Hi all,
A reminder of our Zoom web meeting Saturday the 25th, 1pm US Central time. I'll be sharing on end time order and the Feast of Trumpets, Judgement Seat of Christ, and so on. 
 
Last week I established the Jewish teaching of Paul's day that a blowing of the Last Trump at the Feast of Trumpets will one day cause the righteous dead to rise, and those who are alive and looking for Him, to be changed and join them with the Lord. 
 
Shofar
In many ancient Jewish tombs the shofar is engraved, and even now in some funerals the shofar is blown in anticipation of the resurrection - just as Paul taught. 
 
Paul wrote in I Thessalonians 1:10 that we have been delivered from the wrath to come, and in 5:9 that God has not appointed us to wrath, but to salvation. In Jewish terminology, the 'time of Jacob's trouble' was also called the 'day of wrath'. Paul said God has not appointed us to the 'day of wrath/Jacob's trouble'. 
 
Following the statements that we aren't destined to the days of wrath, he wrote there will be the blowing "of the trump of God" which would cause us to meet the Lord in the air in 4: 13-18. He told them to 'comfort yourselves with these words' - folks, if you think he is teaching believers would go through the Tribulation, then why did he tell them 2x we aren't, and to be comforted by his words? 
 
In his 2nd letter he told them "He" (Christ, body of) must 'depart' before the man of sin can be revealed, and again told them to be comforted by his words.
 
Because there are believers in the Tribulation however, some teachers see that and think there is no rapture, not understanding Judaism teaches those will be people who believe after the resurrection of the righteous. Or, some don't understand the 7 days/7 years 'time of Jacob's trouble', and see us going through the first 3 1/2 years, and then being raptured. 
 
Grammatically speaking, Jesus made distinct points in His Matthew 24 teaching to those who have a Jewish ear - His original listeners and readers of Matthew. When Jesus said in Matthew 24:8 "(false Christ's, famines, wars, diseases) are the beginning of birth pangs", to the Jewish ear the phrase 'beginning of birth pangs' was clearly the start of the time of Jacob's Trouble; what we call the Tribulation. 
 
The full phrase in Judaism is "birth pangs of the Messiah". It was not taught that the birth pangs were the suffering of the Messiah, but rather the labor pains Israel must go through to 'birth' Messiah's Lordship into the world, culminating in the 'day of the Lord' (Coming of Messiah). (Jeremiah 40: 3-7, Isaiah 13: 6-9) 
 
Fortunately it says for His return in v31, the angels will collect believers from one end of heaven to the other, not from one end of earth to the other. This agrees with Revelation 19: 6-8, 14, where the body of Christ is seen in heaven in the time of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, followed by accompanying Jesus (on horses) at His return.  
 
Why would a government implement a 666 system? 
In part 1 we saw the 666 is an economic system without which a person won't be able to buy or sell. If we lay aside the religious implications of the 666 system, we can ask what are the conditions that make such a system needed? 
 
Remember that on a personal basis God enters earth by invitation. He won't violate our free will. He came into each of our lives when we asked Him to, and perhaps became involved when a parent or friend asked Him to become involved in our lives, leading to our salvation. He won't violate our free will, but as Creator.... 
 
He retains complete sovereignty as Creator 
According to Romans 1, knowing Him as Creator is the most basic means of knowing Him. And as such during the time called the time of Jacob's trouble, the Creator will allow creation that has been groaning and travailing under the weight of sin, to be used by Him to humble mankind. 
 
Revelation 8: 8-12 and 9: 1-11 describe a double asteroid/comet hit on the earth; one in an ocean and one on land. It says one third of sunlight is blocked, (so it follows) that one third of plants die and one third of water is poisoned.  (algae and sea plant life dependent on sunlight.) Of the one that hits land, chapter 9 tells of sores and disease that come to mankind, which agrees with scientific belief that a hit on earth would not only cause a world-wide dust cloud, but release everything from spores of mold to anthrax which would cause disease world-wide. Revelation 9 tells us demons are behind the spread of those diseases. 
 
There are numerous statements about that being a time of economic hardship, especially inflation. Revelation 6:6 says: "A quart (.9 liter) of wheat for a denarius, and 3 quarts of barley for a denarius." In that day a 'quart' was a dry measure. 
 
A denarius was 1 day's wage, and 1 quart was the amount of grain 1 person required each day. A day's wage will buy enough grain (wheat) to feed 1 person for 1 day. That same wage will buy the less valuable barley enough for 3 people. In other words, in the midst of political turmoil, in the midst of a double asteroid hit on earth, war and nature produce economic disaster and famine. There is some grace, for the verse says not to damage the oil or wine. Food grains will be in short supply, but people will have oil and wine, condiments we might say. In our day it might be like going to the store and there is no meat, no bread, but still oil and salt and spices are there to buy.  
 
It is interesting to note that ancient Romans, Greeks, and Jews diluted their wine with water. Homer mentions 20 parts water to 1 part wine, but in day to day use by Jesus' time it was roughly 3 or 4 parts water to 1 part wine. There is much scripture that details the dangers of drinking full strength wine, but in day to day use it was diluted, which is why Paul advised Timothy to add wine to his water to help his stomach ailments (medicinally - I Timothy 5:23).
 
A strong ruler is needed
Beyond his importance to us as the anti-Christ, during his rule this man will have to bring order out of natural and man-made disasters, and the way to do that is unify the nations economically, and of course in religion. In every economic system there has always existed a shadow economy, a black market or a system outside the official system. And that's for next week - until then, blessings,
John Fenn
www.cwowi.org and email me at [email protected]

Hi all,
Having started to examine the economic and political system that implements the 666, let me shift attention this week to explain why you and I won't be around to see it. Next week I'll get back to the 666 and signs around it. 
 
"...He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself...and for those who look for Him, He will appear a second time not to bear sin, but to to bring us the fullness of salvation." Hebrews 9: 24-28
 
The author of Hebrews believed Jesus was going to appear to bring the fullness of salvation, to "those who look for Him". This isn't the 2nd coming at Armageddon because then Jesus will appear to the whole earth whether they are looking for Him and believe in Him or not. So this is about an event in which Jesus appears to those who look for Him, to complete their salvation. 
 
Is he implying believers who aren't looking for Him, won't go in that event? Could it be that those believers who don't believe in a pre-tribulation rapture will get their wish and not be taken? I don't know, and that point has been debated for many years. Everyone Paul wrote to was looking for Him. But in our day that is not the case. But it is clear the author is writing about an event that will bring the fullness of salvation, and it is for those who are looking for the Lord in that event. 
 
First century Judaism, from which Paul wrote
Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, is also called the Feast of Trumpets. In Judaism the 7 God-given festivals are called 'rehearsals' and 'appointments' for the True which will come one day. (Leviticus 23)
 
The 4 spring festivals were therefore fulfilled on their exact day: (1) Unleavened Bread and (2) Passover - at the cross, (3) Feast of First fruits of the earth - started that Sunday, Resurrection day, (4) Pentecost - which was 50 days after the feast of First fruits/resurrection day, and was the anniversary of God giving Moses the Law. The connection between Moses receiving God's Word and people speaking in tongues may not be immediately understood, but it has to do with God's Word at Pentecost now written in the hearts of men, the Living Word now throughout mankind. 
 
That leaves the 3 fall festivals; (5) Feast of Trumpets/Rosh Hashanah  (6) Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, and (7) the Feast of Tabernacles, celebrating God living with man.  
 
We are told in Zechariah 14: 16 the Feast of Tabernacles will be fulfilled on its exact day for 1000 years in a row during the Millennium. That means 5 of the 7 were or will be fulfilled on their exact day. These last 2 occur in September or early October depending on the calendar. 
 
Yom Kippur or the Day of Atonement answers to the return of Jesus and the world being called into account for their sins. Jesus' statement that He doesn't know the day nor hour of His return could be interpreted to mean His return would break the pattern and not be on the Day of Atonement - we don't know. 
 
Sun/Son
The Feast of Trumpets is the only festival of the 7 to start at the new moon phase, when there is no moon, said to be 'hidden'. 
 
In Judaism the sun represents God and believers represent the moon. Like the moon, believers have no light of their own, but reflect the light of the sun/Son, and were created to rule the night/darkness. The Feast of Trumpets starts when the moon is hidden because Paul said, the blowing of the Last Trump hides the believers in heaven. That's why he wrote the new moon is a type of something to come*. (I Corinthians 15: 52, Psalm 81:3, *Colossians 2:16-17)
 
The blowing of the Last Trumpet at the Feast of Trumpets causes the righteous dead to rise, and Paul added his own revelation that those alive to see that event, will also be changed and join them. A Hebrew Lexicon says the word for blowing the trumpet, 'teruah', means 'an awakening blast'. The Last Trumpet was originally said to be the right horn of the ram caught in the thicket when Abraham was to have offered Isaac in Genesis 22. It has been associated with resurrection ever since.
 
Paul, alluding to this event, paraphrasing the temple prayer of the Feast of Trumpets in Ephesians 5: 14-17, which started with: "Awake you who sleep, and remember (rise to) your Creator..." Paul wrote: "Therefore as it is said, 'Awake you who sleep, rise you sleepers and Messiah will give you light..."  
 
That Paul teaches these Jewish beliefs of what we call a pre-tribulation 'rapture' to the Corinthians, above to the Ephesians, makes mention of the event to come as seen in the new moon to the Colossians, and spells it out in detail in 2 letters to the Thessalonians, as well as what Hebrews 9 says, makes it clear he and those around him believed the 'teruah', the 'awakening blast', would be blown before the world entered the time of Jacob's trouble. 
 
If people don't understand Paul's Judaism and first century believer, they cannot connect the consistency of his writings to the Corinthians, Ephesians, Colossians, Thesslonians, and readers of Hebrews about the Jewish belief in the Feast of Trumpets awakening the righteous dead BEFORE the earth enters the time of Jacob's Trouble.
 
The end of the age
After the blowing of the trumpet Judaism teaches, the earth goes into a 7 year period known as 'the time of Jacob's Trouble' and 'the Days of Awe'. This mirrors the 7 days between the end of the Feast of Trumpets and the start of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. The Feast of Trumpets/Rosh HaShanah is on the 1st-2nd, and Yom Kippur is the 10th, leaving the 3rd-9th, 7 days between. 
 
While the hidden ones are in heaven having their feast, on earth God will divide the remaining population into 3 groups. The first is the righteous, which is made up of those who believe in the Lord after they witness the catching away of believers. The next is the wicked, which is those who have decided not to believe no matter what. 
 
The largest group, is called to this day in Judaism 'the Intermediates'. These are those people who have not yet decided if they will believe in and follow God. They have (7 years) until Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, when Jesus returns to call the nations to account and set up His earthly kingdom.
 
The 666 isn't for us
So what the apostle John sees in The Revelation concerning multitudes being martyred, or dying due to the double asteroid hit and sun being blocked out, or war and economy in ruin and famine, has to do with those remaining on the earth after the Feast of Trumpets blowing of the Last Trumpet. In heaven believers (primarily Gentiles) have been judged at the Judgment Seat of Christ, and are celebrating the wedding feast - which is 7 years long. But on earth it is the Days of Awe, the days of repentance. 
 
The 666 has nothing to do with you and I other than the beginning of that system is something we can observe taking shape in our day. And that's for next week. Until then, blessings,
John Fenn
www.cwowi.org and email me at [email protected]

Hi all,
As of this writing the world is on lock down in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, which means a lot of people are online speculating about end times. Among those things being talked about is the 666 economic system, and people wondering if now is the time such a system will be implemented. 
 
Much of what is being said is fear based, unbalanced teaching, lifting verses out of context, adding a good dose of speculation, and calling it God. This series will go into detail of scripture, the first century culture of the Roman Empire, and history to answer the question: What will believers do when 666 comes?
 
Let me work backwards a little bit. There will be disciples of Jesus in the Tribulation. But according to Judaism they will be people who came to Messiah AFTER the Feast of Trumpets blowing of the Last Trumpet. That blowing of the last trump caused the resurrection of those who had previously died, and according to Paul, those who were alive at the time to see that event. So the 666 is not for believers now. I will share more on that next week.
 
What is the 666?  
"He also caused everyone small and great, rich and poor, free and slave to obtain a mark on their right hand or on their forehead. Thus no one was allowed to buy or sell things unless he had the mark of the beast—that is, his name or his number. This calls for wisdom: Let the one who has insight calculate the beast’s number, for it is man’s number, and his number is 666." Revelation 13: 16-18
 
The first rule of Bible interpretation is that a passage must make sense to the original readers of the message. So we must note that when Rome took a slave, they took away the person's name and instead tattooed a number on that person's forehead or hand (wrist). Thereafter they were called whatever number had been assigned. 
 
We see this in Romans 16: 22-23 which says: "I Tertius, who wrote this letter (received dictation from Paul) greet you, also Gaius my host, Erastus who is the city's (Corinth) Treasurer, and Quartus, a brother." The names 'Tertius' and 'Quartus' are the Roman numerals 3 and 4. So it literally says, "I, Three, who wrote this letter...Gaius...Erastus...and Four, a brother." 
 
The apostle John sees a whole population of slaves to an economic and religious system, and without such allegiance they will not be able to buy anything. Readers of John's vision immediately understood therefore he was talking about an economic system and a system requiring allegiance to a government or regime. 
 
The number 6 is the number of man because man was created on the 6th day.  The number 7 is the number of God and completion, for on the 7th day God quit creating. The three 6's of man represent the 3 elements of rule over nations: Political power (includes military), economic power, and religious power. That is the 666, the effort of 1 ruler to combine in his kingdom those 3 elements. Rulers have tried to combine these 3 for centuries.
 
Rome tried it and succeeded with 2 of the 3: Political and economic, but could not contain Christianity. Hitler tried and succeeded with political and economic unity, but could not contain the Jewish and Christian population. (Little mentioned fact is the the Holocaust killed about 6 million Jews, but also another 5+ million Christians and political enemies). Look at the efforts of every ruler from Nebuchadnezzar to the USSR - all tried to bring under their power politics, economics, and religion (Either by a State religion, or stamping out religion and making the State the religion). Anti-Christ will attempt the same. 
 
We could therefore say Jesus will succeed with a 777. Zechariah 14 tells us He will be King over all the earth and  righteousness will be the rule of law (political & economics), and all nations will come annually to Jerusalem at the Feast of Tabernacles to worship Him. (religion)
 
Back to 666 - No economic and political system comes into being overnight. Systems and policies often come into place as a result of a crisis. Believers who refuse to be made slaves of that system will have to grow their own food, meat, and/or be in relationships with those who do. It means whatever you need in life will have to be supplied by those who have either stockpiled supplies before the 666 economic system goes into place, or have the means and connections to get supplies outside the system. People won't be meeting in auditoriums called church, for it will be impossible. They will meet in homes, sharing lives, sharing provisions, praying for one another. 
 
While the book of Revelation does not say anti-Christ will rule the whole world, just the general area of what was then the Roman Empire, the policies and effects of his rule will affect the planet, as will the natural disasters that occur. 
 
History repeats itself... 
...because human nature has never changed, and neither has the devil. In Nazi Germany Jewish businesses were officially boycotted as early as April of 1933. They could not participate in the economic system of non-Jewish citizens. 
 
Because most people ignored the boycott and still shopped at Jewish businesses, that boycott was eventually superseded when Jewish people were rounded up and put into ghettos, like in Warsaw, but Jewish ghettos were implimented all over Europe. These closed neighborhoods meant Jewish people only had food and goods among themselves. They could not go out to a store to shop with the general population. They could not go to a grocery or market to get food. They could use and consume only what they shared among themselves. 
 
Similar situation in Thyatira
In the apostle John's time, believers in Thyatira were experiencing a similar thing. In Revelation 2: 18-29 we find a woman nicknamed 'Jezebel', who thought herself a prophetess, teaching believers it was okay to commit sexual sin and in that sin, eat food offered to idols. (I have a series on this true 'Jezebel spirit' - which is far different than the popular teaching.)
 
Thyatira was home to most of the Roman Empire's guilds, forerunners of labor unions. If a woman owned let us say, a dress shop in town, if she wanted to buy material for her shop, she would have to enter into an agreement with the guild for that material and then go to a temple, make a sacrifice to that guild's idol, and then to confirm the business agreement, have sex with a temple prostitute. 
 
The same would be for a man who say, owned a metal works business. If he wanted to buy raw material he would have to make a deal with a supplier, go to a temple and sacrifice to that idol, and then confirm the contract by having sex with a temple prostitute. It's interesting to note and well known historically, that these prostitutes danced around poles in the shape of an erect...ahem, let's be polite - phallic symbol. The modern version is the 'pole dance' of strip clubs and exercise classes that are so popular. Those were first seen in temples in the Roman Empire. 
 
Without entering into an agreement with a guild, a person could not be in business for very long. Or they had to move outside of the city and/or find a secret supplier who wasn't part of a guild. My personal opinion is that Lydia of Philippi*, the original hostess of the house church there, who was also a seller of purple originally from Thyatira, moved to Philippi to maintain her integrity - my opinion as I said. *Acts 16:14
 
Jezebel in Thyatira called herself a prophetess, which meant what she taught had a 'thus says the Lord'  attached. She taught that it was okay to have sex with the prostitute and offer the required sacrifices to the idol, because God knows you have to eat, have to stay in business - right? 
 
Jesus said no. Emphatically. Fortunately not all in Thyatira followed this woman, and those who did not no doubt had sources of food and supplies from outside the city, or of their own gardens and livestock, and other suppliers. 
 
Next week - why we won't be here to experience it, and more about the 666 system. Until then, blessings,
John Fenn
www.cwowi.org and email me at [email protected]

Hi all,
I closed last week talking about Joseph and how he retained deep within himself who he knew himself to be. 
 
Today, consider David
David was the youngest of his siblings, and so lightly considered as part of the family that when the prophet Samuel came to anoint the new king, no one thought to get David for consideration. I Samuel 16:11
 
But out there in the wilderness as a no-account member of the family, God was tutoring David. David was singing psalms of worship. David was learning how to be skilled with the sling, defending the sheep. A sling can hurl a rock at 1300 feet per second (400m), which is about the velocity of a 44 caliber bullet fired from a modern hand gun. 
 
Though he was considered barely a member of the family, David held within himself who he knew himself to be. He carried that with him into battle against Goliath. That self-awareness enabled him to remain independent from the cowering army. You and I must look for, find, and embrace who God made us and how He gifted us. 
 
(Do not ever slap your Creator in the face by saying you don't have gifts, for you are made in His image and likeness so you do have good things He created you with, for He used parts of Himself to create you. Stop lying to yourself and start finding those good things in you. That is true and humble Christianity, for embracing those things is the acknowledgment we are His creations, an act of humble acceptance. Drop the pride and start looking for and finding and acknowledging and embracing those good things in you.) 
 
David was so secure in himself and the Lord that when confronted he was able to boil it down to the core: "Who is this uncircumcised Philistine who defies the army of the Living God." When he said Goliath was uncircumcised, he was stating that Goliath is not in covenant with the living God, therefore he had no defense before God. It was on that basis and his strong moral structure through which he viewed himself, others, and circumstances, that he entered into battle. 
 
Here comes the destruction of all that noble moral structure
What we see above is the 'real' David. But in II Samuel 11:1-2 we are told King David was at home in the time when kings should be in battle in the field. "But David stayed in Jerusalem." 
 
It was there he spied one Bathsheba bathing on her roof top, daughter of Eliam, wife of Uriah. And he had to have her. He was king after all, couldn't he have any woman he wanted? Against that lust were the commands to not lust, not murder, not lie, not commit adultery. That was woven into his moral fabric as seen above. 
 
But he violated everything that he believed in, violated the way he had lived his life. He destroyed his own moral framework in favor of the lust of a beautiful woman. 
 
When Nathan the prophet confronted David he repented, horrified what he had done, who he had become. He wrote Psalm 51 as a result. Again from earlier in this series, David wrote it down. Like Jeremiah would later do in Lamentations, like God did for Ezekiel, David wrote it out as part of the process of healing and rebuilding himself. 
 
He poured out his heart in what was then a private Psalm. A psalm is a poem set to stringed instrument. As he played he worked through all he had done, and looked deep inside for anything of value worth retaining. Look at the process David went through to remember who he was, and rebuild in wholeness his moral framework: 
 
"Have mercy on me, O God, because of your loyal love.
Because of your great compassion, wipe away my rebellious acts. Wash away my wrongdoing. 
Cleanse me of my sin. For I am aware of my rebellious acts; I am forever conscious of my sin. Against you—you above all—I have sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. So you are just when you confront me; you are right when you condemn me. 
 
Look, I was guilty of sin from birth, a sinner the moment my mother conceived me. Look, you desire integrity in the inner man; you want me to possess wisdom. Cleanse me with hyssop and I will be pure; wash me and I will be whiter than snow. Grant me the ultimate joy of being forgiven. May the bones you crushed rejoice. Hide your face from my sins. Wipe away all my guilt. 
 
Create for me a pure heart, O God. Renew a resolute spirit within me. 
 
Do not reject me. Do not take your Holy Spirit away from me. Let me again experience the joy of your deliverance. 
 
Sustain me by giving me the desire to obey. Then I will teach rebels your merciful ways, and sinners will turn to you. 
 
Rescue me from the guilt of murder, O God, the God who delivers me. Then my tongue will shout for joy because of your righteousness. O Lord, give me the words. Then my mouth will praise you. 
 
Certainly you do not want a sacrifice, or else I would offer it; you do not desire a burnt sacrifice. The sacrifice God desires is a humble spirit. O God, a humble and repentant heart you will not reject. Because you favor Zion, do what is good for her. Fortify the walls of Jerusalem. Then you will accept the proper sacrifices, burnt sacrifices and whole offerings; then bulls will be sacrificed on your altar." Psalm 51
 
May we work through what was destroyed in order to rebuild a new moral structure, discovering along the way who and what we are - the good things God put in us. It is part of the process. It is the way to healing. 
 
New subject next week, until then, blessings,
John Fenn
www.cwowi.org and email me at [email protected]