Whether we realize it or not, everyone who currently puts their faith and trust in God…. is “waiting on the way!” This precept will explain exactly what this phrase means and in the process will provide the most valuable information anyone could be focused on at this time!!
We are all familiar with Jesus’ statement at John 14:6. “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
If we were asked what Jesus meant by the term “the way,” most of us would logically assume he was referring to truth, however if that was his intent he would just be repeating himself. A deeper search reveals “the way” and “the truth” had different meanings…. together they represent the progressive factors that lead to “the life.”
The Greek words Jesus used in the older manuscripts precisely define his intended meanings in this much repeated, and very profound scripture. “Hodos” was used to express “the way”…. “Aletheia” was used to represent “the truth.” Aletheia is very clear, as it literally means truth. Understanding why he used hodos, on the other hand, requires knowledge of something that has been revealed exclusively in the last day’s roar of The Seven Thunders!
How people will be exposed to…. and learn the real truth that will lead to everlasting life…. is expressed in the word hodos! It means: a way, a road, a journey or path. In essence, it refers to the “musterion”…. which is the mystery or the sacred secret God declared to His servants the prophets! (Read Revelation 10:7)
The truth about this mystery (or as some translations more accurately render; “The Hidden Plan”) could never be known until the symbolic visions of the prophets have been explained in explicit detail. Understanding “the way” to “the truth” that will lead us to “the life” will be attained exactly as God said at Hosea 12:10. “I have spoken by the prophets, and have multiplied visions; I have given symbols through the witness of the prophets.”
The hidden plan of salvation God has in store for the children of Abraham (Galatians 3:28, 29) is described through the illustrations, likenesses and visions He told the prophets. The witness of every prophet reveals the details through symbolic stories and similitude events of ancient times!!! Because of this, every part of the bible provides knowledge that is essential for “the life” The Father has promised. Jesus is the only way to that promise…. which explains why Jesus is called The Word!
When the Lion of the tribe of Judah opened the 1st seal, The Seven Thunders roared with information that had been sealed up for centuries! (Revelation 10:4) An announcement or shamuwah, (which is the Hebrew word most translations have rendered; report, rumor or tidings) began to be heard world-wide! (Jeremiah 51:46) This report that has been referred to by various titles in the prophet’s symbolic visions…. announced and provided accurate understanding of the musterion, or God’s hidden way to the truth that will lead to life!
Those who have not read The Seven Thunders should be familiarized with the complex Greek word musterion because…. It applies to something that is quite unintelligible to the uninitiated but made crystal clear to the initiated by only, divine revelation. The complete definition of this word that most translations have rendered mystery is: “The thought or plan of God which is hidden from the world and kept secret to ordinary eyes, awaiting fulfillment or revelation at the appointed time, for those whom it is intended.”
When you begin to comprehend this mystery or sacred secret, you are actually beginning to understand the “hodos” or “the way” to your salvation! (Isaiah 62:8-12) (Isaiah 35:5-10)
If you carefully study the scriptures in the 4th Thunder you will learn the big difference between how men perceive the prophet’s constant reference to Jerusalem and the bible’s true meaning…. through its paradigmatic use of the word Jerusalem. You will understand what going to Zion really means and how it will enable all deserving people to gain the accurate knowledge of truth in a unified manner. (1st Corinthians 1:10) In order to understand that God’s designed method of learning truth will indeed, be for all people…. hidden identities that the religions of men have completely distorted are also scripturally unveiled in this Thunder. Just as Psalms 145:18 says: “The LORD is near to all who call upon Him in truth.”
Throughout The Seven Thunders you will learn about the events that will precede this future situation and every step that you will need to take in order to be a part of it. You will understand the proper time period when God will begin to give His people houses they didn’t build and vineyards they didn’t plant. You will know what God really means when He says; “I will create Jerusalem.”
(Isaiah 65:18, 19) “But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; For Behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing, and her people a joy.” “I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in My people; The voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her, nor the voice of crying.” “And My elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.”
Our God did not neglect to tell the prophets everything concerning how He will grant salvation to mankind! If we love and appreciate Him from the heart and not merely from the lips…. then diligently studying His Word will not be a chore, it will be a delight! (2nd Timothy 2:15-17, 22-25) (1st Corinthians 2:9 & 8:3)
As you learn the real meanings of the prophets, you will begin to realize the manner in which Jesus becomes our savior is totally different than the salvation theories men teach. This modern-day scenario was actually played out in Acts 17:18-21. The stoic philosophers of that day accused the truth spoken by Paul as being mere babble. These wise and prudent men were firmly entrenched in their own traditional style of worship therefore Paul’s Spirit inspired teachings were very strange to their ears.
Even though God’s future teaching and learning plan is the only perfectly fair way salvation could be carried out, most people will once again, discredit anything that sounds different than what their religions have taught them. This is why verse 30 of that chapter continues on to say: “Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent.”
The fact that God now requires all men everywhere to repent, or change their minds concerning what they believe…. should really get our attention, regardless of how sure we stand in our current beliefs! (1st Corinthians 10:12) As you recall, even the apostle Paul had to experience a complete change in practically everything he had believed his entire life. His change was made possible by an encounter with the spirit of Jesus on the road to Damascus. Paul came to the same realization that every truth seeking religious person will experience in the last days…. There is an abundance of truthful knowledge beyond what every religion of man currently teaches! If the man chosen to write most of the New Testament had to undergo this type of life-altering change of mind, should we expect anything different?
Acts 17:30 should arouse the desire of every honest truth seeker to investigate exactly what the religions of men are teaching! A good place to start would be a thorough examination of the word “repent.” This word is the root cause of one of the most misleading practices of men!
In the days of Alexander the Great, a language was installed called coine or common Greek. In order to understand the people he had begun ruling over, he made sure that every word in this language had only one meaning. Eventually, this language became the dominate language of the New Testament.
In 1611 the King James translation, translated the coine Greek word “metanoeo” as “repent.” The fact is…. these 2 words have very different meanings. Wikipedia confirms this by stating; “Translating metanoeo as repent has been deemed an utter mistranslation.”
Metanoeo is a compound word. “Meta” means change, “noeo” means “thinking.” This word is derived from “nous” which means “mind.” So, the single and only thing metanoeo means is “to change your thinking or in effect, change your mind.”
This sheds an entirely different light on the message John the Baptist was shouting from the wilderness! He was not telling the people to be regretful and sorry for their sins! He was telling them to “change their thinking” in regards to the will of God, because the kingdom of heaven was at hand. (Matthew 3:2) The king of that future kingdom was about to present real truth that would replace their nonsensical beliefs they had learned from men. John’s water baptism symbolized their acceptance of the fact…. the promised Messiah was in their presence! (Acts 19:4) The act of ascending up out of the water represented their new way of thinking. (Down with the old, up with the new)
Somewhere along the way, because of the mistranslation, someone came up the very misconstrued theory that baptism represented a repentance of sins. Sins, and the word repent, have nothing to do with metanoeo, and consequently nothing to do with the message John the Baptist was relating to the people!!! This confusion is very similar to the situation God caused at the tower of Babel. He confused the languages in order to separate, scatter and cause divisions among unrighteous people. (Genesis 11:5-9)
When a bible translation says they came to John and confessed their sins they were, in reality, realizing and confessing the fact their previous beliefs were wrong…. They were changing their thinking! The logical and truthful information the forerunner was preaching caused this change. This is the exact scenario of the days we are now living. Why? Because it is the basis of the last day’s Elijah message…. The prophesied to come, Voice from the Wilderness! (Malachi 4:5) (Matthew 11:14, 15) (Isaiah 40:3) Let him that has ears listen.
Being sorry and regretful for our sins, (which is the meaning of repent) or having them washed away with water baptism, will in no way eliminate them. We can all agree that turning completely away from sin then or now, is impossible for the human race. Therefore since we have already been born of water, people who teach that a public declaration of water baptism is mandatory for salvation are teaching a false doctrine. Jesus promised one of the thieves who died alongside him that he would be with him in paradise. Did Jesus require water baptism? No, he only required a heartfelt change of thinking!
The many people who will find this truth hard to believe and accept, should thoughtfully consider another very revealing response given by Jesus. At Matthew 21:23, 24 the chief priests asked Jesus , “By what authority are you doing these things? And who gave you this authority?” Jesus answered them in an unexpected yet very profound manner….“The baptism of John—- where was it from? From heaven or from men?” Because they didn’t know the proper answer, Jesus refused to give them any further information…. Anyone who can’t discern that water baptism is the work of men, will struggle to hear his knock at their door. Understanding the end-time truth is a gift from God that will never stop growing. When wisdom becomes your sister and understanding your kin, each piece of the puzzle will fit perfectly. When you open the door of your heart to Jesus, the meal of true knowledge will keep you from the smooth sayings and traditions of the crafty, immoral harlot! (Read the 7th chapter of Proverbs)
The significance of John the Baptist’s water baptism for our day was to establish a proper timing. The whole scenario allows us to understand that being born again with the spirit can only happen after the final day Elijah message has been recognized, accepted and taken into your heart!!! This is why John said at Matthew 3:11, “I baptize with water, but the one coming will baptize with Holy Spirit and fire.” They accepted Jesus in the flesh…. accepting Jesus in the spirit will be done through faith and belief in the accurate knowledge of The Word. (John 3:16) (John 20:29) This is certainly not accomplished by dipping our head under water!
If men’s “repentance of sins” theory of baptism was true, we would definitely have to ask the question; why would Jesus (a man without sin) tell John to baptize him? The answer further exposes the futility of water baptisms being performed today.
When Jesus came up out the water, The Father’s Holy Spirit immediately descended upon him and said; “This is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:16, 17)
The baptism of Jesus was actually done in order to symbolize how people would be baptized with spirit and prepared for the great and dreadful day of the LORD!
When a person recognizes and accepts The Way that is explained in the final-day unveiling of The Seven Thunders, he or she will be pleasing to The Father and therefore will be blessed with the guidance of The Holy Spirit! Even though it will not be physical or visible, it’s actually the baptism that John’s foreshadowed, and the one the bible has set forth as being essential for salvation! This spiritual baptism of our day will be strictly between God and an individual who has faith similar to Abraham’s. It will have nothing to do with making a public declaration in front of other people!
Jesus explained this at John 3:8. “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
This is a huge thing to understand, because it’s the most important ingredient of the end-times! This is why Jesus said his baptism would fulfill all righteousness! (Matthew 3:15)
The ceremonious repeating of water baptisms performed by men today is just another example of their complete lack of understanding and how they pick unripe grapes, or use up prophecy before its intended time for fulfillment. (Job 15:33-35) (Jeremiah 31:29, 30)
John the Baptist explained the time period when Jesus would baptize people with Holy Spirit and fire…. it would be at the harvest of the end-times! At that time, the wheat and the weeds would be separated and his threshing floor thoroughly cleaned! (Matthew 3:11, 12)
Jesus himself also made this time period clear in his parable of the wheat and the weeds at Matthew 13:26-43. When the owner’s servants asked him if he wanted them to pull up the weeds, the owner answered no, let both the wheat and the weeds grow together until the harvest. He then explained the harvest would come at the end of the age or at the conclusion of this system of things. At that time, The Word will separate people! The ones who understand and obey the end-time word will please The Father and will become Born of Spirit!! They will come under the direction of the Holy Spirit and be guided to the hodos, where they will learn all about God’s day of rest…. the real Sabbath! (Hebrews 4:1-13)
Jeremiah 31:31-40 describes this time period…. when the new covenant begins and the people of God’s true Israel are born again! (Isaiah 66:5-14) This is when the Jerusalem of prophecy will be created and sins are remembered no more!!! Jesus sacrificed his life in order for all people to have the opportunity to share and rejoice in this restoration of God’s original purpose for mankind. (Zechariah 2:10-13) (Acts 3:21)
Any person that turns their heart to The Word…. can become a part of God’s born again Israel! They will come under the protection of the Holy Spirit just like the bible’s example story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego! (Daniel 3)
“Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls.” “For I, says The LORD, will be a wall of fire all around her, and I will be the glory in her midst.” (Zechariah 2:4, 5)
The many people that are just too proud to admit their beliefs are wrong and refuse to take the end-time Elijah message into their heart will face the consuming fire of God’s wrath! Hence the prophesied baptism of Holy Spirit and Fire will be fulfilled!
“For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, and all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up,” says the LORD of hosts, that will leave them neither root nor branch.”
“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD.”
“And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.” (Malachi 4:1, 5, 6)
These scriptures stress how vital the truth in the Elijah message of our day really is. When the 1st seal was opened, the revelation of Christ began. The end-time forerunner message was presented for the world to read, via a flying scroll hurling through cyberspace…. exactly as Zechariah’s prophetic vision foretold! (Zechariah 5) When the 2nd seal is opened, the woman in the basket, or the harlot of Babylon the Great, will be silenced! (Zech. 5:8) (Habakkuk 2:16) Our daily news indicates she is being targeted the world over as we speak! When the events of Revelation 17:15-17 begin full scale, religious confusion will abound everywhere. As Jesus said; the sign of our times, the sign of Jonah, will engulf the world. (Matthew 16:4)
Without the end-time Elijah message, the hearts of the fathers and the children of God’s called out ecclesia could not become unified under one line of thought. (Revelation 1:20 & chapters 2&3)
The real church or congregation of Christ, which has been unknown and spread out over the entire earth, will not remain divided in their beliefs! Exactly as the 2nd & 3rd chapters of Revelation describe…. They will overcome false teachings!! They will no longer shop around for a pastor, church, or religion that meets their own desires and demands…. They will accept God’s way and thrive under the guidance of The Holy Spirit!
God further solidified the last part of the days timing when He said, “The headstone and plummet line (the end-time Elijah message) must be brought forth in order that I may not come and strike the earth with a devoting of it to destruction!” It was the same in Noah’s day…. God couldn’t justify striking the entire population because there was Noah. Therefore, because of his righteousness and willingness to obey, Noah and his family were provided a way to escape the flood while the people who ignored God, remained in it. (Genesis 6:5-9)
The clear bible message for the time we are now living is the same as it was in John the Baptist’s era…. Recognize the truth that will set you free from the lies men have developed through their scripture twisting and money-making schemes! (2nd Peter 3:14-18) (Micah 3:11)
The urgency of this recognition will escalate not many days from now…. when the symbolic fiery red horse is loosed…. and God’s plagues will take peace away from the earth. (Revelation 6:4)
“His winnowing fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly clean out his threshing floor, and gather his wheat into the barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” (Matthew 3:12)
The harvest has begun…. The separating tool is working in your midst…. The threshing floor is being cleaned! The fire of the great day of our God is heating up!
Now is the time to…. CHANGE YOUR THINKING!!!
“Wait on the LORD, and keep His way, and He shall exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are cut off, you shall see it.” (Psalms 37:34)
“Therefore the LORD will wait, that He may be gracious to you, and therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you. For the LORD is a God of justice; blessed are those who wait for Him.”
“For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem; you shall weep no more. He will be very gracious to you at the sound of your cry; when He hears it, He will answer you.”
“And though the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your teachers will not be moved into a corner anymore, but your eyes shall see your teachers.”
“Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, This is the way, walk in it.” (Isaiah 30:18-21)
“This is what Jehovah of armies has said, ‘Although it should seem too difficult in the eyes of the remaining ones of this people in those days, should it seem too difficult also in my eyes?’
“Here I am saving my people from the land of the sunrise and from the land of the setting of the sun.”
“And I shall certainly bring them in, and they must reside in the midst of Jerusalem; and they must become my people, and I myself shall become their God in trueness and in righteousness.”
“Let the hands of you people be strong, you who are hearing in these days these words from the mouth of the prophets.” (Zechariah 8:6-9)
“Therefore wait for me,” says the LORD, until the day I rise up for plunder. My determination is to gather the nations to my assembly of kingdoms, to pour on them my indignation, all my fierce anger; All the earth will be devoured with the fire of my jealousy.” “For then I will restore to the peoples a pure language, that they may call on the name of the LORD, to serve him with one accord.” (Zephaniah 3:8, 9)
“And being assembled together with them, he commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, you have heard from me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit, not many days from now.” (Acts 1:4)
AND GOD WILL SAY, “THESE ARE MY PEOPLE…. WITH WHOM I AM WELL PLEASED.”
THE “HODOS” WILL BE WORTH THE WAIT!!!!
Thank you for explaining baptisms according to scriptures instead of traditional beliefs!