Monthly Archives: October 2025

WHEN WAS THE APOSTLE PAUL BORN? [Part 1]

Though this subject may initially appear as unimportant or incidental, in looking into it recently I discovered some promising spiritual parallels that are quite intriguing…

A few days ago I was watching a multipart film series on the ministry travels of the Apostle Paul. This was a subject I knew fairly well, having read several accounts of Paul’s life in my lifetime and doing further extensive research on the subject roughly eight years ago or so. At that time I had determined to follow Paul on each of his journeys and get all the more familiar with the locations he visited and the happenings thereof, dovetailing his adventures with the Scriptural accounts in the Book of Acts and his own letters. In that process I discovered an interactive online map that gave one the feel of actually traveling along with the apostle and his cohorts which served as an excellent visual aid. I also supplemented this with much location information and dates. Both filled out the many texts I was reading which included excellent scholarly books, some going back over 150 years.

Early in the aforementioned film series, which was produced five years ago, the host and narrator, who was also traveling in Paul’s footsteps showcasing the locations and evocative ancient ruins of the very places Paul visited, said in passing that Paul was born in about 4-5AD. For whatever reason, I was instantly intrigued with this (as I likely was many times in the past concerning Paul’s birth year though apparently never doing a deep dive regarding it). I then paused the video and immediately decided to begin looking into the subject as though nothing was more important. But before starting the process I prayed for insight and revelation as if I was looking for certain clues. I wanted to receive from the Lord whatever He might want to reveal that I likely never would find otherwise.

A MAJOR CLUE

The scholarly consensus opinion I discovered early on was about 5AD with one source mentioning a range up to 10AD which I thought was too high. The author of the first book I ever read on Paul—The Man Who Shook the World—said he was born in 1AD. However, I wasn’t looking for an actual overall definitive consensus though 5AD might very well be it. While continuing this early process I suddenly hit on something seemingly out of left field. It ended up being what initially appeared to be the major clue I was seeking, which, if true, had to be a revelation from the Lord: It regarded the ages of Joseph and Benjamin.

Now, I think I know what you may be thinking. What would the ages of these two ancient tribal patriarchs have to do with Paul’s birth date? Well, to add to the spiritual types and shadows thereof, I saw the Lord Jesus as Joseph and Paul as Benjamin. With this it started coming together. Of course, Joseph was certainly a type of the Lord. He was also the one chosen by God to actually save his nation which would have otherwise perished in a future famine that only God knew was coming. It was also the case that Joseph and Benjamin were full blood brothers with the same father and mother (Jacob and Rachel) and had no other such siblings. There was thus a very special bond between these two especially because Rachel was the one real love of Jacob’s life though he fathered children by three other women.

With reference to the patriarch Benjamin, his most famous descendant by far was the future Apostle Paul. If you studied much history of the tribe of Benjamin you would possess greater understanding of Paul’s natural personality and demeanor. In essence, Paul was a perfect type of Benjamin. Not only does Paul state in his epistles that he was descended from this tribe he also claimed to be a then current member of it which must have carried a certain amount of weight among his former religious peers. In 1Corinthians 15:3-11, he also explains his spiritual stature in association with the twelve apostles as though he very much belonged. Paul writes in that passage that the newly risen Lord Jesus first appeared to Peter and then to the twelve. After also mentioning the Lord’s appearance to the 500 and the Lord’s brother James, he says the following:

…And last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also. [1Corinthians 15:8]

The KJV translates it this way:

And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. [1Corinthians 15:8 KJV]

This fits perfectly with the Benjamin scenario in that he was not only the last son born to Jacob (#12), but there was also a substantial gap in the ages of the last two sons, Joseph and Benjamin, which does not occur in any other pairing. And because Jacob lost his favored son Joseph to what he previously thought was a violent death when Benjamin was very young, he undoubtedly became even more protective of his final son and likely did all he could to shield him which likely spoiled the child and even stunted his growth. This would make Benjamin less mature and disciplined which, again, appeared to show up as an ongoing flaw in his descendants.

In keeping with this probability in association with the findings of past historians, the Apostle Paul was likely not even five feet tall. Again, Scripture appears to say the same about Benjamin in that he was apparently small in stature. For example, there are several passages in the Book of Genesis in which Benjamin is referred to by his brothers as a “lad.” This occurs nine times in Genesis 43 and 44 which is in the time frame when Joseph was prime minister of Egypt dealing with his brothers. With this description—a lad—the reader night think Benjamin was a mere boy. However, this word “lad” is from a Hebrew word with a wide range denoting infancy to boy to adolescence, but could also possibly refer to a young adult depending on the context. I will get to more on this later. Suffice it to say that just as there was a large age difference between Joseph and Benjamin, it was also most likely if not certain that Paul was younger than all twelve apostles.

ANOTHER MAJOR CLUE

So, to sum up to this point in keeping with the large clue I believe the Lord gave me, I began studying the difference in ages between Joseph and Benjamin. I discovered what I thought was a high range in my early research with one source claiming 13 years. I thought that was too much. Other sources claimed that Benjamin was not even born when Joseph was sold into slavery (he was 17 at the time). I thought that was way too much. Yet, I was looking for the truth and these had to be considered.

I began trying to put it all together. The next major clue came regarding Benjamin’s age when he went to Egypt while being referred to as a “lad” by his brothers. They called him this not because he was a boy or even a teenager but because he was so much younger than they were. The fact is that Joseph, son of Jacob #11, was 39 years old at this time. We know this because he was 30 when he became prime minister of Egypt which was also the beginning of the “good seven” years in which bumper crops would come forth. But when his family moved to Egypt it was already at the end of the first two years of the “bad seven” when the great famine had arrived. Therefore, since Joseph was 39, imagine how old Reuben was, the first son of Jacob. He could have been almost 50. This puts things in better perspective regarding the way they referred to Benjamin even though he was not at all a young man. The major clue proving this is the following: Benjamin had ten sons when he went to Egypt:

And these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt, Jacob and his sons… And the sons of Benjamin were Belah, and Becher, and Ashbel, Gera, and Naaman, Ehi, and Rosh, Muppim, and Huppim, and Ard. [Genesis 46:8, 21][1]

With this little factoid as a key puzzle piece it becomes evident that Benjamin was far from being a mere “lad.” In fact, the early scholarly consensus was that Benjamin was actually a full grown man in the vicinity of 32-35 years old at that time.

But I saw it differently. Thus, regarding the discovery of the actual birth year of the Apostle Paul, I perceived yet another major clue which I will reveal in Part 2. Stayed tuned.

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Tags: Apostle Paul, Benjamin, Book of Acts, Egypt, Evangelization and Witnessing, Genesis, Joseph, Lord Jesus, Real Christianity The Nature of the Church, Research, The Great Awakening, Twelve Apostles

OUR GREAT SPIRITUAL WARRIOR [Part 3]

Oct 20

Posted by RJ Dawson

Luke’s Gospel reports that the Lord and His well-trained twelve engaged in spiritual warfare doing masterful ministry work in the Miracle Realm. Then, the Seventy…

OVERCOMING DEAD TRADITION

One can believe what one will concerning what they think Christianity actually is or is supposed to be but the vast majority of Christians usually revert to their traditional modes of both belief and practice whenever the Lord may apply an extra degree of persuasion toward a higher level of ministry and the necessity of obeying His Word. Why He does this should be obvious since it involves the practice of actual real ministry as illustrated quite clearly in the written gospels. But many Christians are only familiar with such ministry in mere abstract form in that a few might actually read the Scriptural accounts of Miracle Realm happenings but pretty much never see such happenings in their own Christian circles.

Many also rarely or never see their own chosen Christian leaders performing in such a way and know next to no one who does. This raises the question of why such rejection of real ministry exists in the first place though it apparently often involves the fear of breaking church protocol, being perceived as a weirdo by Christian peers, or simply causing a general sense of discomfort (conviction?) among one’s social group.

It is also likely the case that most Christians believe the powerful ministry of the Lord and His twelve apostles was only meant to be ministered by the Lord and his twelve apostles and no one else ever again. In this we rightly place the Lord Jesus way up high as our Great Spiritual Warrior who could kick the devil’s backside all over Creation and defeat every other enemy in His path toward reaching the people whom He loves and who have great faith in Him and who need real ministry which includes every need of any kind whether outside or inside the Miracle Realm. It is good that many Christians, though very likely not a majority, do not see the gospel accounts as mere fantasy or made up stories. Such Christians actually believe the accounts are real and reflect actual historical events. Yet how many of these same Christians believe the Lord when He claims the same power which He possesses can be given to and practiced by whosoever will? Did not the twelve apostles prove this?

Yet, what has transpired in this regard is that the twelve apostles have been transformed (in the thinking of most within traditional Christianity, especially by many Christian controllers) into some form of ultra-human demigods as the mighty Titans of Greek Mythology throwing lightning bolts and whatnot. However, the Scriptures are very clear that the Lord purposely chose practical unpretentious hard-working men essentially like everybody else who struggled with life like everybody else and continually proved their humanity like everybody else pretty much every day and even in the early going after dropping their nets and exiting tax booths. They were just people no different than you or I. They were not special in any greater way but were chosen primarily because they BELIEVED IN THE LORD JESUS and He knew that about them. He knew they were teachable. He knew they would trust Him. And He knew He would be able to work with them and through them to extend His ministry.

Therefore, the original twelve apostles were men who, regardless of their shortcomings, personal foibles, sins, past failures, wrong choices, and likely even a feeling of inherent disappointment in themselves, somehow still had the desire to please God. They wanted to be right with God. They somehow knew such a thing was possible. And even though they had at the time done their best to achieve such but felt like they never got there, still believed it was possible and still had the desire to keep trying. This made them spiritually hungry. It also made them potentially faithful. And the Lord noticed…

This is why there is no excuse for any Christian anywhere not walking in the same Miracle Realm and doing as the apostles did to varying degrees and why the vaulting up of the twelve into demigod status is not only grossly wrong but also gross sin. The whole point in one sense is the Lord showing what He can do by raising up pretty much anyone to train for His work and get them out there doing it which proves He can elevate weak-minded temptation-prone spiritually fruitless struggling sinners (anyone and everyone) from the general low level of fallen humanity ruled by evil forces into fully trained Spirit-filled anointed witnesses and effective workers in His kingdom with authority over the enemy and even over the so-called laws of nature.

This does not make such people the stuff of myths and legends but born-again human beings appropriating their original spiritual nature possessed before the fall.

THE SEVENTY

We learn of the Seventy in Luke Chapter 10. Like the twelve, the Seventy were an additional large group of the Lord’s disciples apparently specially chosen by Him for the exact Miracle Realm ministry. This immediately dispels the notion once again that such ministry was only for the Lord and His twelve. It is here that we see what is effectively, for the purposes of this teaching, a third level of direct ministry participation. The Lord is obviously first, the twelve were second since He needed a relatively small core group to act as His initial elders and first ambassadors into the world—a foundation. The third level, then, is everybody else. As you read the following account picture the members of this large group and how excited and overjoyed they must have been to be counted worthy of being sent into the world as viable ministers of the Gospel just as important as anyone else with a distinct ministry to perform according to the will of God (rather than simply being as so many faceless members of the religious crowd, many of whom are stashed away on pews, rarely ever doing all that much or anything at all in the Lord’s Miracle Realm):

Now after this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them in pairs ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come.

And He was saying to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. Go; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. Carry no money belt, no bag, no shoes; and greet no one on the way. Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house.’ If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. Stay in that house, eating and drinking what they give you; for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not keep moving from house to house. Whatever city you enter and they receive you, eat what is set before you; and heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’”

“But whatever city you enter and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your city which clings to our feet we wipe off in protest against you; yet be sure of this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’ I say to you, it will be more tolerable in that day for Sodom than for that city.” [Luke 10:1-12][1]

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Tags: Counterfeit Religious Traditions, Discipleship, Gospel Truth, Lord Jesus, Luke, Miracle Realm, Miracles and Healing, Paul, Real Christianity The Nature of the Church, Spiritual Warfare, The Great Awakening, The LORD is a Warrior, The Perfect Teachings of Jesus, The Word of God, Twelve Apostles, Unreal Christianity, Victory in Jesus

OUR GREAT SPIRITUAL WARRIOR [Part 2]

Oct 18

Posted by RJ Dawson

In Part 1 we saw the Lord Jesus in action taking the fight to the enemy who could do nothing to stop Him. We then saw that nothing could stop the twelve apostles.

A WELL-TRAINED FIGHTING FORCE

Book learning is great. I have shelves loaded with books as do many of you. As a research scholar I have read a massive amount of books, periodicals, articles, study papers, PDFs, and the list goes on and on. The Word of God states clearly that the Lord’s people must, in the KJV Old English, Study to shew thyself approved. These were Paul’s written words to Timothy, one of his noted protégés which he trained in the faith. Here is the full passage in the Amplified Classic:

Study and be eager and do your utmost to present yourself to God approved (tested by trial), a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing and accurately dividing [rightly handling and skillfully teaching] the Word of Truth. [2Timothy 2:15]

This means one must work very hard to initially gain the necessary knowledge one needs to successfully work his craft. The top priority in this regard is, of course, reading and studying primarily the New Testament Scriptures focusing on the teachings of the Lord in the gospels. This is foundational. It is the only way to gain knowledge of the Word which is a must for ministry especially a teaching or witnessing ministry.

One must know, therefore, that the Lord’s twelve apostles were already somewhat well-versed in OT Scripture prior to walking with the Lord as were many of the Israelites at that time in that the young were required whenever possible to gain such knowledge beginning at an early age. Such knowledge was stored for later retrieval when necessary and included many applications for practical and social matters. The Lord then built on their basic knowledge level and “book learning” to demonstrate the Word in action. He made the Word come alive in the 3D world before them as they followed in great wonder.

Thus we see that study is good and necessary but also that it must be followed up with meeting people where they live and applying the fruits of study for hands-on ministry purposes as the Lord did most effectively. The twelve then followed the Lord’s lead after seeing great demonstrations of miracles, healings, and successful operative ministry attacks against the enemy. Again, as stated in part 1, we see this throughout our primary text of Luke’s gospel in Chapters 7 and 8 after the apostles were first called in Chapter 6. And in Chapter 9 He sent them forth to do as they were trained:

Departing, they began going throughout the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere. [Luke 10:6]

To prove their spiritual education had taken root and progressed very well, even at that early time, the twelve apostles met with great ministry success also.

When the apostles returned, they gave an account to Him of all that they had done. [Luke 10:10]

This was very important for their futures. Again, it is indicative of excellent training, the right kind of training, and proof that the spiritual authority they were given was no fluke. In other words, one can talk all day long about their Christian education whether from church ministry or a Bible college, but if it does not include actual working authority over the devil, the world, and the flesh, and the capacity to change lives for the better at their very core and usher people into the spiritual kingdom of the Lord, then it is not only lacking but essentially worthless.

AN EVEN HIGHER LEVEL

After that the Lord performed the great incontrovertible though far out miracle of multiplying bread and fish to feed a multitude. One wonders what the apostles were thinking. It became a matter of trusting their eyes because what they were seeing was otherwise impossible. They had already been called and trained on fundamental spiritual knowledge and then further trained on witnessing the miraculous but the miracle of multiplication was yet another level above. After this (still in Chapter 9) the Lord revealed to them His future death by great sacrificial love and taught them about carrying their cross. This added an entirely new dimension of ministry in that humility and self-sacrifice (being strong in weakness as per Paul) is paramount to great effectiveness and moving spiritual mountains. Again, as I mentioned in Part 1, how many “official” Christian ministers ever get anywhere close to this level of spiritual training? We both know the answer.

Moving on in Luke Chapter 9 the Lord ramps up the training of a select few even higher with His phenomenal and wholly unprecedented Transfiguration. For this event He only chose Peter, James, and John as disciple witnesses, His so-called inner circle. As I’ve stated before in my work, the three celestial ones on the Mount that day, the Lord, Moses, and Elijah, are the only ones ever recorded in Scripture as going on forty day fasts which is yet another indication of their very high level ministries. This does not mean they were the only ones to do it but that their spiritual level required it. Moses and Elijah represented the Law and the Prophets. The Lord, of course, represented in a word—Grace. By choosing only three of His twelve, the Lord was placing upon them a similar ministry mantle of greater responsibility which each of them later fulfilled. Every real Christian must also strive to fulfill their calling though it will undoubtedly involve the fight of their life.

The Chapter closes with several finer points of required real ministry as characterized in the following:

An argument started among them as to which of them might be the greatest. But Jesus, knowing what they were thinking in their heart, took a child and stood him by His side, and said to them, “Whoever receives this child in My name receives Me, and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me; for the one who is least among all of you, this is the one who is great.” [Luke 9:46-48]

John answered and said, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name; and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow along with us.” But Jesus said to him, “Do not hinder him; for he who is not against you is for you.” [Luke 9:49-50]

And He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.” But He said to him, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.” Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home.” But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” [Luke 9:59-62][1]

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Tags: Discipleship, Gospel Truth, Lord Jesus, Luke, Miracles and Healing, Paul, Real Christianity The Nature of the Church, Research, Spirit of Truth, Spiritual Warfare, The Great Awakening, The LORD is a Warrior, The Perfect Teachings of Jesus, The Word of God, Twelve Apostles, Unreal Christianity, Victory in Jesus

OUR GREAT SPIRITUAL WARRIOR [Part 1]

Oct 17

Posted by RJ Dawson

He represented by far their greatest threat. They perceived early on it would be an intense winner take all battle. It is why they threw everything they had at Him.

TOWARD REAL SPIRITUAL MINISTRY

As in everything else, the Lord showed His people how to fight. He was the perfect archetype of warrior. He modeled what it means to engage in spiritual warfare, how to outsmart and overcome the enemy, and how to gain spiritual victories. He made Himself a flawless example of warriorship and was willing to subject Himself to the worst of wickedness on our behalf.

His followers had to see Him in action. They had to see how it was to be done. They must experience how their Master faced off against powerful sinister forces and not only defeat them but make them look foolish. And perhaps most of all, they had to know that they could also—somehow, some way—do as He did, as absolutely impossible as that appeared to be.

Now, regarding this, one may think the Lord would start small with relatively easy doable tasks so His men could gain confidence. To this end, we see that just after His very careful choosing of the twelve apostles after much prayer throughout the previous night, that prior to any actual field work in the spiritual realm there first must be much instruction by example. In Luke’s gospel, this occurs in Chapter 6 in which appears a condensed version of such advanced spiritual teaching. Then in Chapters 7 and 8 we see the Lord modeling highly advanced spiritual ministry with much parabolic teaching, the doing of many miracles, and actual hands-on attacks against demonic forces. His apostles experienced it all, gained loads of empirical evidence, saw that all was possible, and understood the full ramifications of spiritual ministry and its highly beneficial impact on people’s lives. At that point they graduated from instruction and example to becoming doers of the Word:

And He called the twelve together, and gave them power and authority over all the demons and to heal diseases. And He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to perform healing. And He said to them, “Take nothing for your journey, neither a staff, nor a bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not even have two tunics apiece. Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that city. And as for those who do not receive you, as you go out from that city, shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.” Departing, they began going throughout the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere. [Luke 9:1-6]

As men very well prepared and instructed properly and fully, the record is clear that the twelve apostles had great success right from the start. One wonders why all Christian ministry is not like this. Most of it, of course, is not and never has been. Why? How did Christian ministry become transformed into what can only be referred to as something else entirely? Why is it that most Christians worldwide going back many centuries have never experienced anything close to what appears matter-of-factly in the Lord’s ministry? And why have the vast majority of all Christian “leaders”/ministers/pastors/priests/etc. never been used of God for a single miracle or healing as we see in Luke’s gospel? Why do we not see them attacking the gates of hell?

Could it be because they were never taught by the Lord Jesus or instructed properly in real spiritual ministry? Could it be because no minister ever modeled for them what the Lord Jesus modeled? Could it be because they were not instructed in His Gospel—the real one—at all but in a false gospel altogether different and wholly powerless? Could it be because no one ever taught them how to engage in spiritual warfare? It is obvious therefore, that they were instead taught from a different playbook.

Check out what the apostle Paul said in this regard:

But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully. For I consider myself not in the least inferior to the most eminent apostles. But even if I am unskilled in speech, yet I am not so in knowledge; in fact, in every way we have made this evident to you in all things. [2Corinthians 11:3-6]

I have become foolish; you yourselves compelled me. Actually I should have been commended by you, for in no respect was I inferior to the most eminent apostles, even though I am a nobody. The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with all perseverance, by signs and wonders and miracles. [2Corinthians 12:11-12]

This was spoken by a man who had the exact miracle witness in his ministry as did the Lord. In fact, one of the signs of the ministry of a true original apostle was having the exact miracle power and authority over the demonic as did the Lord, in addition to a purity of in-depth teaching that changed hearts and destinies for the better in line with the Lord’s will. This means that Paul must have been taught by the Lord Himself as were the original twelve though there is no record of Paul ever meeting or knowing the Lord Jesus during His ministry or prior to Paul’s conversion. This is indeed what happened:

For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. [Galatians 1:11-12][1]

What does this tell you about the vast majority of churches and Bible schools? The so-called ministers being turned out by these have apparently never been instructed by the Lord Jesus. The apostle Paul had a great lifetime ministry but says he never had any principle teacher of the Gospel in his life except the Lord. Such a statement is exceptionally profound. It also speaks very clearly to a preponderance of counterfeit gospels and masquerading ministers and explains why none of those guys could ever fight their way out of spiritual paper bag.

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Tags: Counterfeit Religious Traditions, Discipleship, Gospel Truth, Lord Jesus, Luke, Miracles and Healing, Paul, Real Christianity The Nature of the Church, Spiritual Warfare, The Great Awakening, The LORD is a Warrior, The Perfect Teachings of Jesus, Twelve Apostles, Unreal Christianity, Victory in Jesus

THEY SAID HE WAS CRAZY

Oct 10

Posted by RJ Dawson

And the majority of “Christians” apparently agree. It is why Unreal Christianity has created any number of fabricated versions of the Lord to suit their tastes and religious sensitivities.

THE MIND OF CHRIST

Then He went to a house [probably Peter’s], but a throng came together again, so that Jesus and His disciples could not even take food. And when those who belonged to Him (His kinsmen) heard it, they went out to take Him by force, for they kept saying, He is out of His mind (beside Himself, deranged)! And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, He is possessed by Beelzebub, and, By [the help of] the prince of demons He is casting out demons.

And He summoned them to Him and said to them in parables (illustrations or comparisons put beside truths to explain them), How can Satan drive out Satan? [Mark 3:20-23 Amplified Classic]

And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. [2Corinthians 4:3-4]

But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ. [1Corinthians 2:14-16]

Regardless of their false characterization of His mental makeup, the Lord was essentially the only perfectly sane Man in the loony bin. While this term refers in the greater sense to humanity the world over, the individuals of which exist prior to salvation in a state of sin and often willful separation from their Creator (not smart), it refers especially to the upper caste religious nutcases of His time and their spineless sycophant followers who believed and acted upon senseless dogmas, specious reasonings, and the ultra-casuistry of the Pharisees which gave vent to the creation of an opposition-to-God rebellious belief system and Torah-cancelling “tradition of men” that came to be known as the Oral Law:

Then some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, “Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.” And He answered and said to them, “Why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother is to be put to death.’ But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever I have that would help you has been given to God,” he is not to honor his father or his mother.’ And by this you invalidated the word of God for the sake of your tradition. You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you:

‘This people honors Me with their lips,

But their heart is far away from Me.

‘But in vain do they worship Me,

Teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.’” [Matthew 15:1-9]

That entire religious lunatic asylum slash social outworking construct in ancient first-century AD Palestine, as a dark cloud invasive species within and upon a previous functioning ecosystem, was otherwise plain to see and recognize for what it was by clear-headed observers but alas, apparently never again by the willingly zombified members of the religiously conquered ensconced within. Such people may have been perfectly fine in the head prior to their deceptive indoctrination but after the willful submission of their minds to the masquerading enemies of God—successfully cloaked in faux righteousness and garish over-the-top trying-much-too-hard sheep’s clothing which the faked-out initially failed to properly identify and steer clear of—they became as mere dutiful serfs and lower caste cloned versions of their loony bin masters. Sound familiar?

“The people who were sitting in darkness saw a great Light,

And those who were sitting in the land and shadow of death,

Upon them a Light dawned.” [Matthew 4:16 (quoting Isaiah)]

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.” [Matthew 23:15]

Though crazy behavior is ubiquitous as it certainly was in that place at that time, the most insane thing anyone could ever do is reject the Lord Jesus since it involves eternal proportions. Those who do this and refuse to change their minds up to and including death’s door have sadly sealed their fate and cannot possibly fare well at the judgment seat of God. Of course, rejecting the Lord also includes passively never accepting Him. It also includes not believing in Him or giving one’s heart to Him. Such people do not follow Him and do not appropriate and incorporate His teachings which just happen to reveal the only Way to Life. Most sadly of all, such people never honor the great sacrifice the Lord made on their behalf. What do they gain by rejecting Him? Living in darkness?

There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. [John 1:9-13][1]

GOD-GIVEN RIGHTS AND FREEDOM

The United States of America was founded as a Republic in which We the People cannot legally have their inherent God-given rights abused or eliminated. The founding documents of the USA are saturated with the right of We the People to live freely with freedom and liberty and with the freedom to exercise their free will granted by their Creator. The American government was originally created primarily for the purpose of enforcing the law regarding individual rights.

However, a great many Americans, perhaps by this stage a majority, have been brainwashed into believing the USA was founded as a Democracy. This is asinine. A Democracy is rule by the majority which subverts and quashes non-majority beliefs and principles regardless of truth, often using violence:

“I do not say that democracy has been more pernicious on the whole, and in the long run, than monarchy or aristocracy. Democracy has never been and never can be so durable as aristocracy or monarchy; but while it lasts, it is more bloody than either. …Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide.”

John Adams, 2^nd President of the United States of America

Democracies engage in such primarily because they do not honor the God-given rights and freedoms of the people. They are effectively mob rule with a powerful authoritarian enforcement arm. In fact, any and every form of government that does not protect and honor the inherent rights of the people (as God does) is evil. America is at present, of course, very far removed from what it once was—a bastion of liberty with a relatively miniscule outward government. As government has grown, now to gargantuan proportions, liberty and freedom have been greatly curtailed. Many of our rights have been trampled. The Fourth Amendment, for example, no longer effectively exists. Read the following first four Amendments of the Bill of Rights and be your own judge regarding how many rights of We the People are still in full effect, especially keeping in mind that a likely majority has been conditioned to willingly practice self-censorship and rights cessation probably due to fear of reprisal or social rejection and cancellation:

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;

Or abridging the freedom of speech,

Or of the press;

Or the right of the people peaceably to assemble,

And to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Amendment II

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Amendment III

No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

Amendment IV

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Now, compare what has happened to a once great country heading ever closer to its eventual demise to what happened to God’s original nation of ancient Israel. It began with one man—Abraham—and then his miracle son Isaac. Isaac had twin sons named Esau and Jacob. Esau was as the aforementioned “natural man” who saw the things of God as mere foolishness. God chose Jacob. Jacob’s name was later changed by God to Israel. Jacob/Israel had twelve sons who became the patriarchs of twelve tribes. The nation continued to grow at a relatively rapid rate but a majority eventually formed which opposed their Creator. The faithful ones of the nation became a very small Remnant. The vast majority in general always opposed God and refused to honor Him. Israel remained that way throughout its history. At the end, during the Last Days of the nation, the long awaited promised Messiah, Savior, Deliverer, and King arrived. He managed to gather a relatively faithful few—the surviving Remnant—great faithful ones who honored Him, stood by Him, and served Him. The majority, however, dishonored Him, rejected Him, and then fully supported those who killed Him.

But because they were a majority, whoever disagreed were seen as deviants and worthy of death. This was democracy in action—mob rule, the rule of the majority over anyone and everyone who did not comply. It is why the chief persecutors of the Lord’s initial followers (the believing minority of Israelites) were comprised of the unbelieving majority of Israelites (primarily Pharisees, Sadducees, and Zealots). A sizable portion of this majority were not true Israelites at all but Idumaeans (Edom)—descendants of Esau. So here we see again the spiritual fight between Isaac’s twin sons just as it was after the Lord’s birth when the Idumaean King Herod tried to kill the Lord Jesus.

Yet despite all the violent attacks and persecution, just as the Lord prophesied, His relatively small band of faithful sheep eventually grew to very great numbers and had a massively beneficial early impact on both their ancestral homeland, throughout the Roman Empire, and the world beyond which continues until this present day! But the great insane majority which opposed the Lord Jesus and killed Him were effectively destroyed less than a mere forty years later and national Israel ceased to exist forever.

The Lord certainly does not want such destruction, pain, and suffering but allows people to destroy themselves if they want to even though He offers a true Way of Life. Be mindful of this as you see so many powerful entities in this world grossly violating the teachings of the Lord and the lives of His people while building on sand foundations and chasing fitful sinful dreams lasting a mere fortnight before sure destruction, while the spiritual Kingdom of the Lord continues growing ever more vibrant and overcoming every attack against it. The Lord’s Light is presently shining ever brighter and His Truth is being revealed in an extraordinary way exposing spiritual darkness on possibly never before seen levels. And the Great Awakening continues.

I encourage each of you my friends to keep fighting the good fight of faith. You may have to fight harder than ever before but His victories will come and His enemies will continue to be defeated. He is faithful! We see this in how the Lord’s earthy life transpired in that at one point it looked as though all was lost but “death was swallowed up in victory” (1Cor 15:54) and the Lord arose from the dead! Therefore it does not matter how dark it may be or how difficult life might have become, He will always bring victory as long as one stays faithful, trusts Him with full confidence, and praises Him always regardless of circumstances. Mature believers have seen such otherwise impossible miracles in their lives many times and know full well what the Lord can do and will do.

And when your victory comes in, and it will, it may be effectively as it was when He defeated His enemies forever on that Sunday resurrection morning long ago when the Lord might have considered this retort against them:

“Who’s crazy now?”

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Tags: America, Ancient Israel, Christian Pharisees, Counterfeit Religious Traditions, Depraved Mind, Discipleship, Fight the Good Fight of Faith, John Adams, Light of God, Lord Jesus, Mind of Christ, Natural Mind, Oral Law, Real Christianity The Nature of the Church, The Bill of Rights, The Great Awakening, Tradition of the Pharisees, Unreal Christianity, Victory in Jesus, We the People

THE REAL BIRTHDAY OF THE LORD

Oct 7

Posted by RJ Dawson

Today is the first day of Sukkot. It is otherwise known as the Feast of Booths or Ingathering. Scripture indicates that today is likely the Lord’s real Birthday.

AN AUTUMN FEAST UNTO THE LORD

According to the Hebrew Festival Calendar which marks the beginning of the year or ecclesiastical year, the first month is Nisan. It is the first month of spring. Nisan occurred this year (2025) from March 30 to April 28. It actually began at sunset on March 29 because each day (each 24 hour period), according to the account in Genesis 1, begins at sunset:

And there was evening and there was morning, one day. [Genesis 1:5]

However, the Hebrew civil calendar begins in the autumn with the seventh month of Tishrei. The first day of the month is Rosh Hashanah (September 23, 2025). The tenth day is Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement (October 2, 2025). After these comes the third and final major feast of the year which in the Hebrew is called Sukkot. As I mentioned earlier, it is translated into English as Booths or Ingathering. As in the first feast of the year known as Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Booths is also a seven day feast. It begins in part with the full moon on Tishrei 15:

Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘On the fifteenth of this seventh month is the Feast of Booths for seven days to the Lord. On the first day is a holy convocation; you shall do no laborious work of any kind. For seven days you shall present an offering by fire to the Lord. On the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation and present an offering by fire to the Lord; it is an assembly. You shall do no laborious work.’” [Leviticus 23:33-36]

“‘On exactly the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the crops of the land, you shall celebrate the feast of the Lord for seven days, with a rest on the first day and a rest on the eighth day.’” [Leviticus 23:39]

Tishrei 15 actually began yesterday, October 6, at sunset. Thus, this first day would be a holy convocation. The seven days are the 15^th through the 21^st of Tishrei. On the Gregorian calendar these Hebrew calendar dates would refer to October 7-13. The additional eighth day, Tishrei 22, which is also a holy convocation, occurs on October 14.

Regarding the great importance of this feast celebrating the autumn harvest, it also serves as a memorial to the days in the Sinai desert after the Exodus from Egypt when the people of Israel lived in rustic shelters of entwined boughs akin to early brush arbors. The following passage contains a closer look into God’s intentions and the early history of this feast. It contains several clues regarding the distant future:

“‘Now on the first day you shall take for yourselves the foliage of beautiful trees, palm branches and boughs of leafy trees and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days. You shall thus celebrate it as a feast to the Lord for seven days in the year. It shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations; you shall celebrate it in the seventh month. You shall live in booths for seven days; all the native-born in Israel shall live in booths, so that your generations may know that I had the sons of Israel live in booths when I brought them out from the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.’” So Moses declared to the sons of Israel the appointed times of the Lord. [Leviticus 23:40-44]

A NEW TESTAMENT CLUE

In Western Civilization, we celebrate the wonderful birth of our Lord Jesus on December 25. There are reasons for this, of course. Regarding the Christmas Season (and I don’t care what anybody thinks or that the date is incorrect), I love pretty much everything about it in its wholesome traditional sense. The sooner we start the Christmas Season the better as far as I’m concerned. I don’t think the Lord has any problem with Christmas since it points everyone toward Him and to hopeful salvation.

Previous generations in America have created a great and eventful holiday season here and we should both cherish and honor it. And again, regardless of excesses or whatever else, everybody knows the real reason for the season is the birth of our Lord. And even though the country has ventured far from its moorings and entered into great sin and depravity, the Christmas Season still brings much hope and allows for much spiritual joy. For this we must be infinitely thankful.

The greatest promise of the Old Testament literature was that a future day would arrive in which the Creator Himself, as the Anointed One—the Messiah—would actually arrive here for a long-awaited visit. God would become one of us. Of course, HE DID. And He fulfilled everything on His list to the very letter. Because He was born into this world as a Babe in a Manger and completed a perfect Life without ever committing a single sin, He was able to give His Life as a perfect sacrifice as depicted in the following:

“This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.” [John 15:12-13]

Through the events of His great world-changing ministry and sacrifice He opened up a Door into His spiritual Kingdom which can be entered by anyone—whosoever will—who fulfills the requirements and conditions which He revealed during His ministry. All praise and glory to Him.

Regarding His profound visitation to our world, there is this:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. [John 1:1]

And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. [John 1:14][1]

In the latter verse, the word dwelt is from the Greek word σκηνόω skēnóō skay-no’-o. It means “to tabernacle.” Here is the Strong’s definition: “to tent or encamp, i.e. (figuratively) to occupy (as a mansion) or (specially), to reside (as God did in the Tabernacle of old, a symbol of protection and communion):—dwell.” Here is a further rendering: “to fix one’s tabernacle, have one’s tabernacle, abide (or live) in a tabernacle (or tent), tabernacle.”

From this we can clearly see that God resided temporarily in this world as one of us in a “tabernacle” (physical body) of His own choosing just as every person is only passing through this temporary life on their way to an eternal fate. This is what was depicted in part in the original rustic tabernacles of the Sinai. It was a way station and a place of preparation for the future Promised Land.

We can therefore conclude that John 1:14 is a direct clue to the actual time of our Lord’s birth: In the night, under a full moon, on the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles—

He tabernacled among us.

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Tags: America, And the Word became flesh, Christmas, Feast of Tabernacles, Lord Jesus, Real Christianity The Nature of the Church, Sukkot, The Great Awakening, The Greatest Love, The Lord's Real Birthday

JUDAS GOATS

Oct 2

Posted by RJ Dawson

After everything the Lord Jesus accomplished to lead people into His eternal spiritual Kingdom, whoever never gets there simply chose to be led by another.

“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” [Matthew 7:13-14]

So Jesus said to them again, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.” [John 10:7-9]

“But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’” [Matthew 25:31-34]

“Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels…” [Matthew 25:41]

GOATS ON PARADE

The vast majority of the wealthy and well-off privileged and influential people you see in high positions in this world, whether in government, private banking and business, or religious circles—those who essentially run pretty much everything and from the highest levels—are not as they may appear. When one sees the outward personas presented as the façade of the controllers, one observes only a very carefully fabricated surface image. When one hears them one hears only carefully crafted and embellished largely political prose loaded with otherwise fully unknown agendas designed to deceive and capture, and lead people toward beliefs they would otherwise not embrace and destinations toward which they would otherwise not go.

Due to their great deceptive influence over several millennia, going at least as far back as the vast sands of ancient Sumer of Tower of Babel fame, such figurative alpha goats bleating in the spotlight and their unseen owners/handlers at the top of the ziggurat have managed to form and create the largest and longest-lasting ongoing planet-wide roundup and herd drive, complete with trail bosses, point riders, and every conceivable clandestine cowboy on the range, all the while also gaining ever greater power, wealth, and overall success. Their resolute unrelenting actions prove there is indeed big power and money in deceiving and collecting the souls of humanity and subverting them to do their will. It also reveals the enemy’s hateful revenge in attempting to keep as many people from heaven as possible.

SELLOUTS

Regarding the perpetrators thereof, the unseen reality, successfully exposed only by the Lord Jesus beginning long ago and until this very day, is that this high-riding elite sold their souls to the devil. Also, they are well aware of what they did, of who they are, and of who they serve, and would do it again ad infinitum, largely because they simply love this present world and all its fleshly delights far too much to entertain any hopes of pinning their hopes on a mythical promised hereafter that would require them to cease from sin. Thus, whoever will assist them in fulfilling their pride and lusts and desire for fame are the ones they will serve, and gladly, regardless of the differing counsel of a holy God.

Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever. [1John 2:15-17]

The only difference between the elite controllers and the clueless majority following their lead and being duped to believe in, accept, and personally apply their asinine antichrist agendas don’t know they are being led astray. They do not know they are on a trail drive. They do not realize they have become a mere commodity going to market. If anyone in this massive crowd the world over ever comes to their senses by seeing through the deception, noticing and breaking their hidden chains, changing their direction post haste, and getting the heck out of there, they can escape. They can be found by the Good Shepherd, their new Leader, and He can lead them out toward the real green pastures. For all others who fail to act in time, they will otherwise make it all the way to the end of the trail and to the slaughterhouse. Of course, by that time, when all those unaware arrivees finally figure it out, the exits will be closed and it will be too late. They will then see those credentialed, respected, and honored ones they obliviously followed and sucked up to for who they actually are—the Judas Goats leading them to hell.

Then one of the twelve, named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What are you willing to give me to betray Him to you?” And they weighed out thirty pieces of silver to him. From then on he began looking for a good opportunity to betray Jesus. [Matthew 26:14-16]

And Satan entered into Judas who was called Iscariot, belonging to the number of the twelve. And he went away and discussed with the chief priests and officers how he might betray Him to them. They were glad and agreed to give him money. So he consented, and began seeking a good opportunity to betray Him to them apart from the crowd. [Luke 22:3-6]

Everyone who refuses the Lord’s offer of free salvation and eternal life takes the same backroom deal that Judas took. For the Pharisees in general, which the New Testament states are lovers of money, and for Judas, who was friends with influential Pharisees and was likely one himself, it was the love of money which precluded them from loving the Lord. In the simplest of terms, it always comes down to choosing one or the other:

“No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and *wealth.” [Luke 16:13]

[*Greek: mamonas, for Aramaic mamon (mammon); i.e. wealth, etc., personified as an object of worship.]

One may keep this in mind when considering the example of the Lord Jesus, His apostles, and His original followers in contrast with the bulk of Christianity which insists that very large sums of dinero are a must-have if one would do ministry right especially ministry of the ultra-non-organic televideo form demanding huge outlays of cash and which pretty much always creates its own fabricated figureheads which makes one wonder about their (1) suspect murky monetary sources, and (2) their actual sheep/goat identity.

TARGETING THE SHEEP

When I was a rookie Christian, after experiencing my first encounters with relatively mild persecution, the mocking of all things Christian, and also my initial engagements in spiritual warfare, I wondered why I was suddenly such a target. I also wondered why non-Christians never seemed to suffer for all their attacks against the Lord, whether they understood such or not, and for their own sin. When I asked mature believers about this they said it was largely because the devil has no need to attack the ones he already has. That made sense to me. I thought later on that it could also be because the enemy could be using such people for his own purposes. Hence—the reality of temptation and cultural peer pressure to lead one away from God and to the proverbial dens of iniquity. One may say there is no such mythical devil involved in any of this but I think the Lord Jesus would beg to differ.

In reality, all people everywhere are subjected to false leaders with hidden alternative agendas. I say leaders in the sense of actually leading one to a place they would otherwise not go, whether an actual physical location or usually a false belief or belief system (lies masquerading as truth). In this process, it is not the goats who are targeted but the sheep, since the goats are already in the devil’s fold.

Now, regarding the original Judas Goats, somebody figured out a long time ago in the circa late 1800s that a goat could be trained to gain the confidence of unsuspecting sheep to do what the human workers thereof could not do, which was to quietly and effectively lead small herds through the pens, corridors, and upper levels of packinghouses to the very place of slaughter. They got the Judas Goats to do this by getting them hooked on nicotine which was supplied as a reward.

It was said that cows and pigs were relatively easy to move to their final destination without the use of such goats. Sheep, however, were a different story entirely. They were essentially impossible to move because they would balk at such efforts having the sense to know something was not right. They would bunch up and refuse onward movement. Other livestock were susceptible to human force (think cattle drives) but sheep are different—they generally require a shepherd. And this is where the deviousness of the Judas Goat concept entered the picture. Once the sheep trusted the goat they could be moved to the eventual killing pit with ease. The Judas Goat would then be used again and again, with no apparent remorse, moving group after group of unsuspecting sheep to their final doom. This is what happens when one’s trust is misplaced and does not choose wisely. Thus, the Lord’s clear and strong warnings:

“Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” [Matthew 7:15]

“For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. Behold, I have told you in advance.” [Matthew 24:24-25]

But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. [2Peter 2:1-3][1]

Be very careful who you choose to follow.

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Tags: America, Christian Pharisees, Deception, Discipleship, False Christian Movements, False Forms of Christianity, False Prophets, Lord Jesus, Narrow Gate, Prideful Church Leaders, Real Christianity The Nature of the Church, Sheep and Goats, Spiritual Warfare, The Door of the Sheep, The Great Awakening, The Way of Life, Unreal Christianity, Wolves in Sheep's Clothing