Speaking of some of the saints who were temporarily restored to physical life to testify about Yeshua’s resurrection, after jealous Jewish leaders delivered Him to the bloody Romans to murder, we find, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit:

Matthew 27:53

…and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into THE HOLY CITY and appeared to many.

Paul, speaking of the imminent Third Temple, the holy TEMPLE OF GOD (the Temple of God – not just of the Jews or any other conspiracy theory that contradicts Scripture), that Europe’s wannabe divine emperor will pollute, coveting it since Satan knows (even if some religious folks don’t) it is the TEMPLE OF GOD:

2 Thessalonians 2:4

…who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the TEMPLE OF GOD, showing himself that he is God.

Speaking of the imminent Third Temple and EU occupation of Jerusalem (whose days are numbered when they trespass upon the Temple Mount), and simultaneous ministry of the Two Witnesses, the apostle John was inspired by the Holy Spirit to foretell:

Revelation 11:1-3

1 Then I was given a reed like a measuring rod. And the angel stood, saying, ?Rise and measure the TEMPLE OF GOD [not merely of the Jews or of the Masons or Illuminati or whoever some slander], the altar, and those who worship there. 2 But leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles. And they will tread THE HOLY CITY underfoot for forty-two months. 3 And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.

Speaking of the imminent clash between Catholic Europe and Islam with Jerusalem’s holy Temple Mount caught in the middle:

Daniel 11:40-45

At the time of the end the king of the South shall attack him; and the king of the North shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter the countries, overwhelm them, and pass through. 41 He shall also enter the Glorious Land, and many countries shall be overthrown; but these shall escape from his hand: Edom, Moab, and the prominent people of Ammon. 42 He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. 43 He shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; also the Libyans and Ethiopians shall follow at his heels. 44 But news from the east and the north shall trouble him; therefore he shall go out with great fury to destroy and annihilate many. 45 And he shall plant the tents of his palace between the seas and the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and no one will help him.

Jerusalem is holy in the biblical sense it has been called to fulfill its awesome calling to become the City of our God, the City of the Great King. It has been sanctified, set apart for a holy purpose that it will soon fulfill. It is holy, even though it is a sinful city, just like Israel and Judah are holy, set apart, sanctified, and need to learn to live holy lives.

The New Jerusalem doesn’t come down from Heaven until after the initial thousand year reign of Christ who will subdue all opposition and destroy all enemies, including death and Satan when the Earth is purified by fire. Then the Father comes with New Jerusalem – the Sabbath-keepingChurch of God is a type of it.

Meanwhile, we pray for Judah and intercede for Jerusalem:

Isaiah 62:1-2

1 For Zion’s sake I will not hold My peace,

And for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest,

Until her righteousness goes forth as brightness,

And her salvation as a lamp that burns.

2 The Gentiles shall see your righteousness,

And all kings your glory.

You shall be called by a new name,

Which the mouth of the LORD will name.

Isaiah 62:6-7

6 I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem;

They shall never hold their peace day or night.

You who make mention of the LORD, do not keep silent,

7 And give Him no rest till He establishes

And till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.

These watchmen are the Two Witnesses of Revelation 11 — Two Witnesses who will testify in Jerusalem against Europe. They will announce to the cities of Judah and comfort captive Israel (all Twelve Tribes) that our God will come and save us.

Isaiah 35:4

4 Say to those who are fearful-hearted,

“Be strong, do not fear!

Behold, your God will come with vengeance,

With the recompense of God;

He will come and save you.”

Isaiah 25:9

9 And it will be said in that day:

“Behold, this is our God;

We have waited for Him, and He will save us.

This is the LORD;

We have waited for Him;

We will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.”

I witnessed a sermon recently where a preacher made it very clear that how he saw Jesus was 180 degrees different from how I see him now, having studied “A Course In Miracles”.

The pinnacle of the sermon was when the pastor waved a sword while also reading from the Bible in the book of Matthew 10:34 where Jesus was quoted as saying “Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.”.

Additional information that could be used to create this warrior image of Jesus could be taken from biblical reports where he ransacked the temple, knocked the soldiers to the ground in the garden of Gethsemane, scolded his disciples, and his prophesied return as a lion that will slay the billions who don’t know him. Overall, the gist of the sermon was that Jesus was neither peaceful nor passive, so if you chose to be passive, it would be a sin, and Jesus would reject you.

If I go back 20 years or more, I was one of those people who was so sure that every single word in the Bible hinged upon what God required me to know was true. So when God endorsed the mass killings that occurred almost regularly in the Old Testament, it all fit in with what was believed to be an omnipresent being that had the right to do with us as he pleased because we are subservient to him and had no rights of our own.

It was quite a journey from where I believed every single word in the Bible was inspired and and organized by God to how I see it today. I’ve come to understand that although God may have inspired many of the authors of the Bible, their narrow perception of God prevented them from hearing what he was saying and so they wrote what they believed he would say.

It was a very fearful thing for me to even begin to imagine that the Bible might not be correct. It was believed that if any portion of the Bible were proven to be mistaken, then the whole book and all its teachings were simply wrong.

This is where A Course In Miracles refers to a 180 degree change in perception that is necessary to see God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit as they really are. This shift in perception is totally necessary to allow your mind to open to hear from God so that he can heal how you see the world around you, because as long as this world around you is solid and unchangeable, so is your perception of an ancient and fearful God.

To get you through this simply remind yourself that God loves you, He’ll do nothing to hurt you, He’s never upset at the choices you make while working your way back to Him, and that He has placed in your path all the tools and help necessary for you to find your way home to Him.

Once you become open to receiving a new image of God and his teachings, this information will be presented to you without having to pursue it.

In my case, I was invited to a healing meeting, which I had no idea what that meant, and I was introduced to ‘A Course In Miracles’. By doing the lessons and focusing my day around practicing the concepts within the lesson, my perception changed dramatically because now I was no longer just reading but I was practicing and I was being.

It took some time for me to see Jesus as he truly is. There were so many things I was taught about how he came, why he came, his purpose here, and his purpose yet to come. The teachings from A Course In Miracles basically undid all this and made it very clear about who Jesus is.

Here is how I now see Jesus, my brother, my guide, the one who helped open our minds for God to speak to us… It was unlikely that Jesus’ birth was the result of an immaculate conception. Since anything physical does not really matter, securing particular bloodlines or insuring that the father’s blood was not part of the child’s blood, had nothing to do with the spirit that was Jesus.

Jesus entered this world with his mind open to hear God. Jesus was a man no different than you or I, other than having a very open and willing mind. He was not a perfect being. He was a human with an open mind and a true desire to learn and understand the truth about himself and his Creator.

After spending many years of his young adult life seeking the truth about God and spending much time in meditation, Jesus then introduced himself to the world, knowing that he saw something that no one else was seeing.

He talked about being forgiving just for the sake of being forgiving. He talked about giving with no strings attached. He talked about becoming aware that your thoughts are more important than your actions because your thoughts are what really matter. He talked about having an eternal existence and he talked about being loving and kind to all those around you because you are one with all and anything you do to anyone you are also doing to yourself.

His death was the result of a terrible fear that the very religious experienced in that his teachings suggested their beliefs were mistaken and that their path back to God had nothing to do with all the rituals and rules they had established. For those that had hoped to make Jesus their king, they could not even begin to imagine that a peaceful and passive existence had anything to do with them being a people ruled by God.

The crucifixion of Jesus was not a sacrifice required to appease God. Quite the contrary, the crucifixion was an opportunity for Jesus to tear through the final veil that obscured his perception of seeing himself and God as they truly were. The moment Jesus cried out that he believed God had abandoned him, he became fully aware that God had not abandoned him. At that moment, any final lingering thought that even hinted he was disconnected from God in any way, ceased to exist.

What was later written as his resurrection was based upon a confusion of this physical illusion since nothing physical that happens here really matters. No matter what happens to the body, you are not a body, and it has no lasting effect other than what we believe to be true. Likewise, in A Course In Miracles, Jesus says, “Teach not that I died in vain. Teach rather THAT I DID NOT DIE by demonstrating that I LIVE IN YOU.”

Jesus performed a miracle on the cross when he overcame a major obstacle that had made it difficult for him or any of us to clearly hear the voice of God. In that one instant on the cross where he thought he was abandoned, his mind was healed and he became fully open to hear the voice of God. This voice of God we call the Holy Spirit. Since we are all one spirit, all our minds were healed, and now we can all more easily hear that voice.

The only major difference between us and Jesus at this time is that he is a forerunner in a journey that we are all making back to God. Since he is in the lead, there are so many things he has experienced and now understands which makes him a wonderful advocate and guide to help us more easily follow the path back to God as compared to just trying to do this on our own.

Jesus doesn’t want our worship, nor does he want our sacrifice or obedience. All he wants is for you to recognize the authority in what he teaches because he’s at the head of this journey that we are all making.

Jesus has already returned. Jesus’ second coming is a spiritual awakening within the minds of everyone. As we choose to see him more clearly and as we choose to join with him on the journey home, our path back to God will become more direct and will occur more quickly.

So I leave you with this… If this is at odds with what you currently believe, you are not expected to just take my word for it, but I will suggest you take a moment, close your eyes, and simply say, “I am open and willing to see the truth. No matter what I currently believe, it is the truth that I really want. I open my mind for the Holy Spirit and Jesus to heal how I see them, and how I see this world.”

The phrase “lead us not into temptation” is familiar to most Christians. It is from the Lord’s Prayer, a prayer given to us by Jesus (Matthew 6:13). But it causes a lot of problems for people trying to understand it. Does God lead us into temptation, and, if He does, who are we to tell Him what to do?

The most popular opinion is that the Greek (which has three, rather than two, degrees of active/passive voice) suffered from a misinterpretation of the Aramaic, and that what Christ said actually meant “do not let us be led into temptation”.

There are direct Biblical contradictions in the idea that God might lead us to temptation. For example, St. James wrote: “When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone” (James 1:13). St. Augustine himself re-translated the passage, “Suffer [permit] us not to be brought into temptation”. If this interpretation makes sense to you or helps you in your prayer, by all means adopt it.

So the most popular interpretation is that the English version of the line is an incorrect translation of what Christ actually said. If that satisfies you, think of the meaning, “Help me not be led into temptation”, when you say it.

There is a second dispute over the passage which is a bit more arcane. Many people over the centuries have written that temptation is not necessarily bad for us. They argue that we must be tempted and overcome the temptation to build our character and strengthen our dedication to living well. It was the Holy Spirit, after all, who led Christ into the desert to be tempted by Satan. Again quoting St. James, ” Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” (James 1:3-5).

People who think that we should welcome temptation make a distinction between two meanings of “temptation”: Being tempted, in the sense of having temptation before you, is different from being delivered to temptation. In other words, they do not avoid temptation, but do want to avoid giving in to it.

For example, picture a married man whose wife is out of town, when an attractive woman at work begins to flirt with him. He would face temptation; however, if he walked away, he would not be “delivered” to it. On the other hand, picture the same man going into a motel room with the woman. He has not yet committed adultery, although he might be “lusting in his heart” (perhaps we should use a former US President from the State of Georgia for our analogy). Yet, he would have delivered himself to temptation. He would have taken a step toward fulfilling his lustful desire.

But these theological questions, despite the enormous debate and trouble they cause, can themselves become a barrier to faith. I try not to get hung up on such small questions. I would rather not be tempted and I have no problem asking God not to tempt me or not to let me be tempted. He knows how stupid I am and He knows that I am trying to pray in the way Christ taught us to pray.

My own interpretation, when I pray this line, is that God not answer any of my prayers that will result in increased temptation to sin. For example, I might pray (directly or indirectly) for some worldly item, or to be cured of some physical ailment. But it might be that getting what I ask for would be bad for my soul and tempt me to sin. There is an old saying, “Be careful; you might get what you wish for.”

But the important point is this: Do not let theological questions come between you and God. When you say the line “lead us not into temptation”, God understands that you are praying not to sin and that you are worried that you might give in to temptation. You don’t have to have a Ph.D. in theology to be a good Christian.

I am sure that when you pray the lines “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil”, if you are sincere, it doesn’t matter what your interpretation is. You are praying for God to help you resist evil, and that is what is important.