The Coming Kingdom

“Most people do not think of Jesus as a prophet. Even so, after the imprisonment of John the Baptist, Jesus’ ministry message was and still is the gospel of the coming Kingdom of God as found in Mark 1:14. Jesus stirred things up. He lit up the hearts of the disciples, and the church was made fertile at Pentecost when the gift of the Holy Spirit arrived just as He had promised. Post His Ascension; He has continued His mission to this day through His bride, the church. Jesus’ promise to return for you is an excellent example of prophecy, and a message of hope.

In prophecy, Jesus is the central figure, and the focus is always on the coming Kingdom of God. All prophecy in some way relates to the birthing of this forthcoming kingdom. The prophecies, which relate to end time events, the Rapture of the Church, and the Tribulation are the ones, which affect our immediate future.

Daniel tells us in Daniel 2:44 NKJV, "The God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed. It shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever." In Revelation 11:15 NIV, the apostle John reaffirms, "When the last of seven prophetic trumpets sound, a triumphant announcement will be heard, the kingdoms of this world have become the “kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever.”

Ever since the day of banishment from the Garden of Eden, all of human history has been in a joint effort to produce the climax of the coming Kingdom of God, with the defeat of Satan. The Bible is alive. The more you read it, the further it reveals itself to you. It is God's blueprint of all that is, has been, or ever will be. The Bible contains prophecies that could only have been fulfilled in a day and time of game-changing weapons of war like those presently in existence. When the disciples asked Jesus when the things He was describing to them during the Olivet Prophecy would occur, and what would be the sign of His coming; He responded with a narrative of conditions to watch for. However, in Matthew 24:34, He further clarified that when all the signs He spoke of became apparent; His return would occur within one generation. "I tell you the truth, this generation will not pass from the scene until all these things take place," Matthew 24:34 NLT. Only one generation will witness "all" of the mounting global crises Jesus described to the disciples in the Olivet Prophecy.”

Excerpt From

Last Call for The Church by

Patricia C. McGlennon

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Available on Amazon or wherever books are sold. https://amzn.to/36YdeF9

The Olive Trees

“Command the children of Israel that they bring unto thee pure olive oil beaten for the light, to cause a lamp to burn continually." Leviticus 24:2”
Excerpt:
The Day of the Lord will be God’s hour to orchestrate His wrath for disobedience to His commandments. This measure of judgmental upset coincides with Jesus’ warning that nothing would survive, if He did not return (Matthew 24:22). Therefore, you can sense here that wars, famines, pestilences, and earthquakes are only minor compared to what is coming on a very, very large, destructive scale. Jesus has given us oil through the presence of His Holy Spirit, which has become our intuitive intelligence to be prepared, as we have been instructed. Oil is synonymous with preparedness. The Bible is not a cliffhanger. God has told us the end from the beginning. The anointing oil coming to us from the presence of the Holy Spirit, which is our Helper, gives us the understanding of the necessity to be ready for the arrival of our rapture. God has not kept the mystery of the Rapture from us; the Bible tells us Jesus could come at any moment His Father so chooses. We are to keep our light burning brightly from the oil of knowledge given to us by God's Holy Word. Do not let your lamps go out!
The Mount of Olives got its name from its numerous olive trees and olive oil presses. Jesus spent His last night there. What is the significance of that? In ancient Israel, olive oil not only served as fuel for lamps, but was also used for the anointing of kings and priests. An interesting thing about an olive tree is that it has to be cultivated to produce optimum fruit. To become prolific, an olive tree needs to be grafted. In horticulture, grafting is taking a good branch and making it grow on a smaller or different branch of the same variety. It was very common in ancient Israel to graft branches of good olive-producing trees to wild olive trees. Wild olive trees do not produce good fruit even though they have exceptionally large and impressive root systems. A wonderful reference here is the grafting in of the Gentiles with the Jews to become God's chosen people. "If the root is holy, so are the branches. But some of these branches from Abraham's tree, some of the people of Israel, have been broken off. And you Gentiles, who were branches from a wild olive tree, have been grafted in. So now you also receive the blessings God has promised Abraham and his children, sharing in the rich nourishment from the root of God's special olive tree,” Romans 11:16-17 NLT. Only God could have taken a wild olive tree, such as the Gentiles, and grafted them to a good tree and had its branches produce much more fruit. Glory to God! By faith in Him, we are counted as the "children of Abraham" (Galatians 3:7).
The Mount of Olives is a very distinguished place of significance in the Bible. It is not only the site where Jesus gave the Olivet Prophecy, or the place where He prayed to His Father before His betrayal, but it was also the site of Jesus’ Ascension (Acts 1:11), as well as the prophetic site of His return to Jerusalem (Zechariah 14:4). Glory to God! No wonder Jesus liked being on the Mount of Olives. The place reminded Him of who He was: a very special olive tree indeed; the light of the world. The olive trees produced oil, which rendered light for lamps in a dark world, and the precious oil of olives anointed kings and priests. "Then spake Jesus unto them, saying, I am the light of the world; he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life," John 8:12 KJV.

Excerpt From
Last Call for The Church
By Patricia C. McGlennon
Available at Amazon https://amzn.to/2IGvjwV  or wherever books are sold.
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The Bible is Alive and Timeless

“The Bible is sequential and very much a living book. It is timeless. Every word of it hinges on something previously spoken, and therein lays the great divide between it, and the other books considered as holy. The Bible is a book of proposition. "Come now, and let us reason together," Isaiah 1:18 KJV. The Bible invites you to come inside, and its text comes to life as we ourselves live it out in the transformation of our hearts, and in the renewing of our minds. The Bible is so very much alive. The more you read it, the further it reveals itself to you. It is God's blueprint of all that is, has been, or ever will be. The Bible contains prophecies that could only have been fulfilled in a day and time of game-changing weapons of war like those presently in existence. When the disciples asked Jesus when the things He was describing to them during the Olivet Prophecy would occur, and what would be the sign of His coming; He responded with a narrative of conditions to watch for. However, in Matthew 24:34, He further clarified that when all the signs He spoke of became apparent; His return would occur within one generation. "I tell you the truth, this generation will not pass from the scene until all these things take place," Matthew 24:34 NLT. Only one generation will witness "all" of the mounting global crises Jesus described to the disciples in the Olivet Prophecy.
The book of Revelation is the last and final book of the Bible. Almost all of the prophecies given throughout the Old Testament, as well as those in the New Testament converge in this one single book. The supreme objective of Revelation was to reveal the future. Jesus Himself is the ‘One’ who did the revealing, and the apostle John recorded everything he was allowed to witness. This final and closing book of the Bible details world history from the time of the early church to the time of eternity, and has to be read with the understanding that the book itself is a "gift." Revelation 1:1 NLT reads, "This is a revelation from Jesus Christ which God gave him to show his servants the events that must soon take place." The book of Revelation describes the future events, which lead to God’s ultimate goal, establishing His kingdom on the Earth. Revelation, even though it is compiled with parts of Daniel, Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21, demands the understanding of Ezekiel and Isaiah to grip the symbolism and strange imagery it puts forth. The Bible reveals itself from cover to cover, and every word of it hinges on the next. Read it for your own understanding, and read it with a warrior quest of seeking true revelation.”

Excerpt From
Last Call for The Church
Patricia C. McGlennon
This material may be protected by copyright. Available at Amazon or wherever books are sold.

The gifts Jesus gave the bride, the church

“God, the Father, paid the mohar gift by offering the life of His Only Son, but Jesus, our Bridegroom, lavished the mattan gifts on the church, His bride. He gave us eternal life. "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me and I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand," John 10:27-28 KJV. He gave us peace. "Peace, I leave with you, my peace I give unto you, not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid," John 14:27 KJV. He also gave us the right to ask for anything in His name. "And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it," John 14: 13-14 KJV. I hope this verse blesses your heart. He gave you, the believer, His name, just like when a bride takes her husband's name. He intended to take good care of you forever. There is power in Jesus’ name. By faith in His precious Word, ask for your needs to be met, and believe in your heart; you have received it.”

Excerpt From

Last Call for the Church

Patricia C. McGlennon

This material may be protected by copyright. Available at Amazon or wherever books are sold.

Are We closer than We Know?

Earthquakes, famines, diseases, and the rise of Islamic terrorism were recorded as our future history a long time ago. It is the inevitable time, which Jesus referred to as "the beginning of sorrows" (Matthew 24:8 KJV). The contingency of dreadful sorrows like these, and even worse ones to come was delineated long before any of us were ever born. Wretchedness and anguish of terrible and severe afflictions troubling the Earth one day was accounted for as a matter of chronological certainty as time progressed. Nonetheless, with watchful eyes and a careful mind, we must be cognizant and consider the abundance of earthquakes, repetitiveness of natural disasters, and the onset of worldwide unrest. The frequency of their simultaneous occurrences allows for understanding and embracing the travail of a changing world, and in very real time. Jesus said, "All these things must come to pass, but it is not the end," Matt 24:6 KJV. The Earth is presently in an effacement stage, and ready to enter into a period of transition. This transition period is described in the Bible as being like that of "a woman in travail," suffering during her time of painful labor to give birth (John 16:21 KJV). If you have ever given birth to a child or witnessed the birthing process, you know that it is very painful. The pains of delivery come with greater frequency, and contractions get harder and harder right before the child is born. Oddly, the last step of active human labor is the transition period. It is the most intense phase of the birthing process, which is the bringing forth of something new.

The individuals alive and present on the Earth during the Great Tribulation will have to endure the intensity of severe and painful travail, which is also referred to in the Bible as the "Day of the Lord" (Zephaniah 1:14 NLT). The New Living translation of Zephaniah 1:14 reads, "That terrible day of the Lord is near, swiftly it comes, a day of bitter tears, a day when even strong men will cry out." Did you hear that? Strong men will cry out! You know, the ones who felt they could take it all, and exalt them above God. The Day of the Lord will be a time of transition from man's domain to God's rule, and just as the birthing labor of a woman presenting with a child at full term; the Earth is starting to show signs of great fatigue. The Earth is getting tired and weary from the process of laboring to birth a new kingdom. The Bible is very clear; the Kingdom of God will be brought forth, however painful that may be. The Earth will one day move from its distress to great joy, just like that of holding a newborn infant in your arms. "She no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy," John 16:21 NASB. The Earth will one day forget its pain and sorrow, and all things will be restored and made new as seen in Revelation 21:1.

In Ecclesiastes 8:7, King Solomon points out that man is overwrought by not knowing the future. There is no reason for any of us to be ignorant of our future. We have the Bible, and that is like having access to a readily available expert, who knows and understands the future. The Bible is a fountainhead of knowledge to those who believe it. Willingly, believers in the Holy Word of God actively keep watch for the signs of sorrows, and they carry heavy hearts for those who choose to ignore it. In Romans 11:25 KJV, the apostle Paul writes, "For I would not, brethren, that you should be ignorant." Accelerated economic, social, and moral changes across the globe have currently rendered every one of us a life of financial insecurity and questionable certainty of anything normal again, but the prophetic details of our future are open and not hidden from us. The past, present, and future framework of all man’s outright history is recorded in numerous prophecies throughout the Bible. "Prophecy came not in old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit," 2Peter 1:21 KJV.

Prophecy is the foretelling of God’s will. At His direction, the Holy Spirit gives the intuitive wisdom to know and understand the prophetic. The prophet Isaiah tells us in Isaiah 42:9 KJV, "Former things pass, new things do I declare. Before they spring forth I tell them unto you." God never planned to keep His knowledge, nor the intuitiveness of the future from us. The Bible is the heart and mind of God, and filled with His agenda. The Bible has always been our contract and like every contract, you have to read the fine print. Sorry, but it is all there. God included us in knowing His season for the end of the age of man. In John 14:29 KJV, "I have told you before it came to pass, that when it is come to pass, you might believe."

As humans, we sense a three-dimensional view of the world, but outside of that view is another dimension, known as time. It is in the dimension of time that God operates. He can declare the end from the beginning. He set the future in writing, well ahead of its occurrence, so when it does happen; you might believe. This is what makes the Bible unlike any of the other holy books. It contains hundreds of prophecies, which are already in fulfillment, and occurred just as they were recorded, years ahead of their time. In Isaiah 46:9-10 NIV, "Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come." Glory to God! I see it. Prophecy is the very heartbeat of God. Prophecy reveals God's greatness, and His power to reveal the future long before it happens. Isaiah 42:8-9 NIV reads, "I am the Lord. That is my name. I will not yield my glory to another or my praise to idols. See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being; I announced them to you." God spoke the Earth into existence, and He created man from the "dust" of it (Genesis 2:7 KJV). He is powerful. He is all knowing, and He is the great "I am" (Exodus 3:14 KJV).

Hundreds of prophecies already fulfilled? Yes, for instance, the prophecy regarding Jesus’ birth in Micah 5:2, the timing of His appearance in Daniel 9:25, the Messianic prophecy of His betrayal for 30 pieces of silver in the Old Testament, and how that money would one day be used to buy a plot of land as seen in Zechariah 11:12-13. I could go on and on just discussing the fulfillment of this one prophecy where Judas gave up his right to a heavenly home that Jesus, our Bridegroom, would one day have had prepared for him. He, however, was inclined to settle for a temporary financial gain. Sure, Judas returned the money, and he was sorry he betrayed Jesus, but it was too late. The chief priests and scribes did not want to take the "blood money" back. What had been done was irreversible. Eventually, the money was used to buy a field in which to bury strangers, who died while they were in Jerusalem. It is referred to as the "Field of Blood" in Matthew 27:8 KJV. Ironically, Jesus "came unto His own, and His own received Him not" (John 1:11 KJV). The Jews did not recognize Jesus for who He was. He was a stranger to them. There is a very serious lesson here with the 30 pieces of silver. Where is your treasure? What do you value the most? Is it something short term, or is it something long term with an everlasting value attached to it? Do you have any vision for your life past the current one you are now living?The Bible also contains numerous prophecies regarding events that will devastate our world, precedent to Jesus' return. Luke 21:34-36 NASB tells us exactly what to do in this very serious approaching time. "Be on guard, so that your hearts may not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day will not come on you suddenly like a trap; for it will come upon all those who dwell on the face of the Earth. But keep on alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place and to stand before the Son of Man." The warning message of all the prophets, as well as Jesus Himself, was to turn from sin, repent, and obey God's commandments in order to escape the terrible times, which are to come upon the Earth. Jesus warned us through Luke to watch and pray for the approaching time of devastating events, which will be unlike anything we have ever seen, so that our focus would remain only on Him. We are not to be consumed with the worries of life, so much so, that we miss the clues the time is near. The prophetic messages recorded in the Bible were given to provide us with hope. Hope is not a speculation for some kind of desired outcome; rather to those who accept the Word of God as truth, it is a confident expectation that God intends to fulfill everything He has spoken. Believers have hope in His justice, hope in His love, and hope in His power. God always wins and that is most encouraging.

Game changing weapons of mass destruction have altered war and history, as we have known it. Our generation has reached a zenith moment of perplexing achievement with nuclear and biochemical warfare capability. This kind of capability has brought potentiality for the annihilation of entire nations, as well as that of entire continents. The doomsday clock, a universally recognized clock, representing countdown to a global catastrophe, is currently set at three minutes to midnight. It was set for 11:57 PM on January 22, 2015, (http://www.thebulletin.org). The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists at the University of Chicago monitors this clock. The closer the impending doom clock is set to midnight; the closer scientists believe the world is going to be in a global disaster. We are only three minutes away from a potential nuclear, political, or environmental catastrophe. In 2014, the clock was set at five minutes to midnight. The clock moved up two minutes at the beginning of 2015. In January of 2016, the clock remained at three minutes to midnight. I hope this statistic is a real eye opening revelation for you. Three minutes! If you knew you only had three minutes to react in some way, what would you do? Global disasters and potential nuclear war threaten life, as we know it. Each and every passing day seems to become that much more precious to all of us. Jesus Himself spoke of a future time in man's history that would be so terrible, no human beings would be spared "unless those days were cut short" (Matthew 24:22 KJV).

Bible prophecies specify numerous cataclysmic events will occur on the Earth before God will intervene to stop their inconceivable destruction. The foretold prophetic events can only lead you to wonder how much crushing ruin and undoing will actually occur. Deplorable and unimaginable events are presently occurring right before our very eyes from the television, on the Internet, and in newspapers around the world every single day. Many of you probably find yourselves asking the same question Jesus’ disciples asked Him. What specific events will signal His return? How bad are things really going to get, and when can you count on Him coming back for you? Jesus answered the disciples; stating no one knows the exact time of His return, saying, "Only the Father" would know when. We see His reply in Mark 13:32 KJV, "Of that day and hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, but my Father only." Only the Father knows! Why the mystery? In Last Call for the Church I explain this mystery as it parallels ancient Jewish wedding customs. This teaching can be found at http://getbook.at/Lastcall4tc

Excerpt From

Last Call for The Church

Patricia C. McGlennon

This material may be protected by copyright.

TIRED OF PEOPLE ARGUING ABOUT A PRE-TRIBULATION RAPTURE?

Guest Post: In response to the Rapture doctrine being somehow invented by John Darby in the 1830's

In a digging quest for a credible source to verify a PRE-TRIBULATION RAPTURE, I ran across the works of early Church fathers, Irenaeus, Cyprian, and Ephraim. Irenaeus was an eyewitness to Apostle John, (who wrote Revelation and was Jesus' "beloved disciple"). Irenaeus also was a disciple of Polycarp, who studied directly from Apostle John. Irenaeus is best known for his five-volume treatise, "Against Heresies." (I have this book). Irenaeus' end times teachings and writings supported a pre-tribulation rapture of the church. He verifies that the end times begin when Israel returns as a nation, which then sparks a series of prophecies to be fulfilled that will help us correctly interpret the rest of the prophecies. He verifies that the church, in general, will become apostate, but the true church will be raptured before the tribulation begins. Then the antichrist will enforce a covenant for seven years. At the end of this seven years Jesus returns to begin the Millennial reign. In "Against Heresies 5.29" Irenaeus writes: “Those nations however, who did not of themselves raise up their eyes unto heaven, nor returned thanks to their Maker, nor wished to behold the light of truth, but who were like blind mice concealed in the depths of ignorance, the word justly reckons “as waste water from a sink, and as the turning-weight of a balance — in fact, as nothing;”(1) so far useful and serviceable to the just, as stubble conduces towards the growth of the wheat, and its straw, by means of combustion, serves for working gold. And therefore, when in the end the Church shall be suddenly caught up from this, it is said, “There shall be tribulation such as has not been since the beginning, neither shall be.”(2) For this is the last contest of the righteous, in which, when they overcome they are crowned with incorruption.” 

Irenaeus is describing the church leaving the sinful world just before disaster strikes. During the tribulation years more will convert to Christianity and will "recieve the incorruptible crown." Cyprian (200 AD- 258 AD) was a Bishop of the Church in Carthage and helped the Church through the Roman Empire persecution. In his "Treatises of Cyprian" he wrote: “We who see that terrible things have begun, and know that still more terrible things are imminent, may regard it as the greatest advantage to depart from it as quickly as possible. Do you not give God thanks, do you not congratulate yourself, that by an early departure you are taken away, and delivered from the shipwrecks and disasters that are imminent? Let us greet the day which assigns each of us to his own home, which snatches us hence, and sets us free from the snares of the world and restores us to paradise and the kingdom.” Cyprian encouraged the believing to rejoice that the church would be taken away before the disastrous tribulation. Ephraim (306 AD - 373 AD) became the Bishop of Nisibis. One of his works, a sermon, "On the Last Times, the Antichrist, and the End of the World," has a compelling reverence to the rapture: “We ought to understand thoroughly therefore, my brothers, what is imminent or overhanging. Already there have been hunger and plagues, violent movements of nations and signs, which have been predicted by the Lord, they have already been fulfilled (consummated), and there is not other which remains, except the advent of the wicked one in the completion of the Roman kingdom. Why therefore are we occupied with worldly business, and why is our mind held fixed on the lusts of the world or on the anxieties of the ages? Why therefore do we not reject every care of worldly business, and why is our mind held fixed on the lusts of the world or on the anxieties of the ages? Why therefore do we not reject every care of earthly actions and prepare ourselves for the meeting of the Lord Christ, so that he may draw us from the confusion, which overwhelms all the world? Believe you me, dearest brother, because the coming (advent) of the Lord is nigh, believe you me, because the end of the world is at hand, believe me, because it is the very last time.

Or do you not believe unless you see with your eyes? See to it that this sentence be not fulfilled among you of the prophet who declares: “Woe to those who desire to see the day of the Lord!” For all the saints and elect of God are gathered, prior to the tribulation that is to come, and are taken to the Lord lest they see the confusion that is to overwhelm the world because of our sins. And so, brothers most dear to me, it is the eleventh hour, and the end of the world comes to the harvest, and angels, armed and prepared, hold sickles in their hands, awaiting the empire of the Lord. And we think that the earth exists with blind infidelity, arriving at its downfall early. Commotions are brought forth, wars of diverse peoples and battles and incursions of the barbarians threaten, and our regions shall be desolated, and we neither become very much afraid of the report nor of the appearance, in order that we may at least do penance; because they hurl fear at us, and we do not wish to be changed, although we at least stand in need of penance for our actions!” Ephraim expresses a strong warning of urgency and clearly states the saints and elect who are believers in Jesus Christ will be taken to the Lord before the Tribulation. He also identifies that the "Day of the Lord" and the end times Tribulation are the same event. He stresses that believers should turn away from this world and look to Heaven and work on pleasing God. He distinguishes the second coming of Christ from the rapture, placing the rapture before the tribulation to come. Although there are few writtings left of the early Church fathers, it is clear they believed and taught an early rapture for the church before the end times "Day of the Lord/Great Tribulation." Rapture doctrine did in fact exist, and was part of the early Christian beliefs since the days of the apostles.

The Crucifixion - A Holy Week Reflection

The Crucifixion by Patricia C. McGlennon, author of Last Call for the Church

 Have you ever wondered why blood is so important to God? Well, He is the creator of life, and blood is the force, which sustains it. It is a mysterious substance given by God to the body of man to nourish itself. Leviticus 17:11 KJV tells us without blood there is no life, "For the life of the flesh is in the blood." When God created Adam, He breathed into his nostrils, and Adam became a living soul (Genesis 2:7). Satan and the angels had never seen blood before God created man. They are spirits and as such, do not possess physical bodies. Blood has always been highly valuable to God and an entity of transformation. He required it to cover sin from the very beginning. Through the Immaculate Conception, Jesus, the Son of God, was born of a virgin woman and without any attachment of sin to His bloodline. His blood was flawless and with it, He paid a very painful and humiliating mohar or bridal price for all who believe in Him.

Do you appreciate how much it cost Him to purchase you from sin, and offer eternal life? It is vital you know exactly what Jesus did for you with His blood, so you might understand and be fully equipped to live out your position in His body. The Bible fills us in on seven different, but unmistakably significant places where Jesus shed His blood. As you might have already noticed by now, the number seven is like God's signature on everything. The number seven forms the foundation of His word, and encompasses the creation of all things. In Hebrews 9:22 KJV, God declared in His word the only means of atonement for the forgiveness of sin is by way of blood. "And almost all things are by the law purged with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission." Jesus did not just die on a cross for us. He fulfilled the Messianic prophecy of Isaiah 53:5. He suffered wounds for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities. He endured chastisement for our peace, and the stripes He received on His back offer healing. Jesus was wounded and lost blood, but where at and what was the significance of each of the seven places He bled from?

       

        The first place Jesus shed His blood was in the Garden of Gethsemane, located at the foot of the Mount of Olives. We see this take place in Luke 22:44 KJV, "Being in anguish He prayed more earnestly and His sweat was as it were like drops of blood falling to the ground." I mentioned to you in an earlier blog perhaps that was due to Him having second thoughts about the purchase price of the  church, with His life. Even so, this first account of His blood loss renders a sneak peak at the human side of Jesus. In this particular garden scene, with blood oozing from His forehead like sweat, He redeemed your willpower. The shed blood from His brow was targeted determination to stay the course set before Him. It was a mind over matter moment. Adam gave up his willpower to say no to disobedience in the Garden of Eden, when he ate of the fruit from the tree God had forbidden him to touch. Jesus restored willpower back to you in another garden or a feast of victory by saying no to His flesh. When His obedience was tested, He prayed, "Father if thou be willing, remove this cup from me, nevertheless not my will, but thine be done," Luke 22:42 KJV. Jesus’ blood gives you the willpower to say no to sin and determination not to give in to temptation.

The second time Jesus shed His blood was after His arrest when the Romans whipped him. Blood poured from the open flesh wounds He received on His back from a gruesome beating. How many times did the Roman soldiers strike His back with a whip? I do not know. The apostle Paul writes in 2Corinthians 11:24 NIV, "Five times I received from the Jews the 40 lashes minus one." Why did Paul not just say on five separate occasions that he himself had gotten 39 lashes as a punishment? Ancient Israel was a legalistic society, and there was a directive in the Mosaic Law which reads, "If there is a dispute between men and they come into court and the judges decide between them, acquitting the innocent and condemning the guilty, then if the guilty man deserves to be beaten, the judge shall cause him to lie down and be beaten in his presence with a number of stripes in proportion to his offense. 40 stripes may be given him, but not more, lest, if one should go on to beat him with more stripes than these, your brother be degraded in your sight," Deuteronomy 25:1-3 ESV. This was an ancient Jewish law of fairness, and most likely Jesus got 39 lashes as well, because 40 lashes must have been sufficient to kill or impair a man from standing and walking away afterwards. This is an exciting figure, because there are only 39 root diseases in the world of which you could ever be sickened from in any one of the many categories. Glory to God! Every stripe laid on His back was at the root of a disease you could ever possibly come across. He took a beating on His back for your health, and broke the curse of sickness off you, "By whose stripes ye were healed," 1Peter 2:24 KJV. By faith, you have the right to pray for your healing, and believe you have received it by way of the precious blood shed for you.

The third place Jesus bled for you was internally. He was "bruised for our iniquities" (Isaiah 53:5). Being bruised means that He bled inside and that liberates you from the sins of any past generations. By His blood, you can be free from any physical or emotional ailments in your bloodline. Values and mindsets are the very footholds of a family and blindly transferred to children. They either set you back or propel you forward. Iniquity, however, is a bent version of the truth. It is usually a lie that goes against God’s word. It originates from somewhere within the family, and is so easily handed down. It is distinct from a transgression. Iniquity is a root lie that sparks abusive behavior. Generational lies like the iniquities of alcoholism, drug addiction, anger, poverty, spousal abuse and racism present significant challenges for future generations. Whether uniquely genetic or environmentally passed on, they all go against God’s word. The internal bloodshed of Jesus allows you to be physically and mentally free from the spiritual bondage of negative or destructive behavior.

Jesus shed blood at a fourth site as the Roman soldiers shoved a crown of thorns onto His head. Matthew 27:29 NIV tells us a "braided crown of thorns was placed on His head," and they mocked Him saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" Bleeding from the thorns pushed into His head, Jesus restored your peace of mind. Remember? "The chastisement of our peace was upon Him" (Isaiah 53:5 KJV). The blood Jesus shed from the prickly thorns is capable of releasing all the strongholds of your mind. Things that would otherwise hold you back, and keep you in confusion and weighted down, Jesus took care of all of them before He ever got to the Cross. Praise God! You were always on His mind. He knew there would be times you were going to need Him to lead you to victory on the battlefield of your own mind, and against yourself.

The fifth place Jesus bled from was His hands. Pierced through with nails, His hands bled for your transgressions. "He was pierced for our transgressions," Isaiah 53:5 NASB. He bled from His hands, so you could prosper. His blood broke the curse from the work of your hands, so your labor would not be in vain but profitable. This is a genuine blessing indeed, because Genesis 1:26-28 tells us, God placed all dominion and authority into the hands of Adam and Eve. From the very beginning, they lost our ability to enjoy God’s provision. Since then, we have always had to work for our food and shelter. With the blood-covered hands of Jesus, you are able to take back what belongs to you. The blood of Jesus is not just your source of redemption, but your freedom as well. The blood of Jesus releases you back to a life that should have been your inheritance all along. His blood is powerful. Ask with faith for the reaping of a bountiful harvest in all your good and faithful work. You do not have to sit idly by and let Satan continue taking without end. Jesus’ blood offers a new way of living.

The sixth wound Jesus bled from was His feet. His feet were nailed to the cross "for our trespasses," Colossians 2:13 ASV. To trespass means you are on someone else's property. Satan is called, "the ruler of this world" (John 12:31 ESV). Imagine that! This world does not belong to you, but you have the authority to defeat Satan's influence in your life by claiming the blood of Jesus. With your feet, you can take dominion over every place the sole of your foot touches (Deuteronomy 11:24). By shedding blood from His feet, Jesus equipped the church to fulfill the Great Commission of spreading the gospel message in a world that did not even belong to us. Hallelujah! Glory to God! The church, filled with the Holy Spirit, will complete its’ assignment. Jesus gave the lost dominion back. You have the authority to bind Satan out of your life in Jesus’ name (Joshua 1:3). I hope this gives you a courageous new heart, and a warrior-like spirit.

With a dying breath, Jesus spoke His last words, "It is finished" (John 19:30 NASB). As the perfect sacrifice for sin, His mission to Earth was completed. He had finished all His Father had required. The seventh place Jesus bled was from His side. A Roman soldier thrust a spear into His side to make sure He was dead. "Blood and water flowed out" (John 19:34 NIV). By this time, Jesus was now dead. He died in unbelievable suffering from the hefty price tag of human sin. Mark 15:34 NIV records Jesus as saying while He was hanging on the Cross "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Jesus literally bled out and emptied Himself on the Cross: to wash away sins, iniquities, trespasses, transgressions, diseases, and to give you a pure thinking mind that embraces dominion. In the awful moments before His death, He was obliviously feeling the weight of sin, and experiencing separation from His Father for the very first time. He cried out to God, "Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?" Mark 15:34 NIV. In other words, "Where are you?" God was absent from Jesus in those final moments. Why? Jesus was the only ‘One,’ who could accomplish the removal of sin’s death curse by exchanging His perfect and life giving blood. The blood of Jesus still cries out on your behalf, so you can own the hope of an eternal life. Glory to God! He is Risen! Happy Easter!