Morning Star Testimony - Sermon Notes

The Seed War – Exegesis of Revelation 12 - by Pastor Doug Riggs

by John Mark on 09/15/24

This was originally recorded on September 4, 2016, as the second message along with a discussion.

My notes:

"The Decree of God, that is, God's eternal purpose, that which has been in His heart from all eternity, His eternal purpose and plan; The Decree of God, His holy, wise and sovereign purpose (singular - there are no purposes; all purposes are subordinate to the singular purpose - Ephesians 3:11 - the mystery of Christ) - it's His holy, wise and sovereign purpose comprehending at once (what is once with God) simultaneously and eternally all things that ever were or will be as to their causes, their courses (how it all plays out), their conditions, and their relationships, and (as the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity) determines their certain futurition. So, who has free will? Only God is the One who has absolute free will; all creatures only have relative free will." Doug goes on to explain the difference between our will and that of God, and how it all works out, using the "Lord's Prayer" to describe the relationship we have in our will surrendered to God's will to bring about that which He foreknows will be. History moves forward with those who are one with His will." (Wow!)

Does man have a free will? Is God sovereign? These questions bring up one of the age-long questions that divide the church between Arminianism and Calvinism. Do we really have the free will to choose salvation in Christ? Or is it only those who God elects who can receive salvation in Christ. I recall at an early age being able to come to grips with this which seems to be an antinomy (contradiction). I don't know if I was looking at two paintings that depicted this, someone explaining it, or it was my imagination. One showed a large gateway with the words engraved, "Whosoever Will May Come". When one passes through this gate and looks back, he sees, "Chosen in Christ from Before the Foundation of the World". Since then, I haven't had a problem with it. 

Doug summarized it as: "Only the elect are called; and only the called are the elect." Election is not a violation of free will, nor does free will negate God's sovereignty regarding election. In the eternity of God they reconcile perfectly. "What it emphasizes: you're responsible for everything you do. And your choices will determine your character; and your character will determine your destiny."

This question of election and free will doesn't only apply to salvation. What about sanctification? Does God decide who receives full reward? Do we have a say in that decision? "God doesn't predetermine, 'Well, this person's going to be an overcomer and this person won't be.' He doesn't do that. He makes every provision for every believer to be an overcomer; same provision for all. It is a heart matter."

Doug then returns to the subject of the two seeds and the seed war. We get to have another look at Revelation 12, a chapter not well understood by many. I am so grateful how God has used Doug to break it down and teach us these very important truths and concepts. Doug reminds us that the best commentary on the Bible is the Bible. Revelation is full of Old Testament imagery. That in itself is a clear indication that most of this amazing book is about Israel, not the church. The church is referred to in the first 3 Chapters, and then it's all about the judgments of God on Israel and the unbelieving gentiles who remain after the church is removed.

This is how I understand what Doug taught (I hope I got it close):

v. 1) *Woman: Israel

*Sun: glory of Messiah

      *Moon under her feet: Israel under the Old Covenant

      *12 Stars: 12 Tribes of Israel as the priest nation

v. 2) *She (Israel) with child: in travail to give birth to Messiah (as individual Mary gave birth to Jesus)

v. 3) *Red dragon: Satan

*7 heads (all relate to the persecution of Israel) (1) Egypt (2) Assyria (3) Babylon (4) Media-Persia (5) Greece (6) Rome (7) Future Revived Roman Empire

*10 horns - 10 toes of Daniel 2: Revived Roman Empire

*7 diadems: royalty depicted in the 7 heads; royal bloodline

v. 4) *1/3 of the stars: fallen angels aligned with Satan

*Thrown to earth: Genesis 1:2 (evidence: destruction on physical universe: it was formless & void)

      *Dragon stood before woman (Israel): Satan sought to devour the seed (Messiah) before His birth, using the  nations that persecuted Israel, including Herod killing the babies. This also has reference to 1948 at the birth of the current nation of Israel, Satan sought to devour that which represents the overcoming company of the church by his attack on the seed of Christ in the church. This is when the SRA/DID phenomena went into overdrive, what Doug sought to deliver survivors from for over 35 years (see note below***).

v. 5) *She gave birth: Mary giving birth to Messiah Jesus

*A Son (masculine): Jesus the Messiah

*gap (unknown period of time - 'the mystery')

*male child (neuter): the seed (1st individual - now corporate, refers to the overcomers in the church)

*gaps between the "and"s

*her child: the church (corporate seed of Messiah)

*caught up: 1st the church is caught up to the 2nd heavens (rapture - 1st Thess. 4:17) - church is then judged and completed - in this verse 5, the church is caught up to the throne (mid-tribulation) (thus, 2 raptures)

v. 6) woman: Israel

*place: likely Petra (Jordan)

*1,360: 2nd half of the day of the Lord (7-year Trib)

v. 7) *war in heaven: church caught up to the throne - Michael (guardian prince over Israel) wages war with the ruling authorities in the 2nd heavens & casts them to earth

v. 9) *thrown down: Satan's 2nd fall to earth, not v. 4 (1st fall)

***"The satanic attack upon the seed of Christ is just as real on the corporate representation (the church) of His seed as it was on the seed of the woman individually (Mary)... That has now been extended and incorporated in a vast complex of satanic-generated conspiracies to capture the body and bride of Christ, and to capture the seed of Christ. And with the birth of the man child, Satan was let loose, 'OK: You can wrap yourself around that seed.'... It's the capturing of the heart of God's people."

We've heard the survivors tell of their experience opening their hearts to Jesus at a very early age, introduced to Jesus by people in the cult. Some may balk at the idea that this would be a good idea. Why would Satan want them to open their hearts to Jesus? "Because after you're born again, then it's the inheritance that's in view; then the potentiality of you becoming a weapon of God for the destruction of Satan comes into view. So, Satan is going to try to capture that as soon as he can to control that, sequester that, in death... and they're brought into death, and they're assaulted right after their new-birth identity, as little people who just first opened their heart to God." Consider this if you are not among that community of survivors: Satan will do all he can to wrap our new-birth identity in death to keep us from running the race and fighting for our inheritance. He has many tools in his toolbox: fear; anxiety; unbelief; apathy; passivity; temptation; distractions; the allure of the world; the love of money; the pursuit of power; etc.

As Doug refers to the Old Testament passages about the web and the veil over the nations being removed having to do with the undoing of Satan's work in these last days of the church age. "That's where we are in history; that's the whole SRA/DID - the dismantling of the web, the grave clothes." That's a parallel to Lazarus being raised from the dead and Jesus telling those standing by, "Unbind him, and let him go." That's the ministry to the survivors of SRA/DID, as well as all the brokenhearted and those oppressed and in captivity of the enemy (see Isaiah 61:1 cp Luke 4:18): "the release of the seed of Christ coming forth in life."

Link to Audio: https://dougriggs.s3.amazonaws.com/Assemblies/9-4-16%2Bsunday2.mp3

Link to Discussion: https://dougriggs.s3.amazonaws.com/Assemblies/9-4-16%2Bdiscussion.mp3

Resources Mentioned:

Lance Lambert: In the Day of Thy Power (https://amzn.to/4cYKNrp)

Doug cites Greg Boyd where he delivers his lecture "A Flexible Sovereignty: A Biblical Understanding of Providence and the Nature of the Future" at the Open Theology and Science Conference at Azusa Pacific University, April 11, 2008. (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1B2F49B81A99C709) Doug also refers to Greg's testimony: Greg Boyd's Testimony and Spiritual Pilgrimage (https://vimeo.com/65267407).

"Your Christ is Too Small" - https://www.book-ministry.com/YourChristIsTooSmall.pdf

to J.B. Phillips' Your God is Too Small (https://bookministry1.s3.amazonaws.com/books/your-god-is-too-small.pdf)

J.L. Packer: Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God (https://amzn.to/3ATNv4d)

Doug's ByteShow Series: Jesus Christ - The Bright Morning Star (https://www.dougriggs.org/Videos.html#anchor_95);

The Celestial Court (https://www.dougriggs.org/Videos.html#anchor_53)

Maranatha!

John Mark

...hereby committing this unto the providential care of the enthroned Head of the Church; whose Name is blessed forevermore, Yeshua Mashiach - Jesus Christ!

 

The Seed War - by Pastor Doug Riggs

by John Mark on 09/11/24

This was originally recorded on September 4, 2016.

My notes:

Understanding of these "seeds" and the warfare going on since the fall of Adam and Eve is a very important key to understanding the history as well as the prophesied future of Israel and the church. Without this key and its implications to the entire human age, we are like a ship, tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine. Without this key, Noah's flood, the first and second coming of the Messiah, and Jesus' prediction of the last days as being as "in the days of Noah" make little sense. We see humanity's wars throughout its history, but what about the spiritual war raging all this time? The understanding of Genesis 3:15, the first declaration of the gospel, is essential for the remaining scriptures from Genesis to Revelation.

What do we know about the antichrist? Where does he come from? What is his DNA makeup? Is he the seed of Satan? Why is he called a beast in Revelation 13? Is he fully human as most assume - simply a man indwelt by Satan? Many theories abound, but because of the ministry Doug and Morning Star Testimony Church was involved in for 35-40 years, we learned many things not readily accepted by mainstream Christianity. What we learned lines up entirely with the word of God, and doesn't fall into man's feeble opinion or guessing.

And what about the seed of God? Does that term only apply to the coming Messiah? Don't we as Christians have that seed in us? Does that make a difference to our DNA? If these questions are of interest to you, you'll love Doug's message about all this. It's quite intriguing.

About 11 minutes into this message, Doug refers to "the church being caught up to the throne in the middle of the tribulation." If you'd not heard Doug's teaching on Revelation 12 where this is found, you might think he's talking about a mid-tribulation rapture. When he taught on this passage, we learned that when the church is raptured prior to the 7-year day of the Lord, our first stop will be the bema (judgment) seat where we will pass through the fire and only that of our lives consisting of gold, silver, and precious stones (i.e.: the reality and manifestation of the degree of Christ being formed in us) will pass into the eternal state. There we will receive our resurrection bodies conforming to that unique measure of Christ in us. When this process is complete and the body of Christ is manifested in glory, we will be 'caught up to the throne' where the judgments of the day of the Lord will be executed. Those who rule and reign with Christ will be His administrative arm in meeting out the judgments written. You will find this in Doug's message I posted from 1/27/2008 which I posted 6/1/2022: The Man-Child: Where is the church during the 7-year Tribulation? https://dougriggs.s3.amazonaws.com/Assemblies/1-27-08+The+Man+Child.mp3.

Since Doug was very aware of his weakness and inadequacy in teaching about the seed war as to making it understandable to the listener, he joins with the Apostle Paul in his prayer in Ephesians 1: 17-23 and makes the point we need to pray this for ourselves that we would understand what he's talking about. The Holy Spirit needs to open our spiritual eyes, and we need the spirit of wisdom that will reveal what may seem far fetched or difficult to follow. We need the fleshly foreskin of our hearts cut off through the work of the cross so we can hear what the Spirit is saying.

When we consider the seeds in Genesis 3:15, we usually think of two seeds, the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman. Jesus the Messiah is the seed of the woman. In the New Testament we discover there's also the seed of Messiah. That's us, the church, His body. Genesis 3 declared there was to be enmity (war) between the seed of Satan and the seed of the woman, Messiah. We, in Christ, are involved in that war. The term 'seed' can be understood to include DNA, thus the DNA of the woman and the DNA of the serpent. In the sense that all humanity is the seed of the woman, and in particular the Christ (corporate), we can see this seed war continuing to progress to the current Satanic attack on human DNA through mRNA, messenger molecules that contain instructions or the recipe that directs our DNA how to make specific proteins. This is what constitutes the medical answer to disease outbreaks. Likely this will be the mechanism for the ultimate outcome, the 'mark of the beast' that will transform human DNA into something not fully human, and therefore, unredeemable.

Doug talks about how our DNA changes when we become born again. "The DNA and the encoding in this DNA is a divinely ordered and a divinely originated instruction that carries all that which will define who we are, spirit, soul and body in resurrection glory." As I'm making these notes, I'm thinking, "I sure hope people are praying Ephesians 1 prayer."

As for the seed of the serpent, we see that beginning with Genesis 6 and the fallen angels cohabiting with women, creating Nephilim, hybrid creatures (beasts), half-man half-fallen angel. These are the offspring (or seed) of the serpent. We see this recurring after the flood (i.e.: the inhabitants of Canaan), and the modern resurgence of this, and this resulting in our connection to victims forced into this becoming those Doug and our assembly ministered to, survivors of SRA/DID.

Link to Audio: https://dougriggs.s3.amazonaws.com/Assemblies/9-4-16%2Bsunday1.mp3

Maranatha!

John Mark

...hereby committing this unto the providential care of the enthroned Head of the Church; whose Name is blessed forevermore, Yeshua Mashiach - Jesus Christ!

The Pathway to Ruling and Reigning with Christ - by Pastor Doug Riggs

by John Mark on 09/08/24

This was originally recorded on August 14, 2016.

My notes:

Before landing on the point that there is the opportunity for us to rule and reign with Christ, Doug goes in several directions that all are essential truth we need to know and understand. So, if you don't recognize the message seeming to adhere to what I titled it, hang in there. In Doug's closing prayer, he referred to it as "discombobulated".

Doug shared out of Dr. Michael Heiser's book, The Unseen Realm (https://archive.org/details/unseenrealmrecov0000heis) (mentioned in the last message posted). He talked about 'the divine council', seraphim, cherubim, principalities and powers, territorial spirits, angels, and demons, along with their uniqueness in status and function; and on the other hand, who we as the body of Christ are in our status and function. We are in a spiritual turf war, speaking about our assembly moving here to New York a number of years ago from Oklahoma. As we've been listening to Doug teach on the ground Satan has access to in us, our flesh, our old sin nature, Doug cites the recent (2016) church discipline in dealing with leaven in the assembly so that God is "going to have an environment so that sacred territory can be occupied amid the powers of darkness... That's why 1 Corinthians 5, 'get out the leaven'. We cannot surrender this sacred place to the powers of darkness."

As Doug muses on the message from Greg Boyd, he mentions what Greg speaks of as the origin of evil being the choice to say 'no' to God. The warning is that "people, over a period of time that keep saying 'no', those choices are developing character. So, in the characterological of saying 'no', you reach the place where you are not able to turn back. Why? Because the character has shaped your many choices." So, choices develop character; and character shape choices. "Now, if that wouldn't put the fear of God in you, I don't know what would."

Recently we listened to a wonderful message from Art Katz that spoke of how obedience to the Lord builds character, and with character comes authority. In this message, Doug shared a famous quote from Lao Tzu that speaks of how character is developed:

   "Watch your thoughts;

     they become words.

   Watch your words;

     they become actions.

   Watch your actions;

     they become habits.

   Watch your habits;

     they become character.

   Watch your character;

     it becomes your destiny."

Another from the same author:

"A man with outward courage dares to die; a man with inner courage dares to live."

"God is creating a royal family to be His administrators, not only in the millennium, but on into all the ages to come." This requires the character of Christ formed in us during our sojourn here on earth that qualifies us to rule and reign with Christ. As little children are not capacitated nor qualified to conduct administerial business, neither are babes in Christ who have not matured and attained sonship. Doug clarifies that distinction in explaining why not all Christians will rule and reign with Christ, though all Christians will enjoy eternal life. "Not all are going to be kings, and not all are going to be lords. That's earned. Kingship and lordship is earned by appropriating more grace than those who do not receive that status." Quoting Boyd, "We are not on vacation; we are at war."

In the Discussion, Doug gave a very helpful and strategic perspective on spiritual warfare. Demons can be cast out; principalities and powers cannot be cast out. Jesus gives us the pattern in dealing with demons; but He didn’t demonstrate how to deal with principalities and powers. We see that in the pattern in the Old Testament regarding Israel and taking the promised land. They didn’t call out to the spiritual authorities and demand they depart. No! They had to go into the land and drive them out. Possessing the inheritance requires dispossessing the enemy who is occupying it. In New Testament warfare, the enemy has stolen people’s bodies, souls, and spirits in a sense. Demons who afflict us can be cast out, but the principalities and powers must be confronted legally to take back what they have stolen. We must bind them and go in and plunder what they are holding on to. Doug’s latest messages addressed Satan’s ground and legal rights in people – our old man, our sin nature, natural soul-life, not to mention unconfessed sin. We must address this legal ground by recognizing it is in us (i.e.: sins of the past, idolatry, hatred toward God, etc.); confess and acknowledge it as sin (1 John 1:9); and repent (turn away from it, relinquishing it and renouncing it). Then we can ‘bind the strong man’ (not cast him out) and ‘plunder his possession’, taking back people’s humanity and giving it to Jesus, the one who redeemed us.

Link to Audio: https://dougriggs.s3.amazonaws.com/Assemblies/8-14-16%2Bsunday.mp3

Link to Discussion: http://d1kefhswa49zcj.cloudfront.net/assemblies/8-14-16+discussion.mp3

Resource Mentioned:

Greg Boyd: Jesus and the Reality of Spiritual Warfare

https://reknew.org/2016/01/jesus-and-the-reality-of-spiritual-warfare/ - also: https://reknew.org/2013/06/the-warfare-worldview/ (not sure exactly which Doug referred to)

Maranatha!

John Mark

...hereby committing this unto the providential care of the enthroned Head of the Church; whose Name is blessed forevermore, Yeshua Mashiach - Jesus Christ!

Christ in Us - The Hope of Glory - by Pastor Doug Riggs

by John Mark on 09/04/24

This was originally recorded on August 10, 2016.

My notes:

The one life we have is "to prepare for our vocation", ultimately to rule and reign with Jesus Christ as His administrative arm over angels, Israel, and the nations. "There will be vast differences as to positions of authority, and the measure of fellowship with Jesus Christ, and the manifestation of Jesus Christ as the one in whom all the fullness of the godhead dwells bodily."

Doug does a deep dive into the eternality and infinity of God as the one who has always been, is now, and ever will be, God in three distinct persons unified in their forever existence. God became man in the person of His Son, the eternal, always being God, yet becoming that which He had never been before, man, man as God intended man to be. "When it says, 'the word became flesh', God became flesh (John 1:14). The word, before the incarnation, was the once source of the many divine words, and Christ, the word incarnate, is Himself the gospel... The word was with God before He revealed God."

Doug, reading from a commentary on the Gospel of John, refers to God as ever being the source of life and light, and apart from Him is darkness. "It is the essence of light to invade the realm of darkness." This reminds me of the literal expanded translation of Matthew 11:12, "The kingdom of God is taken (seized; is forcibly entered) by force (violence); and violent men seize it for themselves." Along this line, I recently heard a good message by Chuck Missler (Chuck Missler Proves The Pre-Tribulation Rapture https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFTr53H9GIA). Jesus said, "I will build My church; and the gates of Hades (i.e.: grave; death; hell) will not overpower it." Speaking of these 'gates', Michael asks if 'gate' is an offensive or defensive element? Answer: defensive. He explains, "It's not the church that's defending itself against Satan; it's Satan defending himself against the church. Who has the initiative here? The church. Let's not forget that the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it." This depicts the church crashing through those gates, and as described in Mark 3:27, "no one can enter the strong man's house and plunder his property unless he first binds the strong man, and then he will plunder his house."

Link to Audio: https://dougriggs.s3.amazonaws.com/Assemblies/8-10-16%2Bwednesday.mp3

Link to Discussion: https://dougriggs.s3.amazonaws.com/Assemblies/8-10-16%2Bdiscussion.mp3

Resources Mentioned:

Dr. Michael Heiser: The Unseen Realm (https://archive.org/details/unseenrealmrecov0000heis)

Thomas Smail: The Forgotten Father (https://amzn.to/3NiWcrp); The Giving Gift : the Holy Spirit in person (https://archive.org/details/givinggiftholysp0000smai)

Systematic Theology by Augustus Hopkins Strong (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/44035)

Maranatha!

John Mark

...hereby committing this unto the providential care of the enthroned Head of the Church; whose Name is blessed forevermore, Yeshua Mashiach - Jesus Christ!

 

The Nature of Satan's Stronghold in Man - by Pastor Doug Riggs

by John Mark on 09/01/24

This was originally recorded August 7, 2016.

My notes:

How does the enemy work? How do we stay off the ground where the enemy has access to us? "How does the adversary work through sin and the flesh to enter a person's life, and to develop strongholds, and to influence our behavior?"

Sin is the base of operation Satan uses to affect and afflict us. It's our sin nature he has access to. Our sin nature is also termed 'flesh' and 'soul life'. "Satan, sin, the flesh - it's always looking for a starting point" (i.e.: opportunity). "He (Satan) will always seek work through that in us, sin, and flesh, to establish a base of operations from which to not only establish himself - that's called a stronghold - but to continue to launch an attack against the soul."

So how can we defeat sin? We can't! "The Holy Spirit is the only one who can defeat sin. Our will is either in submission to the Spirit of God (that's Galatians), or to the flesh - or to sin. There's nothing in between. We're walking in the spirit in submission to the Holy Spirit, or walking in the flesh, or walking according to sin, and therefore, under the rule of Satan."

"The biggest battle we have is not with the devil... it's with ourselves. Enemy #1 lives inside us... The enemy within is the sin nature... flesh. The enemy that we all carry with us is the old man."

"We have a sin nature, which is the root of all sins; flesh, the attributes of that sin nature; and the old man is the identity of sin in the flesh."

We know Satan goes about as a roaring lion seeking those he can devour. "Pride is a big gateway; unbelief is a big one as well. Emotions can affect our belief or unbelief rather than the word of God."

The Holy Spirit, "the third person of the trinity in us is the provision that God has made in lieu of the law" for us not to sin. "That's New Covenant reality."

So, what gives Satan access? Living in the realm of the flesh, the old man, the self-life, uncrucified flesh; all are on the ground where Satan has access. Self is the greatest enemy we have that threatens our ability to hear and respond to the gospel. It's the dirty-rotten sinner who needs Jesus, not the goody-two-shoes nice-guy who is pleased with himself. The flesh is also the Christian's worst enemy, as it threatens our ability to finish our race and win the prize of the on-high calling of God in Christ Jesus. When we live out from the flesh, we aren't necessarily doing evil, horrible, sinful deeds. We can be the world's most generous philanthropist, donating millions to charity. If that's done out from the old man, it's worthless to God. Satan, capitalizing on our pride, will pat us on the back and convince us we're doing great things, and then use the law to accuse and condemn us.

Are we living under the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus? - or under the law of sin and death? Sin is missing the mark; not necessarily doing overtly evil things. When we live in the flesh, we’re missing the mark.

Link to Audio: https://dougriggs.s3.amazonaws.com/Assemblies/8-7-16%2Bsunday.mp3

Maranatha!

John Mark

...hereby committing this unto the providential care of the enthroned Head of the Church; whose Name is blessed forevermore, Yeshua Mashiach - Jesus Christ!