WAR! Good God, Y’all! What Is It Good For?

“Absolutely nothing!” answers the choir resolutely.  

I get Edwin Starr’s sentiment. War. I hate it. I was in a big one. Vietnam. It was sickening to see and hear the dying young men, day in and day out. And for what? Of course, most are going to agree that there is absolutely nothing that war is good for. But according to the Spirit in the prophet Isaiah, God sees it differently.

I have learned that war is history’s twisted tale. And war is like tribute that must be paid for a tribe to move into supposed greener pastures. But the pastures putrefy in the slosh of conflict. And the pride and hubris of the leaders won’t let them pause and think about what they are unleashing on the people.

Wars—A Sign of the End Times

Christ speaks of “wars and rumors of wars.” He is talking about wars that have a connection to ­the Holy Land. As you know, war is raging in Gaza, Israel, and Lebanon. Rumors abound about a regional war between Iran and their proxies and Israel and the U.S. Today’s middle east wars and rumors of a wider war are imminent. Israel at war is one of the major signs that we are living in “the time of the end.”

Christ was teaching His disciples at the temple. They asked Him what we are asking Him today, “What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world” (Matt. 24:3). The first sign was not to be deceived by counterfeit false prophets (vs. 4-5).

The second sign was about war. “And when you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars, be ye not troubled: for such things must needs be; but the end shall not be yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom” (Mark 13:7-8).  

Wars in and around the Holy Land must take place, says Christ. Must? To Get to Christ’s return and the end of the world system, there must come wars and more wars. So don’t be troubled, Christ is saying; wars must happen. “These things must come to pass” before the end comes.

But, why? These many wars shall happen because Yahweh has ordained it. Seeds of hatred have been sown. They must come to harvest. God wills these things to be. For the wars all over the world will help prepare for Christ’s return as King of God’s Kingdom. The wars will also bring on the end of the present world system. God gives a clear picture of how He will use war to prepare the way for Christ’s return.

Yahweh Foments the Wars

The Spirit of Christ in Isaiah reveals it in detail in a prophetic picture called “the burden of Egypt” in chapter 19. “Egypt” is universally recognized as a symbol of the world. Isaiah 19 is an extended metaphor of how the whole world will disintegrate at the time of the end through the wars that God allows. We see in 19:1 that Yahweh is directly involved in fomenting wars in the world. Yahweh is a Spirit that “shall come into Egypt.”

Yahweh will enter the minds of the peoples of the world. The result? “The idols of Egypt [the world] shall be moved at His presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it.” God will shake it up. A man’s idol is who or what he is in awe of. But God will shake the people’s confidence in whom or what they have trusted. He will do it through His presence. The people of the world will have their hearts melt in fear.  

God will challenge and shake up their whole belief system. “And I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians: and they shall fight everyone against his brother, and everyone against his neighbor; city against city, and kingdom against kingdom” (v. 2).

God will do this. And all this turmoil, commotion, and war will cause the world’s spirit to fail and be emptied of its efficacy and strength. The world system and its leaders and followers will be consumed by war and its fears. For God “will destroy the counsel” of the world. Entities that were trusted will fail. “And they shall seek to their idols, and to the charmers” and to all the purveyors of peace. But to no avail. War will have consumed all reason.

Then Yahweh will deliver the world [Egypt] “into the hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall rule over them…” (verses 3-4). This is obviously a reference to the “man of sin,” the counterfeit world savior, the anti-Christ, the head of the one world government as seen in Revelation. How could the anti-Christ take over and rule the earth? Through national exhaustion caused by incessant war! It has always been “divide and conquer.”

However, by Yah’s great mercy, we see at the end of the chapter how the whole world transitions into blessed territories under the rule of Christ the King. It ends in a picture of reconciliation for the world and its nations, under the wings of God. After the establishment of His government throughout the earth, He will say to the nations, “Blessed be Egypt my people and Assyria, the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance” (Isa. 19:25). Assyria is the work of His hands!  

All these wars and the strife they cause is all orchestrated by God himself: “The work of my hands.” Through the fiery crucible of war comes God’s destiny for the nations, a glorious lasting peace throughout the earth, headed by the Prince of peace, the Son of God and the world’s Savior. HalleluYah!

Man has his own noble thoughts about war. But we must remember what He said. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD [Yahweh]”. The good news is that we can make our thoughts His thoughts by “casting down imaginations…and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (II Cor. 10:5).

All this is why wars “must come to pass” before Christ returns to establish His Kingdom.     

Kenneth Wayne Hancock

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The Ebb and Flow of the Abiding

I have noticed that there is an ebb and flow of the Spirit’s presence in my life. I say this not as a criticism of our merciful Savior, for He does all things well.

But I have observed that after a wonderful welling up of His presence within me, His Spirit subsides. Of course, it is I that backs out of the light that He shines. The rays of understanding engulf me, and then, I must back away a bit. I realize that it is “line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little, there a little.”

It is as if this old wine skin of my mind and body cannot stand the constant pressure of the new wine, so I recede a bit. It’s like being in the heavenlies for a while, and then needing to return to the earth’s atmosphere where I may breathe again the accustomed mixture of gases suitable for my current mortal tabernacle. I ponder this ebb and flow of His Spirit, or rather, my drifting away from His rarefied heavenly atmosphere.

I recall passages of scriptures describing what happens to his children who abide in him and not ebb and flow, but rather stay in him.

Our Savior said much about the abiding that we are to maintain. He believes that it is possible and necessary for us to have His Spirit remain, stay, dwell, and continue in our vessels.

Oh, how we need our new spiritual bodies that He has promised us! He knows our frailties, our weaknesses, and our faults. But He has promised us that He would raise us up at the end of this earth age. If we are alive upon His return, He will change us, as “mortality is swallowed up” by  our new spiritual body. If we expire before He returns, He will change us when He sweeps down to earth. We are coming back with Him, our Captain and leader. The ebb and flow will be no more, for we will be full of His Spirit. A glorious time is coming. Now we must wait until our time. “If a man die, shall he live again? All the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come” (Job 14:14).     Kenneth Wayne Hancock

(From a Journal entry, 3-29-19)

King David—A Man After God’s Own Heart

Oh, to have our Savior say that about us! What did David say or do to garner such a testimony from the Father? For God “gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart.” David was “after” God’s heart; he was in accordance with God’s desire. But most stop right there when quoting this passage. However, God continues in the next breath, “which shall fulfill all my will.”

These last six words of Acts 13:22 are revelatory. King David is a man after God’s own heart because God knew that David would fulfill all of God’s will. He would champion all of His desires. AndGod desired to have His name glorified through the destruction of Goliath.

God would use the giant as a symbol of the evil world system headed by Satan. Goliath would come on as an undefeatable foe, too big and powerful to conquer and destroy. I am talking about the current world system in which we live. They have it sowed up. The system is rigged, and it looks like they are going to win. Remember how the Israelites said that the “giants are too big” to try to conquer.

David, a Type of God’s Elect Today

Then God would use David, a “stripling,” a “ruddy” complexioned youth, to battle the giant. David loved Yahweh, and it showed. God wanted Goliath confronted and killed. No soldier in Israel’s army stepped up to fight him; they were all afraid. At this, David said, “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?” Then David said to King Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” [Look at David’s belief in Yahweh.]

“And Saul said to David, You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for thou art but a youth and he a man of war from his youth.” [This is the unbelief of the world.]

Then David tells of his adventures in killing a lion and a bear to protect his flock of sheep. “Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them seeing he has defied the armies of the living God.” [David has had experiences of doing battles with God by His side.]

You know the rest of the story (I Sam. 17:32-54). David defends the God of Israel and says to Goliath, “You come to me with a sword and with the spear and shield, but I come to you in the name of Yahweh of host, the God of the armies of Israel whom you have defied. This day will Yahweh deliver you into my hand, and I will smite you, and take your head from you, and I will give the carcasses of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, unto the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. And all this assembly shall know that Yahweh saves not with sword and spear, for the battle is Yahweh’s, and he will give you into our hands.”

This miraculous defeat of Goliath by a mere youth has been discussed by people for over 3,000 years, thus fulfilling the purpose of God: “That all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.” And this same God shall return on a white horse in magnificence and shall call to the “fowls of the air” to come to the “supper of the great God; that ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains and the flesh of mighty men…” (Rev. 19:11-18).” [Note David’s statement about giving the carcasses of the Philistine army “to the fowls of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth.” His words are a living prophecy as to what will happen to all who follow the beast system at the time of the end.

David is a type of the elect of God for these end times. Satan’s world looks too big, too corrupt, too unbeatable. But the elect sons and daughters will rise and answer their calling like David did. Only this time it won’t be with a physical sling, stone, and sword.

It will be a spiritual battle. We will put on the spiritual armor of God. “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but… against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Eph. 6:12). Our battle today is with satanic spirits who rule the masses here on earth. The time of their deliverance draws nigh. “And saviors shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD’S” (Obadiah 1:21). [Christ called out and exposed the “mount of Esau” in John 8:44.]

It is our honor—you and me—to be used by Yahweh to do His will like David did. He answered the call and set the precedent for us today. David’s faith in our God Yahweh is palpably stirring. He tells the bully Goliath that he is fighting Yahweh. This is the same faith that Christ walked in, the faith of the Son of God. Study this belief in Yahweh that David walked in and spoke of. Study it good, for it holds the keys to becoming “a man after God’s own heart” (That goes for women, also, for “He called their name Adam.”). David believed that it was God’s fight and that he was the vessel that God was using. No pride. David was defending the name and honor of His God, as well as defending God’s army. He was doing the will of God.

Enduring the Dark Night of the Soul

(from Journal entry, 10-3-22)

At our weakest moment, God will allow Satan to present a panorama of memories and recollections of our sordid past sins, weaknesses, and spiritual failures. This is our passage through the valley of the dark night of the soul.

It issues from many sources. Betrayals and the pain that may linger from them may come. Or our thoughts may take a journey once again into the night’s memories of yesteryear’s shortcomings.

In this weakened state, spiritual trouble comes with our thoughts about how destitute of love we were. We begin to see our selfish naked egos, stained with pride, justifying our use of others, of those who our Savior died for. It is as if we are peering into the screen of a time machine, a mirror that reflects just how we really were. We peer into the fruitless past, and that same panic of being lost in the maze of life, grips us as we look back and long and lament our adolescent idiocy and our selfish egoism.

We must fearlessly look at the images and believe that they are mere relics of our past life. Remember how Christ was tempted? Satan offered up full control of his kingdom to Christ if He would play ball with him. Christ resisted all the temptations. Now Christ in us resists them as well.

Christ with great mercy has promised that He would “never leave us nor forsake us.” Especially when Satan thrusts in our face our sins and faults of yesteryear. He is the “accuser of the brethren.” But it is the great mercy of our King that reigns supreme. He has our backs. He allows us to think these fleeting thoughts to show us more clearly the magnificent deliverance from sin that He has wrought in our lives. For that is what it was—not is! We remember that we are His, bought with His blood. And He leads us through this moonless trek, this suffocating remembrance of what we once were.

Through this experience, however, we learn that we have been forgiven much. Therefore, we will love much, which fulfills His purpose of reproducing Himself (Agape love) in us. Christ said, “Her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little” (Luke 7:47 NKJV). These trials whereof we speak shows us that we have been forgiven much. A painful trudge down the “valley of the shadow of death” during our “dark night of the soul” shows us that. Those of us who see the reality of our shameful pasts and receive His forgiveness will love much. Those who do not see that they have been forgiven all that much—they will love only a little. “Her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.”

Finally, Satan tries to use these memories to condemn us, but God uses them to show us a clearer picture of just how evil our old nature was. Through this trial, we see more clearly just how much we have been forgiven—how much selfish ungodliness we have been delivered from.

For in the end, only those who see and realize how much sin they have been forgiven will love much. Only those will bear much fruit, thus becoming more like Christ and His apostles. That is His goal and purpose: our maturity, which fulfills His purpose of multiplying Agape Love, which is Him.

The “dark night of the soul” experience is part of His plan to fulfill His purpose: to reproduce Agape love in us, thus reproducing Himself till Love be “all in all” (I Cor. 15:28). His plan is to keep on perfecting until all that is left is Love.     [Would you share your “dark night of the soul” in the comments section? The testimonies of the Father’s sons and daughters are so important. “Likes” are nice and appreciated, but a comment fashioned by the Spirit with words from the heart—that is what moves us. That is what edifies and helps us mature. That we may grow “unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ” (Eph. 4:12-13). For it is the “power that works in us” (Eph. 3:20). Your comments will be read all over the globe. Reach out and share your story?]      Kenneth Wayne Hancock

…With Me from the Beginning

(from journal entry, 12-8-21)

It was early morning, and I was still in bed. I opened my eyes, and the first thought that crystalized out of the foggy dream mind was – “The Beginning.” The “beginning?” Why was I thinking that? Then another thought came that answered the question: “… with Me from the beginning.” With ME. I was with Christ. I knew that it was the Spirit speaking to me through thoughts. I began then to ponder these cryptic words. What did the Spirit mean?

So, I looked the word “beginning” up in the Greek. The “beginning” comes from the word arche, #G746 in Strong’s. It means “the origin, the active cause, used absolutely of the beginning of all things.”

Christ said, “I am the beginning and the end.” Christ is the “active cause.” He is our origin (Revelation 1:8-11,17-18). “In the beginning was the Word.” Christ is the beginning. Therefore, in Christ was the Word. Word = Logos [the purpose and plan of God]. Christ is the “active cause” in the creation of heaven and earth. “All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made” (John 1:3).

Our Savior, the “Word made flesh,” came to earth to bear witness to the truth, that He is the truth. And we, too, are to bear witness to the truth because we were with Him in the beginning. Christ said, “And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning” (John 15:27). This is not speaking of the beginning of Christ’s earthly ministry. The Greek word arche is used for the beginning of all things. It is used as such in this verse: “In the beginning was the Word…” (John 1:1).

 We are a part of the record in heaven of the things that will occur on earth. We were with him in the beginning. He knew us before because He created us as a member of His body in heaven before the earth was formed. Then He dipped us into the earth as we slid out of the matrix of our mothers’ wombs, and then we were cast out into the sea of lost mankind.

We, who had once basked in the glorious light of our Father in heaven, were now left to grow up, barely afloat in the treacherous rip tides of sin. Sin was our task master, and we obeyed his desires. The bondage to sin weighed heavily to the point of us drowning, and then we cried out in anguish and disillusionment, and then a hand reached down, a strong hand of love, and He pulled us up out of the quagmire.

He cleaned us up at the cross. He allowed us to identify our sinful selves with the Lamb, the sin sacrifice, and we died with Him. With the death of our old man, we believe that we are now buried with Him and raised with Him, now to walk in a “newness of life.” We now know and believe that “he that is dead is freed from sin.” We now spiritually step out on the water and walk in the Spirit (Rom. 6:1-11).

And then our earthly past died, and we began to grow as a seedling, tasting its first rays of light. Through study and communication with the Spirit, we grew and grew until He showed us that we had a special calling to fulfill, a special job to do. We are to share the love that saved us, by telling others the story of deliverance through His great love.

As we grow, we become a part of the witness in the earth of the record in heaven. God already knew that we would respond to His voice. He knew us and knew what we were made of. He made us, before the things we can see with our earthly eyes were made. For we were with Him in the beginning. And He has chosen us and given us a destiny way back there at the “Beginning.”

“…God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son…  And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified” (Rom. 8:28-30). Yahweh predestined us, not to just be saved, but to be “conformed to the image of his Son.” At Christ’s return to earth, He will change our weak, earthly body, “that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body” (Phil. 3:21).

We are talking about being like Christ and His apostles! Nothing less. But before this greatest of honors is bestowed upon us, we must “arm ourselves with the same mind.” We must know and do the apostles’ doctrine and add to our faith seven spiritual attributes of Christ.

We have so much knowledge to receive. Knowing His mind will finally drive out every thought that is contrary to His purpose and plan. The mind is the battlefield where we conquer the enemy’s errant desires for us. Amid the battle, it is easy to forget that we have already won, for “we are more than conquerors through Christ.” In Him lies our power, strength, and will.

O, let us shower Him with thanks for granting us the exit visa at the cross. Repentance from sin comes when we realize that we “are dead and our life is hid with Christ…” We are a part of His body now, unencumbered by that spiritually corrupt old life. We now believe that we are a part of Christ, and the Father’s heart of love dwells within us. All this happens because He mercifully allowed us to be with Him in the beginning.     Kenneth Wayne Hancock

Pouring Out His Spirit on All Flesh–A Dream

[From Journal entry, 9-18-2020]

“I will pour my Spirit upon all flesh.” Last night God gave me this word in a dream. As I lay in bed praying, waiting to fall asleep, I asked Him, “Please, Father, will you give me a word from You, a dream from you?”

I went on to sleep, and then this voice found its way into me, and I began to be its vocal cords. And it resounded, and the voice blasted these words: “I will pour My Spirit upon all flesh. UPON ALL FLESH!!” It was hair-raising from neck to lower back. The voice seemed like it was loud enough to rattle the windows.

That is when my wife Linda shook me and said, “Wake up! You are dreaming!” She said that I had bolted upright in bed and was shouting unintelligible words.

And as I woke up, I knew that the voice was not my voice that came through my mouth. I did not originate the voice or the volume. It was not my will or desire that it spoke using my vocal cords.

I got up out of bed. It was 2:00 o’clock in the morning. I stumbled to my desk, turned on the lamp, and penned these very words into my journal. I did not want to forget any of this experience.

I wanted to share it immediately, but I was not ready to make sense of it. It was unsettling and unnerving. It was not the joyous upper room experience. It had a blanket of dread draped over the words. It was ominous and foreboding. I knew that there was much more to it, but I would have to wait on Him to help me understand its profundity.

Consequently, I put the experience on the back burner to let it simmer for a while. Other work kept me busy. I was in the middle of writing my fifth book, The Eleventh Commandment, at the time.  And then the sixth came, The Additions to the Faith, which I have just published online on Immortality Road [The Additions to the Faith | Immortality Road (wordpress.com).

These books have an uncanny connection to the dream. They show us how to grow into “mighty men and women of valor,” to borrow Gideon’s heavenly accolade. These books are primers, teaching us His Law of Harvest and showing us how to grow to be His apostles, prophets, and teachers. They prepare us for the “time of the end,” the great catastrophe, and the cataclysm coming to this earth just before Christ returns.

Making Sense of the Dream

But what does this dream-message mean? “I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh.” My first thought was that joyous time at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came down and filled the disciples. It was a time of great joy. Peter is quoting the prophet Joel 2:28. We have read it and marveled at the scene of Christ’s disciples receiving power, as found in Acts 2:17: “And it shall come to pass in the last days, sayeth God, I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh. And your sons and daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.”

Peter spoke of the Holy Spirit being received, changing lives, and turning many to Christ through the apostles’ spiritual exploits. It was glorious stuff that we would all like to experience. Speaking in a language that you have never heard before! Having a voice taking over your tongue and vocal cords, witnessing God’s glory to strangers in their own language! “They were all filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak with other languages as the Spirit gave them utterance” (2: 4).

And so, I went to Joel 2:28 to see the words Peter was quoting. “And it shall come to pass afterward, I will pour out of my spirit upon all flesh…” Wait a minute. Before God pours the Holy Spirit out like that at Pentecost for our day, His word says, “And it shall come to pass afterward…” After what, exactly? It is a moment of putting things in perspective and in context. The passage in Joel that Peter quoted says that things will be happening before the Pentecost experience and the obtaining of 100-fold power through the pouring out of His Spirit.  

In our study of His words, especially prophetic words, we must widen our myopic lenses to see things big-picture, and not be quasi-blind, “unable to see afar off.”

We are keying in on what is to take place before our upper room experience. The Spirit through Joel shows us the state of the earth and its corrupt world system at the time of the end. And then we see a massive divine intervention—different pouring out—this time of His wrath. [To be continued in Part Two] Kenneth Wayne Hancock

Two Outpourings of the Spirit—One “Good,” One “Bad”

[Continued from 4-5-22]

In the dream, the Voice coming through my mouth shouted, “I will pour My Spirit upon all flesh! UPON ALL FLESH! Through study, I discovered that the Spirit at Pentecost was not poured out on “all flesh” present that day in Jerusalem. It was only poured out on His servants and handmaidens, the disciples of that era. Here the scene is painted (Joel 2:28-32; Acts 2:17-21).

Both renditions contain two different and distinct visions of how the Spirit will be poured out. In Joel 2:28-29 and Acts 2:17-18 we see the blessed outpouring on His servants. Reading on in the very next verses, we see another kind of outpouring. Yahweh says, “And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the LORD [Yahweh] come” (Joel 2:30-31).

That day will not be nice day for many. In both prophetic passages, there are two vastly different outpourings. The first section reveals the baptism of the Holy Spirit that will take place during the “time of the end.” The second part of that prophetical flow reveals a pouring out of natural disasters and “acts of God,” a day of gloom and terror (Joel 2: 30- 31). This day of terror is when Yahweh has His angel pour out the vials of wrath. This shows us that both the latter day pouring forth of the Spirit and the pouring out of the vials of wrath happen at basically the same time in history—our time. The Upper Room pouring out of the Spirit was a type and shadow of what will take place on the earth at the beginning of “the time of the end” (Dan. 12:1). We are living in that time.

Christ warns us of that time (Matthew 24:15, 21- 22, 29). The pouring out of His Spirit that brings power from on high happens first. But not every human being will be so blessed.

But Joel, right after the first outpouring of His Spirit, speaks of a universal scourge. Christ calls it the pouring forth of the vials of wrath. How ghastly that will be for all the inhabitants of the earth. For all will see the sun “turned to darkness before the great and terrible day of the LORD  come.”

Some will say that the outpouring can only mean the baptism of the Holy Spirit like on the day of Pentecost. However, the scriptures are very clear that “all things are of God” (2 Cor. 5:18). And because “God is a Spirit,” then “all things are of the Spirit” (John 4:24). Even the pouring forth of the wrath of God upon all flesh [except those spared for the elect’s sake]. Yes, the elect, the sons and daughters of God will be on earth during tribulation.

He says, “Pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.” After all seven vials are poured out, “a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne [said], It is done” (Rev. 16:1. 17). This pouring out of God’s wrath is heavy stuff. It is the destruction of the world system, including the Battle of Armageddon (v. 16). This is major end time misery for mankind and runs parallel with the outpouring of God’s Spirit upon His chosen ones.

The Former and Latter Rains

The pouring out of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost partially fulfilled the prophecy spoken by Joel and it was confirmed by the apostle Peter. We have seen that the Spirit was poured on “all flesh” that were prepared for this happening. It did not fall on everyone in Jerusalem that day.

This partial outpouring of the Spirit has been called the “former rain.” The Hebrew word translated “former rain” means “teacher of righteousness.” The Spirit moved them to teach this gospel throughout the Mediterranean world. Christ did promise us that the Spirit “shall be in you” (John 14: 17). He also promised that the Holy Spirit “shall teach you all things…” (John 14: 26). Furthermore, the Spirit “will guide you into all truth” (John 16: 13).

The Holy Spirit, teaching righteousness through the apostles, was that former rain. This has gone on for the past 2000 years. You and I know Christ because of the early apostles’ work. The beauty of this event is captured in the poetry of Hosea:

“Then shall we know, if we follow on to know Yahweh: His going forth is prepared as the morning;        And He shall come unto us as the rain, As the latter and the former rain unto the earth” (6:3).

He shall come to us as the former rain, as the teachings of righteousness. He is pouring His Spirit over our minds and hearts, and it will teach us and prepare us for the latter rain. The latter rain will fall on us at or near the “time of the end.” It will fall upon those who are prepared to bear 100-fold spiritual growth (Matt. 13:3-9; 18-23).

For the righteousness shared by the “former rain” apostles will engender growth in us to be sustained in these latter days. For they spoke of our time, the time when our exiled King returns to this earth to establish righteousness and peace and judgment in the earth. Brothers and sisters, that’s what we’re working for. We do not believe anything into existence. We just believe what Christ believes.

The latter rain will fall through the teaching of apostles and prophets that God is raising up. They will teach righteousness and the truth about our King. They will raise up many princes and princesses and Yahweh will wipe the slate of the earth clean. It is all there in the book, The Revelation of Jesus Christ, our King.

This shows that God pours from His mind His plan according to the record in heaven. He pours forth out of his Spirit, what we would call the “good” and the “bad.” We need only think about Pentecost and Him pouring out the vials of wrath. Yahweh spoke in the dream: “I will pour My Spirit upon all flesh. UPON ALL FLESH!” We see that these words are not only precious promises of personal spiritual growth, but also a dire warning of His displeasure and a subsequent cleansing of evil from the earth. [Share with us your thoughts about these things in the comments.] Kenneth Wayne Hancock

Antidote for Revulsion

I need your help today–help to staunch the flow of bile coursing down into the pit of my gut.

Every child crushed, every mother shredded, every face, taut with terror, injects a torrent of tyranny screaming through the shattered hallways of my nightmare mind.

Any official word from above, a word, perhaps, that will bring solace?

I need your help today. What can you say that will bandage the wounds of this old man? or the injuries now inflicted on souls of the East and the West, now cornered in a box by a bear?

For helpless now I sit at desk, manning a pen that can only fire ink salvos into the night, while tubes of terror shatter cities. Buildings with once proud bricks, now gape with open mouth crying in dusty, rubble tones—Why?

I need your help today. The smoke is clearing. I see you there saying, And you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you be not troubled, for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation…”

But why must wars come to pass?

Seeds of war have been sown decades and centuries ago. And seeds will germinate and furiously grow in  the compost of hate and soulless slaughter. In that same compost, the good seed will grow in compassionate love, their tears watering the ground. Wars must come to pass.

For the time of the end is a harvest. The end of the world as we know it is harvest time, when every nation is in the field of the world and is harvesting and being harvested. The time is fast approaching for the last harvest. Those who work as his servants and loyal subjects of the King will stand with him after the harvest.

I need your help today. I need to see your smile and your eyes of peace.

That can be done, you say in a thought.  Go look in the mirror and believe that I’m looking back at you.  See? I told you that the Spirit of truth shall be in you. That time is now.”

Kenneth Wayne Hancock

Who Are the Future Manifested Sons and Daughters?

The Holy Scriptures speak of a group of Christians who will grow to become like the early apostles. Paul, John, and Peter wrote eloquently about them.

But who are these future immortal ones? The time in history is right for them to appear on the scene; it is the time of the end. Most Christians have read that “He is bringing many sons unto glory” (Hebrews 2:10). And they have read that He has given us power “to become the sons of God” (John 1:12). But most say that we cannot be like Paul, Peter and John. Who are the few who do believe, who are grown from the same seed as the apostles?

One major trait that they all have is an unsatiable appetite for the truth. They want the absolute, unadulterated truth as to why we are here on earth. Who is this Creator? What is His plan for us? What’s the timetable for coming events? What about the evil in the earth? Who inhabits Satan’s kingdom? Who is calling the shots, running the show, pulling the strings of the puppet politicians? How will the world end?

They want to know the truth about the things that touch all our lives. And when they hear it,    they are quick to lay the idols of their own prior understanding on the burn pile.

You can tell who they are by their ability to discern what is truth and what is a lie. God has given them this ability, and that is what sets them apart. That is what makes them different from other human beings. God has chosen them and ordain them for His mission. And he will not allow them to be deceived any longer.

It is this humility, this dependence on God’s Spirit, that allows them to seek and find the truth. Yes, God intervenes and creates a hunger in their hearts for truth. That is the beginning of God calling them to Himself. It’s the start of the Quest, when the hero awakens out of his selfish slumber. And he is made aware that there is something greater than his anemic little desires for vainglory. Something much greater than himself is afoot here. He begins to realize that something earth-shattering and then, earth-reshaping, lies in the prophetic pages soon to come to life for those who seek.

But it all starts when God instills the thirst for truth. It is all Him. He is behind everything. He is the “Author and Finisher of our faith.” He arranges our lives from desperation to the first steps on this pilgrimage to find the Source of love and peace. He injects our lives with desire to know Him who is the Truth. And then we learn that it is His ballpark—His bat, ball and gloves. He invites all to play. Those who show up for the meaningful and sometimes strenuous practices, will be learning to play by His rules. Those who learn them will be the starters at game time.

Kenneth Wayne Hancock  

Covid Pandemic a Curse from the Hebrew God?

If we are to ever understand why this pandemic has swept the globe, we must see it through God’s eyes. The word “pandemic” is not in the Bible, but “pestilence” and “plague” are. We Christians must search out the causes and effects of our current pandemic. As we dig deep, we discover that Yahweh, the Hebrew God uses pestilences and plagues in His plan. Why?

As I ponder this viral crisis, other questions arise. Where are the overcomers for these last days?    Where are the Jeremiahs and Daniels of today? Where are the latter rain apostles who will do the “greater works” that Christ promised they would do, even greater miracles than what Christ did (John 14:12)?

And then I thought of the pandemic that we have all been going through, how it has robbed our joy by spreading fear of death and fear of the other. Our shared experience with the virus has opened a door of understanding, however. It is quite a paradox. The very pain and suffering caused by the virus is part of the answer to the questions above. Our response to the negative stimuli determines our spiritual growth. “If we suffer, we shall also reign with him” (II Tim. 2:12).

God’s Tough Love—Why?

“All things are of God.” Therefore, suffering comes from Him. For example, He allowed national suffering to come to the twelve tribes of Jacob/Israel in the form of fierce, merciless Assyrian and Babylonian captivities and displacements.  This national suffering, however, was the crucible that produced the purified golden faith precious metal of prophets like Isaiah, Daniel, and Jeremiah.

And why are we suffering as a nation with this plague? Because of our national sins. God’s babies, taken and slaughtered in their mothers’ wombs, cry out to us. And the sanctity of Holy Matrimony ordained by the Creator between a man and a woman is trampled upon by “men, leaving the natural use of the woman, [burning] in their lust one toward another.” The little latchkey children sit confused, wondering who their irresponsible dad is. And then you have the blasphemy of the international bankers, who have squandered the vast potential of our homeland, and have destroyed the dollar’s value.

All these things and more have we condoned by our collective silence. We people of the USA stood by and allowed the politicians, judges, and bankers to take over our country. This fecklessness has caused our ruin. Why did we stand by and do nothing to prevent this? Because we had turned from our God and had set up idols in our hearts.

The USA has become fat, bloated and spoiled. As a nation we have turned from the Hebrew God to worship the god of self—secular humanism. But God warned us that our disobedience would be punished. He loves us and through His love, He will allow plagues to chasten us that we might return to Him, repent, and be finally clothed with the robe of righteousness as the prodigal son was.

Yahweh lined it all out. Blessings will abound if we are obedient (Deut. 28:1-15), and curses will come on the disobedient (28:16-42). And one of these curses is pestilence and plague, which today is called a pandemic (28:21; Lev. 26:25).

Those of us who have been called out of the crushing tyranny of this world system, must understand why this pandemic has hit us, individually and nationally. The sufferings have come now because of treacherous behavior both personally and nationally. These sufferings, in turn, grind His elect into flour from which He makes spiritual unleavened bread.  

For God is raising up new Daniels, Jeremiahs, and Isaiahs. These will fulfill all things written about His elect, the spiritual body of Christ. They will respond to the high calling by learning what befell fleshly Israel. They will understand why the calamities of the time of the end must come. And their response to their God will thrill His heart as His family coalesces around their Father and King, the great God of heaven.