Strange Dream and what it meant

           I had a strange dream that a couple who are pastors and friends of mine and I were preparing for some hard times.  It woke me up at 5:30 a.m. I asked the Lord what it meant  and He told me, “You will need your notebook for this.” So I got up and wrote this down.  I have submitted it to a few people, my pastor friend included, who have felt this was from the Lord.  See what you think.  

              There are things about to take place in the world that will be perplexing to Christians who are expecting a revival in which people are saved and things are blessed as you have expected Christianity will be again in America.  There will be people saved and people will always be coming to Me but the idea, the concept people expect is not how things will take place.  You (plural) need to allow Me to reset your expectations of what Kingdom values are because a lot of what is expected is cultural but not Kingdom culture.  There needs to be a rethinking of what constitutes Kingdom culture.

                For instance, is "Consider it all joy when you encounter various trials" your automatic response to difficulties? Would you be willing to go the extra mile for your enemy? What I am telling you is not for immediate issues but are to let you know to prepare yourselves for days to come.

                This is a time of preparation, even a warning for what will come about in days, perhaps, after Donald Trump is no longer president.  For now, there will continue to be adversity from those who are warring against him and what he stands for.  At the same time, many Christians are expecting all to go smoothly and for America to become a Christian nation as it once was. But that was then; this is now. The days are becoming darker in the world and while there is Kingdom advancement today, and it will continue, so also will the kick-back from the enemy.  There will be an increase of darkness. Do not be alarmed by it. Have I not told you such days would come. I have also told you that there would be a great light – and the glory of the Lord would shine brightly in the darkness. Are not the stars able to be seen more clearly on darker nights?

                So this is a time to begin to prepare, to think more deeply about what it means to be light in the darkness. These messages of the need to prepare will seem like the messengers are just being negative to some people but they must also be warned against seeing the preparation as negative, for these preparations will carry the power of God to be strong in faith when things seem to be contrary to what you would want or expect. This is a time to begin to absorb My Word so that your prayers are one with My Word and therefore of Kingdom reality. For instance, not to make you more comfortable or happy in fleshly terms but to know the joy of the Lord as your strength, and the forgiveness of the cross even when times are not comfortable.

                You would do well to begin to consider what brings fear to your hearts so that you can put the fear behind you so your faith in Me becomes deep trust, regardless of the circumstances.  This is why “Consider it all joy” should be something to meditate upon. Not to do it on your own but because you can grab hold of the love of God that is poured out in your hearts. And this not only because you may feel My love in your hearts for yourselves, but secure in knowing I am a very present help in trouble. And also because of  My love in your hearts for those who appear as the worst of your – or other’s – enemies. Beware of taking on offenses, for yourself or others. 

                Remember that I died for all. My blood was shed for all mankind.  There is power that is and will always be available for loving your enemies and seeing them as having a great need for My love and to know Me.  Preaching the gospel is most effective when there are demonstrations of the Kingdom and not just the recitation of words. Love is the greatest demonstration of My Kingdom.

                This is not meant to frighten you but to redirect your thoughts (and your preaching and teaching for those to whom this applies) in order that for the next years there is a preparation for more difficult days to come.  I suggest you not just read this once and put it away. I suggest you print this out and reread it periodically. Keep it in your bibles and while this may seem irrelevant in the here and now, if you will take this word to heart and reconsider what it truly means to be My disciple – especially in difficult times such as was the case for those who lived in the 1^st century, you will be strengthened even now and signs of revival will begin to appear, even in ways beyond the expectations of most, as a Yeshua-like character is developed and you are increasingly conformed to My likeness.

                Remember I did say, “Peace I leave with you, not as the world knows peace….Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in Me.”  Further, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart”, which in N.T. terms would mean your spirit.  And lean not on what your mind would say, especially if you are listening to negative reports in the media, or even from among those who speak fearfully. There is no light to be gained in looking at the darkness!

                Judge not, lest you be judged means to not speak against one another, or others outside who are perceived as enemies, judging them as evil or worthy of being condemned. But judge as I, Yeshua did, of all needing Me. Be kind to one another as I have been kind to you.  This is a good place to begin thinking in Kingdom terms – with Kingdom love.

                Fear not, for I am with you always, even to the end.  You each have an end on this earth. Know securely that you can put your treasure in heaven. But be aware also that this can mean rewards in heaven for the way you have lived as Yeshua, working and acting on behalf of others, giving yourself to others for their good. Make love your quest! 

                If you will begin to allow these premises to take hold (in your preaching and teaching and) in all your lives, you will see a way to the power of the kingdom. There will be much healing that will come about as a result – healing of relationships and of your body’s illnesses.  Signs and wonders will take place but they are not the highest manifestations of revival, rather the turning from sin – even the presently acceptable sins that are a part of Christian values right now that are not of Kingdom holiness.

                It is the Father’s will that you become more like Yeshua as the goal of your lives.

Therefore, give your lives to knowing Me (Yeshua) more and more. Meditate on My own character, why I did or said what I did.  Know Me as I am available to you to know Me intimately by the Holy Spirit. Make this your priority for you cannot become any of what I have just told you or what the Bible says apart from the Holy Spirit who is also the Spirit of Holiness.  Put your dependence upon the Spirit of Holiness.  My born-again people are not told what you should do or become on your own strength or by your own doing, but by the power of the Spirit, just as I relied on the Spirit.  Remember I only healed when the Spirit was there for healing. Rely on the Holy Spirit to make you holy!  Put your trust in God to enable you, even as you work and believe and act as the Bible tells you to. 

This is much to absorb. I do not expect all this to take place now or at once. This is meant to make you aware of what the Father is now doing among you by His Spirit and what you are being apprised of to begin to be strengthened in greater measure in these areas in your lives. So you will be over-comers in all your ways.  One step at a time, dear ones. I am with You.

Lonnie Lane   5-10-17

SEEING THE BIBLE THROUGH JEWISH EYES

Looking at the Good News through Jewish eyes, opens up a whole gamut of new interpretations of what Yeshua said and did, as fulfillment of Torah down to the least detail of His life. The original stories all originated in a Hebrew context, in a Hebrew culture. Me and the Israeli flag here is just a small symbol that what God set in place thousands of years ago still flies as a banner of the fullness of His intentions to redeem the earth. He does so by fulfilling every prophetic word in both the New and Older Bibles. So it is important that we understand just what was being said, wouldn't you think?

So we have a bit of a problem here. Our English translations are based on a translation and even yet a previous translations of that one and in the process, some misperceptions of what God intended have arisen.  Words in Hebrew often have various meanings. For instance, Bayt  can mean house, family, synagogue, school or just a building. Translators much choose one word out of several available and in doing so, often lose a wider and deeper message that is meant in Hebrew.  The results of some of these choices of words has led to misrepresentations even of God Himself as we will see.  

True meanings do not have to be a mystery to you. You can google the Hebrew meaning of almost any word and find it’s true significance.  Or go to “Ask.com” and ask there.  You can also look up the meanings of words in various study materials available [1] and see for yourself what the wider significance of what might catch your interest could be.  

Understanding the words of Yeshua, and then of Paul, from a Hebrew perspective, clears up a lot of confusing verses that, if truth be told, make little sense to us and seem a bit mysterious.  The fact is, the original gospel was communicated in Hebrew, and spoken in terms that would have been familiar to Hebrew speakers that don’t translate well. Translators sought to present the text word by word, but the problem was that there are many Hebrew idioms which word-by-word translations make Yeshua sound, well, weird.  Imagine trying to translate some of our own English idioms literally – such as “It’s killing me,” or “Eat your heart out,” or "I'm so hungry I could eat a horse” or “it’s raining cats and dogs.” What might translators think those statements, if taken literally, would seem to indicate about the culture?  You get the idea.   

The entire New Testament can really only fully be understood when we see it as coming from a Hebrew perspective.  Both the OT and the NT are highly Hebraic. Even where parts of the NT was expressed in Greek, the background is entirely Hebrew.   Take a look at how Hebrew the bible really is: 

The OT comprises approximately 78% of the entire Biblical text, more than ¾. The NT comprises only 22%.  When we add the highly Hebraic portions of the original bible material in Matthew, Mark, Luke and Acts 1:!-15:35, which is approximately 43% of the NT, to the OT, the percentage of biblical material originally written in Hebrew rises to 88%.  Or 87% if we leave out the portions of Ezra and Daniel, less than 1% of the OT, composed in Aramaic.  There are 176 OT quotations in the New Testament writings (14 OT quotations from John and 162 from Acts 15:36 to the end of the NT). To sum it up, originally the percentage of the Bible that was composed in Hebrew rises to over 90%.[2]

The assumption that the entire NT was originally communicated in Greek has led to considerable misunderstandings.  But today, scholars and pastors alike are realizing that the key to fully understand what Yeshua is saying is that Israel is that key.  Greek doesn’t get us to the true Hebrew meanings. Happily, there is quite a shift today to the study of Hebrew history and culture which is providing great insights into what the Brit Hadashah, the New Covenant, has to say.  

The gospel, like everything else, is explained in words.They define how we see everything. Our primary concern in our relationship with God is with “salvation,” isn’t it?  In Hebrew there are many synonyms for “salvation.”  The word salvation itself is little used. Only 7 times actually.  Other words express it even more powerfully, such as  “Righteousness,” one of the synonyms for “salvation.”  Zion is called “The city of righteousness" (Isaiah. 1:10).  When we are aware that the devil is behind all the persecution against Israel, and specifically against “Zionism” (which under Arab influence  regards Zionism as a hate crime according to the UN!), we can see why the enemy of God keeps trying to do away with Zion, "the city of righteousness.”  

Zion is a synonym for Jerusalem, just as righteousness is a synonym for salvation; they go together as is God's apparent intention. And the devil wants to destroy both. All that God has promised and His call for righteousness has its roots in Zion. Consider how much of the bible is centered around what took place in or around Jerusalem. Even the place where Abraham was to sacrifice his son Isaac was the location of where Jerusalem would one day stand.  As we know, God's word is immutable and the ultimate establishment of Zion in righteousness means the devil's demise, which is why he works so hard to 'inspire' antagonism against her. 

We must be careful to stand with Israel for the reason that God’s name and His calling is upon her.  Stand with Israel and you stand with God.  We are told to “pray for the peace of Jerusalem; they will prosper who love her” (Psalm 122:6).  That doesn’t mean to pray for peace with her Arab neighbors or in the eyes of the world; it means to pray for peace with God to come to every Israeli for each one to realize that the church’s persecution of Israel which has taken place, as has been inspired by the devil, is NOT the heart of God toward Israel or the Jews. The church is to make Israel, whether they are living in the land or elsewhere, jealous of their relationship with Israel's own God. And thank God, that’s  beginning to happen. Will you take a few moments each day to be one of those who pray for her?  How about now?

When we see the word righteousness, read it as also meaning salvation. .Jesus exhorts his disciples to “seek first the kingdom of heaven and His (God’s) righteousness” (Matt 6:33). Those who “hunger and thirst for righteousness are blessed" (Matt 5:6), literally, "Of such people the Kingdom is made up." (See Matthew 12:18; Isaiah 42:1). Notice the change in your thinking if you replace “Salvation” where “righteousness” is mentioned. This brings up another point of concern. We have an erroneous idea, many of us, that we say a prayer and we  are “saved.” That a one time verbal expression brings us salvation that seals us in. Period.  But when we think of "seeking righteousness" we realize that it is a life-long   sanctification process. it is a situation-by-situation decision to walk with God regardless of what it is or costs us; it is a way of life, not a one-time recitation.  

Consider  the Hebrew word “judgment” or “justice” which  can also mean “salvation. A judge declares, with the bang of a gavel,whether a person is “Not guilty” as well as “Guilty.” In the same way, the verb “judge” often means “save” or even “rescue.”  When David is in trouble he cries out, “Judge me, O God.”  (Psalm 43:1). He's calling for rescue according to how he's sought to live before God. The judges of the OT were saviors or deliverers of the people, not judges in the modern sense of the word which we often think of as those who bring sentence to people who have violated the law.   

For one thing, as hopefully you are aware, the English usage of the word “law” for the “teachings” or “Instructions” in the Torah (books of Moses), is not found in all of the OT.  There is no Hebrew idea of “law” in all of Torah.  To think of the word as “law” is to make us think of God as Judge just waiting for someone to make a mistake.  How misjudged the Judge has been!   And to take it further, many think that Jesus came to save us from the wrath of Israel's God whose main activity is to always be looking for our mistakes. But.... 

Didn’t Yeshua say He came not to “judge’ the world but to save it. Not to condemn, to bring accusation, but to reveal forgiveness in the heart of His Father.  Isn’t He the exact representation according to Hebrew 1:3 of God the Father, "being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person"?  Could God be an angry wrathful God and Yeshua represent Him as gentle, compassionate, merciful and a God of covenant love and, yes, salvation?  This inconsistency has its roots in the translations that are now being rectified, thank God.

God is called “the Judge” (Judges 11:27; Is 33:22) or “the judge of all the earth” (Gen 18:25; Psalm 94:2).  “Righteousness and Judgment” are the foundations of His throne” (Psalm 89:14).  Rachel named the son that Bilhah bore Jacob “Dan” meaning “He judged” because she said, “God has judged me” (Gen 30:6), meaning God has decided in her favor, He has acted on her behalf.  Over and over the Prophet Isaiah uses judgment as a synonym for salvation and righteousness interchangeably: “Therefore judgment is far from us and righteousness does not reach us. We look for judgment but there is none. For salvation, but it is far from us…. Judgment is turned back, and righteousness stands at a distance” (Isaiah 59:9, 11, 14). It is judgement on their behalf that he was longing for.

Jesus promised his disciples that they would sit on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel (Matt 19:28, Luke 22:30).  Are the disciples at some future time to sit as judges meting out punishment to members of the tribes of Israel?  No, they are to be meting out deliverance as saviors. We look forward to, as the Bible describes, “the city of salvation” – Jerusalem – as the city to which the tribes of Israel will go up, and there thrones (plural) of judgment (i.e. salvation) will be set up when Yeshua returns to establish the Kingdom – “in Zion!” 

Judgment  is not always a synonym for salvation in the bible.  It can mean “destruction “or damnation.  Summing this up, we must be aware that the text is a translation from Hebrew words and concepts which may not exist in English.  Knowing this, we can decide on the basis of context which meaning of “judgment,” for instance, is meant. (See Acts 3:22, 23 and Deut.18:15, 18, 19). Make this a study of your own and see if it adjusts your understanding of how you see God. Knowing this can impact how we have unconsciously interpreted His character and nature and His ‘doings’ among men, and even in your own life. We might need to reevaluate when we see God as harsh and demanding toward Israel when when really He was Israel’s savior all along – and still is.     

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[1]  For helpful study helps, The standard look-up of definitions is the Strongs Concordance in which you can look up words in English and follow the number listed either in Hebrew (OT) or Greek (NT), even though it is somewhat cumbersome.  The best tool I have found for finding immediate definitions is the NASB Key Word Hebrew-Greek Study Bible. (It may possibly be available in NKJV.) It also has very insightful footnotes.  The One New Man Bible: Revealing Jewish Roots and Power has good footnotes and a Glossary that is extremely helpful.  And The Complete Jewish Bible, presents the Scriptures with Jewish insights and a very valuable Introduction that clears up many of the misunderstandings that English translations lean toward.   

[2]  See Understanding the Difficult Words of Jesus: New Insights from a Hebraic Perspective by David Biven and Roy Blizzard, Jr.

WHAT IF THESE REALLY ARE THE LAST DAYS?

Lord, hear our prayers!

ANNOUNCEMENT: The Kingdom of God is right and true. It is invincible. It's not shaking, it's not teetering, and it's not diminished by what is happening now or will take place in the world. And neither should the people who make up the Kingdom of God!  

The Lord told me 25 years ago that the Bride He returns for will have eyes for no one and nothing (read no thing) other than Him.  Those words have stayed with me for all these years as His standard for His bride.  We are far from that; we are distracted by more things than I can number. Don't let the immediacy of the moment continue to distract you from issues of eternity.  

I'm motivated to write in response to several emails I've received lately from people being frightened or disheartened by the turn of events going on in the world. Despite being people who are exhorted by the Lord that though we are "in" the world, we are not to be "of" the world, I'm hearing some believers sounding a bit too much like their trust is in the world's system, not in King Jesus and His Kingdom.   

Do you believe we might actually be in the last days of the age?  Then why are we surprised, or frightened, or outraged when ungodly and evil things happen when Jesus told us they would?  Many Believers are taken by surprise at the way some thing appear to be going. The presidential election for some, seemed as if God wasn't answering prayer - or at least prayer the way they expected things to go. On a larger scale, most of us did not expect the spirit of anti-Christ to come from Islam but it sure does look that way. During the "cold war" years we were sure the anti-Christ would come out of Russia, because that's where our concerns were, but now we see that Biblically, the end time scenario is all about a mid-east conflict and Israel  having to deal with the same enemies she did in times past. 

All this lines up with God's warnings of the last days. Read Matthew 24 and 25, for instance. We are having to adjust to the fact that we might actually be the people who go through the last days birth pains. Many believers, especially North Americans, have expected to be "raptured" out of harms way and can't imagine they'd still be here if society as we have known it ceased to be as "comfortable" as it has been for the most part. On a number of levels - let's take morally for instance - our society has radically changed in the past decade or two. And we can't blame things on our president(s) though there are concerns. We've been frogs in a pot of increasingly heated immoral water for quite a while. 

What if we are still here, even if just for a part of the days of woe the Bible speaks of? What if you are still here? What prayers would we pray then that we so much would want God to hear and respond to? What government will you pray to be made right then? The government of the Kingdom of God, or that of the world?

What would cause each individual who is of His true church, to do away with our distractions so that we are ready for His coming?  What would it take for you to give up your distractions? The mercies of God come in very strange packages sometimes. And sometimes it's persecution that sorts out one's priorities. Perhaps, by His grace, He is giving us the opportunity now to come to Him and learn to receive His love in a greater measure so that we know how to find all we need in Him.  As we give Him our focus and trust our distractions will fall away as we come to know His great love, His care and His commitment to us in greater measure.  It doesn't take much coming to Him and being with Him for His love to capture our hearts!  it's the "gettin' about it" that's the challenge.What are you distracted by?

Jesus told someone who had been to heaven and returned with messages from Him, that His people are more interested in their security in the world and their comfort than in Him coming and so we pray against the things that must happen before He returns. Now I can understand that. We are to pray for the peace of our cities, and for peace for Jerusalem, and we all want peace for ourselves and our loved ones. But even the Comcast TV guy who came to fix something today, a believer, said to me as we discussed these things, "Jesus told us these kinds of things would have to happen."  

Jesus must let sin play out its hand just as He let the sin of the Ammorites, whatever that was, play out when the children of Israel were enslaved by Egypt.  But in the midst of the darkness over Egypt, there was sunlight in Goshen. When the plagues came to Egypt, they didn't come to Goshen until the day when God brought them out of Egypt with a strong Hand.  I see prophetic pictures in that. Both as pharaoh being a type of anti-Christ and in God's provision for His people in the midst of judgment.  Since we're born again, unlike the infant nation of Israel, we will not be slaves because He has already set us free. We will never be spiritually enslaved to anyone, no matter what happens in the natural because we are free in Him.  

Our anger then must be righteous anger and our fear must be that we would offend God by fearing the enemy which would mean that our faith is more in what the enemy could do than in what God is doing or for that matter, who He is!  I understand the feelings in the natural. I would like to flee as well from what could possibly take placet. But God responds to the prayers of His people even if they are out numbered. He may not answer in the way we requested or expected, but He will answer. Is it just possible that He is in fact answering our prayers for revival by having the election go as it did, so that we continue to look to Him for revival in our nation(s) rather than to sink into being comfortable with things in the natural?  (Selah).

While we are waiting for God's answer to our heartfelt prayers, we must give consideration to how we affect those around us, especially the young ones and those weak of spirit.  We need not to be shouting doom from the housetops but instead declaring what God is whispering to us through His word and by His Spirit.  He says to us, "Fear not, little flock. I have overcome the world." That is either true or it's not. If it is true, then we can fully depend upon it manifesting in our lives.

We MUST not loose faith in the Lord, no matter what.  Christians have been suffering for 2000 years in one place or another.  We are somewhat alarmed because we are now concerned that changes might possibly happen to us that we might be still here for. He is equal to keeping those who are His. He always has been!  We must live as those who will stand before Him one day blameless with great joy and let nothing derail us from that.   

So let us each be leaders in our own sphere of influence, holding high the standard of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link, as we know. Let's none of us be that weak link that breaks or diminishes the chain of faith in God. but instead be those who strengthen the faith of others, looking to our first century brothers and sisters as models of Believers trusting God in times of difficulty and affecting the world with their faith in God.Our greatest hour is before us.