Bible Believers' Newsletter 422
"We focus on the present Truth – what Jesus is doing now. . ."
ISSN 1442-8660Christian greetings in the precious Name of our Lord Jesus Christ; we are pleased you have joined us in fellowship.
The Law of God's Holy Bible is superior to the King's law but the days when parliaments, monarchs and judges honored the Absolute, or even national constitutions and Common Law, are past. Truth and righteousness, morals and ethics, national interest and a fair go have been forsaken for the love of money. Wealth and power speak with the loudest voice. Everything rests upon economic benefit . . . but for whom?
Truth is not paramount in this age of lawlessness. Character is no longer the measure of the man; prestige is bound up in winning by fair means or foul. Thus our (once Christian) Western nations are ruled by liars and war criminals as confirmed in an analysis of 9/11. Not content with genocide and nuclear contamination of Afghanistan and Iraq they now threaten Iran and are waving a finger at China, their military at the Euphrates that divides the Roman Empire from the kings of the East. When they are defeated Christendom will end in apostasy and "know it not" (Romans 11:32; Revelation 3:17-20).
Amschel Mayer Rothschild said, "Let us issue and control the money of a nation and we care not who make its laws. . . On the ruins of the natural and genealogical aristocracy of the Goyim we have set up the aristocracy of money. The qualification for this aristocracy is wealth which is dependent upon us".
Paul taught, "Godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and obviously we can carry nothing out. When we have food and clothing let us be content with them. But those who are eager to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful desires that plunge men into destruction and ruin. For the love of money is the root of all evils. In striving for money, some have wandered away from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows."
"But you, O man of God, shun these things and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith, take hold of the eternal life, to which you were called as you made a good confession before many witnesses" (I Timothy 6:6-12).
This Newsletter serves those of like precious faith. Whoever will receive the truth is welcome to feed their soul from the waters of the River of Life. Everything should be confirmed personally in your own Bible.Your brother-in-Christ,
Anthony Grigor-Scott
Arab Central Banks move Assets out of Dollar
March 14, 2006 – Middle Eastern anger over the decision by the US to block a Dubai company from buying five of its ports hit the dollar yesterday as a number of central banks said they were considering switching reserves into euros.
The United Arab Emirates, which includes Dubai, said it was looking to move one-tenth of its dollar reserves into euros, while the governor of the Saudi Arabian central bank condemned the US move as "discrimination".
Separately, Syria responded to US sanctions against two of its banks by confirming plans to use euros instead of dollars for its external transactions. The remarks combined to knock the dollar, which fell against the euro, pound and yen yesterday as analysts warned other central banks might follow suit.
Last week the US caused dismay after political opposition to the takeover of P&O by Dubai Ports World forced DPW to agree to transfer P&O's US port management business to a "US entity" . . . Full story: news.independent.co.uk
Dubai and the Straits of Hormuz
United Arab Emirates is located at the center of an oil-dependent world. This tiny state forms the promontory that juts out into the famed Straits of Hormuz through which 40% of the world's oil passes every day. Across the narrow straights sits Iran, the next victim on the list of "axis of evil" nations. Any attack on Iran will require that military forces quickly deploy to Dubai to forestall the closing of the straits and the subsequent devastation that would cost to world oil supplies and financial markets.
This is the critical point which is being intentionally concealed by America's diversionary media. This is the reason that President Bush continues to force the Dubai port-plan even though 70% of the American people and Congress resoundingly oppose it.
The importance of UAE as a staging area for future hostilities cannot be overstated. No military strategy can hope to succeed without first establishing a beachhead across the straits in Iran so that the danger of blowing up oil tankers and blocking passage is removed. This tells us that plans for an attack may be on track for late March as originally threatened by Israel. . . The die was cast for war with Iran nearly a decade ago in policy papers drawn up by far-right political ideologues that now control all the levers of foreign policy in the Bush White House. Full story: uruknet.info
America's Glorious Empire of Debt
Let us take a moment to stand back and gaze at America's great Empire of Debt. It is the largest edifice of debt ever put up. It sustains the most magnificent world economy ever assembled. It brings more wealth to more people than any system ever before devised.
Not only is it incomparably effective, it is also immeasurably entertaining. For it has its burnished helmets and flying banners; its intellectuals and its gladiators; its Caesars, Antonys, Neros, and Caligulas. It has its temples, its forum, its Capitol, its senators; its praetorian guards; its via Appia; its proconsuls, centurions, and legions all over the world as well as its bread and its circuses in the homeland and its costly wars in periphery areas.
The Roman Empire rested on a classical model of imperial finance. Beneath a complex and nuanced pyramid of relationships was a foundation of tribute formed with the hard rock of brute force. America's empire of debt, on the other hand, stands not as a solid pyramid of trust, authority, and power relationships but as a rickety slum of delusion, fraud, and misapprehension. Full story: lewrockwell.com
Rest Easy, Bill Clinton: Milosevic Can't Talk Anymore
What the corporate media overwhelmingly ignores in Milosevic's death is what they ignored in his life as well—his intimate knowledge of US war crimes in Yugoslavia. While Milosevic was undoubtedly a war criminal who deserved to be tried for his crimes, he was also the only man in the unique position of being able to expose and detail the full extent of the US role in the bloody disintegration of Yugoslavia in the 1990s. In fact, that is precisely what he was fighting to do at his war crimes trial when he died. Full story: antiwar.com
Desperate Australian Catholics importing Priests
We've all heard about the shortage of vocations to the Catholic priesthood. In Australia the priesthood is ageing and priests are increasingly being called on to administer two or more parishes. Some bishops are trying to solve the problem by importing priests from overseas, and in some dioceses, up to 40% of the priests are now newly arrived on contracts from places like Burma, India, Vietnam and Poland. . .
"There does seem to me occasionally that there's a view that Father Joseph's a very lovely Indian priest but we can't understand a word he's saying." Full story: abc.net.au
Anti-Zionist Orthodox Rabbis visited Iran
A delegation of Anti-Zionist Orthodox Jewish Rabbis visited the Islamic Republic of Iran, March 2006, where they met with clerics, Imams, and Government Officials. Full story in pictures: nkusa.org
Rabbi: Holocaust? Politically Motivated
London, March 20, 2006 (IranMania) – A leading Austrian Jewish Rabbi said that holocaust catastrophe in Europe, which victimized millions of Jews, is nowadays used as an instrument for suppressing the rightful demands of the world nations. . . Rabbi Moishe Fridmann, who leads the Association of Anti-Zionist Jews in Austria, made the remark late Saturday on the sidelines of the two-day "Global Conference on Constructive Interaction among Divine Religions: A Framework for International Order".
He said a limited number of people, advocating certain notions during the past two centuries, have been trying to establish a universal society void of any religious notions with God and holy prophets having no places in it because such a society would create them an economic paradise, IRNA added.
Saying that both the world wars during the past century were provoked and administered by this limited group, the Rabbi said they tried to abuse differences between Muslim Arabs and the west as the founding base of a new power structure in the world which victimized the Jews at the very first step.
Terming as "vain" Zionist regime's attempts to introduce itself as the representative of the Jewish community to the world, Fridmann said since the regime in Israel was a secular it could not function as so in any possible manner.
Commenting on the remarks of Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad regarding the Holocaust in Europe, the rabbi noted those who are now lamenting over the catastrophic event of massacre of millions of Jews in the Nazi camps were themselves the real initiators of the horrendous act. . . Full story: iranmania.com
Comment: Here's a rabbi who is not afraid to speak historical and Bible truth!
Louis Farrakhan rips 'Wicked Jews' in Hollywood
March 21, 2006 – It's been nearly a month since Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakahan blamed "Zionists and neo-cons" for "manipulating" President Bush into invading Iraq—before blasting "wicked Jews" in Hollywood for promoting "lesbianism [and] homosexuality."
Yet, outside of a few newspapers in Chicago, the same press that showers positive coverage on Farrakhan's Million Man marches has yet to get around to covering his Feb. 26 Saviours Day speech. Full story: newsmax.com
Comment: I know of a mighty prophet who spoke just like Mr. Farrakhan. Several such.
Pope Benedict XVI calls for Respect of all Religions
Vatican City, March 16, 2006 – A Jewish delegation from the United States met with Pope Benedict XVI on Thursday and one member said it was wonderful to hear his "profound commitment" to Catholic-Jewish relations. American Jewish Committee delegation member Rabbi David Rosen, director of inter-religious relations for the New York-based group, described the encounter with the pope as "extremely warm and intimate."
Benedict has made improving relations Jews a priority of his pontificate, continuing the groundbreaking work of his predecessor John Paul II. The Vatican has an office that deals specifically with relations with Jews, whom John Paul once called the "older brothers" of Christians.
Benedict became the second pope in history to enter a synagogue during a trip to Cologne, Germany, in August.
The pope, meanwhile, called for respect of all religious symbols and places of worship, and said that Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders should work together for world peace (Haaretz, March 16, 2006).
I will Restore
When Adam stepped over the Word from eternity into time, not only did he begin to die but he lost his inheritance in life because before the Fall he had supreme dominion over all the earth; he was the first god of this earth (Genesis 1:26-31). God is the God of the universe, but His son had this earth under his own control (Isaiah 66:1). As he knew no sin he could speak the Word, and what he said came to be for his words were the mind of the Lord. By divine inspiration, he named all of the creatures as God created them, and because he had dominion over the earth he could stop nature. But when he crossed from faith in God's Word, which is the mind of the Spirit, to Satan's reasonings against the Word, he severed his unity with the Tree of Life, and sold his dominion over the earth to Satan, inhibiting his operation of the gifts of the Spirit.
Before the Fall Adam could say, "Let this mountain here be moved over there," and his gift of faith would move it as Brother Branham's gift of faith moved a bracelet suspended from a light fitting. Adam could say, "Let this tree here, be plucked up and planted over there," for he had absolute dominion over earth as a minor god manifesting that he was a Son of God so long as he was under pre-eminence to God our Father.
Adam looked upon the beauty of Eve, touched her flesh and said, "Why, she's flesh of my flesh and bone of my bone." Taking her by the arm they walked through the garden—they did not know what sin was.
The winds blew, and she said, "Oh dear, that wind!"
In his sinless state Adam said, "Peace," and the wind stopped.
"Oh, Adam, don't you think this tree would look much prettier sitting over here?"
"Tree, be plucked up and planted over here, and it did so.
The last Adam proved it can be done. He walked upon water, stilled stormy seas, cursed the fig tree, turned water into wine, and death into Life. He controlled all nature by the dominion given into the first Adam's hands. When his last elect offspring is redeemed to his first estate in faith, his dominion and the "third pull" will be restored. Amen!
The gifts of the Spirit with which the early Church was endowed as an earnest of the "restitution of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began," lay dormant through unbelief until rediscovered in the Laodicean Church Age. The fullness of the Word restored in this present holy convocation is drawing Christ's end-time Bride back under pre-eminence to the Word whence Adam fell. It is our assurance that we stand unspotted by sin and without condemnation in the Presence of God with perfect faith in the exercise of our gifts, so that from the sounding of Israel's Seventh Trumpet we will be equipped to manifest that we are the Sons of God (Romans 8:11-23).
The Son of God, our forerunner, the last Adam said, "The works that I do, shall you do also." He revealed Himself by doing the same works in the ministry of His forerunner, William Branham, the firstfruit of we who are Christ's at His second or 'parousia' Coming (Luke 17:28-30; Hebrews 13:8; I Corinthians 15:23).
The gifts of the Spirit were God's pledges of the full dominion over nature, which we will realize in the redemption of our bodies from the bondage of corruption by the working of faith in us. Faith elevated to hitherto before unrealized heights in the manifestation of the Sons of God during the "squeeze" will enable this mastery, changing us from earthly creatures of time to heavenly creatures of eternity.
I Corinthians 12:7-11, "To each saint is granted the evidence of the Holy Spirit for the mutual benefit of the entire Church. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit. To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; to another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another different kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues; but all these abilities are inspired and energized by the selfsame Spirit, who distributes to each individual as He pleases".
These gifts operated by saints of God under pre-eminence to the Word of God are the manifestation of God for the mutual benefit of the members of the Body, and therefore the entire Body since we are interdependent like the limbs and organs of the human body (I Corinthians 12:12-27).
The Gifts of the Spirit evince the working of the Spirit, but not necessarily new birth. The evidence of new birth is a life lived by a clear revelation of the Word for the hour. It is the Life of Christ on display in your life. Acts 10:45-46, "While Peter yet spoke the Word of the hour, the Holy Ghost fell on all who heard the Word. And they of the circumcision were astonished when they saw that the gift of the Holy Ghost was poured out on the Gentiles also."
How did they understand this? "They heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God" consequent to a clear revelation of the present Truth. These Hebrew Christians heard in Galilaean what the Gentiles of several different nations spoke in their native tongues. By this manifestation of the Spirit their joy edified the Hebrew Christians, and profited the whole Body. This is the common objective of all of the gifts, which are not intended for the gratification of the recipients, but for the profit of the Body, just as hearing is not designed for the benefit of the ear, but to serve the whole body of the individual.
Some seek the gifts rather than the Giver, and by God's permissive will they receive the gifts of the Spirit without the Holy Spirit and regeneration. Others employ the gifts for self-aggrandisement whereas the manifestation of the Spirit is given to profit the whole Body.
The gift of wisdom is the ability to discern and expound new revelations from Scripture which cannot be understood by human intelligence and require the Holy Spirit operating through the gift of wisdom (Ephesians 6:19). Revelation 13:18, "Here is wisdom. Let he who has wisdom count the number of the beast. . ." Wisdom or revelation belongs to the "prophets," those who are not prophets must write down their revelation and have it discerned by three spiritual judges before delivering it to the people.
Paul distinguishes wisdom (revelation) from knowledge in I Corinthians 14:6, "If I come to you speaking with tongues you cannot understand, how would that help you? But if I speak plainly what God has revealed to me (i.e. by the word of wisdom), or tell you things I know (i.e. by the word of knowledge), or prophesy what is going to happen, or impart the great truths of doctrinal teaching—that is what you need, and what will help you?"
Seek the best things first. Without wisdom, how will you apply the gift of knowledge or any of the lesser gifts? It takes God's wisdom. Solomon had wisdom to discern between two women which was the real mother of the child under disputation (I Kings 3:16-28), whereas the Pentecostals desired to speak with unknown tongues and denominated that confusion as the Methodists glorified sanctification instead of the Holy One.
The second gift is knowledge to see a revelation already revealed and to identify and prove it from Genesis to Revelation. Knowledge belongs to the teachers; if a gifted saint is not a prophet he must declare his knowledge on paper, and submit it to three Spiritual judges for approval before he delivers it to the people. Even bishops and deacons are permitted only to espouse doctrine that has been taught by their pastor.
Wisdom is the objective, extensive, all-encompassing form of knowledge that captures the aims and purposes of God in the entire scheme of redemption, whereas knowledge is the subjective and intense form of understanding particular things. In Proverbs 8 and 9 "wisdom" is impersonated as the unchanging principles of eternal order, but I Corinthians 13:8-12 says that since we are not omniscient and know so very little, "knowledge" shall become obsolescent and lose its relevance as childish things are discarded in adulthood.
The Word of wisdom and the Word of knowledge are each associated with deep study, intellectual energy and seclusion with God. The second category of gifts have to do with faith itself and the practical workings of faith in gifts of healings, the working of miracles, prophecy, and discernment of spirits.
The gift of faith is not "justifying faith" which receives salvation and eternal Life through a comprehension of doctrines, but a strong confidence in the Divine omnipotence as able to manifest itself in extraordinary deeds, or a confidence which will enable man to accomplish these deeds or call upon this help. Such faith enables one to extend himself beyond the region of mere moral certainty in the actual realization of things believed.
Brother Branham said, "A gift of faith is not something you take and do something with. The gift of faith is getting your own self out of the way."
Turning on the television in his hotel room he saw "Oral Roberts praying for a little sick baby from up in Canada. It had a bad eye. And I believe the parents were Catholic. And Brother Roberts in his real way of faith, he slammed his hand down on the little baby and prayed for it, and the little baby was healed."
"Now, that's a real gift of faith that Brother Roberts has. And we know that Brother Jack Coe used to have a little anvil laying by the side of his desk. If somebody came up with glasses on, he'd take the glasses off and break them up with the hammer, throw them over. Have crutches, he'd take their crutches first, and chop them up, and throw them away; he burnt every bridge. They only made one Jack Coe, you know. The world couldn't stand two at one time. . ." (Queen of Sheba, #60-0710).
"Balaam had a gift of faith and could have used it to the perfect original Word of God. Many men on the field today with gifts of healing could do the same thing. Many men out here, people speaking in tongues, people prophesying, a gift—could use it for the Kingdom of God, but they don't do it. And God blesses them anyhow, in His permissive will. But for popularity and pleasure, personal gain, they sell their birthrights as Esau did, sell out to organization, sold out like Balaam did. See? And so many today are doing the same thing. We know that's right. They sell out their birthright. Women professing the Holy Ghost, wearing shorts, men permitting them in the pulpit, bobbed-haired women in the pulpit, paint on their face, with religious gowns on, it's the biggest stumbling block the church has ever had" (Does God ever change His Mind about His Word? p. 31:167).
Gifts of healings, plural as in the Greek, refers to the many different means by which God heals the sick. Some preach the Word of God, some pray, and some lay hands on a patient with overpowering faith. It is not the gifted person who does the healing but their faith and the faith of the patient. Belief and the right mental attitude towards any promise of God will bring it to pass. Any Christian has a right to confront Satan and defeat him by standing on God's Word. One doesn't require gifts of healing to heal the sick, just faith in God's Word and the finished work on Calvary (Isaiah 53:5).
The working of miracles denotes things accomplished by miraculous power, such as the instantaneous normalization of a short leg, club foot, blind eyes, the restoration of the dead to life or the infliction of death or blindness by a word. In other words, "the third pull" (Acts 5:1-10; 13:8-12; 19:11).
The gift of prophecy is quite distinct from the office of a prophet. It depends on "faith" and involves an inspired disclosure of the future by the Spirit through an inspired insight into the obscurer parts of existing Scripture but not public teaching (Romans 12:6; I Corinthians 14:24, 32-40). Its pronouncements must be judged by two or three judges before it is disclosed to the Church. The gift of prophecy might be upon a person today for a particular circumstance and never again for the rest of their life.
The gift of discerning of spirits is the judicial power to distinguish true prophecy from false—to discern between pure inspiration and the impure excitements either of the unaided human spirit or evil spirits and the divine (I Corinthians 14:29; I Thessalonians 5:20-21; I John 4:1).
The third category of gifts refers to utterance in known and unknown tongues.
The gift of speaking in human and supernatural tongues. This is a gift of speaking in different tongues under the inspiration of the Spirit (I Corinthians 14:1-12). The speaker does not acquire different languages whereby he can prophesy at will, converse with understanding or comprehend what he has said if he spoke in a strange tongue. Publicly He should only speak under inspiration, and only if he or someone present has the gift of interpretation.
I Corinthians 14:27-28, "If someone speaks in an unknown tongue, let there be two or at the most three, each in his turn; and let one give an interpretation. But if there is no one to interpret, let them keep silence in the church and let each speak to himself and to God".
The gift of interpreting tongues operates only by faith under inspiration. The interpreter does not learn and translate various tongues of men and angels; he hears in his own language the words spoken in other tongues and declares what he has heard. Often when preaching to people who do not understand English some have followed and understood my words if there was no interpreter, of listened to and understood me even though there was an interpreter. And on the day of Pentecost Peter and the Galilean—not Jewish—converts, spoke in Galilean, but the Hebrew and Gentile proselytes heard their preaching in their own tongues.
Acts 2:4-11, "They were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. Now there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven and when they heard the commotion a crowd gathered and were confounded, because every man heard them speak in his own language."
"Astonished, they said, Are not all these who speak Galileans? How is it we hear every man in our own native tongue? Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, in Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, and in parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians, we hear them tell in our languages the excellencies of God".
On the day of Pentecost Peter pointed these people to the prophecy of Joel 2:28 which foretold that "in the last days" or Messianic age, God would pour out His Spirit upon all flesh—Hebrew and Gentile, sinner and saint, bond and free, male and female. Our Lord before His crucifixion promised to send the Comforter, who is the Holy Ghost, to guide His Church into all truth (John 14-16).
After His resurrection Jesus said, "These signs shall follow them who believe; In My Name they will cast out demons; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover" (Mark 16:17-18).
Immediately before His ascension Jesus said, "You shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days from now" (Acts 1:5). And on the day of Pentecost God honored His Word, not restricting the new birth to any race, gender or class of people. The baptism with the Holy Ghost and the endowment of spiritual gifts were granted to Israelites and Gentiles, bond and free, male and female (Galatians 3:28).
These nine Spiritual gifts will be in the Body until the close of our dispensation. However, since "that which is perfect or complete has come with the revelation of the Seven Seals, PART-Word and a Mediator have been done away," and we find the manifestation of the Gifts has diminished since we have the perfect interpretation of the Word.
Paul looked forward to our day he called, "the dispensation of the fullness of times," when God would "gather together all members of the Body to be with Christ forever, whether they be in heaven or living here on earth." He prayed, "asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation for an understanding in the knowledge of Himself, that the eyes of your heart being enlightened may know the nature of the hope to which you are called, and what is the wealth of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and how overwhelmingly great is His power in us who believe. It is that same mighty power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead, and seated Him at His right hand in heavenly places" (Ephesians 1:10,17-20).
The Spirit of wisdom and revelation has been presented to us through the revelation of the Seven Seals, which is the key that unlocks the mystery of God. The New Testament saints all possessed "the keys to the kingdom of heaven," which was the Word for their day that granted entrance into the Kingdom by the baptism with the Holy Spirit or new birth. Christ's end-time Bride also hold "the keys of hell and of death" by the Spirit of wisdom and revelation for an understanding in the finished mystery of God by which we have the hope of glorification and translation without death by the power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead and seated Him at God's right hand (Ephesians 2:19-23).
The battle is ongoing, but having done all, we must stand our ground with the belt of truth fastened about our waist, wearing the breastplate of righteousness and love, with the readiness of the Good News of peace bound upon our feet. Above all taking up the shield of faith with which we will be able to quench all the flaming darts of the evil one, and take the helmet of the hope in our salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.
When our corruptible flesh puts on immortality, these gifts of the Spirit will be redundant except for the wisdom of faith, hope and charity. And during a millennium of peace God's elect will live harmoniously together in a restored world of manifested Word, learning how to govern, tend and care for the Kingdom. nl422.htm
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Brother Grigor-Scott is a non-denominational minister who has ministered full-time since 1981, primarily to other ministers and their congregations overseas. He pastors Bible Believers' tiny congregation, and is available to teach in your church.
Bible Believers' Church
Gunnedah NSW
Australia 2380e-mail Bible Believers URL Bible Believers' Website
PowerPoint presentation The Second Coming of Christ
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