Dear Friends,
Greetings in Christ.
In this post, we continue with what some have said should be called the Lord’s prayer — Jesus’ final prayer with his disciples before He goes to the cross. The verses in this section are so provocative that they leave me almost speechless. I will, however, do my best to comment on what Jesus says and how it applies to us. Father, give us understanding as we read thy word. Speak to our hearts. Transform and renew our minds, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
John 17:10-17
10 And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.
11 And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.
As I read these verses I feel that Jesus is not speaking about the disciples, at least not exclusively. He is speaking about us as well (v 20). The purpose of our lives is to glorify Christ. He is no more in the world, so it falls to us to represent Him, as we are in the world. If we are to represent him properly, the world has to see our love for one another. Jesus said so: By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. I am afraid, however, that is not what the world sees. We may not be able to change what the rest of the church is doing, but we certainly can follow Jesus’ instructions in our own walks. (See here.) Only then can we properly represent Him.
12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.
13 And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.
Nehemiah told the congregation in Jerusalem that the joy of the LORD was their strength (Neh 8:10). What usually comes to mind when we read that verse is how we have joy in our hearts that comes from God. However, here Jesus says He wants ‘his’ joy fulfilled in us. I believe the joy of the LORD that Nehemiah spoke of is Jesus’ joy. Ie, knowing that Jesus has joy because of us gives us strength. It also gives us joy, as Jesus’ joy is fulfilled in us. Furthermore, Jesus said that He did not lose any of his disciples except Judas. This strengthens me as well. When I read John 17 I feel that I fall short of what Jesus wants, but He will not lose me. Our Shepherd will get us home. Even if He has to leave the 99 to find me, Jesus will find me and get me home.
14 I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
This strengthens me even more. Yes, the world hates me, but Jesus told me this would happen, and why. If the world did not hate me I would be worried:
If ye were of the world, the world would love his own … Now therefore ye are … fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; … For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.
15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.
16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
John 17:10-17
For better or worse, here we are. It is Jesus’ prayer that we stay here in the world for now. Not only are we strangers here, you might even say we are behind enemy lines. This sad old earth has some pretty warped ideas about what is good and what is evil, but the Bible forewarned us of this. (Isa 5:20) Lest we get too comfortable and ‘go native’ so ro speak, we must keep our worldview rooted and grounded in Scripture. In verse 17 Jesus tells his Father, thy word is truth. The pursuit of the truth is in my opinion the most important human activity there is. The problem we have is all of the different narratives competing for our attention. To choose which one to follow, we begin with the Scriptures. As Christians, the Bible is the yardstick we use to measure everything else. Whenever I happen to be somewhere where there is a TV with talking heads discussing current events, I am always amazed at their upside-down version of reality. CBS News anchorman, Walter Cronkite, used to say, ‘And that’s the way it is’ when he signed off. That is the problem. If you go to the TV for news and information, you end up tinking ‘that’s the way it is’. But that’s the way it isn’t. Even the comedy and drama on TV is carfully crafted to push the world’s twisted version of reality. That is why I do not watch television. Even Christians who have the Holy Spirit can be captivated by the soft glow of the screen and start to believe the lies. Those who do not have the Holy Spirit are especially susceptible, and therefore live in an alternate false reality. This alternate reality is going to fall to pieces like a house built upon the sand. (Matt 7) However, whosoever follows the truth in the word of God and doeth it, when the storm comes and beats upon his house it will not fall for it is was founded upon a rock.
If I want the new world orders’ daily dispatch all I have to do is scan the Drudge Report. If one of the stories interests me I click on it and read the article. In only a few minutes, I am updated on what the establishment wants people to think. If I were to go to a television it would take hours and I would be giving the new world order the home-court advantage. These are people who love abortion and vaccines that spread disease. They hate freedom and freedom-loving Americans. Therefore, a quick scan of the Drudge Report is about all the time I care to devote to hearing what they have to say. When I want to dig in and find out what is really going on, I first and foremost understand that the only place I will ever find 100% truth is in the Bible. For current events, I go to websites run by people who are either Christians or at least friendly to Christianity. I go to places that demonstrate a sincere desire to tell the truth, not to known liars who have been caught time and time again spreading lies. For example, the same way Drudge curates the new world order headlines, David Knight curates news items from a Christian perspective on his podcasts. However, even someone like David Knight is not going to tell the truth 100% of the time. The other day I heard him interview someone who claimed receiving last rites guarantees entry into heaven. Knight, a Protestant, did not challenge this statement. It’s fine to go to people like David Knight and Tucker Carlson or places like Zerohedge, Information Liberation, or Just The News for news, but these are not places to find truth. They are places to find news; news that has to be viewed with discernment through the lens of Scripture. For truth, one has to go to Scripture. The truth is that no ritual or rite can save you. The Virgin Mary cannot save you. Being a ‘good person’ cannot save you. Whether your name is Zelensky or Putin, Adolf Hitler or Harry Truman, the only thing that can save you is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. That is the truth. It is also true that the new world order is stepping up their campaign against the truth. This push for total censorship and the end of the First Amendment began in earnest, of course, in 2018 under Trump. In response, Trump held a conference with people in the media who had not been censored. When the censorship went hyperbolic under COVID, Trump did nothing. Eventually Trump himself was banned from Twitter. They now have a good lock on television and radio, most social media, and all of the major websites, but soon even alternative podcasts and places like endofdays.press may become verboten. For most of the 21st Century, the free Internet looked like it was going to make way for a new revolution of freedom, but that was never the plan. They now are quickly implementing ‘the plan’ to control all information. I wrote about this plan in Dragon Slayer Jesus Christ:
“In his 1970 book, Between Two Ages, elite New World Order architect Zbigniew Brzezinski described a future “Technotronic Era” where populations would be controlled by advanced methods:
“The technotronic era involves the gradual appearance of a more controlled society. Such a society would be dominated by an elite, unrestrained by traditional values. Soon it will be possible to assert almost continuous surveillance over every citizen and maintain up-to-date complete files containing even the most personal information about the citizen. These files will be subject to instantaneous retrieval by the authorities, . . . In the technotronic society the trend would seem to be towards the aggregation of the individual support of millions of uncoordinated citizens, easily within the reach of magnetic and attractive personalities exploiting the latest communications techniques to manipulate emotions and control reason. [Emphasis added.]
— Zbigniew Brzezinski, 1970″ (1)
We will further develop John 17:17 in a future post, but for now suffice it to say, Father, sanctify us through thy truth, thy word is truth. We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Magog Update: In September of 2020, I wrote that the political intrigue surrounding the Nord Stream II Pipeline bears watching. As you probably have heard, this pipeline, along with the Nord Stream I, was recently sabotaged with explosives. Nobody has claimed responsibility but many if not most believe it was the work of the US. US Secretary of State Blinken called the pipeline attacks ‘a tremendous opportunity’. (In other words, an opportunity for the US to sell LNG to Europe.) Regardless of who did it, the pipeline attacks were another major step of escalation toward WW III. It was revealed by The Intercept last week that the US has troops on the ground in Ukraine. That they are now admitting that could certainly be considered a sign of escalation. Then a few days ago, Zelensky called on NATO to make a preemptive nuclear strike on Russia. Most mainstream media ignored his statement. Those that mentioned it twisted the story but Zelensky’s words were clear and unmistakable. He called for a nuclear strike on Russia. I think that could be called escalation as well. Then, yesterday on October 8, a bridge of high strategic value connecting Russia to Crimea was hit with a fertilizer-packed truck bomb, temporarily putting the bridge out of commission. Traffic on the bridge has since resumed as not all of the lanes were destroyed. Russia has blamed Kyiv and responded today with missile strikes on Zaporizhzhia in Ukraine. I would call that escalation. Furthermore, Former White House national security adviser John Bolton called for Putin’s assassination on Friday. More escalation. The way I see it, these events are moving things closer to the Magog invasion of Ezekiel 38, 39. Although it looks like the US was responsible for the strike on the Nord Stream pipelines, American tankers cannot provide enough LNG to Europe to meet demand. Israel, however, has been working on their own pipeline to supply natural gas to Europe. It is supposed to be ready in just a few years. Israel’s use of the EastMed pipeline, along with the events mentioned above, may be, I believe, the hooks in the jaws of Russia (Magog) in Ezekiel 38:4, when they move against Israel to take a spoil. Most prophecy teachers, myself included, believe the Magog invasion to be post-rapture. This, along with the presence of five red heifers in Israel now, tells me we are getting closer to our blessed hope. A rare red heifer, of course, will be needed to dedicate the temple in Israel (Num 19), ie the temple that will be built following the rapture and the Magog invasion of Israel. (Rev 11) Reportedly, the red heifers will be the proper age for the ceremony within a year or so.
(1) As cited in Dragon Slayer Jesus Christ, p 221.
