John Talks of Spiritual Awareness :: By Nathele Graham

Published on: by RR10 Category:General Articles, Nathele Graham

Too often, pastors are hesitant to speak of Satan and evil spirits. These evil entities should never be raised to a high position, but neither should their existence be ignored. Scripture is very clear that demons exist; Satan is not a made-up bogeyman.

Scripture also tells us that we must put our faith in God. False teachers who don’t teach all of Scripture only preach “God is love”; that is a true and beautiful message, but the loving God we serve told the men who wrote Scripture to include things like prophecy (another neglected topic), the fact that God will never turn away from Israel entirely (no, the church didn’t replace Israel), and the existence of evil spirits (we are in the end times, and evil is growing stronger).

That’s why it’s better to teach through Scripture rather than just pick verses (usually out of context) to make a “feel-good” sermon. Many pastors do just that. They tickle ears but don’t teach all of God’s truth. Congregations are left ignorant of the times in which we live, a time when prophecy is being fulfilled, Israel is under attack, and evil is permeating the world around us.

By the way, this opens the way for the evil spirits to infiltrate congregations. What does the Apostle John have to say?

“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1).

What does John mean? John knew, from walking with Jesus, that there is perfect love found in Christ. John also witnessed demonic evil that possessed people, but he also sawJesus cast out demons and learned how to discern good from evil, light from dark. Those same evil spirits are roaming the earth today. False teachers abound today, and many people are being deceived.

Peter also knew of the wiles of the devil and warned us. “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world” (1 Peter 5:8-9).

Satan isn’t like God and cannot be everywhere at once, but he is able to influence thoughts. As we study through John’s letter, we see that he talks so much of God’s love, and sometimes we miss that he also warns us to be aware of evil. John says we shouldn’t believe every spirit, but we should try the spirits; test them. John isn’t talking about Casper the Friendly Ghost and the Ghostly Trio. John is talking about a real fight between God’s goodness and Satanic evil.

Christians need to study Scripture and listen to the Holy Spirit to avoid being deceived by someone who claims to be of God but is really Satan’s mouthpiece. As we draw near to the Rapture, evil grows stronger. Be sure that you are firmly planted in God’s truth.

How do we know the good from the bad? Sometimes it’s very obvious if something is of God or if Satan is behind it. Run everything through Scripture, and if a teaching doesn’t conform to God’s word, then you shouldn’t be a part of it. “Christian Yoga,” for instance.This is an oxymoron, and no Christian should be a part of it. It isn’t just a way to stretch your muscles; it is a way to open your mind to Satanic spirits.

John gives us a test to use. “Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world” (1 John 4:2-3).

The next time a group of Jehovah’s Witnesses knocks on your door, ask them about the deity of Christ and whether He came in the flesh. I’m sure you can think of many things, ancient and modern, done by people claiming to follow Christ but are totally against God’s word.

The Crusades, for instance. It was the pope who sent the crusaders to do evil in order to free Jerusalem. If this had been an acceptable thing to God, wouldn’t Jesus have taken an army and killed anybody who stood in His way? Jesus came the first time humbly as the sacrificial Lamb of God, but He will return in power as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. A “holy war” ordained by the Catholic church doesn’t represent Jesus but is the spirit of antichrist. Don’t be deceived. If the congregation you’ve joined promotes anything that isn’t found in Scripture, flee from that group even if it’s presented as a very good thing.

I’ve attended many churches in my lifetime, and most supported things not found in Scripture. I learned from these experiences, and I’m thankful for God’s guidance in my life. Remember, John wrote this letter to Christians and not to the world. Christians need to be aware of what is of God and what comes from Satan. Scripture is your guide.

When we truly come to faith in Jesus, we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Don’t be fooled by the false teaching that you are saved by baptism. Too many people claim they were baptized as a baby, so they’re saved. Wrong. That’s a teaching straight from Satan. Each of us must make our own choice as to whether or not we believe in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It’s been said that God has children but has no grandchildren. You have to make your own decision.

The Apostle Paul wrote, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved” (Romans 10:9).

A baby cannot make that confession of faith, nor choose to believe. So, let me encourage you right now: if you are one who thinks you’re saved because you were baptized as a baby, or even as an adult but didn’t confess the Lord Jesus, do that now. Confess you are a sinner, repent, and place your faith in Jesus. Jesus was God incarnate; He entered His creation and shed His blood as the only way for a sinner to find grace and salvation.

It was Paul who also wrote, “That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of your inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory” (Ephesians 1:12–14).

You have to hear the Gospel and believe in order to gain eternal life through Christ. What an amazing fact that the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Holy Trinity, is sealed within Christians. If all of us truly believed that fact and understood the power given to us, we could stop the evil that’s permeating the world today…not us as people, but the Holy Spirit in us.

John understood that power. He was in the locked room when the risen Christ entered and breathed upon the disciples and gave them the Holy Spirit. He was also there on the day of Pentecost when the fire of the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples. John faced persecution, but was given the Revelation so we can see what the unsaved will face during the Tribulation.

John knew the power of the Holy Spirit and wrote, “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:4).

What powerful words, yet they mostly go unheeded. If every one of us would be aware of the power we have, and allow that power to flow through us for the glory of God, what a change we would see all around us.

Once again, John turns his attention to encouraging Christians to love fellow Christians. “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love” (1 John 4:7–8).

Can a non-Christian love? Yes, but not with a Godly love. The world has taken the word “love” and defines it in worldly terms. I “love” my car, I “love” my dog. I went on a date, and afterward we made “love.” These are worldly examples of “love.”

The love of God is a sacrificial love that every Christian should show to fellow Christians, but go back to the first verse in this chapter and see that we need to test every spirit. Just because someone comes to you for help and claims to be a Christian, test them to be sure. The Holy Spirit may urge you to help non-believers, but do it in the name of Jesus, and let that fact be known.

Before we came to know Jesus, we were headed down a very treacherous path to destruction. But God loved His creation enough to sacrifice Himself for our salvation.

“In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another” (1 John 4:9–11).

That’s such an important point to remember, but so easy to forget. Christians aren’t perfect, but we need to ask for forgiveness when we do fall back into sin. When we see a fellow Christian falling into sin, we need to love them enough to help them to get back on the right track. Be sure to speak in love. God is always willing to forgive. When you see someone who is living a sin-filled life, share the Gospel. If they respond, then lead them to repentance and guide them in a path that honors Christ. If you see a fellow Christian wallowing in sin, confront them in a loving way.

God loved us long before we loved Him, so share that love. Let all who come in contact with you see God living in you and through you.

It’s easy to find many reasons to fear these days. The Apostle Paul didn’t mince words when he spoke of the enemy we face. He urged us to put on the full armor of God and fight.

“Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but, against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:11–12).

God’s love has given us tools to fight; He doesn’t want us to fail in our Christian walk. Life has many challenges, and sometimes it’s easy to shrink in fear. “Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love” (1 John 4:17–18).

Fear can cause us to shrink from a fight that God’s love could win. Remember, God is stronger than any demonic enemy we face. We are puny humans, but with God we are strong. We are living in the end days, and the principalities, powers, and rulers of the darkness of the world are trying to stop us from sharing God’s love. Be bold.

Once a father brought his demon-possessed son to Jesus for help. “Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth” (Mark 9:23).

Read through the book of Acts and see how many times Peter, John, Paul, and the others faced prison just because they loved God. Be bold in God’s love. In these last days, we need to encourage fellow Christians. Love the brethren.

“If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also” (1 John 4:20–21).

Brotherly love is something missing from Christian life. I can tell you that brotherly love isn’t completely missing. Lately, I’ve had some great needs, and some dear Christian friends have stepped up to help me, and I’m so thankful.

God works through people, and we all need to allow His love to work through us. Be bold; face fear with the armor of God firmly in place. Let others see God living in you.

God bless you all,

Nathele Graham

twotug@embarqmail.com

Recommended prophecy sites:

www.raptureready.com

www.prophecyupdate.com

www.raptureforums.com

All original Scripture is “theopneustos,” or God-breathed.

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“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee” (Psalm 122:6).

A Covenant on the Land :: By Travis A. Karnes

Published on: by RR10 Category:General Articles

An Examination of Geopolitical Rhetoric, Divine Promises, and the Unbreakable Title Deed of Israel in Biblical Prophecy

In these last days, the nations rage and the peoples imagine a vain thing. On the twenty-second day of September in the year of our Lord 2026, before the assembled representatives of the world at the eighty-first session of the United Nations General Assembly, King Abdullah II of Jordan stood and declared that Israel’s “expansionist appetite” now constitutes a regional threat.

He pointed to military and settlement activity in Gaza, in Judea and Samaria (commonly called the West Bank), and even in southern Syria. He described settler incursions and forced displacement as acts that ought to be regarded as war crimes. He charged that Israel is remaking the reality on the ground—Gaza through destruction, the West Bank through de facto annexation—so as to render a viable Palestinian state impossible. Resolutions, he insisted, end where they began: on paper. Impunity has reached terrifying levels. No one in that assembly, he warned, should assume that Israel’s ambitions stop at Palestine.

The king spoke as a monarch whose own Hashemite kingdom was itself carved from territory once included within the broader land promises of Scripture. He spoke the language of international law, of “occupation,” of two-state solutions, and of permanent political arrangements crafted by the collective will of the nations. Yet the Word of the living God speaks an altogether different language—one of irrevocable covenant, of everlasting possession, of a land whose title deed was written in the blood of sacrifice and sealed by the oath of the Most High who cannot lie.

The Abrahamic Covenant: Unilateral, Everlasting, and Land-Centered

“Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed” (Genesis 12:1–3, KJV).

The Hebrew term for “land” here is אֶרֶץ (erets). The promise is concrete, geographic, and territorial. Later the LORD brought Abram outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be” (Genesis 15:5). Then followed the solemn covenant ceremony: “In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates” (Genesis 15:18).

Still later the Almighty declared, “And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God” (Genesis 17:8).

Notice the language with precision. It is not provisional. It is not conditioned upon Israel’s moral performance. It is an everlasting possession—עוֹלָם (olam)—granted by divine decree. The Abrahamic covenant is unilateral. God alone passed between the divided pieces while Abram slept in a deep sleep (Genesis 15:12–17). The smoking furnace and the burning lamp alone moved through the severed animals. This is the ancient Near Eastern form of a self-maledictory oath: “May I be cut in pieces as these animals if I fail to keep this promise.”

In the Koine Greek of the Septuagint and of the New Testament, the word for covenant is διαθήκη (diathēkē). Unlike συνθήκη (synthēkē), which implies a mutual agreement between two parties of equal standing, διαθήκη is a disposition, a testamentary grant, a sovereign arrangement imposed by the superior party. The land promise stands independent of Israel’s faithfulness or unfaithfulness, just as the promise of a singular Seed (Galatians 3:16) and the promise of blessing to the nations stand independent of human merit.

Paul further clarifies the permanence of this arrangement when he writes, “And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise” (Galatians 3:17–18).

The Abrahamic covenant is the foundation upon which all subsequent biblical covenants rest. The precision of the boundaries and the absolute character of the grant stand clear in the text. God keeps His word to Israel even when Israel does not keep hers. The land promise has never been revoked, transferred to the Church, or spiritualized into a mere metaphor for heavenly blessing. Replacement theology is not merely doctrinal error—it is an assault upon the integrity of the God who cannot lie. The prophetic Scriptures insist that Israel will be restored to the land in unbelief and then brought to national repentance at the revelation of her Messiah.

The Davidic and New Covenants: Confirming the Land Promise

The land grant of the Abrahamic covenant is further secured by the Davidic covenant. “And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever” (2 Samuel 7:12–13).

The throne is in Jerusalem. The kingdom is over Israel. The forever is literal. Premillennial dispensational theology rightly distinguishes this earthly, theocratic, Davidic kingdom from the present Church Age. The Church is a parenthesis, a mystery (μυστήριον, mystērion) not revealed to the Old Testament prophets (Ephesians 3:1–6). Israel remains Israel. The Church remains the Church. The two are never conflated.

The New Covenant, promised in Jeremiah 31:31–34 and ratified by the blood of Messiah, is first and foremost a covenant with “the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.” Its ultimate fulfillment includes the national regeneration of Israel, the writing of the law upon their hearts, and their permanent residence in the land under the righteous reign of the Son of David.

Hebrews 8 quotes Jeremiah at length, yet the writer does not transfer the land promises to the Church; he shows that the better covenant has been inaugurated through the once-for-all sacrifice of Messiah, while the full national application to Israel awaits a future day. Paul affirms the same priority when he declares, “Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers.” (Romans 15:8)

Midrashic Connections and Prophetic Hermeneutics

Midrashic hermeneutics—careful, intertextual, Spirit-led linking of Scripture with Scripture—reveals the seamless fabric of the divine promise. Genesis 12 is echoed in Exodus 6:4, where God remembers His covenant and the land of Canaan as an inheritance. Deuteronomy 30:1–10 anticipates both the scattering and the regathering: “And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee… and shalt return unto the LORD thy God… that then the LORD thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations… And the LORD thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it.”

Ezekiel 36–37 presents the classic midrashic sequence: the dry bones of national Israel are first regathered physically to the land (the “bones came together”), then spiritually regenerated (“I will put my spirit in you”). The vision of the two sticks becoming one in Ezekiel 37:15–28 speaks of the reunification of the northern and southern kingdoms under the one Shepherd, David’s greater Son, in the land forever.

Zechariah 12–14 and Joel 3 form a prophetic cluster. “For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land” (Joel 3:1–2).

The Hebrew חָלַק (chalaq)—“parted” or “divided”—is the precise indictment against the nations. The issue before the throne of God is not merely humanitarian suffering (though every genuine student of Scripture weeps over the loss of life on every side). The issue is the partitioning of a land that God Himself has claimed as His heritage and has deeded in perpetuity to the physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob through Isaac and Jacob, not through Ishmael.

Messianic Doctrine and the Future Kingdom

Yeshua of Nazareth is the promised Seed of Abraham (Galatians 3:16). He is the Son of David (Matthew 1:1; Romans 1:3). He is the One who will sit upon the throne of His father David and reign over the house of Jacob forever (Luke 1:32–33). Yet the present age is the age of His rejection by the nation. “He came unto his own, and his own received him not” (John 1:11).

Paul himself underscores the enduring privileges of national Israel when he writes, “Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises; Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen” (Romans 9:4–5).

Premillennial dispensational theology recognizes a clear sequence: the present Church Age, the future seventieth week of Daniel (the Tribulation), the physical return of Messiah to the Mount of Olives (Zechariah 14:4; Acts 1:11), the judgment of the nations (Matthew 25:31–46), and the establishment of the millennial kingdom in which Israel is restored, the land is fully possessed according to the ancient boundaries, and the knowledge of the LORD covers the earth as the waters cover the sea (Isaiah 11; Revelation 20).

The Greek term παρουσία (parousia) speaks of the royal arrival of the King. When He comes, the covenant on the land will be enforced by the returning King of Israel, the Lion of the tribe of Judah.

The Nations, the Land, and the Present Hour

When the United Nations or any coalition of kings declares that Israel’s presence beyond certain armistice lines is illegitimate, they place themselves in direct conflict with the sworn word of the Almighty. Zechariah declares that Jerusalem will become a cup of trembling and a burdensome stone to all peoples (Zechariah 12:2–3). The nations that gather against her will discover that they are fighting against the LORD of hosts.

The present clamor over “expansion,” “settlements,” and “annexation” is simply the latest iteration of the ancient quarrel. The land is not up for permanent international arbitration. It is covenant land. The title deed is written in Genesis. It is confirmed by the prophets. It is sealed by the oath of God. And it will be enforced by the returning King.

None of this excuses any sin committed by any Israeli government or any individual. Scripture is clear that Israel is held to the highest standard. The prophets thundered against injustice, idolatry, and oppression within the covenant people. Yet the same prophets never annulled the land grant. Discipline and dispossession for a season are not the same as permanent disinheritance. The regathering of the Jewish people to the land in our own generation—still largely in unbelief—is itself a sign that the God of Abraham is keeping His appointments according to the precise timetable of Romans 11.

The Irrevocable Calling

“For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance” (Romans 11:29).

The Greek ἀμεταμέλητα (ametamelēta) means irrevocable, not to be regretted, not subject to change of mind. The gifts include the land. The calling includes the national destiny of Israel. Paul further unfolds this mystery when he writes, “For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins” (Romans 11:25–27).

Heaven and earth shall pass away, but the word of the LORD shall not pass away.

The nations may issue resolutions. Kings may denounce expansion. Assemblies may declare war crimes. But the covenant on the land remains. The God who cannot lie will yet plant Israel in her own land with all His heart and with all His soul (Jeremiah 32:41). He will cleanse her, give her a new heart, and set His sanctuary in her midst forever (Ezekiel 37:26–28).

Even so, come, Lord Jesus—the Root and the Offspring of David, the bright and morning Star, the One who holds the title deed to the land and to the universe as the King of Glory in His divine supremacy.

***

Travis A. Karnes is a Berean student of Bible prophecy.