- araratchurch
- Feb 20, 2024
- 6 min read
Updated: Mar 8, 2024
”This is what the Lord says: “Stop at the crossroads and look around. Ask for the old, godly way, and walk in it. Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls. But you reply, ‘No, that’s not the road we want!’ I posted watchmen over you who said, ‘Listen for the sound of the alarm.’ But you replied, ‘No! We won’t pay attention!’ Therefore, this is what the Lord says: “I will put obstacles in my people’s path. Fathers and sons will both fall over them. Neighbors and friends will die together.”“
Jeremiah 6:16-17, 21 NLT
If you’ve ever used a directions app, you know that if you miss a turn you were supposed to take, it will re-calculate the route in order to still get you to your desired destination. But, what if your destination was a castle for which there was only one way in—a drawbridge—and you stopped short of it? What if, at the entrance to the drawbridge, you turned and went to the right or to the left? There would be no other route for you to make it to the castle. You’d have to go back to the point of departure, back to the drawbridge, and go across it to reach the castle, rather than taking the path to the right or left.
In the story of Jacob, we see that his first real encounter with the Lord was at Bethel as he was on the run from his brother, Esau. You may remember that it was at that point in time he had seen the ladder from heaven to earth, with angels, ascending and descending on it, and the Lord standing at the top of the ladder, speaking to him. There the Lord reiterated the covenant He had made to Jacob’s father and grandfather. In response to this experience, Jacob made a vow to the Lord.
”Then Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put at his head, set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on top of it. And he called the name of that place Bethel; but the name of that city had been Luz previously. Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, so that I come back to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God. And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You.”“
Genesis 28:18-22 NKJV
After having this experience at Bethel, Jacob married, had children, and became very wealthy. But with all that, he also had become compromised by being associated with idols, the worship of idols. Sadly, that idolatry had actually begun in his own home with his wife, Rachel.
[Laban, said to Jacob:]
”I can understand your feeling that you must go, and your intense longing for your father’s home. But why have you stolen my gods?” “I rushed away because I was afraid,” Jacob answered. “I thought you would take your daughters from me by force. But as for your gods, see if you can find them, and let the person who has taken them die! And if you find anything else that belongs to you, identify it before all these relatives of ours, and I will give it back!” But Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen the household idols.“
Genesis 31:30-32 NLT
But, there came a time when the Lord spoke to Jacob that he must go back to where his journey with the Lord had all begun, back to Bethel.
”Then God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there; and make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from the face of Esau your brother.” And Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Put away the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves, and change your garments. Then let us arise and go up to Bethel; and I will make an altar there to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me in the way which I have gone.” So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods which were in their hands, and the earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the terebinth tree which was by Shechem. So Jacob came to Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him. And he built an altar there and called the place El Bethel, because there God appeared to him when he fled from the face of his brother.“
Genesis 35:1-4, 6-7 NKJV
As we see in the above scripture, the first thing Jacob did was to have all the people rid themselves of all semblances of foreign gods. As well, they put on new garments.
Yes, when Jacob returned to Bethel, the Lord renewed His covenant with him and reiterated Jacob’s name change to Israel.
Jacob’s only way back on course was to return to where it all began, return to the point before the foreign gods were introduced.
Now, back to our castle and drawbridge example: The same principle would apply if there was something blocking access to the drawbridge. There would be no alternate route; the only hope of getting to the castle would be for the obstacle to be removed.
There came a time when the child of promise, Isaac, had apparently become an obstacle to Abraham walking fully into the blessings of the covenant. That obstacle was removed when the Lord saw that Abraham was willing to sacrifice Isaac. Past that point, there would never again be any question as to Abraham’s unwavering devotion to the Lord.
”At that moment the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Yes,” Abraham replied. “Here I am!” “Don’t lay a hand on the boy!” the angel said. “Do not hurt him in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son.”“
Genesis 22:11-12 NLT
As you will recall, on Day 18 of our consideration of my spiritual journey, I shared that I had renounced—in no uncertain terms—any connection I had to the heretical “Kingdom Now” message espoused by a close family member. And, as I have shared with you more than once, I had no idea I had any attachment to that message.
And, I had no idea that that connection was an obstacle, or somehow had caused a point of departure. I had no idea that I could not go further in the call of God on my life until it was removed, or my course corrected, by my being totally divorced from association with that doctrine, as well as the constellation of evil behavior entered into by the individuals purveying it.
I also told you that there was one more scene to the spiritual journey. I will share that with you now.
After this very dramatic and powerful renunciation, someone else appeared in the scene who I knew to have borne false witness against me. At the point that I was in the process of gathering a group of witnesses in front of whom I was going to confront this individual, I was stopped by seeing a scene taking place over to the side. I saw my father looking as he did when I was a little girl. He was standing in front of an old-school telephone to answer it. Someone in the vision spoke to me, saying that Demos (our cousin who founded the Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship International) was calling my father, and I stopped what I was doing to see what would come out of the call. Oddly enough, that’s where the spiritual journey, and all the visions associated with it, ended.
The Lord later spoke to me that this was illustrating a point of reset for my calling. I do know why the Lord used that scene to illustrate the point of reset, and that will suffice. But what you must know concerning yourself, is that in your walk with the Lord, if anything has gotten you off track, or anything is blocking your further progress, it will have to be dealt with, and dealt with mercilessly. We must have no affection for anything that stands between us and the Lord, stands between us and our calling.
In our opening scripture we see the Lord’s last ditch attempt to get His people to go back to their point of departure. Tragically, we know that they would not return at this point in time, and destruction awaited them.
We must not hesitate when the Lord deals with us that there has been a departure from what He wanted or that a blockage has come in our walk. We must get it right by allowing the Lord to help us return to the point of departure and/or decisively remove what stands between us and Him. Everything depends of doing this!
Tomorrow I will begin sharing with you some additional insights concerning the spiritual journey.
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!
- araratchurch
- Feb 19, 2024
- 3 min read
This week we will continue looking into the spiritual journey I recently experienced during a severe illness. In preparation for our discussion over the coming days please carefully read and meditate on these passages of scripture:
”Then Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put at his head, set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on top of it. And he called the name of that place Bethel; but the name of that city had been Luz previously. Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, so that I come back to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God. And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You.”“
Genesis 28:18-22 NKJV
”Then God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there; and make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from the face of Esau your brother.” And Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Put away the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves, and change your garments. Then let us arise and go up to Bethel; and I will make an altar there to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me in the way which I have gone.” So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods which were in their hands, and the earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the terebinth tree which was by Shechem. So Jacob came to Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him. And he built an altar there and called the place El Bethel, because there God appeared to him when he fled from the face of his brother.“
Genesis 35:1-4, 6-7 NKJV
”This is what the Lord says: “Stop at the crossroads and look around. Ask for the old, godly way, and walk in it. Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls. But you reply, ‘No, that’s not the road we want!’ I posted watchmen over you who said, ‘Listen for the sound of the alarm.’ But you replied, ‘No! We won’t pay attention!’ Therefore, this is what the Lord says: “I will put obstacles in my people’s path. Fathers and sons will both fall over them. Neighbors and friends will die together.”“
Jeremiah 6:16-17, 21 NLT
””Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh. Announce my judgment against it because I have seen how wicked its people are.” But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the Lord. He went down to the port of Joppa, where he found a ship leaving for Tarshish. He bought a ticket and went on board, hoping to escape from the Lord by sailing to Tarshish.“
Jonah 1:2-3 NLT
”Then the Lord spoke to Jonah a second time: “Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh, and deliver the message I have given you.” This time Jonah obeyed the Lord’s command and went to Nineveh, a city so large that it took three days to see it all.“
Jonah 3:1-3 NLT
Over the course of the last 18 days I’ve shared with you the destinations and the cast of characters in my spiritual journey. Lord willing, over the next five days we’ll pull it all together. But know this, at some point or another you may need a “reset;” and God knows just how to make that happen!
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!
- araratchurch
- Feb 17, 2024
- 5 min read
”Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.“
Hebrews 12:1-2 NKJV
When I change the calendar over at the beginning of each new month, the Lord gives me a scripture and/or some direction in terms of what the month will hold. The thing is, when December was over, I went four or five days into January without changing over to the new month. It was as if there was some resistance on the inside of me, some dread in terms of January 2024, but I didn’t know exactly what it was.
When I finally did turn the calendar over, the Lord spoke to me to write, “The Lord sees and knows and will disclose.” As well, I wrote, “What was hidden is seen,” and at the top of the calendar I wrote the word the Lord had given us for 2024: “Resolve.” I was also led to write the word, “pivot” on January 25. I did not know that this was the day of the Jewish New Year for Trees.
Now, the reason that holiday is significant, is that the Lord had spoken to my sons about that indicating the season Ararat Church was entering in 2024: a season of harvest, and of eating the fruit.
When I wrote “pivot” on the 25th day of the January calendar, I had no way of knowing what the 10 days preceding January 25 would hold.
As you know, the spiritual journey experience happened during an extreme illness my husband and I had starting the week before the week of the 25th. Amazingly, it was on the 25th that I would experience the last destination in the spiritual journey. The day of “pivot” would certainly be just that.
Yesterday I shared with you about the movement sometimes referenced as “Kingdom Now.” And, as I have said, I had close relatives who were very influential in that movement. However, I never embraced that theology. I have always continued to look for the coming of Jesus Christ. I have always continued to know that the answer to the ills of the world are in the rule and reign of Christ. And, the Lord had shown me several years ago that the message I was born to give is: Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!
This fourth destination would put me face to face with the spirit behind the Kingdom Now movement, or any other persuasion, minimizing or denying the actual return and rule of Christ.
This destination would be different. I was no longer just an observer.
The scenario started off with me preparing a meal for some of my family members on my father’s side. Suddenly—to my surprise—some relatives from the other side of my family showed up. One was dressed in “Vatican” level regalia. With this person was someone I also know, although in this scenario, they looked nothing like they have ever looked before. But, I knew who they were even though they appeared to be dressed as a satanic priest. Their head, face and neck, were completely covered in tattoos.
At first I thought that this whole presentation was some kind of a bad joke, but I came to realize it was anything but a joke.
Behind the person dressed in Vatican regalia was a big, “beautiful” coffin, floating at this person’s shoulder level. It seemed that all of the orders were coming out of this coffin, and being carried out by the satanic priest. At one point the satanic priest lifted me up in the air even with the level of the coffin. I began to say out loud, “Why isn’t anyone helping me?”
This was some kind of ceremony in which I was suddenly and forcibly being involved. But, all of a sudden, the Holy Spirit rose up in me. I began to say, “I am the Heavenly Priesthood!”
[As an aside here, I will remind you that Armenia was the first Christian nation. As well, my father‘s family was saved from the Armenian genocide through their coming to the United States because of a prophetic warning from a boy prophet.
Many years ago, the Lord began to speak to me about the Armenian people saying that the Armenian people were the “Heavenly Priesthood.” I had no way of knowing that this was spoken to the early leaders of the Christian Armenians. What that title means is that the Armenian people were meant to be a prophetic voice in the earth, particularly in terms of the Last Days before the coming of Jesus Christ. Indeed, my paternal grandfather was a mighty prophet of God.]
I continued saying. “I am the Heavenly Priesthood,” repeatedly. As well, I began to speak to the Vatican figure and satanic priest saying, “I am not a part of you! I have no part in you.!” I kept repeating this over and over again, finally saying, “You are not from the Lord, I have no part with you.” At that point, these two people huffed out and were gone.
I will leave that where it is for today. What I want you to understand from this part of my spiritual journey is that although you may start off acquiring a general knowledge of God and His ways, a general understanding of what the Lord wants, what the Lord requires from those who are His, at some point or another, the Lord will “zero in” on what is in you that is keeping you, or could keep you, from fulfilling your calling.
As I have said, I had no idea that this that had been amongst family members could affect, or was in any way affecting me. But, as the Lord had me write on the January calendar, “The Lord sees and knows and will disclose.” Apparently, I had to be brought to the place of seeing this that was in my family, exactly as it is. I had to renounce it and completely divorce myself from any part of it, while, at the same time, embracing my calling.
Our opening scripture speaks of laying aside the weight and sin that so easily ensnares (traps) us. God brought me through the spiritual journey to this place of renunciation of this terrible heresy. And, although the experience was not something I ever would have signed up for, I am so grateful to God that He brought me through it, saved my life yet once more, and has given me such a vital message for the Church as we navigate these Last Days before the coming of Jesus Christ.
I will have more to say about the final destination of the spiritual journey; but this must suffice for today.
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!