π‘✞ Eighteen / El Nino (FF 1997): In-Depth Bible Study
π‘✞ Eighteen / El Nino (FF 1997): In-Depth Bible Study π
π✨ End-Time Watchman Study — Detailed Summary ✨π
⏰ [00:00:05] Prophetic Timing & the Call to Watch
π The study opens with a focus on end-time prophecy and the role of a spiritual watchman.
π A notable eclipse and a six-month period ending on the 16th day in Jerusalem are highlighted.
π’ Three consecutive six-month periods (6 + 6 + 6 = 18) connect:
π Passover (last year)
π Purim (this year)
⛺ Feast of Tabernacles
⛓️ The number 18 is presented as symbolizing bondage.
π Believers are urged to interpret all signs through Scripture and avoid distractions.
π₯ [00:04:14] Luke 12:49-53 — Fire, Refining & Division
✝️ Christ's mission is described as bringing spiritual fire and division.
πΎ Wheat is separated from chaff.
π₯ The fire symbolizes purification, like refining precious metals.
π¨π©π§π¦ Spiritual division may even occur within families.
❤️ Believers are encouraged to love, pray for, and witness to others without coercion.
π [00:18:06] Avoid Chasing the Snake's Tail
⚠️ The speaker warns against endless debates and arguments.
π― "Chasing the snake's tail" symbolizes wasting time on distractions.
π Focus should remain on God's Word.
π️ Believers should testify faithfully while avoiding unnecessary conflict.
⚖️ [00:19:17] Luke 13:1-4 — Calamity Is Not Always Judgment
π️ Jesus addresses reports of tragic deaths under Pilate.
❌ Not every tragedy is direct punishment for sin.
π Repentance remains necessary for all people.
π§ Discernment is essential when evaluating disasters and suffering.
π️ [00:23:14] The Tower of Siloam
π₯ Eighteen people died when the tower collapsed.
⛓️ The number 18 again highlights the theme of bondage.
π The incident is linked to spiritual vigilance and repentance.
⚠️ Human folly and life in a fallen world can contribute to tragedy.
π³ [00:27:22] The Fig Tree Parable
π± God gives opportunities for growth and repentance.
π Spiritual fruitfulness is expected.
⏳ A final period of grace precedes judgment.
π The emphasis is on maturity and preparation.
π [00:30:28] The Woman Bound for 18 Years
π© A woman oppressed for 18 years symbolizes bondage and captivity.
⛓️ Bondage may be spiritual, physical, emotional, or financial.
✝️ Jesus demonstrates authority over all forms of oppression.
π Believers are encouraged to seek freedom through Christ.
✨ [00:34:04] Freedom Through Christ
π€² Jesus calls the woman forward.
π£️ He declares her free from infirmity.
π She is healed instantly and glorifies God.
⚖️ Religious leaders oppose the healing.
π Jesus is presented as the true Sabbath Rest.
π‘️ Believers are encouraged to resist Satan and reject bondage.
π± [00:38:42] Mustard Seed & Leaven
πΏ God's Kingdom grows from small beginnings.
π Leaven symbolizes corrupting influences and false teachings.
π Discernment is necessary to recognize spiritual deception.
πΎ God continues separating wheat from chaff.
πͺ [00:44:31] Strive to Enter the Narrow Gate
⚔️ The Greek word for "strive" emphasizes intense effort and perseverance.
π Believers must contend against deception.
π False christs and false teachers are major dangers.
πͺ The door will eventually close to those who reject truth.
π Faithfulness to the true Christ is essential.
π· [00:51:49] The Last Supper & the New Covenant
✝️ Matthew 26:27-29 connects communion with prophecy.
π©Έ Christ's blood brings forgiveness and remission of sins.
❤️ Repentance remains foundational.
π The ministry described emphasizes keeping Scripture and Christ central.
π Human traditions are warned against.
π [00:55:17] El NiΓ±o as a Prophetic Sign
π El NiΓ±o is examined from both scientific and prophetic perspectives.
π The name means "The Christ Child."
⏳ Typical El NiΓ±o cycles last around 18 months.
⛓️ The recurring theme of "18" is again highlighted.
π Viewers are encouraged to observe natural signs carefully.
π‘️ [00:59:07] The Great El NiΓ±o Comparison
π The 1982–83 event is called the "mother of all El NiΓ±os."
π Current climatic conditions are described as unusually intense.
π§️ Floods, droughts, and weather anomalies are discussed.
⚠️ These events are presented as reminders of the times.
☀️ [01:12:14] Psalm 104 — God's Control of Creation
π God governs the heavens.
π¬️ He controls the winds.
π He rules the waters.
π± He establishes seasons and natural cycles.
π Nature reflects God's sovereign power.
❄️ [01:19:20] Psalm 147 — Lord of Nature
π¨️ Snow, frost, ice, and wind are under God's authority.
π God reveals His statutes and judgments.
π Blessings come through obedience and faithfulness.
π Creation reflects divine order.
π [01:21:26] Psalm 107 — Deliverance From Bondage
π God breaks chains and delivers captives.
π He brings people out of darkness.
⛈️ He calms storms and commands the seas.
π’ Sailors and travelers cry out to Him for deliverance.
π Praise is the proper response to His salvation.
πΎ [01:30:10] Maturity, Patience & Faithfulness
π± God blesses obedience even during hardship.
π Livestock, harvests, and provision are mentioned as examples.
π‘️ Satan seeks to trap people in bondage.
π Believers should pursue maturity and steadfast faith.
πΆ Maintaining praise and worship during trials is emphasized.
π― [01:37:35] Final Exhortation
⏳ The present time is described as a prophetic benchmark.
π³ The Fig Tree generation remains a major theme.
π± A season of planting and judgment is emphasized.
π Spiritual alertness and sobriety are encouraged.
π God is praised as sovereign over history, nations, and nature.
✨ Key Takeaways
π’ 18 = Bondage is presented as a recurring prophetic symbol throughout the study.
✝️ Jesus Christ brings freedom from spiritual, physical, and emotional captivity.
π₯ The present age is a time of separation, testing, and refinement.
πΎ The Kingdom grows steadily, but believers must guard against deception.
π Natural events and weather patterns are viewed as reminders of God's sovereignty.
π Scripture is the primary lens through which all signs should be interpreted.
π Believers are encouraged to remain watchful, faithful, discerning, and spiritually mature.
π Central Message: Stay focused on God's Word π, walk in Christ's freedom π, avoid spiritual distractions ⚠️, and remain vigilant π as you watch the signs of the times while trusting God's sovereign plan. ✨π✝️ππ―ππ
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π‘✞ Eighteen / El Nino (FF 1997):
**Prophecy of the end times** – that's something that we all wonder about. We look at it, and sometimes people even do some guessing. And it's important that you always observe. That's what a watchman is for – is to watch.
We have had a very strange phenomenon in this past, since Passover of last year, that we have had a segment of a six-month period set aside and separated. They completed the 16th of this month at Jerusalem, and that should tell you something. And it was a beautiful eclipse there at Jerusalem. It just was; you couldn't ask for a better one – the old moon red and finishing. In other words, we had the Passover of last year. Six months later, at the fall fellowship – which is the moon that sets the time for the Feast of Tabernacles for those that use the moon calendar – exactly six months, six months to the day from that day to Purim of this year, and then six months exactly from that day to Jerusalem. That gives you three segments of six, or 666.
All right, now you're supposed to watch, as Jesus would say. You can tell by looking at the weather, you know, the sky, maybe if it's going to rain, but are you aware of the other things that He's bringing forth? Now, basically, that's what we're going to be discussing today – is phenomena. So I don't have to tell you all what 6 plus 6 plus 6 is, do I? For those of you that do not have your computers, it's 18. All right, isn't that wonderful? You came all this way to find that out. Isn't that wonderful? But 18 is being pointed out in more directions than one and more signs than one, and it means bondage – but not for us, but for those that choose to remain in bondage. But I believe that is the meaning of the sign: that it is time for us truly to come out of bondage. That's why I chose my topic today. We should have been already. I hope you have been. I have been, because it doesn't matter about the world. We know the King, and the King takes care of His own – always. That doesn't mean there's not going to be trouble, and that doesn't mean that some calamity might take place. That's nature; that's life. But as far as you believing and observing God's Word, that is something you must always remain focused upon.
Signs are not worth a dime unless you can affix them to God's Word. I want to say that again because some people get carried away; they lose their focus, lose their way. Signs are not worth a dime unless you can hook them into Scripture. It must tie to Scripture, because that's the way God speaks to us concerning seasons and time. And don't ever let anyone pull you away from that. That's very important. If there's any one thing I have noted among people that like to study, it's real easy for them to lose their focus by going out on a goose chase – a wild goose chase. All right, don't ever let anyone do that to you. Stay focused on the Word, because that's exactly how it's going to come to pass.
And so we've got to fix "18" to that, or we're nowhere. What's 18? Well, biblically, in numerics, it means bondage. So if you would, to begin this communion – it was hard to tie this into communion, incidentally; prophecy and communion because they kind of are separate, but I did it. We're going to do it. Open your Bibles to Luke chapter 12 for me. Luke, right there in the New Testament, and we're going to take chapter 12. Let's pick it up, if we may, with verse 49 – the teachings of Christ.
Luke 12. What I want you to focus on here is: what season is He talking about? What's His subject? And it's important that you be aware of that. Verse 49 reads: "I am come to send fire on the earth, and what will I, if it be already kindled?" What fire is that? God is a consuming fire, and within that you find the whole purpose of God is division. The division began not by our Father, but by Satan in the first Earth age. And this Earth age is about division – that's separating the wheat from the chaff, separating the good from the bad, but yet even giving the bad a privilege and an opportunity of changing their lot. Why? They're God's children, and He loves them. Thus, each child must prove themselves, and each child has the right to make his or her mind up whether they're going to follow the ways of the world or whether they're going to follow God. And quite frankly, when it's all said and done, the purpose of this Earth age is to take those to His bosom that choose Him, and we're going to get rid of the rest. Why? We don't need them. Satan has caused too much trouble, and that's what the Father is about – is separating those of free will. Now, please leave election out of this for a moment: those of free will that choose Him from those that absolutely would not, and those that would simply cause trouble in the eternity over and over and over.
It's like God said in Proverbs, as we were teaching it here this past month: you take a loser and bail him out, and get ready – you're going to do it a whole lifetime. You're going to bail him out over and over and over. Now, I said a loser – until he wants to help himself, you're not going to change him. You can pray for him if you want to, pray night and day for him if you want to, but in the end, God gave that person free will. And until they're ready to help themselves, hey, sometimes, as Paul did, you have to throw them back to Satan and let them learn the hard way.
So He came to bring a fire. What does that fire do? Well, have you ever seen silver smelted? Well, I don't imagine many of us have. I happen to be one that has a little gold and silver, but it takes a lot of heat to bring the good out – sometimes to get the old slag pushed off to the side. That's the fire. And He said, "How I wish it were already kindled," meaning that you, His elect, and those with free will that choose Him, are already turning the fire up. All right, like I was fixing my breakfast this morning, scrambling eggs. I'm not an expert, and I like to get fancy every once in a while, but I had the fan going, you know. And when scrambled eggs hit a fan, I got a mess – got a mess to clean up. When this is all over, that's just life, isn't it?
Now, where was I? Okay, but each person makes their own way in that sense, you know. So turn that fire up, scramble those eggs if you have to, you know, but it'll all come out. It's not going to hurt anybody. Don't cast your pearls before swine. You can always risk one because you got so many of them, but hey, if they won't receive it, you're wasting your time, and you're doing more harm to them than you're doing good. Because when somebody says no once and they mean it, well, you know, you're just driving them further and further away each time you get in there and nudge. That's called nitpicking and meddling, you know. That doesn't work. You may care, but save the pearls. There's so much new fertile soil in the world today to plant seeds in. Why mess with somebody that chooses not to? That's what the fire is about. That's what He means: "I come to bring fire." Well, we've heard He said "Peace." Well, it is peace at the same time – to get rid of the stragglers.
And again, I want you to realize and focus: that's the base, prime reason for this Earth age – is to separate, because we've got an eternity to go through. And I don't know about you, but I haven't enjoyed having the slag mixed in among us and having to put up with them as much as I would like to. It would be better, after they've had the last chance, just to get rid of them, blot them out. You won't remember them. That's it; that's the name of the game. Don't lose focus of that. That in itself is love, because God loves you and He wants you to have that eternity, being totally fair to every child to make their choice – but an eternity of peace, real peace.
Okay, verse 50: "But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how am I straitened" – that word in the Greek is *pained* – "I am really pained till it be accomplished." He was anxious; Christ was anxious. Why? To pay the price that those that would fall short could call upon and have their debts paid in full as far as sin is concerned. He was paying to do that. That opened the way; that made Him the way. Man, there is love written all over that – that He was anxious to pay that price on the cross so that you, and you, and you, because when you mess up, say, "Father, I'm sorry. I want to do better. Help me, strengthen me, show me the way, guide me." And we have this to go by.
All right, 51: "Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth?" Now understand, *earth* – that means bring peace to this situation. "I tell you, nay; but rather division." And there again, God's prime purpose is to divide the wheat from the chaff, to ultimately get rid of – and I know this may sound a little hard – to get rid of the evil. But that's their choice, and if they choose that, then so be it. But that's the purpose of God's reign in this particular Earth age: division.
I don't imagine too many of you are familiar with that, but listen to what He tells you here – advises you that could happen to you. 52: "For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three." We're speaking in a religious vein. If any of you ever had, say, a member of five relatives and some of them have a little different input than yours – there's a division, right? And there you go. And always, your relatives are so very wonderful. When they won't receive the seed, love them still yet, okay? Be a brother or an uncle or an aunt, and don't preach at them if they have already refused the seed. But enjoy them by setting the example. You're doing more good than in any other way. But you're going to have division. That's what it's about – is separating again those that choose to go the way of the world and those that choose to go to the kingdom. That's the way it goes.
53: "The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law." He covers all bases. Even though they're relatives, you're going to have that division. Again, love them, pray for them, but don't try to push your beliefs off on them. Rather, set the example of God's blessings in your life, and pretty soon they'll take the hint, because I promise you, God's blessings will be in your life. I can do that because He has. And it doesn't take people long in a family to see who's blessed and who isn't. And especially in this particular generation, where you get somebody let's say that's hooked on some drug or something – that's not all that uncommon. You don't know how many letters we receive of people saying, "Thank God, you've changed my life. I'm no longer hooked" – not on drugs – but it wasn't the chapel that did it; it was the Word of God. It's strong; it's powerful. And He gives touches. If they have the unction to help themselves, He's going to give you all the help you need, but you must first want to help yourself.
Now, 54 – and I want you to think with me for a moment: What time is He talking about there specifically? Though when He said it would really come to a head, that a mother would even deliver a daughter up to death, I want you to think about the season He's talking about. That's very important. He's talking about *you*. He's talking about this generation – the generation of the fig tree.
54: And He said also to the people, "When ye see a cloud rise out of the west, straightway ye say, 'There cometh a shower,' and so it is." It's going to rain tonight, and sure enough it does. I mean, here you have all these things you look at, and it's just as natural as it can be for you to become a weather forecaster, you know. You can tell. Well, see, what He's telling you is, "I use those same things for signs, too." You that if you look close enough, occasionally you might pick "18" out of an 18-month period, okay, and realize I'm rattling your chain. I want your attention. I'm trying to tell you something.
55: "And when ye see the south wind blow, ye say, 'There will be heat,' and it cometh to pass." Naturally, the south would be off the desert in this case, and you get wind off the desert – yep, it's going to be hot. Okay, well, His signs are just as simple. If you observe...
56: "Ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky and of the earth; but how is it that ye cannot discern this time?" (Or any time, as far as that's concerned.) They've got to live from day to day because they don't have God's blessings, and they don't have the time that some do that God has blessed, and so they're behind the eight-ball, and they're going to stay that way until they decide they want to help themselves. Then you can make a difference.
57: "Yea, and why even of yourselves judge ye not what is right?" I mean, can't you tell right from wrong? In other words, there is a division taking place. Which side are you going to be on – the right side or the wrong side?
58: "When thou goest with thine adversary to the magistrate" – again a point of time – "as thou art in the way, give diligence that thou mayest be delivered from him, lest he hale thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and the officer cast thee into prison. I tell thee, thou shalt not depart thence till thou hast paid the very last mite." In other words, you have to be a little wise.
Dennis, it's not picking up on here. It'll be okay. You all are – I have your attention. That sound is not bothering you, right? Pay attention. Don't start. Okay, all right. So what He's saying here is, don't go out here chasing the snake's tail, feeling you have to prove how much you know to everybody regardless of who they are, what they are – especially as we come into this generation that has 50 years (that's to say a Jubilee) on it. Or that snake, if you touch his tail, is going to turn around with his old head, and he's going to bite you, okay? That's the analogy. Be careful. You are for one specific time – and that is to be delivered up before the Spirit of Messiah, and then the Holy Spirit will say it. We're not that sharp yet, okay, and may never be, you know. But anyway, you do what you're told to do, and that's what this Word says to do. I mean, there are so many words – like another place in Matthew, it says if you pass him in the highway, agree with him. That means, hey, cool cat, you know, anything to get on. Don't waste your time with them, is what He's saying. There's a division. That's what it's all about. It's that simple – separating the wheat from the chaff.
Chapter 13, verse 1: "There were present at that season some that told Him of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices." Now, what did that say? Forget about the blood, forget about Pilate – what did it say? "At that season." So stay with me in the time frame. We're still talking about the same time that He's talking about, and that is the generation that would be delivered up. So you got it nailed real good, okay? And there is no biblical history – Josephus in the Antiquities 18, verse 4, something, but I doubt it. I think it was still a different time. It was a calamity. I mean, it was an act where some people were in the wrong place at the right time. It wasn't something they did; they just got butchered. Okay, what does that have to do with God's purpose and plan?
Verse 2: And Jesus answering said unto them, "Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things?" So many people always have the tendency to place national calamity in their lives with sin. I'm talking about natural things. Be smarter than that, okay? We live in a world where things are dangerous, and we play with dangerous toys. Sometimes calamities happen, but it has nothing whatsoever to do with sin. That's what Jesus is telling you. Just, it doesn't reflect on the other. So what does that tell you, especially at this time? There's going to be calamity; there's going to be things happen. It may be very tearful; it may be very sad. But stuff happens, okay? It just does. But if you're right with Him, it's not going to bother you anyway, because you know He's in control. It happens, you can cut it, you can handle it. Okay.
What should you do, though? Verse 3: "I tell you, nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish." In other words, what does repentance bring you to? It puts you into the wheat rather than the chaff. And that's what this Earth age is about: division, separation, lining the ducks up in a row, all right, getting your acts together – and to be repentant. He said, "I'm paying that price on the cross, and you see, when you repent, it's paid." So you don't even have to talk about sin – that is to say in your life, once you've repented, He doesn't want to hear about it again. Don't put yourself on some guilt trip and let that slow you down in your Christian work, saying, "Well, I'm just not good enough." None of us are, and none of you should ever claim to be good enough to really serve the Kingdom. But He was, and that's what's important. And you're His servant; He paid the price. You're forgiven. Then you're worthy. That's what repentance does for you. But natural calamity doesn't have anything to do with it.
Verse 4: "Or those eighteen" – there's that number, isn't it? Bondage. "Those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem?" What was this Tower of Siloam? The only way you can do is to take a scholarly view of it and know that, as it is written in Nehemiah, that above the Pool of Siloam there was a tower that stood out. It was away from the wall, very near the Tower of Ophel (best gold there is). This evidently fell and killed 18 people.
Now, there's more to this "18" being bondage. I want you to really think, because within the past 18 months, there's been some very difficult things that have happened in relationship to that tunnel that begins the network there at the Pool of Siloam – or where the Tower of Siloam was, okay – going back in through the waterworks and so forth. There was almost war over it. Our dear President even said to Netanyahu, "Who gave you permission to open that tunnel?" You want to know what Netanyahu told him? Well, we won't have to go into that, okay. He let him know in a very nice way it was none of his business. Okay, and maybe Bill consented to that – I don't know. Here in Arkansas, you know, he consented to anything that would make a dog hunt with him, you know. I love my presidential office, okay. Don't ever say I don't. I said I love the presidential office. Okay, it's a wonderful place thing. But here in Arkansas, we know Bill real well – have for many, many years. Okay, now that's a digression, I assure you. But there you have bondage. Those 18 that happened to be standing there, and look how it – here it comes: wham! Down comes the tower and kills every last one of them. "What kind of sin had they been doing? God must have really wanted them; He caught up with them." Well, and remember, it happened to Jerusalem.
Verse 5: "I tell you, nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish." That's the wheat and the chaff. What happens to the chaff? The fire is going to catch it; it's going to burn. It's not going to be with us any longer. The choice is yours. The choice is to the people of the world. I don't know, do they listen? "Oh, I've got this life all figured out, and I can get by myself, thank you all the same. I know where my paycheck comes from, and I know how to work hard, and I'm just a good old boy, and I don't care about all that stuff. I just want to get by." Well, you better pray for that one pretty hard, because hell is going to be full of good old boys, okay, that "get by" – if they don't repent. That's what's important. I mean, it's going to be jam-packed with them. Calamity has nothing to do with sin; it happens.
Now, of course, we have many built-in mean mechanisms. If you go up to that tower and that old thing's got cracks in it that wide and it's kind of trembling like this, what does common sense tell you? Don't go under the tower. Or your car has this little speedometer thing on it. This guy said, "I don't know why God let me have that wreck." Well, he was doing 120, you know. God didn't have anything to do with it; neither did Satan. His foot did. All right, because he was thinking through his foot instead of his head. So calamity has nothing to do with sin. People bring their own troubles upon themselves, and rather than to stand up and play the man and say, "Boy, did I mess up," they've got to find an out. And you can't help someone as long as they're in that mode – just can't hardly help them other than set the example. So that is bondage.
Let's go ahead. Verse 6: He spake also this parable: "A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none." Do you all remember when Christ withered that fig tree, and you know the parable of the fig tree? I hope every one of you in here do. If you don't, shame on you. The good figs and the bad figs of Jeremiah 24, because Christ didn't say "maybe you should learn that parable" – He said "learn it," and He meant it. So I hope that when this word "fig" – considering we're talking about the end generation – that kind of two and two makes four instead of five for you, okay. There wasn't any fruit on it. Well, what did He say when He withered that fig tree? "Never again" – not the good fig, but the bad.
Verse 7: Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, "Behold, these three years" – whoa, three years? Well, that's supposed to be almost half of the last week, isn't it? Interesting. "I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none. Cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground?" In other words, it's no good; it's chaff. Burn it. Now, you see that example, and many of us would say, "Well, this has to do with John and Christ. You know, Christ was the one that owned the land; John was the farmer." Well, that was good for the first advent, but this is about the second.
Verse 8: And he answering said unto him, "Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it and dung it." Let's give them an opportunity to practice free will – all those that come through this world up to that generation – and then give them that privilege, and we'll set the example to show them how to live and produce fruit, and give them that opportunity. What did He say? Verse 9: "And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down." And you remember the harvesting of the tares in Mark 13, Matthew 13. You remember that it's a time of division, of separating the wheat from the chaff. That's what this life is about.
Verse 10: And He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. Verse 11: And behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years – wow, wow, there's that 18 again – and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself. Now in the Greek, this means that a demonic spirit had her bound. Now, Christians can't operate under that condition, and that woman represents God's church, so to speak, or Israel actually, or however you want to say it. And with that evil spirit, she couldn't function, and she had had it 18 years. Now, that "bondage" just jumps right out in your face. She had been in bondage to that evil spirit for 18 years – bondage in numerics. What in the world do you do in a case like that? Well, I hope you know, and do such things exist today? You bet they do. And again, as you've heard me say many times, there's not one behind every bush, but believe you me, they are present, and discernment helps one with that. What it means also is Satan can tie you up if you let him. I mean, he can tie you up. You fall off into a bunch of these little things of the world that you've been told to stay out of. "Well, I would never do any sin." Well, how about usury? How about getting yourself so tied up in usury that you can't even breathe from one minute to the next, and you were told not to? You know who's got you bound there? Now, I know that there are many that can't help it; you got that way, but you can do something about it. Just take it one day at a time, and I don't care if you only get ahead one penny – get it done, get it taken care of. All right, but there are many things in this world – I only use that as an example – that you can get yourself bound up in. It can even be food, that is to say, not obeying the health laws until you get down to where you can't even think straight. You wake up every morning and you've got cobwebs up here that you just can't quite shake because your nutrition has gone down to the point that you can't get your motor going. It's important. It's not a sin to death, certainly, but you've got to stay fit if you're going to serve in the Kingdom. He wants the best – well, I shouldn't say that. He wants all of us, and sometimes He'll take the poorest and the most unlikely (yours truly is an example) and use them to plant seeds. He does. And I'm not going to say that about you, but I'm glad God picks the elect because there's some I might pass over – I don't know. You know, that's not our business; that's the Father's business, and whosoever He chooses, hey, I can ride with them. We'll do fine. You know, that's the attitude you've got to have. Okay.
So Satan will bind you if you allow him. Don't put up with it. And there are so many devices in this generation that you can fall into like that. I don't want anybody – there's nothing wrong with borrowing to have a home; you should have a home, because in that case, there's no way many people could cough up enough to buy a home. And yeah, you have to pay usury. That's fine, because at the end of the year, you've got a lot more than you would have if you had rent receipts in your hand. Do you know what rent receipts are worth at the end of the year? They'll go in the fire; they're worthless. Okay, you didn't gain anything anyway. Different subject for a different time.
Bondage is all around us. Shuck yourself free from it. "What will set me free?" How many of you in here can say what set you free? The truth will set you free. What truth? This truth – God's Word – will set you free if you'll listen to it, if you focus on it, keep your mind on it like I'm trying to have you focus on 18. This poor woman was in that bondage 18 years. What did He do about it? And that's your example.
Verse 12: And when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said unto her, "Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity." No ifs, ands, or buts – you're loose. Why? He used her as an example. Has He ever used you for an example? You probably don't know; I wouldn't know. But He uses people as examples to other people, maybe to save a soul. If you're in His hand and He has His hand on you...
Verse 13: And He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God. Why? She was free. She was free of bondage.
Verse 14: And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation – I mean, we got the head church boy here, and we got a man that a miracle was performed right on his property, and it kind of took away from his being, if you know what I mean. That's why he was mad, or if he could have only done that, you know, because that Jesus had healed on the Sabbath day – and said unto the people, "There are six days in which men ought to work" (think about six dispensations if you want to take this to a deeper level on your own; I'm not taking it there). "In them therefore come and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day." Let me tell you something: when you use common sense, did man heal there on the Sabbath day? Uh-uh. Does man ever heal on the Sabbath day? Not likely. Who does? God. Now, this is kind of like some peckerwood telling God, "You can't do that." That's not healthy either. (Peckerwood is an old Arkansas term that means a red-headed woodpecker that doesn't know what he's pecking on half the time, okay, so it makes him a little dingy.)
Verse 15: Isn't that wonderful how we throw these bits of wisdom in here? Verse 15: The Lord then answered him and said, "Thou hypocrite" – I'm sure this really made his day – "Hypocrite in my own church? You would say that to me?" "Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox and his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering?" Well, yeah, but I've got money invested in that dude; that's my best donkey, you know; got to take care of him.
Verse 16: "And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound" – you underline it: whom Satan hath bound – "lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?" And He throws that right in your face. Can you see the signs? Be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day. Who is your Sabbath today? Christ. What does Sabbath mean? It means rest. And you're not going to find any rest except in Christ, and He is every day. And if you're a child of light, you're never in the night anyway; it's all one day. And it's fine to heal on whatever day you find Satan working – to shake his bush, all right, to shake it good and to jar loose whatever he's trying to bind, if you can, because you have power over him and you don't have to put up with that stuff. Luke, this same book back in the 10th chapter and the 18th verse – He gave you power over all of your enemies. Why do you put up with stuff from them? You don't have to; you're wise enough to make a change. Think about it. Christ loosed her from bondage.
Now, it would seem to me that inasmuch as we have had these 18 months running, and we look at this world today and we see the things that have happened, I think He's telling you something. I think He's telling you that there is no need for you to be in bondage; that in your Sabbath – which is to say Christ – that you can be loosed. He gave you the power. Use it. Use it. You sure at this time do not want to be held in that bondage. Be free. It isn't the government that sets you free, though one can be helpful, but you can be free under any government spiritually by being freed by Him who freed this woman from bondage.
Verse 17: And when He had said these things, all His adversaries were ashamed, and all the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by Him. Over and over and over, He set the example.
Verse 18: Then said He, "Unto what is the kingdom of God like?" Think about it. Ask yourself, "And whereunto shall I resemble it?" What am I – what am I going to try to put it in English here, or Greek or Hebrew, whatever we might be reading?
Verse 19: "It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took and cast into his garden; and it grew and waxed a great tree; and the fowls of the air lodged in the branches thereof." You can create or start a work. One little seed will start a work, but if you're not focused, when it gets real big, you can look up in the top branch and say, "Well, where'd that dirty bird come from? How'd he get up there? You know, why didn't I recognize that?" So what He's saying is the Kingdom of Heaven is like that. People are drawn to it, and sometimes they don't belong. Division – culling wheat from the chaff. Now, that isn't up to you to do; that's God's business. He does the judging. We don't. And what do you do if you find a dirty bird up there? You grab that sucker down and bathe him, all right. Whatever works for you, do it if it's possible, you know. At least take note. Don't let somebody wreck your life. "Well, he's a good old boy, though, and I just wanted to try to help him." Yeah, and he kicked the props right out from under you and you busted yours. Okay, you've got to stay in control. You've got to stay focused. I mean, please understand, I'm not saying be unhelpful to people – we're supposed to be helpful – but be wise enough to understand when Satan's trying to bring bondage into your life or your ministry or your seed planting or whatever. You're supposed to be sharp and can discern good from bad. Most people can tell that, and don't start trying to bring calamities into it. Repent. See if that old boy repents. If he doesn't, hey, you've got trouble. "A word to the wise is sufficient."
Verse 20: And again He said, "Whereunto shall I liken the kingdom of God?" Verse 21: "It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened." Now, leaven is usually always used in a negative sense. And think back for a moment in your mind: the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees – that was bad because it was doctrines and traditions of men. And leaven usually is very bad. But at the same time, if we apply that to the Bread of Life – and this will make some uncomfortable – it's going to go through the whole loaf. Okay, so whatever comes in that establishment or study or your thought process that you allow to slip in that hasn't been tried and tested by the Word – not by men, not by what some man says, never. When somebody starts gossiping around you, ask for facts and document it. Say, "Hey, I don't listen to stuff that's just put out. I want to get to the facts, because there's two sides to every story." Okay, you can never discern if you don't have all the facts. You're puffing in the wind, and it seems like some people are so anxious to jump to that: "Did you hear what they said about Rosemary?" You know, right away Rosemary must have done something really bad. I'm trying to think of the lady's name in the apocrypha – Roxanne? No, Susanna. That's close. You know, rocks get in the way. But anyway, don't fall into that trap. The wise never jump to judgment. You've got to see both sides, and you've got to be patient. Okay, I don't know how we got off on that, but that's how stuff works into your tree, and that's how it'll get into your dough if you let it. And more doughs than one – remember the Bread of Life. He is the Living Word. Stick to this book; focus on it. You'll be fine, because there's a division coming, and I hope you're in the right group.
Verse 22: And He went through the cities and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. Then said one unto Him, "Lord, are there few that be saved?" And He said unto them, now listen carefully...
Verse 24: "Strive" – now stop right there. This word "strive" in the Greek *agonizomai* means to contend with an adversary; it means fight with the adversary. So, you know, Satan was just cast out – right? You got it. – to contend with the adversary, to enter in at the strait gate. "For many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able."
Now stop and think a moment. How many people claim to be Christians in the world today, are followers of God – leave it open-ended – how many of them are going to be deceived very soon by this Satan, by going into his bondage, thinking he is Christ when he's the fake? Remember, we're still in that time frame of this fig tree generation. Don't fall away from that; stay focused. There are going to be many that think they're dandy and fine, and unfortunately they wake up, and they better be thankful to the Father that there's the Millennium. And again, a word to the wise is sufficient. Now, many people will take this as "There's just going to be a few people in heaven" – that's what Jesus said. No, it isn't; that isn't what He said. Okay, but be that as it may.
Verse 25: "When once the Master of the house is risen up and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without and to knock at the door, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open unto us,' and He shall answer and say unto you, 'I know you not whence ye are.'" I don't really know you. See, it's that simple. That's why you need to stay focused, so that you know who the true Christ is, but you don't let Satan put you in bondage with a bunch of false teachings, because it'll get in your tree. Well, what kind of false teachings would they have? How could they possibly work something false into such a nice thing as a church? Well, "Fly away, oh glory, fly away" – I've never had a voice lesson, believe me, it shows, doesn't it? Or we go into the Sunday school class: look at that big apple that snake is handing to that nude woman – there it is on the church wall. You know, it is sad, really very sad. False teachings abound. And hey, when He shuts that door, there is a day that it's going to be too late to take part in the first resurrection. And again, they better be thankful for the second resurrection – will they get their act together in there? I don't know; that's up to them. But He says, "I don't know you."
Verse 26: "Then shall ye begin to say, 'We have eaten and drunk in Thy presence, and Thou hast taught in our streets.'" We heard it. They may have heard it, but they listened to too much other stuff, okay. They didn't focus. And beloved, I know – I know the last five years you've heard me ram that word "focus" over and over and over, but I'm telling you, you're in a generation that you must focus, because there's going to be things happen that will deceive even the elect, if it were possible. I don't want to see that happen to you. Focus. "We heard the real truth taught in our streets."
Verse 27: But He will say, "I tell you, I know you not whence ye are" – that means you can't come in. "Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity." Well, how in the world could Jesus call a church member a worker of iniquity? "Oh, fly away, oh glory" – you've got to think. Okay, false teaching – however you dress it up and put nice frills on it – is false, okay. That's all. It hurts people; it really hurts people. "Well, it doesn't seem like it would be that important to me." Well, it really doesn't matter how important it might be to you; it's according to how important it is to our Father. Okay, He doesn't like it.
Verse 28: "There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out." You know what that's saying in a real nice way? If you don't have the Key of David to get in that door – sorry, sucker – you're not good enough. So you better know the Key of David, and you better have absorbed it, and you better have watched and focused on it.
Verse 29: "And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God." Verse 30: "And, behold, there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last." Do you know what He's talking about there? Think of the time. God's elect – "I chose you before the foundations of the world" – they were first, but they're in the last generation, the fig tree generation, and there you are. Christianity is not a religion; it's a reality. It's your life. And do not place your mind on the calamities as much as you do the bondage, because if you don't recognize the bondage, it will have you hog-tied before you wake up and realize it, and you might have difficulty getting away from it. So think well. "It's rough in this age." There's nothing rough; this is the softest generation I've run across in my life, and I guess it's the only time I've lived, so it better be. But be that as it may, I can remember back when it was really rough – and I'm not going to give you that old Depression story – but if you had lived in it, you'd know what I mean. I mean, it was rough then. It is so easy now that there's no excuse, really. If you're smart, if you're wise, if you have focused, it is so easy to beat Satan at his own game that you can just laugh and have a good time while you're here in this flesh body. How I love to take names and kick dragon, you know, from the east, the west, the north, the south. Our Father has blessed us so much in this last 18 years, all over the world, touching souls. Do we deserve it? I don't know; I guess so. I guess we do.
Okay, now we're going to go to Matthew 26. Stay – I have one thing to say: stay focused. This is where we work this into communion service right here, okay – the time and what time. Well, let's read it. Let's start with verse 27 of Matthew 26: And He took the cup, and He gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, "Drink ye all of it; for this is My blood of the New Testament" – it's the New Covenant, the new promise – "which is shed for many for the remission of sins." That's why you repent; that's why you rise above it. Listen to what He says, though.
Verse 29: "But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom." That's why I can be so thankful that He has blessed this ministry. You know, words do not seem to express that this little group has over 200,000 active members – think about that – around the world. And what can you say other than be thankful, you know, that our Father has chosen such a wonderful group to take that wine and to take that bread – the truth – and bless people with it? That is to say, He blesses them with it – 200,000 active members? Do you know how many inactive? I don't know. We go into over 100 million homes, and it is said we only hear from one out of a thousand that listen. Think about that. That's a bunch of people that at least have an opportunity to hear. And am I saying this is the only ministry in the world? No. I'm just saying I'm thankful we're so blessed. Why? Because we keep man out of it, and we keep Christ in it. We keep the Word in it, and we say focus on that Word. Don't focus on men; don't focus on people. Love them, yes. If any person has hard feelings at you because you will not listen to them and turn aside from the Word to bring in some little pet theory, they're not your friend. Don't give up on God – because that's what you do when you do that; you give up on God's Word. And hey, you're going to pay; you're going to suffer. I'm sorry. And boy, if you've got a lot, He expects a lot from you, and He will beat you with so many more stripes than He would somebody that doesn't have much. Okay, that's very scriptural. If we had started back in the about six, seven, eight verses before where I did, we would have read that today in chapter 12 of Luke. So if you've got a lot, He expects a lot from you. By that I mean in teaching people, studying with people, planting seeds, using good judgment, practicing common sense.
So we come to that time – as we do about four times a year – in taking of His holy communion, that that bread is His body and He received the stripes for it. I truly, from the bottom of my heart, do not believe that it will be long till He will return to drink it anew with us. And He expects good things from you until that day comes. We will continue in the next lecture this subject of 18 and take it on into some other things that are so very obvious that you're going to experience this winter. We have many signs in this end time, and I know all of you – if you haven't already heard it, you just are not a news hound – is El NiΓ±o. And El NiΓ±o is a Spanish word that means "the child," and it means the Christ child. And there's a reason for that.
About 1600 AD – the year of our Lord – the Spanish sailors that fished in small boats along the westernmost shores of South America were familiar with currents of the region. And normally, the waters they fished were cold and flowed from south to north. Think about this – visualize South America. But in certain years, the waters would reverse their flow and become warm, very, very warm. This would usually begin to occur shortly after the Christian Christmas holiday or the beginning of the year, as they would say. The sailors named the odd occurrence "El NiΓ±o." Now, I am reading part of this because this is on the Net, and you all have access to that, and I hope you're keeping up with it, because again I would say a sign that cannot be attached to God's Word is really not a sign.
An El NiΓ±o is usually over after 18 months. I want to say that again so you catch it: usually an El NiΓ±o only lasts 18 months. Okay. But according to the U.S. Climate Center, the present episode began in 1990 – I want you to think about this now; this is heavy stuff – reaching maturity during early '92, the week in mid-, weakening in mid-1992, and beginning increasing again in November of '92. Some researchers warned that El NiΓ±o events could become more intense with global warming. Well, now, I don't go along with that necessarily, because global warming is a cop-out line for certain people to bring certain things to bear. God controls the temperature – always has, always will – and He's not about to give up that right. Now, we do things that smoke, haze – this sort of thing that hangs in the atmosphere – can change a little bit the temperature, but it's not going to change the overall part of what happens to the ozone or anything else.
This huge pool of warmer-than-normal Pacific Ocean water is poised to give the world's weather its biggest kick since the winter of 1982 and '83 – that's for this winter coming; it's going to be a very serious one. But I hope you catch '82 and '83. That was the first benchmark of Daniel. Okay, so what I want you to recognize: we're coming up on a second benchmark. That's why I think that the 18 months of the moon eclipses was very important – turning to red and finalizing in the region of Jerusalem, or that the orbit would focus it there. The El NiΓ±o in '83/'82 – you know, it happened in '82 but it went through the winter into '83 – was called the "Mother of all El NiΓ±os" because it was terrible. But it's most likely not going to be as bad as the one we're going to see this winter. Now, God has a kind of a funny way, though, of taking these forecasters and making them kind of lose their gourds, because He can do whatever He wants to. He's still in control. But I will agree with them: it would appear at this time that California – how many of you are from California? Buy you a raincoat right away. And if you live in one of those little houses on the sticks next to the water, you better think about moving to Arkansas. No, you don't have to come to Arkansas, but I mean, you know, it's going to be a very bad one, I'm sorry to say. And every indication so far: El NiΓ±o is the second largest driver of the world's weather. How did you know that? El NiΓ±o is the second largest driver of the world's weather? Do you know what I think? I think it's number one, because it even affects the jet stream, and basically the jet stream decides our weather. But the El NiΓ±o will even divert because of thunderstorms and so forth. Only the warmings and coolings and changes in precipitation patterns that come and go with the seasons have the biggest effects. Naturally, that means if it's summertime and winter's coming on, winter is going to give you a big change. All right, but the seasons were also created by who? Your Father, of course. You know, and this is why the equinox is so important, and that's why we go by a solar calendar. You know, when the sun diverts north or south of the equator, we know that, hey, that's a fixed time in God's time. I mean, it happens exactly the same time every year in spring and in the autumn.
In the U.S., the 1982-83 El NiΓ±o caused more than $2 billion in damage from storms and flooding on the Pacific coast, the Rocky Mountain, and Gulf Coast sites. But it saved – get this – $500 million in fuel bills with the East's warmest winter in 25 years. So how many of you are from the East? You're going to get by cheap this winter, okay, if everything goes well. In contrast, in '76-'77, El NiΓ±o brought drought to California and one of the century's coldest winters in the Midwest and East. That's why I love God, you know – about the time man thinks he's got it figured out, he finds out he doesn't. It is real strange.
I'm not going to read all of this to you. There's just some facts I have underlined here I want to draw to your attention. One of the researchers is pleased as he compares this year's forecast with what he and others were able to say in 1982, and quote: "Now if we can help people with the forecast, we're successful," unquote. He says that's true. There was one case where down in Central America they began to notice this – it normally takes the farmers there 650,000 metric tons of corn to get by. In 1987, a drought related to El NiΓ±o, they only made 100,000 metric tons. But this meteorologist switched them over the next time one was forecast to a dry-weather type corn – you farmers know what I'm talking about, drought-resistant – and they produced 530,000 metric tons. So that's why it's important to know God's signs. I only use that as an analogy so that you know that way you know how to do something about it, and that's important. The most important thing to know what to do about it is: does that have anything to do with God's Word? Is it biblical? Is God telling us something that all of a sudden the only time in history that we have one that's running a period for several years rather than 18 months – something busted that old number 18, which is bondage, and kind of ripped it for them?
Here are only a few of the facts that have already been noted. The Pacific Ocean water off Peru is as much as 9 degrees warmer than normal, okay. This lets you know how strong this baby is. Warm water and warm-water fish such as tuna have spread northward to off the California coast; they're really looking out up there right now; the big boys are running. The drought has begun in Indonesia – unfortunately some people suffer because of this badly. Pakistan and Northwest India are dry, and the normal monsoon rain has been spotty in parts of India. And meanwhile, heavy rain hit Central and Northern Chile in May and June. And North Korea, of course – most of you, I hope, are familiar with the drought that is going on there, and certainly those people are suffering. And I see my old Chosin Reservoir buddy back there; how you doing? All right. He and I, our groups were trapped at the reservoir – you remember when 120,000 Chinese came down against us? Me and him were up there, and we beat them. Hah, you bet. And in truthfulness, there were only 12,500 of us, and we only lost 2,500, and they lost almost 60,000 men. So you talk about fighters – hey, you know, ask him; he'll... no, he probably wouldn't want to talk about it, but it was... I called him a veteran. All right, now what does that have to do with El NiΓ±o? Well, it's rough on Korea. Okay, we were too okay. North, that is to say.
The forecast – I won't go into a great deal of this. We anticipate that California will be pretty wet this year; it will be very much like the '82-'83, which was the mother of all of them, and there's a good chance we're going to have a wet year and a fair chance we're going to have a very wet year. I tend to go along with that. Now, our weather departments have a neat way – you know, they finally wised up to what was causing these things and knew we've got to get a grip on this because it is really affecting the world in the food supply and so forth, with 2000 approaching. So they went out and they dropped 80 buoys in the South Pacific, okay. And come to find out, what causes this is some way or another, the wind doesn't have enough of a stirring current or to get the ripples going, so that the hot water in that Pacific Ocean – you might as well say from Korea, you know, that's an open shot all the way across to Peru – and if something doesn't get that beauty started to get the cold water mixed with the hot water down below... here she hits Peru, and all hell breaks loose. And who do you think controls that? Okay, who do you think? The food on the bottom from that cold water comes up; it won't feed the fish that are there on the surface, so things have to happen. So naturally, the real answer is: who controls what the deeps do? You know, and then you've got your answer. And if God is controlling something, if you're a Christian, probably you better sharpen up, because He could be telling you something. And the question is, what is it? Again, I would repeat: if you have a sign and you can't find it in the Bible, it's not worth a dime to you. This is the largest on record for the longest period of time. So when something exceeds what man is familiar with, somebody's changed something, meaning somebody's trying to get your attention, and it's a good idea that you listen to it.
I'm not going into what is an El NiΓ±o, you know, but it is important – you that are on the Net – that if you don't understand the steerage of these currents and what causes it, it's really a very simple thing. God doesn't have any trouble at all arranging the thing. I would highly recommend that you click on – and I think our local computer man for putting all this together with me, he's probably already gone fishing, hasn't he? Wherever – no, he's right back there. He's back there with my nephew there – hi, nephew – and that one beside him, Doug, is our computer expert and his lovely wife there beside him. Okay. And some might say, "Well, this is just a recent thing." I stop and think about it: how could it be a recent thing caused by the ozone layer when it was discovered by the Spanish sailors in 1600? We didn't even have a weather department in 1600. Okay, our only weather department is God as He sees fit. Okay, so don't buy into rubbish. Always stop and think and concentrate on what is taking place.
I think that's about all I want from that particular paper. And again, clicking on the Net, you see the surface waters. I wanted to see real quickly – I wanted to confirm in my mind if it was 80 buoys they dropped out there. 80 would be double probation – what amuses me about it. But they are there, these buoys, and they report the depths, you know, what the temperatures are at the various depths. But about the time man gets smart enough to figure out what God's doing, God likes to really show him He does whatever He wants to, anywhere, anytime, anyway. That's like with the one in '77 there I was telling you about. And it seems that, offhand, I'm not going to find the number of buoys that our dear government placed out there, but I'm pretty sure it was 80 reporting points, whereas before it was just spotted if a ship happened to be through there or something of that nature, then they would pick up on this.
So there you have it: the worst one in 1982 – a benchmark of Daniel. Boy, that's easy to fix, you know what I mean. But what kind of benchmark is being set now that we have this granddaddy of them all? That was the mother of all of them in '82, but this is very possibly – I mean, the temperature spread and the warmth of that thing, I mean, it would seem already that we're in for it – that it has lasted so long instead of lasting 18 months. Bondage again. Okay, so we're going to look in God's Word, and first of all, I would say the best plan for us is: does God really control the weather? Well, if you can't find that in the Bible, all you can say is He's great and He does everything, but you need to be able to prove it, right? You really should be able to if you're going to deal in God's Word. So I want you to open your Bible, if you would, to the 104th Psalm, and let's see if we can begin to tie some of this together and see if God is telling us something. Because we've got to focus on the Word. You know, it's good to get on the Net and see what Joe Blow's doing out there, but it's what our Father's doing that is really important. And what I intend to do – or what we are going to attempt to do – does God control the weather, and is it connected with any one particular thing? Because it's obvious we've got a message. What do we do with it? We have an El NiΓ±o – the Christ child. Doesn't that kind of rattle your chain a little bit to know that Spanish sailors in 1600 would call it the Christ child because it's close to the time of His birth, and you see the power that Christ had in Anno Domini – which is to say the year of our Lord, where it changed dates and everything – that it bears a larger weight than many might think?
Okay, so you're all familiar with Psalm 104, but we're going to read parts of it anyway. Let's start with the first verse: "Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, Thou art very great; Thou art clothed with honour and majesty." Well, we certainly know that to be fact. "Who coverest Thyself with light as with a garment" – He is the light. "Who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain" – now think about that; He stretches out the heavens like a curtain – that's the atmosphere. "Who layeth the beams of His chambers in the waters: who maketh the clouds His chariot: who walketh upon the wings of the wind" – the *ruach*, the spirit. Lack of wind is in large part what causes an El NiΓ±o, okay, in certain parts at the right time. "Who maketh His angels spirits; His ministers a flaming fire" – He kind of controls a lot of things, okay, along with weather. "Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever" – I mean, it's solid; He created it. "Thou coveredst it with the deep" – that's the water, the ocean – "as with a garment: the waters stood above the mountains." This was the first destruction; this was the *katabole* – the overthrow of Satan in the first Earth age. "At Thy rebuke they fled; at the voice of Thy thunder they hasted away."
Skip with me to verse 19. I'm not going to hold you real long on this; I just want to make my point, and then I want you to watch this winter and stay awake. We're in a very interesting time. Verse 19: "He appointed the moon for seasons: and the sun knoweth his going down." You need to be aware of the solar system and how perfect and exact that it is. And let's go all the way to verse 26: "There go the ships" – where the ships go on the ocean, the water. "There is that leviathan" – leviathan is Satan in the Book of Job – "whom Thou hast made to play therein." That type, okay. And you know, He did; He let Satan have his hour here on Earth. Do you listen to him? I don't know; he's pretty sharp, and he can throw some mighty deceptive words out at you from everywhere. "These wait all upon Thee; that Thou mayest give them their meat in due season" – He takes care of nature. "That Thou givest them they gather: Thou openest Thine hand, they are filled with good." That means everything on Earth that man never touches, God still feeds it; okay, He created it.
Verse 29: "Thou hidest Thy face, they are troubled: Thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust." Kind of... He's in charge, okay – that's nature. In other words, "Thou sendest forth Thy spirit, they are created: and Thou renewest the face of the earth." When does that happen? So that you know the time we're talking about – Revelation 21 – He's going to rejuvenate this earth whereby we have a decent place to live forever. "The glory of the LORD shall endure for ever: the LORD shall rejoice in His works." Verse 32: "He looketh on the earth, and it trembleth: He toucheth the hills, and they smoke." How many of you remember Mount St. Helens? Okay, that happened in '81-'82, okay – volcano. "I will sing unto the LORD as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being." Think about it: who created your being? He did. "My meditation of Him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the LORD." Listen carefully. Verse 35: "Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless thou the LORD, O my soul. Praise ye the LORD." And what is the plan again? Division – get rid of the bad, bring in the good, and make it all a better place all over again. And who's in control? He is. But He created those that went bad the same as He did you, and He loves them; they're His children. And that's why He urges you and gives you this unction that you can't control – it's just natural that you want to help them; you want to get that truth out there; you want to plant it. Why? If we don't, they're going to be destroyed. And God is longsuffering, and it is His will that all come to repentance. That's 2 Peter chapter 3, verses 7 and 8. He wants them saved, and that's why He brings forth this plan. But He makes everything so simple, His control, that you can look and you can see it if you really pay attention. You can see His hand in everything, almost, that moves in the heavens and the earth. He controls that. That's why it's important that He control your life through this Word, that you focus on this Word.
Now, I want to document that He does control. Psalm 147 – I'm going to stay right here in Psalms. Where do we want to go? All these Psalms that I'm going to touch on, you should read all of it; make a study of it yourself. I'm going to pick up here at the 14th verse of Psalm 147. The question is: does God really control nature, meaning weather? Also: "He maketh peace in thy borders, and filleth thee with the finest of the wheat" – that's to say His children that follow Him. "He sendeth forth His commandment upon earth: His word runneth very swiftly" – doesn't take long. "He giveth snow like wool" – He does what? Who gives the snow? He does. "He scattereth the hoarfrost like ashes." When people wake up, "Oh, Jack Frost visited again last night" – wasn't Jack Frost; it was God. Verse 17: "He casteth forth His ice like morsels: who can stand before His cold?" Verse 18: "He sendeth out His word, and melteth them" – wow, talk about control. "He causeth His wind to blow, and the waters flow." The wind blowing is what causes the El NiΓ±o. You got it. "He showeth His word unto Jacob, His statutes and His judgments unto Israel." I don't know – are you familiar with them? That's the way you get around it; that's the way you keep informed. "He hath not dealt so with any nation: and as for His judgments, they have not known them. Praise ye the LORD." And of course now, through Christ, all nations basically have – they have not basically, they do have the privilege to know, to follow.
The final chapter we're going to – and we're going to close with this – Psalm 107, just almost back where we were with 104. I'm not going to do the mathematics on that for you; I didn't bring my computer. But anyway, we're in 147 – I'm sorry, 107. If I looked at my notes, it confused me there a moment. We're going to go here to 107 and see what this might have to do with us today. And I'll tell you what, let's do again – let's start with the 14th verse before; let's do it again.
Verse 14: "He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and brake their bands in sunder." God controls about whatever He wants to. If it's dark and He wants it light, you know He can fix that, because wherever He is, there is no darkness. Verse 15: "Oh that men would praise the LORD for His goodness" – do you, if you're not blessed, do you ever praise Him? Hey, it'll go a long way, my friend – He loves it – "and for His wonderful works to the children of men!" Do you thank Him when you get a shower and need one, and so forth? Verse 16: "For He hath broken the gates of brass, and cut the bars of iron in sunder." He snatches them; He controls. He takes charge. He's a can-do type Father. "Fools because of their transgression, and because of their iniquities, are afflicted." He can kind of lay it on whoever He wants to. That's why it's so important to be blessed and ask for His blessings; you can avoid all that. I mean, life is too short to just really mess up and let God rain on you. All right, and He'll let some of those calamities come your way – not because of your sin, but lack of knowledge and wisdom of what He teaches and how you should act. In other words, if He says it's dangerous there, why don't you move? And you don't read the warning – well, you're the one standing there. That's life, and that's the way it happens.
Verse 18: "Their soul abhorreth all manner of meat; and they draw near unto the gates of death." People really do – they kill themselves by their careless actions when they have the warnings here to be blessed by. "Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and He saveth them out of their distresses." He won't let you down. I mean, you can mess up, but the moment you sincerely turn back to Him, He's going to help you. That's His promise. Again, I quoted it from 2 Peter chapter 3: it is His will that all come to repentance, meaning that they're saved. Are they going to be? Uh-uh. No, I mean, all you've got to do is take a look around you today in this world and you can tell some of them. You couldn't tell anything, and if there's any one thing that's really troubled to be around – it's for one of those that think they know everything to be around one of us that do. But just wanted to make sure that food wasn't getting a little heavy on the tummy there. See if you were with me here. All right.
Verse 20 – listen carefully: "He sent His word" – that's what makes the difference. "He sent His word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions" – actually, the grave where they were headed. And how many times – and have you known of people that their lives were really changed by Him, just saying, "I love the Lord"? And you know what they were before, and you see what they are after – you know, it's beautiful. And do you know that it's written that even the angels in heaven rejoice when one switches over? Now think about it. His word is so powerful – really powerful.
Verse 21: "Oh that men would praise the LORD for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!" Verse 22: "And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare His works with rejoicing." He likes that you recognize Him. He would like for you to know, "Hey, look out there in the Pacific, my child. Look what I'm doing – ho, ho, ho, I've got it going. Do you understand? I mean, this is the biggest one there's ever been. And you know what? It's nothing – if you'd been here when the *katabole* took place, this would be... He's just toying. But He wants you to know that and thank Him for it. He has a reason." Okay, in all things – because El NiΓ±o is the subject, naturally I'm saying that – but in all things.
Verse 23: "They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters" – they make a living off of that whole wide thing out there; those big old ships bring those Toyotas in here by the boatload, you know. Verse 24: "These see the works of the LORD, and His wonders in the deep." You know, there's nobody that gets religion and loses it quicker than sailors. Okay, you get out in that South Pacific and have a storm hit – I mean, there's some old salts that can do some fast praying. And let him hit port and look what happens – there we go.
Verse 25: "For He commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind." He does what? He commands the wind. Did you hear that? "He commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof." You want to find El NiΓ±o in the Bible? You just did. Verse 26: "They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble." Verse 27: "They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits' end" – and all their seamanship, they couldn't do anything about it. I've been out at sea on some pretty bad ones, but I know there's been a lot worse. But it'll make you stop and think when you look up and see water like that – you know, when you look up and see a crest that high above you and you're already on a big ship way out of the water, is what I'm saying.
Verse 28: "Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and He bringeth them out of their distresses." "Oh Lord, save me this time, and I'll never do it again." Pilots and sailors have a lot in common. Pilot gets himself in a thunderstorm that he knows better – "Oh Lord, oh Lord, hear me now!" It's good, you know; repenting is good for the soul, and confession is also.
Verse 29: "He maketh the storm a calm" – if He decides to. Now I want you to understand this: "He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still." He can do whatever He wants to; He can have that just as stormy as He wants. And Christ gave you an example of that, did He not? "Peace, be still." And the old boy said, "Well, why didn't you wake up and do that a long time ago? It was scaring us." You know, I mean, my point: He's in charge; He's in control. Why wouldn't you want to praise Him? I mean, He can make you or break you – He's not going to break you; I don't want to paint Him that way – but He will let you break yourself if you want to. And man knows one thing real good: how to bring destruction upon himself. Okay, what verse was I in? 30.
And this is what the sailors like: "Then are they glad because they be quiet; so He bringeth them unto their desired haven" – that means a port or a harbor, okay, where it's real safe. Verse 31: "Oh that men would praise the LORD for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!" You see, do you know the thing – the theme that's being repeated here over and over? Praise Him, praise Him; thank Him, thank Him; talk to Him. Let Him know when you see something and understand it. Don't just say, "Oh goody, look at that." Say, "Thank You, Father, for touching my mind and my spirit whereby I can understand these things." That our government dumping 80 buoys out here, you know, stretched out, spending a lot of money to know – "Hey, it's hot on top; it's real hot on top, and when that just moves on over, it just changes everything." Okay. Wonder why God doesn't stir it up a little bit? Well, He didn't want to, because He can make it a calm or He can make it a storm.
Verse 32: "Let them exalt Him also in the congregation of the people, and praise Him in the assembly of the elders." And we do thank God for that. "He turneth rivers into a wilderness" – make it a desert – "and the watersprings into dry ground." He could change it just like that. I don't know how many have ever driven out even in our own deserts in Arizona – man, you get a little cloudburst and you've got a flood, you know, in a desert land. Verse 34: "A fruitful land into barrenness, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein." And you know, in the long haul, you can go into the deserts of New Mexico and find fossilized pine and palm trees on the tops of mountains. Palm trees never grew in Arizona? Oh yes, they did – not in our lifetime. It's been changed; it's not like it was in the beginning. Well, why did it change? Because my Father wanted to. Okay, He just snapped it, and there it went. My point being also: He's in charge, and it's a good thing. A smart person recognizes pretty soon, "Hey, I'm going to take the advice of the old boy that's controlling this and be on His good side." That's the way you really should be.
Verse 36: "And there He maketh the hungry to dwell, that they may prepare a city for habitation" – He makes it so rich it'll support a whole city – "and sow the fields, and plant vineyards, which may yield fruits of increase." These are the blessings. Verse 38: "He blesseth them also, so that they are multiplied greatly; and suffereth not their cattle to decrease." In other words, praising Him, loving Him, following Him, and using common sense makes a pretty good combination and a strong outlook for success.
Verse 39: "Again, they are minished and brought low through oppression, affliction, and sorrow." And you know, it's real easy for people to do, "Oh God, we had such a beautiful town here and look what it is – it hasn't rained in four years – and God must just be mean to us, and there's probably the biggest bunch of sinners in the world in this town, and He won't rain." In other words, God... you bring affliction upon yourself; you bring it in your own family. Hot weather comes along, you know, and two people get a little... you get irritable, you know, and mama comes in – I mean, she was hot too, standing over her stove, so she burns the cornbread a little bit. Papa comes in and says, "Why did you cook cornbread just like my mama? And she never could fix it right." You know, just... and pretty soon you've got a yin-yang started, you know, and they're fighting over nonsense. Okay, so affliction goes for those that are foolish and childish. Be mature in this generation more so than ever. I want to say that one more time: be mature. "When you were a child, you spake as a child." If you're one of God's elect, you are no longer a child. I don't care if you're one of these little ones that's six, five, four years old – they can teach you more Bible than a lot of preachers can. Okay, you don't think like a child. Be mature, and don't let leviathan get to you; don't let Satan get to you; don't let one of his little bad spirits put you in bondage. It's like the family that people used to come to their house to watch the fights every Saturday night, and then they got television, and you know – so, you know, people are funny, they really are, and then say, "Wonder why this happened to me?" Be mature. Of all times now, be mature. Be patient – be patient with people; they're God's children.
Verse 40: "He poureth contempt upon princes, and causeth them to wander in the wilderness, where there is no way." That word "wilderness" is really *tohu* – you all remember that from Genesis – void, not a chance. So we don't have to worry too much about politicians, okay? God's got a way of handling them. You know, pretty soon, if you put your hand in the cookie jar too many times, mama's going to catch you. And mama being the little general that she is over the legal department has some hands in the cookie jar, okay, and she's finally going to have to do something about it. A word to the wise is sufficient.
Verse 41: "Yet setteth He the poor on high from affliction" – now get that; I want you to see the control. "Yet setteth He the poor" – that's the humble, those that love Him, those that praise Him – "on high from affliction, and maketh him families like a flock." Have you ever seen how a flock of sheep get along? Have you ever seen them fighting, other than just playing? They don't have any defensive weapons to fight with except their shepherd. So God will help you get along if you'll help yourself.
Verse 42: "The righteous shall see it, and rejoice: and all iniquity shall stop her mouth." It's so easy to do when you think adult maturity, when you praise God and thank Him for what you do have – good – instead of some little piddling thing that happened during the day or you lost five bucks – big deal, you know, make 20 bucks an hour. Well, I better not say that; make almost 20 bucks an hour, loses five, and you'd think he'd lost everything he had. Don't let little things upset you when they break or whatever – you know, it's just the way it goes.
Verse 43 – I'm going to close on this verse, and I want you to take it with you: "Whoso is wise, and will observe these things" – the water, the storms, the clouds – "even they shall understand the lovingkindness of the LORD." He has a reason for everything.
So what can we assume? We have another benchmark. We are a jubilee – we are a jubilee away from the fig tree's planting. Things usually happen on a jubilee. Now don't get nervous and say, "I'm saying Arnold Murray said the world was coming to an end." I didn't say that. I said a benchmark, okay, which means we're taking a more mature step, and you better watch what you step in. Okay, we're coming to a time where there's going to be a change, and I don't want you left out on, "Oh, right, which way did they go?" because you know that God controls the weather, and it is going to be different this winter – boy, is it going to be different. We've got so many jubilees piling up on us. And on August the 6th – sometime in August, let me put it that way – in Switzerland there was a great jubilee also, only it was a double jubilee; it was 100 years for the Zionist political party. And think what happened to them over 100 years: they were nothing; at the end of one jubilee they became a nation – that was the planting of the fig tree. This is another jubilee. What's going to happen? You better keep your eyes open, because in Jerusalem there are both good and bad figs, and you're supposed to be knowledgeable of the fig tree. Got too many jubilees coming to pass here all at one time, not to mention a new millennium. What does all that mean? Well, without fixing it to God's Word, it doesn't mean anything. But I think you all know how to fix it to God's Word, and that's what makes it important.
What a time to live now with all these things happening. If you haven't heard of El NiΓ±o, turn your television on; it's going to be news – it already is. They're trying to warn people, and I suppose they're trying to figure out – they kind of know what causes it, but they're probably wondering why. All they've got to do is look up, right? Because your Father controls the weather. He can send the ice and He can melt it; He can put it on rough water; He can calm it. It serves a purpose. That's why it's important that you praise Him.
What can I say about this winter? It's a time – I don't want you to misunderstand me and just watch El NiΓ±o, the water, you know – that's not... you're not going to get too intelligent just watching water. Get your head up and look around and see what happens in the nations, because these signs are given to you for a purpose, and that's so that you do have *be on guard*, so that you are on guard, that you observe, and that you're not caught off guard. Be humble, and He'll take care – He'll feed you, He'll take care of you. By being humble, you praise Him; you take the Word. He sends you the Word; He sends you the Word. It doesn't do any good unless you act on it. It just doesn't – it's there. And I would say again: focus. This is a time to really focus, because you're going to be tried; they will try to pull you off course from every direction. There will be all sorts of – you know, the Net is a fine place for this. You take like Hale-Bopp went through there – there was some of the dumbest stuff, you know, that was a great thing, but there was some of the dumbest stuff written about Hale-Bopp for intelligent people. "Did you hear that?" Well, show me. You're going to have to be like these people up in Missouri – you better start saying, "Let me check it out and show me," you know. Because you're going to hear all sorts of rumors and everything else. You've got it in your hand – the Word of God. Do not be pulled away from it.
In closing – I've really already closed – but I would leave this thought with you: you are going to see some things this winter, and there will be moves and shifts, because we have come to a new benchmark. Nothing has ever been the same since 1981, winter '82. Nothing has ever been the same, and God's people have been given a voice, and that voice is spreading, that no one could perform the miracles that have been performed except He Himself accomplished it – as far as being able to put His word out without a bunch of... B.S. being fixed to it. All right, well, some people may have a different opinion of that B.S. stuff; I don't know. But according to letters I've got, sometimes they say that's all I put out. So, you know, that's what I mean – you've got to be careful on stuff like that. But anyway, it is a time to be alert and to know Father's in control all the way. What a comfort that is. And if you don't thank Him for it, it's not going to do you one iota of good – just to hear me say it or someone else say it doesn't do you any good. You've got to talk to Him, because you are important to Him. He wants to hear it from you. And it is so important that you praise Him and let Him know that you love Him. It really is. It'll change your life. There's no such thing as luck – I hope you know that. "Luck" is brought forth by wisdom. "Well, that guy was lucky; he just won $4,000 playing in Las Vegas – and tune in tomorrow, he lost everything he had." Where's the luck? Once a fool, always a fool, you know. A person that believes that kind of stuff... you know, the harder you work, the luckier you get. And the more you praise God, the more you get accomplished, because He begins to let you keep it. That's so important. And there is not a time in history that you need to practice that more than now – just to talk to Him, let Him know you love Him, and ask His blessings. Hey, He's got a bunch of them, and it makes Him happy. You know, if you've got a little child – or I'll say like my little granddaughter that's been on this stage – I'm not going to point her out or anything, but she was up here singing to you, and you know, she knows about what I've got, and if she wants something I've got, she asks. And how could I refuse? You know, how could I refuse? I just love to make her happy, you know. But my point being, that's the way God is about you. You're His child. He sent your spirit and soul into that flesh body that you wear. And is He proud of you when you perform in His way, and then when you turn and say, "Thank You, Father," you know? Or when He has to spank you and the old tears are rolling, you know, and you say, "I love You, Father," He'll come here, give me a hug, you know, and He takes you right into His bosom at a time like that. So if I were to give you any one bit of advice: you communicate with your Father more so than ever. Talk to Him. You don't have to talk out loud; you can drive your car, you can be doing the dishes or whatever, and just talk to Him. It makes His day – but most of all, it makes yours.
Okay, well, listen – I love you a lot, and we're going to baptize some people here soon as we get changed into some blue jeans. And as far as this meaning – boy, I'll tell you what, when Doug prints that stuff off of that Net, I mean, it's a tub of stuff, you know. And as you all know, the Net for business is a pretty good thing, but there's a lot goes on on that Net. Oh well, it helped us today, didn't it? We culled some of it anyway; got some good information. It's time again, and fall is here, and this meeting is dismissed here in a moment. I love you all a great deal more than you'll know, and because you enjoy studying our Father's Word, stay in that Word. Okay. Love you.
Dr. Pastor Arnold B. Murray
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