Shabbat Shalom kol beit Yisra'el and Mishpachah and welcome especially to those of you who have tarried an extra day on the 'Sabbath after the Spring festivals' before you return home tomorrow. I am reminded of the time in Acts 19, after Paul was in Ephesus and had caused quite a stir in the city, when Yahweh dethroned Diana (Artemis) there as you will remember from our study of the Book of Revelation. Ephesus was the cult centre of that pagan goddess to whom was dedicated a magnificent temple, the ruins of which may still be seen in modern-day Türkiye (Turkey). I think we are going to find in the years ahead that great victories are going to be won by Elohim's (God's) people round about this time of the year. This city became the headquarters of the Messianic Community (Church) at the end of the first century when John was the leading apostle and is therefore associated in our minds with the Johannine Community about which I spoke yesterday.

Let's take up the story at the beginning of Acts 20, beginning at verse 1:

"When the uproar had ended, Paul sent for the talmidim (disciples) and, after encouraging them, said goodbye and set out for Macedonia. He traveled through that area, speaking many words of encouragement to the people, and finally arrived in Greece, where he stayed three months. Because the Judahites (Jews) made a plot against him just as he was about to sail for Syria, he decided to go back through Macedonia. He was accompanied by Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius from Derbe, Timothy also, and Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia. These men went on ahead and waited for us at Troas (Troy). But we sailed from Philippi after the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and five days later joined the others at Troas, where we stayed seven days" (Acts 20:1-6, NIV).

Brethren, a season of evangelism and preaching will in short measure be coming our way as we return to our missions, but not like any we have hitherto engaged in. What happened after Paul and his companions had paused in Philippi to celebrate Chag haMatazah, the Feast of Unleavened Bread? For those of you who sometimes think my sermons are too long, I believe Paul outstripped me by several miles!

"O the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight. There were many lamps in the upstairs room where we were meeting. Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. When he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from the third story and was picked up dead. Paul went down, threw himself on the young man and put his arms around him. 'Don't be alarmed,' he said. 'He's alive!' Then he went upstairs again and broke bread and ate. After talking until daylight, he left. The people took the young man home alive and were greatly comforted" (Acts 20:7-12, NIV).

Go and view any Protestant commentary and it will tell you that this 'first day of the week' was the 'Lord's Day' by which they mean 'Sunday' - the day after the 'Jewish Saturday Sabbath' which began at 'sunset'; and that after Eutychus fell from the third story window and was killed by his fall, Paul ministered to him and then went and celebrated the 'Lord's Supper'. And, as at least one Messianic version of the Bible boldly proclaims, boldly says this was "after havdalah" (Act.20:7, RSTNE 3e), a word that appears in neither Greek nor Aramaic manuscripts. So what's it doing there in this translation? To make the Bible 'align' with Jewish tradition. Now in the rabbinic system havdalah is the closing service for 'Shabbat night' since it was the 'learned elders of Israel' or 'rabbis' who introduced the idea, something they learned from the pagans in Babylon during the Exile, namely, that each new day began after sunset. There are so many errors of interpretation packed into this 7th verse that both modern messianics and orthodox Christians try to exploit it to justify their own man-made calendars and systems of sacred observance. This was not, however, the beginning of a day since a new day begins at sunrise nor was this the 'Saturday' part of the modern Jewish sabbath. Indeed, Paul neither participated in a sabbath meal on this occasion nor was it the first alleged mention of Sunday being observed by the early Christians as the 'Lord's Day', a term which only refers to either the Sabbath or to the Day of Judgment.

So let's be clear. Paul had been preaching late on the first day of the week, Yom haRishon, Eutychus had accidentally fallen to the ground while asleep listening to Paul preach and had been killed until Paul raised him from the dead by the power of Christ. It was about midnight. He intervened, presumably prayed over the lad, and then retired upstairs to have an ordinary meal to fortify him so that he could keep on preaching for another 6 hours or so until daybreak and the beginning of the second day of the week! They did not have a formal assembly to celebrate the Master's Supper around midnight! Now way! Not on this occasion, not ever. So please correct people when they try to use this passage in justification for either their false Saturday or Sunday traditions. We don't even know what Roman day of the week this was because the Israelite days of the week are not the same as the Roman days of the week! So if you see translations (usually paraphrases) refer to the "first day of the week" as "Saturday evening" (as the William Barclay New Testament translation renders it) or "Sunday" (as the Living Bible also does...without warranty) and to the "breaking of bread" as "the Lord's Supper" (New Living Translation), know that these are the words and interpretations of men and are not Scripture! This was not a Sabbath assembly, it might have been a Sunday (but we have no way of knowing) and Paul did not go and eat the Eucharist, Communion or 'Lord's Supper' - he simply ate an ordinary meal, which was what the expression 'breaking bread' meant in those days, as bread was the staple diet of nearly all meals back then. To 'break bread' meant, quite simply, to have a meal, not to participate in a sacred ordinance.

Indeed the main reason for my bringing Acts 20 up was not merely to correct a common error of interpretation, though I hope this has been useful to you too, but to point out that this incident happened around the time we're meeting now - right after Chag haMatzah, and to suggest to you that we need to get ready for evangelism again. History is repeating itself prophetically, cyclic-fashion, as with the prophetic dream that one of the brethren assembled here today had in 1998 (in November of that year) that we know as The Prophetic Dream of the Fishnet, which I am going to quickly read to you to refesh the memories of those who were around in Norway at that time 25 years ago. I'm translating from the original Norwegian so Brother Herman can personally correct me if I am making any mistakes:

"I am standing on the beach of a lake with several others behind me. Without anything telling me to, or for any apparent reason, I suddenly shout to people on the other side of the lake: 'Lots of fish, come and help us!' Even if I can't see anything, there is great rejoicing on the other beach. People run to prepare themselves. I shout, 'Hurry!' They start running into the water which is very shallow between me and the other beach. It is about twelve inches deep. I was afraid this would drive the fish in the wrong direction.

"Suddenly I shout to them, explaining: 'There is a net in the water which is keeping the fish in the cove'. At the same time a net, without help from anybody, rises up by itself several meters above the water. The net is standing in thin air and is keeping the fish in the cove between me and my unknown friends across the water. The net is held up and steered by invisible hands.

"Next to the net there are several boats. I cannot tell who is in them because I can only make them out as dark shadows. Then, while I see the net standing in the shallow water, I notice that the people from the other beach are running in the right direction -- towards the most shallow part of the water, and at the same time I can see several shoals of many hundreds of fish, heading into the cove. The water is crystal clear, but the bottom is dark and muddy. (This kind of evenly coloured greyish brown, muddy ground is typical of lakes that are shallow a long way out -- when you step on it your feet sink into the mud).

"By a little bonfire on my beach, there are some transparent glasy/silver-pure, apparently living fish that are surrounded by a heavenly light from above, which is focused only on the fishes and the bonfire. Strangely enough, the fishes seem to thrive perfectly. (I cannot describe these fishes in any other way than as heavenly). Standing there on the beach by the bonfire, they look like small statues made from transparent glass with silvery patterns. These fishes are actually talking to each other, and are apparently the fishes first caught in from this enormous catch and are telling me how wonderful this catch is.

"Where the fish, the net, the boats, the bonfire and the fishes on the beach are coming from, I don't know -- it seems like everything is coming from nowhere out of the darkness. The hills and the wood around me, and even the beach I am standing on, is in complete darkness, as in the middle of the night, with a black sky, but the shallow cove where all of this is taking place is nevertheless bright as in the middle of the day. It is obviously a sudden event and it is happening fast! The dream ends as I see the fish closed off in the shallow cove, but still in the water. -- Praise the Master Yah'shua the Messiah (Lord Jesus Christ). Amen."

As you leave tomorrow morning to go back to your homes, reflecting back on the Passover Season we have shared together, and especially if you are new to this work, I want you to remember Brother Herman's dream especially, and to brace yourselves and start preparing to witness in a new way and with renewed power, teaching the fullness of the Besorah (Gospel), and not just the elementary principles. But note carefully, please, this all happened at night. And just as Paul and his companions faced relentless opposition by the Roman Imperial system in his day, we too should start expecting the same, for the same resurrected Roman system, albeit in new garb, is now powerfully operating in the hitherto sleepy West that is now being shaken up by one calamity after another. This great harvest is not going to be like former Protestant revivals precisely because it isn't 'Protestant' but Messianic Israelite. Anyone who tries to begin a revival in the orthodox way will end up with 'Asbury's' chin-deep in apostacy and wickedness. What recently happened in an American University Campus was not, I repeat, NOT from Elohim (God) but a another lawless counterfeit. Which brings me to the main topic on today's agenda, namely, the nature of the opposition we face and what prophetically is awakening to oppose us, so that we may be prepared, for Yahweh always prepares His people in advance, as I try to keep reminding you.

On 6 April, on Yom haBikkurim, the Day of Firstfruits - Resurrection Day - Yahweh showed me in a prophetic dream exactly where we were on the timeline regarding the manifestation of the Two Beasts of Revelation 13 which we recently covered in a study series of five parts, convincing me even more that this Bible study we have been doing these last two years was set-apart for us to dig into precisely at this time. There are a lot of people out there speculating about where we 'are' on the prophetic timeline, most of it wild and speculative. I have repeatedly advised caution and to await prophetic revelation before making any sort of pronouncement. With so much going on in the world it is easy to get confused because none of us can possibly keep abreast of all the news - much of what is happening is transpiring in secret anyway. Last Thursday was the very first direct word to me from Yahweh concerning these matters as far as our knowing where we are in the timeline. So listen carefully and don't rush to draw hasty conclusions, remembering, please that some of the things spoken of in the Book of Revelation do not happen in one day, nor are they concluded on the next day, but must often span quite longish time periods, of months to several years, because like us, the Dragon's human representatives also have their own conceptions, gestation periods, births, growths, final consummations (in this instance, a ripening in sin) and deaths, which is why I recommend you become acquainted with our Divine Tavnith or Pattern website. Bear that in mind also with Brother Herman's prophetic dream because the time of its fulfilment is practically on our doorsteps, if not actually already here!

I have to say what I saw was initially a bit scary, mostly because it was unfamiliar to me in a direct sense, being only 'theological' up to this point, though the fear quickly wore off. Though I have to say the Enemy had the better of me emotionally initially - the 'element of surprise', if you like. In the first dream I seemed to be in a kind of graveyard, although it was not exactly what as we would understand as a graveyard per se. There was an expansive, if relatively shallow tomb-like structure made of stone but without a lid that could best be described as a kind of pool or gestation chamber. This structure rose about 5-6 feet above the ground and at least, if not more, and had a greater depth which I could not see. There was a liquid in this chamber, really a kind of dark, greenish sludge-like substance which was stirring. I was holding in my right hand some sort of flat measuring device divided, I believe, into seven sections each of which contained a seed of some sort. I was waving it over the chamber like one would move a Geiger counter in search of radiation. Quite suddenly, this beast arose out of the sludge with a mighty roar. I was - and at the same time I wasn't - scared of it, if that makes any sense - scared because it caught me surprise, but not scared because I had been aniticipating it now for some two or more years. What I saw was the First Beast of the Book of Revelation, the Anti-Messiah or Antichrist, or at least the spirit that is in him. Don't ask me to describe it as it was in a juvenile form and covered in all this sludge. It hovered for a second above the sludge and then the dream abruptly ended.

In the second prophetic dream I was standing next to a similar stone structure in the same area. It might even have been the same pool as the first one, though at a later time, being re-used, though I cannot tell for sure. This time I was fully prepared, and I sensed there was another or second beast under the dark soup-like sludge but it did not arise, as it was not that beast's time. I had another, similar device which I was using to assess the conditions of this second pool, and I knew the latter beast's arrival would not surprise me in the same way I had been surprised by the suddenness of the manifestation of the first beast. The sensing device also contained seven 'seeds' [1]. I knew, this time, what to expect. The second Beast - the False Prophet - did not emerge because this is not its season to. The false religious system that this Beast represents has not properly coalesced yet even though we can see its various parts rushing headlong into oblivion which I have spoken ceasely about for the last 30 or so years, exposing them for what they are. The apostacy of the Anglican Church, with its apostate King (Charles III) as its head, is a prime example. The other Beast must come first. However, this time, when I arrived at the second gestation chamber, it was I who roared loudly, quite surprising myself at the volume I was able to generate and the power that was in it, as if warning the Second Beast, that was still 'gestating', not to mess with Yahweh's Remnant which is very much my business. Yahweh can roar louder than all the wicked hosts combined. There was no movement of the sludge but I am quite sure my voice carried into its dark, soupy mass that is the womb of the Falase Prophet. It has been forewarned.

This pair of prophetic dreams are not at all hard to interpret. The only thing that surprised me was the timing of the arrival of the First Beast. I always knew I would be informed of its arrival, being only surprised to be told once its gestation period was over. That Beast - the Anti-Messiah - is manifesting right now, in a juvenile, immature form and we are feeling the waves in that sludge as he disturbs it in the cesspit that is the world; we are hearing the roar of his voice in the voices of the politicians and their handlers, we are seeing the effects of the cacophany of their voices in all the political turmoil that we are witnessing right now that began when Donald Trump first took office which so infuriated the Dragon whose plans he sabotaged and delayed for a season. You have to remember that the two Beasts are human beings like you and I, only they are supernaturally animated by demonic forces so as to appear to be supernatural beings in their own right. They too must gestate, be born, grow and learn until they mature into their deadliest forms. That's what those 'measuring devices' with seeds in them were for, to enable me to discern where in their growth cycle they were and what power they wielded. Like canaries in the coal mine, the seeds start germinating when certain conditions are met. Why seven? Because the Dragon - Satan - who has no originality, remember - must use 'what is' in the human make-up to prepare his two Beast-agents for their tasks. He must imitate, convincingly for the deceived, all that the number 7 denotes. These two men must pass through seven stages of growth like ourselves, following the Divine Tavnith or Pattern which is stamped into Creation which even the devil cannot alter, of which the seven annual festivals are perhaps the best illustration.

Obviously these highly demonised men empowered by the Dragon - the two Beasts - are not raised under 'natural' conditions as we are, but completely isolated within the underground devil-worshipping covens where they are forced to develop in this evil 'sludge' corresponding the the pure mayim chayim or 'waters of life' that the regenerated believer bathes in. Whereas we must overcome, passing through seven overcomings, each corresponding to one of the seven annual moedim of appointments, these two servants of the devil (and others like them called to play less important rôles in the end-time Beast System) are passed through a seven-stage anti-cycle that may be described, for want of a better word, as the opposite of overcoming - of utter degradation of all that is naturally human. To what extent they will have any say in this I cannot say, only to suggest that for them to be at their most effective they must want what they are slated to be and do, in some way. If Judas was a 'son of perdition' these two men will equally be, if not more, so. They are the 'worst of the worst', the dark 'crême de la crême' of the Enemy's gifted slaves, saved back for the devil's last great effort in the same way Yah'shua (Jesus) saved the best wine until last at the wedding at Cana (Jn.2:1-11), representing Yahweh saving His best until the first coming of His Son.

But enough about that. The point of this message is that you should know that the First Beast - the Anti-Messiah or Antichrist - has completed his incubation and is being, or has just been, birthed right now, but that he has a growth time to pass through still. He is not at his most deadly yet. I don't know how long this will be but I am guessing, since he is a dark parody of the true Messiah, that it will take anything up to 30 years complete, but don't quote me on that because I don't know - it might be a lot sooner. The other important point to note is that the Second Beast, the False Prophet, is not being birthed at this time but is still gestating, the character who will visibly draw together the One Word Religion for every false religion and apostate Christian and Messianic group, and proclaim the Antichrist to religious people. When that will be, I do not as yet know, but when it does happen, we will not at all be unprepared. Since gestation takes only 9 prophetic months, I do not think it will be long befor we 'see' him, if we haven't already but don't know who he is yet. That's all I can say. (He is not King Charles III or Prince William, incidentally, for those who are obsessed with the dark side of the British royals. They are minor players or facilitators...unless they repent, of course, which they still can...particularly William).

One last point. Do not confuse the symbolism of these prophetic dreams with the symbolism of the coming forth of the two Beasts in the Book of Revelation, the first out of the Sea and the second out of the Land. They are different sets of symbols talking about different things, in the case of the Book of Revelation, about origins. The Book of Revelation tells us where they come from and these dreams are telling us about the way they are being gestated and the timing thereof. That's all.

Why, you may ask (as one of you already has), are we being told this during the Passover Season? Because we need to understand the pattern or tavnith of how this all unfolds because it is happening in parallel with the seven-fold system of the festivals which are such an important interpretive touchstone. Why was this shown to me now? Because the spring festivals correspond to the birthing season, and Yah'shua (Jesus) was born at Pesach (Passover) which is at the head of the birthing season. Thus the Dragon brings the Anti-Messiah forth into the world at the precise historical time as the actual Messiah was born - on Aviv 14 - because he wishes to use Bible prophecy to apparently support his deception, and his servants will make use of falsely interpretated Bible prophecy in order to deceive everyone, including non-overcoming and nominal 'Christians' and 'Messianics'. That is why he created Zionism and the Israeli Republic, to make out this counterfeit country to be the actual restoration of Israel. (See the Jacob's Trouble series).

As Trump was (and is) for the United States, so Netanyahu is for the Israeli Republic right now, whose nations are run by the élites for similar reasons, both of whom are being brought to judgment, along with their allies and satellites. These two leaders were, and are, heavenly-designed 'spanners-in-the works', to create short breathing spaces for repentance - but they are not 'saviours' or 'rescuers' of their respective nations and they are not latter-day 'Cyrus'-men, as I have said of Trump many times in the past. Yahweh did not send him to 'make America great again' (MAGA). They are simply political agents Yahweh has used, and is using, to make sure history unfolds according to His script and not the Dragon's. Americans and Israelis have not, and will not, repent in sufficient numbers to turn their countries around spiritually as a whole, both of which were designed in their original conception to be agents of the Enemy. Those of you who have studied their history carefully (not the 'official' versions of history) will know, for example, that the end-time rôle of the USA is clearly depicted in the layout of the city of Washington DC, a city designed by Freemasons. Washington DC, in concert with London and the Vatican, are the military, economic and spiritual centres of the end-time Beast system, respectively, and yet they themselves are but pawns of the Dragon. The sudden quantum shift of the British monarchy towards the globalist agenda following the death of Britain's last authentically Christian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, is one of many signs of the timing of what I am talking about today. Yahweh caused her to live to such an old age precisely to prevent the 'Dragon's men' gaining ascendancy before their time, something they have been impatient to do for a long while. The prophetic watchers among you know exactly what I am talking about.

Now if you want to know more about who the Anti-Messiah is, and how he will operate, please see the Olive Branch, and in particular, section 181 (vv.12-13). If you want to know about human 'antichrists' with a lower-case 'a', please read the whole of section 144 and section 270 (vv.17-19). For those who do not know what the Olive Branch is, it is the first volume of a collection of revelations, visions, prophecies and instructions concerning the 'Gospel of the Kingdom' that has been prepared for this very time, a reason we have spoken little of it over the decades until now. A new edition with a Commentary is being slowly prepared online as this collection becomes more and more needed. We hope to not only complete this task in the coming years but to get the rest of it online, a massive job that will take time. In the meantime, it is available in hard-copy format for those who would like to get a copy of the pre-Messianic version [2]. We have about 900 copies left which must be cleared before we start printing a new, updated edition, and hopefully a second volume too. There is also a USB-Stick or DVD version of the website for those wanting an offline version.

So, in conclusion, we are being stirred now, I believe, in part because the first Beast is being stirred but also because now is our time. The Antichrist is already here on the earth but he has not yet received his full supernatural anointing from the Dragon, but it's starting to happen, just as we haven't received ours quite yet from the Creator but are nevertheless 'stirring'. The Remnant, who are not Gathering just for 'gathering's sake' but are also shock troops riding spiritual chariots of war drawn by pure white horses, are the 'Rapid Response Force' while others mobilise but before false shepherds start taking prophetic credit and using their positions to keep on spreading false doctrine. The Final Gathering is not, in any case, our 'Rapture-replacement' for the scared and maybe even cowardly wanting to merely be scooped up in a flight of theological imagination, but something that's going on in parallel. We're not running away from the battlefield - we are very much called to it. We're multi-tasking and still being about our Five Commissions.

I hope this has been helpful. We will be reassembling for the next major moed (appointment) at Shavu'ot on 16 July by which time all secret and not-so-secret sinning must be at an end, all false practices like Pentecostal/Charismatic-type 'tongues' and 'private prayer languages' must be at an end, proper financial stewardship must be happening and in place, all unclean habits like smoking and drinking alcohol must be at an end, the eating of unkosher foods must be at an end, all sexual immorality must be at an end, the listening to ungodly music and watching ungodly things on TV and online must be at an end, and all that is unholy and godly removed from our lives in harmony with the revelation that is Chag haMatazah or Feast of Unleavened Bread, before new candidates will be admitted into the Chavurat Bekorot for Priesthood training and eventual ordination, let alone be allowed to partake of the Master's Supper. Like tyres meeting the road, so the profession of a theology of Chag haMatazah-type purity must equal practice! The 'walk' must match the 'talk' or it is empty religion! Let there be no misunderstanding about that! If any of this is not to anyone's liking then I must be perfectly frank with you: you are not called to this work! If you have issues, but sincerely want to resolve them, we will happily help you overcome so that you can walk with us; but if you do not want resolution, then I'm afraid this is not your spiritual home. We have had many non-participating observers over the years who want the blessings but are unwilling to make the spiritual and temporal investment of their lives. They want to eat the crop but not till the ground, sow the seed, water the ground and harvest. They have all gone. So those seeking candidacy will be closely interviewed about these things, as in days past.

If anyone missed Pesach (Passover) for legitimate reasons there will be a late Passover celebration on 3 May. Remember too that the week-long annual Jericho March begins next week at Rosh Chodesh, at the beginning of the Second Month, on 20 April, which is set-aside for intercession particularly. Much of that is already needed as the spiritual battle fronts heat up. We hope you can join us in spirit wherever you may be because there is much to pray about, much deliverance to be wrought, and much gifting to be sought! So until next sabbath in a week's time, may Yahweh bless you all richly; and safe journeyings for our visitors tomorrow, in Yah'shua's (Jesus) Name. Amen.

Endnotes

[1] Clearly associated with the Seven Annual Festivals of Messianic Israel, since the two Beasts are humans like ourselves and must develop in exactly the same way as everyone else. Each seed. as it sporuted, would indicatde at which stage of spiritual development easch Beast was. This the first Beast, newly emerged from the sludge, had been gestating from its moment of conception at a dark-side 'Pesach' to the present time at Yom haBikkurim, the day this prophetic dream was given. The Antichrist therefroe arose from the sludge on the dark-side equivalent of 'Yom haBikkurim', having already started making choices to do evil on the dark-side equaivelent of the first day of Chag haMatzah.
[2] The second edition, under preparation, has undergone a cosmetic overhall in which messianic terminology (liken the Divine Names) replaces the Anglicised ones (e.g. LORD and 'Jehovah' > Yahweh, Jesus > Yah'shua, Spirit > Ruach, etc.). Some of the footnotes contain theological errors, particularly on the festivals and sabbaths, and have needed replacing too as our knowledge about these subjects has increased. All hardcopy first editions of the Olive Branch contain loose notes indicating the changes that need to be made.