Human nature
Jer 17:9 Heart deceitful above all things.Rom.8:7 Mind hostile towards God Each human must make his or her own decision to reject Satan's way and to obey God's Government.Adam was compelled, therefore, to make the choice. God purposely allowed Satan opportunity to confront Adam with his way of rebellion.But He did NOT allow Satan to get to Adam first. God Himself instructed Adam in GOD'S way -- the way of the GOVERNMENT OF GOD based on the LAW OF GOD, just as Lucifer and his angels had been first instructed in the ways of THE GOVERNMENT OF GOD.Then God allowed Satan to confront Adam. Satan got to Adam through his wife. Satan subtly deceived Eve into DISBELIEVING what God had taught them. Adam followed her in choosing rebellion and rejecting God's rule and government over them. They took to themselves the knowledge of what is good and what is evil -- deciding for themselves right from wrong.Then, something happened to the minds of Adam and Eve -- the eyes of both of them were opened (Gen. 3:7). The spirit and attitude of rebellion had entered their minds. Their minds (hearts) now had become perverted -- deceitful and desperately wicked.And THAT EVIL IN THEM CAME FROM SATAN, NOT FROM GOD! They were NOT created with this evil nature.Adam and Eve chose and acquired the "nature" or attitude of sin from Satan. It was not passed on by heredity.It's partly explained in the apostle Paul's second letter to the Corinthian church. He said he desired to present that church "as a chaste virgin to Christ. BUT I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ" (II Cor. 11:2-3).To the church at Ephesus, God said through the apostle Paul (Ephesians2:1-2): "And you [who] ... in time past ... walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air,the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience ...."GRASP IT! Satan is here called "the prince of the power of the AIR!" I could not have understood that 60 years ago. I did not then I realize how communication by sound and by picture can be broadcast instantaneously through the air.ave stressed the point that Satan, the former great archangel cherub Lucifer, was the most perfect and powerful being that God could create as an individual being. He was perfect as originally created.But he is composed of spirit, and thus he is invisible to human eyes.This great and powerful being, even though evil, has power literally to surcharge the air around this earth. HE BROADCASTS!Wherever you are as you read these words, chances are there are voices and perhaps music in the air around you. A radio or television set tuned to the right wavelength would make them audible to you.The spirit in every human being is automatically tuned in on Satan's wavelength. You don't hear anything because he does not broadcast in words -- nor in sounds, whether music or otherwise. He broadcasts in ATTITUDES. He broadcasts in attitudes of SELF-centeredness, lust,greed, vanity, jealousy, envy, resentment, competition, strife,bitterness, and hate.In a word, the selfishness, hostility, deceitfulness, wickedness,rebellion, etc. that we call "Human NATURE' is actually SATAN'S NATURE. It is Satan's ATTITUDE. And broadcasting it, surcharging the air with it, Satan actually NOW WORKS IN the unsuspecting all over the world today! That is HOW Satan deceives the whole world today (Rev.12:9; 20:3). Being invisible, Satan is not seen by people.This prince of the power of the air -- this god of this world -- IS THE REAL SOURCE OF WHAT WE HAVE COME TO CALL "HUMAN Nature"!Here is the real CAUSE of all the world's evils!But it seems nobody understands it, and therefore the world does nothing about it -- except to go along with it, blaming human nature and supposing it was GOD who created us with an evil nature. Actually,it is Satan's nature.People do not recognize the source of these attitudes, feelings,motives, and impulses. As I said, they do not SEE the invisible Satan.They hear no audible voice. They do not know the attitude comes from Satan (Rev. 12:9). But they come to FEEL such attitudes, impulses, and desires. That is how Satan DECEIVES THE WHOLE WORLD. So when you feel these attitudes..then they are from Satan.People will feel depressed and won't realize why. But those unaware of this phenomenon, with this self-centered attitude being broadcast and injected into their unsuspecting minds from earliest childhood, do, to a greater or lesser degree, absorb it until it becomes their normal attitude. It becomes habitual. It does not, of course, exhibit the same degree of effect in all minds -- one person will become more evil than another. But the natural tendency is there. They come to have it naturally. It becomes their very NATURE. And we call it "human nature."Conversion does not disconnect Satan's wavelength. The tendency to become resentful over real or fancied wrongs or injustices from others, the tendency to try to get the best of others, may still prove a temptation. THESE are the things the converted Christian must strive to overcome!When Jesus spoke of OVERCOMING, He referred to overcoming these attitudes and WAYS of Satan, which are contrary to GOD'S way. The Christian must, as Peter was inspired to write, GROW in grace and in the Knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ -- be a spiritual student.We read in James 4: "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." This is speaking of resisting these very self-centered thoughts, attitudes, tendencies, and ways which Satan injected into us from childhood and is constantly broadcasting and injecting into unsuspecting minds through the spirit in man.However, no man is IMPELLED to respond to and obey these impulses being broadcast by Satan. Satan has no power to FORCE anyone to think or do wrong. But the unsuspecting automatically do without fully realizing what is taking place in their minds. They drift along.Command him to go away and leave you alone.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Did God create Devil
Did God create a devil?
What does the Bible actually teach?To find out let's look back to the very beginning. Open your Bible to Genesis 1:1. "In the beginning God ...." God was before all. The next word in the King James version is "created." "God created." He created the heaven and the earth.But the very next verse says this: "The earth was without form, and void." The Hebrew words for "without form, and void" are tohu and bohu. Translated into English they mean chaotic, in confusion, waste,and empty.When God created the heaven and the earth, did He create this earth originally in a state of confusion? Did He create it all topsy-turvy and chaotic?I Corinthians 14:33 that "God is NOT the author of confusion."Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it? Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened [margin, "sunk"]? or who laid the corner stone thereof; When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?" (Job 38:4-7.)Notice Isaiah 45:18. "Thus saith the Eternal that created the heavens;God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it,he created it not is vain." "In vain" is an inappropriate translation.In your Bible, if you have the marginal references, you will find inthe margin a preferable translation, "waste."In Genesis 19:26, the same Hebrew word hayah is used which is translated "was" in Genesis 1:2. (See also Genesis 2:7 and 9:15.) Andthere it is translated into the English word "became." In the firstthree chapters of the Bible, and many other places where you find theHebrew word hayah, in almost every case it denotes a condition that was different from a former condition. In other words, the earth"BECAME" chaotic. It had not always been that way. Plainly the word"was" (hayah) here has the meaning of "became." The Rotherham translation of Genesis 1:2, out of the original Hebrew language, is this: "Now the earth HAD BECOME waste and empty." It hadn't always been that way. In Jeremiah 4:23, Isaiah 34:11, and in other places in the Bible, you find the same words, tohu and bohu, meaning "chaotic"and "in confusion." In every case that condition is a result of sin.The original Hebrew word there is TOHU. This Hebrew word is the identical word used in Genesis 1:2, meaning "confusion," or"emptiness," or "waste" -- a result of disorder, a result of violation of law. In Isaiah 45:18 we have the plain statement that God created the earth NOT tohu, that is, not in confusion, not in disorder. But inGenesis 1:2, the earth was (because it had become) chaotic and in confusion! Then it became that way after it was created. Now, what could have caused that confusion -- that disorder? What sin could have wrecked the earth and brought it into the condition in which it was found in Genesis 1:2?Next, let's turn to II Peter 2:4: "For if God spared not the angels that sinned ...." Here is the sin of angels mentioned.Now read the next verse, "And spared not the old world," between Adam and Noah, "but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly."There it mentions the sins from Adam to Noah, and it mentions the physical destruction to the earth as a result of the flood, a chaotic,physical condition brought about on the earth by the sins of those men.Was there a chaotic condition brought about on the earth as a result of the sins of angels? The sin of the angels is mentioned first, and it occurred first! There was a devil already there in existence by the time Adam was created. So the sin of the angels happened before the creation of man.Now quickly turn over to Jude. In the sixth verse, you read this: "And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation [they had a place where they lived, a habitation, and state, and they left it], he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day." Notice! It is the sinning angels who are reserved in those chains under darkness,restrained from light, restrained from truth until the judgment of the great day.The devil is the leader of fallen angels, as you will find in a number of places (John 12:31; Matt. 12:26; 25:41; Rev. 12:9). In IICorinthians 4:4 the devil is called "the god of this world." He is the king or the prince of the evil world that we live in today Then in verse 12, the type -- this human king of Babylon -- lifts to the arch-antitype, Satan. Satan is to be removed and bound after the Messiah's coming. Ezekiel's prophecy, to be described later, reveals that he is the former archangel cherub, Lucifer.So continue, verse 12. "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer,son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High" (Isaiah 14:12-14). The 15th verse returns to the human king.Notice, this former archangel had been placed as ruler over the angels that sinned. He had a throne. He said he would exalt his throne above the stars (angels) of God. It already was exalted above the angels on earth -- the angels that sinned with him. Now he was going to exalt it over GOD'S ANGELS in heaven. He was going to invade God's heaven,knock God off the throne of the universe, and rule the whole universe!We learn much more about this cherub who became Satan in Ezekiel 28.Here, beginning verse 1, the human prince of Tyre is referred to,wealthy (chapter 27), surrounded by perfect beauty, saying in his vain heart, "I am a God," -- "I sit in the seat of God" (verse 2) --compare with II Thessalonians 2:3-4.Compare also Ezekiel 27:7 with Revelation 18:16. All these refer to the same system. However, Ezekiel 26 refers to the ancient Tyre, as a forerunner or type of the present and yet future system. Then, as in Isaiah 14, the human type lifts to the satanic antitype in Ezekiel 28:12:"Son of man, take up a lamentation [dirge] upon the king of Tyrus[Tyre] ...." The whole prophecy of chapters 27 and 28 refers, not to the ruler of the ancient city of Tyre (as does chapter 26), but to an important personage, in Satan's hand, of our time -- and immediate future -- just before the coming of the Messiah to remove Satan and bring in world peace. Therefore the prophecy points to the END of this great personage ruling spiritually over nations -- as well as to Satan's removal from swaying mankind on earth. Now, beginning with verse 12, and on to the middle of verse 17, it speaks of Satan himself.So, continue: "... And say unto him, Thus saith the Lord Eternal; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering... the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes [music] was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created."here was happiness, peace, joy on earth. Of Lucifer, the Moffatt translation reads: "From the day you were created, you lived a perfect life, till you were discovered doing wrong" (Ezek. 28:15). GOD DID NOT CREATE A DEVIL, but a beautiful, perfect superangel. But God did give to His angels free moral agency -- minds that were free to think and reason -- the right of free choice."Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so,"answers God. In Exodus 25:17-20, you will find the description of the very throne of God in heaven, from which He rules the entire vast limitless universe. On this throne are two cherubim -- superarchangels -- whose wings spread out and cover the throne. This personage, then, is the former Lucifer, who was at the very throne of the universe, thoroughly experienced in the Government of God over the universe. Now he is pictured as being on earth. But he had been,formerly, at the very throne of God, as the next words plainly say:"... Thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity [lawlessness] wast found in thee."
What does the Bible actually teach?To find out let's look back to the very beginning. Open your Bible to Genesis 1:1. "In the beginning God ...." God was before all. The next word in the King James version is "created." "God created." He created the heaven and the earth.But the very next verse says this: "The earth was without form, and void." The Hebrew words for "without form, and void" are tohu and bohu. Translated into English they mean chaotic, in confusion, waste,and empty.When God created the heaven and the earth, did He create this earth originally in a state of confusion? Did He create it all topsy-turvy and chaotic?I Corinthians 14:33 that "God is NOT the author of confusion."Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it? Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened [margin, "sunk"]? or who laid the corner stone thereof; When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?" (Job 38:4-7.)Notice Isaiah 45:18. "Thus saith the Eternal that created the heavens;God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it,he created it not is vain." "In vain" is an inappropriate translation.In your Bible, if you have the marginal references, you will find inthe margin a preferable translation, "waste."In Genesis 19:26, the same Hebrew word hayah is used which is translated "was" in Genesis 1:2. (See also Genesis 2:7 and 9:15.) Andthere it is translated into the English word "became." In the firstthree chapters of the Bible, and many other places where you find theHebrew word hayah, in almost every case it denotes a condition that was different from a former condition. In other words, the earth"BECAME" chaotic. It had not always been that way. Plainly the word"was" (hayah) here has the meaning of "became." The Rotherham translation of Genesis 1:2, out of the original Hebrew language, is this: "Now the earth HAD BECOME waste and empty." It hadn't always been that way. In Jeremiah 4:23, Isaiah 34:11, and in other places in the Bible, you find the same words, tohu and bohu, meaning "chaotic"and "in confusion." In every case that condition is a result of sin.The original Hebrew word there is TOHU. This Hebrew word is the identical word used in Genesis 1:2, meaning "confusion," or"emptiness," or "waste" -- a result of disorder, a result of violation of law. In Isaiah 45:18 we have the plain statement that God created the earth NOT tohu, that is, not in confusion, not in disorder. But inGenesis 1:2, the earth was (because it had become) chaotic and in confusion! Then it became that way after it was created. Now, what could have caused that confusion -- that disorder? What sin could have wrecked the earth and brought it into the condition in which it was found in Genesis 1:2?Next, let's turn to II Peter 2:4: "For if God spared not the angels that sinned ...." Here is the sin of angels mentioned.Now read the next verse, "And spared not the old world," between Adam and Noah, "but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly."There it mentions the sins from Adam to Noah, and it mentions the physical destruction to the earth as a result of the flood, a chaotic,physical condition brought about on the earth by the sins of those men.Was there a chaotic condition brought about on the earth as a result of the sins of angels? The sin of the angels is mentioned first, and it occurred first! There was a devil already there in existence by the time Adam was created. So the sin of the angels happened before the creation of man.Now quickly turn over to Jude. In the sixth verse, you read this: "And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation [they had a place where they lived, a habitation, and state, and they left it], he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day." Notice! It is the sinning angels who are reserved in those chains under darkness,restrained from light, restrained from truth until the judgment of the great day.The devil is the leader of fallen angels, as you will find in a number of places (John 12:31; Matt. 12:26; 25:41; Rev. 12:9). In IICorinthians 4:4 the devil is called "the god of this world." He is the king or the prince of the evil world that we live in today Then in verse 12, the type -- this human king of Babylon -- lifts to the arch-antitype, Satan. Satan is to be removed and bound after the Messiah's coming. Ezekiel's prophecy, to be described later, reveals that he is the former archangel cherub, Lucifer.So continue, verse 12. "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer,son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High" (Isaiah 14:12-14). The 15th verse returns to the human king.Notice, this former archangel had been placed as ruler over the angels that sinned. He had a throne. He said he would exalt his throne above the stars (angels) of God. It already was exalted above the angels on earth -- the angels that sinned with him. Now he was going to exalt it over GOD'S ANGELS in heaven. He was going to invade God's heaven,knock God off the throne of the universe, and rule the whole universe!We learn much more about this cherub who became Satan in Ezekiel 28.Here, beginning verse 1, the human prince of Tyre is referred to,wealthy (chapter 27), surrounded by perfect beauty, saying in his vain heart, "I am a God," -- "I sit in the seat of God" (verse 2) --compare with II Thessalonians 2:3-4.Compare also Ezekiel 27:7 with Revelation 18:16. All these refer to the same system. However, Ezekiel 26 refers to the ancient Tyre, as a forerunner or type of the present and yet future system. Then, as in Isaiah 14, the human type lifts to the satanic antitype in Ezekiel 28:12:"Son of man, take up a lamentation [dirge] upon the king of Tyrus[Tyre] ...." The whole prophecy of chapters 27 and 28 refers, not to the ruler of the ancient city of Tyre (as does chapter 26), but to an important personage, in Satan's hand, of our time -- and immediate future -- just before the coming of the Messiah to remove Satan and bring in world peace. Therefore the prophecy points to the END of this great personage ruling spiritually over nations -- as well as to Satan's removal from swaying mankind on earth. Now, beginning with verse 12, and on to the middle of verse 17, it speaks of Satan himself.So, continue: "... And say unto him, Thus saith the Lord Eternal; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering... the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes [music] was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created."here was happiness, peace, joy on earth. Of Lucifer, the Moffatt translation reads: "From the day you were created, you lived a perfect life, till you were discovered doing wrong" (Ezek. 28:15). GOD DID NOT CREATE A DEVIL, but a beautiful, perfect superangel. But God did give to His angels free moral agency -- minds that were free to think and reason -- the right of free choice."Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so,"answers God. In Exodus 25:17-20, you will find the description of the very throne of God in heaven, from which He rules the entire vast limitless universe. On this throne are two cherubim -- superarchangels -- whose wings spread out and cover the throne. This personage, then, is the former Lucifer, who was at the very throne of the universe, thoroughly experienced in the Government of God over the universe. Now he is pictured as being on earth. But he had been,formerly, at the very throne of God, as the next words plainly say:"... Thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity [lawlessness] wast found in thee."
CATHOLIC PROPHECY
CATHOLIC PROPHECY
by Rod King
Prophecy can arouse a variety of responses in us. For some it evokes fear of the future, whereas for others it is a fascination and can even become an obsession.
When God spoke through His prophets of old it was for a specific purpose—to proclaim in advance what He would do for those whom He would call to salvation.
"Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully,who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ [which] was in them was indicating....but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you...things which angels desire to look into"(1Peter 1:10-12).
The purpose of prophetic understanding must be the same for the Church today—to proclaim what God is doing for those whom he has called to salvation. To pursue prophecy for the purpose of superior knowledge simply puffs a person up. "And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge...but have not love, I am nothing" (1 Corinthians 13:2). "Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies.And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet ashe ought to know"(1 Corinthians 8:1-2).
In other words, we can only know what God wants us to know. Anything outside of His will is self-thought and not inspired. To pronounce prophetic understanding is an awesome responsibility and must not be taken lightly.
Who Understands Prophecy Today?
God is jealous about those to whom He will reveal prophetic understanding. The prophet Amos tells us: "Surely the Lord God does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets"(Amos 3:7). Only those who serve Him faithfully in all areas of their life can receive this special understanding. This also provides a benchmark for those of us wanting to read or hear about prophecy. We can ask the question, "Is this person obeying God's commandments'?" If the answer is negative we can know that they are not being led by God.
The preamble to the book of Revelation preserves this principle.Notice: "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place" (Revelation 1:1).These servants are identified as God's saints in Revelation 14:12,"who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus."
Peter warns us once again about private interpretation of prophecy:"And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of than, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit" (2 Peter 1:19-21).
Is All End-Time Prophecy True?
Most are familiar with the prognostications of soothsayers and astrologers. God clearly warns us to have nothing to do with them.What about Nostradamus or Mother Shipton? Some of their forecasts bear uncanny similarity to events that have occurred, while others are either so vague or ambiguous that one cannot be certain of their veracity. Others are clearly false and untrue.
There is a source of end-time "prophecies" made by religious people over centuries that serves as an interesting com n with clear biblical prophecies. These were compiled in 1956 by the Academy Library Guild of Fresno, California, under the title Prophecy for Today, and republished in 1984 by Tan Books and Publishers, Inc., of Rockford,Illinois.
The book includes the prophecy of St. Malachy, the Irish priest who supposedly foretold all of the popes that would exist up until the destruction of the great church at the coming of Antichrist. His prophecy concludes: "In the final persecution of the Holy Roman Church there shall reign Peter the Roman who will feed his flock amid many tribulations, alter which the seven-hilled city will be destroyed and the terribie judge will judge the people" (page 9).
Chapter 5 is titled "The Great Monarch and the Angelic Pastor." These two illustrious figures will supposedly unite civil and religious forces to bring a utopian peace and tranquillity to the whole world prior to the coming of Antichrist. Let us notice some of the predictions made over many centuries:
Saint Ceaser of Arles (469-543): "When the entire world, and in a special manner France and in France more particularly the provinces of the North, of the East, and above all that of Lorraine and Champagne[i.e., the region of the major battles of World War I], shall have been a prey to the greatest miseries and trials, then the provinces shall be succoured by a prince who had been exiled in his youth, and who shall recover the crown of the lilies. [The fleur-de-lis or"flower of the lily" has been the heraldic symbol of the kings of France for centuries.]
"This prince shall extend his dominion over the entire universe. At the same time there will be a Great Pope, who will be the most eminentin sanctity and most perfect in every quality. This Pope shall have with him the Great Monarch, a most virtuous man, who shall be a scion of the holy race of the French kings. This Great Monarch will assist the Pope in the reformation of the whole earth. Many princes andnations that are living in terror and impiety shall be converted, and an admirable peace shall reign among men during many years because the wrath of God shall be appeased through repentance, penance and good works. There will be one common law, one only faith, one baptism, one religion. All nations shall recognize the Holy See of Rome, and shall pay homage to the Pope. But after some considerable time fervor shall cool, iniquity shall abound, and moral corruption shall become worse than ever, which shall bring upon mankind the last and worst persecution of Antichrist and the end of the world" (page 30).
Monk Adso (died 992): "Some of our teachers say that a King of the Franks will possess the entire Roman Empire. This King will be the greatest and last of all monarchs, and after having prosperously governed his kingdom he will come in the end to Jerusalem and he willl ay down his scepter and his crown upon the Mount of Olives. This will be the end and consummation of the Empire of Rome and immediately afterwards Antichrist will come" (page 31).
Abbot "Merlin" Joachim (died 1202): "The sanctity of this beneficent Pontiff will be so great that the highest potentates shall bow down before his presence. This holy man shall crush the arrogance of religious schism and heresy. All men will return to the primitive Church, and there shall be only one pastor, one law, one master humble, modest and fearing God...because only God alone can and will pour down on the wounds of humanity the oily balm of sweetness...
"The city of Babylon shall then be the head and the guide of the world. Rome, weakened in temporal power, shall preserve her spiritual dominion and shall enjoy great peace. Six and a half years after this time the Pope will render his soul to God" (page 32).
A few prophecies talk about the end of the papacy and the church. Here are two such predictions, one from a modern Pope.
Brother John of the Cleft Rock (1340): "Toward the end of the world the Pope with the Cardinals will have to flee Rome under trying circumstances to a place where he will be unknown. He will die a cruel death in this exile" (page 39).
Pope Pius X(died 1914): "I saw one of my successors by name fleeing over the corpses of his brethren. He will flee to a place for a short respite where he is unknown, but he himself will die a cruel death."
The "Antichrist"
According to the writings of these "prophets," a man of Jewish birth will be Antichrist. Here are some of the private prophecies about this person who will destroy the power of the Papacy and the Great Monarch.
Saint Methodius (died 885): "In the last period Christians will not appreciate the great grace of God who provided a Great Monarch...Many men will doubt whether the Catholic faith is the true and only savingo ne and whether the Jews are perhaps correct when they still expect the Messiah"(page 75).
Saint Anselm (died 1109): "Antichrist will rule the world from Jerusalem which he will make into a magnificent city"(page 76).
Dionysius of Luxembourg (died 1682): "Antichrist will be an iconoclast(even against pagan images). Most of the world will adore him. He will teach that the Christian religion is false, confiscation of Christian property is legal, Saturday is to be observed instead of Sunday, and he will change the ten commandments. He will read people's minds, raise the dead, reward his followers and punish the rest."
"Antichrist will fight a successful battle at Megiddo in Palestine after which seven rulers, from fear, will subject themselves to Antichrist and he will thereafter become lord of the world"(page 85-86).
Be Not Deceived
The existence of these predictions over centuries provides a fascinating awareness that events of the end-times have captured the abiding interest of religious people. What is obvious to God's people is that we must be certain what God prophesies so that we will not be deceived.
Jesus Christ warned his disciples in Matthew 24:4, 5 and 24: "Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying,'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many.... For false christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders to deceive,if possible, even the elect."
Are we sure of our ability to discern counterfeit prophecy? These and other "prophecies" will soon be foisted on an unsuspecting world.Notice what the apostle Paul warned in 2 Thessalonians 2:9-11: "The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deceptionamong those who [are] perish[ing], because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie"(emphasis added).
Satan is the god of this world and he has deceived the whole world with his religious system. Part of that deception is false prophecy and, as we have seen above, the counterfeit is indeed clever. To twist the roles of the principle players in the future explains why the inhabitants of the earth will fight Jesus Christ at His return; they will believe He is Antichrist!
Notice the Counterfeits
These "prophecies" mentioned a Great Monarch and an Angelic Pastor.Who does the Bible say they are?
Notice Revelation 19:19-20: "And I saw the beast [the Great Monarch],the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse [Jesus Christ] and against His army. Then the beast was captured, and with Him the false prophet [theAngelic Pastor] who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped hisimage."
Notice also the interesting twist where the true s called "Antichrist"and "the terrible judge" in these prophecies. What a challenge awaits the resurrected saints in dealing with a terrified world that survives the horrors of the Day of the Lord.
A study of this, and other similar books, will reveal how we are responsible for maintaining a healthy reverence for God's word Our understanding is not of our own intellect; rather, it is a gift ofGod.
God's true servants have a great work to do before the famine "of hearing the words of the Lord"(Amos 8:11) comes upon this world. We still have freedom to preach and publish, but that will not always beso. "Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthyto escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand beforethe Son of Man"(Luke 21:36).
by Rod King
Prophecy can arouse a variety of responses in us. For some it evokes fear of the future, whereas for others it is a fascination and can even become an obsession.
When God spoke through His prophets of old it was for a specific purpose—to proclaim in advance what He would do for those whom He would call to salvation.
"Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully,who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ [which] was in them was indicating....but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you...things which angels desire to look into"(1Peter 1:10-12).
The purpose of prophetic understanding must be the same for the Church today—to proclaim what God is doing for those whom he has called to salvation. To pursue prophecy for the purpose of superior knowledge simply puffs a person up. "And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge...but have not love, I am nothing" (1 Corinthians 13:2). "Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies.And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet ashe ought to know"(1 Corinthians 8:1-2).
In other words, we can only know what God wants us to know. Anything outside of His will is self-thought and not inspired. To pronounce prophetic understanding is an awesome responsibility and must not be taken lightly.
Who Understands Prophecy Today?
God is jealous about those to whom He will reveal prophetic understanding. The prophet Amos tells us: "Surely the Lord God does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets"(Amos 3:7). Only those who serve Him faithfully in all areas of their life can receive this special understanding. This also provides a benchmark for those of us wanting to read or hear about prophecy. We can ask the question, "Is this person obeying God's commandments'?" If the answer is negative we can know that they are not being led by God.
The preamble to the book of Revelation preserves this principle.Notice: "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place" (Revelation 1:1).These servants are identified as God's saints in Revelation 14:12,"who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus."
Peter warns us once again about private interpretation of prophecy:"And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of than, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit" (2 Peter 1:19-21).
Is All End-Time Prophecy True?
Most are familiar with the prognostications of soothsayers and astrologers. God clearly warns us to have nothing to do with them.What about Nostradamus or Mother Shipton? Some of their forecasts bear uncanny similarity to events that have occurred, while others are either so vague or ambiguous that one cannot be certain of their veracity. Others are clearly false and untrue.
There is a source of end-time "prophecies" made by religious people over centuries that serves as an interesting com n with clear biblical prophecies. These were compiled in 1956 by the Academy Library Guild of Fresno, California, under the title Prophecy for Today, and republished in 1984 by Tan Books and Publishers, Inc., of Rockford,Illinois.
The book includes the prophecy of St. Malachy, the Irish priest who supposedly foretold all of the popes that would exist up until the destruction of the great church at the coming of Antichrist. His prophecy concludes: "In the final persecution of the Holy Roman Church there shall reign Peter the Roman who will feed his flock amid many tribulations, alter which the seven-hilled city will be destroyed and the terribie judge will judge the people" (page 9).
Chapter 5 is titled "The Great Monarch and the Angelic Pastor." These two illustrious figures will supposedly unite civil and religious forces to bring a utopian peace and tranquillity to the whole world prior to the coming of Antichrist. Let us notice some of the predictions made over many centuries:
Saint Ceaser of Arles (469-543): "When the entire world, and in a special manner France and in France more particularly the provinces of the North, of the East, and above all that of Lorraine and Champagne[i.e., the region of the major battles of World War I], shall have been a prey to the greatest miseries and trials, then the provinces shall be succoured by a prince who had been exiled in his youth, and who shall recover the crown of the lilies. [The fleur-de-lis or"flower of the lily" has been the heraldic symbol of the kings of France for centuries.]
"This prince shall extend his dominion over the entire universe. At the same time there will be a Great Pope, who will be the most eminentin sanctity and most perfect in every quality. This Pope shall have with him the Great Monarch, a most virtuous man, who shall be a scion of the holy race of the French kings. This Great Monarch will assist the Pope in the reformation of the whole earth. Many princes andnations that are living in terror and impiety shall be converted, and an admirable peace shall reign among men during many years because the wrath of God shall be appeased through repentance, penance and good works. There will be one common law, one only faith, one baptism, one religion. All nations shall recognize the Holy See of Rome, and shall pay homage to the Pope. But after some considerable time fervor shall cool, iniquity shall abound, and moral corruption shall become worse than ever, which shall bring upon mankind the last and worst persecution of Antichrist and the end of the world" (page 30).
Monk Adso (died 992): "Some of our teachers say that a King of the Franks will possess the entire Roman Empire. This King will be the greatest and last of all monarchs, and after having prosperously governed his kingdom he will come in the end to Jerusalem and he willl ay down his scepter and his crown upon the Mount of Olives. This will be the end and consummation of the Empire of Rome and immediately afterwards Antichrist will come" (page 31).
Abbot "Merlin" Joachim (died 1202): "The sanctity of this beneficent Pontiff will be so great that the highest potentates shall bow down before his presence. This holy man shall crush the arrogance of religious schism and heresy. All men will return to the primitive Church, and there shall be only one pastor, one law, one master humble, modest and fearing God...because only God alone can and will pour down on the wounds of humanity the oily balm of sweetness...
"The city of Babylon shall then be the head and the guide of the world. Rome, weakened in temporal power, shall preserve her spiritual dominion and shall enjoy great peace. Six and a half years after this time the Pope will render his soul to God" (page 32).
A few prophecies talk about the end of the papacy and the church. Here are two such predictions, one from a modern Pope.
Brother John of the Cleft Rock (1340): "Toward the end of the world the Pope with the Cardinals will have to flee Rome under trying circumstances to a place where he will be unknown. He will die a cruel death in this exile" (page 39).
Pope Pius X(died 1914): "I saw one of my successors by name fleeing over the corpses of his brethren. He will flee to a place for a short respite where he is unknown, but he himself will die a cruel death."
The "Antichrist"
According to the writings of these "prophets," a man of Jewish birth will be Antichrist. Here are some of the private prophecies about this person who will destroy the power of the Papacy and the Great Monarch.
Saint Methodius (died 885): "In the last period Christians will not appreciate the great grace of God who provided a Great Monarch...Many men will doubt whether the Catholic faith is the true and only savingo ne and whether the Jews are perhaps correct when they still expect the Messiah"(page 75).
Saint Anselm (died 1109): "Antichrist will rule the world from Jerusalem which he will make into a magnificent city"(page 76).
Dionysius of Luxembourg (died 1682): "Antichrist will be an iconoclast(even against pagan images). Most of the world will adore him. He will teach that the Christian religion is false, confiscation of Christian property is legal, Saturday is to be observed instead of Sunday, and he will change the ten commandments. He will read people's minds, raise the dead, reward his followers and punish the rest."
"Antichrist will fight a successful battle at Megiddo in Palestine after which seven rulers, from fear, will subject themselves to Antichrist and he will thereafter become lord of the world"(page 85-86).
Be Not Deceived
The existence of these predictions over centuries provides a fascinating awareness that events of the end-times have captured the abiding interest of religious people. What is obvious to God's people is that we must be certain what God prophesies so that we will not be deceived.
Jesus Christ warned his disciples in Matthew 24:4, 5 and 24: "Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying,'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many.... For false christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders to deceive,if possible, even the elect."
Are we sure of our ability to discern counterfeit prophecy? These and other "prophecies" will soon be foisted on an unsuspecting world.Notice what the apostle Paul warned in 2 Thessalonians 2:9-11: "The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deceptionamong those who [are] perish[ing], because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie"(emphasis added).
Satan is the god of this world and he has deceived the whole world with his religious system. Part of that deception is false prophecy and, as we have seen above, the counterfeit is indeed clever. To twist the roles of the principle players in the future explains why the inhabitants of the earth will fight Jesus Christ at His return; they will believe He is Antichrist!
Notice the Counterfeits
These "prophecies" mentioned a Great Monarch and an Angelic Pastor.Who does the Bible say they are?
Notice Revelation 19:19-20: "And I saw the beast [the Great Monarch],the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse [Jesus Christ] and against His army. Then the beast was captured, and with Him the false prophet [theAngelic Pastor] who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped hisimage."
Notice also the interesting twist where the true s called "Antichrist"and "the terrible judge" in these prophecies. What a challenge awaits the resurrected saints in dealing with a terrified world that survives the horrors of the Day of the Lord.
A study of this, and other similar books, will reveal how we are responsible for maintaining a healthy reverence for God's word Our understanding is not of our own intellect; rather, it is a gift ofGod.
God's true servants have a great work to do before the famine "of hearing the words of the Lord"(Amos 8:11) comes upon this world. We still have freedom to preach and publish, but that will not always beso. "Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthyto escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand beforethe Son of Man"(Luke 21:36).
Notes
Where are we now in paranormal of world events But I hasten to add if this catastrophic World War III does explode,that will be the definite ASSURANCE that WORLD PEACE in the utopian WORLD TOMORROW is imminently to follow. I would rather picture to our readers a future of WORLD HOPE than of horrifying world disaster. But we live in a troubled world with unprecedented evils piled mountain-high. And the trend is foreboding - not reassuring. It will get darker before the DAWN. The important thing is that the DAWN is absolutely assured by the living Creator GOD!
To God I said, "YES, SIR!" In utter sincerity, I literally GAVE MYSELF to Jesus Christ. He had bought and paid for me with His life's blood.He OWNED me. I BELONGED TO HIM! I became a YES-MAN to Christ!
7 proofs of Church of God and gospel mal 3:1 1st coming Mark 1:1 quotes mal 3:1 2 thru 6 2nd coming Now came the urgent desire to find the ONE and ONLY true Church of God as founded A.D. 31 by Jesus Christ. He had said (Matthew 16:18) that His Church would not die but continue through the generations.My intensive biblical studies had shown me the basic evidences that would identify that continuing original Church.
1) It would have rightly discerned the revealed TRUTH of God as contained in His Word, the Holy Bible. I had learned that GOD is the Source of knowledge, and He REVEALS that knowledge through His written Word. This Word, remember, I had PROVED by irrefutable PROOF the divine inspiration and SUPREME AUTHORITY of the Holy Bible as the revealed Word of God. God is the supreme Educator - Revealer of TRUTH.
2) It would be, not a human secular organization, but a SPIRITUAL ORGANISM, yet WELL ORGANIZED on God's revealed pattern. It would be composed of begotten children of God - the "... household of God ...built upon the foundation of the apostles and the prophets," with Jesus Christ its guiding HEAD (Ephesians 2:19-20), as a "... building fitly framed together groweth unto an HOLY TEMPLE in the Lord" (verse21) "... from whom the whole body [is] fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth ..." (Ephesians 4:16).It would have UNDERSTANDING of GODS TRUTH. And it would be PRODUCING ABUNDANT FRUIT.
Proof 1 – Who and What is God
The true understanding of the very identity of God is one proof." ( Acts 17 verses 22-26). WHO IS GOD? CREATION is the basic proof of God. These Athenian Epicureans and Stoics did not even know that.Perhaps the adherents of many religions do not.But in chapter 2, Moses began adding another name for God - Yahweh in the Hebrew, usually combined with Elohim - as Yahweh Elohim. In the King James English translation it is rendered "LORD God," which is somewhat misleading.It is interesting, at this point, to explain this name Yahweh. There is no one word in the English language that adequately translates it.It means "the self-existent, eternal living creative one." The Moffatt translation renders it "the Eternal." The Ferrar Fenton translation uses "the Ever-Living." Personally, to use only one word, I prefer to use "the Eternal" instead of "the LORD."God Family(Elohim). Potential to be part of this family. Holy Spirit is power of God and Christ. Not a being. Improperly translated in KJV as he...should be it as is mentioned in some places. Christ is God of Old testament. Acts 10:45 John 1:1 Eph 3:9 God reveals that He is Spirit-composed (John 4:24). Unless supernaturally manifested, spirit is invisible to human eyes. Jesus said to His disciples, "... Ye have neither heard his voice... nor seen his shape." (John 5:37). Later, "Philip saith unto him, Lord,shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us." Jesus answered "... Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father..." (John 14:8-9). WHY? Because God the Father-if human eyes could see - looks like Jesus. And what did Jesus look like? Certainly NOT like pictures you have seen supposed to picture Him. For one thing, HE DID NOT HAVE LONG HAIR (ICorinthians 11:14). He looked like other Jews then in Judea, else the chief priests would not have paid Judas Iscariot 30 pieces of silver to identify Him. Now notice once again Genesis 1:26: "... God (Elohim)said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness [form and shape]..." God is described in the Bible as having eyes, ears, nose,mouth - hair on His head - arms, legs, fingers, toes. Jesus was "...the express image of his [the Father's] Person..." (Hebrews 1:3).
Proof number 2 - The government of God and the creation of holy righteous character As Creator, the most important feat of creation is holy, righteous CHARACTER.
That is so stupendous an accomplishment that even the GREAT MAJESTIC GOD, in all His matchless supernatural power, cannot create such character instantaneously or automatically by fiat. That ought to take the reader's breath! Is there actually something that even GOD cannot do - by Himself alone? Such character is the ability of a separate conscious, thinking entity with free moral agency - capacity for free choice - to come to KNOW the right from wrong, good from evil, to make the decision, and then with God's help exercise the WILL to DO the right or good, even contrary to self-desire.God's spiritual law is the way of God's holy, righteous CHARACTER.
Proof 3 - What and Why is man
WHY did the Creator God put MAN on the earth? To improve the physical earth as God gave it to man, finishing its creation, which sinning angels had deliberately refused to do. And in so doing to RESTORE THE GOVERNMENT OF GOD, with God's WAY of life, and, further, in this very process FINISHING THE CREATION OF MAN by the development of God's holy, righteous CHARACTER, with man's own assent. Once this perfect and righteous character is instilled in man and man converted from mortal to immortal spirit, then is to come the INCREDIBLE HUMAN POTENTIAL - man being BORN INTO the divine FAMILY of God and then participating in the completion of the CREATION of the entire endless expanse of the UNIVERSE!God creates, as previously mentioned, by the principle of DUALITY. So it is with the creation of MAN. It is accomplished in TWO STAGES:
1)the physical phase, which began with the first man, Adam; and
2) the spiritual stage, which begins with the "second Adam," Jesus Christ (ICorinthians 15:45-46).Remember God's PURPOSE in creating man on the earth:
1) to restore the GOVERNMENT OF GOD on earth, and by regulating human life through that GOVERNMENT,
a) complete the physical creation of earth where angels turned it to ruin, and b) in the process complete the creation of MAN by developing righteous spiritual CHARACTER: and
2) establishing the KINGDOM OF GOD and eventually the incredible human potential of finishing the creation of the vast UNIVERSE. This supreme PURPOSE required:
1) that MAN reject Satan's WAY, embracing GOD'S WAY of LOVE,based on God's spiritual law, and
2) that man be made first of matter so that, if he was led into Satan's way of GET, he could be CHANGED,converted to GOD'S WAY of LOVE.Spirit, once a finished creation, as angels became evil characters,cannot be changed! Spirit is constant and eternal - not subject to change. But physical matter is constantly changing.The third of the angels (Revelation 12:4) on earth completed their creations by developing evil character - sinning (II Peter 2:4). The super archangel Lucifer (Isaiah 14:12-14) had been perfect in all his ways from the day of his initial creation, till iniquity - lawlessness- was found in him (Ezekiel 28:12-17). Lucifer was not satisfied with rule over only the one planet - as the testing ground to prepare him for all planets. He wanted to rule all at once. He said,"... I will exalt my throne above the stars of God..." (Isaiah 14:13). He had been created with exceeding beauty, which "lifted up his heart" in vanity(Ezekiel 28:17). He became lustful, jealous and envious of God,decided on a WAR of invasion attempting to overthrow God on the heavenly throne of the universe. He led his angels into rebellion.These angels "... kept not their first estate, but left their own habitations..." - earth! (Jude 6). But Lucifer and his angels were cast back down to earth (Revelation 12:4). The creation of this third of all angels was finished - creation of evil character within them completed. Once their creation was completed, being spirit, they could never change! And they are immortal! The GOVERNMENT OF GOD no longer was operative on earth! Lucifer's name was changed to Satan the devil.His angels became demons. Their minds had become perverted for eternity.Through God's master plan for His Spiritual creation, to be covered later, it had been master-planned by God and the Word that the Word would divest Himself of His supreme glory, and in due time take on Him the likeness of human flesh as Jesus Christ, making possible the spiritual phase of the creation of MAN - God REPRODUCING HIMSELF!The most universal false teaching, believed by virtually all churches called Christianity, except the one and only true and original Church of God is that ALL are automatically lost unless they profess Jesus Christ as Savior - and that now is the only day of salvation. Those cut off from God are NOT lost - unless called and then lost. They are simply NOT YET JUDGED! All so far called since Adam have been called,not alone for salvation, but primarily for special mission - and salvation goes along automatically if they do repent, believe, receive and be led by the Holy Spirit.
Proof 4 - The truth about Israel
The Holy Bible is essentially the book of and concerning the nation Israel. It is concerned with other nations only as they come into contact with Israel.One reason God raised up ancient Israel was to prove, eventually (not yet realized) to all humanity that the carnal mind with all its intellectual accomplishments simply will not accept and live by the revealed knowledge of GOD - even though God should reveal it to them.(Romans 1:20-21).God DID NOT give them His Holy Spirit. He gave that only to Moses and the prophets - all specially called. But God did give them His spiritual LAW. As a substitute for the shed blood of Christ, He gave them animal sacrifices, which could not remit sins - were only a reminder of sin. He gave them also, as a temporary substitute for the Holy Spirit, a law of physical rituals, meat and drink offerings andcarnal ordinances. These instilled the habit of obedience. Then, of course, as a civil nation He gave them His GOVERNMENT, with its basic spiritual law and its statutes and judgments. He gave them HIS SYSTEM of government - authority from the TOP DOWN. God Himself was their Congress, Parliament, Knesset or Diet. He, through Moses, was their Law-giver. Under God was "the Word" - Yahweh - who was to become Christ. Under Him was Moses. Under Moses were captains over thousands,captains over hundreds, over fifties. When Aaron and their sister Miriam wanted equal authority in the government with Moses, God punished! When Korah and his group wanted equal "say-so" and authority, God destroyed them. It was GOD - not the people - who chose and put Moses in authority. There was no democracy.God said to Eli, "Wherefore... honorest thy sons above me?..." (ISamuel 2:29) and decreed they should die. When news came to Eli, past 90 years, that his sons had been killed and the ark of God taken in battle, Eli fell backward, broke his neck and died! Perhaps another evidence of the Worldwide Church of God being the one original Church of God is that its apostle did remove his son, who was secularizing God's Church and college, besides other sins. It is a difficult and heartbreaking thing for a father to have to do. Eli honored his sinning sons, holding priestly office, above God. God's apostle of our day, crushing and heartbreaking though it be, was given the courage by the living Christ to do that very difficult thing.So here is another TRUTH unknown in the teachings of most churches called Christianity - Israel was divided into two nations - and the people of the kingdom of Israel were NOT Jews, nor are they ever called Jews in the Bible! The first place where the word Jew or Jews occurs in the Bible is in II Kings 16:5-6, where ISRAEL and ally Syria were AT WAR against THE JEWS!But the nation thereupon rejected King Rehoboam and made Jeroboam king. However, the tribe of Judah, with Benjamin, seceded in order to maintain David's dynasty and formed the new kingdom of JUDAH. Jeroboam established the capital over the kingdom of Israel at Samaria, north of Jerusalem. And so the Israelitish nation was now divided into two NATIONS - the kingdom of Israel with its capital at Samaria and the kingdom of Judah with Jerusalem its capital. Often, in biblical history, they were called, respectively, the "house of Israel " and the "house of Judah." Jeroboam immediately led Israel into idolatry.After a succession of 10 kings and seven dynasties of continuous idolatry and other sins, God drove the house of Israel into captivity.King Shalmaneser of Assyria conquered them in a siege from 721 to 718B.C., removing them from their land, carrying them as slaves to Assyria on the southern shores of the Caspian Sea. Shalmaneser there upon "... brought men from Babylon..." - and other cities following the Babylonian Mystery religion - "... and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel: and they possessed Samaria, and dwelt in the cities thereof" (II Kings17:23-24). But those of the house of Israel did not remain more than a generation or so in Assyria. They migrated northwest. They became known as "the LOST Ten Tribes." And indeed they were doubly lost -lost in identity until they themelves, after a generation or more, did not know who they were - and lost spiritually from God.By about 604 B.C. King Nebuchadnezzar had become king over the world's FIRST EMPIRE - the Chaldean Empire, often called Babylon. In 604 to585 B.C. Nebuchadnezzar's armies captured the kingdom of Judah and moved the Jews into Babylonish territory as slaves. Seventy years later, the Persian Empire had succeeded the Chaldean. God caused King Cyrus, by communicating via "stirring up the spirit of Cyrus" (Ezra1:1) - his one "human" spirit to issue a decree sending a contingent of Jews back to Jerusalem to build the second temple. Zerubbabel was the governor of the contingent and builder of the temple to which Christ came, at His first appearing on earth as the human Jesus. Also,prophetically, this Zerubbabel was the type of one to come in the LAST DAYS of this world whom Christ would use in building the temple to which the glorified all-powerful Christ shall come at His second appearing. Apparently none but God's true Church understands the truth of the building of this temple. Some of Judah remained in and near Jerusalem - others were scattered into Russia, Poland, Yemen. Most of the Israelis in today's Israel have migrated into the original"promised land" from these countries.
Proof 5 -The gospel of the Kingdom of God
However, in Mark 1, the account continues describing John the baptist preparing the way before His first appearing, then, verses 14-15: "Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the KINGDOM OF GOD, and saying, The time is fulfilled,and the KINGDOM OF GOD iS at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel"(emphasis added). The Gospel Jesus brought from God, proclaimed and taught His apostles was the prophetic message of the coming KINGDOM OF GOD. Jesus went all over the Holy Land teaching this same Gospel. "And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom... " (Matthew 4:23). He taught in parables about the KINGDOM OF GOD. Jesus said "... Unto what is then KINGDOM OF GOD like?... it is like a grain of mustard seed..." (Luke13:18-19). Again the KINGDOM OF GOD "... is like leaven..." (Luke13:21). Again, "There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac and Jacob, and all the prophets in the KINGDOM OF GOD, and you yourselves thrust out" (Luke 13:28). Jesus sent His 12 disciples out to proclaim the KINGDOM, "And he sent them to preach the KINGDOM OF GOD, and to heal the sick" (Luke 9:2). He sent another 70 disciples out on a special mission: "... the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two... into everycity and place whither he himself would come... And he said unto them... heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you" (Luke 10:1-9). After His resurrection"... unto the apostles whom he had chosen... being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to [concerning] the kingdom of God" (Acts 1:2-3). The apostles proclaimed the Gospel of the KINGDOM OF GOD. Philip, who became an evangelist, proclaimed it,"But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God..." (Acts 8:12). The apostle Paul proclaimed the Kingdom of God to the gentiles, "And now, behold, I know that ye all,among whom I have gone preaching the KINGDOM OF GOD, shall see my face no more" (Acts 20:25). Again, Paul "... expounded and testified the KINGDOM OF GOD..." (Acts 28:23) and "Preaching the KINGDOM OF GOD..."(verse 31). To the Corinthian church Paul wrote, "Now this I say,brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the KINGDOM OF GOD..."(I Corinthians 15:50). To the Galatians Paul wrote: "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed" (Galatians 1:8). And in verse 9 it was made a DOUBLE-curse to preach any other Gospel! Yet THAT GOSPEL was SUPPRESSED about or just past the middle of the first century and was not again proclaimed to the world until 1953 - 19centuries later - and THEN by the present living generation of that same ONE and ONLY true original Church of God, established by Jesus Christ A.D. 31! The proclaiming of that only true Gospel message taught by Jesus identifies the one and only true Church of God TODAY!The apostle Paul proclaimed the Kingdom of God to the gentiles, "And now, behold, I know that ye all, among whom I have gone preaching theKINGDOM OF GOD, shall see my face no more" (Acts 20:25). Again, Paul"... expounded and testified the KINGDOM OF GOD..." (Acts 28:23) and"Preaching the KINGDOM OF GOD..." (verse 31). To the Corinthian churchPaul wrote, "Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the KINGDOM OF GOD..." (I Corinthians 15:50). To the Galatians Paul wrote: "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed" (Galatians 1:8). And in verse 9 it was made a DOUBLE-curse to preach any other Gospel!Daniel 2 what is kingdom. There is no misunderstanding the interpretation. GOD gives His own interpretation through the prophet Daniel. The great metallic image represented national and international GOVERNMENTS - real, literal KINGDOMS. It represented a succession of world-ruling governments. First was the head of gold.That represented Nebuchadnezzar and his kingdom - the Chaldean Empire.After him - later in time sequence - was to come a second, then a third KINGDOM, "which shall bear RULE over all the earth" - world empire!
Proof 6 What and why church
But the great commission was given to the apostles - not the Church as a whole - although as cited above, the Church completely, prayerfully,wholeheartedly backed up and supported the apostles. That was their part in the great commission.The Church is made up of the BODY of Christ. More on that a little later. But the BODY presented to Christ will not be a dismembered body, with an arm, a leg or other parts being separated! It is ONE Church - fitly framed together - not dismembered into many parts following many different men seeking to draw away disciples after them. This coming marriage is again referred to in II Corinthians11:2: "For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ." The new-covenant MARRIAGE will take place at Christ'scoming in GLORY: "And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, ALLELUIA: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him: for the marriage ofthe Lamb [Christ] is come, and his wife hath made herself ready"(Revelation 19:6-7). It is enlightening at this point to remember Jesus came as "the messenger of the covenant" (Malachi 3:1). He came as the Messenger of the NEW covenant. The old covenant was a CONTRACT entered into between the children of Israel and the Word (who was to become Christ) - the God of the Old Testament. It was a MARRIAGE covenant. God "proposed" and Israel "accepted" (Exodus 19:6, 8). That"marriage covenant" also set up the kingdom of Israel as one of earth's nations. The new covenant also will be a MARRIAGE covenant marrying the Church, then changed to spirit immortality, to Christ.But that covenant also will set up the KINGDOM OF GOD, ruling all nations with the GOVERNMENT OF GOD. The old covenant was made with a carnal-minded people on their PROMISE to obey. The new covenant will be made with a Spirit-begotten and Spirit-born people who have ALREADYPROVED THEIR OBEDIENCE!Or, what about the one who follows a MAN, because of that man's personality, charisma or attractiveness, or some other group? Stop and THINK! Is Christ going to marry a number of differing groups, not incomplete harmony with each other - yet all "professing CHRIST"? Jesus said, "He that is not with me..." (and since He is the Head of God's one and only Church, He plainly meant with Him where HE is working -in God's one Church). Repeat, "He that is not with me [where He works]is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad"(Matthew 12:30). Jesus Christ is going to marry THE ONE AND ONLY TRUE CHURCH - not a number of scattered groups or scattered individuals.God's law and way of life may be summed up in the one word "LOVE" -which is outflowing - the way of "GIVE" - while Satan's way is that of"GET." The one who tries to GET his salvation apart from the one Church Christ is going to marry is on the "GET" way. Those loyally in the Church are GIVING of their prayers, loyalty, encouragement and support behind Christ's chosen apostle in GIVING the GOOD NEWS to the world - its ONLY HOPE! In other words, he that seeks to GET his own salvation without GIVING his part in the team effort of the Church -or follows a man or some other group - is surely NOT BUILDING ON THE ONE SURE FOUNDATION of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ being the chief cornerstone. Again, "Unless GOD build the house, they labor in vain that build it..." (Psalm 127:1). The Church is the HOUSEHOLD OF GOD and a BUILDING - the glorious TEMPLE to which Christ shall come!
Proof 7 the reign of the Kingdom of God
With Satan gone, the KINGDOM OF GOD shall be set up in power. Everyone whom God has called out of this world of Satan's has been called to a special mission preparing for this Kingdom! The GOVERNMENT OF GOD will be restored, worldwide! The humans left on earth will be ruled over.No mortal humans will rule - only those who PREPARED and QUALIFIED to rule during their earthly life after receiving God's Spirit."Human nature" will be GONE! The earth will be as full of the knowledge of the Eternal as the ocean beds are full of water (Isaiah11:9).
To God I said, "YES, SIR!" In utter sincerity, I literally GAVE MYSELF to Jesus Christ. He had bought and paid for me with His life's blood.He OWNED me. I BELONGED TO HIM! I became a YES-MAN to Christ!
7 proofs of Church of God and gospel mal 3:1 1st coming Mark 1:1 quotes mal 3:1 2 thru 6 2nd coming Now came the urgent desire to find the ONE and ONLY true Church of God as founded A.D. 31 by Jesus Christ. He had said (Matthew 16:18) that His Church would not die but continue through the generations.My intensive biblical studies had shown me the basic evidences that would identify that continuing original Church.
1) It would have rightly discerned the revealed TRUTH of God as contained in His Word, the Holy Bible. I had learned that GOD is the Source of knowledge, and He REVEALS that knowledge through His written Word. This Word, remember, I had PROVED by irrefutable PROOF the divine inspiration and SUPREME AUTHORITY of the Holy Bible as the revealed Word of God. God is the supreme Educator - Revealer of TRUTH.
2) It would be, not a human secular organization, but a SPIRITUAL ORGANISM, yet WELL ORGANIZED on God's revealed pattern. It would be composed of begotten children of God - the "... household of God ...built upon the foundation of the apostles and the prophets," with Jesus Christ its guiding HEAD (Ephesians 2:19-20), as a "... building fitly framed together groweth unto an HOLY TEMPLE in the Lord" (verse21) "... from whom the whole body [is] fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth ..." (Ephesians 4:16).It would have UNDERSTANDING of GODS TRUTH. And it would be PRODUCING ABUNDANT FRUIT.
Proof 1 – Who and What is God
The true understanding of the very identity of God is one proof." ( Acts 17 verses 22-26). WHO IS GOD? CREATION is the basic proof of God. These Athenian Epicureans and Stoics did not even know that.Perhaps the adherents of many religions do not.But in chapter 2, Moses began adding another name for God - Yahweh in the Hebrew, usually combined with Elohim - as Yahweh Elohim. In the King James English translation it is rendered "LORD God," which is somewhat misleading.It is interesting, at this point, to explain this name Yahweh. There is no one word in the English language that adequately translates it.It means "the self-existent, eternal living creative one." The Moffatt translation renders it "the Eternal." The Ferrar Fenton translation uses "the Ever-Living." Personally, to use only one word, I prefer to use "the Eternal" instead of "the LORD."God Family(Elohim). Potential to be part of this family. Holy Spirit is power of God and Christ. Not a being. Improperly translated in KJV as he...should be it as is mentioned in some places. Christ is God of Old testament. Acts 10:45 John 1:1 Eph 3:9 God reveals that He is Spirit-composed (John 4:24). Unless supernaturally manifested, spirit is invisible to human eyes. Jesus said to His disciples, "... Ye have neither heard his voice... nor seen his shape." (John 5:37). Later, "Philip saith unto him, Lord,shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us." Jesus answered "... Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father..." (John 14:8-9). WHY? Because God the Father-if human eyes could see - looks like Jesus. And what did Jesus look like? Certainly NOT like pictures you have seen supposed to picture Him. For one thing, HE DID NOT HAVE LONG HAIR (ICorinthians 11:14). He looked like other Jews then in Judea, else the chief priests would not have paid Judas Iscariot 30 pieces of silver to identify Him. Now notice once again Genesis 1:26: "... God (Elohim)said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness [form and shape]..." God is described in the Bible as having eyes, ears, nose,mouth - hair on His head - arms, legs, fingers, toes. Jesus was "...the express image of his [the Father's] Person..." (Hebrews 1:3).
Proof number 2 - The government of God and the creation of holy righteous character As Creator, the most important feat of creation is holy, righteous CHARACTER.
That is so stupendous an accomplishment that even the GREAT MAJESTIC GOD, in all His matchless supernatural power, cannot create such character instantaneously or automatically by fiat. That ought to take the reader's breath! Is there actually something that even GOD cannot do - by Himself alone? Such character is the ability of a separate conscious, thinking entity with free moral agency - capacity for free choice - to come to KNOW the right from wrong, good from evil, to make the decision, and then with God's help exercise the WILL to DO the right or good, even contrary to self-desire.God's spiritual law is the way of God's holy, righteous CHARACTER.
Proof 3 - What and Why is man
WHY did the Creator God put MAN on the earth? To improve the physical earth as God gave it to man, finishing its creation, which sinning angels had deliberately refused to do. And in so doing to RESTORE THE GOVERNMENT OF GOD, with God's WAY of life, and, further, in this very process FINISHING THE CREATION OF MAN by the development of God's holy, righteous CHARACTER, with man's own assent. Once this perfect and righteous character is instilled in man and man converted from mortal to immortal spirit, then is to come the INCREDIBLE HUMAN POTENTIAL - man being BORN INTO the divine FAMILY of God and then participating in the completion of the CREATION of the entire endless expanse of the UNIVERSE!God creates, as previously mentioned, by the principle of DUALITY. So it is with the creation of MAN. It is accomplished in TWO STAGES:
1)the physical phase, which began with the first man, Adam; and
2) the spiritual stage, which begins with the "second Adam," Jesus Christ (ICorinthians 15:45-46).Remember God's PURPOSE in creating man on the earth:
1) to restore the GOVERNMENT OF GOD on earth, and by regulating human life through that GOVERNMENT,
a) complete the physical creation of earth where angels turned it to ruin, and b) in the process complete the creation of MAN by developing righteous spiritual CHARACTER: and
2) establishing the KINGDOM OF GOD and eventually the incredible human potential of finishing the creation of the vast UNIVERSE. This supreme PURPOSE required:
1) that MAN reject Satan's WAY, embracing GOD'S WAY of LOVE,based on God's spiritual law, and
2) that man be made first of matter so that, if he was led into Satan's way of GET, he could be CHANGED,converted to GOD'S WAY of LOVE.Spirit, once a finished creation, as angels became evil characters,cannot be changed! Spirit is constant and eternal - not subject to change. But physical matter is constantly changing.The third of the angels (Revelation 12:4) on earth completed their creations by developing evil character - sinning (II Peter 2:4). The super archangel Lucifer (Isaiah 14:12-14) had been perfect in all his ways from the day of his initial creation, till iniquity - lawlessness- was found in him (Ezekiel 28:12-17). Lucifer was not satisfied with rule over only the one planet - as the testing ground to prepare him for all planets. He wanted to rule all at once. He said,"... I will exalt my throne above the stars of God..." (Isaiah 14:13). He had been created with exceeding beauty, which "lifted up his heart" in vanity(Ezekiel 28:17). He became lustful, jealous and envious of God,decided on a WAR of invasion attempting to overthrow God on the heavenly throne of the universe. He led his angels into rebellion.These angels "... kept not their first estate, but left their own habitations..." - earth! (Jude 6). But Lucifer and his angels were cast back down to earth (Revelation 12:4). The creation of this third of all angels was finished - creation of evil character within them completed. Once their creation was completed, being spirit, they could never change! And they are immortal! The GOVERNMENT OF GOD no longer was operative on earth! Lucifer's name was changed to Satan the devil.His angels became demons. Their minds had become perverted for eternity.Through God's master plan for His Spiritual creation, to be covered later, it had been master-planned by God and the Word that the Word would divest Himself of His supreme glory, and in due time take on Him the likeness of human flesh as Jesus Christ, making possible the spiritual phase of the creation of MAN - God REPRODUCING HIMSELF!The most universal false teaching, believed by virtually all churches called Christianity, except the one and only true and original Church of God is that ALL are automatically lost unless they profess Jesus Christ as Savior - and that now is the only day of salvation. Those cut off from God are NOT lost - unless called and then lost. They are simply NOT YET JUDGED! All so far called since Adam have been called,not alone for salvation, but primarily for special mission - and salvation goes along automatically if they do repent, believe, receive and be led by the Holy Spirit.
Proof 4 - The truth about Israel
The Holy Bible is essentially the book of and concerning the nation Israel. It is concerned with other nations only as they come into contact with Israel.One reason God raised up ancient Israel was to prove, eventually (not yet realized) to all humanity that the carnal mind with all its intellectual accomplishments simply will not accept and live by the revealed knowledge of GOD - even though God should reveal it to them.(Romans 1:20-21).God DID NOT give them His Holy Spirit. He gave that only to Moses and the prophets - all specially called. But God did give them His spiritual LAW. As a substitute for the shed blood of Christ, He gave them animal sacrifices, which could not remit sins - were only a reminder of sin. He gave them also, as a temporary substitute for the Holy Spirit, a law of physical rituals, meat and drink offerings andcarnal ordinances. These instilled the habit of obedience. Then, of course, as a civil nation He gave them His GOVERNMENT, with its basic spiritual law and its statutes and judgments. He gave them HIS SYSTEM of government - authority from the TOP DOWN. God Himself was their Congress, Parliament, Knesset or Diet. He, through Moses, was their Law-giver. Under God was "the Word" - Yahweh - who was to become Christ. Under Him was Moses. Under Moses were captains over thousands,captains over hundreds, over fifties. When Aaron and their sister Miriam wanted equal authority in the government with Moses, God punished! When Korah and his group wanted equal "say-so" and authority, God destroyed them. It was GOD - not the people - who chose and put Moses in authority. There was no democracy.God said to Eli, "Wherefore... honorest thy sons above me?..." (ISamuel 2:29) and decreed they should die. When news came to Eli, past 90 years, that his sons had been killed and the ark of God taken in battle, Eli fell backward, broke his neck and died! Perhaps another evidence of the Worldwide Church of God being the one original Church of God is that its apostle did remove his son, who was secularizing God's Church and college, besides other sins. It is a difficult and heartbreaking thing for a father to have to do. Eli honored his sinning sons, holding priestly office, above God. God's apostle of our day, crushing and heartbreaking though it be, was given the courage by the living Christ to do that very difficult thing.So here is another TRUTH unknown in the teachings of most churches called Christianity - Israel was divided into two nations - and the people of the kingdom of Israel were NOT Jews, nor are they ever called Jews in the Bible! The first place where the word Jew or Jews occurs in the Bible is in II Kings 16:5-6, where ISRAEL and ally Syria were AT WAR against THE JEWS!But the nation thereupon rejected King Rehoboam and made Jeroboam king. However, the tribe of Judah, with Benjamin, seceded in order to maintain David's dynasty and formed the new kingdom of JUDAH. Jeroboam established the capital over the kingdom of Israel at Samaria, north of Jerusalem. And so the Israelitish nation was now divided into two NATIONS - the kingdom of Israel with its capital at Samaria and the kingdom of Judah with Jerusalem its capital. Often, in biblical history, they were called, respectively, the "house of Israel " and the "house of Judah." Jeroboam immediately led Israel into idolatry.After a succession of 10 kings and seven dynasties of continuous idolatry and other sins, God drove the house of Israel into captivity.King Shalmaneser of Assyria conquered them in a siege from 721 to 718B.C., removing them from their land, carrying them as slaves to Assyria on the southern shores of the Caspian Sea. Shalmaneser there upon "... brought men from Babylon..." - and other cities following the Babylonian Mystery religion - "... and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel: and they possessed Samaria, and dwelt in the cities thereof" (II Kings17:23-24). But those of the house of Israel did not remain more than a generation or so in Assyria. They migrated northwest. They became known as "the LOST Ten Tribes." And indeed they were doubly lost -lost in identity until they themelves, after a generation or more, did not know who they were - and lost spiritually from God.By about 604 B.C. King Nebuchadnezzar had become king over the world's FIRST EMPIRE - the Chaldean Empire, often called Babylon. In 604 to585 B.C. Nebuchadnezzar's armies captured the kingdom of Judah and moved the Jews into Babylonish territory as slaves. Seventy years later, the Persian Empire had succeeded the Chaldean. God caused King Cyrus, by communicating via "stirring up the spirit of Cyrus" (Ezra1:1) - his one "human" spirit to issue a decree sending a contingent of Jews back to Jerusalem to build the second temple. Zerubbabel was the governor of the contingent and builder of the temple to which Christ came, at His first appearing on earth as the human Jesus. Also,prophetically, this Zerubbabel was the type of one to come in the LAST DAYS of this world whom Christ would use in building the temple to which the glorified all-powerful Christ shall come at His second appearing. Apparently none but God's true Church understands the truth of the building of this temple. Some of Judah remained in and near Jerusalem - others were scattered into Russia, Poland, Yemen. Most of the Israelis in today's Israel have migrated into the original"promised land" from these countries.
Proof 5 -The gospel of the Kingdom of God
However, in Mark 1, the account continues describing John the baptist preparing the way before His first appearing, then, verses 14-15: "Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the KINGDOM OF GOD, and saying, The time is fulfilled,and the KINGDOM OF GOD iS at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel"(emphasis added). The Gospel Jesus brought from God, proclaimed and taught His apostles was the prophetic message of the coming KINGDOM OF GOD. Jesus went all over the Holy Land teaching this same Gospel. "And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom... " (Matthew 4:23). He taught in parables about the KINGDOM OF GOD. Jesus said "... Unto what is then KINGDOM OF GOD like?... it is like a grain of mustard seed..." (Luke13:18-19). Again the KINGDOM OF GOD "... is like leaven..." (Luke13:21). Again, "There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac and Jacob, and all the prophets in the KINGDOM OF GOD, and you yourselves thrust out" (Luke 13:28). Jesus sent His 12 disciples out to proclaim the KINGDOM, "And he sent them to preach the KINGDOM OF GOD, and to heal the sick" (Luke 9:2). He sent another 70 disciples out on a special mission: "... the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two... into everycity and place whither he himself would come... And he said unto them... heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you" (Luke 10:1-9). After His resurrection"... unto the apostles whom he had chosen... being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to [concerning] the kingdom of God" (Acts 1:2-3). The apostles proclaimed the Gospel of the KINGDOM OF GOD. Philip, who became an evangelist, proclaimed it,"But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God..." (Acts 8:12). The apostle Paul proclaimed the Kingdom of God to the gentiles, "And now, behold, I know that ye all,among whom I have gone preaching the KINGDOM OF GOD, shall see my face no more" (Acts 20:25). Again, Paul "... expounded and testified the KINGDOM OF GOD..." (Acts 28:23) and "Preaching the KINGDOM OF GOD..."(verse 31). To the Corinthian church Paul wrote, "Now this I say,brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the KINGDOM OF GOD..."(I Corinthians 15:50). To the Galatians Paul wrote: "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed" (Galatians 1:8). And in verse 9 it was made a DOUBLE-curse to preach any other Gospel! Yet THAT GOSPEL was SUPPRESSED about or just past the middle of the first century and was not again proclaimed to the world until 1953 - 19centuries later - and THEN by the present living generation of that same ONE and ONLY true original Church of God, established by Jesus Christ A.D. 31! The proclaiming of that only true Gospel message taught by Jesus identifies the one and only true Church of God TODAY!The apostle Paul proclaimed the Kingdom of God to the gentiles, "And now, behold, I know that ye all, among whom I have gone preaching theKINGDOM OF GOD, shall see my face no more" (Acts 20:25). Again, Paul"... expounded and testified the KINGDOM OF GOD..." (Acts 28:23) and"Preaching the KINGDOM OF GOD..." (verse 31). To the Corinthian churchPaul wrote, "Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the KINGDOM OF GOD..." (I Corinthians 15:50). To the Galatians Paul wrote: "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed" (Galatians 1:8). And in verse 9 it was made a DOUBLE-curse to preach any other Gospel!Daniel 2 what is kingdom. There is no misunderstanding the interpretation. GOD gives His own interpretation through the prophet Daniel. The great metallic image represented national and international GOVERNMENTS - real, literal KINGDOMS. It represented a succession of world-ruling governments. First was the head of gold.That represented Nebuchadnezzar and his kingdom - the Chaldean Empire.After him - later in time sequence - was to come a second, then a third KINGDOM, "which shall bear RULE over all the earth" - world empire!
Proof 6 What and why church
But the great commission was given to the apostles - not the Church as a whole - although as cited above, the Church completely, prayerfully,wholeheartedly backed up and supported the apostles. That was their part in the great commission.The Church is made up of the BODY of Christ. More on that a little later. But the BODY presented to Christ will not be a dismembered body, with an arm, a leg or other parts being separated! It is ONE Church - fitly framed together - not dismembered into many parts following many different men seeking to draw away disciples after them. This coming marriage is again referred to in II Corinthians11:2: "For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ." The new-covenant MARRIAGE will take place at Christ'scoming in GLORY: "And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, ALLELUIA: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him: for the marriage ofthe Lamb [Christ] is come, and his wife hath made herself ready"(Revelation 19:6-7). It is enlightening at this point to remember Jesus came as "the messenger of the covenant" (Malachi 3:1). He came as the Messenger of the NEW covenant. The old covenant was a CONTRACT entered into between the children of Israel and the Word (who was to become Christ) - the God of the Old Testament. It was a MARRIAGE covenant. God "proposed" and Israel "accepted" (Exodus 19:6, 8). That"marriage covenant" also set up the kingdom of Israel as one of earth's nations. The new covenant also will be a MARRIAGE covenant marrying the Church, then changed to spirit immortality, to Christ.But that covenant also will set up the KINGDOM OF GOD, ruling all nations with the GOVERNMENT OF GOD. The old covenant was made with a carnal-minded people on their PROMISE to obey. The new covenant will be made with a Spirit-begotten and Spirit-born people who have ALREADYPROVED THEIR OBEDIENCE!Or, what about the one who follows a MAN, because of that man's personality, charisma or attractiveness, or some other group? Stop and THINK! Is Christ going to marry a number of differing groups, not incomplete harmony with each other - yet all "professing CHRIST"? Jesus said, "He that is not with me..." (and since He is the Head of God's one and only Church, He plainly meant with Him where HE is working -in God's one Church). Repeat, "He that is not with me [where He works]is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad"(Matthew 12:30). Jesus Christ is going to marry THE ONE AND ONLY TRUE CHURCH - not a number of scattered groups or scattered individuals.God's law and way of life may be summed up in the one word "LOVE" -which is outflowing - the way of "GIVE" - while Satan's way is that of"GET." The one who tries to GET his salvation apart from the one Church Christ is going to marry is on the "GET" way. Those loyally in the Church are GIVING of their prayers, loyalty, encouragement and support behind Christ's chosen apostle in GIVING the GOOD NEWS to the world - its ONLY HOPE! In other words, he that seeks to GET his own salvation without GIVING his part in the team effort of the Church -or follows a man or some other group - is surely NOT BUILDING ON THE ONE SURE FOUNDATION of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ being the chief cornerstone. Again, "Unless GOD build the house, they labor in vain that build it..." (Psalm 127:1). The Church is the HOUSEHOLD OF GOD and a BUILDING - the glorious TEMPLE to which Christ shall come!
Proof 7 the reign of the Kingdom of God
With Satan gone, the KINGDOM OF GOD shall be set up in power. Everyone whom God has called out of this world of Satan's has been called to a special mission preparing for this Kingdom! The GOVERNMENT OF GOD will be restored, worldwide! The humans left on earth will be ruled over.No mortal humans will rule - only those who PREPARED and QUALIFIED to rule during their earthly life after receiving God's Spirit."Human nature" will be GONE! The earth will be as full of the knowledge of the Eternal as the ocean beds are full of water (Isaiah11:9).
Notes
Physical solutions do not work for spiritual problems. Turn from human way of solutions to God's way of solutions.God chastise us to correct our course....not to get even with us.God wants us to experience sin in this life and it's consequences. See problem of sin and it's wrongness.God creates....sin destroys what God creates.If you sin the primary one effected is going to be you. Sin destroys us. Sin destroys...as a result we have to be destroyed.When we miss the mark....destruction is the result. Sin rebounds to destroy the person. We will be destroyed because we are a part of this sin.Spiritual battlefield Satan wants to stop our spirit from working with God's spirit. Stop us from becoming child of God.Wants to stop the process that allow a child of God to be created.Resist the devil...he must flee James 4:7. Go away...leave me alone.Good spirit can have flesh and bones and can eat. Evil spirit cannot manifest themselves as righteous angels....cannot appear as flesh and blood..cannot eat and drink.Satan cannot get at us directly because he is chained in this area...he is limited. Attitude and others he can use against us.Begotten of spirit changes us over time. Human being into a God.Jn. 14:13. Satan had nothing in Christ. Same way we need to be.After baptism... spirit minuscule...then growth takes place...mind comes more and more converted..until we are born God beings.11 Cor. 3:3 Sin is violation of the principle or intended meaning of the law.If they persecuted Christ...they will persecute you. Counting the costs. Are you willing to suffer whatever He allows.Work started with 19 members. August 1933HEALING Either follow truth or suffer consequences.1Jn 3:22 We ask...we receive..because we keep his commandments.Ex 15:26 God is healer Healing is the forgiveness of physical sin.. None but God can forgive sin. None but God heals! God is a jealous God. He is not going to allow anyone else to heal. Medicine and drugs do not heal..cannotheal.God wants His people to rely on Him...to trust him. He wants to do things for us that we cannot do for ourselves. He wants us to learn lesson of faith.There can be no law without a penalty for its transgression. God never compromises with His Laws or their penalties. Once a law is transgressed a penalty is incurred. Once a penalty is incurred it must be paid. God never suspends the penalty.Made of matter that function to physical laws. Those laws when transgressed,exact a penalty. When you get sick...lawtransgressed....could be accident or testing as Job. Neverless sickness and disease are the penalty being paid for physical broken law. God demands penalty be paid.Matt 8:16-17. Jesus paid the penalty in our stead. Isa 52:14-15 Isa53:3-6 1 Pet 2:22,24. Healing does not mean that God suspends the penalty so that no penalty is paid. Instead Jesus has already paid it for us. Therefore God may legally remove the penalty from the human sufferer.God allowed His Son to pay for our physical sin..beating..scourging.He was willing to let this happen to relieve us from pain, suffering or afflictions....so that without violating any principle of His law we may be healed. Ps 103:8-13. We need to realize God's love and compassion.Christ paid penalty for sicknesses. Go to God for the healing.Penalty has to be paid. Medical science tries to prevent God's law from exacting it's penalty.Doctors, medicines and drugs can no more forgive physical sins then spiritual sins. These cannot heal.Healing...be patient and assured that God will heal you. It is a promise.Spiritually believe in the healing. Do not let physical senses override.Faith is assurance that the things which God said in His word are true and God will act according to what He said in His word. This confidence is faith. Trust God! Quit worrying.God cannot break a promise. Claim promises. God promises to supply every need. Matt 6:33Get Christ faith by drawing close to God.Obey God's commandments....with God it is possible to obey with His spirit.Religions of world practice dead faith.Healing according to your faith. Do not look down upon others who have weak faith. Help those who are weak.God is a healing God.Insulin not a drug or medicine. Hormone that body needs. Have to be able to properly distinguish.Faith and being obedient is key to healing. 1 Jn 3:22 and James 5:15Doctors can help....child delivery....mending broken bones and the such Doubter in God' power to heal denies God's promises.How many millions die under medical care..yet people have faith in medical doctors and not God. People trust man.....but not God????Ps 103:3 How can believe one and not the other.
Notes
Dress for Sabbath in best you have. Fellowshipping with Christ and God Phil 4:11 Be content whatever the circumstances.Isa 58:13 Do not speak own words...talk about Bible.Do you put yourself above God's word. How prideful are you Only one passage in NT with direct instruction to assemble together.Heb.10:24-25."not forsaking the assembly" means not to abandon, desert attending, refuse to assemble. If you live where there is no Church...then you are not doing the above.."because attendance is not in your power.11 Thes 3:6,14 Rom 16:17 God is strict on this. Are some trying to be more kind and merciful then God. We must not compromise. God does not.It is a command. We convict ourselves of disobedience if we do not follow.
Revelation 3Key of David v7 is truth about Israel. V8 gospel going out as it did."Denied my name" kept name of true Church..Church of God.Little Strength...smallness of group...prove God's power.Kept word...is commands Synagogue of Satan Churches of world v9v9 worship how can a human worship another human and it not be idolatry.. Only way is changed from human to divine(those who are worshipped will have become as God. God's true ones know the purpose of life and the incredible human potentiality10 place of safety Rev 12:14v11 make sure no one else gets your reward v12 pillar have permanent position like a pillar. Leader. Never fall away from or lose our position..safe and secure write name...New name. Will have Family name of God and own personal name of honor and distinction...no one else will have. Mine alone.V13 understand the other letters written to the churches.
Is god above all else in your life or are there other idols.Unless God's own CHARACTER is being formed and developed in your mind and your life, replacing the carnality that is there now, you shall have missed your GOAL.God's PURPOSE is to CREATE within you, during this life, a new andperfect CHARACTER, so that you may be given eternal life -self-containing, inherent life.Have to develop character to have eternal life.You can only succeed if your GOAL is kept constantly - continually -before your eyes.When you drive a car, if you take your eyes and attention off what is in front of you (and sometimes coming from the side or behind) even for two or three seconds, you may find yourself "coming to" in a hospital, dying and saying "It all happened so suddenly!"Driving carefully means BEING ALERT - being DILIGENT every second -KEEPING YOUR EYE and your mind and attention on the matter of DRIVING- not on conversation or other things.In the same manner, if you let other interests, material pursuits,steal first place in your mind and heart and interest, even for a few days, you are in danger of a SPIRITUAL SMASHUP that will let you wake up being plunged into the LAKE OF FIRE, which will mean eternal DEATH.That's why God doesn't want you to have these other gods BEFORE Him.For your own sake - in your own interest - you must keep Him enthroned and enshrined constantly ABOVE ALL.You either GROW spiritually - in knowledge - in grace - in God'scharacter - or you deteriorate back toward becoming a mere physical animal, to die in ETERNAL PUNISHMENT in the lake of fire!But if God, and the things of God - His revealed knowledge - His law -His love - His WAY for you to live - are constantly foremost in your mind, your thoughts, your interest, then you are PRAYING ALWAYS - that is, in a constant SPIRIT OF PRAYER - a constant MENTAL ATTITUDE of prayer.The contact with God must be perpetual!This kind of Christian life - the only kind that truly is Christian -requires, as the Bible emphasizes repeatedly, zealous DILIGENCE. YOU must CONCENTRATE on it. You must be DEDICATED to it. It requires utterCONSECRATION. It requires total EARNESTNESS.He possessed LEADERSHIP, STRENGTH, PURPOSE, SUPREME STRONG WILL - andyet these masculine qualities of strength and power were perfectlyblended with wisdom, judgment, knowledge, understanding, justice and also patience, compassion and mercy. He was filled with PEACE, LOVE,FAITH.And His WILL, strong as it was, was totally yielded and obedient to GOD. All this was the character of GOD.He is our PATTERN. We must imitate Him - copy Him.God did not tell Abraham HOW or WHEN He would fulfill His promises. He will do it HOW and WHEN He wills, not when we will.What is purpose of ressurectionSo now, if and when you really REPENT of your transgressions, and whenyou BELIEVE, not only IN Christ, but also HIS GOSPEL, your penaltystands PAID IN FULL - you are RECONCILED to God - you have ACCESS toGod the Father!You are now JUSTIFIED. Your guilt is wiped CLEAN - up to THAT moment!You are UNDER GRACE - that is, undeserved PARDON for past transgressions.But that GRACE gives you no license to continue in sin! As the apostle Paul wrote: "What shall we say then? Shall we CONTINUE in sin[transgressing God's LAW], that grace may abound? God FORBID" (Rom.6:1-2). Justification refers only to a guilty PAST!The man who could not tithe Yet so many say, "I don't think it would be right for me to tithe while I'm in debt." Yes, it is right, and the other way is WRONG."There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereofare the ways of death" (Prov. 14:12, 16:25). God's Word tells us what is RIGHT, and God tells us to pay to His Work the firstfruits of all our income (Prov. 3:9-10).Regarding our material and financial needs, even debts, God says,"Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you" (Matt. 6:33). The tithe is the debt that you owe God. This debt is FIRST in time and principle. Pay your debts to God, make Him your PARTNER in your finances and receive His blessing in temporal affairs. This will enable you to pay your debts, or to get a job, or to have your needs supplied more quickly than if you evade His debt.Remember your ALL belongs to HIM, not to you (Deut. 10:14). You are in the position of steward handling that which belongs to another. He is your silent partner, and the first tenth, in addition to offerings, is His share. The rest He gives freely to you.But if you appropriate for yourself His share, you are stealing, and ROBBING GOD (Mal. 3:8). Would you pay your debts with money another man had left in your trust? If a man working in a bank does that, we call it embezzlement!How you can overcome We can't save ourselves — GOD must save us!But He does it by changing us, through His indwelling divine supernatural power, from what we have been into the holy, righteous characters He wills to make of us! He does it by forgiving past sins not only, but cleansing us from sinning now and in the future!He sent His Son into the world to be tempted in all points as we are —human as we are — to prove that a human can, with the help of the Spirit of God, live without sin — TO SET AN EXAMPLE FOR US THAT WE SHOULD FOLLOW HIS STEPS and live also without sinning!Receive God's power Jesus showed by His life that we can, if we rely upon God in faith for the power to do, live the way of God's will as expressed in His spiritual law! Of Himself, even Jesus said He could not do it — "the Father that dwelleth in me," He said, "HE doeth the works" (John14:10). And again, "He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also" (verse 12).And so it was that, almost the same instant the temptation to doubt the final result came to my mind, as I thought of my own weaknesses,faults and limitations, the answer flashed strong and firm:"GOD WON'T LET ME FALL! He may punish me more yet to chasten and teachme and make me righteous, but He won't let me fail — He will imputeHis very own righteousness by implanting it into my life until,through His power energizing me, I'm really living it — ETERNALLY!"And that comforting and definite ASSURANCE of the final result, based on God's own unbreakable PROMISES, just warmed my heart and made me feel good clear through — and so I had to share this glorious assurance with all of you! Read Jude 24 and II Peter 1:10.He can who thinks he can But wisdom is more than knowledge and under-standing. It is ability to use both,and come to a right and wise decision.I began to learn that there is something very practical in all this.I began to learn that, if I submitted my life to God's guidance, I was tapping a source of POWER millions of times greater than any resources within.I learned that there are the THREE DIMENSIONS — the within, the around and the above.Most people cheat themselves by utilizing only the first two. In their lives there are only these two dimensions on which to rely.Looking into the within is like looking into a well and finding it has gone dry.Relying on the within, they become self-centered. Their concern is primarily for self. So they become selfish.They develop greed, desire to have, to GET, to take, to accumulate.They measure success in terms of material accumulation. Toward others they are unconcerned, envious, jealous, suspicious. They live in a spirit of competition.Their self-centered thinking results in constantly shrinking horizons.They may develop latent talents, arouse ambition for self-gain,develop their own inner powers and resources, but those resources arecomparatively meager. They try to find happiness in material acquisition, but that is not the source of happiness.Then, of course, there is the pull of human nature to CONFORM — to BELONG. So the dimension of the around fills a big part of their lives.But those around them are self-centered too, trying to get the best of them in every deal. They, too, center their affections on material acquisition. They constitute an unhappy world. They are bent on getting, and too often you find they are jealous or envious or resentful toward you. You find that their concern is for themselves,rather than for your welfare or happiness. You trust them, and too often find them untrustworthy.There's not much in the way of resources to be found in the around,but many disillusioning disappointments.But what about the third dimension — the above? Could it be possible that most of humanity has been failing to tap the source of theg reatest resources and meaningful, rewarding benefits?In James 1:5-6: "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given tohim. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting."So I took God up on this promise through the writing of James. I asked for wisdom.I believed I would be given wisdom, since God had PROMISED it, on my asking — and God could not break His promise. I received wisdom."Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, theLord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. There is no searching of His understanding. He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. . . .those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength" (Isa. 40:12-15,17-18, 22, 26, 28-31).People often ask me why I stay young — and where do I get my energy?The above verses give me a promise — provide a source of resources that I rely on.Yes, I found, 56 years ago, a far more practical and resultful confidence than self-confidence. I found the confidence that isFAITH.It is reliance on the supreme great God, whose greatness is described above.His resources are total. They are unlimited. The wealth and the resources of the entire universe are His. He is the SOURCE of all power, of all good, of all that is desirable.He is not only the great Creator. He is the supreme RULER of the universe. He is the great educator, the source of basic knowledge.He is the great GIVER! He gave His only begotten Son — for our redemption. He gives power and strength. He supplies all our needs. He gives wisdom. He has EVERYTHING to give that is GOOD.James tells us to count it all joy when trials, ordeals, reverses,beset us (Jas. 1:2). Troubles a JOY? That's pretty hard to accept,isn't it? And, for the average person, a lot harder to put intopractice.Few find any pleasure, let alone JOY, in the obstacles and troublesthey encounter. Yet this biblical teaching says we ought so to countthem. There is a reason, although few understand it.In one of the Psalms you'll read that the righteous are going to haveto bear many afflictions. But, it promises, the Eternal will deliverus out of them all - if we believe and trust Him (Ps. 34:19)!Again, it is through much tribulation that we must enter the Kingdomof God (Acts 14:22). WHY? There's a reason!Such character is the attainment of the ability, in a separate,independent entity of free moral agency to be able to discern right from wrong - the true values from the false - truth from error - the right way from the wrong, and then to make the right CHOICE or DECISION, even against self-desire, impulse or temptation, plus the WILL and self-discipline to resist the wrong and to DO the right.A true Christian doesn't want to sin - should not. But sometimes he finds himself caught in the vise of habit, or overwhelmed by temptation or by circumstances from which he is unable to free himself.Surely, had such a one been continually praying, keeping himself close to God and detached from the world or its lures or the temptations ofthe flesh, he probably would have had sufficient divine help to haveprevented the sinning. But only Jesus Christ ever did keep that closeto God!God looks on the heart. In such a case, the Christian does not sinmaliciously, with malice aforethought. He is merely caught in the vortex of a temptation that sucks him helplessly down into the sin.Then he is terribly sorry. He is disgusted with himself. He repents.He goes to work to overcome. He may not succeed, due to human weakness, at once. But he remains determined and finally does, with God's help, overcome completely.Many a true Christian has had such a struggle over a particular human weakness and temptation, and after even several setbacks, finally,through God's power, won the victory and fought his way free.God looks on the heart. God FORGIVES in such cases. The living Christ,our High Priest, has compassion, is filled with mercy - as long as the attitude is right, the desire of the inner man is to conquer the flesh and overcome the temptation and be FREE from it entirely.In the end, it is GOD who gives the victory. But, in such a struggle,the Christian DEVELOPS CHARACTER.
Revelation 3Key of David v7 is truth about Israel. V8 gospel going out as it did."Denied my name" kept name of true Church..Church of God.Little Strength...smallness of group...prove God's power.Kept word...is commands Synagogue of Satan Churches of world v9v9 worship how can a human worship another human and it not be idolatry.. Only way is changed from human to divine(those who are worshipped will have become as God. God's true ones know the purpose of life and the incredible human potentiality10 place of safety Rev 12:14v11 make sure no one else gets your reward v12 pillar have permanent position like a pillar. Leader. Never fall away from or lose our position..safe and secure write name...New name. Will have Family name of God and own personal name of honor and distinction...no one else will have. Mine alone.V13 understand the other letters written to the churches.
Is god above all else in your life or are there other idols.Unless God's own CHARACTER is being formed and developed in your mind and your life, replacing the carnality that is there now, you shall have missed your GOAL.God's PURPOSE is to CREATE within you, during this life, a new andperfect CHARACTER, so that you may be given eternal life -self-containing, inherent life.Have to develop character to have eternal life.You can only succeed if your GOAL is kept constantly - continually -before your eyes.When you drive a car, if you take your eyes and attention off what is in front of you (and sometimes coming from the side or behind) even for two or three seconds, you may find yourself "coming to" in a hospital, dying and saying "It all happened so suddenly!"Driving carefully means BEING ALERT - being DILIGENT every second -KEEPING YOUR EYE and your mind and attention on the matter of DRIVING- not on conversation or other things.In the same manner, if you let other interests, material pursuits,steal first place in your mind and heart and interest, even for a few days, you are in danger of a SPIRITUAL SMASHUP that will let you wake up being plunged into the LAKE OF FIRE, which will mean eternal DEATH.That's why God doesn't want you to have these other gods BEFORE Him.For your own sake - in your own interest - you must keep Him enthroned and enshrined constantly ABOVE ALL.You either GROW spiritually - in knowledge - in grace - in God'scharacter - or you deteriorate back toward becoming a mere physical animal, to die in ETERNAL PUNISHMENT in the lake of fire!But if God, and the things of God - His revealed knowledge - His law -His love - His WAY for you to live - are constantly foremost in your mind, your thoughts, your interest, then you are PRAYING ALWAYS - that is, in a constant SPIRIT OF PRAYER - a constant MENTAL ATTITUDE of prayer.The contact with God must be perpetual!This kind of Christian life - the only kind that truly is Christian -requires, as the Bible emphasizes repeatedly, zealous DILIGENCE. YOU must CONCENTRATE on it. You must be DEDICATED to it. It requires utterCONSECRATION. It requires total EARNESTNESS.He possessed LEADERSHIP, STRENGTH, PURPOSE, SUPREME STRONG WILL - andyet these masculine qualities of strength and power were perfectlyblended with wisdom, judgment, knowledge, understanding, justice and also patience, compassion and mercy. He was filled with PEACE, LOVE,FAITH.And His WILL, strong as it was, was totally yielded and obedient to GOD. All this was the character of GOD.He is our PATTERN. We must imitate Him - copy Him.God did not tell Abraham HOW or WHEN He would fulfill His promises. He will do it HOW and WHEN He wills, not when we will.What is purpose of ressurectionSo now, if and when you really REPENT of your transgressions, and whenyou BELIEVE, not only IN Christ, but also HIS GOSPEL, your penaltystands PAID IN FULL - you are RECONCILED to God - you have ACCESS toGod the Father!You are now JUSTIFIED. Your guilt is wiped CLEAN - up to THAT moment!You are UNDER GRACE - that is, undeserved PARDON for past transgressions.But that GRACE gives you no license to continue in sin! As the apostle Paul wrote: "What shall we say then? Shall we CONTINUE in sin[transgressing God's LAW], that grace may abound? God FORBID" (Rom.6:1-2). Justification refers only to a guilty PAST!The man who could not tithe Yet so many say, "I don't think it would be right for me to tithe while I'm in debt." Yes, it is right, and the other way is WRONG."There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereofare the ways of death" (Prov. 14:12, 16:25). God's Word tells us what is RIGHT, and God tells us to pay to His Work the firstfruits of all our income (Prov. 3:9-10).Regarding our material and financial needs, even debts, God says,"Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you" (Matt. 6:33). The tithe is the debt that you owe God. This debt is FIRST in time and principle. Pay your debts to God, make Him your PARTNER in your finances and receive His blessing in temporal affairs. This will enable you to pay your debts, or to get a job, or to have your needs supplied more quickly than if you evade His debt.Remember your ALL belongs to HIM, not to you (Deut. 10:14). You are in the position of steward handling that which belongs to another. He is your silent partner, and the first tenth, in addition to offerings, is His share. The rest He gives freely to you.But if you appropriate for yourself His share, you are stealing, and ROBBING GOD (Mal. 3:8). Would you pay your debts with money another man had left in your trust? If a man working in a bank does that, we call it embezzlement!How you can overcome We can't save ourselves — GOD must save us!But He does it by changing us, through His indwelling divine supernatural power, from what we have been into the holy, righteous characters He wills to make of us! He does it by forgiving past sins not only, but cleansing us from sinning now and in the future!He sent His Son into the world to be tempted in all points as we are —human as we are — to prove that a human can, with the help of the Spirit of God, live without sin — TO SET AN EXAMPLE FOR US THAT WE SHOULD FOLLOW HIS STEPS and live also without sinning!Receive God's power Jesus showed by His life that we can, if we rely upon God in faith for the power to do, live the way of God's will as expressed in His spiritual law! Of Himself, even Jesus said He could not do it — "the Father that dwelleth in me," He said, "HE doeth the works" (John14:10). And again, "He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also" (verse 12).And so it was that, almost the same instant the temptation to doubt the final result came to my mind, as I thought of my own weaknesses,faults and limitations, the answer flashed strong and firm:"GOD WON'T LET ME FALL! He may punish me more yet to chasten and teachme and make me righteous, but He won't let me fail — He will imputeHis very own righteousness by implanting it into my life until,through His power energizing me, I'm really living it — ETERNALLY!"And that comforting and definite ASSURANCE of the final result, based on God's own unbreakable PROMISES, just warmed my heart and made me feel good clear through — and so I had to share this glorious assurance with all of you! Read Jude 24 and II Peter 1:10.He can who thinks he can But wisdom is more than knowledge and under-standing. It is ability to use both,and come to a right and wise decision.I began to learn that there is something very practical in all this.I began to learn that, if I submitted my life to God's guidance, I was tapping a source of POWER millions of times greater than any resources within.I learned that there are the THREE DIMENSIONS — the within, the around and the above.Most people cheat themselves by utilizing only the first two. In their lives there are only these two dimensions on which to rely.Looking into the within is like looking into a well and finding it has gone dry.Relying on the within, they become self-centered. Their concern is primarily for self. So they become selfish.They develop greed, desire to have, to GET, to take, to accumulate.They measure success in terms of material accumulation. Toward others they are unconcerned, envious, jealous, suspicious. They live in a spirit of competition.Their self-centered thinking results in constantly shrinking horizons.They may develop latent talents, arouse ambition for self-gain,develop their own inner powers and resources, but those resources arecomparatively meager. They try to find happiness in material acquisition, but that is not the source of happiness.Then, of course, there is the pull of human nature to CONFORM — to BELONG. So the dimension of the around fills a big part of their lives.But those around them are self-centered too, trying to get the best of them in every deal. They, too, center their affections on material acquisition. They constitute an unhappy world. They are bent on getting, and too often you find they are jealous or envious or resentful toward you. You find that their concern is for themselves,rather than for your welfare or happiness. You trust them, and too often find them untrustworthy.There's not much in the way of resources to be found in the around,but many disillusioning disappointments.But what about the third dimension — the above? Could it be possible that most of humanity has been failing to tap the source of theg reatest resources and meaningful, rewarding benefits?In James 1:5-6: "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given tohim. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting."So I took God up on this promise through the writing of James. I asked for wisdom.I believed I would be given wisdom, since God had PROMISED it, on my asking — and God could not break His promise. I received wisdom."Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, theLord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. There is no searching of His understanding. He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. . . .those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength" (Isa. 40:12-15,17-18, 22, 26, 28-31).People often ask me why I stay young — and where do I get my energy?The above verses give me a promise — provide a source of resources that I rely on.Yes, I found, 56 years ago, a far more practical and resultful confidence than self-confidence. I found the confidence that isFAITH.It is reliance on the supreme great God, whose greatness is described above.His resources are total. They are unlimited. The wealth and the resources of the entire universe are His. He is the SOURCE of all power, of all good, of all that is desirable.He is not only the great Creator. He is the supreme RULER of the universe. He is the great educator, the source of basic knowledge.He is the great GIVER! He gave His only begotten Son — for our redemption. He gives power and strength. He supplies all our needs. He gives wisdom. He has EVERYTHING to give that is GOOD.James tells us to count it all joy when trials, ordeals, reverses,beset us (Jas. 1:2). Troubles a JOY? That's pretty hard to accept,isn't it? And, for the average person, a lot harder to put intopractice.Few find any pleasure, let alone JOY, in the obstacles and troublesthey encounter. Yet this biblical teaching says we ought so to countthem. There is a reason, although few understand it.In one of the Psalms you'll read that the righteous are going to haveto bear many afflictions. But, it promises, the Eternal will deliverus out of them all - if we believe and trust Him (Ps. 34:19)!Again, it is through much tribulation that we must enter the Kingdomof God (Acts 14:22). WHY? There's a reason!Such character is the attainment of the ability, in a separate,independent entity of free moral agency to be able to discern right from wrong - the true values from the false - truth from error - the right way from the wrong, and then to make the right CHOICE or DECISION, even against self-desire, impulse or temptation, plus the WILL and self-discipline to resist the wrong and to DO the right.A true Christian doesn't want to sin - should not. But sometimes he finds himself caught in the vise of habit, or overwhelmed by temptation or by circumstances from which he is unable to free himself.Surely, had such a one been continually praying, keeping himself close to God and detached from the world or its lures or the temptations ofthe flesh, he probably would have had sufficient divine help to haveprevented the sinning. But only Jesus Christ ever did keep that closeto God!God looks on the heart. In such a case, the Christian does not sinmaliciously, with malice aforethought. He is merely caught in the vortex of a temptation that sucks him helplessly down into the sin.Then he is terribly sorry. He is disgusted with himself. He repents.He goes to work to overcome. He may not succeed, due to human weakness, at once. But he remains determined and finally does, with God's help, overcome completely.Many a true Christian has had such a struggle over a particular human weakness and temptation, and after even several setbacks, finally,through God's power, won the victory and fought his way free.God looks on the heart. God FORGIVES in such cases. The living Christ,our High Priest, has compassion, is filled with mercy - as long as the attitude is right, the desire of the inner man is to conquer the flesh and overcome the temptation and be FREE from it entirely.In the end, it is GOD who gives the victory. But, in such a struggle,the Christian DEVELOPS CHARACTER.
You can have happy marriage
You can have happy marriage People simply do not want to admit that God created the marriage union! And unless those laws of God are obeyed, marriages will fail.Laws Govern marriage. And those laws are living. Gravity as a example-no gravity how swift and sure would penalties be? God invented marriage. The reason you have all the fighting and problems in marriage is because of laws being broken.Marriage is physical but divine in origin. Matt 19:4-6. Once bound in heaven,that contract is unalterably in effect until death.WIFE Eph. 5:23-Husband is head of the wife.Eph.5:22- Wives submit unto your husband.1 Cor. 11:3-Paul mentions again--head of wife.1 Cor.11:8-9- Woman was created for man.1 Pet 3:1- Wives be in subjection1 Pet 3:5-6 – Example of Sara, obeyed Abraham and called him Lord.She was humble to God....nowadays deemed old fashioned or outdated
HUSBAND
Husband is not to be tyrant but responsible Eph 5:25-26. Christ gave Himself for the Church. Husbands are to love their wives in the same manner.Eph 5:28-He that loves his wife loves himself1 Tim 5:8- God is provider,protector, and ruler over His Church. So is the man to fulfill that office towards his wife. God demands this.That he support,protect, and provide for His wife.Have deep understanding when unpleasant situations occur. It means overlooking some of the weaknesses, the faults, the mistakes. It does not mean condoning wrong conduct, but means totally different attitude in correcting such problems. Husband should be just as patient and loving as Christ is.A woman should not assume man's responsibility. Alot of men not brought up and shown how to be head of household. A woman should temp.step in and help...but encourage husband to get to where he needs to be without anger. She is a helpmate. 1 Tim. 2:121 Tim.3:4-5. Man is commanded to rule his own house.Isa.3:12- Is this how God indicts me Women should be in charge of housekeeping unless sick. Husband can help out. But she is in charge of housekeeping.Husband and wife are a team. But not 50-50. It is 100-100 proposition,it is all the way for each partner. All the time. Husband gives a 100%to wife and wife gives 100% to husband.Titus 2:4-5 Women keepers of home. That is the command of God.....so what is wrong then with that.1 Cor.11:3,8-9 Eph.5:22-24.....notice word "even as" Husband is head of wife even as Christ is Head of His Church. These verses aimed at husband. God holds the man responsible. God is pointing these commands directly to the man;who is to be the head. He is not the head because the wife says "ok" I will let him be the head. No God made him the head.Col 3:18 1Cor.7:12-14- Yes as "unfair" as it may sound to some women-God says that if the husband is totally selfish and not "God oriented", but if he is pleased to dwell with her and if he provides and supports her as his wife-she is commanded on the authority of the Word of God to honor him, to reverence him, to be humble and submissive to him and not leave him. She is to be subject to him in everything-so long as his commands do not directly conflict with the higher commands of God.Marriage is a profession-and it takes a lot of skill to really succeed at any marriage.Have bible study in morning with kids. Husband lead,wife follow second and the children maintain their place as God intended. Husband pray wife add then children. Do not let anything interfere with this.Is foundation of your home. God and his laws or the world and its ways.
HUSBAND
Husband is not to be tyrant but responsible Eph 5:25-26. Christ gave Himself for the Church. Husbands are to love their wives in the same manner.Eph 5:28-He that loves his wife loves himself1 Tim 5:8- God is provider,protector, and ruler over His Church. So is the man to fulfill that office towards his wife. God demands this.That he support,protect, and provide for His wife.Have deep understanding when unpleasant situations occur. It means overlooking some of the weaknesses, the faults, the mistakes. It does not mean condoning wrong conduct, but means totally different attitude in correcting such problems. Husband should be just as patient and loving as Christ is.A woman should not assume man's responsibility. Alot of men not brought up and shown how to be head of household. A woman should temp.step in and help...but encourage husband to get to where he needs to be without anger. She is a helpmate. 1 Tim. 2:121 Tim.3:4-5. Man is commanded to rule his own house.Isa.3:12- Is this how God indicts me Women should be in charge of housekeeping unless sick. Husband can help out. But she is in charge of housekeeping.Husband and wife are a team. But not 50-50. It is 100-100 proposition,it is all the way for each partner. All the time. Husband gives a 100%to wife and wife gives 100% to husband.Titus 2:4-5 Women keepers of home. That is the command of God.....so what is wrong then with that.1 Cor.11:3,8-9 Eph.5:22-24.....notice word "even as" Husband is head of wife even as Christ is Head of His Church. These verses aimed at husband. God holds the man responsible. God is pointing these commands directly to the man;who is to be the head. He is not the head because the wife says "ok" I will let him be the head. No God made him the head.Col 3:18 1Cor.7:12-14- Yes as "unfair" as it may sound to some women-God says that if the husband is totally selfish and not "God oriented", but if he is pleased to dwell with her and if he provides and supports her as his wife-she is commanded on the authority of the Word of God to honor him, to reverence him, to be humble and submissive to him and not leave him. She is to be subject to him in everything-so long as his commands do not directly conflict with the higher commands of God.Marriage is a profession-and it takes a lot of skill to really succeed at any marriage.Have bible study in morning with kids. Husband lead,wife follow second and the children maintain their place as God intended. Husband pray wife add then children. Do not let anything interfere with this.Is foundation of your home. God and his laws or the world and its ways.
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