DEUTERONOMY 18:15 The LORD your GOD will raise up unto you a Prophet from the midst of you, of your brethren, like unto me [Moses]. Unto him you shall listen.
The responsibilities of "that Prophet" were barely begun when YAHshua returned to Heaven in the First Century to begin to prepare those through the ages who will restore and refresh the Earth as rulers in his soon-coming Kingdom. And "that Prophet" is once again actively engaged in revealing his plans to those able to accept them, and those willing to share his vision for the World.
A Moving Experience
To all of you who are still returning to see What's Happening—the answer is . . . a lot! In fact, too much. But I will "spare you the details". After twenty-seven years of living in the same home—which my wife and I bought when we were a mere forty years of age—we finally decided to share a moving experience together again . . . and I "enjoyed" it as much as the Angel of the LORD "enjoyed" moving Israel out of Egypt to what he knew could become a wonderful new home.
We have moved to another town, not far away from the former, but with far more "potential" in many ways. Many times during the many weeks following the move, I wished I could have "inhabited" a "volcanic" mountain to fully express my "displeasure" about the innumerable complications and aggravations that resulted from having a formerly "well-ordered" life thrown into disarray by a re-location—after months of perplexing negotiation over the selling of the former home, and the buying of the current.
EXODUS 20:18-21
20:18 And all the people saw the thundering and lightning, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood far off.
20:19 And they said unto Moses, You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not GOD speak with us, lest we die.
20:20 And Moses said unto the people, Fear not; for GOD has come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that you sin not.
20:21 And the people stood far off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where GOD was.
But perhaps "I doth protest too much" about the inconsequential "trials and tribulations" of a relatively uneventful, voluntary move. During the "Exodus", Israel had no concept of what the LORD had been preparing for them for several generations. Thus, they complained continually, and justifiably, about being forced to leave their "life" behind with apparently nothing better to replace it—a "life" that wasn't nearly as intolerable as what some melodramatic theatrical caricatures, or "slave" stereotypists portray.
EXODUS 16:2-3
16:2 And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.
16:3 And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for you have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger.
NUMBERS 11:4-8
11:4 And the mixed multitude that was among them fell a hungering; and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us meat to eat?
11:5 We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic.
11:6 But now our soul is dried away. There is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes.
11:7 And the manna was as coriander seed, and the color thereof as the color of bdellium [pearl-like].
11:8 And the people went about, and gathered it, and ground it in mills, or beat it in a mortar, and baked it in pans, and made cakes of it; and the taste of it was as the taste of fresh oil.
Of course the Israelites complained about being put on a strict "bread" and water diet. Who wouldn't? But that wasn't their main problem. They were so resistant to changing anything about their old idolatrous religious indoctrination and traditions that they missed out on one of the greatest opportunities ever given to any group of humans; from the beginning of human history until now. An opportunity to reveal GOD to the World as He had never been revealed before—as the GOD who has always required only a sincere effort to follow ten simple behavioral guidelines in order to qualify for His favors and blessings.
DEUTERONOMY 5:1-33
5:1 And Moses called all Israel, and said unto them, Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your ears this day, that you may learn them, and keep, and do them.
5:2 The LORD, our GOD made a covenant with us in Horeb [Mt. Sinai].
5:3 The LORD made not this covenant with our fathers, but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day.
5:4 The LORD talked with you face-to-face in the mount out of the midst of the fire.
5:5 (I stood between the LORD and you at that time, to show you the word of the LORD; for you were afraid by reason of the fire, and went not up into the mount;) saying,
5:6 I am the LORD, your GOD, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.
5:7 You shall have no other gods before me.
5:8 You shall not make any engraved image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven [the sky] above, or that is in the earth [the land] beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the earth [the seas].
5:9 You shall not bow down yourself unto them, nor serve them; for I the LORD, your GOD am a jealous GOD, visiting [imposing the automatic consequences of] the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate [disobey] me,
5:10 And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.
5:11 You shall not take the name of the LORD your GOD in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that takes His name in vain.
5:12 Keep the Sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD your GOD has commanded you.
5:13 Six days you shall labor, and do all your work;
5:14 But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your GOD; in it you shall not do any work; you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your manservant [male employee], nor your maidservant [female employee] , nor your ox, nor your ass, nor any of your cattle, nor your stranger ["alien" worker] that is within your gates; that your manservant and your maidservant may rest as well as you.
5:15 And remember that you were a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD your GOD brought you out from that place through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm; therefore the LORD your GOD commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.
5:16 Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your GOD has commanded you; that your days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with you, in the land which the LORD your GOD gives you.
5:17 You shall not kill.
5:18 Neither shall you commit adultery.
5:19 Neither shall you steal.
5:20 Neither shall you bear false witness against your neighbor.
5:21 Neither shall you desire your neighbor's wife, neither shall you covet your neighbor's house, his field, or his manservant, or his maidservant, his ox, or his ass, or any thing that is your neighbor's.
5:22 These words the LORD spoke unto all your assembly in the mount out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice; and He added no more. And He wrote them in two tables of stone, and delivered them unto me.
5:23 And it came to pass, when you heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness, (for the mountain did burn with fire,) that you came near unto me, even all the heads of your tribes, and your elders;
5:24 And you said, Behold, the LORD our GOD has showed us His glory and His greatness, and we have heard His voice out of the midst of the fire. We have seen this day that GOD does talk with man, and He lives.
5:25 Now therefore why should we die? For this great fire will consume us. If we hear the voice of the LORD our GOD any more, then we shall die.
5:26 For who is there of all flesh that has heard the voice of the living GOD speaking out of the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived?
5:27 Go you near, and hear all that the LORD our GOD shall say; and speak you unto us all that the LORD our GOD shall speak unto you; and we will hear it, and do it.
5:28 And the LORD heard the voice of your words, when you spoke unto me; and the LORD said unto me, I have heard the voice of the words of this people, which they have spoken unto you. They have well said all that they have spoken.
5:29 O that there were such a "heart" in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!
5:30 Go say to them, Get into your tents again.
5:31 But as for you, stand you here by me, and I will speak unto you all the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which you shall teach them, that they may do them in the land which I give them to possess it.
5:32 You shall observe to do therefore as the LORD your GOD has commanded you. You shall not turn aside to the right hand, or to the left.
5:33 You shall walk in all the ways which the LORD your GOD has commanded you, that you may live, and that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which you shall possess.
Because that generation of Israel preferred to cling to the familiar complexities of worshipping their traditional array of spirit gods, and rejected the new, and simple revelations given through the Angel of the LORD, they made themselves worse than useless. And the Angel of the LORD has been waiting ever since to begin working with those who are willing to reveal the true "super-nature" of the LORD, GOD the Unlimited—now known as GOD, the Father.
DEUTERONOMY 18:15-22
18:15 The LORD your GOD will raise up unto you a Prophet from the midst of you, of your brethren, like unto me [Moses]. Unto him you shall hearken;
18:16 According to all that you desired of the LORD your GOD in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my GOD; neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not.
18:17 And the LORD [GOD, the Unlimited] said unto me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken.
18:18 I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren [with Israelite, or "Jewish" ancestry], like unto you [Moses], and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.
18:19 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words, which he shall speak in my name [with the LORD's authority], I will require it of him [obligate him who will not listen, to respond—or suffer the consequences of ignoring GOD-given warnings].
18:20 But [in contrast to the authorized Prophet] that "prophet" which shall presume to speak a word in my name which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that "prophet" shall die [without seeing fulfillment of his presumptive prognostications]. [That is not a command to execute an alleged "false prophet" simply because the person has predicted something that might not be fulfilled by GOD for two or three thousand years. All of the "major" and "minor" Prophets in the Messianic and Christian scriptures fit into that category—including YAHshua himself!]
18:21 And if you say in your heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD has not spoken?
18:22 When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken [in most cases], but the "prophet" has spoken it presumptuously [by assuming that his own predictions are GOD's predictions]. You shall not be afraid of him [fear that ignoring him will result in punishment by GOD]. [False prophets tend to make short-term, dated predictions that fail on the date predicted, thus exposing them as being untrustworthy—but not someone to fear.]
Scripture is clear that YAHshua, of Nazareth characterized "the Prophet" during his short ministry in the "First Century" A.D. Yet he reached relatively few with understanding of who he was, and Who he had come to reveal—his GOD, the Father in Heaven. In fact, many thought he was actually a presumptuous false prophet who didn't understand what he was talking about most of the time, and deserved to be "eliminated".
DEUTERONOMY 13:1-4
13:1 If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and gives you a sign or a wonder,
13:2 And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spoke unto you, saying, Let us go after other gods, which you have not known, and let us serve them;
13:3 You shall not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams; for the LORD your GOD tests you, to know whether you love the LORD your GOD with all your heart, and with all your soul.
13:4 You shall walk after the LORD your GOD, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and you shall serve him, and cleave unto him.
ACTS 3:18-25
3:18 But those things, which GOD before had showed by the mouth of all His Prophets, that Christ should suffer, He has so fulfilled.
3:19 Repent you therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the LORD.
3:20 And He shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you:
3:21 Whom the Heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which GOD has spoken by the mouth of all His holy Prophets since the World began.
3:22 For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A Prophet shall the LORD your GOD raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall you hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you.
3:23 And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that Prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.
3:24 Yes, and all the Prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days.
3:25 You are the children of the Prophets, and of the Covenant which GOD made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in your seed shall all the families of the Earth be blessed.
The responsibilities of "that Prophet" were barely begun when Yahshua returned to Heaven in the First Century to begin to prepare those through the ages who will restore and refresh the Earth as rulers in his soon-coming Kingdom. And "that Prophet" is once again actively engaged in revealing his plans to those able to accept them and those willing to share his vision for the World.
Moving to a new "point of view" is not as easy as being a "stick-in-the-mud" who resists all new ideas. But often a "new point of view" can begin a regeneration of thinking that has enormous potential for developing into a "new life" that would never have been possible without taking the "first step"—which is never easy—for most creatures.
Most humans have never lived much farther than the distance they could easily walk from their "birth place"—the land of their "nativity", thus making them "natives". And if that is working well for you—"stay put". But don't let your mind stay in one place the rest of your life.
The World-Wide Internet—and Google (or any of the other search engines which some people apparently use)—can give you a taste of "omniscience". If you learn to use the Internet efficiently, you can progressively learn "almost everything" worth knowing about the "World"—without the expense and risk of actually traveling around the World.
Perhaps you won't become "worldly wise" by getting yourself in trouble around the World. But often those who think they are "worldly wise" are like those who claim to be "street smart" because they have personally experienced, and suffered the consequences of every method of being "street dumb".
Most of those who have become known as sources of wisdom have not acquired their wisdom by "traipsing" all over the World, but by staying home and studying "wisdom" that already exists thanks to the thinking of others and their efforts to share it with the World. Don't waste your time running "to and fro" seeking the "word of the LORD".
AMOS 8:11-12
8:11 Behold, the days come, says the LORD GOD, that I will send a "famine" in the land; not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD.
8:12 And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the North, even to the East. They shall run "to and fro" to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it. [Many will run to alleged "end-time prophets"—then run from them when their occult, or hidden agendas are exposed.]
1 TIMOTHY 4:1
4:1 Now the Spirit speaks expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
2 TIMOTHY 3:1-7
3:1 This know also, that in the last days dangerous times shall come.
3:2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3:3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, without self-control, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
3:4 Traitors, rebellious, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of GOD;
3:5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof. From such turn away.
3:6 For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with diverse lusts;
3:7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
2 TIMOTHY 3:13-17
3:13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.
3:14 But continue in the things which you have learned and have been assured of, knowing of whom you have learned them;
3:15 And that from your childhood you have known the holy scriptures [the Septuagint version of the Law, Prophets, and Writings—the "Old Testament"], which are able to make you wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus [the Messiah, Yahshua].
3:16 All scripture [that] is given by inspiration of GOD, is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness;
3:17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly equipped unto all good works.
2 TIMOTHY 4:3-4
4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
4:4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
A "famine" of "hearing the words of the LORD" will have to occur for a specific period of time, as prophesied in scripture. But before that, an equivalent period of "plenty" will be fulfilled during which revelation about the advent of the Messianic Kingdom of GOD will reach and teach the World as was never possible before the advent of the World Wide Internet.
MATTHEW 24:14
24:14 And this Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in all the World for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the End come.
MARK 13:10
13:10 And the Gospel must first be published among all nations.
DANIEL 11:33
11:33 And they that understand among the people shall instruct many. . .
DANIEL 12:4
12:4 But you, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the End. Many shall run "to and fro" [to and from those revealing the significance of the "word of the LORD"—before the time of the End] and [prophetic] knowledge shall be increased.
Many will be enabled to "understand" the details of the End-time before the time of the End, as it becomes freely available around the World for several years. And later, "they that understand" will be empowered to "instruct many" of those who will be literally "running to and fro" seeking genuine prophetic knowledge during the years of the "famine of the word".
But those enabled to understand new end-time revelations will not have that knowledge and understanding "poured" into empty minds. They will know what to expect from personal study of the "ages old" prophecies that are finally beginning to be fulfilled.
And they will have proven, over a course of many years, that they are worthy of being included among those who will share in the fulfillment of one of the most beautiful prophetic promises in the Bible.
DANIEL 12:3
And they that are wise shall shine as the brightness of the day sky; and they that turn many to righteousness, as the stars — for ever and ever.
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