Tag Archives: REPENT for the Kingdom of God is at hand

by

“Introduction to the King”

“The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

As it is written in the prophets, BEHOLD, I SEND MY MESSENGER BEFORE THY FACE, WHICH SHALL PREPARE THE WAY BEFORE THEE. 

THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, PREPARE YE THE WAY OF THE LORD, MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT. 

John did baptize in the wilderness and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.

And there went out unto him all the land of Judaea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him.

And John was clothed with camel’s hair, and with a girdle of skin (leather belt) about his loins; and he did eat locust and wild honey.

And preached saying, There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose. 

I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.

And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan.

And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him:

And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

And immediately the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness.

And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him.

Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God.

And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.” Mark 1:1-15

As we begin our adventure into refreshing ourselves through some of the teaching of Jesus, I want to point something out.

One of the main issues today, that has led up to the false teachings that are rampant today leading millions, possibly billions down the wrong path as they have trusted the salvation of their souls to these “teachers” that are either intentionally, for gain, misleading them or having put themselves into a field that they are not qualified for.

To be qualified, you must have a true relationship with Christ, included having repented of sins and accepted his salvation.

If they themselves have never repented, how on earth can they lead others to repentance?

Of course, they teach that anything goes because they do not know the truth of the Gospel, nor do they know the danger that they put not only themselves but those who follow them in.

God is Holy, He changes that for no one.

So I want to give a little of John’s story from multiple Gospel accounts, this I believe is one of the major issues going on, no one can truly understand the word of God unless God reveals it to them by His Spirit, this is why Jesus, when asked by the disciples why he spoke in parables, answered this.

Mark 4:11-12:”And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable.

And he said unto, Unto you it is given to know the mystery (secret, hidden truths) of the kingdom of God; but unto them that are without (outside) all these things are done in parables.

THAT SEEING THEY MAY SEE, AND NOT PERECEIVE; AND HEARING THEY MAY HEAR. AND NOT UNDERSTAND; LEST AT ANY TIME THEY SHOULD BE CONVERTED, AND THEIR SINS SHOULD BE FORGIVEN THEM.” 

That is why so many will twist scripture and try to argue points when they do not have the complete understanding of what they are miscommunicating to others.

God had the Bible written in such a way, that we can read part of an account in one book and then need to read the rest of the story in one or several other books of the Bible, and some things from the Old Testament are revisited and further explained in the New Testament and vice versa.

That is why we are told to “righty divide the word of Truth”, it is not so easy that they can just pick a book (which they do) and then twist it into their own personal interruption. God has to give us that understanding and in order to have that understanding we have to be in him.

And as they would rather trust in their own “knowledge” and their own “understanding”, he lets them have it their way.

They have the praise of themselves, and of others who are being misled, but they have nothing of God.

Now that we got that out of the way!

I want to give a more detailed account of John, it is good to know these things for ourselves, and it gives us true insight concerning the beginning of Christ’s ministry and the purpose of it.

Luke 3:1-9: “Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene.

Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto john the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.

And he came into all the country about (around) Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance from the remission of sins.  

As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias (Isaiah) the prophet, saying, THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, PREPARE YE THE WAY OF THE LORD, MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT.

EVERY VALLEY SHALL BE FILLED, AND EVERY MOUNTAIN AND HILL SHALL BE BROUGHT LOW; AND THE CROOKED SHALL BE MADE STRAIGHT, AND THE ROUGH WAYS SHALL BE MADE SMOOTH.

AND ALL FLESH SHALL SEE THE SALVATION OF GOD.

Then said he to the multitudes that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation (offspring) of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father (as an ancestor) for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire.”

I want to take an injection moment, before we continue, please notice that John was essentially dealing with the problem we have today.

They were arrogantly saying in their hearts that they did not need this salvation, because they were of the lineage of Abraham, trying to use lineage as an excuse for not having to take personal responsibility for the need of repentance.

And he literally called them the offspring of Vipers, snakes, serpents, taught in all things reprobate, never being warned by those who came before, that there was a wrath to be escaped.

He let them know that this was not about having worshippers or servants of the Lord, that God could create heirs for Abraham out of the very rocks if he so chose, that the need for salvation was not needed of God, but needed by them themselves, as that wrath would come and all not producing fruit of the spirit would be sawn down.

This got their attention! Most people want salvation, that is why it is up to us to let them know the truth.

Luke 3:10-22:”And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then?

He answered and saith unto them, He that hath two coats (tunics), let him impart (give) to him that hath none: and he that hath meat (food), let him do likewise.

Then came also the publicans (tax collectors) to be baptized, and said unto him, Master (Teacher), what shall we do?

And he said unto them, Exact (Collect) no more than that which is appointed you.

And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, (Do not intimidate or shake down) neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages. 

And the people were in expectation, and all men mused (reasoned) in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ or not.

John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water: but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire.

Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner (barn);but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable. 

And many other things in his exhortation preached he unto the people. 

But Herod the tetrarch, being reproved (rebuked) by him for Herodias his brother Philip’s wife, and for all the evils he had done.

Added this yet above all, that he shut John up in the prison.

Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened.

And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said Thou art my beloved Son: in thee I am well pleased.”

We’ll get a little more into what went on with John and Herod in another post, but as you see John clearly taught what was acceptable to God. These things were not optional, neither are they optional today.

Lastly, we can see the importance of doing as God requires, as John preached and baptized, warning, and exhorting those who came to him and we see, even, Jesus, in obedience to God, doing the same,

Matthew 3: 13-15: “Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him.

But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and thou comest to me?  

And Jesus answering said to him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he suffered (allowed) Him.”

John did not want to baptize Jesus, because he knew who Jesus was, (and is), he knew he needed Jesus to baptize him, but Jesus told him to do it, to allow it, because it was fitting, Jesus was an example for us and to us, that all righteous must be fulfilled.

If the Word himself kept Word, how do you suppose so many teach that it is negotiable and open to interpretation?  It’s not.

Love & Peace till tomorrow! Thanks for reading!

*Also, I am not shouting! Some scripture is capitalized as it is the Bible to denote it being recited from another passage.

Φλογιζω NBJ 2022/ Rev. N. Brown Johnson

 

by

“Trumpets preparing to sound” Part #1

“HO, (means listen closely to hear an announcement) every one that thirsteth, Come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy and eat; yea, Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.

Wherefore (Why) do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken (listen) diligently unto me, and eat that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness (abundance). 

Incline your ear, (HEAR) and Come unto me: Hear and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.

Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people. Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not,and nations that knew the not shall run unto thee because of the Lord thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee.

Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near;

LET the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him RETURN unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.” Isaiah 55: 1-7

This is yet another invitation, the invitation that is mirrored in Revelation 22:17: “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come, And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” 

I have been really stressing that one and it should look very familiar so we have established that God has indeed sent that invitation out since the fall of man, through the prophets of old, through his disciples, through his minister of fire, and through the deaths of an untold number of those martyred through the centuries for the Word of Christ, and those who are even today being martyred for the testimony of God, choosing death rather than a life requiring them to deny the one true God, and with every one of those deaths, that call is becoming increasing louder, that call is screaming, Come! 

Their deaths are not going unnoticed, God is aware of every one of them,, as Jesus promised that not one hair will perish, even death can not destroy the life he has created.

He himself,as God, told us through the prophet Isaiah to Come, repent, knowing as David knew, that He is merciful and wants to save all who are willing to be saved.

We have discussed the gathering of the church, the rapture, the day in which Jesus will call the dead from their graves and those who have remained faithful to his truth, from this earth, to hide them, if you will, for but a moment, while things get done the “hard way”.

Remember we can do it the easy way or the hard way, and unfortunately, it looks like for billions it is gonna have to be the hard way. It is hard to fathom how a country could turn so far from God and especially at such a horrifying speed.

But nevertheless, my friends, it has happened and as we have studied in great detail the urgency of which those unrepentant have been welcomed and warned, we must now study what will befall earth.

Not just one country, not just pagan nations, not just the baby killing God haters who refuse salvation because their hearts have been turned through their own hatred to pure blackness, not just this group or that group, but these judgments will come upon the entire earth.

To start us out on this journey, I want to back it up a bit, in Revelation, a few verses before our final invitation is given in unison from the Spirit and the bride.

Revelation 22:10.11:“And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings (words) of this book; for the time is at hand.

He that is  unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.”

He told John to not seal up the Book, meaning that his word and his warnings would be there, available for all, who will, to read for themselves that they would know that time is at hand, and whatever state they are in, that is the state in which they shall remain.

And there are always people scoffers, (as the Bible calls them) who will want to argue with you, “Well, I have heard that all my life and it hasn’t happened yet.”

Good for them! Good for them to have been born into a generation before seeing these things come upon earth, but they can not argue the facts of the state of degradation this world is now in.

Or argue, that just by watching any news program we can see daily all the signs Jesus told us we would see at the end time, all the unrest of nations, all the earthquakes, all the sickness, all the woes of those birth pangs that we were foretold, so that we would know that that time is near.

Before we get too far into this, because it will be a progressive series dealing with the coming judgments, let me give just as a refresher for the societal attributes that are now running amok and are effectively bringing down that divine judgment, I have used all  these in posts past but we’ll add the here so you will have a cohesive picture to compare as to the world around us, and also I never want you to take my word for it, I write these verse straight from the King James Bible and ask that you take your Bible and go along and read them also so that God can lead you to other scriptures he may have for you.

So here we go:

Romans 1:28-32: “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient (fitting)

Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornifaction, wickedness, covertness, maliciousness, full of envy, murder, debate (strife), deceit, malignity (evil-mindedness); whisperers,

Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful (violent),proud, boasters,inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 

Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable (unforgiving),unmerciful;

Who knowing the judgment (righteous judgment) of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in (approve of) them that do them.”

I think the one that has stood out the most to me is “without natural affection”, it’s like people have lost all sense of decency, not even remotely caring about anyone else, I have been appalled by all the abortionists bragging about having abortions, screaming about their rights and wanting to murder a baby at nine month tern when anyone else killing that child would be charged with the murder that it is, and the disregard for life allowing the assisted suicides of people at a whim, and God is still definitely holding earth accountable for all that blood.

But you can just read that list for yourself and take a look around and you don’t need me to tell you this is real, written long long ago, so that we now, would know what we are seeing when we see it.

The bigger problem is this, we have been seeing it.

Ezekiel 33:3-5: “If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people;

Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head.

He heard  the sound of the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him; But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul.”

As God originally gave out these warnings, he expressly said that it his will for the wicked to repent, and I want to give you that verse also.

Ezekiel 33: 11 (a&b):” Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn ye, turn ye, from your evil ways;…”

We’ll start here, where part of these judgments were handed down and then go from there  and tie it up in Revelation in our series as we study these things.

But what I want you to notice here is that the judgment against original Babylon was also prophesied against spiritual Babylon the Great. that would be a great nation at the end of days.

Jeremiah 51: 33-64: ” For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; The daughter of Babylon is like a threshingfloor, it is time (when it is time) , to thresh her; yet a little while, and the time of her harvest shall come.

Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured me, he hath crushed me ,he hath made me an empty vessel, he hath swallowed me up like a dragon, he hath filled his belly with my delicates (delicacies), he hath cast me out.

The violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon, shall the inhabitant of Zion say; and my blood  upon the inhabitants of Chaldea, shall Jerusalem say. 

Therefore thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will plead thy cause, and take vengeance for thee; I will dry up her sea, and make her springs dry.

And Babylon shall become heaps (a heap of ruins), a dwelling place for dragons (Jackals), an astonishment, and an hissing, without an inhabitant.

They shall roar together like lions: they shall yell (growl) as lions whelps.

In their heat (excitement) I will make their feasts, and I will make them drunken, that they may rejoice, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the Lord.

I will bring them down  like lambs to the slaughter,like rams with he (male) goats.

How is Shesach (code word for Babylon) taken! and how the praise of the whole earth surprised (is seized)! how is Babylon become an astonishment (desolate) among the nations!

The sea is come up on Babylon: she is covered with the multitude of the waves thereof. Her cities are a desolation, a dry land, and a wilderness, a land wherein no man (no living person) dwelleth, neither does any son of man pass thereby (gone forever).

And I will punish Bel (pagan deity) in Babylon, and I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he hath swallowed up: and the nations shall not flow together any more unto him: yea, the wall of Babylon shall fall.

My people, go ye out of the midst of her and deliver ye every man his soul from the fierce anger of the Lord.

And lest your heart faint, and ye for fear for the rumour that shall be heard in the land; a rumour shall both come one year, and after that in another year shall come a rumour, and violence in the land, ruler against ruler.

Therefore, behold, the days come, that I will do (bring) judgment upon the graven images of Babylon: Her whole land shall be confounded (ashamed) , and all of her slain shall fall in the midst of her.

Then the heaven and the earth, and all that is therein, shall sing (sing joyously) for Baylon: for the spoilers (plunderers) shall come unto her from the north, saith the Lord.

As Babylon hath caused the slain of Israel to fall, so at Babylon shall fall all the slain of all the earth. 

Ye that have escaped the sword, go away, stand not still: remember the Lord afar off, and let Jerusalem come into your mind.

We are confounded, because we have heard reproach: shame hath covered our faces: for strangers are come into the sanctuaries of the Lord’s house.

Wherefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will do (bring) judgment upon her graven images: and through all her land the wounded shal groan.

Though Babylon should mount up (ascend) to the heaven and though she should fortify her strength, yet from me shall spoilers (plunderers) come unto her saith the Lord.

A sound of cry cometh from Babylon, and great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans.;

Because the Lord hath spoiled (plundered) Babylon, and destroyed out of her the great voice; when her waves do roar like great waters, a noise of their voice is uttered;

Because the spoiler is come upon her, even upon Babylon, and her mighty men are taken, every one of their bows is broken: for the Lord God of recompenses shall surely requite (repay).

And I will make drunk her princes, and her wise men, her captains (governors),and her rulers, and her mighty men: and they shall all sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts.

Thus saith the Lord of hosts; The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly broken, and her high gates shall be burned with fire; and the people shall labour in vain, and the folk in (nations, because of) the fire, and they shall be weary.

The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seriah  the son of Neriah , the son of Maaseiah, when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judea into Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. And this Seriah was a quite prince (quartermaster).

So Jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that should (will)  come upon Babylon, even all the words written against Babylon. And Jeremiah said to Seriah, When thou comest to Babylon, and shalt see, and read all these words;

Then shalt thou say, O Lord, thou hast spoken against this place, to cut it off, that none shall remain in it, neither man nor beast, but that it shall be a desolation for ever.

And it shall be , when thou hast made an end of reading this book, that thou shalt bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of the Euphrates: 

And thou shalt say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise from the evil that I will bring upon her: and they shall be weary. Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.”

Please stay with me for this series and we’ll look at the mirror images of this prophecy in Revelation and go forward studying end time events.

Φλογιζω NBJ 2021/ Rev. N. Brown Johnson