Edition 49. 20th August 2010
In this edition:
●Important news item
●New videos under media tab
●The church in mortal danger
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● This is an important news item!!
●A potentially devastating Middle East conflict looms large now. US Ambassador to the UN has just said that "Israel only has a few days left to attack Iran's nuclear instillations." Russia will be delivering uranium nuclear fuel rods to Iran this weekend. These will be used to fire-up Iran's brand new 'Bushehr nuclear plant. The reactor is scheduled to be running by the 21st August. Israel will not move to take action after the fuel rods have been inserted, because the fallout would release radiation into the population.
This reactor and the spent fuel rods can be used to build nuclear arms.
Israel has an attack plan in place. If Israel is going to do anything it will have to be within days. If Israel does nothing, it will most certainly complicate any later action. We will see what happens.
●●●There are now new short videos under the 'media' tab. I will carefully select videos that deal with relevant issues. Many more will be coming, some which I am making myself.
The church in mortal danger
The church is in mortal danger simply because God says so. The messages to the seven churches in the Revelation are God's assessment and warnings to the church. There are very many other portions of scripture which outline the dangers as well. (Obviously not all of the church is in the same boat.)
Firstly I want to say that I am fully, prayerfully aware of the grave responsibility on me now. I stand first and foremost before My God and Lord, and I stand in fear! My passionate desire is not to prove myself right and others wrong (which only increases ones own guilt), but to set my heart and mind after our Lord, His truth and His ways with everything in me.
Before we look at the central issues, Let's have a brief look at just some of the warnings and dangers ahead for the church. Please be aware that in many cases, church leaders are completely responsible and in other cases, the people as well as the leaders are responsible. In some cases church members are simply innocent victims. In many cases there is hope of change, but in many others there is no hope. The Bible reveals all of this clearly.
Warnings and dangers:
In the Revelation the church at Laodicea is warned that it will be "spat out of the Lords mouth" because it is lukewarm to the gospel. Some within this church are told; "To him that overcomes, I will grant to sit with Me on My throne." The "dead" church at Sardis is warned; "You have a name that you are alive, but your dead...If you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief and you won't know what hour I come." It says that there are a "few here that will walk with Me in white" obviously implying that there are many who will not!
The church of Thyatira is warned that because "it tolerates Jezebel", or the occult and teaches others idolatry, it will be "cast into great tribulation". This church, amongst which orthodox churches can find their identity, is condemned because it "knows the depths of Satan." There are some in this church who "overcome." Two churches among the seven are warned that because they tolerate the doctrine and deeds of the Nicolaitans, they are in trouble! This doctrine is the separation of the clergy above the laity, giving supreme influence and power to a small group of clergy to keep the people in subjection. This doesn't negate the authority of the five-fold ministry offices. The Nicolaitan spirit can be best described as the desire to subjugate, control or dominate those under their influence, by separating and elevating themselves in many areas, even in terms of dress.
In other parts of the Bible we also find many warnings to the church, most relating to the time before the run up to the coming of the Lord. In this time period we see that a large part of the church will become flooded with materialistic and other worldly ways. As the spirit of the world floods in so the Spirit of God leaves! These churches continue on in the energy and power of the flesh, the world and the demonic and in many cases don't even know that the spirit leading them is false!
2 Thessalonians 2:3 "Let no one deceive you by any means; for that day will not come unless the great apostasy comes first and the man of sin is revealed." The man of sin here is obviously the antichrist. Note that it is the Spirit filled church that keeps him from being revealed. Some believe that the great apostasy is a reference to the rapture, because in the original, it is the definite article and not a more general apostasy. This may be so. Either way this is what is keeping the antichrist from being revealed. If this is referring to the rapture, nevertheless there is coming a big falling away of much of the church as well.
Matthew 24:12 "Because lawlessness will abound the love of many will grow cold." This verse of scripture is in the context and time period running up to the coming of the Lord.
1Corinthians 1:10 "Now I plead with you brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing and that there be no divisions among you." Divisions (denominations) within the church create weakness. There is strength in unity. A divided church is a sitting duck for attack and defeat.
The funny thing is that most people would acknowledge that an army needs to be strongly disciplined to be in unity, if it has any hope of being effective. Yet when it comes to the church, they don't seem to be aware of their weakness and vulnerability because of their divisions.
The safety of the gospel:
The following verses deliver a curse on those who add to or take away from the scriptures: Revelation 22:18 Deuteronomy 4:2, 27:26 If this is the case, it follows that it's not a good idea to take away from or add to the preached or taught gospel...not so?
Acts 20:27 "For I have not failed to declare to you the whole counsel of God."
Romans 15:19 "I have fully preached the gospel of Christ."
2 Timothy 4:3 "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine...because they have itching ears."
2Timothy 3:13, 16 "Evil men and imposters will grow worse and worse, deceiving an being deceived."...All scripture is profitable for doctrine reproof etc"
Romans 1:18 "The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness."
The above verses are clear and self explanatory. We need all of the whole, full, gospel taught and practiced experientially and not just selected favoured proof verses.
The way of victory is to have unity, and a love for the truth...all of it, and a resistance to error. We need to affirm and reject. Not just affirm and be wishy washy on error.
In many respects the church is in mortal danger because it has "killed" the prophetic word. Prophecy is the eyes of the church. Matthew 23:37-38 "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets...your house is left to you desolate." This shows the tragic end of rejecting prohecy.
Truth only offends those that don't love it. If you love the truth you will welcome all of it in, even the hard sayings.
The church has added to and removed many Bible truths:
In our era the church has tried to throw out many absolutes and change the truth to suite modern times. Church leaders have deemed many things in the Bible objectionable, so they've just removed them and added other things instead.
There is huge danger in tampering with the gospel. Ezekiel 13:10-11 "My people have been seduced saying peace when there is no peace...they build a boundary wall and plaster it with whitewashed un-tempered mortar - say to those who plaster it with whitewashed un-tempered mortar that it will fall..." Un-tempered mortar is cement mixed with the wrong mixture. It is useless as a border to keep error and evil out. It may look good, but it won't last especially when the pressure is on.
Truth and error don't mix. If you try to make them mix, the Spirit of God will leave and what will be left is a mixture devoid of truth, which will fail.
Today the message of the cross is missing. The cross and it's daily application into our lives is the great divider. It keeps the world system, the flesh nature and the demonic at bay! No application of the cross and these things come flooding in!
The application of the cross slays our pride and brings us down in humility. "God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble" Humility gives us eyes to see! All spiritual blindness is caused by self righteousness and pride.
Yeshua / Jesus did not say "follow Me." He said "take up your cross daily and follow Me."
The modern church has removed the teaching and preaching of hell, coming judgement and repentance. There is no fear of God. In it's place it teaches self confidence, self motivation, self fulfilment and many other such things.
The Bible does not suggest that people become believers! It teaches "Repent and believe." How can you repent if you have nothing to fear.
The fear of God is integral to the gospel. The Bible says that we are to consider the goodness and severity of God. When you remove the severity of the gospel there is no conviction, no repentance and no conversion.
Psalm 119:63 "I am a companion of all those who fear You and those who keep your precepts."
I recall being in a church in the late 70s. The pastor was a born-again hippie who was an ex circus clown and he looked the part. But he had a powerful way of pulling the carpet out from under us! He would say that you are worthless scum and on the road to hell. It was controversial, but deep repentance and true conversion was the result.
In place of the cross and it's deadly work, the church has added nice happy motivational preaching that glorifies and keeps self on the throne. It is one with the world and its ways. It loves the world.
Because the cross is absent in much of the church the demonic reigns. It's not just the occult practices of Babylon that have flooded into the church of Rome, and through to much of Christendom. Many occult practises of the ancient Egyptians are also central. Isn't it interesting that both Egypt and Babylon are scriptural types for the world. We know that Satan is the god of this world. So, it's actually Satan and the demonic that have been added into the church in the form of many traditions.
Some of these that are rooted in the occult include infant sprinkling called child baptism. Christmas, Easter, Lent, St, Valentines day and many others.
The church has removed Passover and replaced it with Easter. The image below (left) is of the Ishtar (Easter) gate in Babylon. (This is a rebuild, now in a museum in Egypt) It was the entrance to a Satanic temple in which you worshipped the Ishtar goddess by having sex. Rabbits, eggs and other fertility symbols were all over the place.
The call of the church is to preach against sin, to preach of coming judgement, hell and the love of God through the sacrifice of the cross. Instead the church preaches how you can get more things, like a rolex and a jet. Materialism is central, sanctioned. Love has become liberalism and tolerance. Tolerance is the last virtue of a collapsing society.
Today many don't even know what salvation is. Salvation means to be saved from something and to something. We are saved from hell, judgement, the devil, the devil working in the flesh nature, the power of the world and its god. We are saved through repentance and brokenness to new resurrection life, righteousness, holiness and to heaven.
The Bible says that a "tree is known by its fruit", but the forsaken part of that is "the fruit must remain." Today there is little endurance. Churches are like sausage factories producing happy sausages that soon get devoured by wolves.
The church has removed from it's gospel and practice the Feasts of the Lord, which are holy convocations for all of the Lord's people. Instead it has added occult-rooted pagan rituals and traditions. It has removed the true Sabbath and replaced it with the watered down Sunday Sabbath.
Saturday Sabbath observance should be a matter of identification with God's word and our soon to be brothers and sisters (the Jews) If we ignore the Sabbath and continue with the normal Sunday stuff, we are identifying with the Catholic church and its pagan practices as well as ignoring God's word.
Our Lord is called "The Lord of the Sabbath" Mark 2:28
We are to "remember the Sabbath to keep it Holy" we are to have a day of rest, reflection, fellowship and prayer on the Saturday Sabbath (which starts at 6pm on Friday evening and ends at 6 on Saturday.)
Here is something shocking:
Here is a very powerful and easy way to test and see if some tradition or convocation is of God or not. Do atheist and the unsaved world recognise it and celebrate it?
Does the world accept and celebrate Christmas, Easter, infant sprinkling, lent, St. Valentines day? Yes they do, without question.
Does the world accept and celebrate Passover, Shabbat ( Saturday Sabbath) adult baptism by full immersion, the Feasts of the Lord etc? No not at all, they have no part in these! That speaks volumes doesn't it?
The church is full of pagan idols dressed as Christian. Hosea 8:4 and Numbers 33:52 speak of "idols for destruction." Traditions founded and linked to idolatry need to be destroyed from our practise.
Passover, the truth and the Easter sex symbols from the ruins of Babylon:
The Bible teaches that the teacher or disciple has a weighty responsibility. Firstly, the qualification for discipleship is severe: Luke 14:27 "Whoever does not take up his cross and come after Me is not worthy of being My disciple." Then in Matthew 28:19-20 "Go therefore and make disciples among the nations...teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you. A true disciple is one taking up his cross and dying to self the world and the demonic and then teaching others to observe all things the Messiah has taught.
Here is an example I've used before. Many exalt mother Theresa. She believed that her duty was to help a Hindu, Muslim or any other on their road to death, and not try to convert them at all. In fact she rejected her faith in a letter to the pope because it was not inclusive of other religions. Did she fulfil the role of a disciple, bearing in mind the above to verses?
The church's failed in it's responsibility to the world.
The advance of Christianity has not kept pace with the advance of heathenism. Over 100 times more people are born than born anew! These figures were drawn up by Clarence Larkin in 1915, so by now the figures would be vastly different and much worse.
The church is supposed to be the "light of the world" and the "salt of the earth" It's call is to speak judgement into the evils of the world. It is supposed to be the restrainer of evil and the evil one! The salt has today lost its savour. The "light of the world" has become self-obsessed. Darkness advances when the light goes dim.
Today, in the name of love, the church has befriended the world. James 4:4 "Friendship with the world is enmity with God. 1 John 2:15 Do not love the world or the things of the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him."
As believers we are to have an invisible line of separation to and with the world and its god. BUT we are to be the light in the world shining on its evils and offering the way out. The following two verses are amazing indeed. They can be applied to a nation, a family or an individual:
Hosea 4: 1-3 "There is no truth, mercy or knowledge of God in the land...They will break all restraint, therefore the land will mourn and the people will waste away with the beast of the field, birds of air, even the fish will be taken away."
Proverbs 28:4 " If you forsake the Word of the Lord, you will praise the wicked."
Instead of keeping the wicked at bay, the church has forsaken the Word of God in this regard, resulting in wickedness being exalted or at least tolerated.
Too many have stolen their lives from God and given it to the god of the world.
In it's quest to become relevant to the world, the church has become tolerant of it and it's ways (and of course it's god)
The church was never commissioned to tolerate the evils of the world. The true church will never ever be able to become a friend of the world. True Biblical love can only be understood when the light shines into the darkness.
Psalm 119:53 "Indignation and horror has taken hold of me because of the wicked who have forsaken your law."
Let me ask you this. Are you horrified at the modern world?
The church has failed the Jews.
The Bible teaches that the gospel is to go the Jew first and then the Gentile. It also teaches that the Gentile church is supposed to make the Jews jealous. The salvation of the Jews is integral to the coming of our Messiah.
Here is something shocking:
1 Chronicles 21:1 "Now Satan stood up against Israel" Zechariah 3:2 "The Lord said to Satan, the Lord rebuke you Satan, the Lord who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you."
Israel, Jerusalem and the Jews have been in Satan's sights and targets for a long time. Replacement theology in essence is a demonic, church invented doctrine that replaces Israel with the church. A large part of the church mixed with a large inter-faith group will work with and for the false prophet, antichrist and Satan himself. In the end-time scenario these will come against God's work with Israel, Jerusalem and the Jews. These churches think are doing God's will! According to the verses above they are doing Satan's work!!
The whole world will soon turn against Israel in an evil campaign. It will have the counterfeit church working with it.
The church that is neutral to these things relating to Israel, is in trouble. The Bible says that if you are not with and for the work of God you are against it.
The true church needs to completely forsake all replacement theology, propagated especially by the denominational churches. It needs to stand with and for Israel and an undivided Jerusalem. The church needs to understand the Jews will soon become part of Messiah's family. They are our brothers and sisters in waiting!!
The answer:
The church needs to break free from the snares of occult influences, traditions and convocations. It needs to return to the Lord in deep repentance. Of course there are many who are just fine and this is confirmed by God Himself in the messages to the seven churches in the Revelation
The church needs to restore its first love to God and His word before it can be effective in bringing that love to the lost.
There is a fast growing revival on the go now. No it's not your normal miracles and revival meeting. It's a revival of truth. It may come as a shock to many, but the only significant revival comes when there is a revival within the church first of all. A church that has cast off the weights of idols and the occult and returned to truth is powerful indeed.
Summary:
In many regards the church today has become no different to the local sports club. It needs to "Ask for the old paths where the good way is and walk in it, then you will find rest for your souls." Jeremiah 6:16
In the midst of the failure of Christianity to fulfil it's God given duty, its very important to realise and understand that you and I as individuals can soar high like an eagle. Hebrews 6:2..."Let us go on to perfection." Only the Kingdom of God is unshakable! Everything else will shake and fall in its time.
Jeremiah 5:51 "The prophets prophecy falsely and the priest rule by their own power, and My people love to have it so."
Hosea 7:8 "Ephraim has mixed himself among the peoples and he is a cake unturned" (or half baked) Aliens have devoured his strength".
Heaven or hell:
You guys look so smug and self assured as you leave the interfaith conference. You've just decided to come together in unity. Unity between the Catholics, Anglicans, Muslims, Rabbic Judaism, Hindus, Buddhists and more. Ah, that sounds so gooood! Priest with the cross around your neck, let me ask you this. In your newfound unity what happens to the true cross of Christ? If other religions are legitimate, the cross of Christ was meaningless! Why do you mock the cross of Christ by wearing it around your neck?
Old lady, you have every right to look sad. The church of Jesus Christ has failed you. It has lost its strength to be effective in evangelism. It has become self centred and materialistic. It has joined the fast growing Satanic interfaith movement resulting in a loss of power. Yes it has let you down. But you can turn the story around swiftly by turning to Yeshua/ Jesus. Don't wait for the dead church to come to you.
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Here is a painting by Marc Chagall called The Yellow Cross
Kind regards and many blessings...Shalom and grow in grace!
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