If the Church of Laodicea can be compared to the final stage of Church History, then lukewarmness is its trademark. “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue [vomit] thee out of My mouth” (Revelation 3:15-16 KJV). In spite of Laodicea’s lukewarmness, Christ gives her an invitation, the final call to repentance before He unfolds tribulation upon the earth. “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me” (3:20). We have been comfortable in the world, rationalizing Christ can benefit from our riches, but blinded by self-interest, we have not seen the glories of the Invisible Christ in the Unseen Realm. O LORD, awaken Your people! May we acknowledge Your displeasure because of the slowness of our heart in believing You. Be merciful to us and cause us to make an impression on those left behind. Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus. Amen and amen.
Unseen Realm
Israel: Pariah of the World
Following the Holocaust of WW2, sympathy for the downtrodden Jew was most prevalent. The modern Jewish state of Israel has repeatedly fought and won wars with neighboring Arab nations since its 1948 reincarnation. With the most recent invasion of Israel on October 7, 2023, it was unreasonable for Hamas to defeat and occupy Israel, but Hamas could fight a limited war, sacrificing the lives of an estimated 36,000 Gazan fighters and residents, in exchange for a growing sympathy from the world for the plight of Gaza and an increased hostility toward Israel. Now, Israel is the pariah or outcast for its war in Gaza. Anti-Jewish and anti-Israel sentiment is now acceptable among the liberal establishment that once championed the right of nondiscrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, or age. What has changed? The secular world is governed by satan, “the god of this world” (2Corinthians 4:4 KJV), who hates Israel because Israel is loved by the LORD, who says, “My kindness shall not depart from thee” (Isaiah 54:10). It may take a bizarre, otherworldly change of events for Israel to have friendly relations again with its near neighbors, much less to fulfill the End Times predictions of the Seventieth Week of Daniel (Daniel 9:24-27). But, the Almighty is positioning all things for this certain confrontation. LORD, You are the God who overrules the wicked one. Cause Your Church to be taught about what will come to pass. Help us to understand the capabilities of Your enemy. Cause us not to be blindsided by our foes from the Unseen Realm. Grant to Your Church the ability and the understanding to appreciate what You are about to do. Even so, return quickly, Lord Jesus. Amen and amen.
An Angel or Premonition
Most workplace accident investigations look for cause and effect, and will normally find a human responsible, making the accident preventable. Though insurance companies do list “act of God” as a reason for lack of coverage, it is not due to any religious belief in God, but a simple admission of a natural event beyond the reasonable control of a party. A New Jersey (USA) toll booth worker called out of work due to a “gut feeling” something bad was going to happen. Two disturbing dreams awoke her, so she called out. Only hours later did a garbage truck crash into the collection booth, in which she normally would be working, seriously injuring the driver and toll collector. Whether it was an angel or premonition, she had recently been drawing closer to God. “Are they [angels] not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?” (Hebrews 1:14 KJV). We need to pay closer attention to God and His Unseen Realm, for it is He “with whom we have to do” (4:13). LORD, help us to draw near to You, for then we know You draw nearer to us. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
Peace in the Middle East
When will they ever learn? If the enemies of Israel dedicate their existence to the destruction of Israel, then Israel does not have the ability to coexist with her enemies. A stalemate exists without a natural resolution. Only a supernatural solution would work. Supernatural is the Unseen Realm of Almighty God; but also, it is the realm of the adversary the devil and whomsoever is empowered by that wicked one. Peace in the Middle East will initially come through the Antichrist, who is the “prince that shall come” (Daniel 9:26 KJV). Satan or the “dragon gave him his power” (Revelation 13:2). He will usher in a period of peace to begin the Seventieth Week of Daniel. “And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate” (Daniel 9:27). Only time will tell, when the Almighty chooses this solution for Israel’s problems. Father God, even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus. Amen.
Divine Council Retrospective
Since early 2022, when I became familiar with Dr. Michael S. Heiser’s scholarly book, The Unseen Realm (2015), I have attempted to synthesize his Divine Council perspective with my Christian worldview. As a lifelong reader of the KJV, I’d never heard the expression “divine council,” since Psalm 82:1 was translated as “congregation” (KJV) not “divine council” (ESV). “God [Hebrew, elohim, singular] has taken His place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods [Hebrew, elohim, plural] He holds judgment” (Psalm 82:1 ESV). Multiple gods? Yes, but only one Almighty God. Heiser’s title The Unseen Realm and the Divine Council perspective allowed me to rethink my understanding of what takes place in the heavenlies — building a better foundation. For example, in Spiritual Warfare, notice how Paul links our struggles with the heavenlies. “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12 KJV). Another example, in Divine Healing, observe how an evil angel or “messenger [Greek, aggelos, angel] of Satan” (2Corinthians 12:7) is linked with a “thorn in the flesh” (12:7) and the struggle for healing. And still another example, in Prayer and Intercession, how can we avoid connecting the Courts of Heaven with Yahweh’s Divine Council? “Put Me in remembrance; Let us contend together; State your case, that you may be acquitted” (Isaiah 43:26 NKJV). We may differ, ignore, or misunderstand the Unseen Realm, but its concepts still affect us in our Supernatural Religion.
Jesus Wants You Well
C.S. Lovett, a retired USAF chaplain, wrote, “I do not mean to imply that God doesn’t use sickness… But the point is — He [God] doesn’t SEND sickness,” in his classic book, Jesus Wants You Well (1973). Growing up in the early 1970’s in evangelical, fundamental, Bible preaching churches, I remember being introduced to the writings of Dr. Lovett’s Personal Christianity by a blessed, fervent church friend. Lovett got it right, and he disagreed with conventional wisdom on 2Corinthians 12:7-10 about Paul’s thorn in the flesh. The devil wants us sick, since the “thorn in the flesh” (2Corinthians 12:7 KJV) was a “messenger [Greek, aggelos, angel] of Satan [Greek, satan, adversary]” (12:7) sent by God to “buffet” (12:7) Paul — and us. An evil angel of Satan was allowed to torment Paul, like Jesus was “led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil” (Matthew 4:1). The Father no more wanted Jesus to be tempted to make Jesus sin, any more than He wanted Paul to be buffeted to make him perpetually ill. Sure, we are to “glory in [our] infirmities” (12:9) for “when I am weak, then am I strong” (12:10) in the mean time; but, it is the devil buffeting with the sickness. Jesus came to heal and deliver us from the sickness, unless we have hidden issues allowing the adversary to successfully accuse us to prevent our healing. “When the even was come, they brought unto Him many that were possessed with devils: and He cast out the spirits with His word, and healed all that were sick: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias [Isaiah] the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses” (Matthew 8:16-17; compare Isaiah 53:4-5). Our response to being buffeted is to glory in our infirmities, thus strengthening us spiritually, but not simply to give in to sickness. Brothers and sisters, Jesus wants us well. Let the Holy Spirit persuade you what you should believe.
Elephant in the Room
“That’s what they want you to think,” said Jerry Fletcher (Mel Gibson) explaining his wild eyed, conspiracy theory to an uncomfortable Alice Sutton (Julia Roberts) in the box office success “Conspiracy Theory” (1997). If a conspiracy is only an evil plan formulated by two or more persons in secret, then only our desire of credibility keeps us from labeling anything a conspiracy. A Gallup Poll (May 2023) found 74% of Americans believed in God and 58% believed in a devil. With increasingly fewer believing in supernatural entities, Christians desiring to explain their worldview of a cosmic but predictable chess match between Yahweh and His formidable-but-already-defeated-enemy the devil is increasingly more challenging. “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12 KJV).
Angels: Third Person Syndrome
“Are they [angels] not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?” (Hebrews 1:14 KJV). God’s unseen realm touches us for good so much more than the minions of the wicked one for evil, if we are numbered among those who are “saved by hope” (Romans 8:24). It is embarrassing that the world notices this help, when the godly more insistently cling to their failed narratives of unanswered prayer. I ran across this account. “[#9] I was taking a shortcut across a frozen reservoir on the way to a friend’s house. Suddenly, the ice cracked, and I started to fall through. I felt two hands slam into my back, and I skidded across the ice. I was soaking wet when I arrived at my friend’s house, cold and shivering. I told him the story as I changed into some of his clothes so we could throw mine into the dryer. My friend turned white, and his eyes were bugging out of his head. He guided me to the bathroom so I could look in the mirror, and I saw what disturbed him. There were two hand-shaped bruises forming on my back. 40+ years later, I still get chills thinking about it.”
The Courts of Heaven
God rules sovereignly from Heaven but not arbitrarily. In the Unseen Realm, “God [Hebrew, ělôhîym, ruler, judge, divine one, angel] has taken His place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods [Hebrew, ělôhîym] He holds judgment” (Psalms 82:1 ESV). With the Supreme Judge of All the Earth (Genesis 18:25), both Abraham and Moses pleaded cases before His court and won (Genesis 18:25; Numbers 14:13-20). Why should Yahweh allow Himself to be persuaded by a mere mortal in prayer? “Remind Me of what happened! Let’s debate! You, prove to Me that you are right [Hebrew, tsadeq, acquitted, justified, vindicated, declared right]!” (Isaiah 43:26 NET). God desires us to enter into intimate relation with Him to form a more perfect union, when we argue our case in the Courts of Heaven using all our intellect, understanding, experience, emotion, and feeling, thus bonding to Him with all our strength for eternity.
Why Me?
Why me? Why am I suffering? Why did God choose Job to be the Poster Child for Suffering? Job may not have said it that way, but felt it. Yahweh already answered that question, even before Job asked it, in a conversation with the Enemy. “And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth [hates] evil” (Job 1:8 KJV). The LORD is not afraid to refine us, even at the Adversary’s suggestion. “None like him” (1:8) indicates Job was the best the Almighty had “in the earth” (1:8). Job was “perfect” (1:8) in heart, which is the only perfection possible for any created being. He was “upright” (1:8) because he did right. He feared God more than the Adversary, where well trained troops are more afraid of disappointing their drill sergeant than they fear the enemy. He hated evil. Job’s testing proved: (1) “All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution” (2Timothy 3:12 KJV), (2) Suffering makes the greatest impression on us in a teachable moment, for even Jesus in His humanity “learned He obedience by the things which He suffered” (Hebrews 5:8 KJV), (3) In suffering’s refinement, “He knoweth the way that I take: when He hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold” (Job 23:10 KJV), (4) Yahweh’s conversation with the satan demonstrates there really is an Unseen Realm of Spiritual Warfare, where “we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12 KJV). May Yahweh be magnified as He helps us, and we help each other, in our suffering to come forth as gold. Amen and amen.
We Need A Miracle 