And white robes were given unto every one of them
Revelation
And when he had opened the fifth seal,
I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God
and for the testimony which they held
And they cried with a loud voice,
saying,
How long,
O Lord,
holy and true,
dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
And white robes were given unto every one of them
and it was said unto them,
that they should rest yet for a little season,
until their fellowservants also and their brethren,
that should be killed as they [were,]
should be fulfilled
...
The first thing of note is the fact when Jesus opens the fifth seal John isn't called by one of the four beasts and told to come see, also there was no horse and rider depicting a journey through time here.
John watches the fifth seal being opened by Jesus and then instantly sees the altar. Where does an altar usually dwell? In a temple, right. There John sees the altar and the vision of those who died for their faith in Jesus and the word of God. Where else would such a vision exist? Just as Abel's blood cried out from the ground, just as rock cried out of the wall, the beam out of the timber - (Habakkuk 2: 11.) Just as an ass was made to talk- these things happen depiciting situations that are uncommon, not usual. Seeing the slain souls just like seeing the horses of the previous vision this is exactly what they are- visions of the unusual. Do you see red horses typically? No. Do you typically see rider's holding balances? These are symbolic visions holding important meanings and as John saw the souls under the altar do you really believe he could have seen ALL those slain for God, for Christ there? They would be innumberable and wouldn't fit under an altar. Symbolically it's realistic to understand that this vision in this time period is encompasses all those slain for God, for their beliefs in God. Those who when faced with death of denial of Christ, denial of their faith would rather die than give up the truth in God.
The question of how long is a question people put to themselves even now. How long before Christ returns- because only after all that MUST come to pass has come to pass can true vengeance belonging to the Lord be enacted.
This time period if as with the others coincides with the seven churches, would last approximately 200 years, between 1500 and 1700. During this time we know the reformation began and people began to sail to a new land where they could practice their religion out from under the thumb of the papacy where they would not be under religious persecution such as was going on in such a widespread manner elsewhere.
This little season of rest perhaps indicates the escape of many who otherwise would have perished under the on going papal persecutions as people began to move away from their staunch Catholic beliefs.
Being given white robes means what? They were being covered by Christ's righteousness, they were being given the assurance of their sacrifice; and where it says they should rest until their fellowservants and brethren should be killed as they were should be fulfilled- surely this means there would be more sacrifice for Christ, for their faith. In truth this meant not all would be able to escape, not all the souls that would be sacrifice were there and only when all of them were there could Christ avenge them together.
True vengeance for those martyred in Christ is only complete when death is swallowed up in the victory and the last of death is destroyed once and for all.
May God bless us all as we continue to study His word to find truth and understanding through the Holy Spirit's guidance. By the grace of Jesus Christ may we all be found in Him, and if called to die for Him, for the truth and faith in Him, may we do so in His strength. His will be done now and forever, amen.
9/10/10
Heb 6:1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,
Heb 6:2 Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.
Most of us have gone to school and because we've gone to school we know how education works don't we? In Preschool the foundation is laid for the next level- Kindergarten. In kindergarten the ground work is laid for first grade and so on. You wouldn't teach a five year old algebra when they've not even learned to add 2 + 2. You have to lay the foundation of mathematics before you can build upon that foundation, right? How frustrating would it be if you laid the foundation only to find out a short bit later that the foundation was forgotten? Could you go on to teach the next level without the foundation being in place? No. You could try but with out understanding of the basic foundation you would be building upon nothing and the result would be nothing. You couldn't learn without the foundation and without each level that builds upon the last level. This is true for MANY things we learn in life. A child can't walk until they have learned to pull themselves up, they can't pull themselves up until they learn to sit themselves up, they don't sit themselves up until they've the ability to turn themselves over and so on. Learning is a process. If you can't read there is a whole world of knowledge you are not able to access. Once you can read there is so much more you can learn. So why should things be any different spiritually? Why should we imagine we can learn without a solid foundation? And why should we imagine the foundation is all there is and we are not to learn any more?
Let's think about it, really think. The principle doctrine of Christ is necessary but going onto perfection is also necessary. The principles of the doctrine of Christ are-
Repentance, which is having a true understanding of our guilt, of our sin-filled selves and an understanding the we need to be otherwise in Christ. Repentance is understanding that sin is something to be despised and hated, not something cherished and held on to.
Repentance from dead works- understanding that works do not save us, but our Savior alone can give us eternal life.
Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Act 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Faith towards God. Faith is believing without seeing, hoping in salvation unseen.
Heb 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Baptisms- repenting and being baptized. The old life being buried and the subsequent rising up into new life in Christ.
Rom 6:4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
Laying on of hands- being blessed with the gifts of the Spirit.
Act 8:17 Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.
Resurrection of the dead- a reality at Christ's coming and after the 1000 years. A blessed resurrection for those who are called from the grave at Christ's coming. A resurrection of judgment to those called from their deaths 1000 years later.
Eternal judgment- a final judgment where all are judged.
Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
The principle doctrines- the foundation- the blocks to be built upon- the milk before the meat. We are to leave these principles once we are established in them and go on to perfection, we are to grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord… 2Pe 3:18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.
Heb 6:1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,
Heb 6:2 Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.
By the grace of our Lord, our Savior we will grow in grace knowledge of Him in all ways. In His mercy! In His love! By His forgiveness forever!
Amen.
9/10/11
2Co 11:14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel
of light.
2Co 11:15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers
also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be
according to their works.
This was spoken by Paul to God's people in Corinth, and all God's people
in Achaia.
2Co 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and
Timothy our brother, unto the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the
saints which are in all Achaia
Think about this for a moment- Jesus hadn't been gone for long. It has
been determined that Paul wrote this book of the Bible somewhere between 53 and
57 AD. As we've discussed before- Satan got right to work on God's people
wasting no time at all stepping in and trying to pervert the truth. Setting up
His counterfeit, Satan from the beginning has done all He can to thwart God's
truth and deceive people into believing in his truth, not God's.
2Co 11:3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve
through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that
is in Christ.
2Co 11:4 For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus,
whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not
received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with
him.
Corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ… HOW incredibly
beautiful is that? The simplicity that is in Christ. It is no secret that people
have made following Christ anything but simple. The complex set ups that make up
our churches could never be termed simple. It wasn't Jesus' plan that we make
huge organizations and call them churches- call them God's people. Over and over
people point out that the larger the following grew the more organization was
necessary, but in the simplicity of Christ- is that true? When did following God
mean taking oaths to follow beliefs of an organization? Isn't it true that MANY
people followed Jesus and it wasn't Jesus' desire to keep out the weeds? He let
all follow Him. He did not set up His apostles to keep watch and make sure no
Pharisees came near to Him. Jesus didn't raise up an army of guards to
keep out all those who did not truly believe. Jesus fed 5000 people and a
day later those 5000 followers who had been eager to crown Him their king- left
Him because He began to preach things they didn't want to comprehend. At that
point Jesus asked His apostles if they too were going to leave, but they
didn't. The point here being- Jesus ministered to 5000 people! And Jesus
knew that as soon as He began to speak hard truths these same people would turn
away.
I'm not against organizations- Jesus had His Apostles, His Apostles
appointed Elders and such but with ONE goal in mind- to live for Christ and help
those around them who chose to live for believing in the truth of Christ, to
minister to the poor, to do that which Jesus would have them do and that was to
always be a SERVANT first, never a master. Taking in ANY riches for selfish
reasons was NEVER God's plan, NEVER. Yet how quickly selfish gain infiltrated
God's true church- God's people.
Let's read those two verses again-
'But I fear lest by ANY means-
AS the serpent beguiled Eve through his
SUBTILTY
So YOUR minds should be corrupted from the SIMPLICITY that is in
CHRIST.
For if he that cometh preacheth ANOTHER Jesus whom we have NOT preached
Or
if ye receive ANOTHER spirit which ye have not received,
Or ANOTHER gospel
which ye have not accepted ye might well bear with him.'
By any means.
Through His subtilty.
Corrupted from the simplicity
that is in Christ.
Preaching another Jesus, another spirit, another
gospel.
And then this…
2Co 11:14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an
angel of light.
2Co 11:15 Therefore it is no great thing if his
ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall
be according to their works.
Satan himself is TRANSFORMED into an angel of light.
Satan's MINISTERS
are also TRANSFORMED as ministers of righteousness.
Why do so many people follow others blindly!!! Why?! Why do people follow
others without putting them to the 'law and to the testimony?'
Isa 8:20 To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not
according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.
Why?! When Satan infiltrated God's people- the church of God right from
the start! Shouldn't being wary rather than foolishly following be the order of
the day? Shouldn't this be a duty of all who would follow Christ? Making sure
that the simplicity of Christ, making sure that the gospel our Savior charged
His disciples to preach is what we are truly following. So many have
traded in truth for religious trappings. They have a picture in their minds of
how a 'church' should be and they join that 'church' rather than truly joining
Christ and preaching His true gospel. Shouldn't people be extremely wary when
they read these words of Christ Himself?
Mat 7:13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and
broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in
thereat:
Mat 7:14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way,
which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
Entering in the wide gates is NOT the guaranteed path to salvation so
many believe it to be. Entering in those church doors thrown wide open and
inviting is NOT necessarily entering into the truth at all. Yet so incredibly
many believe that as long as there is a following of those who claim to know
Christ, as long as outwardly there are all the signs and wonders we've come to
associate with being true followers of Christ- then they have to be in the right
place.
Then you get those who might suspect things are all on the up and up but
they quickly shush that voice because hey- what they are doing is better than
doing nothing. What they are doing is better than standing outside the
organizations without any formal church setting, without any appointed minister,
without any who can guide them. They would rather have a guide that could be
deluded than step away from that sense of organized religion. Satan has
duped people so incredibly well they refuse to see, they don't want to see and
the Bible tells us- God tells us - that those who wish to be blind will be
allowed to be blind.
Right from the start of churches corruption entered in, false churches
were created and they weren't the blatant false churches of idolatry, these were
churches so subtly, so close to the truth that it would be extremely hard to
distinguish between the true and false.
It's NO great thing for Satan's ministers to be transformed into
ministers of seeming righteousness. THESE are God's WORDS! This is God's
TRUTH!
Satan's ministers.
2Co 11:3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve
through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that
is in Christ.
The simplicity that is in Christ.
Belonging to an organization that claims to be God's true followers is
truly dangerous. When we join ourselves to an organization we are
attaching ourselves to that organization's beliefs, we are grouping ourselves
with them. If we are part of a corporate body- if that corporate body is corrupt
then we have joined ourselves with corruption. I fully believe that God
has sincere followers in all churches- but I fully believe that God will call
those followers OUT of those corrupt churches before our Savior returns.
Rev 18:4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of
her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of
her plagues.
When we join ourselves to lovely, seemingly sincere churches we are
accountable for knowing what we are joining right down to all their beliefs and
the heads of their corporations- we have that responsibility it doesn't
disappear just because we can't be bothered to care whether or not there is any
untruth in the main beliefs. Asking ourselves if a church is following the
SIMPLICITY that is in CHRIST is something we are accountable for, and whether or
not we LIKE what we find we are accountable for searching for TRUTH, not
searching for wonderful, convincing lies that appear to be truth just because we
don't want to be shaken loose from the deception we are so incredibly
comfortable following.
2Co 11:3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve
through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that
is in Christ.
Please God, please, this is our prayer, keep us from the evil one's
subtle deception, don't let us be corrupted from the simplicity that is in
Christ!
Keep us from evil.
Deliver us from evil.
May Your will be done now and always!
In the love of Jesus Christ our Savior!
Amen.
And when he had opened the fifth seal,
I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God
and for the testimony which they held
And they cried with a loud voice,
saying,
How long,
O Lord,
holy and true,
dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
And white robes were given unto every one of them
and it was said unto them,
that they should rest yet for a little season,
until their fellowservants also and their brethren,
that should be killed as they [were,]
should be fulfilled
...
The first thing of note is the fact when Jesus opens the fifth seal John isn't called by one of the four beasts and told to come see, also there was no horse and rider depicting a journey through time here.
John watches the fifth seal being opened by Jesus and then instantly sees the altar. Where does an altar usually dwell? In a temple, right. There John sees the altar and the vision of those who died for their faith in Jesus and the word of God. Where else would such a vision exist? Just as Abel's blood cried out from the ground, just as rock cried out of the wall, the beam out of the timber - (Habakkuk 2: 11.) Just as an ass was made to talk- these things happen depiciting situations that are uncommon, not usual. Seeing the slain souls just like seeing the horses of the previous vision this is exactly what they are- visions of the unusual. Do you see red horses typically? No. Do you typically see rider's holding balances? These are symbolic visions holding important meanings and as John saw the souls under the altar do you really believe he could have seen ALL those slain for God, for Christ there? They would be innumberable and wouldn't fit under an altar. Symbolically it's realistic to understand that this vision in this time period is encompasses all those slain for God, for their beliefs in God. Those who when faced with death of denial of Christ, denial of their faith would rather die than give up the truth in God.
The question of how long is a question people put to themselves even now. How long before Christ returns- because only after all that MUST come to pass has come to pass can true vengeance belonging to the Lord be enacted.
This time period if as with the others coincides with the seven churches, would last approximately 200 years, between 1500 and 1700. During this time we know the reformation began and people began to sail to a new land where they could practice their religion out from under the thumb of the papacy where they would not be under religious persecution such as was going on in such a widespread manner elsewhere.
This little season of rest perhaps indicates the escape of many who otherwise would have perished under the on going papal persecutions as people began to move away from their staunch Catholic beliefs.
Being given white robes means what? They were being covered by Christ's righteousness, they were being given the assurance of their sacrifice; and where it says they should rest until their fellowservants and brethren should be killed as they were should be fulfilled- surely this means there would be more sacrifice for Christ, for their faith. In truth this meant not all would be able to escape, not all the souls that would be sacrifice were there and only when all of them were there could Christ avenge them together.
True vengeance for those martyred in Christ is only complete when death is swallowed up in the victory and the last of death is destroyed once and for all.
May God bless us all as we continue to study His word to find truth and understanding through the Holy Spirit's guidance. By the grace of Jesus Christ may we all be found in Him, and if called to die for Him, for the truth and faith in Him, may we do so in His strength. His will be done now and forever, amen.
9/10/10
Heb 6:1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,
Heb 6:2 Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.
Most of us have gone to school and because we've gone to school we know how education works don't we? In Preschool the foundation is laid for the next level- Kindergarten. In kindergarten the ground work is laid for first grade and so on. You wouldn't teach a five year old algebra when they've not even learned to add 2 + 2. You have to lay the foundation of mathematics before you can build upon that foundation, right? How frustrating would it be if you laid the foundation only to find out a short bit later that the foundation was forgotten? Could you go on to teach the next level without the foundation being in place? No. You could try but with out understanding of the basic foundation you would be building upon nothing and the result would be nothing. You couldn't learn without the foundation and without each level that builds upon the last level. This is true for MANY things we learn in life. A child can't walk until they have learned to pull themselves up, they can't pull themselves up until they learn to sit themselves up, they don't sit themselves up until they've the ability to turn themselves over and so on. Learning is a process. If you can't read there is a whole world of knowledge you are not able to access. Once you can read there is so much more you can learn. So why should things be any different spiritually? Why should we imagine we can learn without a solid foundation? And why should we imagine the foundation is all there is and we are not to learn any more?
Let's think about it, really think. The principle doctrine of Christ is necessary but going onto perfection is also necessary. The principles of the doctrine of Christ are-
Repentance, which is having a true understanding of our guilt, of our sin-filled selves and an understanding the we need to be otherwise in Christ. Repentance is understanding that sin is something to be despised and hated, not something cherished and held on to.
Repentance from dead works- understanding that works do not save us, but our Savior alone can give us eternal life.
Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Act 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Faith towards God. Faith is believing without seeing, hoping in salvation unseen.
Heb 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Baptisms- repenting and being baptized. The old life being buried and the subsequent rising up into new life in Christ.
Rom 6:4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
Laying on of hands- being blessed with the gifts of the Spirit.
Act 8:17 Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.
Resurrection of the dead- a reality at Christ's coming and after the 1000 years. A blessed resurrection for those who are called from the grave at Christ's coming. A resurrection of judgment to those called from their deaths 1000 years later.
Eternal judgment- a final judgment where all are judged.
Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
The principle doctrines- the foundation- the blocks to be built upon- the milk before the meat. We are to leave these principles once we are established in them and go on to perfection, we are to grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord… 2Pe 3:18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.
Heb 6:1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,
Heb 6:2 Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.
By the grace of our Lord, our Savior we will grow in grace knowledge of Him in all ways. In His mercy! In His love! By His forgiveness forever!
Amen.
9/10/11
2Co 11:14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel
of light.
2Co 11:15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers
also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be
according to their works.
This was spoken by Paul to God's people in Corinth, and all God's people
in Achaia.
2Co 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and
Timothy our brother, unto the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the
saints which are in all Achaia
Think about this for a moment- Jesus hadn't been gone for long. It has
been determined that Paul wrote this book of the Bible somewhere between 53 and
57 AD. As we've discussed before- Satan got right to work on God's people
wasting no time at all stepping in and trying to pervert the truth. Setting up
His counterfeit, Satan from the beginning has done all He can to thwart God's
truth and deceive people into believing in his truth, not God's.
2Co 11:3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve
through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that
is in Christ.
2Co 11:4 For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus,
whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not
received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with
him.
Corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ… HOW incredibly
beautiful is that? The simplicity that is in Christ. It is no secret that people
have made following Christ anything but simple. The complex set ups that make up
our churches could never be termed simple. It wasn't Jesus' plan that we make
huge organizations and call them churches- call them God's people. Over and over
people point out that the larger the following grew the more organization was
necessary, but in the simplicity of Christ- is that true? When did following God
mean taking oaths to follow beliefs of an organization? Isn't it true that MANY
people followed Jesus and it wasn't Jesus' desire to keep out the weeds? He let
all follow Him. He did not set up His apostles to keep watch and make sure no
Pharisees came near to Him. Jesus didn't raise up an army of guards to
keep out all those who did not truly believe. Jesus fed 5000 people and a
day later those 5000 followers who had been eager to crown Him their king- left
Him because He began to preach things they didn't want to comprehend. At that
point Jesus asked His apostles if they too were going to leave, but they
didn't. The point here being- Jesus ministered to 5000 people! And Jesus
knew that as soon as He began to speak hard truths these same people would turn
away.
I'm not against organizations- Jesus had His Apostles, His Apostles
appointed Elders and such but with ONE goal in mind- to live for Christ and help
those around them who chose to live for believing in the truth of Christ, to
minister to the poor, to do that which Jesus would have them do and that was to
always be a SERVANT first, never a master. Taking in ANY riches for selfish
reasons was NEVER God's plan, NEVER. Yet how quickly selfish gain infiltrated
God's true church- God's people.
Let's read those two verses again-
'But I fear lest by ANY means-
AS the serpent beguiled Eve through his
SUBTILTY
So YOUR minds should be corrupted from the SIMPLICITY that is in
CHRIST.
For if he that cometh preacheth ANOTHER Jesus whom we have NOT preached
Or
if ye receive ANOTHER spirit which ye have not received,
Or ANOTHER gospel
which ye have not accepted ye might well bear with him.'
By any means.
Through His subtilty.
Corrupted from the simplicity
that is in Christ.
Preaching another Jesus, another spirit, another
gospel.
And then this…
2Co 11:14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an
angel of light.
2Co 11:15 Therefore it is no great thing if his
ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall
be according to their works.
Satan himself is TRANSFORMED into an angel of light.
Satan's MINISTERS
are also TRANSFORMED as ministers of righteousness.
Why do so many people follow others blindly!!! Why?! Why do people follow
others without putting them to the 'law and to the testimony?'
Isa 8:20 To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not
according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.
Why?! When Satan infiltrated God's people- the church of God right from
the start! Shouldn't being wary rather than foolishly following be the order of
the day? Shouldn't this be a duty of all who would follow Christ? Making sure
that the simplicity of Christ, making sure that the gospel our Savior charged
His disciples to preach is what we are truly following. So many have
traded in truth for religious trappings. They have a picture in their minds of
how a 'church' should be and they join that 'church' rather than truly joining
Christ and preaching His true gospel. Shouldn't people be extremely wary when
they read these words of Christ Himself?
Mat 7:13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and
broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in
thereat:
Mat 7:14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way,
which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
Entering in the wide gates is NOT the guaranteed path to salvation so
many believe it to be. Entering in those church doors thrown wide open and
inviting is NOT necessarily entering into the truth at all. Yet so incredibly
many believe that as long as there is a following of those who claim to know
Christ, as long as outwardly there are all the signs and wonders we've come to
associate with being true followers of Christ- then they have to be in the right
place.
Then you get those who might suspect things are all on the up and up but
they quickly shush that voice because hey- what they are doing is better than
doing nothing. What they are doing is better than standing outside the
organizations without any formal church setting, without any appointed minister,
without any who can guide them. They would rather have a guide that could be
deluded than step away from that sense of organized religion. Satan has
duped people so incredibly well they refuse to see, they don't want to see and
the Bible tells us- God tells us - that those who wish to be blind will be
allowed to be blind.
Right from the start of churches corruption entered in, false churches
were created and they weren't the blatant false churches of idolatry, these were
churches so subtly, so close to the truth that it would be extremely hard to
distinguish between the true and false.
It's NO great thing for Satan's ministers to be transformed into
ministers of seeming righteousness. THESE are God's WORDS! This is God's
TRUTH!
Satan's ministers.
2Co 11:3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve
through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that
is in Christ.
The simplicity that is in Christ.
Belonging to an organization that claims to be God's true followers is
truly dangerous. When we join ourselves to an organization we are
attaching ourselves to that organization's beliefs, we are grouping ourselves
with them. If we are part of a corporate body- if that corporate body is corrupt
then we have joined ourselves with corruption. I fully believe that God
has sincere followers in all churches- but I fully believe that God will call
those followers OUT of those corrupt churches before our Savior returns.
Rev 18:4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of
her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of
her plagues.
When we join ourselves to lovely, seemingly sincere churches we are
accountable for knowing what we are joining right down to all their beliefs and
the heads of their corporations- we have that responsibility it doesn't
disappear just because we can't be bothered to care whether or not there is any
untruth in the main beliefs. Asking ourselves if a church is following the
SIMPLICITY that is in CHRIST is something we are accountable for, and whether or
not we LIKE what we find we are accountable for searching for TRUTH, not
searching for wonderful, convincing lies that appear to be truth just because we
don't want to be shaken loose from the deception we are so incredibly
comfortable following.
2Co 11:3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve
through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that
is in Christ.
Please God, please, this is our prayer, keep us from the evil one's
subtle deception, don't let us be corrupted from the simplicity that is in
Christ!
Keep us from evil.
Deliver us from evil.
May Your will be done now and always!
In the love of Jesus Christ our Savior!
Amen.