The Divine Council is a central Old Testament teaching. I would argue that much of the Old Testament doesn't even make sense unless one grasps this concept. In a recent message on Zechariah 6, which itself is a Divine Council passage (revealing the outcome of a Divine Council meeting), I reviewed two of the most important Divine Council passages in the Old Testament: 1 Kings 22 and Psalm 82. Due initially to the abandonment of this teaching by the rabbis around the year 100AD, and for Augustine'...
May 25, 2025•21 min•Season 4Ep. 195
In AD 180, Charismatic ministry was very different than today. By God's grace, we need to somehow recover what was lost. Irenaeus (AD 180) - “Those who are in truth His disciples, receiving grace from Him, do in His name perform miracles, so as to promote the welfare of others, according to the gift which each one has received from Him. For some do certainly and truly drive out devils, so that those who have thus been cleansed from evil spirits frequently both believe [in Christ] and join the Ch...
May 20, 2025•28 min•Season 4Ep. 194
We have had this podcast now for nearly 20 years. As I've gone back, I realize that there are ministries and people mentioned, and even endorsed, that we can no longer recommend. Some of the ministries we would reject entirely - i.e., Todd Bentley and Fresh Fire. He marked, and to be avoided as an unrepentant sexual deviant. Other ministries still have good things but they have also had mixture, and/or have tolerated teachers/teachings that are false. Ideally, I will one day go back and either g...
May 17, 2025•23 min•Season 4Ep. 193
There are a tragic number of Christians who have been deceived into believing that they can live their Christian lives WITHOUT attending Church. I meet them all the time. I have friends who have been taken in by this LIE. We were baptized INTO A BODY, and BY DESIGN we need God's people. To fulfill our mandate we must be gathering IN PERSON with God's people. There are things that God only supplies in the gathering. This is short message but an important one. APOLOGIES for the quality of the reco...
May 17, 2025•11 min•Season 4Ep. 192
1 Peter 4:17 - For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God There is a growing consensus that God is currently judging His Church and Christian ministries. Of course, He has always done so. It was happening in the 1st Century when the Apostle Peter, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, wrote the Epistle of 1st Peter. And it seems to be happening at an ever-increasing pace today. He's exposing sin and false teachings. He is shedding light onto lifestyles that are hard to imag...
May 01, 2025•37 min•Season 4Ep. 191
Many Easter messages miss what Christ did between Good Friday and Easter Sunday - NOT THIS MESSAGE. Starting with a line from the Apostle's Creed (2nd Century AD), we first explore arguably the greatest ministry trip Jesus ever took. And then, of course, the victory of it all - Sunday morning. This message will encourage you and inspire you. For such a time as this
Apr 21, 2025•34 min•Season 4Ep. 190
A challenge to Christians who are SURE we are near the End of the Age.
Apr 03, 2025•27 min•Season 4Ep. 189
There were 4 waves of Jewish migrations out of Babylon starting in 538BC. This episode focuses on the first 2 waves of that immigration. What were they called to do? What was the mandate they were given? What were the obstacles they faced? Their time has MANY parallel to our own. The call to "Leave Babylon" wasn't just for them, it is for us today. It is for the Church.
Feb 09, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Season 4Ep. 188
Continuing on in 1 Peter 3, we conclude with some further thoughts about suffering. God is NOT the author of evil and the causes of suffering are often the antithesis of His will. The second part of this message is all about a Biblical narrative and I would argue an interpretive key that many Christians have rejected (at least since the time of Augustine). Rightly understanding Genesis 6:1-4 from the ancient Jewish perspective and from the that of Jesus and His Apostles is critical to understand...
Jan 19, 2025•57 min•Season 4Ep. 187
Part 2 of Unlocking the Melchizedekian Priesthood - Hebrews 6 and 7
Dec 25, 2024•52 min•Season 4Ep. 186
Looking at the background of the Pharisees, Sadducees, and the Essenes, we explore WHY Jesus warned His followers to BEWARE of the "teaching" of the Pharisees and Sadducees (Matt. 16:6). What "teaching" was He warning them about? What did the Essenes believe and what did/do the Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS) reveal about the coming Messiah? We look at a couple of fragments from the DSS, in particular, the Melchizedek Document that reveal what they believed the Messiah was coming to do and WHO the Messia...
Dec 08, 2024•1 hr 24 min•Season 4Ep. 185
A re-recorded Part 2 where I cast the vision for this Advent Season - to prepare ourselves. To ask the Lord HOW we can be more holy, something we are commanded to be. This Advent challenge includes a call to fast - from food for some, but from social media.
Dec 01, 2024•26 min•Season 4Ep. 184
This is the beginning of a message where I consider the idea of being a 'Remnant' in this hour. Defining the word/concept; what it means and also at least one of the dangers inherent in the term. The 2nd part of the message, I have decided to leave off as I presented the irrefutable evidence that Christmas is NOT a pagan holiday. I will share 2 blog links where I have presented the evidence. Title #1: Is Christmas a 'Pagan' Holiday/ (2023) Link #1 - https://joel2generation.blogspot.com/2023/11/i...
Dec 01, 2024•22 min•Season 4Ep. 183
Natalie shares a powerful message about the hour we are in and our mandate to both BUILD and BATTLE
Nov 25, 2024•57 min•Season 4Ep. 182
What hour do we find ourselves in? What are God's purposes for His Church in this hour? Are we being set free from a modern-day "Babylonian Captivity"? Is God about to judge the "Babylonian System"? Is Donald Trump a type of Cyrus? Do Isaiah 45 and Isaiah 47 have something to teach us today?
Nov 22, 2024•1 hr 23 min•Season 4Ep. 181
Over 20% of the Gospel of Matthew deals with the Pharisees. Is this so that we can use them as our 'whipping posts' to illustrate all the bad things religious people can do? Or, did God have those verses included because we are more like the Pharisees than we realize? I believe the latter is the case. In this message, I share my own "pharisaical tendencies". I begin with a play off of Tim Hawkin's, "You might be a Redneck if..." My version - I might be a Pharisee if... …IF I AM THE SELF-APPOINTE...
Nov 01, 2024•33 min•Season 4Ep. 180
I continue in 1 Peter 3 - basically, there are 3 sections to this passage. One of them deals with suffering in the Christian's life being God's will. Not an easy topic. Thus the title. But there are some other key things in this passage - Christ's "descent to the dead" from the Apostle's Creed (2nd Century) is referenced. Part of Christ's descent was His proclamation to the "spirits in prison" which is discussed in this message. I end with the importance of baptism which is often de-emphasized i...
Oct 28, 2024•49 min•Season 4Ep. 179
The word submission is not a popular word. I would say it is a despised word. But it is also a Biblical one. The Apostle Peter writes some of the most challenging words in the New Testament when he instructs us to submit to human institutions, unjust employers (in the 1st century it was actual "masters") and within marriage. How do we reconcile the commandment to submit to these things while obeying God in other areas? Peter broke laws and didn't submit at times. What about abusive situations? W...
Oct 20, 2024•59 min•Season 4Ep. 178
10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets who predicted the grace that would come to you searched and investigated carefully. 11 They probed into what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating when he testified beforehand about the sufferings appointed for Christ and his subsequent glory. 12 They were shown that they were serving not themselves but you, in regard to the things now announced to you through those who proclaimed the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from h...
Oct 06, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Season 4Ep. 177
This is the final message in a 13-part series looking at the phenomenon of house churches in the Book of Acts and the rest of the New Testament. In addition to considering the house churches Paul planted, visited, and wrote to, we consider again Paul's suffering in the midst of all the ministry he was doing. Paul's vision of the Christian life was radically different than what is preached in many churches today. Who should we be following?
Sep 22, 2024•48 min•Season 4Ep. 176
The counterfeit ideologies that we find today in Western Culture want to root people's identity in their race/ethnicity, gender, or sexual preference. Our identity in Christ however eradicates those other false identities. Much of the church has even capitulated to these false/counterfeit identities. The Apostle Paul faced similar challenges in the 1st Century. He demonstrated that no other earthly identity mattered any longer if people were in Christ. In this message, we consider our TRUE IDENT...
Sep 01, 2024•41 min•Season 4Ep. 175
Paul warned Colossian believers of "human philosophies" that were actually demonically inspired infiltrating the church in the 1st century. Today, many such philosophies have infiltrated the church as has been well-documented in Megan Basham's new book, Shepherds for Sale - How Evangelical Leaders Have Trade the Truth for a Leftist Agenda. In this podcast, we get into Colossians 2 and apply it to the Marxist ideologies that have infected many parts of the modern Evangelical Church. The Supremacy...
Aug 11, 2024•1 hr 30 min•Season 4Ep. 174
Hebrews 10:23-27, 29-31, 32-37 / 11:32-40 Deuteronomy 28 There was simply no version of the modern "Prosperity Gospel" in the Early Church. The Apostles would not have recognized much of what is being preached/promised today to Christians. Many have walked away from Christ (I have known more than I can remember) because, and it was because troubles came into their lives as Christians and they got offended. Tragically, they were LIED to by well-meaning Christians - they were told that following J...
Jun 23, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Season 4Ep. 173
What are the things that will steal our hunger for God? How can we grow in hunger for Him?
Jun 16, 2024•1 hr 23 min•Season 4Ep. 172
Part 12 in the Houses of Fire series - IMITATING PAUL Paul’s 3rd Missionary Journey (AD 54-57) Acts 19:8-12, 20:6-12, 20:18-38 A message that will challenge both the Evangelical and the Charismatic Christian: A challenge for the Evangelical because they will often find ways to minimize the possibility of living like the Apostle Paul due to his unique office and authority as a 1st Century Apostle. And, this message will challenge the Charismatic because so much ministry done by modern charismatic...
May 26, 2024•59 min•Season 4Ep. 171
Natalie's powerful message about HOW TO STAND - Isaiah 54:17, Ephesians 6:10-18 and Matthew 4 (Jesus' Temptation)
Apr 16, 2024•59 min•Season 4Ep. 170
In this message, I look at the issue of dying to self and living a life of humility. I begin by comparing two very different Christians - Kanye and the Roman Catholic nun Frances Cabrini (1850-1917). Clearly, they were given two different "Sign-Up Sheets" for the Christian life. Frances finished well. Kanye is currently very confused calling himself "god". Many Christians today are not getting THIS MESSAGE. They are not being told that we must die to ourselves to begin the Christian life, and th...
Apr 07, 2024•1 hr 12 min•Season 4Ep. 169
As Holy Week is about to begin, I start my message by slaying some of the 'internet myths' that many Christians have heard about Easter. (back in December it was all the Christmas is pagan propaganda and now that we are nearing Easter, it is the same mantra, "Easter is pagan"). So we settle these issues by answer these questions: Isn't Easter pagan? What about the word "Easter"? Wasn't Jesus crucified on Wednesday? Did Jesus rise on the Sabbath? After this, I look at the Biblical events of Holy ...
Mar 24, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Season 4Ep. 168
A powerful message from Natalie about not losing heart. Full of Scriptures (some well-known) and personal examples and illustrations. For such a time as this...
Mar 19, 2024•44 min•Season 4Ep. 167
Insights from Hebrews 11 and 12 - trials are what produces faith in our lives and yet most Christians do not have the right view, the Biblical view of the trials they face. Natalie shares a powerful message that challenges the typical Gospel message and narrative that is so common in today's church. This is NOT one of those messages that tickle people's ears. Fasten your seatbelt.
Mar 03, 2024•1 hr 13 min•Season 4Ep. 166
