March 23, 2024
William P Goff
(I know Purim is not a commanded Feast to keep, but I was asked to speak on that day, so this is the message I gave.)
Purim, also called the Feast of Lots, is a Biblical Jewish festival with many customs. It commemorates how ancient Jews were spared from massacre during the Persian Empire, when Esther (a Jew) became the queen of Persia, or ancient Iran (fifth century BCE)
Esther convinced her husband the King of Persia to stop his anti-Semitic advisor Haman from annihilating the Jewish people. It all ended with Haman being hanged on the gallows that had originally been arranged for Esther’s caregiver, Mordecai.
Haman was not the first or the last to try and exterminate the Jewish people.
King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon tried in vain.
Haman’s own ancestors, the Amalekites also tried in vain.
Then there was the Roman Empire in the second century.
Byzantine Empire in the seventh century.
(Someone after that – I forget his name.)
And Adolph Hitler in the 20th century.
But none were successful. Why? Because the Jews (the Israelites in general) are our Creator’s people. Sometimes called His “peculiar” people. and He has a very special plan for them. His plan is to restore the coming Kingdom to Israel. They will be the ones ruling with our Lord in the coming millennium.
In (Acts 1:6) the Disciples asked our Lord: “Will you at this time restore again the Kingdom to Israel?”
In my message today, I want to focus on how close we are to the fulfillment of that restoration, the “setting up” (or the establishing) of the soon coming Kingdom of Heaven.
Many don’t realize it, but the Kingdom of Heaven hasn’t been established yet.
We pray: “Thy Kingdom Come”. But that Kingdom has not even been set up yet. How could it, when many of its officials (who will be given positions in His Kingdom) are still asleep in the grave, like the Apostles, the Saints or Firstfruits? The Scriptures clearly show that the establishment of His coming Kingdom, is a future event, (but an event that is soon to be fulfilled.)
But before we move on and look at the Scriptures that elaborate on how close we are to the establishment of His coming Kingdom (which by the way will take place up on the “Sea of Glass”), I first want to mention one of the many customs celebrated during Purim.
This particular custom pertains to our Father’s “peculiar” people, the True church, the “Ekklesia” and has much to do with the “setting up” of His (soon) coming Kingdom. The custom of Purim that I’m referring to is: The giving to people in need. (That was one of the many customs performed on Purim.)
In (Galatians 6:10) we are told to: “do good unto all men, especially to those of the household of faith.) It is those with “love” and outgoing concern for others who are those “peculiar” people of God that will be part of the establishing of the coming Kingdom,
That word “peculiar” is Strong’s # G4041. It is used only twice in the New Testament, and it means: “being beyond usual, special, one’s own, peculiar.“
(Titus 2:14) further describes the “peculiar” people of God.
Breaking in here (Titus 2:14) we read concerning our Lord:
“Who gave Himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. Yes, God’s “peculiar” people are “zealous of good works.”
In (James 1:27) we are told that “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is to visit (relieve – look out for) the fatherless (orphans) and the widows in their afflictions (anguish – burdens – troubles) AND to keep oneself unspotted from the world.
“Keeping oneself unspotted from the world” is another “trait” that identifies His “peculiar” people.
In (1 Peter 2:9) we read: “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:.”
It is those who come out of darkness and into His marvelous light, those who keep themselves unspotted from the world, who are His “Peculiar” people. And it is His “peculiar” people who will soon be participating in the establishment of the coming Kingdom of Heaven.
Now let’s go back and focus on the Scriptures that elaborate on that, and on just how close we are to the “setting up” of His coming Kingdom. The book of Daniel tells us of a dream that King Nebuchadnezzar (The King of Babylon) had. He dreamt of a “Great Statue”.
Our Creator gave the King that dream to reveal all the world ruling empires that were to come and rule this earth.
(If you’re not familiar with that story, you can read Daniel chapter 2 later.)
The Head of Gold was “Babylon” (First world ruling empire.)
Then there were the Medo-Persians, the Greeks, the Romans… All came and went.
ALL, except the “last” world ruling empire, Represented by the ten “toes” of the Great Image in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, the ten Kings.
Those ten Kings have not come into power yet, but as we shall see, they soon will.
It is “during” the reign of those ten Kings, that the Kingdom of Heaven will “finally” be established.
(Daniel 2:44) “And in the days of these kings (The ten toes of that “Great Image” in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.) “In the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up (Strong’s # 6966 appoint, or establish) a kingdom (The Kingdom we have been praying for) which shall never be destroyed and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.”
Yes, The Kingdom of Heaven will soon be established, during the reign of the soon coming (and soon to be empowered) 10 Kings. Oh, did I mention that all the above events will happen soon? Yes, and sooner than most realize.
What most don’t realize, is that those ten Kings are already present. Our Lord says: “He comes Quickly. And He says for us to be watching.
Prophecy today is being fulfilled right in front of our eyes, and accelerating at an alarming rate.The signs of the times in which we are living consist not only of an increase in “lawlessness”, “unprecedented” trouble, and “Apocalyptic” catastrophes. (Which we see increasing all around this world every day.) But we also see the rising of the Beast power. As the U. S. continues to decline, and the new world powers continue to rise up.
The Scripture is very clear, there will be ten Kings rising up to take charge of this entire world, and they will give their power to the Beast. The Beast that will fight against our Lord (and those who are with Him, His saints) at His coming. One of those Kings can clearly be seen today, ruling over the entire continent of Africa.
In 2007 Kenya had riots which affected all of East Africa. Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, Tanzania, Somalia, the Congo were all affected by the riots in Kenya. The port in Mombasa, Kenya was closed.
The Kenya riots needed to be stopped, and the port needed to be reopened.
At that time Kenya had joined what is called the African Union (AU), a continental body trying to unite all of Africa. (The AU is one of the ten Kings.) They are headquartered in South Africa, and came to Nairobi, back in 2007 hoping to stop the riots, but they could not. Why? Because they had no power yet.
(Revelation 17:12-13) “And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.
These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.”
Now, all 54 Countries in Africa have not only joined the African Union, but have also given their powers to it. As in Kenya, all summits (meetings between heads of various foreign countries) have ended. The AU now speaks for Kenya. The AU now speaks for Africa.
The ten kings (as well as the two feet) are part of “Iron”, and part of Clay” (not a good bond.) (Daniel 2:42)
Not all the countries of Africa joined happily, but had no choice.
Now we know from the parable of the fig tree (Matthew 24:32-33) that “when its branch is tender, and putteth forth leaves, that summer is nigh“, “and likewise when ye see all these things” we know that His return is near “even at the doors”.
Brethren, we are not living at the time our Lord “Yahshua” began to build His church… We are living at the time when He will complete it. The midnight cry” of (Matthew 25:6) is approaching. The “Cry” that will awaken all 10 virgins (unmarried daughters) will annouce that “the bridegroom cometh, go ye out to meet him”.
That “Midnight Cry” of (Matthew 25:6) is the same cry of (Revelation 10:3) And that cry is approaching.
(Revelation 10:1-3) “And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire:
Rev 10:2 And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth,
(Whatever this mighty angel is going to say or do will affect the whole world.)
Rev 10:3 And cried (same cry as (Matthew 25:6) with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices”
Now we may not know exactly what the seven thunders are, but we do know exactly when they will sound. Soon as the “Cry” is made, they utter their voices.
Now the USA is in bad shape, and we know it is going down, as the Beast power rises up. (The US will soon receive a knockout blow. It’s coming.) That knockout blow may come from the “seven thunders”.
In (Isaiah 17:1) we are told that Damascus (the capital of Syria) will become a “ruinous heap”. (The significance of Damascus is that it’s the oldest inhabited city in the world) (It represents the world.) (And it’s soon to be a ruinous heap.)
(It’s now ending its seventh year, and into its eighth year of civil war.)
And in verse 3 of Isaiah 17 it says: “A fortress (or fortified city) of Ephraim shall “cease” (bring or come to an end.)
If the USA is Ephraim (which some very strongly believe) our “fortified city” will be destroyed.
The fortified city of the USA, is Norfolk Virginia which headquarters all five branches of our military – Army, Navy Air force, Marines, and Coast Guard are all headquartered there. (I recently heard that one branch, the Coast Guard, moved their entire operation to higher ground, due to a Tsunami threat.
The Canary Islands threaten the entire East Coast of the USA, (which includes Norfolk Virginia.) Located on the West Coast of Africa, the Canary Island has a large chunk of real-estate hanging over the Atlantic Ocean, which scientists say will eventually plunge into the sea, causing a 100 foot tsunami. (That tsunami would wipe out Norfolk Virginia.)
In (Matthew 24:7) our Lord tells us that earthquakes in these end times will be in “divers” places. Now if you read the commentaries, no one seems to understand what our Lord meant by earthquakes being in “divers” places, (but we can.)
That word “divers” is Strong’s # G2596 meaning: “downward motion” It’s the same Greek word used in (Matthew 8:32) where our Lord cast those daemons into a herd of swine that ran violently “down” a “steep place” into the sea.
Today earthquakes are classified into three groups: A, B, and C. One is “horizontal” movement of the earth (causing no damage.) Another is “upward” movement, causing Tsunamis. And the 3rd classification is “downward” movement of the earth, which is the most common type today, Yes, the most common type of earthquake today in these end times, is where the earth moves downward, just like our Lord predicted “divers” downward movement. These “divers” earthquakes are causing Lava in the volcanoes to rise up. Few are aware, but every super volcano on planet earth today has its lava rising (a sure sign of eruption according to all scientists)
The Canary Island (where this chunk of land is hanging over the sea) also has one of these volcanoes (and it reported to show signs of erupting.)
There’s a funny thing about some of the other Greek words used back in (Matthew 8:32) concerning those swine running “downward” (divers) into the sea.
That verse uses the words“violently” “down” a “steep place” into the sea.)
Violently G3729 “to plunge,” (the same thing the scientists say that land mass will do.)
Steep Place G2911 meaning = overhanging (same as that chunk of real-estate “overhanging” the Atlantic Ocean.)
Yes, this is speculation, but the scientists all agree that the chunk of land on the Canary Island that is “overhanging” the Atlantic Ocean that will cause catastrophic damage to the east Coast of the USA is not an “IF” it happens, but “When” it happens. They say all it will take is a powerful earthquake, and according to Scripture, powerful earthquakes are coming.
Another potential catastrophe for the USA is the super volcano in Yellowstone. Last time Yellowstone erupted its ash reached the jet stream and was carried westward. (We know this because its ash is found all along the Pacific Coast.) But if Yellowstone erupts again, its ash will bypass the jet stream, and enter the “ionosphere” or “stratosphere” (I forget which)
(We know this because (Matthew 24:21) tells us that what is coming will be “worse” than ever before.)
Brethren I’m not here today to scare anyone…. I’m here today to remind us that (the peculiar people of God) (The called, chosen and faithful people of God) need to have our High Calling on the front burner of our lives. Remember, we are “sojourners” here. This is NOT our permanent residence. We are looking to reside in the city whose builder and maker is God. And that City is coming. Again, we are NOT living at the time that our Lord began to build His church; we are living at the time when He is going to complete it. And you might want to check on that word “complete” found in (Leviticus 23:15) it’s Strong’s # H 8549. This word normally refers to our Lord, but in (Leviticus 23:15) it’s referring to us, the church; the condition we need to be in before the day of Pentecost.
Now Much caution needs to be taken here because we are also living at the time when there is much (way too much) “complacency” in the church.
A time when many are “lukewarm” (a condition that our Lord hates.)
A time when the anointing with the Laodicean eyesalve is in High demand.
There is a Huge work ahead for the church. The church is also called His “witnesses”. And they are “the salt of the earth” and “the light of the world”.
During the time of the Great Tribulation, this world is going to be very confused…. Not only will God’s two anointed ones be witnessing to this world (preaching repentance) but the man of sin and the false prophet will also be performing their “lying wonders” (2 Thessalonians 2:9)
This will be a very confusing time for the inhabitants of this world, But the church will be there witnessing also, helping their neighbors understand who are God’s witnesses, and who is the false prophet, and man of sin. That’s why He has His church scattered all around this world today, preparing us for the Huge work that is coming.
In (Revelation 11:4) the two witnesses are described or defined. (And they are not only two men.) “These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.” Trees represent men, but candlesticks always represent the church.)
In (Daniel 11:32) Speaking of the time of the Great Tribulation is says: “Those who do wickedly against the covenant he shall corrupt with flattery; but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits.”
Those great exploits will be carried out for all the world to see, and many will repent during the great Tribulation.
Let me ask a question here, what comes directly after repentance? Peter says “Repent, be baptized, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Our Lord changes not. In (John 3:5) we are told: “Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water (that’s baptism) and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”
In (Mark 16:16) our Lord says: “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.” If you think two men are going to baptize all those that come out of Great Tribulation, think again. (That will be the work of the church.)
Now, as mentioned earlier, the restoration of the coming Kingdom to Israel will take place up on the “Sea of Glass”, so let’s go up there and notice a few things.
In (Revelation 15:1-2) we can see exactly when this restoration (the establishment of the coming Kingdom) will take place, and exactly who will be there receiving the positions they will hold in the coming Kingdom.
(Revelation 15:1) “And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God.” (Verse 2) And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.”
This is talking about the saints being up on the Sea of Glass after being resurrected. The timing here is when the “seven angels” have the “seven last plagues” which is the “Day of the Lord” when the “wrath of God” will be poured out on this earth.
That day comes directly after the Great Tribulation. (God does not pour out His wrath on His children.) They will be up on the Sea of Glass, it will be the “first resurrection”.
We can see the timing of the “first resurrection” in (Revelation 11:7-12)
After the two witnesses finish their witnessing, they will be killed by the beast, and their dead bodies will lie in the street of Jerusalem for 3 ½ days. But then the Spirit of Life from God will enter into them, and they will ascend up into the clouds, (up to the Sea of Glass.) And not only them, but all those who will be in the first resurrection will at that time be resurrected from their graves. and those who are alive will be changed at the twinkling of an eye. (That includes some that are with us today.)
Remember when our Lord ascended from the Mount of Olives, as He was taken up into the clouds? Remember what those two angels said as the disciples stood there staring up into the clouds? Back in (Acts 1:11) They said: “Ye men of Galilee this same Jesus which is taken up into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go up into heaven.”
Interesting thing, all the disciples (bar one) were Galileans. Only Judas Iscariot was not Galilean, he was Judean. Galilean means “circuit” or “inner circle”. This time it will be the witnesses, the disciples and the rest of the saints ascending up into the clouds. (This is the First Resurrection.)
“And their enemies beheld” (see) them. (Revelation 11:12)
Brethren all this will occur during the reign of the now forming Beast Power. We elaborated on Africa — How about the other nine Kings – nine regions?)
Why do they want an open border between U.S. and Mexico? Because USA, Mexico & Canada will be one entity – another one of the 10 Kings.
(Google it. The “Asian Union, the North American Union, the African Union and whoever the rest are, are also alive and well.)
Let’s notice one more thing, (a very important thing) Let’s notice the one thing that all those who will be standing there up on that Sea of Glass have in common.
(Revelation 15:2) says it will be “them that have gotten the victory” who will be there. Those six words come from only one Greek word: Strong’s # 3528 is “conquer” – “overcomes” – “victor.”
IF we want to be there, we have to overcome.
(Nothing new here, all seven churches are told: “To him that overcometh, will I give this and grant that.)
IF we want to be there, we have to be a giver, and have outgoing concern for our fellow man, (The sheep will enter into the Kingdom, the goats will not.)
IF we want to be there, we have to make (and keep) our garments white.
(Sinners will not be there.) (1 Corinthians 6:9) and (Galatians 5:21) Make that perfectly clear.
So let’s keep our High Calling on the front burner of our lives, and be those “peculiar” people of our God.