George Wishart

George Wishart

John Knox was the founder of the Presbyterian church. His mentor and teacher was George Wishart, born 1513. He was so recognized as a prophet in his day that the Cardinal, David Beaton, hated him.

George Wishart was the kind of man that he could walk into a town and start preaching from Romans and a crowd would gather and stay for his whole message and many would accept Jesus.

One day he was preaching in the city of Dundee in Scotland and David Beaton had gotten the magistrate to forbid him from preaching Jesus in their city again. Mill, the magistrate, waited for him to stop preaching and then walked up to him and handed him a summons that forbid to preach ever again in Dundee or he would go to jail.

Wishart took off his had and held it in one hand with the summons in the other, looked up into heaven for a few moments and then he looked down at the people.

Then he said, “God as my witness, I never desired your trouble, only your comfort. But rejecting the word of God and the servants of the word of God is no way to get comfort. If it be well with you long after I have left then I am not speaking to by the Sprit of God. But if sudden, unexpected trouble comes upon you, then know that this is the source. It is a judgement of God for your rejection of His ministers and His word and repent that He might remove the judgement.

Wishart stepped down for the scaffold and rode off on his horse to western Scotland. Four days after George Wishart left the city of Dundee one of the severest plagues in the history of that city broke out and starting killing people.

It took a month for the news to reach where Wishart was. Upon hearing the news he headed straight back to the city, dismounted at the east gate, stood in the middle of the gate with infected people on one side and the healthy people on the other. He opened up his bible to Psalm 107:20 and started to preach a sermon on “He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.”

He then stayed among the people, helping them, until the plague was gone.

Another time Wishart was in a city and he received a message from one of his best friends, asking him to come because his friend was in a dire emergency. Wishart and two of his friends hopped on their horses and rode out of the city gate and then he pulled on his horse and stopped him. Then he said, “something is wrong. The Spirit of God is forbidding me to go.” He sat on his horse for a moment and then smiled and said, “I fear that our friend, the Cardinal, has laid a trap for us.” He said, “One day I shall die by his hand, but it will not be this day.”

He went back into the city but his two friends went on just in case Wishart had been wrong. Two miles down the road were 30 armed horsemen waiting to assassinate Wishart.

Finally Beaton did catch Wishart. Months before that God had revealed to him that he would soon die and he began to talk about his death being near.

In fact, if it had not been for Wishart knowing the very night of his death, John Knox would have died too. For John wanted to travel with him that night to the city of Ormiston, but Wishart told him, “One sacrifice will be sufficient for this night. You may not go.”

He was capture that evening. Illegal trials were set up. He was condemned to death, put in prison and on March 1, 1546 they came to his cell at dawn. They tied his hands and hung bags of gunpowder around his body and brought him out to the courtyard of the Cardinal’s palace.

Cardinal Beaton had furnished a room with lavished cushions and refreshments so that he and others could look out this huge window down into the courtyard and watch Wishart be burned at the stake.

So they led Wishart up to the platform and tied him to the stake, put the wood around him and asked him if he had any last words. He said, “Yes, I would like to pray.” He prayed and asked God to forgive all of his accusers. The executioner was so moved by that prayer that he asked Wishart for forgive him. Wishart, after kissing him on the cheek said, “I forgive thee. Now do thine office.” And the executioner lit the fire.

Within a few moments the gunpowder exploded, whirling Wishart’s body around till it faced the window where Cardinal Beaton was sitting. The captain of the guard, who was standing on the platform looked into his eyes and saw that he was still alive and said, “Oh sir, be of good courage.” Wishart said through the flames, “These flames have scorched my body, but they have not daunted my spirit. He who looks at me from yon window with such pride, not many days from now, shall lie in that castle in a shameful death.” And then he died. His last words were a prophecy about Cardinal Beaton.

He died on March 1, 1546. On May 28, 1546, less than three months later, Cardinal David Beaton, at 52 years of age, was murdered in that very castle and his body was hung outside that same window in shame.

Surprised by the Voice of God by Jack Deere, 1998

The Fulfilling of Scripture by Robert Flemming, 1668

The Missing Vav

Vav

Genesis 2:4 This is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens,

There is something that stands out about this verse from all others except for one. It is because of the word that is translated history/generation/genealogy is spelt correctly only here and one other place.

The second letter from the right is the Vav. The only other place it is spelt correctly is in Ruth 4:18 where the genealogy of Perez is given, the twin son of Judah which is in the genealogy of Jesus.

Genesis 2:4 is the only time that this word is used before the fall of man. Could there be something that had to do with sin that caused the Vav to disappear? If that is the case, then would would cause the Vav to be restored in Ruth?

Here is my take on it. If, as suggested in previous articles on the Vav, this letter represents Jesus, then life is restored in the creation of the family line of Perez to bring us back to a nature that was before sin began. Again, Jesus revealed.

Feel free to leave a comment or insight.

Megiddo

Joshua 11:4-5 So they went out, they and all their armies with them, as many people as the sand that is on the seashore in multitude, with very many horses and chariots. And when all these kings had met together, they came and camped together at the waters of Merom to fight against Israel.

According to Josephus there were 300,000 soldiers; 10,000 cavalry; and 20,000 chariots. The location, Merom, is in the plain of Esdraelon or Megiddo. This is significant because Revelation 16:16 describes this place as being the location of the last great war.

Nazareth, the place where Jesus grew up, overlooked Megiddo. Is it possible that played, camped or even did business in that area? As He walked through there, do you think that he may have seen the battle playing over in His mind? Knowing how tender His heart was, I wonder if He ever wept there.

Feel free to leave comments or insight.

Jakob Boehme

Jakob Boehme

Jakob Boehme was born in the year 1575 in a village near Gorlitz, and died in Silesia in 1624. He had but little schooling and was apprenticed at an early age to a shoemaker. He later became a journeyman shoemaker, married and had four children.

One day while tending his master’s shoe shop, a mysterious stranger entered who, while he seemed to impoverished, appeared to be most wise and noble in his spirit. The stranger asked the price of a pair of shoes, but young Boehme did not dare to name a figure, for fear that he would displease his master. The stranger insisted and Boehme finally placed a value which he felt was all that his master possibly could hope to secure for the shoes. The stranger immediately bought them and departed.

A short distance down the street the mysterious stranger stopped and cried out in a loud voice, “Jakob, Jakob, come forth.”

In amazement and fright, Boehme ran out of the house. The strange man fixed his eyes upon him. He took the boy’s right hand and addressed him as follows: “Jakob, thou art little but shall be great, and become another Man, such a one as at whom the World shall wonder. Therefore be pious, fear God, and reverence His Word. Read diligently the Holy Scriptures, wherein you have Comfort and Instruction. For thou must endure much Misery and Poverty, and suffer Persecution, but be courageous and persevere, for God loves, and is gracious to thee.”

Interpeting the Bible

I came across someone this week that was very interesting.

1. He believes that Jesus first came to our planet 26,000 years earlier in a UFO.
2. He believes that not much of the scripture is accurate, but believes the words of Jesus.
3. His view of Jesus is in the context of Rome of that day and dismisses the fact that Jesus was Jewish and spoke to Jewish people.
4. He believes that Paul was a deceiver and can not be trusted.
5. He believes that Jesus is coming back December 12, 2012 in a UFO.
6. He believes in reincarnation.
7. He believes that nothing is spiritual but are electrons and energy and that is how we communicate to Jesus on his UFO.

Sound strange? What is disturbing is that he has teaching videos on YouTube and has a following. He is answering people’s questions with this stuff and they are accepting it.

At the same time there are young men knocking on doors around the world offering “another” gospel.

So, how do we know what is right?

2 Timothy 3:16-17 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Who are we and who do you trust enough to pick and choose what scriptures are true? Can we afford to pick and choose?

What do we do with scripture that we do not understand or may sound contradictory? Ask yourself why God gave that instruction or why did they respond that way or what does this mean symbolically?

What was God accomplishing when He instructed Israel to kill whole nations? It was God’s judgement upon a nation who had been sinning for hundreds of years in idolatry and sexual sins. Did they receive warnings? Nineveh did. So, why can’t we believe that those nations did too? Did God want to kill thousands of people? No, Nineveh repented and God changed the judgement. Killing has never been God’s first desire.

What do we do with a story of a blind man in one gospel and the same story told of two bind men? Each gospel was written by different individuals to different audiences with different deliveries for different goals. Ask two people to describe an accident. Neither have to be wrong in order to have two different stories. We focus on different things.

What do we do with Jesus talking about eunuchs? If you come from the Roman law it would seem that he is speaking of homosexuals. If you keep it within the Jewishness of the speaker and the crowd then you understand that He is speaking of men who are impotent by choice or birth. You can also see what other scripture says about it. The Hebrew word for eunuch means to crush. I will not say what is crushed.

History can not be used to interpret God’s word. History only supports it. Scripture interpretes scripture. There is no other instruction that is so holy.

Why was Hosea told to marry a prostitute? Hosea and his life were a living message to Israel.

Why would God send a flood to kill everyone but 8 people? It was judgement. He knew that it would not get any better.

Why would the bible talk about God changing His mind or repenting from a decision if He knows everything? Was He changing His mind or was it intercession or repentance of the people or sinful actions that put them into a different light in God’s eyes?

Why was God testing Abraham when He asked him to sacrifice his son? Should not have God already known Abraham’s heart and was not human sacrifice a sin? God already knew Abraham, but Abraham did not know Abraham. What a changed man from his younger years when he would lie about his wife and try to help God out by having a son by another woman. As for the human sacrifice, could not this have been a glimpse of what would happen with one of Abraham’s descendents, Jesus?

The bible is not as hard as many try to make it out to be if you will do the following:

• Keep in mind the story line or context.
• Compare it to scripture you already know.
• Compare it to the God you already know.
• Find other scripture that clarifies it.
• Never interpret through feeling or history. The facts will support it, not lead you to the truth. Scripture is truth – history supports it.
• Always ask questions. There is a message in there somewhere for you.
• Pray for God’s direction.

As a result, I have been called religious. But, religion follows tradition and rules. When you follow a living Word there is no religion in it. Hungry for God? Yes. Religious? No!

John Welsh

John Welsh

John Welsh, John Knox’s son-in-law, was the pastor in the city of Ayr. It was said of him that he believed that his day was ill spent if he did not pray 7 to 8 hours a day. He was so renown as a prophet that often the magistrate would ask for his advice.

One day, with the city on lock-down for fear of the plague, some cloth merchants came with two horses loaded down with bolts of cloth wanting in. The guards did not know what to do so they sent for the magistrate who then sent for John Welsh. When pastor Welsh gets there he goes to the top of the gate and looks down at the men. He then looks up to heaven and prays for a few minutes. Then he turns to the magistrate and says, “I fear that the plague is in those bolts of cloth.” That was good enough for the magistrate so they sent the men on their way.

They go 20 miles down the road to the city of Cumnock where they let the merchants in and the plague breaks out in the city to where there are not enough living to bury the dead.

Pastor Welsh is most famous for the story of a young man whom Welsh was very close to who died in his house while Welsh was in exile. They called for Welsh. He went in and began to pray over the body of the young man. He stayed with the body for 12 hours. When men came to bury the young man Welsh asked for 12 more hours and he prayed. When the time was up he asked for 12 more hours. After these 12 hours he asked for another 12 hours. Finally, after 48 hours they bring a doctor in to prove to Welsh that the man is dead and is not coming back.

So the doctor took a bowstring and pulled it tightly around his head and no reaction. He then pinched his legs with pliers like instruments and no reactions. “See,” said the doctor, “He is dead. Let the men bury him.”

Pastor Welsh asked for two more hours of prayer. So he prayed his heart out for two more hours and the story goes that the man woke up. The young man said, “Sir, I’m whole, except for my head and my legs – they hurt.” Physicians witnessed that story and it was from their account.

This young man became Lord Castle Stewart in Ireland.

Surprised by the Voice of God by Jack Deere, 1998

The Fulfilling of Scripture by Robert Flemming, 1668

Y-H-V-H

God's Name

In the Hebrew language the name of God is spelt in four letters. During the Old Testament times their alphabet contained only consonance. Because of this, no one knows exactly how to pronounce His name.

Jehovah is an English translation that is found in the King James Version. The problem is that the letter “J” is not even 1,000 years old and was the last letter to be added to any alphabet.

Yahweh became an attempt to correct the pronunciation of God’s name and yet the “W” was not correct either.

So sacred was this name that the Jews, in speaking it, would replace it with Adonai. It is listed over 6,800 times in the Old Testament. When the name appears it is translated in our Bibles with an all capital LORD. And in the context where Adonai and Lord appear then His name appears as GOD with all capitals as in Lord GOD.

The Jewish sages claim that the four letters of God’s name form the phrase, “He was, He is, He will be.”

This sacred name, Y-H-V-H, was only pronounce 10 times once a year by the High Priest during Yom Kippor. When the people heard the name they would bow in great reverence.

The true pronunciation is still hidden and yet no less sacred.

So, how did we get Jehovah in the first place?

If you were to look at the Hebrew text you would see dots and dashes above and below the letters. These are vowels that were added later to keep the language alive. But, because the Old Testament is read in worship every Sabbath, the Jews took the vowels of the name Adonai (Lord) and put them with Y-H-V-H so they would not accidently pronounce God’s name. This would clue them in to say “Adonai”  instead.

Mistakenly, the translators of the King James did not realize this and translated it Jehovah, not understanding this principle.

Martin Boehm

Henry Boehm

Martin Boehm was born in 1725 and lived in Lancaster, PA where he was a farmer and was appointed as pastor of his Mennonite parish. But something began to happen at prayer meetings in his home and he was asked to leave. These prayer meetings would have as many as 50 to 100 people packed into their farm house.

Here is an excerpt found in his son’s book, Henry Boehm, which is listed below. His son lived 100 years and traveled with Francis Asbury and records some outstanding works of God. The book can still be purchased at http://www.boehmschapel.org/ where the family has had it republished.

“Mr Abbott wrote his life, and in it he describes his visit to my father’s, his preaching, and the wonderful results that followed.  I prefer he should give it in his own peculiar style.

At Boehm’s we found a large congregation.  When I came to my application the power of the Lord came in such a manner that the people fell all about the house, and their cries might be heard afar off. This alarmed the wicked, who sprang for the doors in such haste that they fell over one another in heaps.  The cry of mourners was so great that I though to give out a hymn to drown the noise, and desired one of the English friends to raise it; but as soon as he began to sing the power of the Lord struck him, and he pitched under the table, and there lay like a dead man.  I gave it out again, and asked another to raise it.  As soon as he attempted he fell also.  I then made the third attempt, and the power of God came upon me in such a manner that I cried out and was amazed.  I then saw that I was fighting against God, and did not attempt to sing again.

Mr Boehm, the owner of the house, and a preacher among the Germans, cried out, ‘I never saw God in this way before.’  I replied, ‘This is Pentecost, father.’  ‘Yes, be sure,’ said he, clapping his hands, ‘pentecost, be sure.’  Prayer was all through the house, up stairs and down.  I desired Mr Boehm to go to prayer.  He did so, and five or six of us did the same.

…seeing no prospect of this meeting being over, although it had begun at eleven o’clock (am), I told Mr Boehm we had best quietly withdraw from the meeting-house.  When we had got out of the door a young man came out and laid hold upon the fence to support himself from falling and there cried amain for God to have mercy upon him.  ‘To be sure,’ said Mr Boehm, ‘I never saw God in this way before.’

I took the old gentleman by the arm, and we went quietly to the house to get some dinner.  About five o’clock a messenger came from the preaching house requesting that I would go there immediately, for there was a person dying.  We went without delay.  I went up stairs, and there lay several about the floor in like manner.  I then went to see the person said to be dying.  She lay gasping.  I knelt down to pray, but it was instantly given me that God had converted her soul, and therefore, instead of praying for her deliverance, I gave God thanks that he had delivered her, and immediately she arose and praised God for what he had done for her soul.

…In the morning I found the people were still engaged, and had been all night.

We set out with about forty friends to the next appointment.  The people being gathered, after singing and prayer I began to preach, and God laid to his helping hand.  Many cried aloud for mercy. One young man being powerfully wrought upon retired up stairs, and then thumped about on the floor, so that Mr Boehm was afraid that he would be injured in body.  ‘To be sure,’ said he, ‘I never saw God work in this way before.’…”

Boehm’s Reminiscences, by Henry Boehm; 1865, p20-24

By the way, this is a relative of mine of which I am proud of.

God Revealed

How much of God can you find in the first chapter of Genesis? It is said that He has revealed Himself in ten ways. I will list them:

1. God is pre-existing – there was nothing before Him.
2. God is one and created all things.
3. God is Spirit and hovers over His creation.
4. God spoke things into existence from nothing.
5. God makes order out of chaos.
6. God is the God of distinctions, dividing light from dark, water from dry land.
7. God is the creator of moral judgement, declaring things good and bad.
8. God creates life. There is no death in Him.
9. God desires to be known.
10. God is good. All that He created is good.

Religion vs Relationship

…Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.  And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. Genesis 4:2-5

For years I have heard that the reason that God accepted Abel’s offering and not Cain’s was because Abel offered a blood sacrifice to the Lord and Cain did not. What if I told you that that idea was wrong?

The problem with this explanation is that the Hebrew word for offering is “minchah” which does not mean a blood offering. It is actually a bloodless offering. Therefore, blood was not required for this offering. It was an offering of thanksgiving.

So, what made the difference between Cain and Abel? There is something that is very significant here. It was the quality of the offering.

Both brought an offering without being commanded, it would seem. Both brought an offering from their labor. But, there are two clues into Abel’s offering. The first is that his offering was a firstborn from the flock. To emphasize the quality he offered the fat. The Hebrew word for fat, “cheleb”,  can also mean the choicest or best This word is also used in Numbers 18 in offering the best oil, the best of the new wine and grain.

Cain’s offering does not have these same descriptions. It was worship that was not from the heart. I have to question the description of “in the process of time,” a description that does not go will with fruit. Could the fruit have been rotten? Or, was it a matter that Cain waited to make sure that he had enough for himself before he offered his fruit.

Established very early in scripture is that the value of our worship is determined on the value it is to us or what it cost us – a sacrifice of praise. This is a great example of the contrast between relationship with God and religion.