God in History

Colossians 1:1-2

Col-022

We are studying Colossians 1:1-2. Our subject is "The Salutation," number 22.

The Apostle Paul, we have seen, prays for special blessing on the Christians in the name of God our Father. The Bible has several names for God which reveal His characteristics. The names of God set Him apart from all other rational beings in the universe. As you go through the Bible, there are a variety of names, all of them significant in their meaning, and all of them used at a certain point in the Bible because of what those names mean.

Now, those who do not know what the Bible reveals about God, create a God in the image of their own sin natures. This is quite evident when we look at the gods of mythology. The gods that we read about in Greek and Roman mythology are gods who have all the terrible characteristics and frailties of the sin nature of man, because people have invented those gods in their own image. The unmitigated arrogance of unbelievers is shown by their flippant treatment of God, and not the least of which is the name of God. The most corrupt, and the most degraded, politicians may speak to the nation on TV, and then end their message and their comments with "God bless you." It is a travesty, and the Almighty does not take that use of His name very kindly. This is one of the great examples of what the Bible forbids us to do – to take the name of God in vain.

So, when he (Paul) did something for these Christians in the name of God our Father, as we have seen in the previous session, this is a very significant person. And to speak this name is no little thing. This is what is so appalling – that our society uses the name of God in curse words and in flippant ways. This is the unmitigated arrogance of sinful man to use God as if He is a meaningless personality to be manipulated for their evil purposes.

So ultimately, after all is said and done, how should we view God in terms of His revelation in Himself in the Bible? Today I would like to direct your attention to one very significant expression of that name. In the Hebrew Bible, it looks like this. And in Hebrew you always write from right to left. You go backwards from what we do in English.

El Elyon

This is the Hebrew name for God, translated as "El Elyon Elohim" (el-o-heem'). This part "El" is an abbreviation for the name of God from the word "Elohim." And this part, "Elyon," is the name of God from "Elohim," and "Elyon" means "highest." This is a most significant name of God. "El Elyon" means God the highest, or generally in the Bible it's translated as "the Most High God."

Now, that is a name that God has devised for Himself. That probably sums up everything that we have learned about Him in of the Scripture; in all accounts; and, in every direction. El Elyon connotes supreme strength. It is the one who is the strongest of the strong. It is indeed the omnipotent God. And I'll guarantee you that anything Satan can do to keep people from knowing God in this respect, he will do. This is the one name of God, and it is the one characteristic of God, of all the others that are there, that Satan does not want people to know. He would do everything he can to keep people from being under the instruction at any particular point in time, that talks about God as the El Elyon – the Most High God, because this very quickly puts Satan in his place, and it gives us full perspective on the limitations of the arch enemy of the Almighty.

Psalm 18:13-15 uses this name of God. Psalm 18:13: "The Lord also thundered in the heavens, and the Most High ('El Elyon) uttered His voice – hail stones and coals of fire. And He sent out His arrows and scattered them, and the lightning flashes in abundance, and routed them. Then the channels of water appeared, and the foundations of the world were laid bare. At Your rebuke, O Lord: at the blast of the breath of Your nostrils." Here you have a picture of "El Elyon" in His almighty power, relative to His control over the elements of nature.

Now, this is indeed the most dramatic demonstration of God in His ultimate omnipotence. He is in supreme control of everything that He has created in the universe. That's important for us to realize. God is omnipotent. He is the Most High God. There's no one above Him. There's no one that can, in any way, outsmart Him. There is no one who is going to out-maneuver Him. This name sets God apart, above all other names from all lesser beings.

Melchizedek

Now, Melchizedek attributes Abraham's great victory over superior forces when he was rescuing his nephew, Lot, to "El Elyon." Genesis 14:20: "And blessed be God Most high, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand." When Lot was taken by the enemies of God, because he chose to live among them, Abraham went out and rescued him. And Melchizedek says, "Abraham, you were able to pull off this kind of a military maneuver because God Almighty enabled you to do that." And Abraham recognized that Melchizedek was a true priest of God, and therefore gave him a tithe of all the spoils of war that Abraham had accumulated. However, Abraham was in this engagement and association with some other kings, and Abraham refused to take for himself personally any spoils of war, particularly from the King of Sodom, out of respect for the fact that "El Elyon" his God was the Most High God.

This is a very good lesson here. What do we need from the world? Why do we need to go begging and scrounging from the world's system to get the Lord's work done? We don't, and we shouldn't. Abraham said, "I don't want any your spoils of war, King of Sodom, because I know what you'll do if I take them."

Genesis 14:22, "And Abraham said to the King of Sodom, 'I have sworn to the Lord God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth, that I will not take a thread, or a sandal thong, or anything that is yours, lest you should say, 'I have made Abram rich.''" Isn't that great to have this manliness; to have the womanliness; or, to have the spiritual maturity to say, "I don't need to grovel before the world's system to gain advantage, and to gain material possessions, because "El Elyon" the Most High God is capable of giving me great resources. And I'll tell you something. When that God gives it to you, and you take those resources with the vision of, "I need this to live on, and I need this to reasonably keep, but I don't pursue this wealth for anything else except to perform the work of God – to move forward the work of 'El Elyon' the Most High."

What an association to be associated with the Most High God, who gives you resources, and then when the great moments of opportunity and need come, you've been prepared, and you're there to meet it. What an honor! Now Abraham had his head screwed on straight. Abraham was not a poor man. He was a very rich man. And rich men have the unfortunate occupational hazard of becoming greedy men. They never can seem to get enough. It is because they start off with the wrong premise. They start off with the idea of accumulating reserves of money for their use. And some Christians never learn that they don't have a cent that belongs to them. Abraham knew this. Abraham knew that he had great wealth, but it didn't belong to him. It belonged to God. And he was not going to contaminate the wealth that God had given him by taking money from some of the likes of this King of Sodom. And Abraham knew that what he had was not for his use, even if he had to starve to take care of the work of God when the need came to be taken care of. Now that's Biblical, and that's the way of "El Elyon."

So, Abraham said, "Nothing doing. I don't want any help from you, and I don't want any of your gifts. Abraham was later concerned over the fact that he made an enemy with the King of Sodom by being faithful to God, because the King was offended by refusing the material spoils, because there came hard times for Abraham, and he was very tempted to look back and wonder if he should not have done this.

A lady, many years ago, was in our church, and she and her husband were in camping work; summer camp operation; and, conference ground operation. And she told me how she was going around getting money out of the world – out of the people of the world, because they were using the money for Satan's purpose, and Satan had control of that money long enough, and it should go to God. This is exactly what Abraham said, "I won't do. I will not look to you (to the world system) to give the money. God will provide it to me. I'm only his steward. I'm entrusted with it. I'll use what legitimately and properly I should use, and I'll put in reserve what I shouldn't use. But, almighty God, I will never take the attitude that I'm accumulating some reserves for my future. I'm accumulating reserves to do the work of God." There are not many people in the family of God who rise to that kind of magnificent position. Most of us are not capable of it. But here and there comes an Abraham, and he is capable of rising to that highest degree of personal Christian manhood.

God, as "El Elyon" was all the protection and the promise and the provision that Abraham needed as a pilgrim and stranger in a hostile land. The strongest of the strong, the Most High, was all that Abraham needed.

So, I ask you" Upon whom do you depend for your material needs? And how do you go about providing for those material needs, and for your immediate and long-range future?" And have you become a shriveled prune of a greedy miserly scrooge? Or can you rise to the capacity of a magnificent Abraham because you know that El Elyon is your God. This is all Abraham needed.

Moses

"And the Lord appeared in the tent in a pillar of cloud, and the pillar of cloud stood at the doorway of the tent. The Lord said to Moses, 'Behold, you are about to lie down with your fathers, and this people will arise and play the harlot with the strange gods of the land into the midst of which they are going, and will forsake Me and break My covenant which I have made with them. Then My anger will be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them and hide My face from them. And they shall be consumed, and many evils and trouble shall come upon them, so that they may say in that day, 'Is it not because our God is not among us that these evils have come upon us?' But I will surely hide in My face in that day because of all the evil which they will do, for they will turn to other gods. Now therefore, write the song for yourself, and teach it to the sons of Israel. Put it on their lips in order that this song may be a witness for Me against the sons of Israel."

"Reminisce, Moses. Tell how God the Most High has carried this people through so that they will have a frame of reference when they decide to cut themselves off from the revelation of scripture, and when they decide to be like the rest of the nations and the people of the world in their godlessness, that there will come upon them a sense of shame as they sing this song, and their memories are refreshed on how good it was when the nation was subject to God."

The evil; the hatred; and, the flashing eyes amaze me when I have occasion to speak to people who are liberals, who are in a frenzy, because the nation says, "No more encroachments upon our liberties." Whether we will win or not, I don't know. But we are exactly where Israel was when it had thumbed its nose at God the Almighty. And that's what we have done. And from the strangest places comes justification for that evil practice in all institutions of our land.

This song of Moses was to remind the Jews of God's faithfulness to them, and that their future sufferings would be their own fault in sinning against God. Deuteronomy 31:20: "For then I will bring them into the land flowing with milk and honey, which I swore to their fathers. And they will eat and be satisfied, and they will become prosperous. They will turn to other gods, and serve them, and spur Me, and break My covenant."

How stupid can you be? God says, "When I prosper them, and when I give them great wealth, they're going to turn against Me," instead of saying, "Now look what I can do for the work of God. Now look at the doors that I can open. Now look, while I'm still breathing, what a heritage I can leave behind me that will be brought up at the judgment seat of Christ in my eternal behalf." Instead, God says, "They're not going to do that. They're going to let the love of money corrupt them."

"Then it shall come about, when many evils and troubles have come upon them, that this song will testify before them as a witness, for it shall not be forgotten from the lips of their descendants. For I know that their intent, which they are developing today, before I have brought them in the land which I swore." God says to Abraham, "Even before I bring them into the land, I know what they're going to do. I know that they're not going to handle their prosperity, because they think they're accumulating it for themselves, and because of that, they will be brought down."

Moses sang, in this song, of God "El Elyon" the Most High. He recognized this God, with a great power and omnipotence, as the One who has set the boundaries of nations in relationship to His earthly people, Israel. In Deuteronomy 32:8:9, Moses says, "When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, when He separated the sons of man, He set the boundaries of the peoples according to the numbers of the sons of Israel. For the Lord's portion is His people. Jacob is the allotment of his inheritance." God gave the various peoples of the world boundaries for their nations. But first of all, He gave the choice and lovely place to His people Israel.

Israel, as God's special nation, was made the hub of the earth. Jerusalem is to be God's world capital in the millennium. Israel is located on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea, and it is the land bridge between Africa, Asia, and Europe. It is one of the most strategic places in the world today. Israel is favorably situated between sea areas: the Mediterranean Sea; the Red Sea; the Sea of Galilee; and, the Dead Sea. And if you indeed have ever visited Israel, you'll be very much aware of what a lovely land it is indeed. And it's that, in large part, because of where it happens to be located geographically. And it is God Who has done this, because He's able to do it. He's the "El Elyon." The final drama of mankind will be played out in this place which God has selected for Israel. God, through Jesus Christ, will, from this place, reign over all nations, and we Christians will govern the world.

Please remember that these idiots who are in control of the world today, and who are in control of our government, and who are mad-dashing for world government – they're on the way out. They're in a frenzy. They don't know that they've already been beaten, and they're going to try to constantly come charging back. But I want you to remember that "El Elyon" is the God whom we serve. And we Christians (we Christian Coalition, and we religious right) are sometimes called we rednecks. And you can't call me a redneck. We Mexicans always are good brown. You may look very closely at me. They call me a brown neck. When I'm in summer camp, I get browner all the time. But we rednecks are right. Don't worry about what they call you. Don't worry about the insults that they try to run upon you. These people who run society now are going to be in the garbage dump of humanity. You people are the ones who are going to run it. Why? Because you and I are so special? Not on your life. It is because "El Elyon" is our God – God the Most High. And He's going to do it.

The name of "El Elyon" is no place more significant than in relationship to the demons and Satan. As "El Elyon:" the Most High God; the strongest of the strong; and, the possessor of heaven, God is in control of the demon spirits. The God-Man Jesus Christ confronted a demon named Legion at one time in the gentile territory of the Gadarenes. Mark 5:8-9. "For He had been saying to him, 'Come out of the man, you unclean spirit.'" This was the man at Gadara who was enslaved by these demons. And He was asking him (Jesus was asking him), this spokesman for the demon, "What is your name?" And he said to Him, 'My name is Legion because we are many.'" Now "legion" was a division of the military table of organization of the Roman army, and it consisted of 6,000 to 8,000 men. So, if this name means what it meant militarily, this man was in infested with something like 6,000 to 8,000 demons.

You can see why he was indeed a madman. And this Legion demon identified Jesus Christ as "El Elyon." Notice Mark 5:7. "And crying out with a loud voice, he (the demon) said to him, 'What do I have to do with you, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore you by God: do not torment me." The demon was quivering and quaking before Jesus Christ who was called the Son of "El Elyon," which meant that Christ Himself was the Most High God. Jesus sent the legion of demons into a herd of swine, which, as you know, then drowned themselves.

Paul

Act 16:9-10, "And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A certain man of Macedonia was standing (Macedonia was over in Greece, in Europe), appealing to him, saying, 'Come over to Macedonia and help us.' And when he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the Gospel to them." Now a vision is a kind of an expanded dream. Sometimes you have a dream where everything is very much in clear focus, and you're very much aware, and you really think that something is happening, and suddenly you wake up and realize that nothing was happening. It was all a dream. A vision is a highly intense state of mind where everything is in very clear focus. So, this was a drama that played out around Paul. This was a crucial move in the future nature of the history of the world in terms of spiritual enlightenment.

Paul obeyed. He went over to Europe instead of Asia. And in Europe, Paul was faced with a demon-possessed woman who identified Paul as the servant of "El Elyon," the Most High God. Acts 16:16-17: "And it happened that, as we were going to the place of prayer, a certain slave girl, having a spirit of divination met us, who was bringing her masters much profit by fortune telling". This young woman could tell the future. She was able to tell fortunes, because the demons were giving her the information: "Following after Paul and us, she kept crying out, saying, 'These men are bond servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation."

The demon possessed slave girl told the truth. But because it was coming from her, as a demon-possessed woman, that truth could be misrepresented, and could be dismissed. Therefore, Paul, in verse 18, turns to her and takes action. "She continued doing this for many days, but Paul was greatly annoyed, and turned and said to this demon spirit, 'I command you, in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.' And it came out at that very moment." Finally, Paul had enough of this testimony from a false source. He turned and pulled this demon out. But notice what the demon said. The demon told the truth on this occasion. This man Paul was representing the Most High God, "El Elyon." This was the same thing that Abraham had found. This was the same thing that Moses had found. Do you realize what this means to you? You and Paul are the same thing. There was nothing different between you and Paul as a believer. You too are the servant of the Most High God. This is what we mean when we talk about God. It is time to start elevating your estimate of yourself, and your evaluation of just who you are, and stop groveling around like some backwoods peon who is some ignoramus. Rise to what you are.

Well, Paul's removing of the demon caused a riot by the owners of the girl who now had been freed of the demon that had possessed her. And Paul landed in jail. And as you know, the result of this was an earthquake. The jailer was going to kill himself. Paul said, "Don't do that. We're all here. Nobody has escaped. Your life is safe." And the jailer said, "I want to know how can I be saved?" This was because he'd heard the message. And Paul said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shall be saved."

Now Paul was kind of a backward person. He didn't know about how to be upbeat Pop Christianity. He should have said, "Invite Jesus into your life. Invite Jesus into your heart." And he should have said all these really upbeat things. But instead, he said a dumb thing: "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shall be saved." But then what does Paul know? He's just the servant of the Most High God.

And if people hold you in contempt and treat you with contempt, I want you to remember you're the servant of the Most High God. Don't let anybody intimidate you because you happen to know doctrine, and you know it accurately, and you know how to talk it.

Satan was in a frenzy, on this occasion, to stop the light of the Gospel from entering Europe. But the servants of "El Elyon" were unstoppable. That to me is a great comfort. And when the greatest burden, seemingly impossible to meet, descends upon me, as Paul said, "The burdens of the churches, "I have to remember that the God I serve as "El Elyon." He is the Most High God. He possesses all of heaven and earth. He has all the capacity to bring the things together that need to be done. But He has to do it through human beings who are willing to be used of Him. And what greatness those people will have in eternity!

Carrying out one's Christian service mission is always an uphill battle. In the angelic warfare, we're always under attack, but we do not fight a lost cause. We should not be discouraged, and we should constantly take great comfort from Galatians 6:9, where Paul says, "And let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary." We do a lot of good things at Berean Church. And, boy, do we have occasion for losing heart? And I would not dream of detailing those to you. The discouragements can be so great: the disloyalty; the double-crossing; the lack of gratitude; and, the failure of perception. God says, "Don't lose heart for doing good. In due time, you're going to win." And you will reap in His presence if you just don't get weary. Now how can you say a thing like that? The reason that's not a crazy statement is because the God that we deal with is "El Elyon."

Satan

Now, how crazy can you be? Satan says, "I'm going to make myself like the Most High God." That's what people in our society today are doing – trying to make themselves like the Most High God. They're trying to straighten out things in human society to try to impose their views. Our whole nation is under a concentrated attack to separate us from the fact that we have a Christian and Biblical foundation as a nation. That is being ripped out from under us, because Christians are ignorant of what is happening, because their preachers are not alerting them and informing them, so that they are not aware of what the nature of the battle is. People are too preoccupied with other things to be aware of the fact that the Most High God is now under major attack in our country. But those who are sitting at home today aren't going to know anything about it. You carry the responsibility.

Instead, the Most High God turned around, and he pronounced judgment upon Satan. Isaiah 14:15, "Nevertheless, you'll be thrust down to Sheol (sheh-ole') (to the grave), to the recesses of the pit. And in Matthew 25:41, we're told that God created a lake of fire for Satan and his angels to spend their eternity in. The Most High God in the believer makes him superior to Satan. It is because the Most High God is in you that you are infinitely superior to Satan. It is not that he doesn't have great power, and not that he won't sock it to you if you give him the opportunity to do so by getting out of temporal fellowship.

Please remember that 1 John 4:4 says, "You are from God, little children. You have overcome them, because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world." Satan is an awesome creature. Don't ever forget that the Most High God has already squashed him. He's just waiting to be thrown into the lake of fire. And the God who indwells you is infinitely greater.

Paul also was confronted with the issue of the Most High God in Athens. On his second missionary journey, he preached in Athens to a group of philosophers. We have that recorded for us in Acts 17:16-21. "Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was being provoked within him, as he was beholding a city full of idols." So, Paul goes down the street, and he sees all these idols of one kind and another to the various gods, and the philosophers are there, and Paul gets up, and he's speaking. And, in verse 18, we're told that the philosophers (the smart guys of the society) come, and say, "Let's go listen to what this idle babbler has to say." And others said, "He's proclaiming some kind of strange deity. He talks about some Jesus, and some resurrection from the dead."

So, they came to listen to Paul, to see what kind of new thing he was preaching. That's all they lived for. And Paul said, "I've been going through your city, and I see that you're a very religious group of people. You have all kinds of altars here to every god imaginable. And in fact, I saw one here that said, "To the unknown God" – the God that you may not know about, but you want to be sure to cover Him too. Well," he says, "I know what His name is. His name is "El Elyon." And I'm here to tell you about "El Elyon" – the God you have forgotten, and the God that you don't know anything about."

In Acts 17:24, as Paul goes on speaking about this unknown God, he says, "The God who made the world and all things in it, since he is the Lord of heaven and earth. He is "El Elyon." The highest God does not dwell in temples made with hands." So, he identified this God. Then he went on to describe "El Elyon," and he described Him as someone who is not just a human God, like their gods of mythology were – made in their own image, but that He has appointed the times; the seasons; and, the habitations of men. He has given information. He is near to us.

Verse 28 says, "For in Him we live and move and exist as even some of your own poets have said, 'We are also His offspring.' Without God, we wouldn't take our next breath. He makes the whole system work."

Verse 29: "Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the divine nature is like gold and silver, or stone and image formed by the art and thought of man." And Paul says, "God is not like these idols that you have created. Those are not gods. All of that is false.

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ

Then Paul, zeroing in toward the gospel, comes to the key point. He speaks of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Verse 30: "Therefore, having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all everywhere should repent, because he has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness, through a Man Whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead." And when the apostle Paul said that, the elite opinion-makers of the day (the philosophers) broke out in laughter.

Verse 32: "Now when they heard the resurrection of the dead, some began to sneer, but others said,' We shall hear you again concerning this.'" They held him in utter contempt. They laughed at him, because the one thing that the philosophers of Greece knew was that once you're dead, you're dead. They knew that no human body could ever come back to life. They knew this by their philosophical reasonings. And here was a man saying that someone has died, at the hands and the provision of the Most High God, to make it possible for them to escape a destiny of suffering, and come into a destiny of eternal joy. And they laughed at him, and they walked off from him. But Paul's duty had been fulfilled as yours has been fulfilled when you give out that evangelism brochure.

So, he left the meeting place, but the seed had been planted, and some of the people who are listening were hit by the Holy Spirit. Their minds were illuminated, and they believed the message of Paul's Gospel from the Most High God.

Acts 17:33: "So, "Paul went out of their midst." Do you notice what he did? When people turn their back on him; when they are negative; and, when they would not listen, he didn't argue with him. He turned and walked off. He shook the dust off and left them. Never waste your time with the negative volition crowd.

Verse 34, "But some men joined him and believed, among whom were Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named the Damaris, and others with them."

So, we Biblical Christians in American society are treated with contempt. We're called the rednecks. We're treated as those who are the ignorant ones. But we are going to win in the end because we are right. And the time will come when God, the Most High, is going to clarify who the ignorant ones are, and who are the ones who served Him. You must never forget who you are. You must never forget your calling. You must never forget that the God you deal with is "El Elyon," the Most High.

Nebuchadnezzar

This period covers a time span from the Jewish captivity in 606 B.C. to the Second Coming of Christ, which is yet in the future, with the church age interrupting. The period of the statue is described as the times of the gentiles when they rule over Israel's land. Nebuchadnezzar himself was identified by Daniel as the head of gold, and that he was that by the grace of the Most High God.

Daniel 2:37-38, "You, O king, are the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom; the power; the strength; and, the glory. And wherever the sons of men dwell, or the beasts of the field, or the birds of the sky, He has given them into your hand, and has caused you to rule over them. You are the head of gold." It was given to him by the God of heaven, which is another description for God in His power and supreme almightiness.

Well, Nebuchadnezzar heard this, and he became very arrogant over it. Daniel 4:30: The king reflected and said." The king is out there 12 months later. He's walking on the roof of his palace, and it's the cool of the evening, and he sees the marvelous hanging gardens, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. (How they ever constructed it – that we still haven't figured out.) And he knows that he's the one who did all this: "For the king reflected, and said, "Is this not Babylon the great, which I myself have built – a royal residence by the might of my power for the glory of my majesty?" And what did he do? He attributed this glory to himself.

Now, Daniel had previously warned Nebuchadnezzar what El Elyon would do to him if he persisted in his pride. We have this in Daniel 4:24-27. And it is well that we should realize that if we don't remember who we are – in verse 25, Daniel says that God is going to drive Nebuchadnezzar out into the field to live like an animal: "Until you recognize that the Most High is ruler over you." And if you and I do not recognize that "El Elyon" is in charge of our lives and our destiny, then we will live on a much lower level than we are capable of. Nebuchadnezzar wouldn't listen, so he spent seven years learning what it meant to be under the thumb of "El Elyon." And finally, he came to his senses, and he looked at himself. His hair was long, and his fingernails were like claws. He looked like an animal. He was living out in a field; digging in the dirt; and, eating what he could find. And finally, he says to himself, when his senses come back, "The Most High God is the ruler of all the earth." And he subjects himself to Him. And in that moment, Nebuchadnezzar was born again. After seven years of insanity, he comes back to the God he ignored.

So, let's tie it together: the lessons of history. The God of the Bible has the most magnificent name, "El Elyon," the Most High God, possessor of heaven and earth. He is alive; He is personal; He is in heaven; He is on His throne; and, He is true to His character (to His essence). And in time, He will show His power. No one can resist the will and the power of "El Elyon." The leaders of the nations are gearing up the world government for a final showdown with "El Elyon," and they think they can whip Him. So, today, I would challenge you to make "El Elyon" your God through faith in Jesus Christ as your Savior. He alone is your rock. On your own, read through Psalm 91, which speaks magnificently of how God is our rock.

We Christians are the salt of our society. We make it taste good, and we preserve it from divine judgment. American society is steadily being separated by liberalism from its Biblical values and its foundation. And our personal freedoms are increasingly under attack. American liberals are determined to make man the Most High God, and to remake our nation in the image of Satan with its human good delusions, and with the old sin nature as the basis of our moral values.

However, here's how it's going to end up. Revelation 19:11-16: "And I saw heaven open, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat upon it is called Faithful and True. And in righteousness, He judges and makes war. And His eyes are a flame of fire. And upon His head are many diadems. And He has a name written upon him which no one knows except Himself. And he is clothed that the robe dipped in blood, and His name is called the Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven are clothed in fine linen, clean and white, were following Him on white horses." That's you folks. "And from His mouth (Jesus Christ) comes a sharp sword, so that, with it, he may smite the nations. He will rule them with a rod of iron. He treads the winepress of the fierce wrath of God, the 'El Elyon' (the Almighty). And on His robe and on His thigh, He has a name written: 'King of Kings and Lord of Lords.'"

Please act like King of Kings and Lord of Lords this week. Please act up to your heritage as the one who is part of "El Elyon's" destiny. That's who you are. That is the God Whom we serve.

Thank you, Father, for this today's devotion and meditation. We pray for Thy great blessing upon what we have heard, and we pray that we shall be ennobled because we had the good sense to be here tonight. We ask Thee to bless these words to our strengthening, and to the reorientation of what we have; what we are; what we think; and, what we do. Bless our offerings to Thee this day, which we bring out of our love for Thee. In Jesus name. Amen. Thank you.

Dr. John E. Danish, 1995

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