Book of Revelation

How The LORD God Uses An Amazing TV Series to Bring People to His Son’s Wedding Banquet

Jeannette Elizabeth Geist-MarcelliLeave a comment

Shalom and boker tov (good morning)everyone! I HOPE you all were able to watch Episode 8 last night!! If you haven’t, and/or have not kept up with The Chosen for Season 3–OH MY GOSH—what are you WAITING for?

It was amazing! Seriously, I always loved S1E4–that was my “all time” favorite episode, and right behind that was S1E7-Jesus and Nicodemus. Of course, as the seasons continued, it was getting harder and harder to pick favorites; every season built upon the previous, and this one, in ONE word can be describe as “INTENSE”.

There were so many things going on at one time, and many of us can relate to at least one issue within S3’s episodes. But E8–that moved into FIRST PLACE position for me! I won’t say much more, in case you have not yet seen it-or any of them, for that matter.

Some people, I understand, don’t like TV shows or movies that are not “word for word” right out of the Bible. That is okay. BUT—even John the Apostle told us at the end of his Gospel, that “There are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written” (Jn. 21:25).

There were MANY things, many situations, many “human” emotions from the disciples themselves, their families, friends, etc., that very likely went from low to high, to everything in between. They did NOT all get along all the time-that we SEE for ourselves in the Scriptures! LIFE was still going on for these people as they served the Lord Jesus during those three and a half years He ministered in the public eye. Dallas Jenkins and the other writers have done a most excellent job of character development, writing a lot of very believable “what if’s” into the scripts, showing us how 1st century people were living, what they were dealing with-especially the Jewish people. They WERE and ARE STILL, God’s people!

All I will say of the last two episodes (7-8)—what an EXCELLENT example of the Body of Christ arguing with each other over petty things that in the eyes of the Lord Jesus, did not matter! Now, those people were yet to be believers, but as I first watched those scenes with the Jews, Greeks, Phonecians, etc., the immediate word that came into my spirit FROM the Spirit was, “this is the BODY of Christ today”🙄😞🙁. All too true. We definitely need to come together and UNITE as ONE as the Lord Jesus prayed to the Father about 📖in John 17.

Many testimonies from viewers from all over the world have possibly for the first time were not only able to finally see a very real side of the Lord Jesus in His humanity being portrayed by Jonathan Roumie, but how all who were with him, both family, friend, and foe, also possibly reacted when Jesus did (or did not do, in the case of Simon and Eden via the TV show) his miracles, or preached to the masses.

My prayers from 2018 were definitely answered when I came upon The Chosen for the first time in April, 2020. Finally, there was a TV show dedicated to Christ and His followers and their family members, showing just what could have happened during that time, when THEY were called to serve Him. It wasn’t easy then, nor is it any easier now. In fact, we know as per 📖Scripture it IS going to get worse! But we are getting amazing “what if” illustrations of how it very well could have been for them all back then, WITH many obvious 📖Scripture references wrapped around those very possible scenarios that Dallas and the writers chose to address to the viewers.

I thank God my Father for answering that prayer of mine (and so many others!) to make a show like The Chosen. It has drawn people BACK to their 📖Bibles, and more importantly, to their knees, having them look up and pray, repent, and ask the LORD God for forgiveness, and accept the Lord Jesus into their lives, finally having the 🕊Holy Spirit dwell within them. THAT, my family in Christ, IS the main reason why Abba said, “YES” to that prayer. He saw how many people that would come to Him via this series. It does not have to be perfect; it has been created by imperfect people, with imperfect writers, producers, cast and crew. And, every single viewer is also imperfect!

BUT, a PERFECT God oversees it all, to ensure that people ARE coming to Christ and His Word through it; and THAT is the miracle that keeps on happening every episode and in every season that has been made so far. Baruch HaShem for His chesed-lovingkindness!

May the LORD God keep blessing The Chosen, and using it to bring more people to His Marriage Supper of the Lamb (Rev. 19:9)—that table WILL be filled, with people from every tribe, tongue, and nation, and we ALL will be able to cast down our crowns before Him (Rev. 4:10), Who is worthy to receive glory, and honor, and power (Rev. 4:11), because He has called EVERYONE to His Table. 🙏🏼✡️📖✝️✨

We Are Truly Living In The “Valley of the Shadow of Death”

Jeannette Elizabeth Geist-Marcelli1 Comment

I saw a devotional this morning, that spoke about how we have peace with the LORD God when we are awake, but especially, when we lay down to sleep. It quoted Psalm 4:8, and the prayer taken from it that my Godmother Helen used to have us kids to say before we were put to bed each night when I visited my cousins—“Now I lay me down to sleep…”.

But the verse that stood out to me this morning was from Psalm 23:4. As I read the verse over and over again, the words “valley of the shadow of death” resonated within me. For David, who had many enemies, being under attack by his king, and even by his own son at one point, I can see how this Psalm poured out of his soul and onto paper.

I looked up the verse, and the specific word צלמות “salmavet”, which in Hebrew is “of the shadow of death”. It is also defined as “death-shadow” (of distress, extreme danger), “deep shadow”, and “deep darkness” (of place of the dead). Even though they are mostly used figuratively, I sense there is a more literal meaning of it than we would like to admit.

This world has become more and more “the valley of the shadow of death”. In fact, I dare say that literally walking in this world right now IS like walking through the “shadow of Death”—the same Death that is mentioned in Revelation 20:14–the Greek word for death being θάνατος = “Thanatos”, the name for the ancient Greek god of Death (in Rome, the god was “Mors”). Thanatos may sound familiar, since in recent years the Avengers movies had a supervillain character named “Thanos” which first appeared in the Marvel comics. He most certainly lived up to the name in those movies.

Some other Bible verses that include “the shadow of death” or the other definitions of it are in Psalm 107:10–“There were those who dwelt in darkness and in the shadow of death, Prisoners in misery and chains…” Boy, does that sound a lot like the people who basically are the “walking dead” on this Earth right now, who deny the very GOD who allows them to still have BREATH in their lungs.

Another verse is from Matthew 4:16 which is taken from Isaiah 9:2, “The people that walked in darkness (חשׁך)- kho-shek’, which means “darkness, obscurity”; “darkness”, “secret place”, “death”, “misery”, “IGNORANCE”—!, “sorrow”, “wickedness”. Hmm, very interesting how that is “figuratively” used, because the way our world is right now—actually, it has BEEN that way, but MOST of us have been ASLEEP, eating the “Lotus cookies” (some of you will 😉get that), busy with our own lives, not paying attention to what really has been going on in the world, both physically and SPIRITUALLY.

We human spirits have partaken in “panem et circenses”—“bread and circuses—a WHOLE lot of distraction from what has really gone on in this world—the work of the evil ones who “steal, kill, and destroy” (John 10:10)—the HUMAN PUPPET AGENTS of SATAN who have continued his work for millennia, because he vowed to himself to take as many with him as possible to the Pit and ultimately, to “the LAKE WHICH BURNETH WITH FIRE AND BRIMSTONE; which is the SECOND DEATH” (Rev. 21:8). That “second death” is WORSE than the first, because it is PERMANENT and ETERNAL.

WHAT needs to happen if one wants to avoid that “valley of the shadow of death”? You cannot avoid that, for WE ALL who are living ad breathing, are walking IN that valley right NOW—it is HERE on EARTH; it IS EARTH. Hence the reason why David wrote it the way he did, “Even though I WALK THROUGH the valley of the shadow of death”; David realized he was IN that valley throughout his lifetime. This entire life is about HOW to walk through that valley of death, misery, destruction, evil works, etc., and come out FROM it, with the help of the ONLY ONE Who can “deliver us from evil” (Matt. 6:13) that we see, hear, smell, touch, and taste of every single day of our lives. THAT Person is within the Eternal Triune Godhead—the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Lord Jesus DEFEATED Hell and Death (very real evil spirits) at the Cross, and OWNS the keys (Rev. 1:18)!! He is the ONLY ONE Who was RESURRECTED, and because of His victory at the Cross, as Paul stated in 1 Corinthians 15:55, “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” The Lord Jesus has made a way back to the Father—the ONLY way, for He IS “the way, the truth, and the LIFE” (Jn. 14:6), and there is NO OTHER WAY out of eternal DARKNESS, the shadow of DEATH, or DAMNATION, except one who acknowledges Jesus as LORD and SAVIOR of their life (Romans 10:9-10,13).

If you want out of the “valley of the shadow of death”, you first must REPENT (Ez. 14:6; 18:30; Matt. 3:2; Mk. 1:15; Lk. 13:3,5; Acts 2:38; 8:22). The Lord Jesus warns once again of what will happen if people do not repent of their sins and wickedness: “Therefore, repent. If not, I will come to you SOON and war against them with the sword of My mouth” (Rev. 2:16). The “sword” IS His Word, and He, Jesus, IS THE WORD OF GOD.

SEEK the Lord and His Word out. BE HUMBLE and ASK Him to forgive you of your sins, and LIVE as a child of the King, Who WILL hold your hand and walk WITH you, “through the valley of the shadow of death” here, UNTIL the “appointed time” (Dan. 8:19; 11:35; Hab. 2:3; for Him to come back and “redeem His people” (2 Sam. 7:23; Job 5:20; Ps. 69:18; Is. 50:2; Jer. 15:21), and I will end with Hosea 13:14a: “I SHALL ransom them from the power of Sheol; I SHALL REDEEM them from DEATH…”

He WILL Return Once Again FROM His Place

Jeannette Elizabeth Geist-Marcelli1 Comment

“And when He had spoken these things, while they beheld, He was taken UP; and a CLOUD received them out of their sight.
And while they looked steadfastly toward Heaven AS HE WENT UP, behold two men stood by in white apparel;
Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand you gazing up into Heaven? THIS SAME JESUS, which is TAKEN UP FROM YOU into Heaven,
SHALL SO COME IN LIKE MANNER as you have seen Him go into Heaven.”
Acts 1:9-11

(The Apostle John writes)
“And I saw Heaven opened, and behold a White Horse; and HE that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He does judge and make war.
His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns; and He had a name written, that no man knew, but He Himself.
And He was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and His Name is called THE WORD OF GOD.
And the armies which were in Heaven followed Him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
And out of His mouth goes a sharp SWORD, that with it He should smite the nations: and He shall rule them with a rod of iron: and He treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
And He has on His vesture and on His thigh a Name written, “KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.”
Revelation 19:11-16