“Christmas Unwrapped” and “MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT”

“Christmas Un-wrapped—The History of Christmas” is quite a documentary produced by The History Channel.  Harry Smith narrates as it exposes the historical roots of how this holiday came to be.  Its origins are pagan and go back thousands of years to the festivals of the winter solstice, Rome’s Saturnalia, Mithras the sun god’s birthday, and the Nordics’ Yule time (you can see it here on youtube: https://youtu.be/Ots9y_xcaX8 

I am astounded as I look out over the earth on this time of year and see people of every race, nationality and gender, embracing and reveling in this winter holiday season. I don’t condemn anyone for doing so; I’m just amazed to see people caught up into a spiritual vortex with seemingly no power to refuse.They are not just lured to the stores to buy anymore; they are told that if you don’t go and spend money, even money that you don’t really have, you are going to contribute to the downfall of our economy. It is not even subtle anymore.

It is like in Revelation when “the whole world wondered after the beast.” The people are caught up into something with a pull they can’t rationally fight. I see people practicing traditions handed down to them from ancestors who had no idea where it all came from.  They follow on not knowing why, and frankly, not caring why.

Like you, I am interested in the Time of the End as described in the book of Revelation.  How will the masses be?  How will they act during this time?  What type of world system will be in power?  And I find that it is called a “beast with seven heads and ten horns” and has a woman riding it.  And this woman is a symbol of a religious system, a church system.

And this church “was arrayed in purple and scarlet color, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand” (Rev. 17:4). This shows a system that is rich and luxurious.  This is not a church system that the ancient Hebrew prophets adhered to—the ones who were of the true faith, who “wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (of whom the world was not worthy) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth” (Hebrews 11: 37-38).  No, the true prophets of God did not array themselves like this religious system.

In fact, this false religious system has in the scriptures an identifier, a tag that tells us about her.  She has a “name written in her forehead.”  Names in scripture tell what the person or thing is—what its roots are, what its core values are.  A name in scripture tells us its origin, its reason to be, and its destiny.  This name written in her forehead means that her mind is full of what her name implies.  Her heart and mind are full of what her name means.  And her name was “MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH” (Rev. 17:5).  Her name is given all in capital letters to signify its great importance to us.

And this church has blessed this holiday that falls on the winter solstice, that is built upon a flimsy, secular, and pagan foundation.  “If the root be holy, so are the branches” (Romans 11: 16).  What if the root be unholy?  So, are the branches?  If we are a branch of the latter or are partaking of an unholy branch, are we not a partaker of the tainted spiritual fruit?

We, who are the called to be His princes and princesses of His soon-coming kingdom must examine ourselves in this light, for we are admonished to “come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins” (Rev. 18: 4).  We are rather to be “partakers of the divine nature” (II Peter 1: 4).    Kenneth Wayne Hancock

The Parable of the Net–The Immortal Kingdom and Its Counterfeit

Parables Are Not Nice Little Stories

First, parables are not nice little stories to help us understand the things of God.   They, on the contrary, conceal hidden mysteries concerning the kingdom (government) of the Creator (Yahweh).  What this parable reveals about His governance has been “kept secret from the foundations of the world” (Matt. 13:35).  To the masses He speaks in parables so that only those who are suppose to receive the secrets will get them, leaving the others blinded (13:13-16).

“The Parable of the Net” is the seventh and last parable that Christ spoke in Matthew 13.  “The kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away.  So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth” (13: 47-50).

The Key to the Parable of the Net

The key to understanding this parable and its rich secrets is found in the phrase “end of the world.”  This speaks of the demise of all the current kingdoms and governments of man as seen in the interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in Daniel 2: 36-45).  All of man’s governments will be crushed by the “stone kingdom” which is the “kingdom of heaven” headed by the Son of man Himself, known to the world as Jesus Christ, but known to a few by His Hebrew name, Yahshua.  He is the “stone that the builders {of governments} rejected.”

His government “is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him” (Dan. 7: 27).  His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom for two reasons: The King is immortal, and His children who rule with Him will be immortal as well.  That’s what the Good Book is about–the taking of His chosen ones to Immortality, the conquering of our final enemy, Death.  That’s it in a nutshell–the doing of His will and purpose.  Any other endeavor enshrouds man in pale, lifeless vanity, soon to be forgotten by the Living.

His kingdom that replaces the world system at the end of this age will be  populated by immortals–those with “eternal life” or “everlasting life” {Oh, we say those words and read and quote those scriptures that contain them, but have we really believed them?}.  He is, after all, the “God of the living and not the dead.”  They have told us about “going to heaven” but this “kingdom of heaven” headed by Christ will be established right here on earth.  There will be a few mortals who will believe this and walk with Him here.

Satan Presents the Counterfeit to the Kingdom of God

God’s designated enemy is Satan, and he knows about Yahweh’s plan to establish His kingdom in the earth.  Satan’s mission is to counterfeit it–to present to mankind alternative ways to “get to heaven,” or achieve immortality.

History is strewn with discarded teachings that promise immortality.  Almost every culture had it as its focus.  The ancient Egyptians had their mummification rituals; the Hindus their nirvana; the Aztecs their bloody human sacrifices buying  a ticket to the afterlife; the Babylonians, Greeks, Romans, and on down to the promise of heaven and paradise of Christendom and Islam.

The Net Catches All Who Shoot for Immortality

So then, in the parable of the net, we see that God’s kingdom operates as a net that catches all “comers”–all who would attain immortality the lawful way and “some other way.”  We see two camps: those few in history seeking eternal life in Yahweh’s kingdom and those endeavoring to live forever by some other means.

This idea of achieving immortality is ancient and has been adrift in the “sea of mankind” since the beginning of humanity.  “Sea”  is the symbol in scripture for the masses of humanity.  The kingdom of heaven’s essence is the promise of immortality and, like a net, it has been cast out there into everyone’s heart and mind–the desire to live on.  Like a net, every one is caught with this idea in mind–the desire to live forever.

There is a time in the near future when God will deem the net to be full.  This will be the “end of the world,” or the end of life as we know it to be.  Christ will return to assume His literal throne right here on earth.  Those things that offend His little ones He will root out and destroy.  This will usher in a thousand year reign of peace and love in the earth.  No more war, no more tears, no more heartache and pain.  The Prince of Peace will send His representatives into every corner of this ravished earth, teaching all about His glorious reign (See my book here     http://yahwehisthesavior.com/epilogue1.htm ).

Funny how this very medium is called “The NET.”  This inter-Net is right on time to be used as a net to catch all kinds who would live forever, for every conceiveable philosophical thought thrives here.  Funny how the ancient parable of the net is being enacted by high tech means in these latter days.    Kenneth Wayne Hancock

Bearing the Fruit of the Spirit–Being the Children of Light

The apostle Paul says that we are light, and we are to “walk as children of light” (Eph 5:8).  Then, in the very next breath he says, “For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness…”  This thus signifying that “light” is equal to bearing the fruit of the Spirit, which is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance (Gal 5:22-23).

We become the children of light when we have His Spirit abiding in us, bearing the fruit of the Spirit.  Light is what makes something known; therefore, God will be manifest in us when others see and experience His love, joy, and peace coming through us.  We are the light of God when we have the fruit of the Spirit because others will see God in us.

We bear this spiritual produce when we abide in the Savior Christ.  We are commanded by the Savior to “abide in me,” and let me abide in you.  Let my Spirit live and flow through you.  Then you will bear much fruit (John 15: 4-5).   Much love from above, joy, and peace will flow down from Him by His Spirit within us and out to others.

How Does His Spirit Abide in Us?

Yes, we are told by the Savior to let the Spirit of God come and flow through us.  But how does this happen?  Is there something that we, His children, need to do to effect this?  How will His abiding presence come into us so that we can bear this fruit of His Spirit?

The Savior Jesus (Yahshua) makes a conditional promise to us concerning this.  “If a man love me, he will keep my words…” (John 14:23).  Good things will come to the man who loves the Son of God.  Loving Him will mean he will obey his words and what He tells us to do.  “If you love Me, keep my commandments”.  If we do this, then He will give us the Spirit!  And the Father “shall give your another Comforter; that He may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth…for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you” (John 14: 15-17).   This is the Spirit of God coming down into us!

He just said, those that love Him will keep His commandments.  “He that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loves Me” (John 14:21).   The person that loves the Son of God understands just what He requires of him, just what He wants him to do.  This person that loves the Son of God will comprehend what this pre-requisite is before we can receive the  in-dwelling Spirit.

What exactly are these commandments that Christ wants us to keep?

The first new thing that He commands us to do is, “Believe Me.”  Real simple.  Not complicated.  Even a child can comprehend this.  He is saying, Believe Me when I tell you about my relationship with the Father.  “Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me.”  That is a command.  Those of us who take this to heart and do it will receive His Spirit in a reality and bear much fruit of the Spirit.

He did not request mythic gargantuan tasks to prove that we love Him.  He merely gives us a simple command: “Believe me that I am in the Father and believe me that the Father is in Me” (John 14:11).  We are to believe that He was in the Father’s will, heart and mind, soul and body.  And we are to believe that the great Spirit Father, Yahweh Himself, was walking around doing the great miraculous works through Christ!

That’s it in a nutshell.  That is what the book says.  This is worshiping God in spirit and in truth.  This is the truth:  The Father dwelt bodily in the man Christ Jesus (Yahshua) of Nazareth.   “For in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily” (Col 2: 9)…”He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father…I and my Father are one…God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself…”

There is so much riding on this.  If we get this one, then the gates of heaven will open, and we shall be the recipients of His very Being in our bodies!  He goes on, “He that believes on Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works  shall he do!” (John 14: 12).  Because the Father will be abiding in us, too!  HalleluYah!  This is how we get the Father to come down and live in us: we must first believe that the Father was dwelling fully in the Son of God.

We get this right and great joy, great peace, and great love will come down through us and on out unto the world.  Believing that the Father walked around in the Son of God and did the works is the first step in us receiving the Father and having Him walk around in our bodies here on the the earth.  It will be He loving others through us.  He will be touching others with peace and joy.

Christ goes on and confirms it again: “If a man love me, he will keep my words; and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him” (Jn 14:23).  This is how the Spirit will come down and abide in us.

“He that abides in Me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit…”  Much love, joy, peace and all the rest, coming down and through us to the love-starved world.  This is how we glorify the Father–that we bear much fruit of the Spirit (John 15: 8).   These fruit-bearers will be His disciples.

Once the belief has begun–belief that the Father is in Christ fully–then “whatsoever you shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”  We now have confidence to ask for more of His presence, more of His Spirit, so that it can be channeled out to others who need to know that God is real.

In this way the light of God’s Spirit will shine so that all men can be drawn to God.  “If I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto Me.”  We are then to “let your light so shine that others may see your good works and glorify your Father (which is walking inside of you, doing the works).

Why is this so difficult for us to comprehend?  It is because of the old leaven, the old teachings about the Father and Christ taught by the false prophets and teachers throughout the centuries.  They have made it mysterious and difficult to understand God through subtilty, lest our “minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ” (II Cor 11: 3).        Kenneth Wayne Hancock

Conversations With the Seer–“I Am the Vine; Ye Are the Branches”

(Formerly in Israel, if a man went to inquire of God, he would say, “Come, let us go to the Seer,” because the prophet of today used to be called a Seer. I Samuel 9: 9)

“How can we tell a false prophet?”  I asked the Seer.  We were all sitting around the wood stove, enjoying a cup of hot tea.

He opened the door to the cast iron box heater and threw  in another log.  “This I can tell you; the Master said that they will end up like this log, ‘hewn down and cast into the fire.’   This is how you can tell them from the true man of God:  Christ said, You shall know them by their fruits.  A false prophet or a false teacher will not bear good fruit; they will bring forth evil fruit.  A good tree will bring forth good fruit.  A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit (1).

“What is the fruit that He is talking about?”

“The words that Christ spoke were spirit, so it is spiritual fruit that a person brings forth, be it good or bad.  The good fruit is ‘the fruit of the Spirit,’ which is ‘love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance’ (2). ”

“How do we bear this good fruit of the Spirit?”

“It’s a walk with Him.  It takes time to learn to walk with Him.  After our death, burial, and resurrection experience with Him, He gives us a small portion of His Spirit as a down payment towards the purchased possession–us.  He urges us to grow, or rather, allow His Spirit to grow in our mortal bodies by means of prayer and study and putting into practice His way of life.  He frees us from sin and sinning; this is what allows us to grow.  This is when He tells us to abide in Him.”

“How do we abide in Him?”

“Christ likens Himself as being the true grape vine.  The Father is the Spirit, the invisible Sap that flows up through the vine Christ, and on into us the branches.  Christ commands us, Abide in me, and I in you.   He says that those of us who do this will bring forth much fruit–much love from above, much joy, and much peace, and much of all the rest.  We do this by being channels of His love, joy and peace.  We are not the objects.  That is the key (3).

“What’s the first step?”

“We must first reach out to Him and abide and remain in Him.  How?  In our thoughts.  We match our thoughts to His.  Remember: In the beginning was the Word, the Logos.  And the Logos is the Thought or the Concept that the Father had in the beginning.  And that Word/Logos/Concept/ Thought  is Spirit.  And the Word was made flesh and dwelt amoung us.  Christ is the living Thought and Plan of God.  We must make His Eternal Thoughts ours.  That’s the secret.  That’s the Truth.  He is the Truth, and we can handle the Truth because He has ordained us that we should bear this fruit of His Spirit.  And His Thought made flesh is the the Light of the world.  When we have His mind, then we are the light of the world, too, because His Spirit will be abiding and remaining in us for all to see (4).”

“Christ really wants this for us, doesn’t He?’

“He’s all about multiplying Himself throughout a body of people whom He has chosen and elected for this honor.  That’s grace.  But we’ve got to get a hold of what He’s offered to His followers.  We need to abide in Him by thinking on the Word/Logos/Thought of God, which is contemplating His love for us and the whole world.  We can start here: He forgave all of us our sins, so now we need to forgive those who have sinned against us.  This is how we continue in His love.   Christ gave His life, so now we give up our selfish old life and take on His life within our hearts.  He gave us another commandment: Love each other as I have love you (John 15: 12).  You cannot love someone with His agape love without forgiving them first.  Forgive everyone everything.  It is possible with His Spirit helping us.”

“And the bad trees won’t be able to do this?”

“A bad tree won’t be able in the end to forgive, for they will not truly have Christ’s Spirit.  They will come on in sheep’s clothing, looking very righteous, but they are still being motivated from their sinful, selfish hearts–hearts that do not have His Spirit.  Your powers of discernment will grow as you abide more in Him and He in you.  Just remember that we are the branches; He is the vine through which we receive His Spirit, and it’s His Spirit that makes it all possible to grow up into Him.”                               Kenneth Wayne Hancock   {For more on this check out my books here:  http://yahwehisthesavior.com/ }

(1) Matthew 76: 15-20   (2) Galatians 5: 22  (3) John 15: 1-14   (4) John 1: 1, 14

“I Will Remember Him That Way”–An Elegy for My Mentor

I thought of my spiritual mentor who passed away some nine years ago now.  Without him and his love and patience, I would not have come out of the depraved selfish existence I led in my old life.  I wrote this elegy upon hearing of his death.  I want to share it with you.

I Will Remember Him That Way

I will remember him, but not for his last days on earth.

I will recall three decades ago, when the world was mad

          and senseless and cruel,

When a young man and woman so in need of love

          and patience

And so full of fear and loss and alienation, with cynicism

          in full rotten bloom—

I’ll remember him that day, that warm April East Texas

          spring day

When the joy emanating from his countenance hit me right

          in the chest

As I strutted in with a smirk that said,

Okay, show me what you got,

Because I’ve just about given up the search for truth,

          although I talk about it all the time,

And I know that my old self is my nemesis, my master, my   

          ruin,

And I can’t get rid of it by myself, because my self is my

          very problem,

And I know that it has to die, and I’ve looked three years in

          books from India,

And books from China, and books from Persia,

And none of the sages of the East could tell me how to put

          my self to death,                                                           

 

And live to tell about it,

And I knew that I would waste my time

In looking to the christian buildings which cannot hold

          moms and dads together in love—

So as a last futile foray for the truth before I give up

And sink into the numbness of nothingness,

I was thinking, Okay, show me what you got.

 

And he did, as I remember the joy and the love that swept

          down on me,

As he spoke of a certain writer named Paul who spoke of

          an old man Adam

Who was now put to death with the Lamb in a Roman 6

          finality

And who could be raised to walk in a newness of life.

 

“You mean that my old self, my old ego, can die?” 

I asked out loud that April morning in the cedar cabin in the

          East Texas woods.

“That’s exactly what Paul is saying.”

 

 

And so I had finally found my sign that I had searched for.

I’ll remember him that way,

As the joyous messenger of my joy in God.

 

I’ll remember how he let me keep sleeping till noon the first  

          time we spent the night,

Under his breakfast table in the tarpaper shack,

For I was bidden to come and rest, and he let me rest.

I’ll recall the joy and deliverance from tobacco, drugs, alcohol,  

          and cursing.

I’ll remember him that way.

 

I’ll remember the countless times I robbed him of his rest,

And he would smile,

Knowing I was special in the hands of God.

I’ll remember him that way.

 

I’ll remember a man who believed in me like no one had done

          before.

I’ll remember the days of Pepsi and popcorn,

And winter mornings, wood burning stove, kettle on top,

Cool mornings full of hot tea and scriptures,

When riches meant nothing and material possessions held no

          power over us,

As we sat laughing into the gentle breezy piney woods evenings,

Secure at last that, yes, there is a God with a plan and purpose,

And all was as it should be here on earth at this moment.

I’ll remember him that way.

I’ll remember Tom as the mentor of my youth,

Who awakened me to greater things than my old self,

Who showed me how to speak to tens of thousands

         about the Kingdom.

I’ll remember him as the one who helped me

         along the road to God,

Who patiently in those early days,

         taught me all the Truth he knew.

And so I ask, What more can any one man do?

I’ll remember him that way.

 

I’ll not let those early days be blotted out of my memory

By judging him on his last days on earth—

No matter how much it hurt—

I’ll leave all judgements of him to God and to bitter little hearts

Who can’t remember him in the early days.

 

But I’ll remember him that way.

Kenneth Wayne Hancock

 

 

Conversations With the Seer–What Is Sin in God’s Eyes?

(Formerly in Israel, if a man went to inquire of God, he would say, “Come, let us go to the Seer,” because the prophet of today used to be called a Seer. I Samuel 9: 9)

“Just what is sin then?” I asked the Seer.  We had been talking about the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the “sin” question had come up.

“Sin is the breaking of the law,” he said (1).

“Which law?”

“The Ten Commandments.  If you are breaking one of them, then you are in a sinful state.  The apostle Paul of Tarsus proves this when he wrote, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet (2).  Here he equates sin with breaking one of the Ten Commandments.  Coveting or desiring your neighbor’s possessions or wife is a sin, prohibited by the Ten Commandments.  There are nine others.  Breaking any of them is sinning.”

“But I’ve been taught that sin can be anything from dancing to drinking wine, from getting angry to not doing something that I am supposed to do.”

“Shuffling one’s feet on a hardwood floor does not necessarily mean one is sinning.  Remember King David, flooded with complete joy, danced in the streets; he did not sin.  The Savior Himself drank wine in the homes of sinners and publicans (3), yet He committed no sin.  He also got angry at the moneychangers at the temple, yet without sin.”

“Why don’t the preachers teach this?”

“They either do not know the truth, or they have turned from the truth and continued on in man’s traditions.  I do not judge them.  We all have a Judge who will examine us in light of the knowledge given us by Him.”

“You mentioned dancing and drinking wine.  Why would that not be sinning?”

“God looks on the intents of the heart (4).  If dancing is used for sinful and lustful purposes, then it is suspect.  Same goes for drinking a glass of fermented grape juice.  Righteous indignation is not the same as selfish anger.”

“Sin then is a spiritual condition.”

“Yes.  It is a spiritual condition of the heart, of the core of a person.  But sin does not have to be permanent in the human being.  A ‘new heart’ composed of His Spirit can be transplanted into the human being through repentance and faith toward God (5).”  He saw that I had enough to chew on, so he stopped speaking.

I thanked him for the visit and walked away with some answers, but they seemed to germinate and sprout into more questions–questions for another day.        Kenneth Wayne Hancock

1. I John 3:4

2. Romans 7: 7

3. Luke 19: 2

4. Hebrew 4:12

5. Ezekiel 36: 26-27