The TTUF STUDY on The REVELATION of JESUS CHRIST – Chapter FOURTEEN

~ by James Fire

Introduction: Before we get into this chapter, let’s take a closer look at what we saw previously in Chapter Thirteen, using the book of DANIEL as our lens:

DANIEL 9:25-27 states the following:
25 Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. 26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. 27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

What we learn here is that the Beast is the one who “confirms the covenant” – and since this deals with the temple, sacrifices and oblations, this can be none other than the Mosaic covenant. This is for “one week (shavuim)” or seven years. It’s three and a half years in, that he stops the whole thing and commits “the abomination of desolation” (MATT 24:15; DAN 12:11).
So, what does “confirm” mean here? The Hebrew word used is gabar and it’s defined as follows: “to prevail, have strength, be strong, be powerful, be mighty, be great; to confirm, give strength to confirm (a covenant); to show oneself mighty; to act proudly (toward God)”

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SHOW CASE SALVATION – Examination of JAMES 2 and 1 JOHN 2

~ By James Fire

PART One: James Chapter 2

It’s the desire of everyone that’s received salvation through Christ to express their gratitude and worship of the LORD for what He has done, for what He is doing, and for what He has promised to do for us, in us, and through us.

In dying on the cross for our sins, in His burial in the tomb, in resurrecting to new life, the LORD provides forgiveness for us by His sacrificial death, the ability for us to die to self as He also died and was buried in the tomb (a spiritual dynamic that is exemplified in baptism) and gives to us His Spirit by resurrection, as the Spirit of the LORD no longer dwells in temples made of stone (HEB 9:11-15), but in the hearts of His saints, the children of GOD.
The truth that GOD Himself dwells in us with the life that is Christ means that we’re able to produce fruit for His glory, the fruit of the Holy Spirit (GAL 5:22) and as His children, we begin to grow in our spirituality and become more and more like the LORD Jesus.

Both James, the elder of Jerusalem as well as John the apostle elaborate on what this means in their epistles, in their two respective chapters (Chapter 2 for them both), and what they have to say is rather hard-hitting, challenging, and direct. 

Everyone who expresses genuine faith in Jesus Christ and His finished work on the cross for our salvation is justified – the penalty of sin is eviscerated from our very being. We will not suffer the condemnation and judgment for our sin, because Christ was condemned in the flesh (ROM 8:3) on our behalf, and the judgment for our sin fell upon Him (ISAIAH 53:4-6)*. We are considered just in the eyes of GOD Almighty, because of Christ's atonement for sin and granting the Spirit of GOD to us!

* Look for an upcoming TTUF article entitled, ALTAR of the ALMIGHTY, that will plunge the depths of ISAIAH 53 and PSALM 22!

Nothing we do can be added to this work of justification; this is wholly the ministry of Christ Jesus, our Blessed Redeemer. To even attempt to do so is blasphemy because it would attempt to equate our “filthy rags” (ISAIAH 64:6) to the holy character of Christ (1 PET 1:19; HEB 4:15).

Just as justification takes away the penalty of sin from us, sanctification takes away the power of sin over us, not immediately, but over the course of time as we mature spiritually, until we are completely sanctified (and glorified) at the appearance of Christ Jesus our LORD, when we see Him face to Face (1 JOHN 3:2). Just as justification happens in the lives of the saints, by the grace of GOD, so too does sanctification, which leads to the production of good fruit and, or good works:

JOHN 15:5
5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

EPHESIANS 2:10
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Such sanctification is the birthright and the (super)natural outflow of every saint of GOD; all believers are considered saints, and the word for ‘saint’ comes from the same Greek word used for ‘sanctify’ (hagios). Just as we are counted holy in our position in Christ, holiness is something that's created in us as we yield to Christ and practice holiness (HEB 12:14; 1 TIM 4:8; 2 COR 7:1).

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Beware: The Enemies of the Cross!

by A.M. Kisly

What incredible times we live in! We are surrounded by a world who calls evil good, and good evil. Humanity has always been dexterous at confusing evil with good. If evil were not made to appear good, there would be no such thing as temptation.

Modern social righteousness often differs from the righteousness of the Bible. Many of you have probably had someone say to you that a wrong deed is right if the majority of people declare it not to be wrong. By this principle, we are seeing our standards shifting away from God's standards to Satan's standards according to popular vote.

Yet the Bible clearly says: "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil." God has not changed. His standards have not been lowered. He still calls immorality a sin, and the Bible says that God is going to judge it.

Many are experiencing division in their own families over these diabolical changes. We are even seeing division within the Church. Fellow believers are compromising the biblical message of the Bible, with the world's standards as a so-called means of sharing God's love with the lost. These standards have taken precedence over sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. It has indeed become man's ways over God's only way, and true means of salvation.

Rather than standing firm in the Biblical counsel of God, brothers and sisters in Christ are bowing the knee to organizations whose goal is to tear down God's institutions in society and replace them with chaos.

Many are questioning why so many Christians are falling prey to the unbiblical call to liberal social justice, and supporting organizations whose goal is to tear down God's institutions in society.

This morning I happened upon a blog written by a lady who lives in Zagreb, Croatia. Her name is Rosalind Jukic, and I think you will be blessed by what she has to say.
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EXODUS – GOD’s MIRACULOUS DELIVERANCE of ISRAEL FROM EGYPT – INTRO and Chapter TWO

Exodus #01 Ch. 2 Typology In Exodus-Chuck Missler, Contributing commentaries by pastors Sonny Islas, Albert Lopez and James Fire

EXODUS 2– by Albert Lopez, for the Facebook video, go here.

INTRODUCTION: A story of a nameless baby for 10 verses, before he is revealed. This baby is protected in dangerous, uncertain times; we read about how important this child would be in the future. And we know that he would eventually flee from Egypt.
Jesus would also be protected and would flee to Egypt as a baby. Yet when Jesus was older, he became exposed and not protected, but vulnerable – to the point of being crucified!

God exposed Jesus to such a degree, that on the cross He cried out:

Matthew 27:47
About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “ELI, ELI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?” that is, “MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?”

Moses, which would be the name of this child, would be born of slave parents and the adopted child of Princes. (Royal lineage). This points to how we before Christ are sons and daughters born into slavery (of the world and of sin) but when we come to Christ we are brought out of slavery and into our King Jesus’s Holy and Royal lineage!

We read in 1 Peter.2:9-10.
“But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10 for you once were NOT A PEOPLE, but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD; you had NOT RECEIVED MERCY, but now you have RECEIVED MERCY.”

So, with all that said, let’s get into Chapter Two of Exodus!
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The NAME That Is ABOVE ALL Names!

by A.M. Kisly
Long before the Conservative Resurgence, Dr. R.G. Lee was the Southern Baptist champion of biblical infallibility and inerrancy. In his sermon, “The Word of God – Not Broken and Not Bound,” first published in 1930, Dr. Lee proclaimed, “All who wrote [the Bible] are immortalized by their writing of this great Book, supernatural in origin, divine in authorship, human in penmanship, infallible in authority, infinite in scope, universal in interest, personal in application, regenerative in power, [and] inspired in totality.”

I ran across a sermon by R. G. Lee entitled “The Name Above Every Name”, and I feel that it is definitely worth posting here. 

Jesus has the name above all names because Jesus Christ is Lord of all! This name, given to Him by the Father, affirms His divinity and supreme authority. It is to Him that we surrender, and it is Him that we must come to know.
“Wherefore God hath also highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth.” Phil. 2:9-10

“Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come.” Eph. 1:20-21

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LORDSHIP Salvation: What Is True Faith?

 By A.M. Kisly

The reality of the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

Jesus is Lord!  This statement is the truth of WHO JESUS IS.  He is Lord!  And that means that Jesus is God. He has “all authority in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:18). He is Lord of the Sabbath (Luke 6:5). He is “our only Sovereign and Lord” (Jude 1:4). He is, in fact, the Lord of lords (Revelation 17:14).

It is my prayer that this article will provoke serious soul searching in all matters concerning salvation and right living in Him.

Who do you say that I am?

In Matthew 16:15-16, Jesus asked His disciples a very important question, “Who do you say that I am?” Peter responded, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God."

Clearly, Jesus thought it fundamentally important what others believed about Him. He wasn’t interested in neutrality, for instance; He teaches us that we must be all in, or all out.  No one can sit on the fence when it comes to God (Luke 11:23).  There is no such thing as faith that sort of believes. When Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life,” (John 14:6) He wasn’t making meaningless, abstract statements. His divinity was central to His messages; Jesus regarded the two as inseparable.

Why is this important? It is important because what we believe about God will in fact determine our eternal destination.  

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