Personal Reflections & Journal

I came across something today that connected directly to what we've been studying. VP JD Vance made a public statement arguing that unexplained aerial phenomena — the UFO phenomenon that has been in the news for years — may not be extraterrestrial at all, but something from the spiritual realm. He specifically referenced the Christian understanding that evil is real and active, and quoted what felt like a paraphrase of a well-known idea: that one of the devil's greatest tricks is convincing the world he doesn't exist.

This strikes me as deeply connected to what we've been studying about deception in the end times. Scripture is clear that the enemy doesn't announce himself — he masquerades. 2 Corinthians 11:14 says that Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. The idea that something supernatural could be repackaged as "extraterrestrial" or "scientific" fits exactly the kind of deception Jesus warned about in Matthew 24. The false signs and wonders of the Antichrist and the False Prophet won't look obviously evil — they will look convincing, maybe even miraculous.

What stood out to me is how this connects to the broader cultural moment. If demonic activity can be reframed as a cosmic, non-threatening mystery — something humanity is meant to "discover" and "open up" to — that is exactly the kind of deception the end times framework warns about.

Key scriptures: 2 Corinthians 11:14, Matthew 24:24, Revelation 13:13–14, Ephesians 6:12. Cross-reference with Module 11 (False Prophets) and Module 10 (Signs of the Times).

Came across a powerful Facebook post from Pastor Larry Burton today that addresses something increasingly relevant in the end times context — the misuse of grace as a license to continue in sin. His central argument is compelling: Grace isn't a lowered bar — it's a higher one, backed by better resources (the Holy Spirit, the new covenant, Christ's indwelling). Using grace as a license to sin inverts its entire purpose.

This connects directly to the end-times framework. Jesus himself warns in Matthew 7:21–23 that He will say to many who did ministry in His name: "I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of iniquity." A church full of people who claim grace but live in sin is completely unprepared for the deception to come. The Antichrist's deception will be most effective against people whose faith is cultural and surface-level rather than genuine and transformed.

Pastor Burton's definition of repentance is worth noting: not just feeling sorry, but a change of attitude, behavior, direction, affections, and relationships. Christ is coming for a pure Bride. Five of the seven churches in Revelation are told to repent.

Key scriptures: Heb 12:14 ("without holiness no man shall see God"), Ezek 18:24, Rom 6:1–2 ("Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid!"), Rev 3:5.

Came across the Jaden Ivey situation today — the NBA player waived by the Chicago Bulls after publicly calling out the league's Pride Month promotion as "unrighteous." He's clearly sincere in his faith and the biblical convictions he holds are real. Scripture is clear on the subject: Leviticus 18:22, Romans 1:26–27, 1 Corinthians 6:9. The question this raises isn't whether the conviction is biblical — it is — but whether the expression of that conviction was the most effective witness in that moment.

Jesus was full of both grace AND truth (John 1:14). Neither one at the expense of the other. He called sin what it was, but he also ate with sinners, healed them, and spoke to them with love before and after correction. The Pharisees had truth without grace. The culture today often pushes grace without truth. Both are distortions.

What strikes me most is the cost. This young man lost his career — or at least accelerated its end — over a public statement of faith. That's not nothing. And yet this is exactly what Jesus said would happen: "You will be hated by all for my name's sake." (Matt 10:22)

Key scriptures: John 1:14, Matthew 10:22, Romans 1:16, Colossians 4:5–6. Cross-reference with Module 11 (False Prophets) and Module 4 (The Watchman).

The 70 Weeks prophecy in Daniel 9 finally clicked for me today in a deeper way. Gabriel shows up while Daniel is praying and confessing Israel's sins, and gives him this mathematical prophecy — 70 "sevens" decreed for Israel and Jerusalem. That's 490 years, broken into three chunks: 7 weeks, then 62 weeks, then one final week still to come.

The jaw-dropping part is the math. Starting from Artaxerxes' decree in 444 BC, 69 weeks of years — 483 years, or exactly 173,880 days on the prophetic calendar — lands precisely on Palm Sunday. The day Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey and was publicly declared King for the first time. That is not coincidence. The odds of that lining up by accident are essentially zero.

Then the clock stopped. Israel rejected Jesus, and God paused the prophetic timeline. The 70th week — the final 7 years — is still future. That's the Tribulation. The Church Age we're living in right now is a divine parenthesis, tucked inside a prophecy specifically about Israel and Jerusalem. When the Rapture happens, the clock restarts. The final 7 years begin.

We also talked about the Gog-Magog precondition — Israel living in perceived safety. There's a ceasefire in place right now between Israel and Hamas, about six months old, but it's fragile. Israel says they won't stop until Hamas is annihilated. We're nowhere near "unwalled villages" yet. That condition is still Not Yet — but the ceasefire might be laying early groundwork for what Ezekiel describes.

Key scriptures: Daniel 9:24–27, Ezekiel 38:11, 1 Thessalonians 5:1–11. Cross-reference with Module 1 (Daniel's 70 Weeks) and Module 9 (Gog-Magog War).

I have to be honest about where I landed with the Gematria study. After working through Troy Brewer's numerology framework and then the broader Gematria tradition, I paused the tracker. The reason is simple, and I said it out loud in our session: "I could go in and find a number to correlate with the story I'm telling." That sentence is the problem. Any system where I can pick the number, pick the meaning, and pick the verse — and always end up with a confirming result — is not a system that can disconfirm anything. And a framework that can never be wrong is not really a framework. It's a mirror.

This does not mean numbers in Scripture are meaningless. Clearly 7, 40, 12, and others carry theological weight — they show up too consistently, too deliberately, in too many contexts to be accidental. God is not silent on numbers. But there is a huge gap between "Scripture uses certain numbers meaningfully" and "I can decode any verse by summing the Hebrew letter values." Those are two different claims, and only one of them has the weight of the text behind it.

I also want to be fair to Troy Brewer. His heart seems to be in the right place — he is trying to show that the Bible is a supernatural book, and he loves Jesus. I am not attacking him as a brother. I am simply saying that I cannot, with intellectual honesty, endorse a method where the conclusions outpace the evidence. Chris + Daniel + Matt verdicts on individual claims can still be logged over time, but I am not building our family's theology on numerology.

Action taken: Added a "My Honest Stance" box to numbers-skepticism.html. Set a calendar reminder for October 20, 2026 to revisit this position — am I more open, more closed, or about the same after six more months of study? Research queue for the interim: historical Gematria (Kabbalah origins, not Christian), documented failures (where the system predicted something that didn't happen), and the deeper question of what personal conviction actually requires of me here.

Key scriptures to sit with: Deuteronomy 29:29 ("the secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children"), 2 Timothy 3:16–17 (Scripture is sufficient), 1 Thessalonians 5:21 (test everything; hold fast what is good).

A three-hour session today covered three major threads — the Seven Churches of Revelation (with the Seven Feasts and the Seven Spirits of God as layered sevens), a focused look at the church at Philadelphia, and an almost accidental detour into the firmament of Genesis 1. Each deserves its own full study, but I want to log what stood out while it's fresh.

The Seven Churches (Revelation 2–3). All seven were real, historical congregations clustered in Asia Minor — what is today western Turkey. The geographical fact is striking by itself: these are not scattered across the empire. They are close enough that a single courier could have carried the book of Revelation between them in a matter of days. Within that tight cluster, Jesus addresses each church differently — five are told to repent, one (Smyrna) gets no rebuke, and one (Philadelphia) receives a promise that keeps leaping off the page for me: "Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth" (Rev 3:10). That is as close to a pre-Trib proof text as Scripture gives — a promise of being kept from, not carried through, the hour of testing.

Philadelphia — the church of the open door. The ancient city of Philadelphia is modern Alaşehir, which Turks translate as "God's City." The region is in the geopolitical spotlight right now. Turkey is actively reshaping the Middle East — Assad's fall in December 2024, Turkish troops operating in Syria, the Russia/Iran influence collapsing faster than anyone predicted a year ago. If the Gog-Magog coalition is still forming, Turkey's current pivot is fascinating to watch. It could be breaking away from Ezekiel 38's alliance — or it could be repositioning before realigning later. I do not want to force current events into prophecy, but I also do not want to ignore that the exact geography where Jesus promised the Philadelphia believers "an open door" is now the same geography where a major regional pivot is happening in real time.

The Firmament (Genesis 1:6–7). Natalie and I got into this while listening to Troy Brewer's chapter on the number 2 — the second day of creation being the day God separated the waters above from the waters below. The ancient Hebrew cosmology is a three-layer model: waters below (seas, springs, the deep), the firmament dome (sky, solid-seeming expanse), and waters above (held by the dome until the "windows of heaven" open — which is exactly the language used when the flood begins in Genesis 7:11). This is not the modern scientific picture of the atmosphere, and I think it is important to say that clearly. But it is the observational cosmology the biblical authors were working with — and the theological truth underneath it (that God alone sovereignly orders creation, that He holds back the waters, that He can open the heavens) stands regardless of which cosmological model you overlay on top of it. I want to summarize this for Natalie so she has the framework clearly.

Key scriptures: Revelation 2–3 (the letters to the seven churches), Revelation 3:7–13 (Philadelphia specifically), Revelation 3:10 (kept from the hour), Genesis 1:6–7 (firmament), Genesis 7:11 (windows of heaven opened), Isaiah 40:22 (God stretches out the heavens like a curtain).

Tonight in worship at Trinity Church, my son Chase debuted a song he wrote called "Libation." Pastor Matt had been carrying the word libation for over twenty years—it is the ancient practice of pouring out the most precious offering in remembrance, a total outpouring of what you have. He felt the Lord tell him to do something different in worship, to open the space for something new. Chase stepped up, and the lyrics came out fully formed, birthed in that moment through collaboration between pastor and son and the Holy Spirit.

The song is built on a single, devastating prayer: "Till nothing is left but only You." That is not a comfortable sentiment. That is the posture of someone who has actually decided their life is not theirs anymore. They are pouring it out like water. Breaking the alabaster jar. Spending the costly oil. Nothing held back.

The congregation wept. Not in a performative way—in the way that happens when something true is being sung, when the Holy Spirit recognizes His own work in the room. I watched people respond to the authenticity of it. Chase was not performing a worship song. He was singing his own surrender. And in that moment, the whole body of Christ present could recognize the real thing.

This is what genuine worship is—not a production, not even a well-crafted theological statement, but a human being standing before God with nothing left to hide, nothing left to bargain with, offering everything. Psalm 27:4 came to mind: "One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord." Chase was singing that. Living that, right there in the moment.

Key scriptures: Luke 21:1–4 (the widow's mite — not the amount but the wholeness), Philippians 3:7–8 (counting all things as loss), Romans 12:1 (present your bodies as a living sacrifice), Psalm 27:4.

The song: 🎧 "Libation" by Chase "Toopie" Campbell — Apple Music

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July 8, 2026 at 4:58 PM
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We picked up at 2 Samuel 2:12, the Pool of Gibeon. I didn't remember this being on the site, but I'm glad we walked through it because there's a lot going on.
The whole thing starts like a dare, you know? Abner and Joab are facing each other across the pool, and Abner says let the young men come forward and fight. Twelve on a side. But then it gets weird—they all grab each other, and they all stab each other at the same time. All twenty-four guys die. It sounds almost like an execution, like some kind of strange competition that nobody really wins. And then the real battle breaks out anyway. Abner's men get slaughtered—three hundred and sixty dead against twenty of David's men. So that whole Pool of Gibeon thing didn't decide anything. It just got things started.
Then Asahel, one of Joab's brothers, starts chasing Abner because he's really fast. Abner keeps telling him to back off, warns him twice basically, but Asahel won't stop. So Abner drives the butt end of his spear through Asahel's belly and he dies right there. Joab and his men keep chasing Abner until Abner basically says look, this sword fighting is gonna go on forever and end badly. Joab agrees, blows the trumpet, and everybody stops.
Then things get political. Ish-bosheth accuses Abner of sleeping with Rizpah, his concubine, and Abner goes crazy. He basically says I've been loyal to your family and I could've handed you to David already, and you're gonna call me out over a woman? Then he swears he's gonna transfer the kingdom to David.
So Abner sends word to David saying he'll bring all Israel over to his side. But David has a condition: bring back Michal, Saul's daughter. She was David's wife before, and David wants her back. Ish-bosheth actually does it. He takes Michal from her current husband Paltiel, and the guy follows her weeping as she goes.
Abner then goes around to the elders of Israel and to the tribe of Benjamin, basically saying look, you wanted David as king anyway, and God said David would save Israel. Let's make this happen. He's lining up support.
Then Abner comes to Hebron, David throws a feast for him, Abner promises to bring all Israel to David's side, and David sends him away in peace. Everything's looking good.
But then Joab shows up. He finds out that Abner was at Hebron making a deal with David, and Joab's not happy about it. He remembers that Abner killed his brother Asahel. So Joab sends men to bring Abner back from the well of Sirah, takes him aside privately in the gate, and stabs him in the gut with the butt of his spear. Same way Abner killed Asahel. Revenge.
David's devastated. He tears his clothes, mourns publicly, weeps at Abner's grave, and sings a lament for him. And that's when I realized something—why is David so upset? Abner was his enemy just a little while back. But then it hit me: Abner flipped sides. He wasn't an enemy anymore. He was coming around. He was trying to help David out, promising to bring the whole kingdom together without a big war. And then Joab kills him out of revenge, and David's basically saying man, why did you do that? He was a good guy. He was on our side now. He was gonna help us. I can't believe you did that to him.
David's upset because he lost a powerful ally and he lost his plan to unite the kingdom. Plus, David publicly mourns Abner to show everybody he didn't have anything to do with the killing. If he didn't mourn, people might think he ordered it.
But here's the thing that really hit me: if David's the king, why doesn't he just tell Joab hey, listen man, I appreciate what you did, but I'm gonna throw you in jail? Why doesn't he do that? And the answer is right there in the text. David himself says it: I am weak today, though anointed king, and these men, the sons of Zeruiah, are too hard for me. David doesn't have the power to lock up Joab. Joab's got military control. He's got loyal soldiers. And David's still trying to consolidate his position. If David tries to throw Joab in jail, Joab might rebel and take his army with him, which could tear the whole kingdom apart before it even gets started. So David's stuck. He can publicly mourn Abner to distance himself from the killing. He can ask God to repay Joab. But he can't actually enforce it yet. He's gotta wait until he's strong enough to deal with Joab. That's the precarious part of being a new king. You don't have all the power you think you have.
Then Ish-bosheth hears that Abner's dead and loses his nerve. Two guys named Baanah and Rechab show up—sons of Rimmon the Beerothite—and you get the feeling something bad is about to happen.
What struck me most was how fast this all moved and how messy it got. One dare at a pool turns into a bunch of guys dying, a chase, a revenge killing, and now the whole kingdom's falling apart. And David's stuck in the middle of it, mourning Abner but also stuck with Joab who does what he wants. That's a tough spot for a new king. You got these commanders who operate on their own rules, taking revenge for personal reasons instead of thinking about what's best for the kingdom. David's trying to build something bigger, and his own men are getting in the way.
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