Hi John and Doves,
Appreciate the discussion that occurs on the site.  Here is some meat to chew on.
Cal

ON THE VERGE - OF THREE AND ONE HALF YEARS

As we approach another appointed time of the Most High, the earth orbits on inexorably and its' inhabitants travel relentlessly towards that Day.  God has asked His people to make choices affecting their eternal destinies.  There are points in time where destinies for individuals and nations become sealed.  We approach such a time as this.  He has called people into an intimacy with Him through the blood of Jesus, the cross, in the power of the Holy Spirit.  For the past few years He has spoken to His church to pray that they be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass and to stand before the son of man (Lk. 21:36), to seek the Lord all the meek of the earth who have upheld His justice, seek righteousness, and to seek humility, that we may be hidden in the day of the Lord's anger (Zeph. 2:3).

Unfortunately few have heard.  Further, fewer still have been faithful to do this.  Many who name the Lord Jesus Christ commit abominations that will bring the promised desolations upon them.  They believe that they are at peace with God and safe in Him but instead they will be caught in the labor pains and sudden destruction and they shall not escape (1Thes. 5:3).  Jeremiah heralded the iniquity of God's people with their abominations and they cried, "Peace, peace" (Jer. 6:13-15) but alas they were not at peace with God.  To ensure that the people did not mistake God's grievance against them, Jeremiah repeats the same message in Jer. 8:10-12 and assures them that there is no peace and punishment was determined.  Ezekiel mirrors this message in Ez. 13:10 when the people cry "Peace".  There is no peace with the Lord because of the abominations and iniquity that are committed among them and therefore punishment is determined.

Jesus points out to us that the wise will understand.  There are few that go through the narrow gate and stay upon the difficult path to life.  Few find it.  There must first be a falling away and the man of sin revealed sitting in the temple of God.  Many have fallen away!  Truth is fallen in the streets and in the temple.  Know you not that YOU are the temple of God?! Would you recognize the enemy of our souls has set up his throne in your hearts and minds?  Unlikely!! Unless you are one of the few.  2Thes. 2:11-12 declares that the many would believe a lie concerning this matter and God himself would send strong delusion concerning this because they loved not the truth.  What abomination! What an affront to God! Worshipping a false god in place of the true Lord God Most High.  Historically this same error brought desolations from the Lord and will do so again.  Ezekiel saw these abominations in the temple in Ez. 8.  The mustard seed of faith has grown into a tree of the church that spirits of wickedness have come to make their home in.  How could this state of affairs come into being?  The serpent feeds on the dust of our fleshly Adamic nature, and the true cross of Christ has not had its way.  The Lamb of God has not been embraced and the individual has not identified himself with the sacrifice.  Spiritual sacrifices must be given. The flesh nature must be crucified on its' own personal cross and crucified with Christ.  A. W. Tozer identified the deceitful transition of the old cross to the new cross in this edited version of,
 

"The Old Cross and the New"
"The old cross would have no truck with the world. For Adam's proud flesh it meant the end of the journey. It carried into effect the sentence imposed by the law of Sinai. The new cross is not opposed to the human race; rather, it is a friendly pal and, if understood aright, it is the source of oceans of good clean fun and innocent enjoyment. It lets Adam live without interference. His life motivation is unchanged; he still lives for his own pleasure, only now he takes delight in singing choruses and watching religious movies instead of singing bawdy songs and drinking hard liquor. The accent is still on enjoyment, though the fun is now on a higher plane morally if not intellectually.
"The new cross encourages a new and entirely different evangelistic approach. The evangelist does not demand abnegation of the old life before a new life can be received. He preaches not contrasts but similarities. He seeks to key into public interest by showing that Christianity makes no unpleasant demands; rather, it offers the same thing the world does, only on a higher level. Whatever the sin-mad world happens to be clamoring after at the moment is cleverly shown to be the very thing the gospel offers, only the religious product is better.
"The new cross does not slay the sinner, it redirects him. It gears him into a cleaner and jollier way of living and saves his self-respect. To the self-assertive it says, Come and assert yourself for Christ. To the egotist it says, Come and do your boasting in the Lord. To the thrill-seeker it says, Come and enjoy the thrill of Christian fellowship. The Christian message is slanted in the direction of the current vogue in order to make it acceptable to the public.
"The philosophy back of this kind of thing may be sincere, but sincerity does not save it from being false. It is false because it is blind. It misses completely the whole meaning of the cross.
"The old cross is a symbol of death. It stands for the abrupt, violent end of a human being. The man in Roman times who took up his cross and started down the road had already said good-by to his friends. He was not coming back. He was not going out to have his life redirected; he was going out to have it ended. The cross made no compromises, modified nothing, spared nothing; it slew all of the man, completely and for good. It did not try to keep on good terms with its victim. It struck cruel and hard, and when it had finished its work, the man was no more." -- by A. W. Tozer

The new cross has brought a great many false conversions and we have also had a great many false baptisms in the Holy Spirit.  On the old cross you are to be dead to sin with the life of Jesus Christ in you.

With rampant deception, there are still those who have followed His holy call.  To these, you have overcome in the battle of the mind.  You have had success in fields of engagement of the flesh (Rom. 6:12), the devil (James 4:7), and the church (Rev. 2-3 renders promises to individuals who overcome the corporate organized church).  To you, Jude adds his voice that you be preserved before the presence of His glory.  To these who have overcome, the condition of the majority brings sorrow and grief.

God is finalizing the marking of those who have these very characteristics.  In the spirit, the Lord is marking those who sigh and cry over the abominations done amongst God's people (Ez 9:4).  This spiritual marking results in physical survival (Ez 9:8).  This is comparative to being hidden in the day of the Lord's anger (Zeph. 2:3) and standing before the son of man (Lk. 21:36).  Fulfilling Psalm 91.

Is this so difficult to understand?  Jesus standing on the ground said that he was in heaven at the same time (John 3:13).  Are we not to be like Him?  IF you are raised up you too can be seated with Christ in heavenly places while your body is on earth.  As the angels ascended and descended upon Jesus while He was on earth (John 1:51), we are to be the Bethel, house of God, being gates into the earth by which God's will is done on the earth as it is in heaven.  As priests, offering spiritual sacrifice, as ambassadors, bringing the gospel of the kingdom into the earth.

God has appointed a certain day for the ending of the rule of Adam's nature in the earth.  Scriptures in Daniel and Revelation speak of a 3 ½ year period of time in which many events culminate.  As the north wind begins to blow, the affects of the dealings of God can be seen.

At the time of the initial preparation of this study, New Orleans had just succumbed to disaster and mayhem caused by a hurricane.  In the aftermath, soldiers made a couple of amazing discoveries as reported by a televised CBS news report.  Amidst complete destruction, 2 bibles in good condition were found, one by a marina, another by a chapel, both open to Revelations chapters 10 & 11.  These chapters begin the 3 ½ year period discussed in the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ.

The book of Daniel first speaks of a 3 ½ year period of time where a beast rules in the world system and persecutes the saints for a time and times and half a time (3 ½ years) in Daniel 7:25.  In Daniel 9:24-27, 70 weeks are mentioned, where one week is equivalent to seven years.  The 70 weeks are divided into 62 weeks, 7 weeks, and a one week period.  Gabriel takes Daniel to the midst of the one week - after 3 ½ years - where Messiah's crucifixion as the perfect Lamb of God brought an end to sacrifice and offering required under the old covenant system. Gabriel provides no detail of the latter 3 ½ years of the one week period.  Daniel 12:7-9 speaks of a time, and times, and half a time (3½ years) and in verse 9 is told that the explanation of this period is sealed till the time of the end.

The sealed book of Daniel 12:9 now becomes the open book in Revelations 10:9-11 as John launches into the explanation of events transpiring during this 3½ year period of time beginning in Revelations chapter 11.  Direct references to this time period are:

a) Rev 11:2 - for 42 months (3 ½ years) the holy city is trodden underfoot
b) Rev 11:3 - for 1,260 days (3 ½ years) two witnesses prophecy
c) Rev 12:6 - for 1,260 days (3 ½ years) a woman is preserved in the wilderness
d) Rev 12:14 - for a time, and times, and half a time (3 ½ years) a woman is preserved in the wilderness from the face of the serpent
e) Rev 13:5 - for 42 months (3 ½ years) a beast rules in the world system and persecutes the saints.

The 3 ½ years are described in different manners but are so intertwined as to be inseparable.   The woman preserved in the wilderness for 3 ½ years uses 2 descriptors of a time, and times and half a time as well as 1,260 days to describe the 3 ½ years to avoid confusion.

Revelations 13:5 describes the 3 ½ years as 42 months when the beast rules and persecutes the saints bringing us back full circle to the first mention of this period of time in Daniel 7:25 where the beast rules and persecutes the saints for a time, and times, and half a time (3 ½ years). Other similarities between Daniel 7 and Revelations 13 are:

Daniel Revelation
4 beasts 1 beast
lion with eagles wings lion mouth
bear feet of bear
leopard with 4 heads body of leopard
7 heads in all 7 heads
10 horns 10 horns
little horn war on saints beast war on saints

The descriptor of "as a woman in travail" (referencing the birth pangs) is often used in scripture in proximity to the day of the Lord.  This makes for an interesting study in itself.  In John 16:21 Jesus tells us " A woman (element of the church) when she is in labor has sorrow because her hour has come…" but joy when the child is born. Isaiah 66:7-10 describes 2 births, one with travail, and one without travail.  The one without travail was fulfilled 2000 years ago as divinity came in the flesh.  The one with travail Isaiah says shall be fulfilled and bring joy.  The fulfillment of these prophecies occur in Revelations chapter 12 with the birth of a male child around the time of the 3 ½ year period.

Revelations 12 divides the people of God just as His marking of them does.  Once this period begins, the opportunity to change your grouping ends.  The groups are a male child, a woman, and the rest.  The male child is found worthy to stand before the Son of Man (Lk. 21:36) as the male child is caught up to God and to His throne (Rev. 12:5).  The woman is kept in the wilderness and from the face of the serpent (Rev. 12:5,14).  The rest who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ are at war with the dragon (Rev 12:17).  God's people are divided into those who are worthy to stand before the Son of Man, those who are kept in the wilderness, and those who suffer war and persecution.

While there is still opportunity, follow His instructions.  Destinies are being sealed.  He has spoken to His church to pray that they be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass and to stand before the son of man (Lk. 21:36), to seek the Lord all the meek of the earth who have upheld His justice, seek righteousness, and to seek humility, that we may be hidden in the day of the Lord's anger (Zeph. 2:3).

May God in wrath remember mercy.

Cal