General Articles

The Potter and the Clay :: By Sean Gooding

Published on: by RR7

Romans 9: 14-21

“What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not! For He says to Moses, ‘I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.’ So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy. For the Scripture says to the Pharaoh, ‘For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.’ Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens.

“You will say to me then, ‘Why does He still find fault? For who has resisted His will?’ But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, ‘Why have you made me like this?’ Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?'”

This has been a troubling week for the whole world. We have the introduction of mandatory vaccines for many Government employees. We had the Premier of Ontario, the equivalent of a Governor in the US, fire one of the elected Ministers because he and his wife decided not to take the vaccine for personal reasons. The Premier had spoken of personal freedoms just a week or so ago, but it obviously did not apply to this dear man. He still has his job, just not the political part, and he will not be allowed to rejoin the party without a vaccine.

The city of Toronto has mandated that all employees must be vaccinated by October 31st this year. There is great division among us about these vaccines. One side is totally about safety – we must do all we can to be safe. The other is about freedom, and we have seen through the history of mankind that when one trades freedom for safety, you lose both. I saw today that some restaurants in NY will require proof of at least one vaccine shot to be able to eat there or at least eat inside. The irony of this is that one can cross into the US from Mexico without any proof of vaccination even with COVID and still be allowed to stay.

But no event of this past week has had more impact on me like the events in Afghanistan. Why, you ask? I have been following the plight of the many Christians that live there now. They got to experience freedom for a short time, to live out their faith in Jesus, and the churches there grew. In July of this year, many Christians came out from the darkness and stood for Jesus publicly; they registered themselves with the Government as Christians. One man that I read said he did not want his children and grandchildren to live in fear and in the shadows. So, under the freedoms that they had under the US military and government, they stood up for our Lord and declared publicly that they were Christians. Little did they know the betrayal that was coming.

As we now know, the Biden administration abandoned the people in Afghanistan. They have left or are leaving, and the Christians there now find themselves in a dire situation. Some have already been killed; others know that death is imminent still; others are more concerned for their children, especially virgin young girls who will be taken to be Taliban’ wives.’ What a horrible situation! I cannot imagine what I would do if I knew someone was coming for my almost 9-year-old daughter to take her to be a sex slave. It is harrowing.

And, so I have a confession to make. I made this confession to our church folks on Tuesday evening during our Bible study. I began to have some soul-searching questions, the kind that makes you wonder about your own faith. Maybe you have had some of the same questions, maybe not, and your faith is as solid as a rock. Praise the Lord if it is.

Here are a few questions I had: Why would God allow these brothers to come out and be open since He knew the plight that was coming their way. God knew the US would abandon them and that they and their families would die, yet He allowed them to register publicly. Why would God allow the Christians in Afghanistan to suffer as they are? Why allow Christians to suffer at all? I know many faithful brothers and sisters that suffer from various diseases, from cancer to heart issues, from depression to migraines; why let them suffer? He is God and able in one thought to take it all away.

There are many other questions that came to my mind, and maybe you have had some as well. I had some other questions like: When do the crooks start getting arrested and tried? When do we see the treasonous leaders begin to get arrested? Man, they even seem to live longer the eviler they are; it just shook me!

In a recent video by Martyn Iles, he responded to some of the ‘celebrity’ Christians who had abandoned the faith in the past few years. From authors to musicians and even pastors, many of them had the same questions about suffering, and, of course, many no longer believed that a loving God could create and actually use Hell. And so, they left. They turned their backs on God, and I am sure many of their fans left with them. I love how God made sure that I saw that video as I was asking these questions. I had watched countless videos by Martyn Iles, but I had never seen that one.

And then, as I was preparing for Tuesday night’s Bible study, I came across an interview with an Afghani Christian, one of the pastors. And when asked about the situation, he showed no regrets about going public with his faith. Rather, he understood the Sovereignty of God, and he pointed to our passage today from Romans. God is Sovereign, and He has the right to allow His people to suffer if that is what brings Him the glory and what moves the plan further and further to the end that He has told us is coming. This dear brother understood that God had the right as He is the potter, and we are the clay. God can do with us as He pleases; we are bought with a price. We are the redeemed; we are no longer our own.

I do not know if this man and his family are still alive, but if not, he went to the grave faithfully serving the Lord, and he trusted that God was greater than the circumstances he found himself in. Man, what a convicting interview and a harrowing challenge to me as to how I have conducted myself in the past 18 months! These people never stopped assembling, never stopped openly serving the Lord, and died free rather than live in fear. And they were at times afraid, I am sure. I prayed a lot for our brothers and sisters in Afghanistan. I prayed that God would comfort them, that He would not let them suffer in dying, and that He would let their deaths leave an impression like Stephen’s did in Acts 7, an impression that helped change the life of one Saul of Tarsus.

As I thought about this writing, the words of Asaph, one of David’s chief musicians, came to mind. In Psalm 73, he laments the good fortune of the wicked, and as he observed them, it shook him that they had no fear, no wants. They seemed to have the best lives ever, and it almost caused him to turn his back on the faith until he saw their end:

Psalm 73:16-19 “When I thought how to understand this, it was too painful for me— Until I went into the sanctuary of God; Then I understood their end. Surely You set them in slippery places; You cast them down to destruction. Oh, how they are brought to desolation, as in a moment! they are utterly consumed with terrors.”

These people who attack our brothers and sisters will one day face our God. These politicians and others that we know are corrupt, who defy the laws and attempt to change the laws of God, and make themselves to be gods will one day face the true God. Unless they repent like Saul of Tarsus, they will go to Hell. They will suffer for eternity, and they will NOT get away with the evils they have done. God knows all; yes, even the God they deny exists.

But what about you and me? How will our/my time go before the judgment? We who are saved will not be going to Hell; we have that security in Jesus. But we will be answering to the Lord as to how we lived, in fear or for Him. I see our brothers and sisters in Afghanistan living out their faith in the midst of real danger, and I see us cowering in the midst of perceived danger. Yes, some are dying with COVID but not as many as they want you to believe. The CDC in the US makes that clear. The vast majority of those that died had other diseases, and many were in hospice care already and dying. But this has been a tool to challenge our freedoms, and we/I have failed.

Listening to the Afghani Christians made me realize how we/I take freedom for granted. I recently read part of an interview from the documentary on the Hungarian Jews from the Hitler era. They were asked how was it that they didn’t do something? They answered, ‘We didn’t run away; we didn’t hide. Well, things didn’t happen at once. Things happened very slowly. So, each time a new law came out or a new restriction, we said, well, just another thing. It will blow over.’ It did not, and soon… well, we know the end.

The questions have been answered. God is in control, and I am not sure what will happen here in Canada. God is Sovereign, and I pray that should we be called upon to die for His name and glory, I will have His comfort to get through it. But what if, instead of dying, we have to suffer; lose my job, my home, and see my family hurt. I pray that God will grant me the grace to suffer without regrets and still lead my family to honor Him no matter what. While I appreciate the technology that allows us to ‘gather’ virtually – and I can see the need for the very ill, maybe the elderly and the shut-ins – too many have used the excuse not to gather. And we have seen the demise of the faith of many, and worse, their children. Lord forgive us.

It is okay to have questions; many great servants of the Lord did and do. But seek the right answers. Do not use human reasoning and knowledge to find the answers. Seek the Word of God; read Psalm 73, read all of Job, read the life of Joseph in Genesis 37-50, and read the life of Jesus in the Gospels. Suffering is actually a part of the Christian’s walk for the vast part of the history of the New Testament church. When that could not stop us, they used accommodations and comforts. These two are now being taken away, and being a Christian is becoming uncomfortable for many of us. We are asking if it is worth the discomfort. I pray you will seek God’s face and find the answers. But as for me and my house, as God gives me grace and strength, we will serve the Lord. He is the Potter and I/we the clay.

God bless you,

Dr. Sean Gooding
Pastor of Mississauga Missionary Baptist Church

P.S. I will be away on vacation next week, and there won’t be any Bible study sent out.

How to Connect with Us

On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MississaugaMissionaryBaptistChurch
Online: https://www.mississaugamissionarybaptistchurch.com/ (under construction)
Email: missionarybaptistchurch76@yahoo.ca

The Multiple Resurrections and Judgments :: By Jeff Van Hatten

Published on: by RR7

Acts 17:31 – “Yahweh has set a Day when he will judge the inhabited world, and do it justly, by means of a man whom he has designated. And he has given public proof of it by resurrecting this man, Yeshua, from the dead.”

Resurrections

Matthew 22:31-32 – “As for whether the dead are resurrected, haven’t you read what Yahweh said to you, ‘I am the Elohim of Abraham, the Elohim of Isaac and the Elohim of Jacob’? He is not Elohim of the dead but of the living!”

Acts 4:33 – “With great power the emissaries continued testifying to the resurrection of the Lord Yeshua, and they were all held in high regard.”

There are several resurrections mentioned in scripture other than the many I listed in my article: The Importance of a Witnessed Rapture. These resurrections are listed below in chronological order:

The 1st Resurrection – Resurrection of Yeshua and the Holy Ones

Colossians 1:18 – “He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.”

Matthew 27:52 – “The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the holy ones who had fallen asleep were raised.”

Ephesians 4:8-10 – “When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.”

Yeshua is the first fruit, the first to be resurrected to eternal life. The resurrected Holy Ones were very likely part of the firstfruits offering to Yahweh (1 Corinthians 15:22-23), the captivity he led captive.

NOTE:

The first resurrection above is a chronological resurrection in history and is not be confused with the first resurrection mentioned in Revelation, which is a type of resurrection (Revelation 20:5-6). Confusing these two firsts is a common mistake that many make.

The 2nd Resurrection – Resurrection of the Dead in Yeshua – Before the Rapture

1 Corinthians 15:52 – “The trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable.”

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 – “Yeshua shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of Yahweh: and the dead in Yeshua shall rise first.”

This resurrection applies to “the Dead in Yeshua” and also to those who are raptured at Yeshua’s coming to take His bride home. This is what is most commonly spoken of as “THE Resurrection,” as if there are no others, a mistake many also make.

The 3rd Resurrection – At the Middle or End of the Tribulation Period

Daniel 12:1-2 – “At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will stand up. There will be a time of much trouble, the worst time since nations have been on earth, but your people will be saved. Everyone whose name is written in Elohim’s book will be saved. Many people who have already died will live again.”

Revelation 12:7-9 – “Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But it was not strong enough to win, so that there was no longer any place for them in heaven. The great dragon was thrown out, that ancient serpent, also known as the Devil and Satan [the Adversary], the deceiver of the whole world. He was hurled down to the earth, and his angels were hurled down with him.”

Many people (Older Covenant Believers) who have already died will live again. This resurrection appears to occur in the middle of the Tribulation Period, though some place it after the second coming of Yeshua. Once Yeshua returns, however, these Older Covenant believers are ushered into the millennium kingdom.

The 4th Resurrection – At the End of the Tribulation Period – Right After the Second Coming

Revelation 7:9-17 – “After this, I looked; and there before me was a huge crowd, too large for anyone to count, from every nation, tribe, people and language.”

Revelation 20:4-5 – “I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Yeshua and because of the word of Yahweh. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their fore-heads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Yeshua a thousand years (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended).”

This resurrection applies to those who are martyred (beheaded) by the Antichrist during the last 3 ½ years of the Tribulation Period. This resurrection occurs at the end of the tribulation period, just after the second coming of Yeshua and the tossing of Satan into the abyss. These people will live and reign with Yeshua a thousand years.

Judgments

Deuteronomy 32:36-37 – “Yahweh will judge his people, taking pity on his servants, when he sees that their strength is gone, that no one is left, slave or free. Then he will ask, ‘Where are their gods, the rock in whom they trusted?'”

Isaiah 26:21 – “Yahweh emerges from his place to punish those on earth for their sin. Then the earth will reveal the blood shed on it and no longer conceal its slain.”

There are several judgments mentioned in scripture. These judgments are listed below in chronological order:

1st Judgment – Right after the Rapture at the Bema Seat of Yeshua

1st Corinthians 4:5 – “Therefore judge nothing before the time, until Yeshua comes, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man praise of Yahweh.”

2nd Corinthians 5:10 – “For all of us must appear before the judgment seat of Yeshua, so that each may receive recompense for what has been done in the body, whether good or evil.”

This judgment does not determine whether or not a person is cast into Hell or finally, the Lake of Fire – the person who has placed their trust in Yeshua is not condemned but has already received eternal life. According to 1st Corinthians 4:5, this judgment will occur right after the rapture when the Lord brings to light what is hidden in darkness and exposes the motives of men’s hearts. At that time, each person will receive his praise from Yeshua, and they will either receive rewards for faithfulness and service or will lose rewards due to unfaithfulness, also referred to as receiving crowns to lay at Yeshua’s feet.

2nd Judgment – The Judgment of Older Covenant Believers – At the Middle or End of the Tribulation Period

Daniel 12:1-2 – “Many people who have already died will live again. Some of them will wake up to have life forever, but some will wake up to find shame and disgrace forever.”

This judgment appears to occur in the middle of the Tribulation Period, though some place it after the second coming of Yeshua. Older Covenant believers are ushered into the millennium kingdom.

The 3rd Judgment – The Judgment of Surviving Jews – Right After the Second Coming

Ezekiel 20:34-38 – “I will bring you among the nations as I brought your ancestors into the desert with Moses. There I will judge you face to face.”

This judgment occurs just after the second coming of Yeshua. The Jews are gathered once again in the wilderness, right after the second coming. The saved enter the millennium kingdom, and the lost are purged.

The 4th Judgment – The Judgment of Surviving Nations (Sheep and Goats) – Right After the Second Coming

Matthew 25:31-46 – “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the nations one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.”

This resurrection and judgment also occurs just after the second coming of Yeshua. Yeshua will be seated on his Glorious White Throne and will judge all nations according to those who have blessed the nation and/or people of Israel and those who have not. The nations that have blessed Israel and its people will be ushered into the millennium kingdom, and the nations that have cursed Israel will be cast into the Lake of Fire.

The 5th Judgment– The Judgment of All Others (Great White Throne) – At the End of the Millennium

Revelation 20:11-15 – “And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne. Then books were opened, and the book of life was opened. The dead were judged by what they had done, which was written in the books.”

At the end of the millennium years, all who have died will be resurrected, and along with the surviving humans, will be judged according to their works. The righteous will enter eternity in the kingdom, and the unsaved will be cast into the Lake of Fire. The severity of the judgments against the unsaved are detailed in Isaiah 14:13-15: Matthew 10:15, 11:21-23; Luke 10:12; Romans 2:5-6; and Revelation 14:10, 20:10, 21:8.

The Final Judgment – The Judgment of Satan and His Demons – Right After the End of the Millennium

Revelation 20:1-3 – “Next I saw an angel coming down from heaven, who had the key to the Abyss and a great chain in his hand. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the Devil and Satan [the Adversary], and chained him up for a thousand years. He threw him into the Abyss, locked it and sealed it over him; so that he could not deceive the nations any more until the thousand years were over. After that, he has to be set free for a little while.”

Revelation 20:10 – “And Satan, who tricked them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur with the beast and the false prophet. There they will be punished day and night forever and ever.”

This is the final judgment – Satan and his demons are thrown into the Lake of Fire. Hades and Thanatos (Hell and Death), two of the little ‘g’ Divine Council gods (Psalm 82:1, 82:6-7) who rebelled against Yahweh, are also cast into the Lake of Fire at this time.

Conclusions

1st Corinthians 15:23 – “But each in his own order: the Messiah is the firstfruits; then those who belong to the Messiah, at the time of his coming.”

Many believe there is only one resurrection and only one judgment. Scripture, however, details multiple resurrections and judgments.

Each of these resurrections or judgments takes place in the proper order at the proper time and only applies to a specific group of peoples, nations, or Heavenly beings.

Do not be like the Sadducees and deny the resurrection, or like many who deny that a loving God will judge those who refuse to walk according to his law, (Torah H8451), commandments (mitsvah H4687), ordinances (mishpat H4941), and statutes (chuqqah H2708). Yes, Yahweh is loving, gracious, and forgiving, but he is also Holy and will judge sin.

Final Thought

The prophetic signs are burgeoning and not abating. Time is incredibly short – Yeshua Ha’Mashiach is coming soon – so be of great cheer, keep looking up, and keep maintaining an attitude of gratitude. Be sure you are believing The Truth, not The Lie. Be sure Yeshua is your Redeemer, King, and High Priest, and your sins are forgiven.

Website: https://raptureparty.net

Email: jeff@raptureparty.net