The Scarlet Cord - Moriel Ministries

"MORIEL" 

GOD IS MY TEACHER 

July/Sept. 2012 No. 51 

Tamuz /Av/Tishrei 5772 

the 

Scarlet Cord 

IN THIS ISSUE: “ Midrash and the book of . . . 

Revelation” 

James Tissot – The Flight of the Spies 

September 2012 • Moriel Quarterly

FFrom The Director 

"MORIEL" 


UNTIL HE COMES 

So often I have tried to convey to our Moriel readers and friends why this time 

in history is so different from the other times in history dating back to the early 

church when true Christians thought they were in The Last Days before the return 

of Jesus. This has taken on an expanded dimension of importance in light of the 

trend to ignore the “BE ALERT” commands of Jesus in the Olivet Discourse with 

the false teaching of Rick Warren and Mark Driscoll urging Christians to avoid the 

study of eschatological prophecy in open defiance of the instructions of Jesus and 

the unambiguous directives of His Word. The rejection and even mocking of the 

doctrine of the rapture by propagators of error such as Gerald Coates, Rick Joyner 

and others as well as by the disseminators of such bogus dogma as radical preterism 

and Dominion theology compounds the challenge of proclaiming the return of Jesus. 

The producers of the film “The Daniel Project” and I designed the film to engage the 

unsaved evangelistically by the use of end time prophecy. But it is an exception to 

the fledging popular trends of pseudo evangelism witnessed in everything from the 

post modernism of the Emergent church to the false unity of ecumenical seduction to 

market driven programs falsely called ‘purpose driven.’ 

Indeed, during the crusades the nations at the center of world events were the ones 

geographically the same nations from biblical history and figures from Charlemagne 

to Napoleon to Mussolini attempted to re-confederate the Roman Empire. Even great 

apostasy has overtaken Christendom in times past, such as after the time of Constantine 

the Great and the post Nicean church fathers in the patristic era. But as always, 

we are left to ask why these times are not the same – just another constellation of 

global events that resemble a potential apocalyptic scenario Indeed, Peter’s epistle 

warns us in 2 Peter chapter 3 that people, even supposed Christians, would mock 

those proclaiming the return of Jesus just as Noah was mocked before the flood. 

This same chapter however tells us that a thermal destruction of the biosphere 

would take place and we are warned by Jesus that if He does not return no flesh will 

be saved. Never before in history however has mankind had the potential to exterminate 

himself from the face of the earth by nuclear combustion. Moreover, the predictions 

of Jesus in Luke 21:24 and Matthew 23:39 states that the Jews would need to 

be in Israel and re-gathered to their capital Jerusalem to facilitate His return. This has 

never taken place before and it’s taking place at a time when as Romans 11 predicts 

Jews as the natural branches will be regrafted back into the church again as believers 

in their Messiah Yeshua. This is why Satan has inspired false teachers like John Piper 

and the late John Stott to mislead the church with replacement theology, and deny that 

contemporary events in The Middle East fulfill prophecy, which is why Mark Driscoll 

and Rick Warren are used by the devil to divert Christians away from prophecy. 

A further difference however is that man’s science and technology is allowing him 

to reverse the curse on the human race from the Tower of Babel where the language 

barrier will soon be demolished by digital technology, where a Japanese speaker and 

an English speaker can speak to each other by automatic translation via cell phone 

or computer texting. God cannot allow man to reverse divine pronouncement. It is 

likewise only the reduced longevity of the Third World that keeps average human life 

expectancy below the 80 years God allows in response to sin. These are just a few of 

the factors that with certainty designate the present time as different from other times 

when believers thought it was the last days. 

Our times are indeed different. And this is a message that The Lord has dictated 

by His Spirit that Moriel is to proclaim. By His grace we shall endeavor to proclaim 

it. This time is absolutely different. He is coming, and at least in relative terms, He 

is indeed coming soon. 

James Jacob Prasch & All at Moriel 

Jacob’s Itinerary 

FOR 

USA & CANADA 

– Winnipeg, MB – 

October 11-13, 2012 

22nd Annual Winnipeg 

Prophecy Conference 

The Victoria Inn 

(near the International airport) 

1808 Wellington Cres. Winnipeg, MB 

– CALGARY, CANADA – 

2 nd Annual Calgary Israel Bible 

Prophecy Conference 

March 21 – 23, 2013 

Calgary, Canada 

Moriel Quarterly • September 2012

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Issue No. 51 

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PUBLISHED BY 

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11 

a. midrash study 

1. history of the church 

a. christ’s teachings 

b. apostolic teachings - paul 

2. history of false teachings 

a. gnostic 

3. history of hellenistic teaching 

4. midrash 

a. jewish culture 

b. how rabbi’s taught - paul 

“Midrash and the book 

of revelation” 

14 

THE Scarlet Cord . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 

MIDRASH/ Book of Revelation . . . . . . . . .11 

MORIEL SOUTH AFRICA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 

MORIEL ISRAEL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 

AUSTRALIAN REPORT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 

Dealing with Prophetic Attention 

Deficit Disorder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 

moriel New zealand 

Margret Goodwin 

moriel South africa 

David Royle 

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AUSTRALIANnews 

MORIEL JAPAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 

PERTINET FACTOID . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 

MORIEL THAILAND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 

OUT OF SEASON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 

moriel United states of America 

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by Danny Isom 

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“Out of Season” 


Feature Article 

the 

“Come now, and let us reason together,” 

Says the LORD, “Though your 

sins are as scarlet, They will be as 

white as snow; Though they are 

red like crimson, They will be like 

wool. (Isaiah 1:18) 

Every year, on the Day of Atonement 

before the Temple was destroyed, the High 

Priest would put on a special white tunic 

with a red sash wrapped around his waist. 

He would wear this only once a year. He 

would take the two scapegoats (called 

seir la’azazel in Hebrew) and bring them 

through the streets of Jerusalem, foreshadowing 

Christ where people would spit on 

them, kick them, hit them with stones and 

curse them for their sin. One would be sacrificed; 

the other would be taken into the 

wilderness and pushed from a precipice. 

But before that, the High Priest would take 

the scarlet sash and cut it in half into two 

cords; one he would tie between the horns 

of the seir la’azazel released into the wilderness, 

the other he would hang before the 

“Qodesh Qodeshim”—the Holy of Holies 

in the Temple. 

The Jews believed that if their sin was 

Jacob Prasch 


forgiven on the Day of Atonement—Yom 

Kippur—the scarlet cord would turn white. 

We are told in the Mishnah (Jewish history) 

that for the forty years before the Temple 

was destroyed—in other words, from the 

time Yeshua was rejected as Messiah until 

the Temple was destroyed in 70 AD, which 

both Jesus and Daniel predicted—it never 

turned white. Talmudic Judaism itself admits 

that the sins of the Jewish people were 

no longer forgiven on the Day of Atonement 

once Yeshua was rejected. 

We need to understand Old Testament 

atonement, or Yom Kippur. If the Hebrews 

had real faith and real repentance, the blood 

of the scapegoats would cover their sin until 

the Messiah came and removed them; it 

was a temporary provision. 

It Speaks of Salvation 

“…your sins are like scarlet, they shall 

be white as snow” speaks of salvation. 

Consistently throughout Scripture we have 

the scarlet cord speaking about salvation. 

‘The priest shall take cedar wood and 

hyssop and scarlet material and cast 

it into the midst of the burning heifer. 

(Numbers 19:6) 

Notice that the scarlet cord—the scarlet 

fabric—is thrown into the fire with hyssop. 

Hyssop is paschal. When the Passover 

lamb was sacrificed they would dip hyssop 

into the towel and take the paschal blood 

and mark the bloody doorposts and lintels 

in the form of a cross. David, in his Psalm 

of penitence said, “Purify me with hyssop, 

and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall 

be whiter than snow” (Ps. 51:7). We have 

the hyssop, the blood, the cedar (which is 

the wood from which the cross may have 

been made) and the scarlet cord. 

“…then the priest shall give orders to 

take two live clean birds… 

(As there are two goats there are two 

birds.) 

“…and cedar wood and a scarlet 

string and hyssop for the one who is 

to be cleansed.…As for the live bird, 

he shall take it together with the cedar 

wood and the scarlet string and 

the hyssop, and shall dip them and the 

live bird in the blood of the bird that 

was slain over the running water. (Leviticus 

14:4, 6) 

The running water is a picture of washing 

with the blood, but we also have the 

hyssop and the scarlet. 

Judah recognized them, and said, 

“She is more righteous than I, inasmuch 

as I did not give her to my son 

Shelah.” And he did not have relations 

with her again. It came about at the 

time she was giving birth, that behold, 

there were twins in her womb. Moreover, 

it took place while she was giving 

birth, one put out a hand, and the 

midwife took and tied a scarlet thread 

on his hand, saying, “This one came 

out first.” 

(This almost certainly had to be an act of 

providence or divine intervention in itself. 

Christian and Jewish obstetricians who 

have looked at this have said that normally 

this would not happen.) 

But it came about as he drew back his 

hand, that behold, his brother came 

out. Then she said, “What a breach 

you have made for yourself!” So 

he was named Perez. Afterward his 

brother came out who had the scarlet 

thread on his hand; and he was named 

Zerah. (Genesis 38:26-30) 

Notice that only the second born has the 

scarlet thread; only the second born has salvation. 

But the hand came out first. I am not 

a Calvinist, nonetheless the Scriptures are 

clear: “those whom He foreknew” (Rom. 

8:29; 11:2). The Lord knows who is going 

to get saved even before we get saved. 

No place, however, is this scarlet cord 

more prominent or important than in 

the narrative of Rahab the harlot. 


…unless, when we come into the land, 

you tie this cord of scarlet thread in 

the window through which you let us 

down, and gather to yourself into the 

house your father and your mother 

and your brothers and all your father’s 

household. (Joshua 2:18) 

There is the scarlet cord; only those who 

have it will be rescued. The rescue narratives 

of Scripture such as the Exodus, Noah, 

Lot, the events of AD 70 and in this case 

Rahab, each of these prefigures the Rapture 

of the Church. We do not base doctrine on 

typology or symbolism, but we do use the 

typology and symbolism to illustrate and 

illuminate doctrine on a deeper level. It 

shows us what is going to happen. 

Scriptures from a Hebraic 

Viewpoint 

If a Jewish believer at the end of the first 

century was reading the Book of Revelation 

(there would have been no chapter divisions 

at that time) during the persecution 

of the Emperor Domitian, they would have 

read it quite differently than we do with a 

Western, Hellenistic mind. (Unfortunately, 

the patristic church fathers Hellenized a 

Hebraic faith. They took a Jewish Christianity 

and turned it into a Greek one.) They 

would have read it midrashically. They 

would have seen it as a midrash on the 

Book of Joshua. 

In the Book of Joshua is found seven 

days of marching around Jericho, but on 

the seventh day there was a subset of seven. 

Coming out of the seventh seven, they had 

to do it seven times. So, in Revelation, we 

have the same pattern with seven seals, but 

out of the seventh seven there is a subset of 

seven trumpets. 

When they marched around Jericho there 

had to be total silence (Josh. 6:10). And so, in 

Revelation 8:1, “there was silence in heaven 

for about half an hour.” How time is applied 

to eternity is another matter, but there it is. 

There are the two spies who come into 

play in Joshua (Josh. 2). They prefigure the 

two witnesses (Rev. 11). 

When the last trumpet—the last shofar, is 

blown in the Book of Joshua, “This city has 

been given to us by the Lord” (Josh. 6:16), 

and so when the last trumpet is blown in 

Revelation, “This world has become the 

Kingdom of our God and His Messiah” 

(Rev. 11:15). 

If we want to know the future, look at 

the past. The Book of Joshua—the rescue 

of Rahab, is just like the rescue of Lot in 

that it is not just simply a past event, it is a 

future one. The rescue of Noah is not just a 

past event, it is a future event. If we do not 

know what did happen, we are never going 

to know what is going to happen. That is 

Jacob Prasch 

how a Jewish believer at the end of the first 

century would have read the Book of Revelation. 

We need to read it with the mind of 

the original first century Christians, not with 

the mind of the sixteenth-century Reformers 

or fourth-century “church fathers.” 

Rahab the Harlot 

Rahab is quite a figure who is mentioned 

with favor three times in the New Testament 

(Mt. 1:5; Heb. 11:3; James 2:25). Why Rahab 

Why is she given such favorable mention 

She is the great-great-grandmother of 

King David. The royal line of David—the 

Messianic line through whom the Messiah 

the Savior would come, has Rahab as one 

of his direct ancestors; a Gentile prostitute. 

We have to understand that Abraham is a 

Gentile whom God converted to Judaism. 

There are two Gentile women in the genealogy 

of Jesus dating back to the line of 

David in Ruth and Rahab. Why is this It is 

simply because the Messiah would be Savior 

of both Jew and Gentile. 

Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab, 

Boaz was the father of Obed by 

Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse. 

(Matthew 1:5) 

This, of course, picks up where the Book 

of Ruth ends. The genealogy of Jesus actually 

begins in the closing verses of the 

fourth chapter of Ruth. The great-greatgrandmother 

of the Messiah would be Rahab, 

this Gentile prostitute. She marries 

into a Jewish family after converting to belief 

in the true God. 

By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish 

along with those who were disobedient, 

after she had welcomed the 

spies in peace. (Hebrews 11:31) 

Here in the index of the faithful she is a 

role model. Why does God make this Gentile 

prostitute a role model of faith 

In the same way, was not Rahab the 

harlot also justified by works when she 

received the messengers and sent them 

out by another way (James 2:25) 

The previous verse tells us… 

You see that a man is justified by works 

and not by faith alone. (James 2:24) 

Martin Luther began well, but he ended 

very badly. During the Peasants’ Revolt he 

said the peasants should be murdered. He 

said every Jew should be cornered into a 

corral and forced to confess Christ at the 

point of a knife. “We, the German nation, 

are to blame if we do not enslave these 

Jews to prove we are Christians.” (This 

is quoted extensively by Hitler in Mein 

Kampf). Not only that, he ended his life a 

complete heretic. He denied the canonicity 

of the Book of Revelation and also the canonicity 

of the Epistle of James. He said it 

Feature Article 

was not part of the New Testament canon 

because he disagreed with it. He did not 

understand the difference between “works 

of the Law” and “works.” Because he was 

reacting against medieval Catholicism— 

salvation by works, by sacraments, by indulgences, 

etc., he could not handle what 

James was saying because he really did not 

understand it. What James is saying is simply 

this: Christians do not do good works 

to get saved, they do good works because 

they have been saved. We are saved by 

grace through faith, but what do we mean 

by “faith” The problem had to do with the 

English and Latin languages. 

Faith & Faithfulness 

In Hebrew, the word for “faith” is “emunah” 

from which we get the word “amen”; 

in Hebrew the word for “faithfulness” is 

“emunah.” It is the same word, like from 

the Book of Lamentations: “Great is Thy 

faithfulness” (Lam. 3:23) The Hebrew language 

makes no distinction between “faith” 

and “faithfulness,” and neither, technically, 

does the Greek—“pistis.” There may be a 

difference in the case endings, but the word 

for “faith” and the word for “faithfulness” 

is the same. In other words, if somebody’s 

faith is genuine, they are going to be faithful. 

“He who believes in the Son has eternal 

life; but he who does not obey the 

Son will not see life, but the wrath of 

God abides on him.” (John 3:36) 

A saving faith is not a mere, intellectual 

faith. Satan has an intellectual faith; Satan 

knows it is true. If it is a saving faith, there 

will be faithfulness. The problem is that 

instead of following the Hebrew or Greek, 

our translations generally follow the Latin 

Vulgate of Jerome. “Faith” and “faithfulness” 

are different in Latin. Hence, in English, 

we get the wrong perspective. If it is a 

saving faith, we will be faithful. 

The righteous will live by “faith” (Hab. 

2:4) The righteous will live by “faithfulness.” 

We are saved by grace through 

“faith” (Eph. 2:8) We are saved by grace 

through “faithfulness.” (Commencing, of 

course, by the faithfulness of Jesus). Without 

“faith” it is impossible to please God 

(Heb. 11:6) Without “faithfulness” it is 

impossible to please God. We make a distinction 

between “faith” and “faithfulness” 

because of translational complications we 

should not be making. 

Lying to Hide the Spies 

By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish 

along with those who were disobedient, 

after she had welcomed the 

spies in peace. (Hebrews 11:31) 

Rahab is commended because she hid 


Feature Article – Continued 

these spies. Theologians are divided asking, 

“Did she lie” “Was it right for her to lie” 

But she is commended for what she did. I 

do not personally see it as a lie, but that she 

changed sides during a military conflict. 

I see it as military disinformation. Others 

may disagree, but I will relate a true story. 

I knew a lovely lady named Loki Nussenbaum, 

a Jewish lady. She and one brother 

lived in New York, but she has since gone to 

the Lord. I knew her in Israel. She became 

a believer at the age of fourteen and after 

becoming educated she became a missionary 

to the Bantu tribe in Angola. She was a 

remarkable woman who could speak Portuguese, 

French, Hebrew, Yiddish and German, 

but she could also speak Bantu, the native 

language of the bushmen to whom she 

was a missionary for many years until the 

communists took over Angola and kicked 

the missionaries out. Loki was incredible. 

Most of her family was murdered by the 

Nazis, including her father, mother, little 

sister and little brother. Loki and one brother 

escaped. They were smuggled by Christians 

from Belgium to Lausanne, Switzerland, 

at the age of thirteen, and a year later 

she became a believer. 

There were Christians in Switzerland 

who told her to look at Romans 13, their 

interpretation being that since politicians 

are God’s ministers, Adolph Hitler was a 

minister of God. They added that since lying 

was a sin, those who had lied to the Gestapo 

to smuggle her out had sinned. They 

told her since she now had a Christian testimony, 

she needed to go back and give herself 

over to the Gestapo even though they 

would put her in an oven. They actually told 

her this! These were people who were too 

heavenly minded to be of any earthly good. 

(I guess they did not like James’ epistle either.) 

At the age of fourteen she was very 

confused and actually contemplated doing 

it. Thank God someone with some sense 

got to her before she did so. 

Rahab is spoken of very highly. She is a 

role model for all of us. Let us see why King 

David’s great-great grandmother is spoken 

of so highly in the New Testament—this 

Gentile who married into a Jewish family after 

coming to believe in the Jewish God and 

was one of the people who was in the lineage 

of David and in the pedigree of the Messiah 

Himself, bringing salvation to all of us. 

Then Joshua the son of Nun sent two 

men as spies secretly from Shittim, 

saying, “Go, view the land, especially 

Jericho.” So they went and came into 

the house of a harlot whose name was 

Rahab, and lodged there. 

This was a smart move, really. Who 

would ever think of looking for a couple of 

nice Jewish boys in a whorehouse 

It was told the king of Jericho, saying, 

“Behold, men from the sons of Israel 

have come here tonight to search out 

the land.” And the king of Jericho sent 

word to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the 

men who have come to you, who have 

entered your house, for they have come 

to search out all the land.” But the 

woman had taken the two men and hidden 

them, and she said, “Yes, the men 

came to me, but I did not know where 

they were from. “It came about when 

it was time to shut the gate at dark… 

(Shutting the gate, it is getting dark— 

these are eschatological nuances.) 

…that the men went out; I do not know 

where the men went. Pursue them 

quickly, for you will overtake them.” 

But she had brought them up to the 

roof and hidden them in the stalks of 

flax which she had laid in order on the 

roof. So the men pursued them on the 

road to the Jordan to the fords; and as 

soon as those who were pursuing them 

had gone out, they shut the gate. 

Now before they lay down, she came 

up to them on the roof, and said to 

the men, “I know that the LORD has 

given you the land, and that the terror 

of you has fallen on us, and that all the 

inhabitants of the land have melted 

away before you. “For we have heard 

how the LORD dried up the water 

of the Red Sea before you when you 

came out of Egypt, and what you did 

to the two kings of the Amorites who 

were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and 

Og, whom you utterly destroyed. When 

we heard it, our hearts melted and no 

courage remained in any man any 

longer because of you; for the LORD 

your God, He is God in heaven above 

and on earth beneath. (Joshua 2:1-11) 

(This pagan woman came to believe in 

the true God.) 

She Knew What She Was 

Who is going to be saved If we are here 

at the time, who is going to be raptured 

Only people who know what they are. 

Nobody has to tell a prostitute she is a 

hooker. I was a cocaine addict in my teenage 

years; no one had to tell me I was strung 

out and dealing drugs. Nobody has to tell a 

pimp he is a pimp; people like that know 

what they are. The most difficult people to 

get saved, of course, are religious people. 

Nobody has ever gone to heaven because of 

religion, but many people—countless people, 

have gone to hell because of religion. 

Rahab knew what she was. All have 

sinned, all fall short of the glory of God 

(Rom. 3:23). If we do not know we are morally 

bankrupt and spiritually abject before a 

holy and perfect God, we cannot be saved. 

Unless we know that we are no good, we 

will not know how good He is; unless we 

know that we cannot save ourselves and 

desperately need Him to save us, we cannot 

get saved. Remember, the enemy gets 

more people into hell with religion than all 

the immorality, all the covetousness and all 

the substance abuse put together. She knew 

what she was. 

She Knew Joshua Was Coming 

She was not like Rick Warren who tells 

us to avoid end-time prophecy. Fortunately 

she listened to the Word of God; she did not 

read the “Purpose Driven Lie.” She knew 

Joshua was coming. 

Even unsaved people have a sense that 

human history is coming to some kind of 

apocalyptic, catastrophic end. The Late, 

Great Planet Earth was a superficial book 

doctrinally, but many people were saved 

through that book in the 1970s. Why Because 

it did what Jesus said by preaching 

the Gospel of the Kingdom (Mt. 24:14); 

it used end-time prophecy to present the 

Gospel. “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven 

is at hand” (Mt. 3:2). John the Baptist 

preached the Gospel of the Kingdom. In 

Matthew’s Gospel, He spoke three times as 

much about hell as He did heaven. When 

we use end-time prophecy, Yeshua says the 

Gospel of the Kingdom must be preached. 

It is the same Gospel of salvation, but it is 

presented in a certain eschatological character; 

it is prophecy used to engage unsaved 

people. 

Why are they going to fortune tellers, 

the occult, horoscopes and all this garbage 

They want to know the future. Well, we 

know the future. Use prophecy evangelistically. 

That is the only way to successfully 

evangelize a post-Christian, neo-pagan, 

post-modern world; not the Emergent garbage, 

not the Purpose Driven garbage, not 

the Rob Bell garbage—the Word of God. 

Do what Jesus said—use prophecy to engage 

unsaved people evangelistically. 

She Knew God’s Divine Plan 

for Israel 

Thirdly, Rahab did not pay attention to 

people like John Piper; she did not adhere 

to Replacement Theology. She knew God 

had a divine plan for Israel. She knew that 

God’s prophetic agenda depended on His 

prophetic agenda for Israel and the Jews. 

Israel is a litmus test. If somebody is right 

about Israel, it does not prove that they are 

right about other things; there are plenty 

of crazy people who understand that God 

has a prophetic purpose for Israel. We have 

people who lift up “Jewishness” instead of 

“Jesus-ness” in the Messianic Movement, 


putting Gentiles under the Law and all kind 

of craziness. There are people like John 

Hagee and International Christian Embassy 

(ICE) saying Jews do not have to be evangelized. 

If somebody is right about Israel, 

that does not prove that they are right about 

other things; it is not that kind of a litmus 

test. It is not a litmus test for orthodoxy, but 

it is, however, a litmus test for heterodoxy. 

I have never found a single preacher, 

author, or theologian who is wrong about 

Israel who is not wrong about other things. 

If they deny the prophetic significance for 

Israel and the Jews, we can bet our boots 

they have other seriously wrong doctrine. 

Being right about Israel does not prove they 

are kosher, but being wrong about Israel 

proves they are not kosher. Do not pay any 

attention to them as they have nothing to 

say that is worth listening to that cannot be 

obtained elsewhere. 

It is no wonder John Piper is pushing 

Rick Warren; he was never any good. How 

can an endorsement be given to someone 

who says we must unite with Muslims and 

Hindus and Buddhists to bring in global 

peace How can one promote someone 

with an antichrist agenda unless they are 

out to lunch to begin with No one does 

something so crazy overnight. It proves 

something was always wrong. If they are 

wrong about Israel, they are wrong about 

other things. 

The Temporal Work of Redemption 

Rahab knew the divine plan, she also 

knew the signs of the times, but she knew 

something else, that redemption was not 

only eternal, but temporal. When Jesus 

died, He did die to save us from hell, and 

he did die to bring us to heaven, but He 

also redeemed us to do something in this 

life and this world. It does not matter what 

she did or what she was, it does not matter 

what we did or what we were. 

Before I emigrated to Israel, my church 

in New York had a rescue mission to street 

people, homeless people, alcoholics, drug 

addicts and teenaged prostitutes; we would 

rescue them. I never met a prostitute who 

was not a professional liar. They lie to their 

clients to pretend they like them—all they 

see is green. They lie to their pimps about 

how much they made (or not), and above 

all they lie to themselves. One has to be a 

liar to be a prostitute. So look at what Rahab 

did. When the authorities came looking 

for the two Israelite spies, her human skills 

were redeemed and transformed to be used 

for God’s purpose. 

When Bibles were not legal in China, 

I used to smuggle them in. When Bibles 

were not legal in Vietnam, I used to smuggle 

Bibles from Bangkok, Thailand into 

Vietnam, and before that from Hong Kong 

into China. Why Because before I met Jesus 

I used to smuggle hashish from Toronto 

into Amsterdam. 

It does not matter what we did, it does 

not matter what we are; it only matters if 

we have been redeemed. God redeems the 

whole person. It could be a professional 

skill in medicine or law, it could be something 

from the humanities like writing or 

music—it could be anything, even something 

sinister like a prostitute or a drug dealer 

from the East Side of Manhattan. It does 

not matter what we did; it only matters if 

we have been redeemed. Whatever it is, the 

Lord is going to crucify the whole person. 

He is going to take it to the cross, then He is 

going to raise it up and use it for His glory. 

That is the total meaning of “redemption.” 

Remember that in Matthew 25, the gifts 

are given in proportion to the talents. That 

was some talent to have, but God used it. 

Rahab understood redemption. 

The Victory is Already Assured 

“Now therefore, please swear to me by 

the LORD, since I have dealt kindly 

with you, that you also will deal kindly 

with my father’s household, and give 

me a pledge of truth, and spare my father 

and my mother and my brothers 

and my sisters, with all who belong 

to them, and deliver our lives from 

death.” 

(As we see in the Exodus narrative, as 

we see in the Lot narrative, as we see in the 

Noah narrative, God is in the business of 

saving whole families.) 

So the men said to her, “Our life for 

yours if you do not tell this business of 

ours; and it shall come about when the 

LORD gives us the land that we will 

deal kindly and faithfully with you.” 

Then she let them down by a rope 

through the window, for her house was 

on the city wall, so that she was living 

on the wall. 

(Sounds like Paul in Damascus, does it 

not) 

She said to them, “Go to the hill country, 

so that the pursuers will not happen 

upon you, and hide yourselves 

there for three days until the pursuers 

return. Then afterward you may go 

on your way.” The men said to her, 

“We shall be free from this oath to 

you which you have made us swear, 

unless, when we come into the land, 

you tie this cord of scarlet thread in 

the window through which you let us 

down, and gather to yourself into the 

house your father and your mother 

and your brothers and all your father’s 

household. It shall come about 

that anyone who goes out of the doors 


of your house into the street, his blood 

shall be on his own head, and we shall 

be free; but anyone who is with you in 

the house, his blood shall be on our 

head if a hand is laid on him. But if 

you tell this business of ours, then we 

shall be free from the oath which you 

have made us swear.” She said, “According 

to your words, so be it.” So 

she sent them away, and they departed; 

and she tied the scarlet cord in the 

window. 

(Notice that twice it is reiterated, “Do 

not betray us” (Josh. 2:17, 20), and twice 

it is reiterated, “Tie the scarlet cord” (Josh. 

2:18, 21). It becomes emphatic when it is 

repeated.) 

They departed and came to the hill 

country, and remained there for three 

days until the pursuers returned. Now 

the pursuers had sought them all along 

the road, but had not found them. Then 

the two men returned and came down 

from the hill country and crossed over 

and came to Joshua the son of Nun, 

and they related to him all that had 

happened to them. They said to Joshua, 

“Surely the LORD has given all 

the land into our hands; moreover, all 

the inhabitants of the land have melted 

away before us.” (Joshua 2:12-24) 

Notice how the war is won even before 

the battle is fought. In Christ, the victory 

is already assured; the outcome is fixed in 

eternity. Even Luther realized that truth before 

he went off his rocker. He composed, 

“A Mighty Fortress is Our God”—“Christ 

Jesus is He and He must win the battle.” 

There is no other possibility. Yes, things 

are tough and they are going to get tougher, 

dark and getting darker, but do not worry, 

I read the end of the Book, and in the end, 

because of Jesus, we win. There is no other 

possible outcome. The only question is 

whose side we want to be on. 

If we turn away from Jericho and turn toward 

the God of Israel, He will bring us into 

His family, and bring us into His people, 

and bring us into the lineage of the Messiah 

the same as He did with Rahab. We either 

perish with the kingdom that is fading, or 

we become a patriarch or matriarch in the 

Kingdom that is coming. 

She Desired the Salvation of 

Her Family 

I suppose that because prostitutes see the 

dark side of human nature for what it really 

is, and they see the dark side of themselves 

for what they really are, they know the depravity 

and depths to which a person can 

sink. Perhaps that engenders strong family 

values. Despite what she was and what she 

did, she desperately desired the salvation of 



her family. 

After our own relationship with the Lord, 

there is nothing more important in our lives 

than the salvation of our loved ones. It is 

more important than our own biological 

lives. Rahab desired the salvation of her 

family, and God desires the salvation of our 

families. May they repent and believe. 

She Switched Allegiances 

Then she switched allegiances and joined 

the other side. 

Yes, things are getting very unpleasant 

for Christians in the world, and I speak in 

places where the Church is persecuted. I 

was just with the Hmong people in Vietnam. 

They are impoverished—and I mean really 

poor. They are persecuted, and for the most 

part they do not have any Bibles, yet their 

churches are growing! They have nothing 

to hope in, nothing to trust in except Jesus. 

Their only hope for a better life and better 

world is the coming one. Remember, it 

was Smyrna who was really rich (Rev.2:9), 

and it was Laodicea, although materially 

and financially rich, who was broke (Rev. 

3:17). The Hmong people are Smyrna; we 

are Laodicea. 

Rahab desired the salvation of her family 

and she switched allegiances. Someone 

who has switched allegiances and become 

part of the invading army has no problem. It 

is like Kaddafi, who was deposed as dictator 

of Libya. Who wanted to fight for him 

He couldn’t win. But it is specified, “Do 

not go out” (Josh. 2:19). Just as it was with 

Lot, it is an application of, “Forsake not the 

fellowshipping together, one with another, 

especially as you see the day approaching” 

(Heb. 10:25). 

She Was Told Not to Go Out & Not 

to Betray 

If we have a Bible-based church that is 

centered on Christ with decent leadership, 

we are very fortunate. But there are many 

Christians in America, Australia, Britain 

and elsewhere who do not have this. I find 

more and more people meeting in homes 

and small groups simply because they can 

no longer find a biblically-based church 

where they live. It does not matter if someone 

meets in a tent out in the middle of a 

field, they must be in fellowship. If people 

are out of fellowship with other believers, 

it is because they are out of fellowship with 

the Lord. If they are in prison for the faith 

in Saudi Arabia, that is something different; 

God will take care of them. But the norm 

He who separates himself seeks his 

own desire, He quarrels against all 

sound wisdom. (Proverbs 18:1) 

When we see people who are chronically 

out of fellowship with other believers, they 

are actually out of fellowship with the Lord. 

Some claim they do not go because the 

church is filled with hypocrites. Well then, 

they ought to fit right in. No matter what 

they say, they quarrel against all sound wisdom. 

They are really seeking the desire of 

their own nature. 

They say, “I don’t need the church, I 

have Jesus!” If that was true, they would 

want to be in fellowship with other believers. 

They are quarreling against all sound 

wisdom; they seek their own desire—they 

lack sense. People who are out of fellowship 

in the last days put themselves in a 

situation of tremendous peril. If we cannot 

stand together, we will never stand alone. 

“Do not go out!” 

When people leave the church (I am not 

saying a given congregation, but out of fellowship) 

they are going to backslide if they 

have not done so already. 

And twice it is reiterated, “Do not betray.” 

What did Jesus say was going to happen 

“Many will fall away and betray one 

another” (Mt. 24:10). This is happening already, 

but it is going to happen big time. 

Just to begin with, let me tell you who is 

going to betray us tomorrow: the ones who 

tune into the idiot box and listen to Benny, 

Kenny and Joyce today. Those listening 

to the money preachers and their false 

promise, “You don’t have to suffer! You’re 

a King’s Kid! God wants you rich! Blabit-and-grab-it! 

Just confess the victory and 

you won’t suffer!” When opposition and 

trials come, they are going to be the first 

ones to fall away, these people who listen to 

those religious liars who have a lying spirit. 

These money-preaching televangelists are 

at the forefront of the false prophets Jesus 

warned would come to deceive the elect in 

the last days (Mt. 24:24). Do not pay attention 

to any of them. 

She Hangs a Scarlet Cord 

But there, finally, hanging in the window 

of the room where Rahab gathered together 

her family, the scarlet cord is found. And 

here we are, all together where the scarlet 

cord is. Our sins are like scarlet, but they 

shall be white as snow (Is. 1:18)—the blood 

of the paschal lamb. 

In the house where I live in England, near 

the suburbs of London, there is on the door 

a “mezuzah”—the way the Torah is put on 

the doorposts of a Jewish family’s house. 

Then there is a sticker on the garage, “Jehovah’s 

Witnesses Welcome Here.” (I have 

a great time when they come over, though 

I have reason to believe I have been put on 

their black list and they tell their people to 

avoid me now.) But there is a third thing 

I still have to get: I want to hang a scarlet 

cord in the window. I have the sticker, I 

have the mezuzah, but I must get a scarlet 

cord. We all need a scarlet cord. 

How did Rahab get rescued Why was 

she saved Why did God bless her and use 

her so much Why did she become a matriarch 

and a role model of faith and faithfulness 

How did she become memorialized 

for all time in the Word of God and an ancestor 

to Jesus the Messiah Himself How 

did a Gentile prostitute reach this stature 

She was not just a shiksa, but a hooker to 

boot! It is not how low we have been, but 

how high we can go in Christ. She knew 

what she was. 

Conclusion 

If you have never trusted Jesus for your 

salvation, it is quite simple. Believe me, 

you are not the only person who has sinned. 

But even if you were, you are so important 

to God and He loves you so much that He 

would have come and been nailed to that 

cross just for you alone personally. Jesus did 

not die just for all of us, He died for each of 

us; that is how important you are to God. The 

price has already been paid. You are either 

going to repent and ask Him to forgive you, 

or you will spend eternity wishing you did. 

Rahab knew what she was, that she was 

no good. In and of myself, I am no good, 

and I do not know who you are, but take 

my word for it, the Scriptures say you are 

no good. Once you realize that, we can get 

someplace. In other words, if you want to 

spend eternity in the Lake of Fire, a place 

prepared for Satan and his angels (Rev. 

20:10; 21:8), you do not have to be an upstanding 

member of society, you do not 

have to be a priest, a rabbi or a liberal minister, 

you do not have to be a member of the 

professional or business community, you 

do not have to be an outstanding citizen to 

go to hell, but it helps. 

On the other hand, if you want to be 

saved, you do not have to be a hooker like 

Rahab, you do not have to be swindler or 

crook, a cocaine addict like me or a drunk, 

you do not have to be immoral, you do not 

have to be a fornicator, you do not have to 

be debauched or a gambler in order to go 

to heaven, but it helps because at least you 

know what you are. All have sinned, all fall 

short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23). Rahab 

knew what she was. 

Rahab knew Joshua was coming, and, 

believe me, Joshua is coming! We can call 

Him “Joshua,” we can call Him “Yehoshua,” 

we can call Him “Yeshua,” we can call 

Him “Jesus,” but He is coming. 

She knew that His coming depended on 

God’s plan for Israel. Wise Christians still 

know that. She knew the signs of the time and 

we should know the signs of the time as well. 


Her redemption was not just eternal, 

it was temporal. Whatever we are, whatever 

our background, God wants to turn 

it around and use it for His purpose and 

our blessing in the salvation of others. He 

takes all of us to the cross and crucifies our 

good points as well as our bad. On the other 

hand, He saves all of us; He saves our good 

points and bad and uses it all for His purpose 

and redemption. 

Rahab desired the salvation of her family. 

Every day and every time we think of 

it, we need to be praying for the repentance 

and salvation of our loved ones. There is 

nothing more important than our own walk 

with the Lord. 

Rahab switched allegiances. We cannot 

trust in this world and the world that is coming. 

We cannot trust in this fallen kingdom of 

Satan and the Kingdom that is coming soon 

to replace it. We have to make a decision—to 

which kingdom does our allegiance belong 

“Do not go out!” Stay in fellowship with 

others who believe the truth. One way to 

think of a church that holds to the Word of 

God is a lifeboat on a Titanic that is sinking. 

Remember, this is not a social club for 

nice people; it is a rehab center for sinners. 

“Do not betray!” Many will fall away and 

betray one another (Mt. 24:10). Be wary of 

those who follow false doctrines; they cannot 

be trusted. They may be Christians, they 

may say they are born again, they may be 

nice people, but if they are believing false 

doctrines, following false teachers, do not 

trust them. 

But above all, get ahold of that scarlet 

cord and hang it in the window. Though our 

sins are like scarlet, in the grace of the Lord 

Jesus Christ, they shall be white as snow. 

God bless. 

Jacob Prasch ††† 

She Hangs a 


Quotes of the QUARTER ! 

“He who believes in the Son 

has eternal life; but he who 

does not obey the Son will 

not see life, but the wrath 

of God abides on him.” 

John 3:36 

UTV News 

An exhibit in the new Giants’ 

Causeway Visitors’ Centre acknowledges 

the creationist view of how the 

world-famous stones were formed. 

The National Trust said it wanted 

to “reflect and respect” the fact that 

some people contest the views of 

mainstream science. 

Its state-of-the-art new complex, 

which opened on Tuesday, features 

an interactive audio exhibition showcasing 

the stories and the science behind 

the Giants’ Causeway. 

It looks at the origins of the basaltic 

columns on the Co Antrim coastline. 

The trust said that the exhibit gives 

recognition to the fact that, for creationists, 

the debate about the age 

of the Earth is still ongoing. 

A statement read: “The Giants’ 

Causeway has always prompted debate 

about how it was formed and 

how old it is. 

“One of the exhibits in the Giants’ 

Causeway Visitors’ Centre interpretation 

tells the story of the part the Giants’ 

Causeway played in the debate 

about how the Earth’s rocks were 

formed and the age of the Earth. 

“This is an interactive audio exhibition 

in which visitors can hear some 

of the different debates from historical 

characters. 

“In this exhibition we also acknowledge 

that for some people, this debate 

continues today and we reflect 

and respect the fact that creationists 

today have a different perspective 

on the age of the Earth from that of 

mainstream science.” 

The National Trust worked alongside 

the Caleb Foundation, which 

represents mainstream evangelical 

Christians in Northern Ireland, during 

the development of the centre. 

Its chairman, Wallace Thompson, 

said he is pleased with the result of 

the engagement and the inclusion of 

the creationist view. 

“We have worked closely with the 

National Trust over many months 

with a view to ensuring that the new 


Creationist Headway in 

Northern Ireland 

Causeway Visitor Centre includes an 

acknowledgement both of the legitimacy 

of the creationist position on 

the origins of the unique Causeway 

stones and of the ongoing debate 

around this,” Mr Thompson said. 

“We want to thank senior National 

Trust officials who have worked 

closely with us over a prolonged period, 

and we are pleased that this 

constructive engagement has helped 

to bring about such a positive result. 

“This is, as far as we are aware, a 

first for the National Trust anywhere 

in the UK, and it sets a precedent for 

others to follow.” 

Over 600,000 visitors come to see 

the Unesco World Heritage Site every 

year. 

The £18.5m new centre, which 

takes the form of an underground 

complex with a sloping grass roof 

hiding it from view, opened its doors 

to the public some 11 years after the 

previous one was destroyed in a fire. 

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Hebrew Teaching 

Jacob Prasch 








a. gnostic 


4. midrash 



I 

R 

Introduction 

ecently, a blogging match concerning 

my comments on the New Testament 

use of midrash sprung up 

between believers who seriously study the 

Word of God, and religious babblers who 

mislead those who imagine themselves to 

be the guardians of scriptural truth. 

A wide array of conservative Evangelical 

scholars has affirmed the use of midrashic 

hermeneutics throughout the history of the 

church. These theologians include John 

Lightfoot, the 17th century English Puritan 

who published a midrashic commentary 

on the New Testament, to Bilderbeck and 

Strauss, to more contemporary figures such 

as T. Dockerty, E.E. Ellis, Richard Longnecker, 

Moises Silva and many others. 

Midrashic hermeneutics was used by the 

first-century Jewish Apostolic church from 

the Sitz im Leben of Second Temple period 

Judaism in the New Testament. Prophecyas-pattern, 

“pesher” interpretations, and 

apocryphal typology are ways a growing 

cadence of conservative Evangelical 

scholars account for the way in which the 

New Testament handles the Old Testament. 

This is seen in everything from the infancy 

narrative formula (eg., the Matthew 2:15 

pesher interpretation of Hosea 11:1, etc.), 

to Paul’s parody of Sarah and Hagar in Galatians 

chapter 4, to the literary genre of the 

epistle of Jude. 

It is obvious that Jesus and His apostles, 

being Jews, wrote not from a cultural vacuum 

but were divinely inspired to write 

from the context of their own language and 

culture. The Midoth of Rabbi Hillel that St. 

Paul would have learned from his rabbinic 

mentor Rabbi Gamaliel (Acts 22:3) are 

evident throughout his epistles and in the 

epistle to the Hebrews. In short, the New 

Testament handles the Old Testament in the 

same manner in which the Qumran Dead 

Sea scrolls and the inter-testamental apocryphal 

I & II Maccabees and I & II Enoch 

do. This responsively refutes the claims of 

liberal theologians (such as Oxford Professor 

James Barr) who argue by grammaticalhistorical 

exegesis that the New Testament 

is not to be taken literally because its apostolic 

authors did not handle Scripture in a 

literal fashion. 

In fact, it is not a misuse of midrash, 

but the misuse of the grammatical-historical 

exegesis that the Reformers borrowed 

from 16 th -century humanism that gave 

rise to higher criticism by theological liberals. 

A more recent attempt made by the 

Anglican ultra-liberal John Shelby Spong 

to argue that midrash negates literalism, is 

automatically discredited as bogus and devoid 

of substance by the fact that the literal 

‘peshet’ interpretation must be established 

before the further ‘pesher’ meaning can be 

determined. Spong’s very premise reveals a 

fundamental ignorance. Moreover, in light 

of the Qumran discoveries even traditional 

Evangelical attempts to explain the New 

Testament’s handling of the Old by conventional 

conservative Protestant exegesis (as in 

the views of otherwise credible voices such 

as Walter Kaiser whose overall ministry this 

author endorses) cannot carry significant 

weight in light of the Qumranic evidence. 

Essentially, believers who are serious in 

their approach to the Word of God focus on 

what Scripture actually states concerning 

midrash and not on later rabbis or subscribers 

to the doctrinal errors of replacement 

theology debunked in Romans by Paul. Either 

of these extremes is erroneous. 

There are multiple passages in the origi- 

10 Moriel Quarterly • September 2012

nal Hebrew canon which are either called 

“Midrash” or refer to it. Key examples, 

which we shall explain, pertinent to the 

Book of Revelation are as follows: 

“Now the remainder of the deeds of 

Abijah, and his ways and words are 

written in the Midrash [vrim] of the 

Prophet Iddo”. (2 Chronicles 13:22) 

“As to his sons and many oracles 

[burdens] against him, and the reconstruction 

of the House of God, behold 

these are written in the ‘MIDRASH‘ 

[vrim] of the Book of Kings. Then 

Amaziah his son became King in his 

place”. (2 Chronicles 24:27) 

Because the King James Version mistranslates 

the original term “Midrash” as 

“Treatise”, some objectors reject the validity 

of the term midrash. These do not accept 

the scriptural teaching that the priority 

belongs with the original meaning of the 

original languages (Nehemiah 8:8). Their 

authority is not with the intended meaning 

of the original text, but with a 17th-century 

post-Elizabethan English translation of a 

translation (even though the KJV can be 

readily documented to often deviate from 

both the Masoretic and Textus Receptus 

manuscripts it portends to follow). These 

KJV-Only adherents are simply too ignorant 

to warrant any further consideration in 

their absurd efforts to canonize a 1611 edition 

that quotes Apocrypha as Scripture and 

lists Roman Catholic feast days of Mary as 

sacrosanct. This is to say nothing of their 

efforts to beatify King James, (son of the 

Roman Catholic Mary Queen of Scots), 

who persecuted born-again Christians. By 

the accounts of secular historians (including 

Winston Churchill), King James was 

corrupt and by common report a homosexual. 

These rejecters of Midrash are the 

followers of the racist serial divorcee Peter 

Ruckman, the proven fraud Gail Riplinger, 

and the lunatic fringe conspiracy theorist 

Texe Marrs. Others are simply too uninformed 

to know the term ‘midrash’ is even 

found in God’s Word, yet they insist it be 

ignored or expunged from Holy Writ. 

Among the ranks of the opponents of 

scriptural midrash are those who confuse 

the scriptural teaching of midrash with the 

later rabbinic midrashic writings produced 

by Talmudic Judaism, which Moriel, this 

author, and more importantly Jesus Christ, 

denounced as a false religion. Talmudic 

Judaism is no more the Judaism of Moses 

and the Hebrew prophets than the Church 

of Rome, Eastern Orthodoxy, or liberal 

Protestantism are the Christianity of Jesus 

and the apostles. It is not difficult to understand 

how sincere believers can be misled 

by crackpots who do not know the original 

languages or Judeo-Christian history, but 

Jacob Prasch 

misrepresent themselves as having an expertise 

where they demonstrably have none. 

To reject midrash—something found and 

used in Scripture because later rabbis distorted 

it—makes no more sense than rejecting 

the meaning of the original languages 

in favor of the KJV because the rabbis of 

Talmudic Judaism and the Eastern church 

fathers in the patristic era of the Greek Orthodox 

Church misinterpret the meaning 

of the Greek and Hebrew. But such people 

never make much sense. Since liberal Protestantism 

emerges from a hermeneutical 

misuse of the grammatical-historical exegesis 

the Reformers used to re-identify the 

Gospel in terms of justification by faith and 

salvation by grace against the lies of papal 

Rome, shall we reject literalist grammatical-historical 

exegesis 

We have demonstrated repeatedly in article 

after article and film clip after film clip 

that we detest Gnosticism, mysticism, and 

Talmudic Judaism and have shown repeatedly 

that the scriptural use of midrash has no 

more to do with the later midrashic writings 

of the rabbis than papal encyclicals have to 

do with apostolic epistles. Let such foolish 

virgins cling to their oil-less lamps. We 

need to fuel ours up for the coming night. 

More problematic however are well intentioned 

academics with a scholarly perspective 

not framed by Scripture itself (which is 

Hebraic), but by denominational traditions 

and their respective systematic theologies 

(which is Hellenistic). They confuse midrash 

with the ancient battle between the 

Alexandrian School of theology that spiritualized 

texts out of context under the incipient 

influences of Gnosticism and Philo 

and the more literalist Antiochian School. 

Both of these schools emerged in the patristic 

age, but midrash was already in the 

apostolic age long prior to Gentile theology 

coming into the church. Fortunately, this 

higher level of ignorance is fading due to 

the Qumran discoveries and is giving way 

to a renewed sense of Hebraic scholarship 

championed by conservative scholars such 

as James Charlesworth at Princeton University. 

Such serious academic theology however 

is not to be confused with the charlatanism 

and legalism that has defined too much 

of the modern “Hebrew Roots’ movement. 

Along a related line, to be co-equally ignored 

of course, are false teachers such as 

vulgar-mouthed Mark Driscoll, and Rick 

Warren, author of his ‘Purpose Driven Lie,’ 

both of whom defy the plain teaching of Jesus 

to be alert to prophetic events. Instead 

they urge their followers to avoid studying 

eschatology and the return of Jesus. As 

the truths in Scripture of the Last Days are 

unsealed by the Holy Spirit, none of the 

wicked will understand (Daniel 12: 4-11) 

and the foolish virgins following such se- 

Hebrew Teaching 

ductive trash will have no oil in their lamps 

and not realize it until it is too late (Matthew 

25:1-13). Satan is working through 

deceivers like Driscoll and Warren and 

their supporters to set their followers up in 

fulfillment of these prophetic warnings. 

The third category of those to be avoided 

are conspiracy theorists. For sure, no saved 

Christian should be involved in Freemasonry 

and should be aware of the designs 

of the Jesuits as agents of the Vatican, etc. 

However, those consumed with such things, 

instead of placing their emphasis where 

Scripture does, are simply the same as secular 

conspiracy theorists who are borderline 

psychotics, reframing their conjectures and 

obsessions about the Illuminati and Freemasonry, 

etc. as, in their minds, “discernment 

ministry” or “end times prophecy”. 

Any not subscribing to their fancifully concocted 

scenarios become suspect of being 

party to the conspiracy. As we warn on our 

recorded teaching, “The Four Sons of Isaiah,” 

the confident determinations of these 

sad, yet often well intentioned clowns are 

not to be paid any attention to by God’s 

people (Isaiah 8:12). They waste their time 

dwelling on speculative matters Scripture 

does not teach, but under-emphasize what 

Scripture does stress. 

Having by way of preface noted these 

realities, let us examine the inductive basis 

for the use of midrashic hermeneutics in the 

book of Revelation in order to understand 

the interpretation. 

THE BASIS OF MIDRASH IN THE BOOK 

OF REVELATION 

No theological commentator of any persuasion 

has ever declined to recognize that 

the literary character of the Book of Revelation 

draws on Old Testament themes 

and motifs more than any other New Testament 

book, rivaling or arguably exceeding 

that of the Epistle to the Hebrews. The 

images and narratives of Genesis, Exodus, 

Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Zechariah, Joel, 

Zephaniah, and above all, verse-by-verse 

in Ezekiel, are recycled in every pericopae 

of the New Testament Apocalypse. Indeed, 

although no chapter divisions occur in the 

original canon, every chapter of Revelation 

contains some reference, allusion, or citation 

from the Hebrew prophet Ezekiel. 

From a purely literary as opposed to doctrinal 

avenue of consideration, the Book of 

Revelation is much closer to the Old Testament 

in its genre. This however reflects 

a doctrinal dimension. Specifically, when 

the ‘Time of the Gentiles’ closes, the age 

of the predominantly Gentile church ends, 

culminating with the episunagoge (rapture 

and resurrection) after the age of grace concludes 

and God once again refocuses His 

September 2012 • Moriel Quarterly 11

Hebrew Teaching – Continued 

prophetic agenda mainly on Israel and the 

Jews. Thus, God begins to again deal with 

Israel and the nations as He did in the old 

covenant; that is in His wrath and correction 

of His own people unrepentant Israel 

and the Jews. The shift in literary genre 

back to an Old Testament literary structure 

and character matches the divine reversion 

back to Israel. The church as such no longer 

exists after chapter 3. This is not however 

to place the parousia at that point (this 

author places that between the 6 th and 7 th 

seals). Neither does it deny that the Book 

of Revelation was written primarily for 

the church to understand and prepare for 

the future. It indeed descriptively predicts 

what will transpire concerning unbelieving 

Israel, but it is not written mainly for Israel 

(apart from the remnant of Jews who will 

turn to Christ during the time of Jacob’s 

trouble’). Yet clearly the eschatological 

emphasis in the Book of Revelation goes 

from being ecclesia-centric (concentrated 

on the church) to Judeo-centric (concentrated 

on the unbelieving Jews) and the 

switch in literary genre underscores and 

characterizes this transformation in God’s 

prophetic dealings. 

Even more acute from a literary perspective, 

however, is the Book of Revelation’s 

kindred textual character to the inter-testamental 

apocryphal books of I & II Enoch, 

the books of Maccabees, and the Septuagint 

(LXX) translation of Old Testament apocalyptic 

books such as Daniel, Zechariah, and 

Ezekiel. The Intertestamental Period and 

Hasmonean periods witnessed the development 

of apocalyptic concepts in Hebraic 

thought and saw the combination of Hebrew 

eschatological theology with Greek 

apocalyptic forms, minus the pagan mythology 

or where it was transformed into 

the Greek language descriptions of Old 

Testament concepts. 

Examples of this are features from the 

Hebrew TENAK (Torah, prophets and 

writings) that were related by terminology 

borrowed from Hellenistic eschatology 

such as sheol becoming hades, “Destroyer” 

becoming “Apollyon,” and in the Book of 

Daniel, the citation of animals popularly 

understood even in Greco-Roman culture 

to be metaphoric of political empires. The 

similarities and differences (apart from the 

obvious monotheism) between Hebraic and 

Hellenistic apocalyptic is a massive subject 

in its own right beyond the parameters of 

this article. However, what we have in the 

Book of Revelation in essence is Old Testament 

Hebrew apocalyptic literature in 

genre translated into the Greek language 

written mainly for the church. 

We must note as believers that “all Scripture 

was written for us”, but “all Scripture 

was not written to us.” Hebrews, the Epistle 

of James, 1 & 2 Peter, Jude, John’s Gospel, 

and to a large degree Matthew’s Gospel and 

portions of Romans and Galatians, were all 

written to Jews, and it is essential for us to 

grasp this consideration in our reading and 

study of those books in order to properly 

comprehend under the illumination of the 

Holy Spirit what the content of those books 

means for us. Unless we comprehend what 

the content meant for the Jews to whom it 

was written, we are handicapped in correctly 

determining its precise meaning for 

us in Christ, be we Jew or non-Jew. 

The Book of Revelation however goes 

well beyond this, although it is written to 

the church at large consisting of both Jew 

and non-Jew. While it is imperative we 

avoid the errors of Marcionism (misreading 

it as a radical difference between the God 

of the Old Testament and The God of The 

New) and hyper-dispensationalism (seeing 

the Book of Revelation as part of the 

Old Testament), from a literary viewpoint 

it must be read as we would read a Greek 

translation of The Old Testament yet retaining 

the awareness that the promised Messiah 

has already come but is coming again. 

Most of these simply draw on Old Testament 

references in Revelation and focally 

employ two of the seven midoth used by Paul 

in his epistles acquired from the School of 

Hillel, ‘Binyan Ab M’Shna Ketubim’ (deriving 

an interpretation from the principle 

that the same terms or points used by relating 

two kindred texts apply to all scriptural 

texts having the same terms and points) and 

Binyan Ab M’ Katub Achad (an interpretation 

where the principle meaning of terms 

in one text carries the same consideration 

in others texts having the same terms and 

points). The other five midoth are used in 

Revelation to a lesser degree. These midoth 

existed from the early scribal era associated 

with the ktav tradition of the Hebrew 

prophet Ezra in the post captivity restoration 

period but were not codified and formally 

formulated until the time of Rabbi Hillel, 

the grandfather of Paul’s tutor Gamaliel. 

Once again, the ignorant spout religious 

clichés about Paul counting all things as 

waste after coming to faith in Christ. They 

are too unlearned to read the context that 

he was speaking of efforts to be justified by 

his own righteousness under the Torah, not 

about his background. In the New Testament 

he spoke of himself in the Greek text 

in the present continuous active as still being 

a “Pharisee of the Pharisees,” not as in 

trying to be justified by the law but in terms 

of what a Pharisee meant from the Hebrew 

infinitive ‘L’ Paresh’, that is ‘one who interprets.’ 

He continued to ‘L’Paresh’ after 

salvation—that is to say Paul continued to 

interpret the Word of God, and his use of 

midoth is evident throughout his writings. 

Others likewise cite Jesus’ warnings from 

Matthew 23 “Woe unto you Scribes and 

Pharisees,” omitting that Jesus also said, “I 

will send you scribes” (Hebrew scholars). 

Whenever addressing issues concerning 

midrashic content in the New Testament, 

it is essential to filter out the background 

noise of the ignorant babblers who misdirect 

others because they do not know what 

they are talking about. 

The other recurrent midrashic feature 

permeating the Book of Revelation is the 

Peshet (straightforward grammatical-historical 

literal or simple meaning speaking 

of one event) and its pesher (applied further 

meaning to a future prophetic event.) 

We see the Exodus judgments on Egypt 

(still commemorated in the Paschal Haggadah) 

recapitulated globally in the Book 

of Revelation: blood, darkness, frogs, etc. 

We see Ezekiel’s marking with the tav from 

Ezekiel 9:4-6 in a pesher interpretation in 

Revelation 7:3. Joel’s four invasions of 

locusts representing the four Babylonian 

invasions as the peshet find their pesher in 

Revelation 9 as the demon cohorts of hell. 

No place is pesher interpretation more 

conspicuously important in the Book of 

Revelation than in the eschatological recycling 

of Pharaoh and his magicians (identified 

by Paul and by Jewish historical writings 

as Jannes and Jambres) counterfeiting 

the miracles of Moses and Aaron as the 

antichrist and false prophet will counterfeit 

the miracles of Jesus and His witnesses 

in Revelation 13. Paul places an eschatological 

contrast on Pharaoh’s magicians using 

“Binyan Ab M’Shna Ketubim” in his 

teaching on the Last Days in 2 Timothy 

3:8. Paul tells us this will transpire again 

eschatologically and so, alas, in Revelation 

13 we see it happening. 

The content of the ‘Midrash of Iddo’ (2 

Chronicles 13:22, 2 Chronicles 24:27) is 

hinted at or referred to various times in other 

Old Testament passages revealing its content. 

This was known in the early church, 

even into the patristic era, as in Questions 

Hebraica by Jerome and is noted in the historical 

record by Flavius Josephus (Antiquities 

VIII .8,5).These cite the words (dvarim) 

of Iddo in relation to 2 Chronicles 12:15. 

Of stronger note eschatologically however 

is the closing reference to Iddo’s visionary 

writings in 2 Chronicles 9:29. It is 

in this passage, and in its synoptic parallel 

in 1 Kings10, that the total number of the 

beast, 666, is used four times in connection 

with backslidden Solomon. It is used twice 

for the weight value of gold and twice in the 

architectural design of Solomon’s throne. 

In total, the number of the beast is used for 

backslidden Solomon more than with any 

other figure in Scripture (we examine this 

phenomenon in some depth in the book 


Shadows of The Beast). What is keynote in 

the account of Iddo’s version of these 666 

events, however, is that it is called a chazon 

or vision. The Hebrew name of the Book of 

Revelation is not the Greek Apokalypsis but 

the Chazon—that is, the “Vision” of John. 

Thus, in the original language text we have 

a plain link of midrash and understanding 

666 (“Let he who has wisdom count the 

number of the beast”). 

To be sure, Gematria (Greco Hebrew 

alpha numerics), and a panorama of other 

places where the number 666 is found in 

Scripture, among other considerations, are 

vital to arriving at a proper understanding 

of the exact meaning of this number of a 

man which the Holy Spirit will disclose to 

the faithful believers at the appropriate hour 

(again, these issues are addressed in detail 

in Shadows of the Beast). But God’s Word 

directly and overtly links midrashic interpretation 

to identification of the antichrist 

whether the ignorant critics of New Testament 

uses of midrash approve of it or not. 

The fact that such misguided figures 

with their illiteracy in Greek and Hebrew, 

and their confusing of the midrash found in 

Scripture with later rabbinic convolutions 

of it, is irrelevant. God has placed midrash 

in His Word and He has done so for a reason 

whether they agree with Him for doing 

so or not. 

Of all the books of God’s Word, an understanding 

of midrashic hermeneutics in 

apostolic exegesis will prove no place more 

crucial than in deciphering the correct interpretation 

of the Book of Revelation. 

J. Jacob Prasch 

(Moriel) 








a. gnostic 


4. midrash 



“Now the remainder of the deeds of 

Abijah, and his ways and words are 

written in the Midrash of the Prophet 

Iddo.” 2 Chronicles 13:22 

“As to his sons and many oracles 

[burdens] against him, and the reconstruction 

of the House of God, 

behold these are written in the ‘MI- 

DRASH‘ of the Book of Kings. Then 

Amaziah his son became King in his 

place.” 2 Chronicles 24:27 

Your Letters and 

Comments 

AMERICAN LETTERS 

Letters & Comments 

QUESTION: 

The Aramaic English NT by AG Roth is the 

new craze amongst Messianic believers. The 

translation looks spurious. I read a portion of 

1 Peter from it – a bit dicey. As far as I know, 

no Aramaic copies of the NT have been authenticated. 

Please advise. 

REPLY: 

Thank you for your question. 

The earliest Syriac / Aramaic New Testament 

texts we have are translated from Greek. 

There are no existing Aramaic originals. 

If there were they were burned by the 

Moslems in Lebanon when they torched 

the Christian libraries in the 8 th century. 

The closest text we have to the Aramaic 

(Hebrew dialect of Chaldee) spoken by Jesus 

would be the Peshita text which is not a 

New Testament. 

There is however an academic value in 

the scholarly sense of comparing the oldest 

Syriac manuscript copies we have from 

various scriptoriums with both the Greek 

NT text and the Hebrew NT text of Franz 

Delitzche. This however is a scholarly pursuit 

in the domain of a rather select group 

of academics and requires a very high level 

competence of the ancient languages and 

even in this realm of expertise, the experts 

themselves are not infrequently divided. 

We have around 20,000 NT fragments 

and codexes and nearly all are in Greek, 

not Aramaic. Despite the unsubstantiated 

and often hyper speculative and conjectured 

claims of the Jerusalem School of 

Synoptic Research (JSSR) of David Bivin, 

Joe Frankovick, Roy Blizzard etc., except 

for a historical reference from Heggispus in 

the patristic era claiming Matthew’s gospel 

was originally composed in Hebrew (which 

may have meant Hebrewised Aramaic), 

the overwhelming bulk of manuscript, historical, 

and linguistic evidence supports 

the New Testament as having been written 

mainly in Koine Greek. 

One book you may wish to consider in 

this regard is “The Reliability of The New 

Testament Manuscripts” by FF Bruce. While 

I myself no longer value him much as a 

theologian, some excellent work was in 

the past done in this area by Craig Blohmberg. 

This is a massive and complex area 

of scholarship, but much of what is being 

bantered about these days is often not even 

scholarly. Hyper Messianic crackpots and 

charlatans abound. I am not however sufficiently 

familiar to comment on the work 

of AG Roth. I trust this helps. 

QUESTION: 

First I want to tell you, we have never 

enjoyed a DVD as much as the Daniel Project. 

Very informative. We watch it over and 

over again, as it is a great witnessing tool. 

One question... we noticed Jeremy Hitchen, 

appeared to be reading from notes or 

note book. 

We had a problem with Ezekiel 45 vr 12, 

when we looked to the Bible, it mainly talks 

about the shekel as weights and measurements, 

nothing that we read mentioned it be 

re-established as a coin. Could you explain 

this to us as an end time prophecy. Thank 

you so much 

Pat 

REPLY: 

Greetings in Jesus from Singapore, 

The second half of Ezekial’s book is prophetic 

of the future inclusive of eschatology 

and the millennial reign of Christ as well 

as addressing circumstances of the author’s 

own era. These aspects however are beyond 

the focus of the Daniel Project. 

In Hebrew, (both ancient and modern 

Hebrew) the term for money and silver 

are the precise same word - “ casef” and 

the monetary valuation is detemined by 

weight. The equivelant of cents or pence is 

the subdivision by weight denominated into 

“agarot” ( used in the old Israeli currency 

priort the sheqal in 1980 and new sheqal 

in use today) drawn from the scriptural 

term ‘gerah’ found in the text of Ezekial 

45:12 which has as its synonym “mina”. 

The colloquial Hebrew term for pocket 

change (coinage) is “garushim” from the 

same root word. 

In the original Hebrew text it makes perfect 

sense; weight and cash value are the 

same. But even in a good English translation 

it is clear enough. There was a problem in 

the ‘ Sitz im Leben ‘ (historical and cultural 

context and setting ) of Ezekial 45 where illicit 

expropriation was taking place (Ezek. 

45: 9) in both metallic currency and in the 

busheling of grain ( see also Amos 8:5) by 

over valuating units of measurement by subtracting 

from content as defined by weight. 

I trust this answers your question. There 

is no distinction in the original Hebrew 

text between monetary value and metallic / 

avoribus weight. It appears you are misunderstanding 

the translation or are perhaps 

reading an inaccurate translation. I am away 

in Asia and your e mail was forwarded to me. 

I am afraid I cannot respond further at present 

. Suffice to say however that our priority 

must always be on the original meaning 

of the original languges (Nehemiah 8:8). 

In Jesus, JJP/ Moriel 


Moriel South Africa 

David Royle 

Dear Friends and Family, 

We hope we find you blessed and running 

the race in our Lord Jesus. 

Please make note of our new postal address. 

We managed to rent a post office box 

in the village after all this time. So here it is: 

Moriel Missions South Africa 

PO BOX 210, 

Napier 7270, 

Western Cape, South Africa 

Just a week or so ago we took possession 

of our Kombi, a VW Caravel. Straight 

away we put it to good use by organizing a 

trip down to Cape Peninsula and staying at 

Protea Cape Castle Hotel near the VA Waterfront. 

This gave a great schooling opportunity 

for the children; able to see so many 

places gave them a good insight into what a 

diverse and beautiful place South Africa is. 

We took them to see: 

Butterfly world 

World of Birds 

Two Oceans aquarium 

Blue bus tour of the peninsula 

Along with this was a beautiful trip 

through Frenchoek and the Huguenot monument, 

a trip to the Cinema, some really nice 

meals on the waterfront plus many treats. 

The kids would like to thank everyone 

concerned for helping us make this happen 

for the children. They were really amazed 

at the things they saw, from the statues of 

Bartholomew Diaz to the diverse flora and 

fauna of the area. 

MUGGED BY MONKEYS 

Yep, just for a laugh I put this in. While 

in ‘Monkey World’ I was set upon by a 

troop of small yellow Monkeys who managed 

to get away with a cell phone, glasses 

and bus tickets. When they found out they 

could not eat them they gave them back 

quickly enough but it was a bit worrying 

having them going through my pockets; 

they were so fast. 

During this time it gave opportunity to 

witness to a few people. The kids are a natural 

conversation opener as we went into 

restaurants and bought tickets. I have exchanged 

contact details with two especially. 

Please pray for them both, Reggie and 

Miguel a young man from Argentina. I will 

be following up with them shortly. 

Healthwise, for the children it’s been a 

mixed bag. Paulina had to make yet another 

trip to the Doctor for more antibiotics. Her 

foot had a deep hole in it due to an abscess 

that had gotten infected and it was having 

difficulty in closing and healing. 

ARV medication also compounds the 

mental faculties of some of the children, 

particularly Jo and Peewee. However, we 

are also seeing certain similar traits with 

N’tombi as she grows. We really do not 

know how all this will end or what the prognosis 

is concerning their development. Mental 

health support in this area is not readily 

available, so we ask your prayers on this. 

Please also pray for prudence who begins 

college in Hermanus late August. This 

is a great opportunity for her to develop her 

skills in the food and wine industry and we 

are thankful for Bartho and Sune who have 

established the college for the Bursary that 

is enabling her to pursue a career. 

ITEMS FOR PRAYER 

•Thank you Lord for your goodness and Mercy 

• Thank you Lord for your provision 

• Give us Lord our daily bread 

• Please pray for our brothers and sisters in Syria 

• Please pray for Moriel missionaries all over 

the world 

• Please uphold the garbage dump children in 

the Philippines 

• Please pray alongside us for inroads for the 

Gospel 

• For all our administrators and our workers 

worldwide 

• For Jacob as he is in the middle of a grueling 

world tour 

• For David Lister who organizes him in the 

USA 

• For the Mount of Olives Project and the finances 

to complete it 

• For the sale of our properties in Gauteng 

• For Prudence and her studies 

• For Bill Randles as he comes in December 

TEACHING 

In the last newsletter we began a look at 

Mormonism, the Church of Jesus Christ, 

Latter-day Saints (LDS). It’s an important 

issue because many evangelicals are unaware 

that this group is a cult with a different 

gospel and a different Jesus. With the USA 

elections due in November it is conceivable 

that a Mormon president could be elected. 

This will in the long term have ramifications 

for the country with a push for polygamy 

by the LDS and the inclusion of the LDS 

among the mainstream churches with little 

compromise to their own belief system. 

After all Mitt Romney has already been to 

the Southern Baptist convention and visited 

Jerusalem. The cult had senior evangelicals 

speaking and Christian musicians such as 

Michael Card performing at their Temple. 

The following website link I submit to 


you as former Reachout trust representative 

in South Africa to give insight into this cult. 

Not only is it informative but also offers 

insights into witnessing to LDS members 

and other resources that can be obtained 

through Reachout trust in the UK. 

One final word: David Lister, who like 

me is a board member of Moriel, has been 

a missionary to the Mormon people for 

many years. He once told me that the burning 

in the bosom the Mormons experience 

which comes to mind whenever they are 

cornered by questions they cannot answer 

is probably demonic in nature. Then the 

possibility is that if Mitt Romney gains the 

presidency of the USA, they would have 

a demonically oppressed if not possessed 

man leading the country. 

A Mormon or a closet Muslim at the helm 

of the most powerful nation on Earth is something 

that should concern the whole church. 

A difficult decision for the voters in the USA. 

Other resources including, Book of Mormon 

vs DNA, the Bible vs Book of Mormon 

and Joseph Smith vs the Bible are 

available through our USA Office 

Please look at the index on the link carefully, 

you can also download articles for 

printing. “http://www.reachouttrust.org/articlesMormons.php” 

TRUE FELLOWSHIP – Pt. 2 

1 John 1: 1 – 10 

“That which was from the beginning, 

that which we have heard, that which 

we have seen with our eyes, that which 

we beheld, and our hands handled, 

concerning the Word of life (and the 

life was manifested, and we have seen, 

and bear witness, and declare unto 

you the life, the eternal life, which was 

with the Father, and was manifested 

unto us); that which we have seen and 

heard declare we unto you also, that 

ye also may have fellowship with us: 

yea, and our fellowship is with the 

Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ: 

and these things we write, that our joy 

may be made full. And this is the message 

which we have heard from him 

and announce unto you, that God is 

light, and in him is no darkness at all. 

If we say that we have fellowship with 

him and walk in the darkness, we lie, 

and do not the truth: but if we walk 

in the light, as he is in the light, we 

have fellowship one with another, and 

the blood of Jesus his Son cleanseth us 

from all sin. If we say that we have no 

sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth 

is not in us. If we confess our sins, he 

is faithful and righteous to forgive us 

our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 

If we say that we have 

not sinned, we make him a liar, and his 

David Royle 

word is not in us.” 

If you remember last time we looked at 

part one in this three part series of fellowship, 

we looked at the word for ‘fellowship’ itself 

and how God has called us, not unto superficial 

relationships but relationships which 

have a depth of quality about them. Today 

we are continuing by asking two questions; 

In what do we have fellowship 

With whom do we have fellowship 

But I think that it’s important, first of all, 

to remind ourselves of Vines definition of 

fellowship, or ‘koinonia,’ so we can have a 

platform to build upon as we discuss these 

areas. Vine says ‘koinonia’ is ‘communion, 

fellowship, sharing in common, that which 

is the outcome of fellowship, a contribution.’ 

So with this in mind, what does the Word 

of God say we must have fellowship in 

First of all in Ephesians 3:8–9 Paul says 

“to make all men see which is the fellowship 

(koinonia) of the Mystery.” And it’s a 

Mystery which Paul says is from the beginning 

of the world. So in fact God’s plan for 

this mystery stretched before the foundations 

of the world; and what is that mystery 

I believe in using the term mystery, 

Paul links us to Colossians 1:27 “To whom 

God would make known what is the riches 

of the glory of this mystery among the 

Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope 

of glory.” Christ in us, the mystery, that 

through the power of the Holy Spirit, God 

has made his tabernacle with man. Christ in 

us, our hope and glory. Christ in us, which 

brings a hope of a future kingdom, and yet 

because Christ is in us, also a sense that in 

part the kingdom has already come. 

Let me ask, have you, have we, fellowship 

in the Mystery today Is Christ in us, in 

you; the only hope, the only glory You see 

‘The Mystery,’ Christ in us, is a test to see 

if we are in the faith, Lets look at 2 Corinthians 

13:5. “Try your own selves, whether 

ye are in the faith; prove your own selves. 

Or know ye not as to your own selves, that 

Jesus Christ is in you unless indeed ye be 

reprobate.” Are we having fellowship in 

the Mystery Is Christ in you Do you pass 

or fail the test Are we in the Faith 

What else do we have fellowship in 

Philippians 1:4–5 says “Your fellowship 

(koinonia – participation) in the Gospel.” 

So what’s Paul saying here According 

to Lightfoot, throughout this Epistle Paul 

thanks the Church for their practical aid towards 

the Gospel, but not only for time and 

the effort put in. According to Lightfoot 

the Greek is very specific, the prefix before 

‘koinonia’ denotes the object, in terms of 

money paid in. So in other words Paul’s 

fellowship with the Gospel denotes financial 

fellowship to help with its propagation, 

not only did they put in the effort, they contributed 

to the cost. Let me ask, how is our 

Moriel South Africa 

fellowship in the Gospel today 

What else do we have fellowship in 

Philippians 3:10: “that I may know him, 

and the power of his resurrection, and the 

fellowship of his sufferings, becoming conformed 

unto his death.” The fellowship of 

His sufferings! So often we focus on the 

“Power”, the ‘dunamis’ of the Spirit. So 

often the Church focuses on the miracles, 

healings, tongues and prophecy but in the 

context of scripture the Church is focusing 

on the wrong things. We forget and neglect 

the fellowship of suffering. We forget about 

being conformed to His death because suffering 

and death are not popular doctrines 

to a church that sees itself as victoriously 

triumphant, kings kids and heirs to the 

anointing. Ralf Martin in his commentary 

said that “The Apostles represented Christ 

so completely, that there was an expectation 

to share in the cost.” Are we willing to 

share in the cost today Are we willing to 

share in the fellowship of His suffering so 

that we may know Him and the power of 

His resurrection Because we cannot have 

one without the other! Or is there no cost to 

our present fellowship 

So we’ve seen what we have communion, 

fellowship, a sharing in common in, 

so who do we have fellowship with We 

saw last time that Koinonia was exhibited 

in the early Church in Acts 2: 42. Scripture 

goes on by saying in 2 Corinthians 8: 4 that 

we have fellowship in the ministering to 

the saints. Galatians 2: 9 says that it is good 

to give the right hand of fellowship to fellow 

workers for the gospel’s sake. But all 

this fellowship though, great and good as 

it is, is technically man centred. What we 

must understand is that although fellowship 

can be man centred it cannot be complete 

unless it is focused on the Tri-unity of the 

Godhead. God the Father, God the Son and 

God the Holy Spirit. 

So let’s first look at fellowship in the 

Spirit. Philippians 2:1. “If there is therefore 

any exhortation in Christ, if any consolation 

of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any 

tender mercies and compassions,” So why 

do we need the fellowship of the Spirit 

Firstly because, according to Philippians 

2: 2 in the NASB, the Spirit brings unity. 

He makes us of one accord. 

Secondly, The Spirit leads us into all 

Truth as we see in John 16: 13. 

Thirdly, The Spirit points us only to Jesus. 

John 16: 14. 

If we want or desire to be united, then 

we need the fellowship of the Spirit. If we 

want to be led into all Truth, then we had 

better have fellowship with the Spirit. If we 

want fellowship with Jesus, then fellowship 

with the Spirit is needed. And if you 

haven’t fellowship in the Spirit today, you 

cannot be saved because we need the Spirit 


Moriel South Africa – Continued 

to reveal and glorify the Son, as well as to 

convict of sin. 

Secondly, we have fellowship with the 

Son. 1 Corinthians 1:9. “God is faithful, 

through whom ye were called into the fellowship 

of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.” 

We have to have Koinonia with the Son 

for the following reasons. As the passage 

says, ‘Jesus is Lord.’ Why is He Lord Because 

the Father has made Him so. Turn to 

1 Corinthians 15:20-28 it says for “But now 

hath Christ been raised from the dead, the 

firstfruits of them that are asleep. For since 

by man came death, by man came also the 

resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam 

all die, so also in Christ shall all be made 

alive. But each in his own order: Christ the 

firstfruits; then they that are Christ’s, at 

his coming. Then cometh the end, when he 

shall deliver up the kingdom to God, even 

the Father; when he shall have abolished 

all rule and all authority and power. For he 

must reign, till he hath put all his enemies 

under his feet. The last enemy that shall be 

abolished is death. For, He put all things 

in subjection under his feet. But when he 

saith, All things are put in subjection, it is 

evident that he is excepted who did subject 

all things unto him. And when all things 

have been subjected unto him, then shall 

the Son also himself be subjected to him 

that did subject all things unto him, that 

God may be all in all.” 

He shall put down all rule and authority. 

He shall deliver the Kingdom to God. 

He must reign till all enemies are under 

His feet. 

He shall have all things subject to Him. 

And Acts 4:12 says, “And in none other 

is there salvation: for neither is there any 

other name under heaven, that is given 

among men, wherein we must be saved.” 

Jesus is Lord! He is salvation. If we do not 

have fellowship with the Son, in the very 

real sense of the Word, we are in danger 

of coming to Him in these last hours and 

saying “Lord, Lord, did we not prophecy in 

your name, cast out demons in your name, 

perform miracles in you name” – And because 

we had not ‘koinonia’, no fellowship, 

nothing in common with Him, He will say 

“I never knew you, depart from Me you 

who practice lawlessness.” Think of the 

horror of that situation. “I never know you.” 

Notice He didn’t say, “You never did works 

for me, you never evangelized for me, you 

never tithed to me.” “I never knew You”! 

You see it’s about fellowship, it’s about relationship, 

it’s about communion with Jesus 

as your Saviour, ‘koinonia’ with our Lord. 

Thirdly, because we have fellowship 

with the Spirit, because we have fellowship 

with Jesus, we can have fellowship with the 

Father. 1 John 1:1-3: That which was from 

the beginning, that which we have heard, 

David Royle 

that which we have seen with our eyes, that 

which we beheld, and our hands handled, 

concerning the Word of life (and the life 

was manifested, and we have seen, and 

bear witness, and declare unto you the life, 

the eternal life, which was with the Father, 

and was manifested unto us); that which we 

have seen and heard declare we unto you 

also, that ye also may have fellowship with 

us: yea, and our fellowship is with the Father, 

and with his Son Jesus Christ: 

Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father, 

interceding as our advocate, so we can 

come before the Father and be reconciled 

through His precious blood and have fellowship. 

Why do we need to be reconciled 

Because we as human beings were lost in 

our Sin and the Father is a Holy God; and 

not just Holy… But as Isaiah says in chapter 

6 ‘Holy, Holy, Holy.’ The Father is Holy, 

the Son is Holy, the Spirit is Holy. Holiness 

is the very nature of His being. 

And a Holy God required the payment 

of our Sin and He knew works could not 

cover the debt or the sacrifice of animals. 

He needed a perfect sacrifice that no human 

being could pay. And so in His love, in His 

mercy, in His justice, He sent Him who was 

most precious to Him, His only begotten 

Son, Yehsua. You see Genesis 1:26 says, 

“And God said, Let us make man in our image, 

after our likeness: and let them have 

dominion over the fish of the sea, and over 

the birds of the heavens, and over the cattle, 

and over all the earth, and over every creeping 

thing that creepeth upon the earth.” 

When we see the tri-unity of the Godhead, 

we see all that is balanced, wholesome and 

lovely in perfect harmony and perfect fellowship. 

And He created us for fellowship 

too so that we may have fellowship with 

Him. From the beginning, that was the way 

it was meant to be and now through Jesus, 

God sees us as restored, reconciled with 

Him if we are in Christ today. And what 

fellowship we can have and will have with 

Him because He is holy, because He is the 

creator, because He is omniscient, omnipresent, 

He holds the universe together and 

yet, as Psalm 8 says, He is mindful of us’. 

And as John 3:16 says, He loves us so much. 

Fellowship, Koinonia, with the Father, 

the Son, and the Holy Spirit and yes, even 

us too. That we should have communion, a 

sharing together with them that we may grow 

to be more and more like Jesus everyday. 

Are we really in fellowship Are we ready 

for fellowship Do you now understand 

the depth of fellowship God called us too 

Let me conclude. In Genesis where it all 

began, God spoke forth His creation and on 

every level He said “it is good,” the earth, 

the trees, the seas, the sun, the moon. But 

when He looked at Adam, He said, “it is 

not good that the man should be alone, I 

will make a helper for him,” in the Hebrew 

a counter balance. Marriage was the second 

fellowship created, the first was with 

God Himself. The next was with families 

as the man and woman had children. You 

see koinonia rings us balance, koinonia 

keeps us stable, koinonia draws us closer 

to each other and to God. Do you deserve 

Koinonia Isn’t it funny that since the fall, 

and particularly within these days, our relationship 

with God, within marriages and 

with families, the first three created are 

ever more being attacked, ruined, decimated 

by the father of lies. Why Because 

Satan understands more than us the effect 

koinonia has. So He wants to your this assembly. 

He wants to ruin our marriages. He 

wants to ruin the relationship between father, 

son, mother daughter, brother, sister. I 

have recently been investigating the attack 

on marriage by homosexuals and Liberals 

with their insistence on the normality of 

same sex union. Our cowardly backslidden 

government allowing children as young as 

five to be groomed for sex changes when 

they are older. Satan is at work world wide 

and it seems at this time he is winning the 

battle for our families. 

Next time we will look at who we should 

not fellowship with and the barriers to fellowship 

along with the issues of marriage 

and families. But maybe right now you are 

beginning to recognize the importance of 

deep fellowship with the triune God. And 

maybe you are recognizing that there are 

obstacles in its way. And if that’s the case, 

are we going to do something about it 

May it never be that some of us may one 

day hear these words “I never knew you.” 

But also, you may recognize right now, that 

old Cloven Hooves, has been pitter pattering 

around your assembly. Even worse that 

through his lies and half truths he has been 

waging war on your marriage, on your family. 

In that case, again, what are you going 

to do about it Are you just going to give 

in Are you going to ignore it Or are you 

going to fight for your son or daughter 

Fight for you husband or wife Fight for 

that person in the assembly 

How do you fight Well those who have 

been around the block once or twice know 

how he works. First of all he uses our pride. 

“I won’t say sorry.” “I won’t make the first 

move.” “I’m right, they’re wrong” Sound 

familiar Then he uses our rebellious nature 

- even when we know what the word 

says, we say “Why should I humble myself” 

“Why should I have to go that extent” 

Sound familiar Isn’t it funny that 

pride and rebellion are the best things that 

Satan does next to lying. 

Fellowship with God. 

Do you have fellowship with the Spirit today 

Do you have fellowship with the Son today 


Do you have fellowship with the Father today 

If not put it right. What about your fellowship, 

the relationships with the ones you 

love Do you have fellowship with your 

brothers and sisters in Christ Do you have 

fellowship with your husband or wife Do 

you have fellowship with your parents and 

children 

If not, you have the opportunity ‘TO- 

DAY’ to put that right. Let’s not do things 

Satan’s way and give into lies, give into rebellion, 

give into pride! But give in to God 

and restore fellowship. Dave Royle 

Western Cape Moriel Fellowship 

Dear friends and family, some sad news. . . 

Lyn and I got some sad news the other day. 

One of the children that we nursed for a couple 

of years ‘Letty’ went to be with the Lord. 

She would have been 17 this month. 

Letty because of her small brain syndrome, 

blindness and epilepsey was a real character. 

She loved singing at church and usually put 

the preacher off his step, I think Jacob and I 

can testify to that. But when singing Hymns 

it was amazing how her face used to change 

and she would raise her hands as if to grasp at 

something that we could not see. 

Letty’s life was tough, found in a tent in 

a Joberg Park she became entrenched in the 

care system and was woefully thin, so thin she 

could not walk. However, Lyn and I decided 

to take her back to Ebyown for a few years, 

where she met Jacob, and spent her time fattening 

up and learning to walk. The carers 

who worked for us did a fantastic job and her 

epilepsy was controlled wonderfully. Bless 

Victoria and Julie for their wonder care for her. 

When we moved to the Cape unfortunately 

we had to make plans to leave her in a hospice. 

Her condition was not good and her biological 

mother wanted somewhere near so she 

could visit. We would like to thank Tini Vorster 

Hospital for their love and care and making 

her last days comfortable. Letty had been 

with the Lord for a while when we found out 

and so we missed the funeral. It is however 

still sad when a young lady goes home, even 

sadder that she lived so many years not seeing 

or walking and obviously suffering. I would 

like to think that through the Lords work at 

Ebyown that her final years were filled with 

song and laughter and more importantly Jesus. 

In Jesus 

Dave and Lyn 

Jacob and Letty 

moriel missions philippines 

#66 Tagumpay St. Purok 4 Landfill, 

New Cabalan 

Olongapo City, Philippines 

August 2012 

Paul Sevilla 

Dear Brethren and Christian Friends, 

We praise and thank the Lord for you 

who have a generous heart for supporting 

the ministry. 

While beholding the children in taking 

their food we feel the joy of God’s goodness. 

Truly the Lord loves the children 

(Mark 10:14) and we follow Christ’s instruction 

– commissions. Around 40% of 

the children accepted the Lord Jesus Christ 

as their personal Lord and Savior. On our 

Bible Study after we finished the lesson 

about baptism, only nine children followed 

the Lord in water baptism showing their 

first step of obedience. 

The visit of Bro. Geoff Toole here for 

Bible Seminar encourages mothers, church 

members, pastors and pastor’s wives. 

Some of our young children are now 

having confidence in singing praises for the 

Lord in front of Christian people, like when 

we brought them to the Young Peoples Fellowship 

at Botolan Zambales and Church 

Anniversaries. 

blessings 

Our prayers were answered by the Lord 

and you are the channel for God’s answers. 

Thank you very much for all this blessings. 

We have now sound systems – (microphone, 

speakers, and guitar), personal 

computer and a new cafeteria. 

The young children are eager to learn how 

to use the computer. My son Jacob teaches 

them the basics; some of them easily learn 

and it helps them do their school homework. 

We sometimes use the computer in 

teaching the children about Bible stories 

by C.D. and internet viewing. My son Jacob 

uses it in searching praise and worship 

songs for the young children for practice. 

Some of our young children learn the basics 

of playing the organ. The young girls 

are assigned to play it in time of Bible education 

while the young boys lead in song 

and organ playing during Chapel Hour. 

As of now we use the former cafeteria 

for a computer room and for a Bible study 

room for ages 8 and below.We use the 

newly constructed room for Young Children’s 

Hour, Prayer Meeting, Bible Study 

of children ages 9 and above, Bible study 

of Mothers and Chapel Hour. 

Mothers and children were happy and 

thankful for the new cafeteria. We are sure all 

of us involved in the ministry are happy too. 

prayer request 

• For dump children to grow in grace and in 

the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

• For Good Health. 

• Good health for all Moriel Ministries 

and Family. 

• More Blessings for Moriel Ministries. 

• Daily Bread, Physical and Spiritual. 

Sincerely In Christ, 

Ptr. Paul Sevilla 

Moriel Philippines 


Moriel Israel 

Elon and Hadass Moreh 

Northern Galilee July 2012 

Dear Friends, 

Greetings from the sunny and somewhat 

sweaty Mediterranean coast, where Hadas 

and I gasp and drip our way through Summer. 

Here are some things that are happening. 

As the Lord leads, please take it upon 

your hearts to pray. 

For the time being at least (until more 

babies are sent our way) Hadas’s childminding 

services are not needed. So she is feeling 

the need to find other ways to serve and 

looking for the Lord to open other doors. 

Please pray for her. 

Because of her dyslexia, Hadas has always 

had problems with Hebrew. Her understanding 

has grown but her ability to express 

herself is severely limited. Anything 

in Hebrew I usually take care of, but am 

naturally more reserved and less talkative 

than she. We make an odd couple, but the 

Lord is bigger than our limitations and we 

would appreciate your prayers for ways to 

develop relationships with our mostly Hebrew-speaking 

neighbors and even people 

we meet on the street. For example, twice 

a day at least we walk with our funny little 

dog. Just some days ago a lady stopped us 

and, smiling, said in Hebrew, “I see you 

from my flat regularly and that dog gets 

more walking than I do!” 

The following night as we stepped out 

again with Doggy, we heard a shout from 

above, and there was the lady waving and 

calling from her balcony. Please pray that 

the Lord will give us opportunities to open 

our lives and develop genuine relationships 

and friendships with people like these, that 

we can serve our neighbors and also that a 

door will be opened to share about the Savior 

of Israel. 

Congregation Or HaGalil (Light Of 

The Galilee) 

Ephraim Goldstein (http://www.cjfm. 

org/about-us/intl-representatives/efraimgoldstein.html) 

has been appointed leader, 

and at long last the congregation has a permanent 

pastor. Ephraim is a very mature 

believer with many years experience in outreach 

activity as well as nurturing believers 

and encouraging growth in the Lord. He is 

highly respected and of good repute here in 

the Land. There is eager anticipation to see 

how things will develop under his hand. He 

should be formally inducted at some point 

in the coming months. I would say most are 

very pleased indeed about his coming to 

Nahariya, and perhaps we will also begin 

to see some greater inroads into the local 

community. Please pray for him and his 

wife Jeannie, that they will quickly become 

a part of the furniture here and have a fruitful 

and blessed ministry. 

Sad Departure 

With sadness we recount that one of 

our young couples is leaving Israel and returning 

to South America. Our soldier and 

his wife are leaving for Brazil at the end 

of August. Economic conditions here are 

harsh for young families who are not at the 

top of the employment tree, and state assistance 

is minimal. (Bituakh Leumi (National 

Insurance) agency here is considered 

to be one of the most obstructive, inhuman, 

truculent and notoriously stupid of all our 

government bodies, barring of course our 

(equally infamous and universally loathed) 

Interior Ministry. Our soldier’s wife suffered 

from chronic elevated blood pressure 

during her first pregnancy, which made it 

impossible for her to work. To their shock 

she fell pregnant again some 6 months after 

the birth of their first child. She was hospitalized, 

but she discharged herself because 

the doctors were pressuring her to abort 

the baby. However, once more, this means 

that she had to stop work. Because both incomes 

were needed, their fragile finances 

have collapsed and they are returning to 

Brazil where their respective families can 

help them get back on their feet. We would 

ask your prayers for them. 

O and C 

Among our dear friends is another delightful 

couple from South America. We 

ask your prayers on their behalf, for their 

growth and maturing as they develop their 

ministry within the believing community 

here. The husband is very keen to reach out 

to the unsaved with the Gospel so please 

pray for their success in this regard. On a 

personal note, they would dearly love to 

have another child but that does not seem to 

be happening at the moment. I am sure that 

your prayers for them in this matter would 

be appreciated. 

Sister T 

Sister T lives in what should be a beautiful 

apartment block. Because of greed, 

graft and corruption by both the building 

contractor (who among other things built 

another three stories without a permit) and 

(I am told) our Moroccan mafia controlled 

city hall, her building has not received its 

final approval and thus cannot be legitimately 

connected to the electricity supply. 

She (and the rest of the block) relies on 

intermittent electric from an illegal supply 

shared off a neighbor. Because of this, it is 

impossible to run air conditioning or heating. 

This would be difficult enough for a 

younger person, but Sister T is 78. Because 


of legal complications the residents of this 

block are paying for the sins and corruption 

of the now bankrupt contractor and 

the incompetence and indifference of the 

municipality. The total bills could be nearly 

100,000 Shekels per resident of the block, 

but even after that there is no guarantee 

that the building will ever be finished! This 

building has become a city joke. Everyone 

knows about it, but nothing is being done 

and it is tragically symptomatic of the endemic 

corruption and outright wickedness 

that plagues local and national government 

here. We covet your prayers that the Lord 

bring a solution to this situation for Sister T 

who is suffering greatly. 

Some Observations From The Israeli 

Pro-Life Conference. 

In late June I attended the annual B’ad 

Chaim conference in Tel Aviv. I have 

known for quite some time that the abortion 

rate here in Israel is shockingly high. About 

1,500,000 Jewish children were murdered 

by the Nazis in the Holocaust. Since the 

establishment of the State of Israel, Israelis 

themselves have murdered more than 

2,000,000 in the womb. Abortion is used 

as a regular means of contraception in the 

Army here. Each girl, if she falls pregnant, 

is allowed up to 2 free abortions during her 

army service. I have known these things for 

some time. However, because I have not 

followed pro-life issues too closely what 

really surprised me was the following: 

Babies in Israel undergo more pre-natal 

testing than anywhere else in the world. This 

is in order that “defective” babies can be 

screened out and disposed of before birth. 

Approximately 40% of all abortions are 

undergone by married women, because the 

couple either feel they cannot afford, or 

simply do not desire, another child. 

If a couple have three children of the 

same sex already, and the woman falls pregnant 

with another who is found to be of the 

same sex, then it is perfectly legal to abort 

the baby as unwanted on grounds of gender. 

In Israel it is legal to carry out abortions 

almost up to the moment of birth. 

Due to its horrific abortion record, Israel 

is now 4,000,000 Israelis short of 

the population we should have had since 

1948. Precisely because of this we have 

a major demographic problem vis-a-vis 

Moslem Arabs, and the demographic issue 

is one of the main reasons why Judea 

and Samaria were ceded to the control 

of the Palestinian (Terrorist) Authority. 

Our national sins have found us out. 

In many ways Israel is very child-friendly. 

Child protection legislation is very 

strong here (even corporal punishment is 

illegal contributing I am sure to our ma- 

Elon and Hadass Moreh 

jor school and home disciplinary problem, 

but that’s another story). For the most part, 

children are much safer to roam the streets 

than in the UK for example, where parents 

are afraid to let their children out of their 

sight. However that protection and friendliness 

does not extend to the unborn who are 

a disposable commodity. 

One speaker at the conference put it this 

way: Israel is an intensely hedonistic society, 

taken up with quality of life rather than 

the sanctification of life. Thus the intense 

obsession with having a “perfect” baby, 

which leads to the slaughter of so many of 

our unborn, or the disposal of unwanted babies 

that may intefere with a couple’s lifestyle 

or financial prosperity. 

A nation cannot indulge in such sins 

without some adverse effect on itself. In 

the film, The Pianist, a family watched 

the German soldiers enter a second-floor 

apartment across the street to arrest the occupants. 

They saw through the window the 

soldiers begin to push the Jews out of the 

door towards the stairs. One man however 

was in a wheelchair, so they simply shoved 

him through the glass window to fall two 

stories to the cobbled street below. It struck 

me that the Germans, in treating the Jews 

like vermin—in dehumanizing them—actually 

became less than human themselves. 

In like manner Israel cannot continue unrepentant 

in the sin of mass murder of the 

unborn without paying a terrible cost in 

the loss of her own humanity. Some moral 

sclerosis or induration of the heart must 

and will occur. Though all sin is grievous 

in the sight of God, there are certain sins 

which are particularly loathsome and defiling 

which will provoke him to anger more 

than others. Nationally sanctioned and approved 

child murder certainly falls into this 

category. So the question that arises is what 

will it take for us to wake up 

As I ask this question I am well aware 

that 10km away Hezbollah has been stockpiling 

rockets since the last Lebanon War, 

and evidence is coming to light that Syria 

has not only been producing biological and 

chemical weapons for years, but may have 

inherited the WMDs that went missing from 

Saddam Hussein’s regime. On our southern 

border is an Egypt that is increasingly Islamic 

and hostile, and we also have an Iran 

that is racing to produce a nuclear bomb 

that it can use to precipitate the apocalyptic 

events that will usher in the “Mahdi.” 

While I do not for one moment think that 

the Lord will abandon us, in light of our 

national sin I cannot believe that we will 

escape heavy chastening at His hand. I also 

cannot believe that the Lord is anything but 

grieved and angry at our national conduct. 

I do not say these things with any kind 

of relish. There is a tendency to read about 

Moriel Israel 

Last Days events with a kind of emotional 

distance, as if they are to happen to someone 

else. The gathering clouds and lowering 

sky close to our borders remind us that 

we may well be the players in this narrative 

and not merely the readers of it. It is all too 

easy to forget that the purpose of End Times 

prophecy is not merely to increase our 

knowledge or get our eschatological order 

of events right (though there is most certainly 

a basic order of events), but to prepare 

ourselves so that we may stay the course. 

We do not know for certain what events 

will be unleashed upon us in the future 

here. Please pray that the Lord will ready us 

for whatever lies ahead, and may we plead 

with Him for the nation that “in wrath He 

remember mercy” (Hab.3:2), and that whatever 

comes our way, we may be a light and 

a voice here for the Savior of Israel. 

With our blessings, 

Elon and Hadas Moreh 

Chris Brown, beloved husband of June 

and father of Greg and another son who 

resides in Australia, has been a faithful 

servant of The Lord and loyal member of 

the Moriel UK team working voluntarily 

as a conference organiser. His long and 

courageous battle against a rare malignancy 

saw Chris repeatedly defy the 

odds to the point of benefitting from a 

radical surgical procedure at one point 

that carried only an 8 percent success 

rate. Yet Chris laboured on in The Lord 

surviving years beyond the normal clinically 

projected life expectancy due to 

his faith, his faithfulness, and the power 

of prayer seeing his son complete medical 

studies as a physician and the birth 

of two beautiful grandchildren. The 

confidence in Christ and peace of Christ 

that Chris continually demonstrated 

throughout his health struggle was 

nothing short of remarkable and an example 

of Christian fortitude to others 

around him. Because of his saving trust 

in Jesus, our separation from Chris will of 

course be but a temporary one. We do 

ask prayer for his wife June and his family 

during this period of bereavement 

until we are all united on that great and 

coming day in Jesus. 


Moriel Australia 

Margret Godwin 

AUSTRALIANnews 

Australian/New Zealand Report – September Issue 2012 

Greetings in the Name of Jesus, 

Thus far, 2012 has been an extremely busy year. There have 

been highs and lows, but throughout the hectic schedule 

our gracious Lord has seen us through. 

At the risk of repeating myself, I am totally “blown away” by 

the way the Lord has all in place— not so much of the “big” things 

but the “awesomeness” of Him as He clears the way for the “little” 

things—things that in the whole scheme of things seem somewhat 

mundane but go to make up the incredible tapestry that is 

our “Walk” with Him. 

Since Nigel (Moriel NZ) went to be with the Lord earlier this 

year I have been going to and fro across the “Ditch” to what has 

almost become my second home. (For our overseas readers, the 

“Ditch” is actually the Tasman Sea, which separates the Australian 

East Coast and New Zealand.) Through the generosity of Nigel’s 

daughters we have been able to continue operating out of their 

dad’s home, but it was time to wind it all up and put it into storage 

until the new administrators, Mike and Diane Keaney, take over 

sometime in November. In the meantime the Quarterly and all the 

resource orders will be serviced by Australia. 

It was awfully sad to see the final box packed onto the removal 

truck. Actually there were quite a few tears shed by the girls and 

yours truly. A very dear brother, Lothar, has made a room available 

in his home in Hastings to store everything. 

The December issue of the Quarterly (actually out in about 

mid-November) will have all the Moriel NZ details, i.e., phone 

number, email address, etc. There will also be a new catalog for 

our Kiwi readers, which they have never had in its entirety before. 

Please uphold the plans for Moriel NZ, that all our endeavors with 

reflect the glory of the Lord. 

Jacob’s 2012 “Downunder Tour” 

What a wonderful six weeks. Jacob, although extremely fatigued, 

was “on fire,” preaching many new topics. These 

new titles will be available in DVD, CD and MP-3 format and are 

all listed in this newsletter. Each of the Australian meetings had 

wonderful attendances 

As always, when the Moriel people get together, boy what a 

family reunion! There are so many things to catch up on, news to 

be shared, tears to be shed. As I said to the people at the Napier 

meeting, I knew it was a Moriel function as they were so very 

noisy. Bless them. 

I joined Jacob in Tauranga and I was met by the loveliest couple 

(Peter and Loretta) that chauffeured me around. Thank you 

so much my dears. As we were driving along – coming on dusk 

I thought I saw a sign on the roadside with “Jacob Prasch” on it, 

and then a little bit 

further on I did 

see one. Mike had 

wonderfully clear 

roadside signs 

made and erected 

in prominent 

places on the main 

roads. Included is 

a photo of JP helping 

to dismantle them the next morning. – Very impressive. 

The Tauranga meeting was really great and I was able to meet 

people who up until then had been a voice at the end of the phone. 

The greatest surprise was seeing Nigel’s sister Barb and her husband 

Wally – again lots of hugs and tears. 

The next day we had a small intimate meeting in one of the 

ladies homes, and Barb again was there. It was really special to sit 

quietly with Jacob and share the Word. 

Jacob seeks to debate Stephen Tollestrup in NZ 

Moriel (on behalf of Jacob) placed an advertisement in the NZ 

Challenge Weekly. (The complete advertisement is available on 

the Moriel website, http://www.moriel.org). The essence of the 

challenge was as follows: 

Moriel Ministries NZ extends an invitation to STEPHEN 

TOLLESTRUP, TEAR Fund NZ to debate with J.J. Prasch Moriel 

Ministries the views he has expressed in his recent interview with 

Dr Stephen Sizer. 

After running the ad in the Challenge Weekly we had numerous 

calls of support with callers asking that they be advised if and 

when the debate was to be organized. A number of people contacted 

Mr. Tollestrup’s office only to be told he was not available 

and knew nothing of the challenge. We waited several weeks for 

Mr. Tollestrup to contact us but we heard nothing. In mid-July (as 

Jacob was to fly to NZ) I received a letter from Advertising Standards 

Authority advising us that a complaint had been made by S. 

Tollestrup re the said advertisement. 

Complainant, S. Tollestrup said: “The advertisement in question 

appears intended to bring ridicule and hostility towards me…. 

It calls into question my faith and fitness to be a Christian leader 

and implies I am a Holocaust denier, anti-Semite, that I consort 

with criminals and terrorist sympathizers. Obviously I reject these 

claims entirely.” 

The Chairman’s Ruling: The Chairman ruled that there were no 

grounds for the complaint to proceed. 

Chairman’s Ruling: Complaint No Grounds to Proceed 

Should you require a copy of the advertisement and the response 

by the ASA please send a self-stamped/addressed envelope to Moriel 

Ministries Aust/NZ, P.O. Box 112, Trafalgar Vic 3824 Australia 

Vicki Duda and Trish MacDonald 

Jacob in Tauranga NZ 


It is time for me to draw this effort to a close. 

With love to you all 

In Christ, 

Marg 

“YOUR LETTERS” 

Dear Moriel, 

Could you please pass this onto Jacob 

Today I was sent a You Tube video of you 

talking about debating with the Tear fund 

man Stephen Tollestrup. 

Thank you Jacob for standing up and offering 

to debate with him. Here in Christ 

Church a number of us also objected the 

shameful stand taken by Laidlaw College 

and St. Christopher’s Church in supporting 

such downright deception by a so called man 

of God. As you have so clearly said its all a 

matter of truth, they have taken off the belt. 

We do appreciate your offer to debate with 

Stephen Tollestrup but it should not have 

been necessary in the first place 

All the very best to you Jacob, the Lord 

bless you and your family richly. 

P of Christ Church NZ 

Jacobs Reply: 

Blessings and thanks for your comments. 

In Jesus, 

Jacob 

The way it was explained to me 

was, how can you accept what God 

has to offer if you have no way to 

take it. If your hands and heart are 

full of all your problems, your stuff, 

your worry and your fear you don’t 

have room for what God has for 

you. Give that stuff to God, free up 

your hands and heart and lift them in 

the air, be ready for what God has for 

you. I love it and I get it. Bless and 

be blessed. Chris at em doodle 

Margret Godwin 

moriel’s 

prayer 

closet 

A Small corner of rest from the chaos 

and tumult of the world around us.... 

“But thou, when thou prayest, enter 

onto thy closet, and when thou 

hast shut thy door, pray to thy 

Father which is in Secret; and thy 

Father which seeth in Secret will 

reward thee openly.” 

– Matthew 6:6 – 

“If two of you shall agree in touching 

anything they shall ask, it shall 

be done of them by my father which 

is in heaven.”– Matthew 18:19 

• Prayer - Moriel & Jacob Prasch request 

prayer for Mary Nelson, mother-in-law of a 

Moriel volunteer, diagnosed with ovarian 

cancer. Please also pray for her salvation as 

she is Catholic. 

• PrayER - Moriel & Jacob Prasch request 

prayer for Aeron Morgan of the Sunshine 

Coast Queensland. Aeron was the Former 

General Superintendent of the AOG United 

Kingdom & Principal of the CBC Bible College 

Australia. 

Aeron has been diagnosed with a brain tumour 

and is currently being readied for surgery 

in Brisbane. Please uphold Aeron, his wife 

Dinah & daughter Angela before the Lord. 


urgent prayer for Jeffory Walker who was in 

a helicopter crash. Jeffory is undergoing surgery 

to save his lower left leg. Please pray for 

guiding of the surgeons hands, speedy recovery 

and to draw him closer to the Lord. 


prayer for his aged mother, Maureen, who is 

unsaved and has been diagnosed with type B 

lymphoma (a lymphatic blood cancer). Please 

pray for her health and more importantly her 

salvation. 


Moriel Australia 

prayer for Micah Oppenheimer, son of apologist 

Mike Oppenheimer, who has a serious 

medical condition involving side effects of 

drugs he has been required to take for an ongoing 

disorder that has greatly disrupted his 

life and education. 


urgent prayer for Virginia, sister of Chuck 

and Paul Smith who is in a very serious battle 

with cancer that appears pre terminal. We 

likewise request prayer for Damien Kyle, pastor 

of Calvary Chapel Modesto in California. 

Damien has advanced stage lukemia. Please 

pray for God’s intervention. 

• Prayer - Moriel & Jacob Prasch as a matter 

of some urgency request prayer for Pastor 

Robert Huntsdale in Belfast, Northern Ireland. 

Robert is suffering serious post operative renal 

complications and we praying that dialysis 

will not become necessary. May The Lord’s 

presence be with him in this ordeal and may 

God grant his physicians wisdom and intervene 

in this situation. 


prayer for Scott Blatchley in the UK who is 

again battling recurrent tumors in the UK after 

years of struggles with cancer. Scott and 

his wife have young children. 

• Prayer - Updated prayer request for 

Maggie Vivian in the UK from Jacob Prasch 

& Moriel - Maggie has just had a CT chest 

and upper abdominal scan which showed no 

change in her lung cancer since the last CT 

scan in October, and the Oncologist was very 

happy, praise the Lord.So her maintenance 

chemotherapy will continue, every three 

weeks, and she had her fifth cycle this morning. 

Not so good was that they discovered while 

comparing the scans that Maggie had had a 

blood clot on one of her kidneys in October 

which has now gone, good news in itself 

but a warning that Maggie is at risk from 

further blood clots, and that she needs to go 

on Warfarin, which she has now started. Although 

not serious compared to cancer, being 

on warfarin does have its own risks and can 

have side effects, so we would be grateful for 

prayer about this, in addition to prayer that 

the maintenance chemotherapy will continue 

to be effective in controlling the cancer. 


prayer for Jacob’s mother, who has a heart 

condition. Please pray for her health and her 

salvation. 

• Prayer for Dr X - Dr. X, an Iraqi military 

surgeon who worked with the US when we 

went into Iraq, and thus, has weathered death 

threats against himself, and also fears for his 

family (wife, and four kids). X applied for 

a special immigrant visa, and-despite being 

highly recommended by the US colonel he 

served under, being approved for that visa by 

the US Embassy in Baghdad, being approved 

by two US homeland departments, and having 

a successful interview at the US Embassy in 

Amman (Jordan) way back in September, Dr. 

X and his family are still waiting to come to 

the US. 


Guest Author 

Danny Isom 


Deficit Disorder 

by Danny Isom 

“Be on guard, so that your hearts will 

not be weighted down with dissipation 

and drunkenness and the worries of 

life, and that day will not come on you 

suddenly like a trap; for it will come 

upon all those who dwell on the face of 

all the earth. But keep on the alert at 

all times, praying that you may have 

strength to escape all these things that 

are about to take place, and to stand before 

the Son of Man.” (Luke 21:34-36) 

“…However, when the Son of Man 

comes, will He find faith on the earth” 

(Luke 18:8b) 

“Because lawlessness is increased, most 

people’s love will grow cold. — Matthew 

24:12 

“Those who have insight will shine 

brightly like the brightness of the expanse 

of heaven, and those who lead the 

many to righteousness, like the stars 

forever and ever. (Daniel 12:3) 

Believe it or not, between all the 

predicted events and signs of the 

Last Days provided by Christ, 

the apostles and the prophets is the precise 

information of what to do when such are 

recognized as taking place. Regardless of 

one’s spiritual status as a believer or nonbeliever, 

Scripture clearly tells both what 

they are supposed to do with the information. 

It would be hard to find a Christian 

who would disagree that according to 

Scripture the only suitable action for a nonbeliever 

when seeing some kind of sign or 

prophetic event fulfilled is to repent from 

the heart and receive Christ as their personal 

Savior; the only suitable action for 

an unsaved person to take is to get saved. 

But there seems to be far from universal 

agreement among Christians as to what the 

already saved should do. In fact, I would 

argue that a significant percentage seem to 

cling to the notion that they need to study 

more, read more books and websites, go to 

more prophecy conferences, and do whatever 

it takes to “solve the puzzle.” This is 

what happens when the prophetic passages 

of the Bible are read in the pursuit of increasing 

one’s knowledge instead of the 

more important goal of strengthening one’s 

faith. When the unsaved see such things, 

it is a warning to hurry up and get saved; 

when the saved witness the same, it is a 

warning to live as if they really and truly 

are saved. 

Jesus warns in the Olivet Discourse on 

the End Times that the saved are not to 

have “hearts…weighted down with dissipation 

and drunkenness and the worries 

of life” (Lk. 21:34). The Greek word 

“kraipale” in some translations is rendered 

in English as “surfeiting” instead of “dissipation” 

to convey the meaning of something 

that is overdone to excess so that it 

actually becomes disgusting. Few things 

are more illustrative of what it means to 

achieve an excess of disgusting proportions 

than “drunkenness,” where both one’s 

thoughts and behavior leave reality and 

visibly testify on the outside the degree of 

disgusting deterioration achieved on the inside. 

When we understand that the biblical 

definition of “worries”—rendered in the 

Greek as “merimna,” actually means to become 

so disrupted by something that it results 

in changes to both our mind (internal) 

and personality (external), we can see that 

Christ is warning that even the most obvious 

prophetic signs and fulfillments will be 

missed by those consumed with this life. 

Satan understands this very well. He 

understands it so well, in fact, that every 

single false teaching, false movement and 

purveyor of false doctrine has, at its core, a 

common, unified purpose: to get us to trust 

in this life. The age of apostasy in which 

we currently find ourselves currently living 

is defined by a growing number who 

no longer live exclusively for the next life, 

but embrace an attachment that is excessive 

to the point that it alters their thoughts and 

behavior in favor of this life. 

At Christ’s First Coming, there was 

something in the sky so obvious to a few 

believers that they were driven to leave their 

homeland and seek Him out. But in spite 

of the vast majority in the land of Christ’s 

birth having the Scriptures, the temple, the 

priesthood, and allegedly practicing a faith 

that anticipated the time and place of His 

arrival, most could not and did not see it. 

What happened at His First Coming is a 

shadow of what will take place at His Second 

Coming. Their hearts were weighted 

down by this life. 

“For the coming of the Son of Man will 

be just like the days of Noah. For as in 

those days before the flood they were 

eating and drinking, marrying and 

giving in marriage, until the day that 

Noah entered the ark, and they did not 

understand until the flood came and 

took them all away; so will the coming 

of the Son of Man be. (Mt. 24:37-39) 

It would appear to be the same today as 

in this earliest shadow of final judgment in 

the example of “the days of Noah,” an illustration 

of what is to ultimately come: an excess 

leading to a loss of reality to the point 

it kept them from seeing what was taking 

place until it was too late. 

Notice that Christ’s admonition is not to 

pray only for escape from what is to come, 

but “that you may have strength…to stand 

before the Son of Man” (Lk. 21:36). Those 

who heed His warning to “be on guard” 

and “keep on alert at all times” (Lk. 21:34- 

36) are not meeting such requirements by 

simply having knowledge and awareness, 

but by putting His Word into practice to 

the point that they are going to be able “to 

stand before the Son of Man.” Again, it is 

not a test of knowledge, but faith. 

Both the Hebrew word for “faith”— 

“emunah,” and the Greek word for 

“faith”—“pisteos,” can be equally translated 

as “faithfulness.” They are interchangeable. 

The biblical definition of “faith” fits 

someone who is “faithful” in their walk and 

obedience to the Word. Luke 18:8 could be 

realistically rendered, “However, when the 

Son of Man comes, will He find faithfulness 

on the earth” It describes believers as 

being in the exact opposite state of those 

whose hearts are “weighted down with dissipation 

and drunkenness and the worries of 

life” (Lk. 21:34). The proof that a Christian 

truly understands the fulfillment of biblical 

prophecy in our times is a life that is even 

more obedient—more faithful to the Word 

than ever before. They are not just “knowl- 


edgeable,” they are faithful. The education 

system of our fallen world would have us 

think that the definition of “faith” is to simply 

“believe” or “acknowledge” or “vote in 

favor of”; God’s definition is to be a doer. 

For if anyone is a hearer of the word 

and not a doer, he is like a man who 

looks at his natural face in a mirror; 

for once he has looked at himself and 

gone away, he has immediately forgotten 

what kind of person he was. But 

one who looks intently at the perfect 

law, the law of liberty, and abides by 

it, not having become a forgetful hearer 

but an effectual doer, this man will 

be blessed in what he does. (James 

1:23-57) 

And what will be the parallel evidence 

of an unfaithful life Someone who is not 

“an effectual doer” of the Word but whose 

heart has become weighted down with the 

cares of this life. 

“Because lawlessness is increased, 

most people’s love will grow cold.” 

(Matthew 24:12) 

Also, the fallen world’s definition of 

“lawlessness” would have us believe Christ 

is speaking about a situation or circumstance 

where there is no law, perhaps referring 

to someone who has not heard the 

Word and therefore cannot put it into practice. 

But the repeated context of the use of 

“lawlessness” (anomos) in the New Testament 

clearly specifies that the biblical definition 

is that of setting aside and refusing to 

adhere to what is already known. What Jesus 

is saying is, “Because people who have 

been given the Word will refuse to live by 

the Word, it will be visibly evident in their 

lack of love.” 

Everyone who practices sin also practices 

lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. 

(1 Jn. 3:4) 

I am speaking in human terms because 

of the weakness of your flesh. For just 

as you presented your members as 

slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, 

resulting in further lawlessness, so 

now present your members as slaves 

to righteousness, resulting in sanctification. 

(Rom. 6:19) 

A true believer recognizing the signs 

of the End Times is not characterized by 

“faith” in those signs, but “faithfulness” in 

the quality of his personal and public testimony 

of a deepening walk with Christ. He 

is not transformed simply by the knowledge 

of such events, but by being sanctified 

by a deeper rejection of this life in favor of 

the one to come. 

If we study all the words of Christ, the 

apostles and the prophets when it comes to 

the Last Days, and abstain from a kind of 

Danny Isom 

myopia which fixates only on the events to 

the exclusion of the surrounding text accompanying 

them, the teachings and principles 

in these verses are richly repeated throughout 

the whole of Scripture. It is in character 

with a proven Hebrew principle of interpretation 

called “light to heavy,” meaning that 

what is important in a “light” situation is 

even more important in a “heavy” one. 

On any given day in any age of history it 

has always been important for God’s people 

to avoid being obsessed with this life; 

in the shadow of Christ’s return it is even 

more important. On any given day in any 

age of history it has always been important 

for God’s people to live as a visible example 

of faithfulness to His Word and ways; 

in the shadow of Christ’s return it is even 

more important. On any given day in any 

age of history it has always been important 

for God’s people to be a visible example 

of the biblical definition of “love;” in the 

shadow of Christ’s return it is even more 

important. If Christians were gaining the 

right lesson from all the books, websites 

and conferences devoted to topics concerning 

the Last Days, what would it actually 

result in A visible testimony of biblical 

faith, hope and love exceeding that of any 

previous generation in history. Seeing for 

certain that the end to life as usual on this 

planet is on the horizon, they would live 

even more passionately for what they know 

is to surely follow. 

But the issue is not confined to just the 

flock. What about the shepherds How are 

leaders supposed to act in the shadow of the 

Last Days 

“Those who have insight will shine 

brightly like the brightness of the expanse 

of heaven, and those who lead 

the many to righteousness, like the 

stars forever and ever. (Daniel 12:3) 

“Insight” is a unique understanding of 

cause and effect in a specific context. Biblically 

it is characterized as something that so 

thoroughly understands not just the immediate 

consequences, but all the myriad and 

multiplied effects it will ultimately have 

on all related people, places and things. So 

what action does a truly biblical shepherd 

take to most effectively put that insight to 

its best use They “lead many to righteousness;” 

they put an even greater emphasis 

on how to live in the world but not of the 

world, they hold the sheep accountable to 

the biblical standards of a faithful walk, and 

they engender obedience to the Word so that 

the warmth of true Christ-like love does 

not diminish on its way to ineffectualness. 

Leaders who truly understand the times 

know it is more important now than at any 

time in history to make faithful and obedient 

disciples who do not merely know the 

Guest Author 

Word, but put it into practice. They understand 

that by doing so the flock will be biblically 

aware of what is about to come, will 

be found biblically faithful upon Christ’s 

return, and will fulfill Christ’s qualification, 

“By this all men will know that you are My 

disciples, if you have love for one another” 

(Jn. 13:35). They make an application of 

knowledge which results in authentic faith 

as evidenced by faithfulness. They do not 

merely explain the meaning of each piece 

of the “puzzle,” but instill how to put it 

into practice to the point that it results in a 

life conformed to God’s Word and ways— 

“righteousness.” 

There is room enough to argue about 

the particulars of the Last Days such as the 

Rapture, the Antichrist, the two witnesses, 

the four horsemen and so on, only as long 

as we have addressed the greater issues of 

faithfulness to the rest of God’s Word in the 

first place. 

In Him, 

Danny Isom 

Servant@WalkWithTheWord.org 

GodlyConferences 

www.radiofreechurch.com/home 

About Godly Conferences: This website 

provides information about upcoming 

and ongoing Christian Conferences 

focused on expounding and teaching 

the Word of God. For each conference 

listed, we provide a schedule, information 

on the speakers present at the conference, 

and links to the conference’s 

live internet broadcast (when available). 


Moriel Japan 

K 

Konnichiwa, 

Geoff Toole 

moriel japan 

Moriel Japan Report August 2012. 

News from the 

Far East 

September Report 

2012 

It is well and truly ‘natsu’ (summer) in Japan! 

All the talk about getting rid of the nuclear 

power plants sizzles away in the summer 

heat! The electrical companies say “No 

nuclear, No air-con. What’s it gonna be” 

The big news here in our fellowship is 

the birth of Daisuke and Jean’s son, Nathan. 

His name means ‘name bearer’ in 

Japanese. Jean is having to cope with a new 

country, a new language and being a new 

mother all at once. But Daisuke is doing his 

best to look after his new family. We praise 

the Lord for providing Daisuke with a new 

job just in time for this trial period. Jean 

is quite tough, coming from the Philippine 

hills, so nothing stresses her too much. Especially 

not the heat. 

Another testimony is that of a believer 

who found Moriel on the internet. Having 

spent a large amount of time away from 

his family (most Japanese men think the 

normal thing to do), he was challenged 

through the teaching (mostly of Proverbs, 

emphasizing a father’s biblical responsibilities 

in the home) and God led him back 

home (though it cost him his business). 

Praise the Lord for changing our thoughts 

and our ways. His wife, children and even 

his mother are grateful for the Lord’s work 

there. He is now looking for a new job! 

The somewhat surprising appearance of 

another ‘Moriel’ affiliated missionary in 

our area brought great joy. Grant Norman, 

26, has been living close by for two and a 

half years but, like me in my first few years 

here, was so absorbed in his evangelism 

and mission work he didn’t realize who 

else was here. As soon as he found out that 

our branch was in the Kobe area, he called 

and we met up. Lord willing, Grant will 

‘officially’ join us from October and help 

with a new church plant and outreach we 

have been planning. Grant brings a lot of 

fresh zeal, especially in terms of outreach 

and new ideas to reach Japanese kids. He 

has already experienced different ways of 

sharing the Gospel from campus ministry 

to basketball camps. I feel this is truly an 

answer to prayer. And the greatest part is, 

we didn’t have to teach him Japanese or 

help him get used to the country! An instant 

missionary. (Actually other believers 

have been supporting Grant, including his 

home church, Hemet Christian Assembly, 

and his family. Grant’s father, Pastor Steve 

Norman, also knows Jacob. Praise the Lord 

for their mission support to Japan). 

This is Obon week. The week that Japanese 

call back the spirits of their dead ancestors 

to offer food. Lots of ‘matsuri-festivals,’ 

kimonos and fireworks. It is also 

a good time for street witnessing. People 

hang around city parks and streets during 

the summer evenings, a temporary respite 

from their busy lives. Next week in Kobe 

we will hold an evangelistic outreach in a 

local community center, so we have been 

busy handing out invitations to that. 

In one recent night on the streets, the first 

lady we spoke to was part of Soukagakai. 

This is a zealous, politically active kind of 

Buddhist movement. They chant in order 

to get ‘energy’ for life. Like most Japanese 

they believe in reincarnation. We discussed 

with her the problem of sin and how reincarnation 

offers no solution. During the 

conversation, she seemed most interested to 

hear about our conversion and what made 

us change. How could you go from loving 

sin to hating it Grant shared his testimony 

at length with her. Her name is Miki. She 

was challenged that night. 

The second lady was more typical of 

Japanese. She explained how the only important 

thing is to teach to the next generation 

what has been taught to you. She was 

very self-righteous, but when challenged 

with the law, especially lying, she acknowledged 

her sin. Still, blind faith was attractive 

to her as it took away the need to think 

seriously about anything. 

The rest of the night was spent handing 

out invitations and testimony tracts. The last 

boy we spoke to seemed interested. That 

was an encouragement to end the night. We 

hope to be out a lot more this summer. 

With the new website up and running, 

we are now able to post some of the many 

Japanese and translated teachings we have 

been stockpiling recently. This last year we 

have been able to complete our basics of 

prophecy series through Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, 

Zechariah and Malachi. Some of 

these were done in seminars and others at 

our local fellowship. We have also finished 

sets on the offerings, true and false shepherds 

and the Daughters of Zion. The next 

seminar series will be on Shiloh and Samuel, 

as we go through the life of Samuel, 

Saul and David. Even when difficulties and 

disappointments appear all around us, there 

is great joy in finding a continual feast of 

revelation in the Scriptures. 

This May I was finally able to reach Aomori 

to meet the two ladies who join us each 


Sunday from the far north of Japan through 

Skype. It is not perfect, but we have had 

great fellowship each week and have tried 

to include them as much as possible in the 

service. I spent the first day meeting their 

families, and the second day we sat on 

their Tatami mats from 10 til 6 in a virtually 

non-stop discussion of theology, Bible 

study, truth, error and their experiences in 

the false teaching they came out of. It was 

a real eye opener to me to find out just how 

the Asian churches hold the pastors up to be 

a ‘gurus,’ almost god-like individuals. They 

kept shaking their heads in amazement that 

they could invite the pastor and not have 

to go to the most expensive restaurant in 

town. Previously, in their experience, visiting 

speakers required the most expensive 

hotels and other such treatment. Pastors 

had to be called ‘bokushi-sensei-sama.’ 

The length of the title indicates the vanity 

of it. I hope and pray that in time we may 

be able to plant a fellowship in that part of 

Japan. The extreme snow and cold weather 

would be a real challenge (especially for an 

Aussie or Californian!). The short visit reminded 

me again of the great blessing it is 

to have the truth. We take for granted how 

much access we have to good teaching. 

Still further north is Hokkaido. We are 

planning our first meetings up there in October 

as the mailing list in that area is slowly 

growing. Just as we were planning our trip 

we received an unexpected e-mail from an 

AoG pastor from the north coast of Hokkaido. 

He is asking for a book about midrash. 

He says he carefully reads the discernment 

articles also. Perhaps this newsletter will be 

the basis for that project. I took it as a confirmation 

of beginning a Hokkaido teaching 

ministry. Please pray for guidance. 

Hokkaido is deceptively large. Transport 

to and from the small towns may be costly 

and hard in the winter. 

Geoff Toole 

Philippine News. 

Pastor Paul from Olongapo informs us 

that some great work has been done on the 

facilities there. They have new computers, 

one of which is used to teach the local children 

computer skills. They also have greatly 

improved the area where the children 

regularly eat and have their Bible studies. 

It is truly a blessing to see the Gospel being 

lived out there and God’s love extended to 

the community. Praise the Lord that their 

property was spared some of the disastrous 

monsoonal floods that have hit the Philippines 

in the last two weeks (early August). 

Down in the islands, Hope has begun his 

itinerant ministry by God’s grace, regularly 

teaching churches across his island with a 

desire to know more about midrash and the 

Word. We have a plan next month to have 

a teaching day in Puerto Galera and distribute 

copies of Strong’s Concordance to the 

regular attendees. They are all ministers of 

local congregations. From there Hope plans 

to go North to Urdaneta City where some 

churches have recently welcomed Moriel 

teaching. Then, Lord willing, he will proceed 

to the Ifugao province, famous for its 

rice terraces and head hunting traditions. It 

has become necessary to separate ministry 

into different regions now. The travelling 

there is very tiring. Please pray for Hope 

as he introduces Moriel teaching and discernment 

to new churches and contacts. 

All of this is possible due to the support 

of Moriel Australia and US, and the fact 

that his regional overseer removed him 

from ministry after he stood against error 

within his denomination. Another blessing 

is the fellowship which is beginning to take 

place between Moriel affiliated churches in 

the Philippines. These small independent 

churches need the fellowship of others who 

will stand against apostasy and focus upon 

the Lord and His Word. Please pray that they 

will find the means to meet together from 

time to time. It is a vital part of church life. 

*Thanks to God for the continual provision 

of our needs. 

*Thanks for the open doors we are experiencing 

now. 

*Thanks to Michael in Bohol, who is faithfully 

distributing Moriel newsletters to 

prisons and churches on top of his own 

evangelistic activities. Pray for more 

teachers to be raised up in his area. 

*Please pray for the Gospel message in 

Japan, that those who are open might 

hear and that more believers might actively 

witness and share their faith. 

*Please pray for our growing list of friends 

in the Philippines and their congregations. 

They all express their gratitude that God 

has opened the door for His teaching there. 

We try our best to keep things simple, 

purposely having a very low budget for 

seminars and teaching. Money can be 

such a temptation, but faith grows when 

we believe and see God provide. In this 

way, we are confident that those who love 

Moriel love it for the right reasons. Jesus 

is the shepherd and He feeds the sheep. 

*Finally, please pray for the October Kobe 

and Hokkaido meetings. 

In Christ, 

Geoff 

mj 


Daisuke and Jean with their baby Nathan 

A few photos from 


Elliot, Manoah and Sami holding a chunk of 

Mt. Fuji lava 

Glad to have Dad back! 

A family restored in Christ. 

Hope 


Pertinent Factoid 

f i c t i o n s 

deceptions 

Danny Isom 

” 

r u m o r s 

u n t r u t h s 

tall tales 

Thus says the LORD of hosts, “Do not 

listen to the words of the prophets who 

are prophesying to you. They are leading 

you into futility; They speak a vision 

of their own imagination, Not from the 

mouth of the LORD. (Je emiah 23:16) 

“Behold, I am against those who have 

prophesied false dreams,” declares the 

LORD, “and related them and led My 

people astray by their falsehoods and 

reckless boasting; yet I did not send 

them or command them, nor do they furnish 

this people the slightest benefit,” 

declares the LORD. (Jeremiah 23:32) 

There are those who have expressed shock 

and dismay that I not only refuse to endorse 

Jonathan Cahn’s The Harbinger, a popular 

work of so-called “Christian fiction,” but 

that I continue to publicly denounce it. In 

turn, I am shocked and dismayed when 

those who are supposed to be set free by the 

Truth of God’s Word (Jn. 8:32) elevate and 

endorse something which so prolifically 

confuses the truth with error. Peter not 

only identified this process by the Greek 

term “pareisaxousin”—literally meaning 

to lay truth side-by-side with error, but in 

a stunning case of political incorrectness 

actually calls such things “destructive 

heresies” (2 Ps. 2:1-3) and rightly points 

out that the ultimate casualty is that “the 

way of the truth will be maligned”. It is 

scripturally impossible to claim that just 

because something is declared to be a 

“work of fiction” that the obvious biblical 

errors can be overlooked because “some” 

perceived good can come out of it. My 

friend, “The means justifies the ends” is 

NOT a sanctioned principle of God’s Word. 

The primary argument presented is that 

The Harbinger is “just a work of fiction.” 

If that is true, then why is the author being 

sought and accepted as a theological expert 

on eschatology and the End Times If he 

were just an ordinary author like every other 

author, we would only see him at book 

signings and the normal venues for promoting 

a book. When approached, he would be 

the first to vehemently deny being any kind 

of expert or theologian and would confess, 

“I just happen to be a Christian who had an 

idea for a book.” He would of his own volition 

advocate that it is dangerous to give a 

work of fiction equal footing with Scripture. 

He would not use a work of fiction to promote 

himself as a theological expert and to 

gain a foothold within the Church as such. 

But instead we see nearly every corner 

of the Church flooded with promotions for 

The Harbinger which promote it as a new 

revelation of God’s Word, with Jonathan 

Cahn elevated to the status of the foremost 

authority on all things End Times, and a 

total disregard for its errors because it has 

“some truth” in it. Many tout the author as 

having produced a “new revelation”. Such 

messages are repeatedly documented in 

Scripture as coming through true men and 

women of God; when did they ever contain 

even the smallest error When was it 

enough that they just have “some truth” 

When did we have to pay $16.95 before 

we could hear the revelation God only gave 

to one particular messenger Wake up and 

smell the deception. 

The Berean Call, Lighthouse Trails and 

a host of others have reviewed and documented 

the salient issues of the book. There 

is no shortage of qualified biblical reviewers 

who have categorically revealed the 

errors in detail. However, I suppose this is 

yet another sign of the nearness of Christ’s 

return when it is getting spiritually darker 

and deception among the Elect becomes 

normative. Even worse, we have a disturbingly 

large number of Christians whose 

only knowledge of eschatology—the study 

of the End Times, comes not from Scripture 

but from works of fiction. Someone 

who claims to just be an author but in reality 

acts in such a contrary manner so as to 

make such inroads into the Church is a false 

teacher. There is no confusing the two. 

But then there is the second most offered 

justification: “What is wrong with Christian 

fiction After all, isn’t Pilgrim’s Progress a 

work of fiction” Yes, Pilgrim’s Progress is 

indeed a work of fiction, but can you please 

identify for me the doctrinal and/or scriptural 

errors and misrepresentations found in 

Pilgrim’s Progress Even just one John Bunyan 

never compromised a single doctrine 

or principle of Scripture! True “Christian 

fiction” never does! Just because a Christian 

writes within a genre called “fiction”, there 

is no license to be “mostly” right or to malign 

Scripture. Because of the very fact that 

they ARE a Christian, they have a greater 

obligation to ensure there is nothing out 

of alignment with God’s Word and ways! 

Then I am told, “But don’t you want 

people to know about the judgment that is 

coming on America” How do you break 

the news to these converts that the book 

was “sort of” right Can you show me one 

biblical example where the right spiritual 

gateway to God begins with “some” truth 

When did a similar, legitimate revelation 

from God contain error But this argument 

actually reveals something quite revealing 

about the person making it, who alleges 

that the purpose of the book is to reach the 

unsaved or hard of hearing. They are revealing 

that they are themselves deceived 

because the book isn’t achieving anywhere 

near the market penetration of the unchurched 

as it is the churched! This is not a 

tool of evangelism or revival, but an agent 

of deception among the Elect. Just look at 

who it is really directed and to whom it is 

most earnestly being marketed to. 

A repeated theme throughout the whole 

of Scripture is that God hates a mixture. Jacob 

has preached on this many, many times. 

It is another application of, “What fellowship 

has light with darkness” (2 Co. 2:14) 

Just look at all the contradictions which accompany 

the book and its author: 

On the one hand it is categorized as nothing 

more than a “work of fiction” but on 

the other it is touted as a new revelation of 

God’s truth. 

On the one hand Cahn is just an “author” 

but on the other he is now an “expert,” and 

it is based not on an authoritative exposition 

of God’s Word but a work of fiction. 

On the one hand the work is seen as a 

potential springboard to reach unbelievers, 

but it is being marketed more heavily to believers 

and the author is gaining a greater 

foothold within the church than in secular 

venues to reach unbelievers. 

On the one hand we are told we can put 

up with its scriptural errors because there is 

“some” truth worthy of publicity. 

Even more disturbingly, the greatest “silent” 

casualty of all is God’s Word, both 

within the Church proper and without. Truth 

is laid side-by-side with error to the detriment 

of both those who need to hear and embrace 

the whole Truth and nothing but the 

Truth, and serving to replace what believers 

are supposed to definitively and uncompromisingly 

know. “Christian fiction,” when it 

compromises God’s Word, is a deception 

in the most classic definition of the word. 

In Him, 

Danny 

Servant@WalkWithTheWord.org 


Scott Noble 

Moriel Thailand 

B a n g k o k S k y l i n e 

R i c e f i e l d s C h i a n g M a i 

Introducing our New missionary to . . . 

thailand 

Moriel September Update... 

We”ve been sharing the Gospel with 

Khae’s family for over 5 years now. Seven 

months ago Khae’s dad became a Christian! 

He’s been a Buddhist monk before, and 

used to give food to monks on their morning 

rounds almost every morning, had lots of 

idols, did not drink any alcohol, and even led 

some of the chanting at the temple. If anyone 

could have earned their way into heaven 

it would have been him. But, of course, no 

flesh shall be justified by the works of the 

law (not to mention he was serving a different 

law anyway). Now though, he’s stopped 

all of that. He reads his Bible (almost half 

of the Bible already), goes to church every 

Sunday, and seeks to honor and love God. 

And his wife is furious because of that. 

She used to call the shots at home, 

and now he’s taking a stand and not following 

her orders when it comes to compromising 

his faith. Khae helped him put up a sign 

at his barber shop at the house which said, 

“This shop will be closed on Sundays, because 

the barber is going to church to worship 

Jesus.” That was a few months ago. His 

wife tore the sign down. Last Sunday he 

stayed at church a little later to attend a Bible 

study, and while he was there, some customers 

came to get their hair cut. His wife 

called him and ordered him to come home. 

He refused, at which point she scolded him 

using very rude language. But he stayed at 

church. So his wife tried to burn two of 

his Bibles. She did burn one, but Khae 

caught the other one in time. 

Khae’s mom told him not to come back, 

and she even tried to force Khae’s dad 

out of the house (it’s actually his house). 

We keep advising Khae’s dad to “love 

your wife.” Last week we had a four day 

weekend and decided to drive down there 

to visit them along with Paul and Marisa 

from Mana Missions. 

We reached Khae’s parent’s house at 

about 5pm. The children from Mana Missions 

all stayed downstairs with Khae’s 

dad, while Paul, Marisa, Khae and I went 

upstairs to say hello to the mom. When I 

opened the door she told me, “Jesus doesn’t 

need to come into the house.” We came in 

anyway (with Jesus). Then she began to 

scold Khae and me about many things, 

mostly lies, about how we never help them 

and we just bring trouble to them, etc. 

Paul prayed against the evil spirits 

in that place and they let me be the 

spokesperson. Mostly I just listened, but I 

told her that we love her and that we want 

her to go to heaven. Actually her name is 

Sawan, which means “heaven.” She talked 

about all of the community mocking her 

and laughing at her now that her husband 

is a Christian. I told her that going to heaven 

is more important. After another round 

of scolding I got down on my knees and 

stretched out my hands pleading with her, 

“Mom, you don’t need to go to hell.” She told 

me I was crazy. I said it again, “You don’t 

need to go to hell, Mom.” She left the room. 

Later she came back saying that she and 

her husband are about to get a divorce and 

that it’s all our fault. I told her, “Humble 

yourself a little, Mom.” She said she didn’t 

know what language I’m speaking (though 

I know she was just speaking sarcastically), 

so I said it again. Finally, the children began 

singing songs on the first floor. After 

a while she passed us and went down the 

stairs to scold the children, saying “What 

hole did these things crawl out of” We 

came downstairs, and as I passed her I put 

my hands on her shoulders for a couple of 

seconds saying, “We love you, Mom.” Surprisingly, 

she didn’t shake my hands off, 

but she continued to scold. 

The next day, we came to the house to 

get something, and I went upstairs to say 

goodbye to the mom through the window, 

and “God bless you.” She was actually in 

the bathroom at the time we heard from the 

dad, but she asked the dad about that later 

and he told her I came to say goodbye and 

God bless you. On Saturday night the dad 

came to the church where we slept, for a 

Bible study. We finished about 8pm and 

when the dad went home the door was already 

locked, so he came back to the church 

to sleep with us. But the next day, the mom 

gave him some food from her breakfast, 

which she hadn’t done in a long time. So 


Moriel Thailand – Continued 

it seems her heart is softening up a little 

bit. But from recent reports, she’s still very 

much on the attack. She doesn’t just need a 

softened heart. She needs an entirely new 

heart through being born again. 

On Saturday morning we left the church 

at 5am to go to a market and sing and 

preach. We started on one side, but it was 

a bit noisy, so then we moved to another 

side right in front of a 7/11. The children 

sang many songs while we handed out 

tracts. Marisa later said that people are very 

anti-Christian in this area, more so than in 

Nakornsawan, seeing many people refusing 

to take a tract. When it came my turn to 

preach a second time, I felt a lot of freedom 

in preaching about Jesus being the Savior 

and the only way to heaven. 

For the last couple of weeks I’ve been 

teaching part of a course for Bethany College 

of Missions students on witnessing to 

Buddhists. In preparing for this course, I 

read an article which talks about how one 

should witness to Buddhists. This is written 

by a Thai woman whose husband is a Thai 

pastor. In December of 2010 our neighbor, 

Marisa was a Buddhist. She came to our 

house to talk with Khae one day. Khae talked 

with her for about an hour, clearly explaining 

the Gospel. When Marisa went back 

home she told Paul she wanted to become a 

Christian. The witness that Khae gave that 

day broke almost all of the “rules” that this 

Thai “expert” is teaching missionaries. For 

example, she says, “Christians can bring up 

religious issues only when they have deep 

relational bonding with non-believers.” At 

that time Khae and Marisa hardly knew 

each other. Also, the apostle Paul did not 

follow this approach in going to many new 

cities to preach. 

Then, in critiquing some traditional evangelistic 

methods, the author of this article 

quotes an unbeliever in her survey as saying, 

“I do not want anyone to talk about death.” 

Khae brought up the issue of death very 

clearly with Marisa that day. Another rule 

that is brought out in this article is, “do not 

contrast religions.” Again, Khae did not follow 

that rule and she pointed out the benefits 

of believing in Jesus as opposed to Buddha. 

Of course that doesn’t need to be done 

in an offensive way, but at some point the 

unbeliever needs to see what the real differences 

are. In Buddhism people are told 

to be a refuge unto themselves. In Jesus 

Christ we have a Savior who saves us— 

something we could never do by ourselves. 

Even Khae’s dad, as good a man as he was, 

when his wife tried to bring him back to 

Buddhism, told her, “I’ve found the way to 

salvation, and you want me to go back to 

the dead end way” 

This same article advocates using chanting 

during Christian worship and Buddhist 

rituals to reconcile with people. Because 

Khae spoke clearly and uncompromisingly 

in love that day, Marisa made a clear break 

with her old life and now she, Paul, her 

daughter, son, and niece are real Christians. 

Of course it was God who did the real work 

in their lives, but my point is that God uses 

truth to set people free (John 8: 31-32). If the 

church is using lies and compromises, that 

is a hindrance to the truth and a hindrance 

to people being set free. Thailand needs 

truth, not compromise, Thais and missionaries 

who shun to declare all the counsel of 

God (Acts 20:27 “For I have not shunned to 

declare unto you all the counsel of God.”). 

Aside from this we continue to teach 

English and Bible at the women’s prison 

every week, have a weekly Bible study 

with mostly non-Christian college students, 

teach part time at a junior high and 

a college, and we have a weekly class at 

our house for students, teaching them English 

and the Bible. This is a busy schedule, 

so I’m hoping to cut down on the English 

classes at the junior high and college for 

next term (two months from now). But, it 

has been good to be there this term in order 

to meet new students and invite them to 

classes where they can hear the Gospel. 

Praise God we have a Savior in Jesus 

Christ. We are not left to our own limitations. 

In Christ, 

Scott 

Book Review: 

I don’t know how popular this book is 

overseas, but I keep encountering it here in 

Thailand, even in its English version. So, I 

wrote a review of it, hoping to slow the tide 

of syncretism which this promotes... 

From Buddha to Jesus by Steve Cioccolanti: 

A book review by Scott Noble 

Exaltation of the Buddha 

Throughout this book there are frequent 

comments exalting the Buddha. Here are 

some examples: 

“...one leads to the other...The last words 

of Buddha open up to the first words of 

Christ in the New Testament.” (33) “...Buddha 

was a very wise man...” (46) [the fear 

of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. 

Did the Buddha fear the Lord] “Buddha 

pointed to the way...Buddha did the 

Christian a great service...” (50) “I think 

Buddhism is really a friend to Christianity...” 

(55) “Buddha’s excellent teachings 

to Asians carries the same heart as God’s 

commandments to the Jews.” (60) “...we 

have a strong ally in Buddha’s moral commands. 

They are virtually the same laws as 

God’s laws.” (76) [Only if by “virtually the 

same” he means it’s OK to omit the first 4 

of the 10 commandments, and change two 

others]. “You are Buddhist That’s Great!” 

(84) [Is it great to be on a path leading away 

from God and unto damnation] 

“...we’re all bad Buddhists!” (93) [We 

are Steve frequently tries to put Christianity 

and Buddhism on the same level, even 

though one is of man, and the other is of 

God] “Buddha was wise. Why, Buddha, is 

there suffering Buddha said because of 

your karma...Buddha was right!” (110) [In 

addition to “conversing” with the Buddha 

here, Steve also falsely equates karma with 

sin. Karma is an impersonal system for justice, 

in which there is no person overseeing 

the whole process. To sin is to break the 

commands of the personal God of the Bible.] 

“Buddha was a man of reason and evidence, 

of which reincarnation has none.” 

(115) [Steve has exalted the Buddha so 

much now, that he cannot believe the Buddha 

actually taught reincarnation—contrary 

to the Pali Canon—though re-birth 

would be a more correct term, because of 

the doctrine of anatta. This highlights another 

theme (Gnosticism) throughout this 

book. Instead of representing Buddhism 

according to what the Pali Canon teaches, 

Steve just comes up with his own ideas 

of what the Buddha really taught. This is 

Gnosticism—finding “secret knowledge,” 

not based on real evidence, but on spurious 

claims or wishful thinking. It’s the DaVinci 

Code (a story based on imagination, not 

evidence) applied to Buddhism.] 

“Reincarnation is one of the best doctrines 

Buddhism is known for. I think it is a 

great friend to us who are Christian.” (129) 

[Here, Steve contradicts himself again while 

offering more praise to Buddhism.] “What 

is Jesus saying to us Exactly what Buddha 

was teaching.” (137) [Really] “Buddha 

never denied the existence of God.” (141) 

[The Buddha’s whole life was a denial of 

the existence of God, even if he did not put 

that into words. His followers understood 

this. At the World Buddhist Sangha Council 

(WBSC) in 1981 they stated, “Whether 

Theravāda or Mahāyāna, we do not believe 

that this world is created and ruled by a god 

at his will.”] “Buddha was a very humble 

person.” (146) [Contrary to Steve’s opinion, 

the Pali Canon records the Buddha’s 

no- so-humble proclamation, “Chief am 

I in the world, Eldest am I in the world, 

Foremost am I in the world! This is the last 

birth!” (D II, 12)] 

“Buddha really paved the way for sinners 

to trust in Jesus.” (160) “Because they 

know Buddha taught the right thing...” 

(195) “If you say you’re Buddhist, then 

you should follow Buddha” (197) [I would 

never encourage someone to follow the 

Buddha]. “Buddha’s prediction was not so 

far off from what Jesus teaches us about the 

End Times.” (202) [This is like his “virtually 

the same” comment regarding the com- 


mandments. Steve exalts the Buddha to be 

on the same level as Jesus, even though the 

intent of their teachings was worlds apart.] 

“Buddhism is probably more like Christianity 

than any other religion in the world! 

Buddha would have agreed with much of 

the Old Testament and embraced the gift 

of the New Testament. If Buddha were 

alive today, I am convinced he would be in 

church and love hearing the Good News of 

Jesus Christ.” (208-209) [Again, these are 

Steve’s opinions, not based on reality, but 

on his own wishful thinking.] “There is evidence, 

particularly from his last words, that 

Buddha may have had a relationship with 

God.” (228) [This is from the chapter, “Is 

Buddha in Heaven” While he leaves it as 

a “maybe,” it is a strong “maybe” to Steve, 

based on “evidence” of his “last words.” 

These so called “last words,” though, are 

not from the Pali Canon. Rather, they are 

an unconfirmed rumor (and not ancient, but 

modern), which is yet another way of saying 

“Gnosticism.”] 

“...he would be a better Buddhist by getting 

saved.” (233) [Is that the goal This 

is already approaching the level of heresy 

of which “Mother” Teresa was known 

for—wanting to make better Hindus, better 

Muslims, better Buddhists, etc.] “Jesus and 

Buddha had much in common.” (237) “If 

Buddha were alive today, I have no doubt 

in my mind that he would be in church and 

reading the Bible. If Buddha were alive today, 

he would say to Buddhists, ‘Reform 

your religion...’” (238) [In true gnostic 

fashion, Steve puts imaginary words into 

the Buddha’s mouth, and sees Buddhism as 

so similar to Christianity that the Buddha 

would have been a Christian if alive today.] 

Misrepresenting the Bible 

“...I had to receive payment for my 

karma through Jesus’ blood on the cross.” 

(58) [Karma and sin are not interchangeable 

terms.] “Jesus the Sinless Man...burning 

in hell for 3 days.” (61) [This is based 

on the false “Word of Faith”/“Rhema”/ 

“Prosperity” theology, which teaches that 

Jesus had to be born-again. On the cross, 

Jesus said, “It is finished.” He did not burn 

in hell after that. Also, on page 92 Steve 

promotes his “secrets of the rich” audio or 

video, and his book is endorsed by the Directors 

of Rhema Australia.] “Jesus actually 

tells us the exact amount of spiritual debt 

a sinner owes to God... and exactly how 

many lives you would owe...” (132) [No, 

Jesus did not.] “Christians can work with 

no sweat...become richer than sinners...” 

(140) [false “prosperity” Gospel.] “And so 

God said, ‘I’m going to have to send the 

Lord of Heaven Himself.’” (140) [What 

chapter and verse is that] “I believe Jesus 

died on the Cross to pay for the penalty of 

my karma...” (157) [Nope.] “God deals 

with our nature by replacing it with His own 

Son’s.” (179) [That would make people divine, 

having the nature of God.] “Christ is 

a more valuable hostage to Hell...” [Again, 

based on the false “Rhema” theology.] “...I 

would still owe at least 1,644 lives for every 

sin, according to the Lord Jesus.” (195) 

[Jesus certainly did not say that.] 

Misrepresenting Buddhism 

There are several book reviews on the 

Web, written by Buddhists, which call 

Steve a liar. I have to agree with them on 

this, because many times Steve “quotes” 

the Buddha, but gives no citation. The 

footnotes are mostly about Thai language, 

which is almost irrelevant since that’s not 

the language the Pali Canon was written in. 

Though I’ve read more than 10,000 pages 

on Buddhism, many of Steve’s “quotes” I 

have not heard of before, and he does not 

provide his sources so that a person can 

double check whether or not it is quoted 

accurately. Many of his “quotes” are paraphrases 

in which he tries to emphasize the 

similarities between Christianity and Buddhism, 

as he does with the “four noble 

truths.” Steve also said, “...Buddha never 

offered a solution.” (131) [This is another 

false claim. Buddha did offer a solution, 

but it is a solution that falls short, as it does 

not reconcile us to God.] 

Probably his worst misrepresentation of 

the Buddha in this book though, which he 

mentions often, is the so-called prophecy 

of the Buddha. Based on only one witness 

(and no extant texts), Steve draws many 

far-fetched conclusions from this “prophecy.” 

It makes the Buddha into a prophet of 

God (which he is not), and it makes Jesus 

into a Buddha (which is blasphemous, using 

the name Metteya or Maitreya, which 

in the Pali Canon is defined as a Buddha). 

But, this “prophecy” is not at all ancient, 

and again is an example of Steve preferring 

secret knowledge to actual evidence. 

Conclusion 

There’s a lot more that could be said 

about this book. I found something offensive 

on almost every page. Steve is very 

good at exalting the Buddha, which tickles 

the ears of many Thai Christians, as they 

don’t want to stand out as being different, 

and thus face persecution. His book leads 

to compromise and a mixing of what Buddha 

and Jesus taught. This kind of ecumenism 

is becoming more and more common 

in these anti-God times in which we live. 

Steve even admitted on page 111 that a 

pastor who does not use his “bridge building” 

techniques and who speaks against 

Moriel Thailand – Continued 

Buddhism, “wins many people to the 

Lord.” I’ve also seen people come to the 

Lord Jesus Christ without resorting to using 

sneaky and false methods. Let us be 

faithful to God and to His Word, which we 

can do in love. 

Appendix A 

Jesus repeatedly warned about deception 

in the last days. As Christians we should 

“Prove all things; hold fast that which is 

good.” I Thessalonians 5: 21. 

In brief, here are some reasons why the so 

called Buddha prophecy is not something a 

Christian should promote or even believe... 

-It’s not in the Tripitaka (the Pali Canon) 

-It’s not even in the commentaries on the 

Tripitaka (compiled by the 5th century AD) 

-It’s mostly unknown among people on 

the street and monks alike. In fact the only 

ones who seem to have this text are Christians. 

Even a senior monk at the temple from 

which this text is supposed to have come 

didn’t know how to get a copy of the text. 

-The text prophesies about Metteya, who 

is supposed to be a Buddha 

-Every Buddha is supposed to follow a 

certain pattern: his mother dies when he is 

7 days old, he is uncircumcised, and must 

be born in India, which completely rules 

out Jesus Christ from fulfilling that role. 

-If we say Jesus fulfills this Metteya role, 

then it is saying that Jesus is a Buddha, 

which is a serious distortion of the character 

of Jesus Christ. 

-Not only does this so-called prophecy 

downgrade Jesus’ character, it also elevates 

the historical Buddha to the role of 

a prophet of God. The Buddha does not 

in any sense qualify for this, as he has not 

only false prophesies but also very unbiblical 

teachings. 

-Using this in evangelism is not only dishonest 

(because the prophecy is not historical 

at all) but it also confuses the would-be 

new believer into exalting the Buddha as a 

prophet and downgrading Jesus Christ to 

the role of a Buddha. 

May we as Christians be faithful and honest 

as we serve Jesus Christ who is the truth. 

Do not compromise with the father of lies, 

or give heed to seducing spirits. Promoting 

this false prophecy only introduces distortion 

and thus disease into the Body of Christ. 

“As many as I love, I rebuke 

and chasten. Be zealous 

therefore, and repent.” 

“As many as I love, I rebuke 

and chasten. Be zealous therefore, 

and repent.” Rev 3:19 


Hebrew Feast 

Rosh Hashanah (Feast of Trumpets) 

(Hebrew 

, literally “head of the 

year”), is the Jewish New Year. It is the first 

of the High Holy Days or Yamim Nora’im 

(“Days of Awe”) which usually occur in the 

early autumn. Rosh Hashanah is celebrated 

on the first two days of Tishrei. It is described 

in the Torah as 

( Yo m 

Teru’ah, a day of sounding [the Shofar]). 

Rosh Hashanah customs include sounding 

the shofar and eating symbolic foods such 

as apples dipped in honey. 

Etymology 

The term “Rosh Hashanah” does not appear 

in the Torah. Leviticus 23:24 refers to 

the festival of the first day of the seventh 

month as “Zikhron Teru’ah” (“a memorial 

with the blowing of horns”), it is also referred 

to in the same part of Leviticus as 

‘ ’ or penultimate Sabbath or 

meditative rest day, and a “holy day to 

God”. These same words are commonly 

used in the Psalms to refer to the anointed 

days. Numbers 29:1 calls the festival Yom 

Teru’ah, (“Day [of] blowing [the horn]”) 

and symbolizes a number of subjects, such 

as the Binding of Isaac and the animal sacrifices 

that were to be performed. (The term 

Rosh Hashanah appears once in the Bible 

in Ezekiel 40:1 where it means generally 

the time of the “beginning of the year” or is 

possibly a reference to Yom Kipur,[2] but 

the phrase may also refer to the month of 

Nissan in the spring, especially in light of 

Exodus 12:2 where the month of Nissan is 

stated as being “the first month of the year” 

and Ezekiel 45:18 where “the first month” 

unambiguously refers to Nissan, the month 

of Passover, as made plain by Ezekiel 45:21. 

The Hebrew Rosh Ha-Shanah is etymologically 

related to the Arabic Ras as-Sanah, 

the name chosen by Muslim lawmakers for 

the Islamic New Year, reflecting the Islamic 

immitation of older Jewish traditions. Pre- 

Islamic mid-eastern cultures, besides the 

Jews, did not use this unique name, e.g., 

Egypt, Persia or Babylon. Rosh Hashanah 

Hasidic Jews performing tashlikh on 

Rosh Hashanah, painting by Aleksander 

Gierymski, 1884 

marks the start of a new year in the Hebrew 

calendar (one of four “new year” observances 

that define various legal “years” 

for different purposes as explained in the 

Mishnah and Talmud). It is the new year for 

people, animals, and legal contracts. The 

Mishnah also sets this day aside as the new 

year for calculating calendar years, shmita 

and yovel years. Jews are confident, that 

Rosh Hashanah represents either figuratively 

or literally God’s creation ex nihilo. 

However, according to Rabbi Eleazar ben 

Shammua Rosh Hashanah commemorates 

the creation of man. 

Shofar blowing 

Yemenite-style shofar 

Laws on the form and use of the shofar 

and laws related to the religious services 

during the festival of Rosh Hashanah are 

described in Rabbinic literature such as the 

Mishnah that formed the basis of the tractate 

“Rosh HaShanah” in both the Babylonian 

Talmud and the Jerusalem Talmud. 

This also contains the most important rules 

concerning the calendar year. The shofar is 

blown in long, short and staccato blasts that 

follow a set sequence: 

• Teki’ah (long sound) Numbers 10:3 

• Shevarim (3 broken sounds) Numbers 10:5 

• Teru’ah (9 short sounds) Numbers 10:9 

• Teki’ah Gedolah (very long sound) Exodus 

19:16,19 

• Shevarim Teru’ah (3 broken sounds followed 

by 9 short sounds) 

Duration and timing 

• Rosh Hashanah occurs 163 days after the 

first day of Passover (Pesach). In terms of 

the Gregorian calendar, the earliest date 

on which Rosh Hashanah can fall is September 

5, as happened in 1899 and will 

happen again in 2013. The latest date that 

Rosh Hashanah can occur relative to the 

Gregorian dates is October 5, as happened 

in 1967 and will happen again in 2043. 

After 2089, the differences between the 

Hebrew calendar and the Gregorian calendar 

will result in Rosh Hashanah falling 

no earlier than September 6. 

• Rosh Hashanah will occur on the following 

days of the Gregorian calendar: 

• Current Jewish Year 5773: sunset September 

16, 2012 - nightfall September 18, 2012 

• Coming Jewish Year 5774: sunset September 

4, 2013 - nightfall September 6, 2013 

• Although the Jewish calendar is based on 

the lunar cycle, so that the first day of 

each month originally began with the first 

sighting of a new moon, since the fourth 

century it has been arranged so that Rosh 

Hashanah never falls on a Wednesday, 

Friday, or Sunday. 

• The Torah defines Rosh Hashanah as a 

one day celebration, and since days in the 

Hebrew calendar begin at sundown, the 

beginning of Rosh Hashanah is at sundown 

at the end of 29 Elul. The rules of the Hebrew 

calendar are designed such that the 

first day of Rosh Hashanah will never occur 

on the first, fourth, or sixth day of the 

Jewish week (i.e., Sunday, Wednesday, or 

Friday). Since the time of the destruction 

of the Second Temple of Jerusalem in 70 

CE and the time of Rabban Yohanan ben 

Zakkai, normative Jewish law appears to 

be that Rosh Hashanah is to be celebrated 

for two days, due to the difficulty of determining 

the date of the new moon. Nonetheless, 

there is some evidence that Rosh 

Hashanah was celebrated on a single day 

in Israel as late as the thirteenth century 

CE. Orthodox and Conservative Judaism 

now generally observe Rosh Hashanah 

for the first two days of Tishrei, even in 

Israel where all other Jewish holidays 

dated from the new moon last only one 

day. The two days of Rosh Hashanah are 

said to constitute “Yoma Arichtah” (Aramaic: 

“one long day”). In Reform Judaism, 

some communities only observe the 

first day of Rosh Hashanah, while others 

observe two days. Karaite Jews, who do 

not recognize Rabbinic Jewish oral law 

and rely on their own understanding of 

the Torah, observe only one day on the 

first of Tishrei, since the second day is not 

mentioned in the Written Torah. 

(Wikipedia) 

Feast of Trumpets 


Jackie Alnor 

Out Of Season 

“Out of Season” 

with Jackie Alnor 

2 Tim 4:2 - ...Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering...” 

by: Jean-Pol GRANDMONT 

Christian Zombies: The New Breed of Prophets 

Looking for the Christian book section 

at a Barnes & Noble recently, I was startled 

to discover a whole new category of 

books I had not seen before. The new genre 

is “Teen Paranormal Fiction.” Besides the 

“Twilight” series, the aisle was filled with 

titles like, “Beautiful Demons,” “The Mind 

Readers,” “The Gossip Ghouls: Zombies 

and Lipstick,” “Alice in Zombieland,” and 

“Intuition: The Premonition Series.” 

Twilight, Beautiful Demons, 

The Mind Readers, 

The Gossip Ghouls, 

Zombies and Lipstick, 

Alice in Zombieland 

The world today is obsessed with the 

paranormal and young people are drawn in 

even more than adults. Entire television networks 

have sprung up featuring programs 

that appeal to that base nature in man to 

cross over into the unknown. Ghost-hunter 

programs are very popular as cameras follow 

the hunters into the deep recesses of 

‘haunted houses’ trying to capture a spectre 

on tape. “Celebrity Ghost Stories” are very 

popular. Some first-hand accounts sound 

like downright demonic attacks on the unsuspecting 

victims who wrongly believe 

their tormentors are spirits of the dead. 

The same spirit of the age that inspires 

the world’s fascination with the paranormal 

excites many of today’s so-called Christian 

leaders. Instead of calling the genre ‘paranormal,’ 

charismatic enthusiasts call it ‘supernatural.’ 

Like their secular counterparts, 

the leaders of the ‘new Christianity’ seek 

after the same signs and wonders. They 

testify of visitations from departed loved 

ones. They sign up for occult initiation in 

“schools of the prophets” where they learn 

formulas for making ‘creative miracles’ 

happen. They study quantum physics in 

order to create their own reality. They call 

themselves ‘warriors’ who hunt down demons 

to rid entire regions of their presence. 

New Breed 

The days of the old guard of modern 

prophets are over. Phase One is long gone 

as men like William Branham, Kenneth 

Hagin, and John Wimber died out. They 

were replaced by the second phase starring 

the Kansas City Prophets (Bob Jones, 

Paul Cain, Jack Deere, Mike Bickle, etc.), 

Mark Chironna, Bill Hamon, Kim Clement, 

Cindy Jacobs, Sid Roth, Benny Hinn, John 

Arnott, Randy Clark, Bill Johnson, Rodney 

Howard-Browne, Patricia King, Stacey 

Campbell, etc., who are preparing younger 

ones for the next and ultimate new breed of 

super prophets. Phase Three includes new 

names like David Herzog, Manasseh Jordan, 

John Crowder, Todd Bentley, JoAnne 

McFadder and Caleb Brundidge. 

The Kansas City (false) Prophets, Bob 

Jones and Paul Cain, both prophesied the 

same vision as seen by their predecessor 

William Branham. These so-called seers 

had visions of an end-times army that 

would rise up and do miracles, signs and 

wonders before the Lord’s return and even 

cheat death and never die. (It escapes their 

notice that the only place in the Bible that 

speaks of those who can’t die is in the 9th 

chapter of Revelation – and that is a judgment 

when they want to die and can’t.) 

They called these warriors of the future, 

‘the new breed.’ They also prophesied 

that in that time they would be able to fill 

entire sports stadiums with youth and get 

the attention of the secular media – which 

seemed important to them. 

In order to save face, it appears that the 

older false prophets are trying to fulfill the 

prophecies of the end-times army of youth 

by focusing their attention on young people, 

using worldly and carnal enticements 


to lure them in for their initiation into the 

fires of judgment. They use words like 

blaze, fire, flame, burning, while graphics 

of fire and flames decorate their banners 

and websites. 

They expend much energy in hyping 

their national campaigns to draw crowds 

to their rented arenas in an effort to fulfill 

the prophecies of crowded stadiums. Lou 

Engle is in the forefront with his annual stadium 

event, The Call. New Age Mormon, 

Glenn Beck, however, has them beat with 

his ‘love America’ rallies in his own effort 

to bring all men and women of good will 

together for spiritual unity regardless of 

their religion. 

Worldly Prophets & Seers 

Patricia King of Xtreme Prophetic Ministries 

in Phoenix, Arizona promotes many 

of these new flames when she’s not giving 

them theatrical performance lessons. 

A favorite of hers is “worship leader” Caleb 

Brundidge who runs “Club Mysterio 

where people (mostly young) come together 

and experience Ekstasis worship/dance.” 

What on earth is Ekstasis worship you ask 

He wrote for Elijah List, an umbrella promoting 

media center for false prophets, the 

following: 

Ekstasis - Greek word for “trance” 

• moving beyond oneself 

• finding freedom from the perceived constraint 

of time and space 

• being in a state of amazement 

• being astonished by 

• being of one mind, beside one’s self - insane 

• throwing of the mind out of a normal state 

In reality, it is the spiritual exercise of 

Kundalini yoga that initiates these gullible 

Christian youth into occult experience. Promoter 

Patricia King would argue that what 

is done in the occult is only a counterfeit of 

true spirituality and she thinks she has the 

authentic manifestations. 

Sid Roth, host of It’s Supernatural, introduces 

his audience to the latest and most 

outlandish psychic prophets, dream interpreters, 

and mind-readers. A frequent guest 

is David Herzog who Roth promoted in 

this fashion: “David Herzog moves in signs 

and wonders such as instant weight loss, 

restoration of sight and being supernaturally 

transported from one location to another.” 

That sure beat Jenny Craig and Delta 

Airlines! This new breed of a man testifies 

of gold teeth appearing in the mouth of 

his followers as he teaches them to walk in 

the glory realm by harnessing the creative 

force of their thoughts. 

Benny Hinn, when he’s not hosting lowkey 

guests like The Harbinger author Jonathan 

Cahn, is busy propping up the latest 

cold-reader illusionist, ‘Prophet’ Manasseh 

Jackie Alnor 

Jordan. He is the son of certified false 

prophet, Bernard Jordan, a cold-reader 

psychic prophet who charges $365 for a 

personal prophecy from himself. His son, 

a chip off the old block, entertains Hinn’s 

audience with his own mind-reading seer 

skills of calling people down based on 

their first name, weight, hair color and even 

their PO box number. (Not as impressive 

as the mentalist who recently appeared in 

America’s Got Talent.) He also knocks people 

down in his charade of anointing them. 

Todd Bentley, the tattooed goon who was 

anointed ‘prophet of the new breed’ by the 

ruling junta prophets and apostles (NAR), 

while he was having an extramarital affair 

with his assistant. He has anointed his own 

discovery. Pastor Stan Tyra of Revolution 

Church in Northwest Arkansas runs his 

own youth outreach. “Adullam School of 

Warriors is an apostolic school of revivalists 

whose purpose is to bring Heaven 

to earth. “Our desire is to equip men and 

women to transform their spheres of influence 

and surrounding culture into Kingdom 

culture.” Bentley has pronounced that God 

told him Pastor Tyra has been given the 

spirit of the Norse god Thor. 

Conclusion 

As the new breed of false prophets makes 

their way into the mainstream of the charismatic 

church, be prepared to see actual 

demonic signs and wonders and not merely 

psychosis, hypnotic suggestion and copycat 

antics. These ‘Christian’ zombies now 

invading the ‘Kingdom’ are being trained 

to communicate with devils as they satiate 

their desire for more, more, more fire 

and glory. They will most likely receive 

more than what they bargained for, as they 

combine their mind powers to create a new 

paranormal reality. 

Those young people who are falling for 

this satanic seduction need to be rescued 

from the flames before they succumb in the 

carnage. (Jude 23). 

Jackie Alnor 

Quotes of the QUARTER ! 

The visions of your prophets 

were false and worthless; 

they did not expose your sin to 

ward off your captivity. 

The oracles they gave you were 

false and misleading. 

Lamentations 2:14 

Out Of Season 

TO THE CHURCH AND 

NATION OF BRITAIN 

A few months ago Moriel web posted this 

prophecy by our friend & brother Stewart 

Dool from a sister ministry Moriel endorses 

here in Britain. While some contacted 

us in objection, I prayerfully considered it 

right to publish the prophetic prediction for 

prayerful consideration. I am in retrospect 

glad in light of recent events that we carried 

it and promoted it. He has certainly 

been vindicated; as it says in Romans 12 he 

“propheseyed according to his faith”. Jacob 

Prasch The following is a prophetic word 

received by Stewart Dool (who heads up 

Intercessors for Britain) in the week 23-27 

July 2007. It has been weighed and tested 

by others in senior positions of ministry. TO 

THE CHURCH AND NATION OF BRIT- 

AIN I am about to send fire upon you, the 

fire of My judgment, and it will consume 

on the right and on the left. All who have 

spurned My ways and My words will reap 

what they have sown, for in My burning 

anger I will judge the gods in whom you 

have put your trust, the gods of materialism 

and covetousness. The gold and the silver 

will be taken from you, and your portion 

will be emptiness, desolation and vanity. I 

will bring the stability of your currency into 

doubt, to show you that it is I alone who 

caused you to prosper in the past. I raised 

you to prominence among the nations and 

gave you authority over many peoples: 

so you became rich, and boasted in your 

wealth, but I will bring you low, and the 

nations over whom you once ruled will say 

“What has happened to this great nation” 

As you have feared other gods, and not 

feared Me, so I will visit your deeds upon 

you. Your idolatries have led you astray, 

and you have become like those before 

whom you bow down. I commanded your 

fathers that they should not fear the gods of 

the nations, but you have not obeyed Me. 

Therefore I have given you into the hands 

of abominations and all manner of uncleanness 

. . . . 

Edited, See Original Report Here: http:// 

morielbealertblog.blogspot.com/2008/11/ 

to-church-and-nation-of-britain.html 

For more on Be Alert, http://morielbealertblog.blogspot.com/

The Scarlet Cord - Moriel Ministries

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