As we covered, the body of Christ cannot have the mind of Christ, or fully represent Christ, until it comes together with every part taking its rightful place. As long as we are divided, we will fall short knowing Him as He is and representing Him as He is.

         The last night that Christ was on the earth as a man, the last night that He would be able to intercede as the Son of Man, He repeatedly prayed for the unity of His people:

2005 was a remarkable year. With the hurricanes, earthquakes, fires, mud slides, record highs and lows, rain, snow, and drought, it does seem as if a great hand has taken the earth and begun to shake it. It has not even been a year since the tsunami hit. This is actually what is described in Romans 8:19-21:

        The basic nature of earthly governments has not changed. Governments were created for people, not the other way around, but they are like a horse that wants to control its rider. If a horse can control its rider, it will try to throw him off and hurt him. When people lose control of their government and let it take control of them, it will likewise become increasingly dangerous for the people. If we do not take strong and decisive control over our government, it will take strong and decisive control over us.

NOTE FROM RICK: This is a word that was first circulated in The Morning Star Journal, Volume 6.2. Because so many have reread this and felt that it addressed our present situation, we decided to resend it as a Prophetic Bulletin. With the exception of a few word changes for the sake of clarity, this is exactly what was circulated in April 1996. I still agree with the interpretation included.

As we addressed last week, we tend to think of righteousness in moral terms, not lying, cheating, committing adultery, etc. A large portion of the biblical teachings on righteousness is about managing what we have been entrusted with right. All Christians should be living to hear the words on that great judgment day, "Well done good and faithful servant!" As we are told in The Parable of the Talents, the ones who heard those words were the servants who managed what they were entrusted with well.

          Supernatural means “super-natural.” As C.S. Lewis pointed out, almost all of the miracles of Jesus were simply the speeding up of a natural process. There was never any wine that did not start out as water and go through a process—Jesus just sped up that process. There was never anyone healed that God did not heal through the “natural” processes He placed in us, but through Jesus and His workers He sped this up.

     There are prophetic revelations that come poignantly in a dream, vision, or word. In my experience, these are usually about personal or localized issues that do not have widespread impact or long-term consequences. This is not to lessen their importance, and as with most of what we’re addressing, this is a principle and not a law. There are exceptions to principles, but the above has generally been my experience. Most of the time, major events that could impact nations come as unfolding revelations over time.

         As we seek to understand the possible symbolism of the 144,000, we need to first review the principles of biblical symbolism so that we do not drift into “free association”—the claim that something is representative without fully establishing the biblical connections that lead to this belief. Without doing this, almost anyone can claim that just about anything means just about anything. This is a recipe for delusion.

         We continue our study of the church at Pergamos (meaning “elevated,” approximately. A.D. 323 - 538) This week, we will cover the rest His complaint against this church, and also how it applies to us.

“But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality.