 11 was translated from the word chortasma, which appears only once in all of the New Testament. Interestingly enough, chortasma is derived from the word chortos meaning "grass", since it has a connotation of pasture that serves as food for edible cattle. As we have studied before, the word chortos is spiritually related in the New Testament to the word chloros meaning "green". Therefore, the lack of chortasma mentioned in verse 11 speaks of a lack of a "greenness" amongst those who had not welcomed green-horse Joseph into their hearts. The judgement that came upon the land made it evident who lacked "greenness" and who didn't. Pharaoh welcomed Joseph into his palace after hearing only one dream interpretation from him; by contrast, Joseph's brothers threw him out of their home despite living with him for 17 years (Genesis 37:2). Because of this, Pharaoh and his country had plenty to eat, whilst Jacob and his family were quickly running out of food.

 

As we have shared before, a careful study of Jacob's life reveals that Joseph (born to Rachel) was --- through his great tribulation --- paying a sacrificial price to redeem Jacob from the "kiss of death" that he gave to Rachel, a kiss that sold his spiritual future into slavery to the pastoral matriarchy of the soul (Genesis 29:1-11). That is the reason why the Holy Spirit prompted Stephen to use the word "souls" when referring to Jacob's rescue from starvation and death (at the end of Acts 7:14 above). When Jacob surrendered to Rachel, he (the male) went to where Rachel (the female) was (Genesis 29:1). Therefore, when the 75 ("female") souls went to where Joseph (i.e.- the "male" spirit) was, a spiritual reversal of the previous damage was taking place. This reversal, however, required the payment of a green-horse sacrifice by Joseph, a "great tribulation" that eventually liberated Jacob's (i.e.- Israel's) spiritual calling from the grip of the soul matriarchy.

 

As we said earlier, the Greek words megas ("great") and thlipsis ("tribulation") appear together in only 4 verses of the New Testament. The first two verses are Matthew 24:21 and Acts 7:11 (studied above). The other two verses are both in the book of Revelation, which emphasises the need for "great tribulation" before Jesus Christ can be fully revealed on Earth (Revelation 1:1). The first verse in Revelation that speaks of "great tribulation" is verse 22 of the following passage:

 

"19I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first. 20Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. 21And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not. 22Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds. 23And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works. 24But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden. 25But that which ye have already hold fast till I come. 26And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: 27And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father. 28And I will give him the morning star. 29He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches." (Revelation 2:19-29)

[The word "power" at the end of verse 26 was mistranslated from the Greek word exousia, which actually means "(jurisdictional) authority"]

 

The words above are the Lord's words to the church in Thyatira. As we have shared before, the Spirit of God that speaks to that church is God's Spirit of Service, who is God's pastoral Spirit. When distorted by the enemy, the pastoral endowment turns into the Canaanite spirit. As God's Spirit of Service speaks to Thyatira, He is confronting its Canaanite distortions, which are personified in Jezebel; she represents a vengeful "female" soul that abhors God's judgements and refuses to submit to the "male" Spirit of God. Through the authority figures of the Church, Jezebel casts God's remnant into great tribulation, pressuring them into submitting to the matriarchal soul system around them. This is the reason why the Lord tells the remnant to "hold fast till I come" (v25). As the remnant suffer at the hands of the matriarchal system, they are carrying a heavy "Josephian" burden, a burden that most other believers are unwilling to carry, but a burden that someone must carry in order to forge the latter-rain transformation of the Earth. This is the reason why the Lord speaks of putting "none other burden" upon the remnant (v24), for the burden they are carrying is heavy enough, and it is a burden that has been made unnecessarily heavy by those within the Church who refuse to understand God's eternal purposes and who continue to support or be indifferent about the unrighteous "leaders" of the Church, whilst at the same time acting with cold indifference towards the plight of God's righteous remnant. Despite this, God shall eventually vindicate "those who overcome and keep His works unto the end" (v26). They shall be "given jurisdictional authority over the nations" (v26), and they "shall rule them with a rod of iron", shattering them into submission to the Spirit of God (v27). God shall indeed unleash His vengeance upon the Jezebelian spirit of Babylon. The pastoral matriarchy that upholds the matriarchy of the soul and tribulates God's Spirit-bearing remnant shall be cast into great tribulation, for the Lord's Glory is at hand.

 

The 4th and last verse of the New Testament that includes both the words megas and thlipsis is verse 14 of the following passage:

 

"13And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? 14And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. 16They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. 17For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." (Revelation 7:13-17)

 

These words are spoken in the context of the 6th seal, the seal of vindication for those who went through the plight of the 5th seal. Notice that those who go through the "great tribulation" mentioned in verse 14 are righteous, since they are standing "before the throne of God", and they "serve him day and night in His temple" (v15), which means that they are the true Melchisedec priests of God, as opposed to the visible "ministers" who are dressed in "soft raiment" and who rule from their comfortable palaces (Matthew 11:7-8, John 18:15), as far away as possible from the tribulation that the truly righteous must go through (2 Timothy 3:11-12). Notice also that He who sits on the throne "shall dwell amongst" these who go through "great tribulation" (v15), which means that they shall be invested with God's Kingship authority and that God's Kingdom shall flow out from inside of them and overtake the Earth. God shall reward His remnant, "wiping away all tears from their eyes" (v17), avenging their tribulation by casting the soul-promoting men and women of the Earth into great tribulation.

 

From all of the above, we can see that the "great tribulation" that the eschatological parrots write books about is an incomplete and overly literal misinterpretation of what Scripture refers to as "great tribulation". For one, the eschatological parrots have yet to understand that the "great tribulation" is first endured by the righteous. Second, they do not understand that the tribulation of the righteous triggers great tribulation amongst the unrighteous who have oppressed them. Third, they do not understand that the target of God's vindicating tribulation are those who doggedly uphold the soul over the Spirit; these parrots do not understand the difference between the soul and the Spirit and are unable to realise that the Church's visible "ministers" are heralds of the soul, not the Spirit. Fourth, the eschatological parrots do not understand the spiritual nature of the "great tribulation", understanding it solely in terms of visible events. Even though God's vindicating tribulation involves many cataclysmic, visible events, those who ignore the spiritual underpinnings of those events will neither understand their purpose nor their cause. Just like the Church's "leaders" were shown to be clueless as to the spiritual underpinnings of hurricane Katrina, they are being shown clueless by the current barrage of judgements on America, and they shall be shown clueless by the terrible events that are soon to come. Fifth, they do not understand that the purpose of the great tribulation is to birth a spiritual kingdom that will dominate the Earth's spiritual atmosphere forever; they are eagerly awaiting a literal kingdom from above, without understanding that God is forging a spiritual kingdom from within.

 

The beginning of the world

In Matthew 24:21, the Lord speaks of a great tribulation "such as was not since the beginning of the world". The words "beginning" and "world" were translated from the Greek words arche and kosmos respectively. Interestingly enough, Matthew 24:21 is the only verse in the New Testament where these two words appear in the same verse. This reveals that the phrase "beginning of the world" has a unique spiritual significance, a significance that can be understood only as we meditate on the words used by the Holy Spirit in the original Greek text.

 

The word "since" in the phrase "since the beginning of the world" was translated from the Greek word apo, which literally means "from" and has a strong connotation of "separation". As we have said before, judgements separate "good" from "evil", "right" from "wrong", which means that the word apo is spiritually related to judgements (it is no coincidence that the word "apostle" begins with apo in both the Greek and English languages, since apostles are endowed with wisdom to make judgements). As we have seen so far, the "great tribulation" of Matthew 24:21 is caused by the enemy's onslaught against God's Spirit-led remnant. Thus, the phrase "since the beginning of the world" is used in the context of the enemy's attacks against the elect of God, which means that the word apo refers to judgements from the enemy, which, in turn, point to the Jebusite spirit of unGodly judgements.

 

As we have studied before, the word arche, which is translated as "beginning" in Matthew 24:21, can also be used in the Greek to refer to people with (relatively) "supreme" authority and power. For this reason, arche is translated as "principality" in verses such as Romans 8:38, Ephesians 6:12, and Colossians 2:10, and as "magistrate" in Luke 12:11; arche is also part of the compound word archiereus meaning "high priest", i.e.- the priest at the top of the "hierarchical ladder". Therefore, arche, when used in a negative context, points to the spirit at the top of the triangle of evil: the Amorite spirit of self-exaltation.

 

As we have also studied before, the word kosmos (translated as "world" in Matthew 24:21) points to the Canaanite spirit of matriarchal pastors when it is used in a negative context. Therefore, the phrase "since the beginning of the world" in Matthew 24:21, which was translated from the words apo, arche, and kosmos, points to the Jebusite, Amorite, and Canaanite spirits. This confirms the fact that the "first beast" ... the matriarchal beast that the 4 horses of the Apocalypse come to weaken and overthrow ... is an Amorite-Canaanite gone Jebusite, as we saw in the previous word. This matriarchal beast "set up shop" on Earth when man fell in the garden of Eden as he allowed the "female" soul to dominate over the "male" spirit. Therefore, when the Lord speaks of a "great tribulation such as was not since the beginning of the world", He is speaking of tribulation stemming from the matriarchal beast in an effort to defend its queendom. It is tribulation launched against those whose works in the Spirit are reverting the damage done at the garden of Eden; it is a determined attack against those who are reverting the domination of the "female" soul over the "male" spirit.

 

Until now

In Matthew 24:21, the Lord says that the "great tribulation" suffered by the 5th-seal remnant shall be "such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time". The phrase "to this time" was translated from the Greek words heos meaning "until" and nun meaning "now". There are two other Greek words for "now" that are used in the New Testament's original text: one is arti, which means "just now" and points to a very specific time in the present; the other is ede, which is a subjective "now" that was used in the context of some other time or event; since this event could be in the future, ede could be used to refer to a moment in the future, i.e.- a moment that would become the present-tense "now" when the future event finally occurred. By contrast, the word nun used by the Holy Spirit in Matthew 24:21 is an objective "now", meaning that it marks a definite point in time that is not relative to some other event. Therefore, when Jesus said nun, He was referring to the very moment in time during which He was speaking. This has profound significance, for it points to the spiritual essence of His words in Matthew 24. Through the word nun, Jesus related the "great tribulation" He was speaking about to the circumstances He was going through at that time of His life. As the enemy drew near to take Jesus, He was on the verge of going through hell, literally. Thus, He was the first person to suffer "great tribulation" at a level never before seen in the history of the human experience. Ever since then, those who take on His anointing have been forced to go through the same level of great tribulation that Jesus went through. Whilst the eschatological parrots see the "great tribulation" as a literal, historical series of events in the future, the word nun used by the Lord Jesus reveals that the "great tribulation" is really a spiritual event ... yes, an event that triggers dramatic and literal tribulation, but a spiritual event nonetheless. Otherwise, why would Jesus speak of the "great tribulation" as something happening during His lifetime, His nun? If Jesus had been referring to a literal and discrete historical period as the natural mind would interpret it, He would have used a word other than nun to refer to it.

 

Since Jesus speaks about the unsurpassable intensity of the "great tribulation" in terms of the tribulation He went through, we must consider what made Jesus' tribulation the apex of human suffering, and, in doing so, we will understand what makes the remnant's current suffering so worthy of astonishment. Many believers would be quick to say that Jesus' tribulation was the apex of human suffering because of His experience at the cross. However, any believer with intellectual honesty would have to admit that Jesus was neither the first, the last, nor the only person ever to hang from a cross. Death by crucifixion had been instituted by the Romans well before Jesus' death at Golgotha. Many people before and after Jesus were crucified, and many of those suffered through painfully tortuous deaths as they hung from a cross for days and days. That is the reason why the Romans were surprised when Jesus died so quickly:

 

"42And now when the even was come, because it was the preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath, 43Joseph of Arimathaea, an honourable counsellor, which also waited for the kingdom of God, came, and went in boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus. 44And Pilate marvelled if he were already dead: and calling unto him the centurion, he asked him whether he had been any while dead. 45And when he knew it of the centurion, he gave the body to Joseph." (Mark 15:42-45)

 

Since the supreme intensity of Jesus' suffering cannot be explained by His suffering on the cross, some might try to point to the torture that Jesus endured prior to His crucifixion. It can be argued, however, that, despite the intensity of Jesus' torture, other people in history (prior to Jesus and after Him) have endured greater literal suffering at the hands of their torturers. Consider, for example, the torture techniques used during the Spanish Inquisition, and consider the inhumane techniques that many vicious dictators have used throughout the ages to take revenge on those who have dared to oppose them. Many people have also suffered intense physical and psychological torment as POWs at the hands of their enemy captors. Thus, it would be intellectually dishonest to claim that the literal torture that Jesus went through was the worst in the history of mankind.

 

If neither Jesus' suffering at the cross nor the torture prior to His death are the worst ever experienced by a human being (at least from a literal standpoint), why would Jesus imply in Matthew 24:21 that the "great tribulation" He was about to suffer was at a level unprecedented in the history of man? To answer that, we must make the following comparisons:

 

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Consider a rat that has infiltrated a house and is found out by the family living there, which then proceed to ferret the rat out of its hiding place, chase it all over the room, and stomp it to death. Contrast that with a young lad who falls off a galloping horse and is stomped on by the horse, suffering minor injuries. Even though the lad's injuries did not result in death and a full recovery was expected, his tribulation would be of greater concern to us all than the tribulation the rat endured whilst it was chased and deliberately injured to death. No one would label the rat's final moments as moments of "great tribulation"; instead, they would be celebrated as a victory for the family and the end of a major health hazard. Even though the rat may have experienced greater suffering and torment during its final moments than the lad did during his fall (so much so that the rat died and the lad didn't), no one would rank the rat's suffering above the lad's.

 

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Consider a vicious rapist and killer of 15 women who is sentenced to life in prison and who is kept under solitary confinement for years and years, being forced to wear shackles on his ankles and wrists for weeks on end. Contrast that with a young teenager who is under the care of an over-possessive and overly-strict mother who does not allow him to have any type of social contact with other teenagers and who verbally abuses him, locking him up in the basement for days whenever he does little things that she finds "inappropriate". Even if the teenager is allowed to attend school, watch television, and play video games (even when locked up in the basement), his torturous ordeal would be of greater concern to us all than the torture endured by the vicious rapist and killer. The psychological oppression endured by the teenager at the hands of his hideous mother would weigh on our hearts much more heavily than the psychological strain endured by the cold-hearted killer who took great joy in torturing and raping his 15 victims for days before killing them. Even when the teenager enjoys greater literal freedom of movement than the vicious killer, we would be more concerned about the teenager's prison-like conditions than about the killer's real-prison conditions.

 

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Consider an incorrigible teenager who has no interest in getting an education and who is bent on an easy life of partying that is funded by shoplifting and other petty crimes, and who refuses to heed the correction and advice of those who care about him. As a consequence, he eventually ends up in prison, where he becomes involved in a brawl with other criminals that leaves him paralysed from the waist down. Contrast that with a talented young musician who writes and sings music that has the potential to shake the globe, and who is offered a huge contract by a major record producer, a contract that has a single string attached to it: that she (the musician) sleep with the record producer. Upon hearing the condition, she rejects the contract, even when that contract has the potential to propel her to worldwide recognition, because she values her integrity more than fleeting fame. Upon having his indecent proposal rejected, the record producer goes on a merciless campaign to discredit the young musician amongst all the important people he knows in the music industry, which leads to a "massive blockade" that prevents her getting a contract anywhere. As a result of this, her economic situation worsens, and she is forced to consider relinquishing the pursuit of her music dreams, which sends her into an emotional tailspin of deep depression and frustration.

 

When you weigh the tribulation of the incorrigible teenager against that of the aspiring musician, it becomes evident that the future of the musician is more worthy of our concern than the future of the incorrigible petty thief. Whilst the petty thief has squandered every door of opportunity to make something of himself, the musician has been denied every opportunity to manifest her potential, despite the fact that she has chosen to make something of her life. Through his negligent actions, the petty thief progressively narrowed the pathway of possibilities for his life until he reached a cul-de-sac. By contrast, the young musician cultivated the gift in her, and, as she did, the pathway of possibilities for her life widened all the more. There was no reason for her to reach a point of depression and hopelessness, for she had done nothing to deserve it. Yet, the callous actions of people who wanted to use her rather than enable her erected an unfair wall that artificially blocked her path of possibilities. Even when the petty thief's situation seems worse on the outside than that of the musician (since the musician can still use her legs and hands), her tribulation is of a deeper nature than the thief's. Why? Because it is birthed out of a desire to reach a higher dimension of existence. Whilst the thief was trying to glide through life, the musician was trying to create new forms of musical expression whilst at the same time abiding by spiritual principles that placed righteousness over pleasure and character over fame. Because of this, the musician developed a much deeper and more intricate soul, a more sensitive soul capable of experiencing greater suffering and despair. This makes her tribulation much greater and deeper than that of the dull-souled petty thief.

 

"15But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters. 16Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf. 17For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? 18And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? 19Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator." (1 Peter 4:15-19)

 

"19For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. 20For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. 21For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: 22Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: 23Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: 24Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. 25For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls." (1 Peter 2:19-25)

 

From all of the above, we can conclude the following: the more human the sufferer, the more relevant his or her suffering is. Being "human" entails more than just being a biological organism that belongs to the homo sapiens species. It entails having a soul that longs to manifest God's spirit nature, a soul that grows deep as it searches up towards God:

 

"1As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. 2My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God? 3My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God? 4When I remember these things, I pour out my soul in me: for I had gone with the multitude, I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holyday. 5Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance. 6O my God, my soul is cast down within me: therefore will I remember thee from the land of Jordan, and of the Hermonites, from the hill Mizar. 7Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me. 8Yet the LORD will command his lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life. 9I will say unto God my rock, Why hast thou forgotten me? why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? 10As with a sword in my bones, mine enemies reproach me; while they say daily unto me, Where is thy God? 11Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God." (Psalm 42)

 

As we have said before, both humans and animals have souls, but only humans have a spirit. Therefore, a human soul that is not interested in manifesting its "spirit component" becomes an "animalised human". That is the reason why the book of Revelation speaks of two "beasts", which represent man's determined effort to thrive on Earth as a mere (animal) soul, without a need for the Spirit. The soul of man deepens as it engages the Spirit of God; therefore, those who are comfortable being "living souls", and who are thus "sons of Eve", have shallower souls that can never experience the fullness of human existence. As opposed to the sons of Adam, the sons of Eve are not fully-alive humans, and, as such, the intensity of pain that they can experience is not as deep and piercing as the pain that the sons of Adam can experience. This means that, even when a son of Adam and a son of Eve experience the same degree of literal suffering, the son of Adam's pain will register higher in God's "tribulation scale" because his soul is deeper and more "fully alive".

 

As we have said before, the 3 "male" ministries (apostle, prophet, and evangelist) nurture the "spirit component" in God's believers. Therefore, the "great tribulation" of Yeshua must be measured in terms of 3 "male" components:

 

  1. The apostolic component

    As we have said before, the apostolic endowment is for the making of judgements, and judgements make justice possible. Wherever God's judgements are abhorred, His justice cannot be established, and injustice automatically ensues. The intensity of Yeshua's great tribulation is magnified by its injustice. Yeshua was the most righteous man who had ever lived. Yet, He was made to suffer like a common criminal and was made to die amongst thieves. Yeshua's suffering was unfair, for it was suffering inflicted upon an innocent man. In the same way, God's remnant are now being forced to suffer unfairly. Being so bent on God's judgements and righteousness, they are cruelly treated as if they were the ones acting outside of God's will. Being so intent on abiding by and pronouncing God's judgements on Earth, the remnant of God become susceptible to inclement Jebusite winters.

     

  2. The prophetic component

    As we have studied before, the prophetic endowment is the endowment with the most "spiritual" manifestations. It is the endowment that delves the most in the non-visible, the non-natural, the non-tangible. As a spiritual being, Yeshua was sensitive to spiritual vibrations in the air, which means that He could sense spiritual attacks that went unnoticed to others. Because of this increased sensitivity, those in the Spirit may sound "paranoid" to those who remain in the natural:

     

    "19Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law? Why go ye about to kill me? 20The people answered and said, Thou hast a devil: who goeth about to kill thee?" (John 7:19-20)

     

    "44And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. 45And when he rose up from prayer, and was come to his disciples, he found them sleeping for sorrow, 46And said unto them, Why sleep ye? rise and pray, lest ye enter into temptation." (Luke 22:44-46)

    [Notice that Jesus was under such a great spiritual strain at the garden of Gethsemane that His sweat was as "great drops of blood" falling to the ground. To the natural eye, however, there was no apparent reason for Jesus to feel so strained. He was apparently in a nice garden with His disciples, with no enemy in sight. There was no one physically torturing Jesus or saying nasty things to Him; yet, there was a spiritual burden hanging in the air, a burden that was so heavy that it sent the disciples into deep sleep. Having been around Jesus, the disciples could sense the oppression in the air, but they were still too earthly in their understanding to deal with it. Despite Jesus' exhortations, they were still unable to operate in prophetic prayer; they could sense the enemy's presence in their subconscious, but they were still too spiritually incredulous to consciously recognise its presence and deal with it forthright.]

     

    Because they share in Yeshua's anointing, God's green-horse remnant are very sensitive to the spiritual attacks launched against them, which intensifies the tribulation they experience in the middle of circumstances that would not seem "overly strenuous" to others whose soul is "less alive". The remnant of God are therefore exposed to Hittite sabbaths of ambushing torment during which the soulish are comfortably at rest.

     

  3. The evangelistic component

    Being apostolically righteous and prophetically sensitive to God's promptings, God's remnant have the spiritual foundation required to live a joyful life as evangelistic conquerors. Not only do they have the right to have joy and victory in their own lives, but they also have the inherent anointing to automatically spread that joy and victory to the lives of others as they establish the Kingship of God all around them. Thus, to tribulate the remnant is to not only deny them profound joy for their own lives but to deny the outbreak of joy and victory for God and for the Earth in general:

     

    "10Say among the heathen that the LORD reigneth: the world also shall be established that it shall not be moved: he shall judge the people righteously. 11Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof. 12Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice 13Before the LORD: for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth." (Psalm 96:10-13)

    [Notice how this passage speaks with joy about the Lord's judgements coming upon the Earth. Notice also how His coming to reign entails that His judgements judge the world. This is a truth that the matriarchal Church stubbornly fights against.]

     

    "13For the LORD hath chosen Zion; he hath desired it for his habitation. 14This is my rest for ever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it. 15I will abundantly bless her provision: I will satisfy her poor with bread. 16I will also clothe her priests with salvation: and her saints shall shout aloud for joy. 17There will I make the horn of David to bud: I have ordained a lamp for mine anointed. 18His enemies will I clothe with shame: but upon himself shall his crown flourish." (Psalm 132:13-18)

     

    When human beings like Jesus who are apostolically righteous and prophetically sacrificial appear on the scene, a door of kairos opportunity opens. Those around them must then "seize the day", acting as true evangelists who are quick to seize opportunities to conquer new ground. To squander such a kairos door of opportunity is equivalent to a businessman squandering a market opportunity to take his company to unprecedented heights, or to a military commander who squanders a short-lived opportunity to surprise his enemy and utterly defeat him. Those of you who are evangelists (i.e.- people with a drive to conquer and win) know how painful it is to realise that you have squandered a precious opportunity to squash your enemy. Those who are indifferent to the battle feel no such pain. They can see the kairos door open and close and act as if it were no big deal, as if nothing relevant had happened. By contrast, those who forge the opening of the door, those who are apostolically righteous and prophetically sacrificial, are thrown into Sheol depression and despair when those around them do not seize the opportunity they have so expensively opened. Jesus gave Jerusalem a golden opportunity to see the fullness of God's Glory, but Jerusalem squandered it. Shortly after that, Jesus was sent to the depressing depths of Sheol (both figuratively and literally). It is ironic, but those who open the kairos door of God's Glory for others are the first to pay the price when that door is squandered by others.

     

    "34O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not! 35Behold, your house is left unto you desolate: and verily I say unto you, Ye shall not see me, until the time come when ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord." (Luke 13:34-35)

     

    "1Give ear to my prayer, O God; and hide not thyself from my supplication. 2Attend unto me, and hear me: I mourn in my complaint, and make a noise; 3Because of the voice of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked: for they cast iniquity upon me, and in wrath they hate me. 4My heart is sore pained within me: and the terrors of death are fallen upon me. 5Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, and horror hath overwhelmed me. 6And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest. 7Lo, then would I wander far off, and remain in the wilderness. Selah. 8I would hasten my escape from the windy storm and tempest. 9Destroy, O Lord, and divide their tongues: for I have seen violence and strife in the city. 10Day and night they go about it upon the walls thereof: mischief also and sorrow are in the midst of it. 11Wickedness is in the midst thereof: deceit and guile depart not from her streets. 12For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it: neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him: 13But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance. 14We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company. 15Let death seize upon them, and let them go down quick into hell: for wickedness is in their dwellings, and among them." (Psalm 55:1-15)

     

    "1Hold not thy peace, O God of my praise; 2For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful are opened against me: they have spoken against me with a lying tongue. 3They compassed me about also with words of hatred; and fought against me without a cause. 4For my love they are my adversaries: but I give myself unto prayer. 5And they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love. 6Set thou a wicked man over him: and let satan stand at his right hand. 7When he shall be judged, let him be condemned: and let his prayer become sin. 8Let his days be few; and let another take his office. 9Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow. 10Let his children be continually vagabonds, and beg: let them seek their bread also out of their desolate places. 11Let the extortioner catch all that he hath; and let the strangers spoil his labour. 12Let there be none to extend mercy unto him: neither let there be any to favour his fatherless children. 13Let his posterity be cut off; and in the generation following let their name be blotted out. 14Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered with the LORD; and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out." (Psalm 109:1-14)

     

    Expansive entrepreneurs in the business world are very keen to "opportunity costs"; investopedia.com defines "opportunity cost" as the "cost of an alternative that must be forgone in order to pursue another action"; in other words, it considers the potential benefits of the next best alternative that you pass up on in order to pursue a given path. For example, if you pass up on a short business trip that would have landed you a lucrative multi-million dollar deal with another company, you will have saved yourself the cost of the airplane ticket and the cost of a couple-of-days stay in a hotel, but you will have lost the millions of dollars in profits that you would have received from the business deal. The money you saved on the ticket and hotel-stay will be reflected in your company's accounting books, but the millions you passed up on will not. This hidden cost that does not appear in the books is what economists call "opportunity costs". Mediocre businesspeople are indifferent to opportunity costs. Great businesspeople mourn them very deeply and do all they can to avoid them. People with a spirit of evangelistic expansion are very wary of passing up on kairos doors of opportunity because they know that expansion is impossible without them. They are sensitive to "kairos opportunity costs".

     

In short, God measures the intensity of tribulation by its spiritual component, which can be broken down into 3 factors:

  1. The unfairness of the tribulation inflicted

  2. The unseen spiritual nature of it

  3. The door of opportunity for joy and victory that is apathetically squandered

 

These 3 factors do not affect the sons of Eve as much as they do the sons of Adam. The sons of Eve can live with injustice; they are impervious to the unseen; and they lack the "expansive ambition" required to seize precious opportunities to further God's spiritual intentions on Earth. In the same way, animals can live with injustice because their minds lack the human wisdom required to judge "good" versus "evil"; they are relatively impervious to the unseen because they are dominated by their natural, biological instincts; and they lack the ambition to further God's intentions because they lack a heart that is capable of truly relating with God's heart; they cannot truly comprehend (much less promote) God's intentions because they are incapable of knowing God the way a human can. Thus, we can say that the sons of Eve are "animalised humans"; they are little more than "living animal souls" incapable of experiencing the intensity of tribulation that a true human can experience. The more human the sufferer, the more relevant his or her suffering is to God. The higher the life form of the sufferer, the more intense and world-transforming his or her suffering will be. Jesus' great tribulation was the apex of human suffering because there has never been anyone more human than Him, and those of you who are of the remnant share in Jesus' great tribulation because the nature of the Son of Man is operating inside of you. That is the reason why the "great tribulation" that began with Jesus has continued, off and on, throughout the ages until now. As we draw ever nearer to the closing of the "soul era", however, this climactic level of great tribulation is being experienced by a number of people and a length of time never before seen in human history. This great tribulation is happening underneath the radar of natural, religious understanding, but it is reverberating like infrasonic booms across the spiritual atmosphere of the Earth. This is what is triggering the many judgement events happening across America and other parts of the world.

 

Cutting short

The Lord declares in Matthew 24:22 that the days of great tribulation shall be "shortened". The word "shortened" was translated from the verb koloboo, which literally means "to mutilate", and has the connotation of something that is abruptly "lopped off". This verb only appears twice in the New Testament (in Matthew 24:22 and Mark 13:20), and, both times, it is used in the context of the remnant's great tribulation being shortened; koloboo is derived from the verb kolazo, which is used twice in the New Testament to refer to punishment:

 

"So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding nothing how they might punish them, because of the people: for all men glorified God for that which was done" (Acts 4:21)

 

"The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished" (2 Peter 2:9)

 

Notice how both verses use the word kolazo in the context of righteous people being delivered (i.e.- exempted) from God's punishment, which is reserved for the unrighteous in the "day of judgement". When most believers read the word "day" in Scripture, they think of a specific calendar day, a very discrete moment in chronos time. Yet, when the Lord uses the word "day", He is referring to an era, an age, a period during which a kairos door swings wide open and a series of new principles are allowed to come in and dominate the atmosphere.

 

"7But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. 8But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." (2 Peter 3:7-8)

[Interestingly enough, the word "now" in verse 7 was translated from the word nun, the same word used by the Lord in Matthew 24:22 above]

 

Notice how verse 7 speaks of "the day of judgement", which means that the well-known words in verse 8 are spoken by the Holy Spirit in the direct context of the day of judgement. Thus, it is misleading to see the "day of judgement" as a specific calendar day when the unrighteous will stand before the throne of God and receive a verdict and a sentence. The "day of judgement" is a period during which a kairos door will swing wide open, allowing God's judgements to permeate the entire atmosphere of the Earth, replacing the judgements of soulish wisdom that currently dominate the air. As God's judgements permeate the Earth, they will come first as a purifying fire to purge humanity ("11"), after which they will settle in the atmosphere, allowing God's throne to be established on Earth ("12").

 

From all of the above, we can safely conclude that the "shortening" of the remnant's days of tribulation (koloboo) will be done through a sudden onslaught of punishing judgements (kolazo) poured over those who have tribulated the righteous, a sudden onslaught that begins strong and increases in intensity as time goes by, like a woman that goes into labour pains.

 

"2For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. 3For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape." (1 Thessalonians 5:2-3)

 

Thus, the "days of great tribulation" for God's remnant are shortened through the sudden appearance of God's day of punishing judgements.

 

Interestingly enough, the word kolazo (meaning "to punish") is derived from the word kolos meaning "dwarf". This portrays a spiritual principle: God's punishment is drawn by those who have had a chance to grow but have passed up on it. The Church is full of spiritual dwarfs who are comfortable with a "soulified" understanding of God.

 

Flesh saved

In Matthew 24:22, the Lord declares that if the days of the remnant's great tribulation were not "shortened", "no flesh would be saved". This phrase was translated from the Greek words ou meaning "no", sarx meaning "flesh", pas meaning "all", and sozo meaning "to save". It saddens and frustrates me to see how so many other Bible translations translate this verse so loosely, adding their own personal interpretations rather than limiting themselves to translating what Jesus actually said. The "New Living Translation", for example, translates the phrase "no flesh would be saved" as "the entire human race will be destroyed", even though the Greek words for "human", "race", and "destroyed" are nowhere to be found in the original Greek text of Matthew 24:22. The hideous "New International Version" translates it as "no one would survive", even though the Greek words for "survive" and "no one" do not appear at all in the original Greek text. The usually reliable "English Standard Version" translates it as "no human being would be saved", even though the Greek words for "human" or "being" do not appear in the original text. The "Revised Standard Version" translates it the same way that the "English Standard Version" does. The "New American Standard Bible" translates it as "no life would have been saved", even though the Greek word for "life" does not appear at all in the original text. All of these mistranslations reveal that the phrase "no flesh would be saved" has a spiritual connotation that human understanding is totally resistant to.

 

{The translations of Matthew 24:22 in different versions were obtained from www.blueletterbible.org}

 

As is known by most believers, the word "flesh" (sarx in Greek) is generally used in a negative connotation throughout Scripture, as shown by the following verses:

 

"And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven" (Matthew 16:17)

 

"Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak" (Matthew 26:41)

 

"Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God" (John 1:13)

 

"It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life" (John 6:63)

 

"For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death" (Romans 7:5)

 

"For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not" (Romans 7:18)

 

"Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption" (1 Corinthians 15:50)

 

"For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would" (Galatians 5:17)

 

"For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world" (1 John 2:16)

 

If the "flesh" is generally spoken of in such negative terms, why would God cut short the remnant's great tribulation in order to prevent all flesh perishing? In other words, why would God be interested in "saving flesh"? It is interesting to consider that the only 2 verses in all of Scripture that explicitly speak of God wanting to "save flesh" are Matthew 24:22 and Mark 13:20, and both speak of the remnant's great tribulation being cut short by God. This means that the "saving of flesh" is somehow related to the tribulated remnant.

 

In order to understand the Lord's motivation for "saving flesh" and why it is connected to the remnant, we must consider the following passages that also mention the word "flesh" (sarx in Greek):

 

"13Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. 14And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." (John 1:13-14)

[Notice how the Holy Spirit speaks of the "will of the flesh" in a negative context in verse 13, only to turn around and declare that "the Word was made flesh" to dwell amongst us in verse 14]

 

"1These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: 2As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. 3And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. 4I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. 5And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was." (John 17:1-5)

[The word "power" in verse 2 is an incorrect translation of the Greek word exousia, which literally means "(jurisdictional) authority". Therefore, the Lord is declaring in verse 2 that He has been given jurisdictional authority over all flesh so that it may be able to house eternal life. As we have said before, "eternal life" is more than a ticket out of literal hell. It means becoming One with God. When the Lord says that eternal life is to know the only true God and Yeshua the Messiah, whom He has sent (v3), He is referring to more than a mental knowledge of God and Jesus Christ. He is speaking of intimate Oneness with God, not unlike the intimacy of a man and his wife (Ephesians 5:29-32). To truly "know" God means to become fully compatible with His nature, so much so that we can become One with Him for eternity. Contrary to popular belief, not all who have been born again will enter into this eternal life.

 

Notice also how this passage relates the flesh housing eternal life to God being glorified on Earth (v1,4). This connection is also made in John 1:13-14 above.]

 

"16But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; 17And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: 18And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: 19And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: 20The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come: 21And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved." (Acts 2:16-21)

[Notice how the Lord's intention is to have the Spirit overtake all flesh (v17). The "will of the flesh" (John 1:13) is carried out when the soul domineers over the Spirit. The will of God is carried out when the Spirit takes dominion over the soul, which allows the Spirit to be manifested through the flesh of man.

 

Notice also how this passage makes reference to "the day of the Lord", which points to the "day of judgement" mentioned above. On the "day of the Lord", judgements are released into the Earth (v19-20), and the path is cleared for the flesh of man to manifest the Spirit of God. When this happens, humanity will have reached the fullness of salvation. That is the reason why verse 21 speaks of man being saved as they call on the name of the Lord.]

 

"29Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. 30Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; 31He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption." (Acts 2:29-31)

[Notice that this passage emphasises the promise to David that the Christ would be manifested in the flesh to sit on the throne of David and rule on Earth. This promise implies God's commitment to manifest His Kingdom through the flesh of man, not as an ethereal kingship magically imposed from above upon humanity. As we have studied before, the Lord has declared that the Kingdom of God is to flow out from inside the flesh of those who believe and out into the world. Those who allow the Spirit to rule over the soul do not see "corruption of their flesh" (v31), which enables their flesh to become vessels through which God Himself is manifested on Earth.]

 

"For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh" (2 Corinthians 4:11)

 

"And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory." (1 Timothy 3:16)

[This verse clearly states God's intentions for the flesh of man. His desire is to manifest Himself in the flesh of Adam. This is how God is glorified on Earth, for which reason the word "glory" appears at the end of the verse.]

 

"7Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared; 8Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; 9And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him" (Hebrews 5:7-9)

[Notice how this passage emphasises the fact that Jesus was perfected during the days of His flesh. Notice also how this passage reaffirms the connection between salvation and God's fullness being manifested in the flesh.]

 

"19Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; 21And having an high priest over the house of God; 22Let 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. 23Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)" (Hebrews 10:19-23)

[Notice how this passage establishes a connection between the flesh (v20) and drawing near to God in order to become One with Him. As we submit our souls to the Spirit of God, God will break through our flesh and manifest Himself on Earth.]

 

"2Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: 3And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world." (1 John 4:2-3)

[Most Bible scholars do not have the slightest clue as to what the Spirit of God is saying in this passage. To them, this passage is simply declaring that we must believe that Jesus was a real-life historical figure and not a mythical legend. Such a simplistic interpretation, however, ignores the fact that this passage was written not too many decades after Jesus' life and death, at a time when witnesses who had seen and been with Jesus (just like John himself) were still alive. Jesus' 3-year ministry and death became rather public events in those days, so it would be ludicrous to think that the people of that time period would be susceptible to believing that Jesus was not a real-life historical figure, especially when those who had seen Jesus in the flesh were still alive. Therefore, this passage is talking about something else. It is warning us not to believe any subtle lie from the enemy that would make us deny that Jesus was fully human, a man clothed in the weakness of human flesh like any other man (as emphasised by Hebrews 5:7-9). Most believers in the Church have already fallen prey to this subtle lie, for they have turned Jesus into a "superhuman" with spiritual "superpowers" that regular humans should never dare to ever possess. By doing so, they have turned Jesus into an idol of worship and have subconsciously cleared themselves of any responsibility to be like Jesus. By raising Jesus to a level above that of humanity, they can shrug their shoulders and say, "How can I ever expect to be like Jesus? He was way above us mortal humans. He had superior spiritual abilities that we regular humans are not intended to possess. My task in life is to be a nice church-going believer who leads a respectable life and sins as little as possible until Jesus returns." As humble and pious as those words may sound, they are a mere excuse not to fulfil the potential that the Lord Jesus gave His life for. These words are equivalent to a teenager shrugging his shoulders and saying, "I am too stupid to learn anything here at university, so why should I bother studying?", even after seeing his father work double shifts for years to save enough money to get him to attend university.]

 

"7For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. 8Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward. 9Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son." (2 John 1:7-9)

[Notice how verse 7 establishes a connection between denying the weak-flesh nature of Jesus and the spirit of anti-Christ. As we have studied before, the spirit of anti-Christ is the spirit that denies that all believers can (and are called to) operate in the anointing of Christ, reserving that right for a "privileged" few. Therefore, those who place Jesus on an above-human pedestal are heeding the spirit of anti-Christ. Jesus came as a human, and all that He did and achieved was as a weak human who was fully submitted to the Spirit of God.

 

Notice also that verse 8 warns us that believing the "Jesus-was-above-humans" lie will prevent us receiving a "full reward". We cannot reach the fullness of our calling unless we are willing to believe that we have been endowed to manifest God in the flesh just as Yeshua did whilst He walked on Earth.]

 

From all of the above, we can conclude that the ultimate purpose of human flesh on Earth is so that God Himself may be manifested on Earth. This is how God is glorified on Earth, and it is the completed manifestation of man's salvation. If the Spirit of God no longer found any man or woman willing to manifest God on Earth, there would no longer be any reason for keeping mankind on Earth. There would no longer be any reason for having human flesh on Earth, and there would no longer be any reason for God to continue working on humanity, moulding human flesh into a vessel that can contain the fullness of His deity (Colossians 2:9). In the days of Noah, the Spirit of God searched for a man whose "flesh" He could mould, a man who still had the potential to manifest Him in the flesh, and He found only one; because of him, the human race was not obliterated from the face of the Earth, and human flesh was allowed to remain.

 

"6And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. 7And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. 8But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. 9These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God." (Genesis 6:6-9)

 

"11The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. 12And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. 13And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth" (Genesis 6:11-13)

 

The "great tribulation" mentioned by the Lord in Matthew 24:21 is a grinding experience. This 5th-seal ordeal is a "drainer of hope" for all the green-horse believers who go through it. The constant Jebusite and Hittite attacks (with overtones of Canaanite revenge) experienced during the "great tribulation" make the "elect of God" (i.e.- His weak but faithful remnant) feel as if they are trapped inside a long, pitch-dark tunnel. They walk and walk, and it seems as if the tunnel will never end and as if they will never see the light of day, the light of God's day. All hope for seeing the manifestation of God's glory on Earth wanes in the face of all the opposition and/or indifference of everyone around them. This leads to a fundamental self-questioning of all the dreams and visions that they have beheld with the eyes of their spirit, along with a questioning of all the sacrifices they have made in love. As the enemy's onslaught continues, with no resolution in sight, the remnant begin to ask whether they are nothing but self-deceived fools who have wasted their lives away chasing a hopelessly unrealistic dream. As their hope wanes, the justification for having humanity on Earth wanes as well, for they are the last hope on Earth to see God manifested in the flesh. The whole destiny of humanity rises and falls with the hope in the remnant's hearts. Soulish man is so determined to stay in control, however, that he will not rest until he sees the remnant and their hope dashed to pieces. He is like a cornered animal who knows his end is in sight and who would rather die fighting than see the Spirit of God take control of the Earth; as a result, he is willing to continue his assault of the remnant ad infinitum.

 

However, the soul without the spirit is unable to produce eternal things, so it is impossible for soulish man to continue his assault forever; this fact opens the way for God to intervene on behalf of His faltering remnant. If the remnant were to physically disappear from Earth or if their hope for God's manifested glory were to die, the "humanity project" would have to be cancelled. However, if they hold on long enough, in the full assurance that soul-man cannot continue his assault forever, God will intervene, cutting their tribulation short through punishing judgements on those who have participated in or been indifferent to their "mega oppression".

 

Faith, hope, and love

It is through faith in God and not man that we heed the red-horse shout and go out to the black-horse wilderness, and it is that faith which sustains us in the harshness of the black-horse desert. It is through the hope of God's glory that we leave the black-horse wilderness and cross into green-horse territory, and it is that hope which sustains us in our green-horse walk. It is through love for God and our brethren that we heed the trumpet call for ultimate sacrifice and cross the gate of "Death and Sheol", entering into the 5th-seal land of limbo. Whilst there, the hope that sustained us in our green-horse walk becomes essential to sustaining us in the middle of our 5th-seal uncertainty. As our hope wanes, the faith taught to us by the red horse, the faith which sustained us in the black-horse desert, becomes essential to completing our walk, for faith is the substance of things hoped for (Hebrews 11:1). We must exercise the determined, unyielding faith of a conquering evangelist, a faith determined to defeat the supposedly "unbeatable" enemy, a faith that is unwilling to hear the negative whispers of the enemy that assure that our vision will not come to pass. It must be a faith that knows that the soul cannot eternalise itself because the soul cannot produce eternity without the Spirit. This is the type of determined faith that accelerates the coming of God's punishment, the faith that ensures that God will preserve His humanity project on Earth.

 

"By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith" (Hebrews 11:7)

 

{The next article is titled "The anti-isolation revelation"}