by Onovae Akpoesiri | Jun 3, 2020 | Food for thought, Share your view
Rape has a history that almost equaled the history of man’s creation. It is on record that the first recorded incidence of rape in the Bible was in the Book of Genesis.
In Nigeria, the offense of rape is a heinous crime and the drafters of the Criminal Code deemed it fit for life imprisonment upon conviction.
Despite all these, rape in Nigeria seems to be on the increase and the question on every lip is, what is the way forward.
First of all, thieves, rapists, and other psychos will always be there. What will should focus on is how to avoid them.
We live in a world where we have a lot of psychos and they will be around till Christ comes. For example, I live in Warri, Delta state, for me to stay safe, I have to avoid night movements. The only time I have encountered armed robbers in Warri was when I was out till 9pm.
What I am trying to say is that no matter how we preach, rapists will always be there and they are criminals just like armed robbers.
The best thing is to know your environment and know how to avoid them. You as a girl, try to avoid soft spots like lonely roads, nights and meeting up unknown guys in hotels. Don’t also move alone in a quiet/dark place.
Parents with female children should be careful the way guys (uncles, pastors, friends etc) play with their daughter and also do well to educate their male children as well.
And you guys raping girls, you will reap what you sow one day.
#AkposTalks #SayNoToRape
by Onovae Akpoesiri | Apr 14, 2020 | Bible Study, Members Writeup, Share your view
There is no seven (7) literal years of Antichrist reign after the rapture in scripture: There is absolutely nowhere in the scriptures in which one can find the Antichrist reign and oppression for seven or three and half years after the second coming of Christ. The popular unscriptural teaching is that Antichrist reign will last for 1 week (7 years) as seen in Daniel’s 70 weeks. He is said to rise as a peaceful world leader in the first 3 ½ years but in the next 3 ½ years, he will be the real devil he is.
The last week of the 70 weeks prophecy of Daniel 9 cannot be detached from the whole block of time and applied to a future period for Antichrist’s reign. The 70 weeks prophecy was probationary time given to Daniel’s people, the Jews (Daniel 9:24). This block of time stretches from the time the commandment or decree was given to restore and rebuild Jerusalem to the time the Messiah or Christ would come (the first time) to die (Daniel 9:25) and when the gospel will go to the Gentiles. That decree was given by Artaxerxes Longimanus I in 457 B.C. and says in verse 25 that the first 69 weeks (483 years, when you apply the year/day principle [see Ezekiel 4:6; Numbers 14:33) would lead to the appearance of the Messiah. Messiah is a Hebrew word that means “anointed.” The Greek equivalent is Christos. This part of the time prophecy was fulfilled when Jesus was baptized in A.D. 27, exactly 69 weeks or 483 years from 457 B.C. That’s when He was anointed with the Holy Spirit and was presented or officially introduced to Israel by John the Baptist as the Messiah.
Now there remains one prophetic week out of the 70 weeks prophecy. That is the seven years that is now said to be meant for the reign of Antichrist. But this seven years is not meant for the reign and activities of Antichrist, but that of Christ Himself. This may come as a surprise to many. First and foremost, you should know that this prophecy is about Christ and not Antichrist. Notice also that the one week is a part of the 70 weeks. It cannot be separated from it and applied to the future. There is no indication of such a separation or divorce of the one week or seven years of time from the 70 weeks in the text. The 70 weeks is one block of time and the angel who was interpreting was only giving Daniel, as well as us, a breakdown of what will happen at different times during the one block of time. This prophecy is perhaps the strongest evidence that can be presented to show that Jesus of Nazareth was indeed the Saviour that was to come to save the world. So this prophecy is about Christ and NOT Antichrist. Now let’s read verses 26 and 27 that tell us what happens to Christ and what He accomplishes in the 70th week of the 70 weeks prophecy in the King James Version (some modern ecumenical and biased Bibles translators have rendered the verse with to make it refer to Antichrist):
“26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.
27 And he [Messiah, NOT Antichrist] shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate” (Daniel 9:26, 27).
Notice that verse 26 talks about Messiah being “cut of.” That’s a prophecy about Christ’s death. Notice too that it says He will not die for Himself, but for us. Then there is prediction about the prince that shall come and destroy the city that is referred to as the “abominations” that causes “desolations.” This is a reference to the destruction of Jerusalem by Prince Titus in A.D. 70. Titus, who became Roman emperor (79–81), was the prophesied “prince” in Daniel 9: 26, 27 was to be the conqueror of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. After service in Britain and Germany, Titus commanded a legion under his father, Emperor Vespasian, in Judaea in A.D. 67. Christ confirmed that this is the true interpretation of Daniel 9: 26, 27 when He was prophesying about the destruction of Jerusalem in Matthew 24 and He referred to it as the “abomination of desolation, spoken by Daniel the prophet” (verse 15). Christ used the very words in Daniel 9:26, 27. Some have applied this prophecy to Antiochus Epiphanes of the 2nd century B.C., who lived about 200 years before Christ. But this cannot be correct because Christ applied the prophecy to the future from His time. He said in Matthew 24:15: “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:).” So the fulfilment of the abominations of desolation through war cannot be a reference to Antiochus Epiphanes, but to Prince Titus.
Now back to the biggest Messianic event of the 70th week. Read it again inDaniel 9: 27: “And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.”
It’s very clear. While confirming the covenant in the last one week of the 70 weeks prophecy, Messiah is “cut of” and the Old Testament sacrifices or sacrificial system ceases or comes to an end. The “midst of the week” here will be three and half years from A.D. 27, which brings us to A.D. 31, the exact year Christ died on the cross. The next three and half years lands us in A.D. 34, the end of the 70 weeks prophecy. What happened that year? The Jewish council called the Sanhedrin, rejected Christ officially when they rejected the gospel preached to them by Stephen and ordered that he be stoned to death. From A.D. 34, the Jews ceased to be God’s chosen agency to reveal the mystery of salvation to the world and the gospel goes to the Gentiles. Remember that the 70 weeks was given to them as probationary time.
Let me prove this a little further. Before A.D. 34 Jesus commissioned His disciples to preach only to the Jews: “These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 10: 5, 6). Why would He make such a statement? Because it was not time in God’s prophetic calendar for the gospel to go to the Gentiles. He wanted to use the Jewish nation but they rejected the gospel. This is the understanding of Paul and the other apostles after A.D. 34. Remember Paul was converted after the death of the first Christian martyr, Stephen who was killed in A.D. 34. Listen as he addressed the Jewish leaders:
“But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming. Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles” (Acts 13: 45, 46).
The Jews, as a nation (not as individuals), misused their probationary time of 70 weeks or 490 years and God founded a new Israel from all nations of those who believe in Jesus as the Christ (Galatians 3: 26-29).
So the whole seven years theory of the Antichrist reign is not biblical. It was a Catholic Jesuit diversionary interpretation to make people not to focus on the real Antichrist identified by the Protestant Reformation in the Bible. This Antichrist remains the papal system.
About author
Azanor Eddy Thompson
by Onovae Akpoesiri | Apr 9, 2020 | Bible Study, Share your view
There have been serious questions and confusions surrounding 5G, Covid-19 and the Anti-Christ as many believe they are all linked together. Are they really linked? We will know soon. Let us relax as pastor Azanor Eddy Thompson explain it in details.
It is obvious that we are living in strange and even perilous times. Perceptive men and women everywhere sense that we are on the verge of some stupendous, earth shaking events that might usher in the time of trouble (also known as the tribulation that will be the toughest) and the end of time as we know it. But speculations vary on how these events will exactly play out (and we do not know all the details, except what has been revealed). Satan is, of course, taking advantage of the hysteria the coronavirus pandemic has created and is busy selling his lies to millions, if not billions of people the world over.
This article will first attempt to show from the scriptures when the Antichrist is predicted to be on the stage of history and, secondly, show the role of diseases, disasters and technology (5G) in the enforcement of the mark of the first or sea beast by the second and earth beast (Revelation 13).
The Antichrist Has Been Around:
The Apostle John is the only biblical writer to use the term “antichrist” and the plural form “antichrists;” and he used them five times altogether, four times and once, respectively (1 John 2:18, 22; 4:3,7; 2 John 7). Other apocalyptic writers used other terms. Daniel called it the Antichrist “the little horn” (Daniel 7 and 8). Paul referred to it as the the “man of sin” and “the son of perdition” (2 Thessalonians 2). In Revelation John referred to this same power as “the beast” (Revelation 13 & and 14) and “Babylon the Great” (Revelation 17 and 18). Among other identifying clues, Daniel and John both predicted that the Antichrist or the Apocalypse will reign and rule for 1260 years,applying the year-day principle of apocalyptic time prophecies (Daniel 7:25; Revelation 13:5; Numbers 14:34; Ezekiel 4:6).
“Antichrist” is a compound word, consisting of two words of Greek origin. The first is Christos, meaning “Christ” and the other is anti meaning “against” and “in place of” or “instead of.” All the meanings apply to the biblical Antichrist, for the Antichrist is not only against Christ but also pretend to, or better still, profess to act in stead of Christ as His representative. That’s why the Apostle Paul says the “man of sin,” who is the “son of perdition,” is not a secular power or individual but a quasi-Christian entity that claims the very prerogatives of deity:
“Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God” (2 Thessalonians 2:4).
The devil has to disguise the Antichrist power as a Christian power. That’s the way it can deceive. Satan knows that all genuine Christians will resist a secular individual or organization. But if the Antichrist comes in sheep clothing in the name of Christ, all who have not been prayerfully reading their Bibles cannot know it for what it is (2 Thessalonians 2: 8, 9; 2 Corinthians 11:13, 14); they will be looking for an unscriptural one-man Antichrist after the so-called secret rapture, just like the Jews who were not prayerfully reading the Old Testament prophecies about Christ (but relied on the popular scholarly and politically motivated interpretations of the rabis) could not know when and how the true Christ will come and are still waiting for a Messiah who has already come to die for the sins of the world (Luke 24: 25, 26, 44-49). What a deception! By the way, the only other person the Bible used the phrase “the son of perdition” for was Judas (John 17:
12). This is not a coincidence. Judas is a perfect definition of the Antichrist. He was not openly against Christ. He pretended to be for Christ while stealing and finally betraying Christ with a kiss. The Antichrist claims to be acting for or in place of God, but discerning Christian see it as betraying Christ by changing God’s law (as man of sin, of course), persecuting God’s people and blasphemously claiming the very prerogatives of God (Daniel 7:25; Revelation 13: 1, 5, 7).
Going by the scriptures there are “many antichrists” (1 John 2: 8) and they were already present in John’s day in the 1st century (1 John 2:18; 4:3). Their cardinal gnostic teaching known as docetism was that Christ did not really come in the real postlapsarian flesh that the scriptures affirm without ambiguity (1 John 4:3; Romans 1:3: 8:3; Philippians 2:7; Hebrews 2: 14-17). This Antichrist teaching is still with us today in the form of the unscriptural Immaculate Conception dogma, that Mary was conceived without sin so that Christ will possess a flesh different from ours. Now the implications of such teaching are huge but that is not the chief focus of this study. So we can safely conclude that anyone or power or entity that is against Jesus any time is an antichrist. But there is also the other dimension of antichrist manifestation that will be a power that will have influence worldwide influence and coerce everyone in the last days to receive the dreaded mark (Revelation 13: 3, 8, 15-18).
So, when does the Bible say the Antichrist that will appear on the stage of history, before or after the second coming when the saints will be caught up or raptured? Paul was crystal clear on this. He wrote:
“Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, [the rapture, if you will] That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: FOR THAT DAY SHALL NOT COME, EXCEPT THERE COME A FALLING AWAY FIRST, AND THAT MAN OF SIN BE REVEALED, THE SON OF PERDITION” (2 Thessalonians 2: 1-3, emphasis added).
Please indulge me a little space and time to give context or background to the above Pauline text. In 1 Thessalonians he had written to the believers in Thessalonica about the coming of Christ to resurrect those who were falling asleep in Christ. He presented the resurrection to them as the only hope for those who had died in Christ and for the living saints who will be alive when Christ comes to rapture the saints (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; see also 1 Corinthians 15). But some misguided teachers arose and started saying that Christ will come in the lifetime of the then believers. Some even wrote and signed letters in the name of Paul and the other apostles to deceive the people by giving them false hopes. As time elapsed and more and more Christians died, the believers would become disillusioned and loose faith, hence Paul had to write to tell them that they should not be deceived by those who were telling them that the day of Christ’s coming to take them to heaven was at hand. With this literary and historical context in mind read 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3 again.
What I want you to notice in the text is that that i) the subject matter was about the second coming, (verse 1); ii) at the second coming the saints shall be gathered unto Christ or raptured (verse 1), as he promised they would be “caught up” or raptured in 1 Thessalonians 4:16,17; iii) the Antichrist or “man of sin” and “son of perdition” will appear on the stage of history to cause a ”falling away” (Greek, apostasia, from which we have the English word, “apostasy,” which means to fall way from the truth) first before the second coming (verse 3).
This means that this Antichrist power that Paul speaks about was not yet established in Paul’s day, though he said “the mystery of iniquity was already at work” (verse 7). But it was being restrained by pagan Rome which was the ruling power that needs to give way for the papacy. After showing that this power will sit in the temple of God to claim the very prerogatives of God in blasphemy in verse 4, the apostle went on to prophetically declare that it is the restrainer, Rome, that is to be taken out of the way that the Antichrist will appear: “Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time” (2 Thessalonians 2: 5:6).
To make his point very, clear he goes on to tell us in verses 7 and 8 that this deceptive, blasphemous, Antichrist power will be destroyed at the second coming by the brightness of Christ’s coming after the restrainer leaves the way and Antichrist appears:
“For the mystery of lawlessness doth already work: only there is one that restraineth now, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall be revealed the lawless one [because it leads people to transgress God’s law by expunging the 2nd commandment that forbids using images in worship and changed the fourth that enjoins us to keep the seventh day (Saturday) as the Sabbath], whom the Lord Jesus shall slay with the breath of his mouth, and bring to nought by the manifestation [brightness, KJV] of his coming; even he, whose coming is according to the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceit of unrighteousness for them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God sendeth them a working of error, that they should believe a lie: that they all might be judged who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness” (2 Thessalonians 2: 7-12, ASV).
Revelation 12 and 13 prophetically revealed the same truth that Paul prophesied in 2 Thessalonians 2. Revelation 13:2 says it is the dragon that gave the beast its power, seat and authority. This beast is the papacy (as shall be made more abundantly clear). But who is the dragon? The primary meaning is Satan the devil (Revelation 12:9). But there is a secondary application of the term. According to Revelation 12:4, 5 the dragon wanted to destroy Christ when He was born. Now Satan rarely works directly or openly. What earthly power was he trying to use to destroy Christ when he was born? The biblical and historical answer is, Rome. Herod was representing the power of Rome. So Rome is the second application of the symbol “dragon” in Revelation. Pagan Rome gave the papacy its seat, power and authority. This is a historical fact. When Constantine left Rome to Byzantium and renamed it after himself (Constantinople) as the new capital of the Roman Empire, he left the city of Rome to the Pope. But it was not until 538 A.D. that the the bishop of Rome was made the head of all the churches by Emperor Justinian. From this time on the pope started wielding both spiritual and temporal powers more fully, especially over the Western Roman Empire, with a forged document known as the Donation of Constantine. So when the Caesars left, the popes took their place. They even assumed the very title of the Caesars, pontifex maximus. That’s why the pope is called the Roman Pontiff till today.
It is real unscriptural to teach that Antichrist will do its nefarious work of deceiving people with satanic miracles (Revelation 13: 13, 14; 16:13, 14; 19:20) and forcing people to receive the mark of being against God (Revelation 13: 15, 17) after the church has been raptured away from the earth. The Antichrist reigned uninterrupted from 538 A.D. to 1798 A.D. That is the 1260 years prophesied by Daniel as “a time and times and dividing a time” (Daniel 7:25) and “a time, times, and an half” (Daniel. 12:7). John the Revelation prophesied of the same period as “three days and an half” (Revelation 11:9), “three days and an half” (Revelation 11:11), “a thousand two hundred and threescore days” (Revelation 12:6), “a time, and times, and half a time” (Revelation 12:14) and “forty and two months” (Revelation 13:5). In apocalyptic scriptures a day is interpreted as a year. The interesting thing is that this prophetic time that is mentioned seven times in Daniel and Revelation is always (without and exception) found in the context of the persecution of God’s holy people. God’s church was in obscurity or wilderness during this period. This is also the period God law was changed. Church historians call it the Dark Ages. This is because it was a time when moral darkness reigned supreme because the Bible was suppressed, outlawed and burned. People were not free to translate and read it. Superstition was the order of the day and even the growth in scientific knowledge was stunted. This period ended in 1798 when Napoleon Bonaparte sent his general to arrest the pope, Pius VI, and took him captive to the city of Valence in France where he died the next year. It was said that the soldiers entered Rome a year before to arrest the pope but he was sick, so they pitied him and left, thinking he would die. To the ordinary eye, this is one of those things. But if they had arrested him in 1797, the prophecy would have failed. But God’s word cannot fail. So they came the next year and abolished the papal states. All of these were fulfilling Revelation 13:10 which says the papacy would go into captivity. This also fulfilled Revelation 13:3 that says one of the heads of the beast would be wounded to death. Everyone said the papacy would never exist again. But the prophecy says the beast will recuperate, its wound would be healed and it will regain worldwide following (Revelation 13:3). This healing began in 1929 A..D. when Mussolini of fascist Italy and Gaspari, representing the Roman church, signed a pact that returned the Vatican to the papacy. From that time till now the papacy had made a wonderful recovery and is rapidly gaining worldwide following and this is leading to world dominance. This is the beast of prophecy and history. This is what the Waldenses, Martin Luther and all the Reformers, Matthew Henry, Charles Spurgeon, etc., believed. The reason many people believe that the Antichrist is going to appear after the rapture is because of what the Jesuits have done in the Counter Reformation (see my other article titled WHY WE FORGOT WHO THE REAL ANTICHRIST IS). The prophecy cannot fail. Get ready for the mark of the beast.
2. Diseases, Disasters and 5G Technology: There is no doubt that diseases, disasters and technology will play roles in the mark of the breast crisis. For instance it is not impossible for the powers that be to say that those who will not cooperate with the beast agenda of false worship are the ones incurring the wrath of God and causing the disasters and diseases. If you can imaging a small group of believers who refuse to worship according to the changed law of the beast power when it is enforced by the powers that be (championed by the second or earth beast [America, this will be clear by another studies]) because they believe that the Sabbath is the seal of God’s law and the sign of ultimate allegiance to Him (Isaiah 8:16; Ezekiel 20:12, 20; Hebrews 8:10), you are getting very close to the heart of the matter. The issue is not about some microchip powered by the 5G technology to control people or some vaccine to reduce the world’s teeming population. The real issue is worship. Satan wants worship through his accomplices, the Roman and American beasts.
They will no doubt use technology to freeze your account and try to track you. This is all possible now. They will even accuse the remnant that keeps God’s commandments (Revelation 12:17) of causing the pestilences and seismic and climatic disasters (especially as the pope is now linking Covid-19 to climate change) as Elijah was accused of causing drought for going against Baal worship in Israel of old (1 Kings 18:17). All of this will be part of the issues leading to the enforcement of the mark of the beast, but they are not the mark of the beast itself. The mark of the beast crisis is about who, how and when to worship. The mark of the beast is calculated to rob God and His people the holy time they have together. The real aim is to rob God’s people of their love relationship with God. This has being Satan’s work since he rebelled and led one third of the angels to sin against God in heaven. He separated Adam and Eve from God by leading Eve to disobey God. The Bible says he deceives the whole world (Revelation 12:9). If he can deceive or force God’s remnant people to break just one of God’s law, he will win the controversy and they will be lost with the world (James 2:10). So it’s about who you obey. You must have to choose whom to obey between Christ and the beast (Romans 6:16). Obedience is the highest form of worship (1 Samuel 15:22). Adam and Eve obeyed Satan in breaking God’s commandment in regard to the fruit of a tree and that’s how disease, disappointment, disaster and death entered and flooded the world. “Just a tree and its fruits,” you might say. But it’s more than that. It was a matter of who Eve believed and obeyed. The same with the Ten Commandments, especially the Sabbath. Do you believe the word of God or would you out of convenience, necessity and following the crowd worship according to man made laws? That’s the real issue.
According to Revelation 14:12, all who truly keep the commandments of God will not receive the mark of the beast. This verse, found in the context of the three angels’ messages, reports the existence of a last days worldwide minority who are the fruitage of the preaching of the three angels’ messages. They will not receive the mark of the beast because they keep all of God’s commandments as found in the Bible and not as changed by the beast from Saturday to Sunday (Daniel 7:25). “Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus” (Revelation 14:12). Satan hates them because they insist, even at the loss of everything, in continuing their keeping of God’s commandments because they love Him (Revelation 12:17; John 14:15). This they will continue to do, even at the peril of their lives (Revelation 13:15; 12:11). God will prove to the universe (like He did with Job and Abraham) that His law can be kept, even in the most foreboding circumstances, to forever silence Satan’s charges (that God gave laws that can’t be kept) that are calculated to impugn God’s character.
It is “the faith of Jesus” in them that enables them to keep the commandments of God (Revelation 14:12). When you accept Christ into your life, the indwelling Christ will begin to live out His very life within you. You will have the resurrection power of Christ in you to live as a child of God. That’s what it means to have the faith of Jesus. Says Paul, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2;20, emphasis added). That’s it. When Christ lives in you, you will begin to live by the faith of Jesus which will enable you to keep all of God’s commandments and they will become a delight rather than a burden (Psalm Psalm 40:8; 1 John 5:2,3).
About author
Azanor Eddy Thompson
by Onovae Akpoesiri | Jun 27, 2016 | Food for thought, Members Writeup, Share your view
Is It real? The reality of sexual activities in dreams is common in our contemporary society. Stories of individuals having sex in dreams has been termed as being engaged to a “spiritual husbands and wives.” Such sexual activities in dreams are evident at dawn with symptoms and ecstasies associated with it. These by implication has resulted to spiritual effects in form of bareness, delay in marriage and other physical manifestations.
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Some years ago there was a woman who had a man with a face of her secondary school teacher coming to her in a dream to have sex with her at early part of her any pregnancy, whenever this happen it result to miscarriage the following day and when this happens, she confessed that her love for her husband disappears. This kept on for years until I was posted to be her Church Pastor. She narrated all that she has been passing through, we organized a three days of fasting and prayer with the family with anointing service with the woman after which she was delivered from this affliction for years after which she has gotten three children.
In another experience, a young woman in one of our churches in Lagos, suffered for about 6 years under the power of the devil. She narrated that her ordeal started when a friend invited her to a party when was in 300level in the university. At the party, a young man proposed and she agreed to terms on friendship alone, and after 3 days she began to experience night mares. In the dream, the young man will always appear to offer help and take her to safety. This was the beginning of closeness in the dream land and after 3 weeks they began to have sex which she said she will wake up in the morning weak and there will be stains of a man’s semen on her body. She has not been able to tell anyone and she has also could not relate well to other men, she has suffered some delay in having life partner.
How the case was handled.
To dispel darkness, bring in the light. “The entrance of your words gives light” (Ps. 119:130, NKJV; see also 2 Cor.4:1-7).
The means of demonic entry and the grounds upon which they stand need to be defined, but persistent and indulged hatred, bitterness, lying, unforgiving spirit, blasphemy, filthiness, just to name some, are equally effective in bringing bondage into a person’s life (note Mark 7:20-23). Other means of entry are involvement in heathen worship, hypnotism, occult practices, and similar mind control techniques.
It is important to have the afflicted person repeat prayers of confession and Renunciation. In doing this, they are clearly declaring their choice to forsake the powers of darkness but to have Christ rule their lives. On the basis of faith in Him, those powers have no alternative but to retreat.
The Bible and prayer are primary weapons which will discomfort the evil spirits. Eph.1:7; Ps. 35, 51, 107:20; 1 John 1:9; Matt.28:18, Luke10:19 “Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you” Eph.1:7 “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” (Ministry Magazine 1998)
A vigil was organized after 6 months I got to the District and it was at the program she said, she had this burning desire to share her experience with me. When this lady reported to her pastor that she has been tormented by this strange occurrence. Her pastor encouraged to start a seven days fasting and prayer to be meeting in the church an hour day. She was also given seven different Bible texts based on victory over forces of darkness to be read and claimed the promise by night and by day. It was also agreed to be praying together at every 1am until she gain victorious.
To the glory of God, after such spiritual activity the appearances of the evil spirit where not frequent anymore and after a month. By the middle of the second month, she was set free from the power of darkness. She no longer experience this evil visitation and she began to weep that the devil made her keep quite over the years in other that she might be oppressed.
SDA Church Position (how will the church handle the situation)
In the Seventh-day Adventist Church, responding to such is filled with lots of mis-feelings. The church has philosophy or worldview that the power of darkness should be mentioned less. The church posits that the more attention given to them, the more grounds they gain to perpetrate their havoc. So little or no attention/mentioning of the physical manifestation of the works of the evil forces among members is being discussed.
Though the church acknowledges the great controversy between good and evil, hence, we also believe the work of evil angles. Rev 12:7-11 “And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8 But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 9 The great dragon was hurled down — that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. 10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:” Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. 11 They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.”(NIV) this evil angles are at work in different kind of method to afflict man far from God.
Ephesians 5:11, 12. “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret here.
How are other churches handling this issues?
For other churches, it is a major event in church programs/activities. In which designated day of the week is used for fasting and prayers with deliverance services for all that are being possessed or attacked by the forces of darkness.
Suggestion/recommendations for addressing the issues
Our thought should be focus on Christ “Those who turn from the plain teachings of Scripture and the convicting power of God’s Holy Spirit are inviting the control of demons.” What does that say for the religious leaders and scholars who are completely opposed to the idea of Christ being the Son of God? Think of the Sabbath, what about the law of God. “The hypnotic influence of Satan will rest upon those who turn from the plain word of God to pleasing fables.” {EGW, 8T 294.1}
As we see and hear our members confess that they are either possessed or attacked by evil forces, extra-ordinary care is required of the church and/or the Pastor in other not to leave the gospel of righteousness, obedience, truthfulness, love, charity, total surrender and submission to Christ unpreached at the expense of demon possession.
It is also clearly stated in the SOP that “there we never be a time for us to change our messages”
My soul is much burdened, for I know what is before us. Every conceivable deception will be brought to bear upon those who have not a daily, living connection with God. Satan’s angels are wise to do evil, and they will create that which some will claim to be advanced light and will proclaim it as new and wonderful; yet while in some respects the message may be truth, it will be mingled with human inventions and will teach for doctrine the commandments of men. . . . Many apparently good things will need to be carefully considered with much prayer, for they are specious devices of the enemy to lead souls in a path that lies so close to the path of truth that it will be scarcely distinguishable from it. . . . {CTr 362.2}
The pen of inspiration went further to counsel that:
We are to pray for divine enlightenment, and at the same time we should be careful about receiving everything termed new light. . . . I have been shown that it is the device of the enemy to divert minds to some obscure or unimportant point, something that is not fully revealed or is not essential to salvation. . . . {CTr 363.2}
Also that:
We must let the principles of the third angel’s message stand out clear and distinct. The great pillars of our faith will hold all the weight that can be placed upon them.—Manuscript 82, 1894 (Review and Herald, Nov. 4, 1965). {CTr 363.3}
Furthermore encourages:
Our ministers must cease to dwell upon their peculiar ideas, with the feeling, “You must see the point as I do, or you cannot be saved.” Away with this egotism! The great work to be done in every case is to win souls to Christ. . . . {CTr 363.4}
We are also adding our voice to her conclusion which states:
There is a time of trouble coming to the people of God, but we are not to keep that constantly before the people, and rein them up to have a time of trouble beforehand. There is to be a shaking among God’s people; but this is not the present truth to carry to the churches; it will be the result of refusing the truth presented.
ABOUT AUTHOR
Pastor Akhaine Augustine
by Onovae Akpoesiri | Jun 4, 2016 | Food for thought, Members Writeup, Share your view, world Church
One of the biggest threat faced in Sabbath School is members not showing up on time. What percentage of your church members arrive at Sabbath School early, 100 percent? 80 percent? 50 percent? 20 percent? 10 percent? Recently I started visiting churches around the nation, I noticed that Sabbath School starts on time, but the percentage of Sabbath School members present at the beginning of the Service was less than 50 percent. Do you think it is a problem in the church? Do you think the Sabbath School officials are to blame? Do you think the fault is from the members? This article will be focusing on ways to draw people early to Sabbath School.
Let’s carefully consider the following suggestion:
1. Prayer
The first and the most efficient way to make members to come early to Sabbath School is prayer. The Sabbath School superintendent and his officials must see the need to organize prayers for themselves and Sabbath School members.
Prayer points includes:
Spiritual growth for all members- coming early to church is an indication that the spiritual health of your members is good.
Also pray for membership attendance and also for new convert to come into the church through Sabbath School. Other prayer points can be included.
2. Planning
Going through the creation story, you will realize that God is very organized. From creation of light down to creation of man and the rest on the seventh day. The master planner desires that we lay careful plans for every aspect of His work. This plans includes drawing people to Sabbath School on time.
As a Sabbath School superintendent, you need to plan on how to make your members be in church early. In doing this, you need to know your base and ask yourself the following questions: How many members do you have? How many arrive early last year? Last month? What is your specific goal for this year? How are you going to achieve it this year? Remember, you get what you work for.
3. Get a Good Plan
One of the best ways to get Sabbath School members to come early to church is for them to see that you have good plans for them.
Here are some suggestions:
Call one another tactics- The Sabbath School superintendent should encourage Sabbath School members to call at least one person on Friday evening. Sabbath School staff, teachers should try and call one person and invite him/her to come early to Sabbath School. These calls are just to show concern and love for one another.[AdSense-A]
Good Example Tactics- It will be a bad example if members of the Sabbath School crews arrives late to church. They should arrive early and welcome the members.
Get a Yearly Calendar- Nothing is as nice as when the Sabbath School members sees a plan for the year or for the month. Especially when the programs are nice and they are in our church bulletin.
Sweeter Beginning- Organize special musical presentation or special features early in your program, right after opening prayer. Make sure the members are aware of this programs, announce it the week before.
I Wish Tactics- Make them wish that they had come earlier. Recap the morning activities at the end of the Sabbath School program.
Appreciation Tactics- Always appreciate those that arrive early, if possible give them gift
And finally, always make them to look forward to next week Sabbath School.
4. Evaluation
There is every need for the Sabbath School council to periodically evaluate its program. They need to know if their tactics are working or not, if the Sabbath School is meeting the need of the Sabbath School members, if they are meeting the objective of the Sabbath School. Regular Evaluation will help the Sabbath School crew to discover ways to improve the Sabbath School programs. By God’s grace, with these few step coming late to Sabbath School will drastically reduce.
by Onovae Akpoesiri | May 25, 2016 | My Story, NAAS, Share your view
Adventist Student in Nigeria Shares Her Faith
adebusoye damilola from Delta Conference, WNUC, Nigeria.
Foundational Christian Experience
I grew up in an Adventist home raised up by principled parents. I enjoyed regular church attendance, yet, for a while, my foundational church experience was basically a routine for me. I needed to experience God for myself. I struggled with deep and intense fear as a child and had difficulty in relating this experience with others for fear of being mocked or reviled. God delivered me from fear through peculiar experiences. The first of which he verbally spoke a psalm of which I read and became assured of God’s protection and power to relieve me from fear.
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I read and memorised psalm 91 and when plagued with intense fear, I recited the words of the psalm and as faith in God built, my fears subsided.
This experience gave me a strong realization of Christ’s personal interest in him, that he would speak to me rather than leave me to my personal struggles. For this reason, with a deep sense of gratitude I resolved to know God better. Thus I studied the Bible as well as a lot of other books including the great controversy
Sabbath Convictions
As I studied, I became impressed with the significance of true Sabbath keeping. I was learning that it was wrong to buy, sell, attend classes or write examinations on God’s Holy day. Not as a burden but as a test of obedience and a sign of our allegiance to God.
Whenever I brought up these issues to my dad, he made a lot of reference to ministers and minister’s children who did same things on the Sabbath and made it clear that such stands would not be tolerated in his house
Shrinking from fear of being severely reprimanded, I wrote my JAMB examinations on the Sabbath. After some years of not being able to get admission into the university, I finally got admission in UNIBEN to study a dream course. I repeated my study on the great controversy and on keeping God’s Sabbath holy. Then I made a more decided decision to stand for God whatever the cost.
Broken Dreams
Entering the university and studying a dream course was a source of great joy to me. I had a defined academic plan putting God in mind. These plans were threatened when 6 of my first semester exams fell on Saturday including a major course. Worse still I barely got encouraged by anyone as they would rather be silent that encourage me to keep the Sabbath holy at so great a cost. The words of the hymn “Jesus is all the world to me” was a source of encouragement to me as I bent under the weight of a major tough decision
The consequences of my action, the foreseen reaction of my parents, the risk of failure, mockery or pitiful counsels from concerned course mates were for a while a weight on my mind. But this statement amidst others encouraged me:
“True Christian principle will not stop to weigh consequences. It does not ask, what will people think of me if I do this? Or how will it affect my worldly prospects if I do that? With the most intense longing the children of God desire to know what He would have them do, that their works may glorify Him. The Lord has made ample provision that the hearts and lives of all His followers may be controlled by divine grace, that they may be as burning and shining lights in the world”
counsels for the church page 51
I memorised this quote and it constantly encouraged me.
On the day of the first exam i dressed for church and the kind family I stayed with, though having good intentions made a decided efforts to stop me from what I was doing to “destroy my future”, for that was how they classified my actions. On another occasion, few classmates sat me down to change my mind-set but I was determined to stand for God at whatever cost. In this trying period Jesus was a very present friend, a faithful companion and God.
While on probation the exams fell again on the Sabbath and I knew I had to leave school. Telling my parents about my decisions was a tough call, they were utterly disappointed. My dad insisted I stay in Uniben dictating the consequences of my rebellion. I chose to obey God rather than man with the assurance that if father and mother forsakes me God would pick me up.
Leaving UNIBEN, I had no assurance of financial support from my dad as it was also a tough time for them. In the most miraculous way ever at a time I had resolved to fate of not going to school that year, 2 days before the chance of a part scholarship I was to be offered expired, the Lord made financial provision for me to be in a private institution where there is no Sabbath exam. How God provides for my school fees each year still remains a mystery
Looking back now in retrospect, I don’t consider my decisions as so great a sacrifice. It pales in comparison with the faithful actions of a day sacrifices of Abraham, Apostle Paul, Huss, and Martin Luther. It pales in comparison to what Jesus sacrificed for me. Many even now excuse rebellion to God for the little privileges of life. But I often ask myself how it would feel to resurrect to the resurrection of condemnation just because of a certificate, job or family member. God forbid! Then how worthless the things for which will sell Jesus will appear in our eyes but then it will be too late to let go of them. Far too late.
Sometimes people make reference to the time I have lost in leaving UNIBEN then I must refer them to the much time I have gained reserved by God’s grace for me… eternity with Jesus for me is worth a thousand years of self-sacrifice.
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