This was David’s prayer, as he was facing the frustrations and disappointments of his time; and was, in spite of all the negativity and disappointments, he is recognizing the importance of getting in sync and getting his head on right with God each day.
Let’s all take our course and heading first thing this morning and every morning.
[Please read the whole Psalm and make it your prayer today]
Psalm 25 The Passion Translation (TPT)
Don’t Fail Me, God!
King David’s poetic praise to God
1 Forever I will lift up my soul into your presence, Lord.
2 Be there for me, God, for I keep trusting in you.
Don’t allow my foes to gloat over me or
the shame of defeat to overtake me.
3 For how could anyone be disgraced
when he has entwined his heart with you?
But they will all be defeated and ashamed
when they harm the innocent.
4 Lord, direct me throughout my journey
so I can experience your plans for my life.
Reveal the life-paths that are pleasing to you.
5 Escort me along the way; take me by the hand and teach me.
For you are the God of my increasing salvation;
I have wrapped my heart into yours!
6–7 Forgive my failures as a young man,
and overlook the sins of my immaturity.
Give me grace, Lord! Always look at me
through your eyes of love—
your forgiving eyes of mercy and compassion.
When you think of me, see me as one you love and care for.
How good you are to me!
8 When people turn to you,
they discover how easy you are to please—so faithful and true!
Joyfully you teach them the proper path,
even when they go astray.
9 Keep showing the humble your path,
and lead them into the best decision.
Bring revelation-light that trains them in the truth.
10 All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful for those who follow the ways of his covenant.
11 For the honor of your name, Lord,
never count my sins, and forgive them all—
lift their burden off of my life!
12 Who are they that live in the holy fear of God?
You will show them the right path to take.
13 Then prosperity and favor will be their portion,
and their descendants will inherit all that is good.
14 There’s a private place reserved for the lovers of God,
where they sit near him and receive
the revelation-secrets of his promises.
15 Rescue me, Lord, for you’re my only hero.
16 Sorrows fill my heart as I feel helpless, mistreated—
I’m all alone and in misery!
Come closer to me now, Lord, for I need your mercy.
17 Turn to me, for my problems seem to be going from bad to worse.
Only you can free me from all these troubles!
18 Until you lift this burden, the burden of all my sins,
my troubles and trials will be more than I can handle.
Can’t you feel my pain?
19 Vicious enemies hate me.
There are so many, Lord. Can’t you see?
20 Will you protect me from their power against me?
Let it never be said that I trusted you
and you didn’t come to my rescue.
21 Your perfection and faithfulness are my bodyguards,
for you are my hope and I trust in you as my only protection.
22 Zealously, God, we ask you
to come save Israel from all her troubles,
for you provide the ransom price for your people!
Is hell real or just a metaphor? Is it eternal and without end as the Scriptures seem to indicate?
What does the Bible say about whether hell is eternal or not?
The Old Testament uses a different word for hell than does the New Testament and that shouldn’t surprise us because the Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew while the New Testament was written in Greek, although there is some Aramaic because that is what was commonly spoken in Judea at the time.
So what are the differences between what translators used for the word hell in the Bible?
Old Testament Hell – Sheol
The Old Testament uses the word “hell” 31 times and each time in the Hebrew it is Sheol.
While our English word hell seems to refer to a place of eternal torment, the Old Testament word for hell, Sheol, is not.
It simply refers to the grave or the abiding place of the dead. It is not particularly a place of eternal punishment for the wicked as hell is mentioned in the New Testament, however it does appear that Sheol was divided into two different sections; one for the departed wicked and one for the righteous dead (like Abraham for example).
Samuel was in the Sheol for the righteous when the wicked king Saul summoned him up from the grave (1 Samuel 28), but Sheol is also a place of torture for those who died outside of the faith in the Old Testament while awaiting a final resurrection for judgment at the Great White Throne Judgment in Revelation 20.
Prior to Jesus’ atoning work at Calvary, He spoke about such a place in a parable about the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16).
The rich man was in Sheol while Lazarus was in Abraham’s bosom but both were dead.
Is the place of the deceased righteous in the Old Testament what was called “Paradise?”
It could well be. The Greek word of Paradise is “paradeisos” which refers to the Greeks’ idea of a Persian concept of a well-watered garden, park or hunting ground that is abundantly provisioned.
Paradise is what Israel believed was the destination for those who had faith in God and died in the faith.
From this parable that Jesus’ gave, it would appear that there are two places for the deceased after death.
One place is a place of torture while the other is like a Paradise.
It appears that after Jesus’ death on the cross, He made possible the way for those to cross over from Paradise into the presence of the Lord.
New Testament Hells – Hades, Tartarus and Gehenna
In the New Testament, there are three words translated “hell,” but that doesn’t mean that there are three different locations of hell or three different hells.
The words Hades and Tartarus are Greek, and Gehenna, which is the Greek form of the Hebrew words Gee and Hinnom, meaning “the valley of Hinnom.”
Let’s separate these to see what each means.
Hades
The Greek word for Hades occurs 11 times in the New Testament and refers to the grave and not necessarily a place of torment.
Hell is what the English used to refer to as a pit in the ground and that is likely why the King James translations uses the word hell.
Hades can refer to being in the state of death as well as we see Paul using it in:
2 Corinthians 15:55
“O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” and also in:
Revelation 6:8
“And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider’s name was Death, and Hades followed him.
And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth” and so we see that Hades can refer to a grave or death and this is what is referred to when Jesus is said to have conquered or defeated death.
One important point about Hades is that it can refer to the place of the departed wicked and being in torment as this was where the rich man was at when he saw Lazarus in the bosom of Abraham; so context is everything.
Tartarus
This Greek word for hell is used only one time and it refers to a place of judgment and torment. It is mentioned only in,
2 Peter 2:4,
“For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell [Tartarus] and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment.”
This is not the place to enter into an exposition on why these angels were placed there and if they are still there today, but it may well be that these angels were so wicked or despicable that God chained them up to keep them from doing such evil that they would have caused enormous destruction in the world.
Are these the foul or unclean spirits that will be released in the tribulation (Revelation 16:13)?
We can not be certain of this.
Gehenna
This Greek word occurs only 12 times and is always translated as hell.
Gehenna was originally a Hebrew word and came from the “valley of Hinnom.”
This same Hebrew word is used in
Jeremiah 7:31
“and they have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, which I did not command, nor did it come into my mind.”
This valley was for the purpose of burning all the idols that were an abomination to God and this valley that is called “Tophet” became synonymous with a place of such abomination that all kinds of things were burnt up in it; dead carcasses, filth, unburied bodies, detestable tings, and refuse.
The fire never went out because it was a garbage dump where every bit of trash and unclean things were being continually deposited and the fire never went out so as to burn everything up, thus Gehenna became symbolic of the place of an everlasting fire, a severe and eternal punishment.
This may be why Jesus referred to hell “Gehenna” as the place “where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:48) which seems to point to its eternity.
The fire in the Valley of Gehenna and the worms eating the decaying bodies or garbage would never cease.
Is Hell Eternal?
The words that are associated or written next to the different hells seem to indicate that it is forever.
The definitions that are given for the noun, “aionon “ and the adjective “aionios” are accepted as authoritative for the teaching of the word used in the New Testament “everlasting” when used with “punishment.“
The Greek word for everlasting or eternal is “aionios” and is always restricted to the use of time, in its adjective form, in three ways that essentially mean thesame thing; “without end,” “without beginning,“ and “without end or beginning.”
This is used in Matthew 12:32 when Jesus said “Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age [aionon ] or in the age [aionon ] to come.”
This verse then clearly indicates that a person’s forgiveness in this case “will be without end.”
That is, it means that it will be something that they will never, ever, and for ages without end, be forgiven.
The Greek term “aionastonaionon” means and is literally translated as “ages of the ages.”
The word “eternal” is the same as everlasting and it means that it is without end when the context is about judgment.
It never indicates that it is a temporary state that will end because by definition “aionon ” or “aionios” is ALWAYS without end.
The same thing is mentioned by Mark (3:29) where Jesus says, “whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin.”
We can not take the context of this in any other way than that of being “without end” because the other two possible renderings for “aionon ” is “without beginning” and “without end or beginning,” which makes the verse nonsensical, thus it can only mean “for ever” or what seems the best interpretation of the context and the Greek wording, “for ages without end.”
Some believe that eternal “punishment” is different; that eternal “punishing” in the sense that the wicked will be punished and then cease to exist, and that is why they claim the use of the word “punishment” is a one time event.
I return again to Mark 9:48 where Jesus said about hell “Gehenna” as the place “where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:48) which seems to have no ending.
The fire in the Valley of Gehenna and the worms eating the decaying bodies or garbage would never cease.
Jesus uses the words “does not” and “is not” which are indicative of a time that is unceasing.
The literal rendering can mean nothing else but what it implies. We see that by what Jesus was teaching in this setting in:
Mark 9:42-49
“Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.
And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire.
And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell.
And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’
For everyone will be salted with fire.”
Conclusion
We clearly see that hell is forever or for “ages without end,” as Jesus warned all who would not believe in Him, in Matthew 25:46, “And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
If the righteous have eternal life which means that we will live forever, then we see that the same word for “eternal” means the same thing for punishment.
Jesus can not mean that we will have life without end but then the punishment will have an end.
That would be contradictory.
If this were so, then this would seem highly unfair as Hitler would be annihilated just the same as the nice lady next door who, even though she was not saved, never hurt anyone.
In what is the most widely recognized verse of all, even by those who are not Christian, John 3:16 says,
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
but we must not take this verse out of context for the following verses say in verses 17-18,
“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”
Is there any better reason for us to tell people of the coming judgment?
We must be about the Great Commission and why Jude wrote in verse 23 to “Save others by snatching them from the fire.”
In my view the bottom line, in all of this, is that to deny Jesus or to ignore Him will mean that you will spend eternity separated from Him (wherever that place is), and on the other hand to be saved (by accepting and obeying the Gospel message, by faith), means that you will spend eternity in heaven with Jesus.
No weapon formed against you shall prosper…” —Isaiah 54:17
What does this mean — “NO WEAPON FORMED AGAINST YOU?”
Let’s take a look at various other translations of Isaiah 54:17:
Isaiah 54:17 NIV
…no weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and this is their vindication from me,” declares the LORD.
Isaiah 54:17 KJV
No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.
Isaiah 54:17 NLT
But in that coming day no weapon turned against you will succeed. You will silence every voice raised up to accuse you. These benefits are enjoyed by the servants of the LORD; their vindication will come from me. I, the LORD, have spoken!
Isaiah 54:17 HCSB
No weapon formed against you will succeed, and you will refute any accusation raised against you in court. This is the heritage of the LORD’s servants, and their righteousness is from Me.” This is the LORD’s declaration.
These are the promises of God and, as Christians – Covenant children of the Most High – we can take it to the bank and hang our very life on them!
In fact Christians have been doing just that for centuries.
Even though we may find ourselves under attack by the enemy, “El Turkey” himself – AKA Satan.
Our job, as Christians, is to KEEP the FAITH, stand our ground, by standing on the promises of God’s Word, and thereby keeping the “Turkey” under our feet, hanging our Faith on this one promise, that truly NO WEAPON formed against us will prosper!
Even though it could be that Satan today is attacking your health, your finances, or maybe he’s using lies or slander against you; maybe you are facing bankruptcy, a lawsuit, or some other legal issue.
Whatever the problem, God’s promise remains, it WILLNOT destroy you!
We have to learn the Rules of engagement in these situations, meaning we will have to learn endure, trusting GOD every step of the way.
We may suffer temporarily, but it won’t be forever.
Isaiah 54:17references how God’s bride (his church) will not be destroyed.
The sovereign God who created everything also has the power to protect us.
He has promise that no weapon formed against you shall prosper, and so whatever weapon it is that is being raised against you today, GOD’s promise remains, that it WILL NOT destroy you!
The following chapter of Isaiah is directed at the “barren woman,” an euphemism that is used to describe the “House of Israel” – AKA the lost tribes of Israel.
This is GOD’s commitment to them, that even though they have strayed away and have broken covenant with GOD, nevertheless GOD is faithful and He will restore them.
This is GOD’s message to the “barron sister” of the House of Judah.
Isaiah 54
The Message (MSG)
Spread Out! Think Big!
54 1-6 “Sing, barren woman, who has never had a baby.
Fill the air with song, you who’ve never experienced childbirth!
You’re ending up with far more children
than all those childbearing women.” God says so!
“Clear lots of ground for your tents!
Make your tents large. Spread out! Think big!
Use plenty of rope,
drive the tent pegs deep.
You’re going to need lots of elbow room
for your growing family.
You’re going to take over whole nations;
you’re going to resettle abandoned cities.
Don’t be afraid—you’re not going to be embarrassed.
Don’t hold back—you’re not going to come up short.
You’ll forget all about the humiliations of your youth,
and the indignities of being a widow will fade from memory.
For your Maker is your bridegroom,
his name, God-of-the-Angel-Armies!
Your Redeemer is The Holy of Israel,
known as God of the whole earth.
You were like an abandoned wife, devastated with grief,
and God welcomed you back,
Like a woman married young
and then left,” says your God.
7-8 Your Redeemer God says:
“I left you, but only for a moment.
Now, with enormous compassion, I’m bringing you back.
In an outburst of anger I turned my back on you—
but only for a moment.
It’s with lasting love
that I’m tenderly caring for you.
9-10 “This exile is just like the days of Noah for me:
I promised then that the waters of Noah
would never again flood the earth.
I’m promising now no more anger,
no more dressing you down.
For even if the mountains walk away
and the hills fall to pieces,
My love won’t walk away from you,
my covenant commitment of peace won’t fall apart.”
The God who has compassion on you says so.
11-17 “Afflicted city, storm-battered, unpitied:
I’m about to rebuild you with stones of turquoise,
Lay your foundations with sapphires,
construct your towers with rubies,
Your gates with jewels,
and all your walls with precious stones.
All your children will have God for their teacher—
what a mentor for your children!
You’ll be built solid, grounded in righteousness,
far from any trouble—nothing to fear!
far from terror—it won’t even come close!
If anyone attacks you,
don’t for a moment suppose that I sent them,
And if any should attack,
nothing will come of it.
I create the blacksmith
who fires up his forge
and makes a weapon designed to kill.
I also create the destroyer—
but no weapon that can hurt you has ever been forged.
Any accuser who takes you to court
will be dismissed as a liar.
This is what God’s servants can expect.
I’ll see to it that everything works out for the best.”
God’s Decree.
Wherever you are and whatever you’re going through, God has you covered; but out of necessity we must learn how to petition Heaven; how to do spiritual warfare – and to stand our ground, in the face of whatever weapon that is being formed against us; always looking to GOD for resolution.
The following devotion kind of speaks to this:
The Spirit-Filled Believer
ENEMIES AND LIARS
Written by Dick Mills
“Thine enemies shall be found liars unto thee; and thou shalt tread upon their high places.”
(Deut. 33:29)
He was in tears and visibly shaken by his circumstances. He was the proprietor of a local doughnut shop and had been doing well until trouble came his way.
An unscrupulous person came into his store and staged a phony accidental fall. Right behind the “injured party” was a person with a camera to take a picture of the “accident.”
Behind that person was another man ready to take down the names of convenient “witnesses.” A lawsuit for an exorbitant sum of money was then filed by the “victim” who had staged the whole scenario.
This dear brother told me, “Dick, I could lose it all. My insurance policy for this type of accident is minimal at best. If this fellow wins this case, I could lose everything I own.”
I stood in agreement with the shopkeeper, praying with him that the Lord would work a miracle of deliverance.
How I appreciate the faithfulness of the Lord in these situations. I was not familiar with Deuteronomy 33:29, but the Holy Spirit quickened it to me: “All your enemies shall be found as liars unto you.”
The next day, in his private chambers, the judge in charge of the case began to read over the records. The trial was to start in one hour.
Suddenly the magistrate was heard to make this statement in disgust: “This is a travesty of justice. The plaintiff is obviously a pathological liar. I refuse to hear this case. I am throwing it out of court.”
An overnight fulfillment of a word from the Lord! Case dismissed! Another enemy found as a liar!
Source: The Spirit-Filled Believer’s Daily Devotional by Dick Mills
God’s promise is that He will NEVER abandon us; but the question is, are we walking with Jesus, in intimate fellowship, or are we following Him from afar?
Matthew 28:16-20
The Message (MSG)
16-17 Meanwhile, the eleven disciples were on their way to Galilee, headed for the mountain Jesus had set for their reunion.
The moment they saw Him they worshiped Him. SOME, THOUGH, HELD BACK, NOT SURE ABOUT WORSHIP, ABOUT RISKING THEMSELVES TOTALLY.
18-20 Jesus, undeterred, went right ahead and gave His charge:
“God authorized and commanded Me to commission you:
Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Then instruct them in the practice of ALL I have commanded you.
I’ll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age.”
Question: ARE we fulfilling God’s command, or are we holding back?
Are we worried about what others may think, OR are we risking ourselves totally, offering up our life, as Christ did for us (see Romans 12:1-2)?
Here’s what the Bible says,
“If someone claims, ‘I know Him well!’ but doesn’t keep His commandments, he’s obviously a liar.
His life doesn’t match his words. But the one who keeps God’s Word is the person in whom we see God’s mature love.
This is the ONLY way to be sure we’re walking in GOD and with Him. Anyone who claims to be intimate with God ought to live the same kind of life Jesus lived.”
(see 1 John 2:6)
There is an ancient Jewish proverb that says,
“Follow the rabbi, drink in his words, and be covered with the dust of his feet.”
Back in Jesus’ day, students of a rabbi would follow him around and in order to be sure they didn’t miss anything important, that the rabbi said, they’d have to stick close behind him… in other words, one would end up covered in his dust for having stayed so close to the rabbi while walking along the roads of the Holy Land.
We’ve all probably had seasons where we, as the Bible says of Peter – before denying Jesus three times – that he was following Jesus from a far (seeLuke 22:54).
Hopefully we also have had seasons where we, as the above Jewish proverb says, were we’ve been following so close that we’ve been covered in His dust.
In other words, we are walking in His steps, in close fellowship (24/7 365), right behind Him, identifying with Him totally and fulfilling His mission.
This is what it means to be a disciple – you’re a follower of Christ.
In another place, Jesus asked the question, why do you call Me Lord and yet don’t do the things I’m telling you to do (see Luke 6:45-49)?
Don’t be double-minded and wishy-washy when it comes to your faith in Jesus.
If we truly love Jesus, He says we show it by how we keep His Word and obey His Commandments, and then He says, “the Father and I will come and make our abode with you” (see John 14:15; 23)
When we are faced with adverse circumstances, in our life, we must understand that, without exception, the battle ALWAYS begins in our mind…
GOD’S promise is to ALWAYS make a way for us, through any storm we face, as long as we keep our confidence in Him – relying on both the reliability & trustworthiness of His person and His Word – in what is called living by FAITH – and if need be to do so even unto death (see Rev 2:10).
Since we have been born-again, our lives are no longer our own, to do with as we please, as we (because of Calvary’s cross) have been bought with a price (1 Cor 6:19-20).
This is where the rubber meets the road for ALL of us because it challenges us on the point of whether we are truly willing to die for what we believe, just as the Apostles did, or even Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that we read about in the Book of Daniel, who were willing to be thrown into a fiery furnace, rather than to bow to Nebuchadnezzar’s stupid idol.
If God promises NEVER to leave us nor forsake us, then we need to be able to trust in Him and rely upon Him, in ANY and EVERY SITUATION (being anxious for nothing), and know that whereas He never promises to keep us from the fire, He does promise that He will be with us in the midst of the fire (see Isaiah 43:1-7 and Hebrews 13:5-6).
God is faithful to His Word (Psalm 138:2) andHeis always an ever present help in our hour of need (see Psalm 46).
As God did in Egypt, God is likewise delivering us out of our modern day bondage (slavery) to the world system...
In three short months, just like He did with the plagues of Egypt, God has taken away everything we worship.
God said, “you want to worship athletes, I will shut down the stadiums.
You want to worship musicians, I will shut down Civic Centers.
You want to worship actors, I will shut down theaters.
You want to worship money, I will shut down the economy and collapse the stock market.
You don’t want to go to church and worship Me, I will make it where you can’t go to church”
“If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
Maybe we don’t need a vaccine, Maybe we need to take this time of isolation from the distractions of the world and have a personal Revival, where we focus on the ONLY thing in the world that really matters. JESUS.
(Posted on Fb, by Renee Hernandez)
The first plague, turning the Nile to blood, was a judgment against Apis, the god of the Nile, Isis, goddess of the Nile, and Khnum, guardian of the Nile.
The Nile was also believed to be the bloodstream of Osiris, who was reborn each year when the river flooded.
The river, which formed the basis of daily life and the national economy, was devastated, as millions of fish died in the river and the water was unusable.
Pharaoh was told, “By this you will know that I am the LORD” (Exodus 7:17).
The second plague, bringing frogs from the Nile, was a judgment against Heqet, the frog-headed goddess of birth.
Frogs were thought to be sacred and not to be killed.
God had the frogs invade every part of the homes of the Egyptians, and when the frogs died, their stinking bodies were heaped up in offensive piles all through the land (Exodus 8:13–14).
The third plague, gnats, was a judgment on Set, the god of the desert.
Unlike the previous plagues, the magicians were unable to duplicate this one and declared to Pharaoh,
The fourth plague, flies, was a judgment on Uatchit, the fly god.
In this plague, God clearly distinguished between the Israelites and the Egyptians, as no swarms of flies bothered the areas where the Israelites lived (Exodus 8:21–24).
The fifth plague, the death of livestock, was a judgment on the goddess Hathor and the god Apis, who were both depicted as cattle.
As with the previous plague, God protected His people from the plague, while the cattle of the Egyptians died.
God was steadily destroying the economy of Egypt, while showing His ability to protect and provide for those who obeyed Him.
Pharaoh even sent investigators (Exodus 9:7) to find out if the Israelites were suffering along with the Egyptians, but the result was a hardening of his heart against the Israelites.
The sixth plague, boils, was a judgment against several gods over health and disease (Sekhmet, Sunu, and Isis).
This time, the Bible says thatthe magicians“could not stand before Moses because of the boils.”
Clearly, these religious leaders were powerless against the God of Israel.
Before God sent the last three plagues, Pharaoh was given a special message from God.
These plagues would be more severe than the others, and they were designed to convince Pharaoh and all the people “that there is none like me in all the earth” (Exodus 9:14).
Pharaoh was even told that he was placed in his position by God, so that God could show His power and declare His name through all the earth (Exodus 9:16).
As an example of His grace, God warned Pharaoh to gather whatever cattle and crops remained from the previous plagues and shelter them from the coming storm.
Some of Pharaoh’s servants heeded the warning (Exodus 9:20), while others did not.
The seventh plague, hail, attacked Nut, the sky goddess; Osiris, the crop fertility god; and Set, the storm god.
This hail was unlike any that had been seen before. It was accompanied by a fire which ran along the ground, and everything left out in the open was devastated by the hail and fire.
Again, the children of Israel were miraculously protected, and no hail damaged anything in their lands.
Before God brought the next plague, He told Moses that the Israelites would be able to tell their children of the things they had seen God do in Egypt and how it showed them God’s power.
The eighth plague, locusts, again focused on Nut, Osiris, and Set.
The later crops, wheat and rye, which had survived the hail, were now devoured by the swarms of locusts.
There would be no harvest in Egypt that year.
The ninth plague, darkness, was aimed at the sun god, Re, who was symbolized by Pharaoh himself.
For three days, the land of Egypt was smothered with an unearthly darkness, but the homes of the Israelites had light.
The tenth and last plague, the death of the firstborn males, was a judgment on Isis, the protector of children.
In this plague, God was teaching the Israelites a deep spiritual lesson that pointed to Christ.
Unlike the other plagues, which the Israelites survived by virtue of their identity as God’s people, this plague required an act of faith by them.
God commanded each family to take an unblemished male lamb and kill it.
The blood of the lamb was to be smeared on the top and sides of their doorways, and the lamb was to be roasted and eaten that night.
Any family that did not follow God’s instructions would suffer in the last plague.
God described how He would send the death angel through the land of Egypt, with orders to slay the firstborn male in every household, whether human or animal.
The only protection was the blood of the lamb on the door.
When the angel saw the blood, he would pass over that house and leave it untouched (Exodus 12:23).
This is where the termPassovercomes from. Passover is a memorial of that night in ancient Egypt when God delivered His people from bondage.
First Corinthians 5:7teaches that Jesus became our Passover when He died to deliver us from the bondage of sin.
While the Israelites found God’s protection in their homes, every other home in the land of Egypt experienced God’s wrath as their loved ones died.
This grievous event caused Pharaoh to finally release the Israelites.
By the time the Israelites left Egypt, they had a clear picture of God’s power,
God’s protection, and God’s plan for them.
For those who were willing to believe, they had convincing evidence that they served the true and living God.
Sadly, many still failed to believe, which led to other trials and lessons by God.
The result for the Egyptians and the other ancient people of the region was a dread of the God of Israel.
Even after the tenth plague, Pharaoh once again hardened his heart and sent his chariots after the Israelites.
When God opened a waythrough the Red Seafor the Israelites, then drowned all of Pharaoh’s armies there, the power of Egypt was crushed, and the fear of God spread through the surrounding nations (Joshua 2:9–11).
This was the very purpose that God had declared at the beginning. We can still look back on these events today to confirm our faith in, and our fear of, this true and living God, the Judge of all the earth.
What Q is saying:
Intel (from Q) is circulating about the possibility of the internet and all media ‘going dark’ for ten days from 1st – 10th April.
The date 10th April 2020 can be read as 4 10 20 – Donald J Trump (these numbers 4.10.20 also represent Donald Trump’s initials).
Q refers to ten days of darkness in drop number 88 from 5th November 2017.
Here is an excerpt…
‘Ten days Darkness. Scare tactics (MSM) D’s (Democrats) falling.
R’s (Republicans) walk-away/removed.
SA>US>Asia>EU…’
Q
We are certainly seeing ‘scare tactics’ from the mainstream media regarding the virus.
And Democrats are certainly ‘falling’.
Joe Biden is busy pretending that he has dementia in an effort to avoid being arrested.
Give that man an Oscar. And where is Nancy Pelosi these days? Adam Schiff?
Maybe they are heading to New Zealand. Apparently many expensive private jets are landing in our tourist hot spot of Queenstown, mecca for the rich and famous.
Elite escapees? As Q reminds us, the satanists can run but they cannot hide.
NO ONE ESCAPES THE PAIN. The SA in the Q drop is Saudi Arabia.
Q has often referred to the fact that USA will follow the lead of Saudi Arabia (as indicated by the arrow in the drop).
Currently Saudi Arabia is purging corrupt officials from their government – many arrests are taking place.
Interestingly, the Irish Prime Minister used the word ‘purge’ in an extraordinary St Patrick’s Day speech to his nation…
Question: What does a drowning man want more than anything in this world?
Answer: His next breath of air.
God’s promise is that when we seek after Him that way, like a drowning man seeking his next breath of air, then we will find Him.
God is omniscient, and as such there is NOTHING about your life that He does not already know.
We have to learn to live by faith, seeking GOD first, above ALL things (see Hebrews 6).
Matthew 6:24-34
24 Jesus speaking: “No one is able to serve two masters. For either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other.
You are not able to serve God and money (Mammon).
The Sermon on the Mount: Anxiety
25 “For thisreasonI say to you, do not be anxious for your life, what you will eat,and not for your body, what you will wear. Is your life not more than food and your bodymore thanclothing?
Is your life not more than food and your bodymore thanclothing? 26 Consider the birds of the sky, that they do not sow or reap or gatherproduceinto barns, and your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth more than theyare? 27 And who among you,bybeing anxious, is able to add one hourto his life span? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Observe the lilies of the field, how they grow: they do not toil or spin, 29 but I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory was dressed like one of these. 30 But if God dresses the grass of the field in this way,although itisheretoday and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he notdo somuch moreforyou, you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?,’32 for the pagans seek after all thesethings. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all thesethings. 33 But seek first his kingdom and righteousness,and all thesethingswill be added to you. 34 Therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow, because tomorrow will be anxious for itself.Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Facing your fears and not letting them control you…
God has NOT given us a spirit of fear, but of POWER, LOVE and a STRONG MIND (2 Tim 1:7).
We must learn to walk by the Spirit and not by our flesh (Gal 5:16):
Face your fears in faith, as you stand on the Word of God, leaning on the power of the Holy Spirit.
Joshua 1:1-9
New King James Version (NKJV)
God’s Commission to Joshua
1 After the death of Moses the servant of theLord, it came to pass that theLordspoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’assistant, saying:
2 “Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them—the children of Israel. 3 Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses. 4 From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the River Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your territory. 5 No man shallbe able tostand before you all the days of your life;as I was with Moses,soI will be with you.I will not leave you nor forsake you. 6 Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shalldivide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. 7 Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to ALL the lawwhich Moses My servant commanded you;do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you mayprosper wherever you go. 8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, butyoushall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it.
For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage;do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for theLordyour Godiswith you wherever you go.”
SB SALT AND LIGHT MINISTRIES 