History,
Traditions, Destiny of the
Bride
& Harlot Churches
Study Outline
Israel’s Fall (Rejects Messiah)
Scripture References (Hyperlinked)
History,
Traditions, Destiny of the
Bride
& Harlot Churches
Jesus said that one of the signs of
the end times would be deception, which has never been more relevant than
today. Just who can we trust these days? We cannot trust anything we hear on
the news with so much propaganda, crooked politicians, internet algorithms, and
slick religious leaders. You would think the one place you would find the truth
would be the church, but sadly, many times, it is not. As it turns out, even
the word “church” is deceiving, as we will see later.
People join a church to learn about
God, and they may search all the different religions and then attach themselves
to the one they think is the most viable. Or, they may have been born into a
religious denomination that is a part of the family heritage. But what if your
thoughts about God and the church are wrong? Some of the fiercest debates
between Jesus and the religious leaders of his time were over the traditions
and false notions about God that had become ingrained into the culture over
centuries but were not right.
Matthew
15:2-6 "Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition
of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread."
He answered and said to them, "Why do you also transgress the commandment
of God because of your tradition? … you have made the commandment of God
of no effect by your tradition.
The
wheat (true believers) and the tares (fake believers) perpetually grow, side by
side, in the same field, looking the same, so it is hard to separate false from
real. (Matt 13:24-30) This study will highlight the
differences between true believers and religious frauds and between the true
church and the harlot church. We will start at the beginning in Genesis, going
to the end in Revelation, examining the historical record of the areas where
the wheat and the tares separate regarding religious institutions, buildings, leaders,
and traditions invented by man. It is easy to be
deceived by thinking that a person's attendance at a building every Sunday,
giving money regularly, and observing religious rituals can make a person
righteous in the eyes of God. Trusting in good works, a denomination,
traditions, or anything other than Jesus alone for eternal salvation is a
deception.
From the
beginning of Genesis, God reveals a pattern of His divine order and plans, and
it also shows Satan's attempts to imitate, undermine, and overthrow those
plans. It all began with one family, Adam and Eve, but after their sin, mankind
got so wicked that God destroyed the world's population except for one family,
Noah and his wife and kids. And after the flood, the world became corrupt
again, and God chose one man and his children to become His people, and he
separated that family from all other people and nations. That man was Abraham,
and God made a covenant with him, with his son Isaac and grandson Jacob. Then
God added Abraham's twelve great-grandsons to the covenant and gave them a permanent
inheritance of land containing prime real estate. Those twelve grandsons are
known as the children of Israel. Are you noticing a pattern? God's people are
family, not a building, business, or organization.
The Jewish people are
God's people by birth and faith, and the Gentiles (non-Jews) are God's people
by spiritual new birth and faith in Christ. That is the pattern, but we will
see how Satan tries to infiltrate God's family to deceive, divide and conquer by
imitating everything that God does and making a false religion out of it. We
will identify some areas that separate between true and false, starting in
Genesis and going to Revelation.
The garden of Eden was the perfect
paradise for Adam, except he was alone, so God performed the first surgical
procedure and put Adam to sleep (first anesthesia) and removed a rib from
Adam's side, from which he created Eve.
Genesis
2:21-24 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam,
and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its
place. Then the rib which the LORD God had taken from man He made into a
woman, and He brought her to the man. And Adam said: "This is now
bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, because
she was taken out of Man." Therefore, a man shall leave his father and
mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
Taking Eve from Adam's rib is a
picture of the church coming from the spear pierced side of Christ on the
cross, where he purchased the church with his blood.
Ephesians
5:23-32 For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ
is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as
the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands
in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the
church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with
the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a
glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she
should be holy and without blemish. So, husbands ought to love their own
wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever
hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does
the church. For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones.
"For this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to
his wife, and the two shall become one flesh." This is a great mystery,
but I speak concerning Christ and the church.
Adam and Eve walked in a beautiful
perfect world, and it was like a picture of heaven, Christ and his church
together in paradise, until sin entered the picture.
1 Timothy
2:13-14 For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not
deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression.
Immediately after Eve's
conversation with Satan, God called and rebuked Adam, Eve, and the serpent and
gave the first prophecy about Christ coming to crush the Devil and redeem
mankind.
Gnesis
3:15 And I will put enmity between you (Serpent, Satan) and the woman, and
between your seed and her Seed; (Christ) He shall bruise your head, and you
shall bruise His heel."
That prophecy was for Adam and Eve,
but it also informed Satan that a woman would give birth to a man (Christ) who
would defeat him and take back everything Adam had lost. Paul compared Eve's
conversation with the serpent to preaching another (fake) Jesus, a different
(demonic) spirit, and another (false) gospel.
2
Corinthians 11:2-4 For I am jealous for you with godly
jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as
a chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived
Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that
is in Christ. For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we
have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have
not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted you may
well put up with it!
The Devil takes the good news of a
promised Messiah and creates imitations that sound similar and look real but
are false apostles and fake ministers, and Satan can even make himself appear
as an angel of light.
2
Corinthians 11:13-15 For such are false apostles, deceitful
workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For
Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore, it is
no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of
righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.
In the book of Revelation, the
Apostle John confirms that in the end times, the world's religions will all
join together in worship of one man known as the antichrist. The world religion
that worships this man is called the mother of harlots, and since the movement
is spiritual, we call it the harlot church, among other things.
Revelation
17:4-5 The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet,
and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a
golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication. And on
her forehead a name was written: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER
OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
We see the harlot church in the
book of Revelation, but it started after Noah's flood with Nimrod, who was a
mighty hunter against the Lord, and he is the prototype of a global dictator
and antichrist. Nimrod built Babylon and the Tower of Babel, and that Tower was
the starting point of all false religions that spread around the world. That is
why Babylon is called the mother of Harlots. Spiritual harlotry is worship of
anything or anyone other than the one true God (James 4:4).
Genesis
10:8-10 Cush begot Nimrod; he began to be a mighty one
on the earth. He was a mighty hunter before (in defiance of) the LORD
Without
going too far into Babylonian mythology, here is a brief outline. Babylonians
believed in a false trinity, and Nimrod was supposedly the Lord of Heaven,
Semiramis or Ishtar was his wife, was supposedly the Queen of Heaven. (Jeremiah
7:18; 44:17-25) Tammuz
was portrayed as her infant child and was the pagan version of the resurrected
son. (Ezekiel
8:14) The
Babylonians were heavily involved in astrology, idolatry, and mysticism. Nimrod
built the Tower of Babel, and it was the first type of antichrist global
government and was a religious center in opposition and defiance against God.
God told Noah to fill the earth (Genesis
9:1),
but Babylon concentrated the population in a centralized location around a
building project. It's funny how when people are thinking of starting a church,
the first thing they do is look for a building. Instead of using stones created
by God, they manufactured bricks. Believers are compared to living stones
expressing different colors and character (1 Peter 2:4-5), while
bricks, on the other hand, are all the same, conformity with zero
individuality, replaceable,
monotone, like being under a dictatorship. They built the tower to reach the
heavens for religious purposes, as they were into astrology and possibly in
defiance, believing they could make its construction higher than another flood.
They wanted to make a name for themselves, and like Lucifer, they were proud,
arrogant, and wanted to be above God (Isaiah 14:12-15).
Genesis
11:1-4 Now the whole earth had one language and one
speech. … "Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly." They
had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar. And they said,
"Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the
heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the
face of the whole earth."
When God scattered the people out
from the tower of Babel (Gen
11:8),
they spread the Babylonian mystery religion to every part of the world. But
since God confused their languages, the Babylonian names were changed into
different languages in different countries.
We just reviewed two parallel
tracks, the bride of Christ and the harlot of Babylon, which may look very
similar outwardly, but spiritually they are as far apart as heaven and hell. We
will continue to follow these two tracks through the Old Testament and to the
last pages of the Bible.
When Joseph went into Egypt, the
family was seventy souls, four hundred years later, Moses led them out of
Egypt, and they were about two and a half million strong. When Moses died,
Joshua took the mantle of leadership and led them into the promised land. After
some time of being established in their own country, they came to Samuel and
asked for a king. They were family. Do you know any children who would go to
their parents and ask to make their brother a king over them? When you take a
proud, selfish, sinful human and give him total control over slavish subjects,
what could go wrong?
1 Samuel
8:4-7
Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel
unto Ramah, and said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in
thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations. But the
thing displeased Samuel, when they said, give us a king to judge us. And
Samuel prayed unto the LORD. And the LORD said unto Samuel, hearken unto the
voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected
thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.
The LORD responded by telling
Samuel, they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from reigning
over them. But God had a plan and promised to raise a king from the line of
David who would be faithful, righteous, and rule forever. That king's name
means the anointed one, in Hebrew the Messiah, in Greek the Christ. Israel
rejected God as their king, and centuries later, they rejected Christ as their
king and crucified him. But Christ will be their king during the millennium and
eternity.
1
Chronicles 17:11-14 "And it shall be, when your days are
fulfilled, when you must go to be with your fathers, that I will set up your
seed after you, who will be of your sons; and I will establish his
kingdom. "He shall build Me a house, and I will establish his throne
forever. "I will be his Father, and he
shall be My son; and I will not take My mercy away from him, as I took it
from him who was before you. "And I will establish him in My house and
in My kingdom forever; and his throne shall be established forever."
When God called Abraham, he left
the idolatry of a big Babylonian city and went into the wilderness and dwelt in
tents. He didn't know where he was going, moving around as a stranger and
pilgrim. Why? He was looking for the city of God!
Hebrews
11:8-10 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he
would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did
not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land
like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob,
who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to
the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
Abraham was looking for a city
designed and built by God, a heavenly city, so nothing on earth could hold his
attention. He had left Babylon, where the building project of the tower of
Babel brought confusion to the world. More than 400 years later, Moses
constructed a tabernacle (tent) for God's presence to travel and dwell with
Israel, which continued in that mode for centuries until David.
King David wanted to honor God by
building him a temple, and he mentioned his desire to Nathan, the prophet. God
answered that he never asked anyone to construct a permanent structure for him
because he was with them wherever they went.
1
Chronicles 17:4-6 "Go and tell My servant David, 'Thus
says the LORD: "You shall not build Me a house to dwell in. "For I
have not dwelt in a house since the time that I brought up Israel, even to this
day, but have gone from tent to tent, and from one tabernacle to another.
"Wherever I have moved about with all Israel, have I ever spoken a word
to any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd My people, saying,
'Why have you not built Me a house of cedar?'"'
God denied David's request to build
but allowed his son Solomon to build the temple. The tabernacle and the temple
were both a type of Jesus who is the eternal word of God, became flesh, took on
a human body (tent, tabernacle, temple) as a man, and dwelt among us. It also
points to the future heavens where God dwells with man.
John 1:14 And the
Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as
of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
John
2:19-21 Jesus answered and said to them, "Destroy
this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." … But He was speaking
of the temple of His body.
Revelation
21:1-3 Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the
first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also, there was no more
sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven
from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice
from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He
will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be
with them and be their God.
God has
always met with his people in different meeting places like a garden, a boat, a
tent, buildings, and fields, but the location and structures in and of
themselves have no blessings without the presence of God. On the contrary, many
buildings are symbols of rebellion, like the Tower of Babel, and other
buildings are monuments of pride and ego for a leader to make a name for
themselves.
Daniel
4:29-32 … he was walking about the royal palace of Babylon. The
king spoke, saying, "Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a
royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?" While
the word was still in the king's mouth, a voice fell from heaven: "King
Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: the kingdom has departed from you! (He
went insane for 7 years and live in the fields, until he acknowledged God)
2
Samuel 18:18 Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken
and set up a pillar for himself,
Psalm
49:11
Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue forever, and their
dwelling places to all generations; they call their lands after their own
names.
Or worse,
their buildings and monuments can become idols and the habitation of Satan and
his demons.
Revelation
2:9-13 (Jesus) … I know the blasphemy of those who say
they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan … "I know your
works, and where you dwell, where Satan's throne is. And you hold fast
to My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days in which Antipas was My
faithful martyr, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.
Revelation
18:2
And he cried mightily with a loud voice, saying, "Babylon the great is
fallen, is fallen, and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for
every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird!
The symbolism of temples points to
the current and future reality that heaven and hell are under construction and
populated with the souls of men, angels, and other creatures. After their
judgment, each individual will go to their assigned eternal dwelling places,
either with God or Satan.
The bible is a collection of
writings documenting man's experiences with God leading to a relationship with
God and giving guidance and instructions to live a godly and blessed life.
John 6:63 (Jesus)
"It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words
that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.
Joh 10:10
… I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more
abundantly.
Moses gave 613 laws intended to be
a blessing, leading to a healthy life, not oppress or control. The Jewish
sanitary, dietary, and relationship laws preserved them as a people, while the
surrounding Gentiles (non-Jews) perished. During the black plague of the 1300s,
tens of millions died, but Jewish deaths were much fewer by proportion because
they kept the laws of Moses. Contrary to the Gentiles, orthodox Jews washed
their hands and bathed frequently, buried their dead, and kept unclean waste
and sewage away from their houses, and their (kosher) diet was much healthier
and carried less disease than what the Gentiles ate. As a result of lower
Jewish deaths, the Jews were blamed for the plague and came under deadly
persecution, thousands got killed, and sadly the persecutors claimed to be
Christians.
The law was supposed to save and
preserve life, but the religious leaders added their own rules above and beyond
the law to make religious boundaries like buffer zones to prevent people from
breaking the law. For example, how much activity could a person do without it
becoming work and breaking the Sabbath day of rest? That was a huge source of
contention between Jesus and the Pharisees (John 5:6-16). How much
worse is legalism when men with wrong motives create traditions and rules
outside the boundaries of the scriptures and weaponize them to gain power,
control, or wealth. Jesus rebuked the scribes and Pharisees for making void the
word of God through their religious routines and tradition.
Mark
7:7-9
And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'
"For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men
the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do." He
said to them, "All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you
may keep your tradition.
Paul warned the churches about
legalism and warned them to avoid following myths or fables. He warned that in
the end times, the church must confront doctrines that demons teach,
superstitious and concocted gimmicks of false teachers.
2 Timothy
4:3-4
For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according
to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their
ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.
Jesus came as the word of God,
representing the Father in human flesh, teaching and pointing out the
differences between the inspired word that brings spiritual life versus the
traditions, religious rules, myths, and superstitions of the false religious
leaders that leads to death.
God always has faithful believers
who refuse to bow to the demands of ungodly leaders and cultures, be it times
of prosperity and compromise or persecution and afflictions. The remnant stands
for righteousness in the face of danger and without regard to their safety or
consequences. These committed believers are just a few, and they may endure
persecutions and might be outcasts, but they are precious to God, and he sets
them apart for himself. In the days of Elijah, Jezebel had killed the prophets
of the Lord, and Elijah was just one man who stood his ground against the 450
prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of the (Ashtoreth) groves. Elijah felt alone
and thought he was the only prophet of the Lord left in Israel serving God.
Romans
11:2-5 God has not cast away His people whom He foreknew. Or
do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God
against Israel, saying, "LORD, they have killed Your prophets and torn
down Your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life"?
But what does the divine response say to him? "I have reserved for
Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal." Even so
then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of
grace.
We should be clear that the remnant
is not a group of preppers or off-the-grid survival types of people, and they
are not saved or survive based on their human abilities and efforts. They rely
on God's grace and stand by their convictions.
Ecclesiastes
9:11
I returned and saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift, Nor the
battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to men of
understanding, nor favor to men of skill; but time and chance happen to
them all.
Romans
9:15-16 For He says to Moses, "I will have mercy on
whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have
compassion." So, then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but
of God who shows mercy.
Humans tend to have a herd
mentality and follow the crowd like sheep, having a false sense of security.
Many times, the remnant are mavericks who stand alone. Moses sent 12 spies into
Canaan, and 10 of them scared the entire population of 2.5 million people and
turned them against Moses. Two spies, Joshua and Caleb, stood against the
multitudes and argued that they could and should conquer the land (Num 13,14). Who
would you stand with, the 2.5 million people or the two zealots? God chose the
two zealots, and they were the only ones out of the 2.5 million that survived the
desert and lived to conquer the promised land 40 years later.
Jude 1:5 But I
want to remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved
the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not
believe.
A great multitude followed Jesus,
and they loved the miracles, healings, and free food (Jesus fed multitudes with
a few loaves and fishes). You could not have a better group to follow than
Jesus and his disciples. But one day, Jesus challenged them with a hard saying,
and the multitudes walked away from him. Then Jesus turned to his disciples and
asked if they wanted to leave also. The remnant stayed with Jesus.
John
6:60-68 Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard
this, said, "This is a hard saying; who can understand it?"
When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to
them, "Does this offend you? … From that time many of His
disciples went back and walked with Him no more. Then Jesus said to the twelve,
"Do you also want to go away?" But Simon Peter answered Him,
"Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.
As we look at Israel and the
church's history and future, understand that no matter how dark times were or
will be in the future, there have, and always will be, a remnant of faithful
believers, but they are the minority. Every generation passes through a sifting
process, separating the wheat and tares, sheep and goats, light from darkness,
and choosing between the broad road and narrow path.
After the death of Solomon,
Jeroboam led a revolt and took ten tribes of Israel in the northern territory,
and Solomon's son Rehoboam held on to the kingdom of Judah in the south. Judah
had the temple in Jerusalem, the Levitical priest and the descendants of King
David sat on the throne, and the Jews were required to appear at the temple
three times a year for the feasts (Duet
16:16).
The possibility of people from the
northern kingdom returning to Jerusalem for the temple feasts presented a
problem for Jeroboam. He had great fear that his people would give their
loyalty back to Judah in the southern kingdom. So, he came up with a plan by
imitating everything in Jerusalem, except he paganized it. He built pagan
temples, ordained pagan priests, and held feasts to pagan gods. He renamed and
celebrated feasts on the same days as the feast in Jerusalem, and he made two
golden calves and many pagan idols.
1 Kings
12:28-33 Therefore the king asked advice, made two calves of
gold, and said to the people, "It is too much for you to go up to
Jerusalem. Here are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up from the land of
Egypt!" And he set up one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan.
… He made shrines on the high places (to Ashtaroth), and made priests from
every class of people, who were not of the sons of Levi. Jeroboam ordained
a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the feast that was in
Judah, and offered sacrifices on the altar. So, he did at Bethel,
sacrificing to the calves that he had made. And at Bethel he installed the
priests of the high places which he had made. So, he made offerings on the
altar which he had made at Bethel on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, in
the month which he had devised in his own heart
Jeroboam built his worship centers
in Dan at the northern extreme of Israel and Bethel in the south bordering
Judah, just twelve miles from Jerusalem. He said it was too far to go the extra
twelve miles past Bethel to Jerusalem to worship, and he lured them into a
counterfeit religion that was an abomination to God. Jeroboam established a
dynasty where he was head of the church and state (like Nimrod). He also
implemented the worship of Baal and Ashtaroth, the religion of Babylon, and
Israel never recovered from it. On the contrary, the kingdom of Judah preserved
the Messianic line of David for their kings, and their priests were Levites,
the sons of Aaron, and they had Solomon's temple. They were not perfect saints,
but they were children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and God preserved a
remnant to honor his covenants and promises with the patriarchs and David.
Every single king of the Northern
Kingdom of Israel did evil by following the idolatry of Jeroboam. They rejected
the royal line of David, so they were ruled by tyrants who ascended the throne
by sedition and murder. They had bloody takeovers and power struggles amidst
continuous moral decay and cultural rot. That led to Ahab, an incredibly evil
King, but his wife Jezebel may have been the most wicked and vile person in
Israel's history.
1 Kings
16:30-33 Now Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of
the LORD, more than all who were before him. And it came to pass, as though
it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the
son of Nebat, that he took as wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal, king of
the Sidonians; and he went and served Baal and worshiped him. Then he set up an
altar for Baal in the temple of Baal, which he had built in Samaria. And
Ahab made a wooden image. Ahab did more to provoke the LORD God of Israel to
anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him.
Ahab walked in the sins of
Jeroboam, was head of church and state, ruled as king, and directed religious
affairs, and he married a pagan high priestess of the cult of Baal, Jezebel.
Jezebel's name means: Baal exalts; Baal is husband to, or unchaste. So, the literal
meaning of her name is the harlot wife of Baal. Jezebel is a type of the whore
of Babylon from the book of Revelation. Not only was Jezebel a priestess of
Baal, but she killed the true prophets of God, and she had 400 false prophets
who ate at her table. She promoted the pagan religions of Babylon, ruled Israel
with an iron fist, and even the prophet Elijah ran for his life to escape from her.
But, in the end, she was trampled to pieces underneath the hooves of Jehu’s
horse, and then she was eaten by dogs (fulfilling Elijah's prophecy).
Jezebel
typifies the spirit that will influence leaders of the harlot church in the end
times. Jesus told the church in Thyatira that they were tolerating that woman
Jezebel and followed by saying that he had feet of brass. Jesus implied that as
Jehu trampled Jezebel, he would cast the harlot church into the great
tribulation and stomp them to pieces. The true church, and the harlot church,
will be separated at the rapture, the church (bride) will go with Jesus, and
the harlot church will go into the seven-year tribulation with her husband, the
antichrist.
Revelation
2:18-23 "And to the angel of the church in Thyatira
write, 'These things says the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire,
and His feet like fine brass: … I have a few things against you, because
you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and
seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to
idols. "And I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality, and
she did not repent. "Indeed, I will cast her into a sickbed, and those
who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of
their deeds. "I will kill her children with death, and all the churches
shall know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts. And I will give to
each one of you according to your works.
Baal
means lord, but it's not the same word as the LORD (Jehovah) to represent God
Almighty. The children of Israel served the lord, but it was Baal, and all
their religion was a counterfeit, temples, prophets, priests, idols, and gods.
They justified their evil in the name of religion, and they did horrendous
things. In the end times, there will be an apostate church, the harlot of
Babylon, that will work with the antichrist and Satan, and she will be drunk
with the blood of the saints, the same way Jezebel killed the prophets of the
LORD (same spirit).
God
judged the northern kingdom of Israel for all the sins of Jeroboam, Ahab,
Jezebel, and others, and they were conquered and destroyed. The Assyrians laid
siege to Samaria, the capital of Israel, deported a large segment of the Jewish
population, and replaced them with people from different nations. The remaining
Israelis living in the land mingled with the implanted foreign immigrants and
adopted their pagan culture and gods. From that time, the Samaritans lost their
identity as Jews and were considered a mixed breed and hated by the Jews from
Judah, and cut off from the God of Abraham and they never recovered (2 Kings 17:24-41).
Beginning
with Solomon (1 Kings
11:4-9),
Judah was involved with idolatry and the same perverse and wicked things as
Israel, so God judged them. Then God used the Babylonians to punish Judah by
laying siege to Jerusalem, destroying the city and the temple, and carrying the
people captive in Babylon for seventy years (Jeremiah 29:10). The
Jews living in Babylon built community centers to teach their children the Torah
(Bible) and the history and culture of Israel to preserve it and called those
meeting places synagogues. Synagogues are only mentioned once in the Old
Testament in the King James Version, but other versions say meeting place (Psalm 74:8). Seventy
years later, the Jews left Babylon and returned to Jerusalem but never regained
their former glory. There was a gap of four hundred years of silence between
the last Old Testament prophet and John the Baptist. During the four hundred
years of silence, the Jewish leaders added multitudes of traditions of men on
top of the 613 laws of Moses, and the religious leaders became more like
tyrants and oppressors rather than family members descended from Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob.
Jesus
came to fulfill prophecies from Daniel as Messiah, Moses as the prophet, Isaiah
as the suffering servant, and David as a king, and to bring healing to
Abraham's children and save the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Jesus came
to his own, the Jews, he was their king, the promised Messiah, but they
rejected him.
John
1:11
He came to His own (Jews), and His own did
not receive Him.
Matthew
15:24
But He answered and said, "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of
the house of Israel."
When
Jesus sent his disciples out to preach the kingdom, he strictly charged them
not to speak to the Gentiles or Samaritans (non-Jews) but rather to the house
of Israel, Jews. And this may be a shocker to some people, but Jesus was not a
Christian! Jesus focused his attention on the Jewish people, and any ministry
to Gentile people was an exception.
Matthew
10:5-6 These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them,
saying: "Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not
enter a city of the Samaritans. "But go rather to the lost sheep of
the house of Israel.
John
baptized Jesus, and Jesus received the anointing of the Holy Spirit, was tested
by the Devil for 40 days, and came away in the power of the Spirit, and then he
began his ministry. Then he went into the synagogue and declared that he was
the anointed one. The word Messiah (Hebrew) or Christ (Greek) means the
anointed one and is a prophetic title, a king. The word Jesus is a name meaning
Jehovah (God) is salvation.
Luke
4:16-21 He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and
stood up to read. And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He
had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: "The
Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the
gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim
liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty
those who are oppressed … And He began to say to them, "Today this
Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."
After his declaration of being the
anointed one, Jesus said that a prophet has no honor (is not accepted) in his
own country. Then he mentioned how Elijah and Elisha had dealings with the
Gentiles, and they tried to kill him. Jesus began to travel from place to place
doing great miracles, walking on water, raising the dead, healing the blind and
feeding multitudes with a few loaves and fishes, which were signs proving his
authority as the Messiah (Christ). Jesus turned the Jewish religious world
upside down, and he did not fit into their religious template, mold, or box.
He did not submit to rules and traditions made
by man, which scandalized the religious zealots. Jesus interacted with everyone
regardless of social status, eating with despised people who were the outcasts
of society, going from place to place with no building, musicians, or offering
plates.
The
temple was the center of the Jewish universe, and they were required to go
there to attend the feasts every year. Although the people had sinned,
committed idolatry, and strayed from God, they thought God would spare them
from destruction because they had a temple building sanctioned by God, so it
had become like an idol to them.
Jeremiah
7:3-4
Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: "Amend your ways and your
doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place. "Do not trust in
these lying words, saying, 'The temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the
temple of the LORD are these.'
The
religious Jews were highly offended and angered when Jesus mentioned something
about destroying the temple, and they used it as a false accusation against him
at his mock trial (Matt
26:61).
But he was speaking about his body as a temple.
John
2:19-21 Jesus answered and said to them, "Destroy
this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." … But He was
speaking of the temple of His body.
Even the disciples got caught up
with the beauty of the temple, and Jesus startled them when he prophesied of
its destruction, which happened some 40 years later, and not one stone would
remain on top of another, and the beloved temple was gone.
Matthew
24:1-2 Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and
His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus
said to them, "Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not
one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down."
The
question of a building came up another time by a Samaritan woman of
questionable morals who had asked Jesus where people should worship. The
disciples were surprised that Jesus would even talk to her, a despised
Samaritan and an immoral woman, and they may have been even more shocked by the
answer he gave her.
John
4:20-24 "Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you
Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship." Jesus
said to her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will
neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. "You
worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of
the Jews. "But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true
worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is
seeking such to worship Him. "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him
must worship in spirit and truth."
You may
imagine how orthodox Jews reacted to hearing that true worship would not be at
the temple in Jerusalem! In fact, at that moment, Jesus stripped away every
outward, physical, and material aspect of traditional worship to say God is
Spirit, and worship must be in the spirit and truth. Take away all religious
trappings, buildings, rituals, music, and other people, and block out every
outward physical distraction, and when it is just you and God, you enter the
place of true worship. In your heart, mind, soul, and spirit is an inner
sanctuary, a holy place known only to you and God, carried about by your body,
which is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Our bodies are the temple that never
closes, we can fellowship, experience, and worship God anytime, anywhere, and
under any circumstances, and no one can stop it. Everything physical can be a
hypocritical religious show, but true worship is directly from the heart and
exclusively to God.
1 Corinthians
3:16
Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God
dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For
the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.
2 Corinthians
4:16 …
we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is
renewed day by day.
Jesus did not confine himself to a
building but always traveled from place to place, teaching, healing, and eating
meals with the people. He demonstrated the pattern for ministry to his
disciples and sent them.
As the
multitudes that followed Jesus grew, the religious leaders became more jealous
and offended by his unorthodox ways, and fearing that they may lose their
power, they decided to kill him to get rid of him. The religious leaders
started a smear campaign against Jesus by saying he cast out demons by Satan.
Blasphemy is attributing to Satan the works done by God and are an unforgivable
sin. The generation of Jewish leaders who rejected the Messiah and blasphemed
the Holy Spirit has no forgiveness for what they did.
Matthew
12:24
But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, "It is only by Beelzebub,
the prince of demons, that this fellow (Jesus) drives out demons."
Matthew
12:28
(Jesus) But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom
of God has come upon you.
Matthew
12:31-32 (Jesus) And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy
will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be
forgiven. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man (a Messianic
Title) will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will
not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.
That was
a turning point for Israel because they rejected the Messiah, Jesus’ tone and
message changed, and he responded by delivering scorching condemnations
directed at the religious leaders. Jesus pronounced woes against the Scribes
and Pharisees eight times in one sermon alone (Matthew 23). As Jesus approached
Jerusalem on the exact day prophesied by Daniel, he wept over the city. Their
rejection of him as Messiah ultimately resulted in the destruction of Jerusalem
by the Romans. He added, you will not see me again until you say, blessed is he
who comes in the name of the lord (at the second coming of Christ).
Luke
13:34-35 "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the
prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather
your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you
were not willing! "See! Your house is left to you desolate; and assuredly,
I say to you, you shall not see Me until the time comes when you say, 'Blessed
is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'"
The Jews
had one last chance to acknowledge Jesus as their Messiah and king (although it
was already too late), but they reaffirmed their position of rejecting Christ,
and they chose allegiance to a Roman king, which would come back to bite them
later.
John
19:14-15 It was the day of Preparation of Passover Week, about
the sixth hour. "Here is your king," Pilate said to the Jews.
But they shouted, "Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!" "Shall
I crucify your king?" Pilate asked. "We have no king but
Caesar," the chief priests answered. (Pilates sign on cross - King
of Jews)
Jesus
said to Israel that their nation would not have another opportunity to receive
Him as their Messiah and king until they say blessed is he who comes in the
name of the Lord, at His second coming. What were the consequences to Israel
for rejecting Christ? About 40 years later, the Romans destroyed Jerusalem, not
leaving one stone of the temple standing, ending their priesthood and
sacrifices, and losing their homeland and scattered everywhere for two
millenniums.
But
everything the Jews lost, the temple, the priesthood, and the sacrifices,
Christ either fulfilled, replaced, or will restore (Acts 1:6, 3:21) for the
nation of Israel at the second coming during the millennium. Until that time,
Israel will have partial spiritual blindness. Israel's fall (Rejection of
Christ) led to the salvation of the Gentiles (non-Jews), provoking the Jews to
jealousy so they would return to the Lord.
Romans
11:11-12 I say then, have they (Israel) stumbled that they
should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come
unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy. Now if the fall of them
be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the
Gentiles; how much more their fulness? (Restoration)
Romans
11:25
For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye
should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to
Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
For the
followers of Jesus, individual Jews, and Gentiles under the new covenant,
Christ is our eternal high priest, the perfect once and forever sufficient
sacrifice for sin, and has given us a better covenant with better promises and
sealed us with the Holy Spirit. We could list much more, but to summarize,
Christ is our salvation, righteousness, and justification, who has given us all
things that pertain to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3).
We can
learn a hard lesson of history from the High Priest, Pharisees, and Sadducees
who rejected Christ, who were left desolate with no temple, no sacrifice for
sin, and no priesthood, but had an outward form of religion void of God's
presence or grace. In the days of Eli, the High Priest, when the Philistines
captured the ark of the covenant, they named Eli's grandchild Ichabod, meaning
the glory has departed (1
Sam 4:21). After 400 years of separation from God, Israel had
become spiritually callous, deaf, and so blind that when God himself was
standing right in front of them, they didn't recognize him but persecuted and
killed him. The glory departed from Israel, they rejected Christ, but he is coming
back as the King of Glory to rule from Jerusalem for one thousand years.
Psalms
24:7-10 Lift up your heads, O you
gates! And be lifted up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory
shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, The
LORD mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O you
gates! Lift up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come
in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts (armies), He is the King of
glory. Selah
History
repeats itself when God departs from a religious group. The group continues as
an institution without God, being self-righteous, full of routines and
traditions, spiritually dead, and finally becoming a secular business. Dead
denominations like Roman Catholics, Anglicans, Lutherans, Methodists, and
others could hang a sign on their front door saying, Ichabod, the glory has
departed (if they ever had any glory).
After
Jesus rose from the dead, he told his disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they
received power. On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came upon 120
disciples, and after Peter preached a sermon, 3,000 people came to faith in
Christ, and the church was born. The following verses show the growth of the
first church.
Acts
2:41, 46-47 Then they that gladly received his word were
baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls … So, continuing daily
with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house,
they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and
having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily
those who were being saved.
Acts
4:4
Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed; and the number of the
men was about five thousand.
Acts
5:14
And believers were increasingly added to the
Lord, multitudes of both men and women,
Acts
6:1, 7 Now in those days, when the
number of the disciples was multiplying,
… Then the word of God spread, and the
number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great
many of the priests were obedient to the faith.
Acts
9:31
Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were
edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy
Spirit, they were multiplied.
The growth of the first church was
absolutely the work of God, totally supernatural, with tens of thousands of
souls coming to repentance, being water baptized, and receiving the baptism of
the Holy Spirit. They did not have a building, no board, no hierarchy, no
meeting times, no musicians, no offering plates, no nursery, no 501 C3 tax
exemption, and no compromise or hypocrisy. But what they did have cannot be
bought, imitated, or manufactured by human efforts. It was a genuine move of
God, and all the congregation was Spirit-filled with the gifts of the Spirit in
operation, and everyone was obedient to the Spirit with unity. The disciples
followed the example Jesus demonstrated for them by turning every situation, in
every place, into an opportunity to minister, testify, and fellowship.
Are you
sitting down? Every one of those tens of thousands who joined the church that
we just reviewed up to this point was Jewish! We do not see the inclusion of
the Gentiles until Acts chapter 10, which you could say is the addition of the
Gentiles to the church. God spoke to Peter through a vision and sent him to
preach to a Gentile named Cornelius and the members of his household. Peter and
the Jews with him were surprised at how God moved with non-Jewish people.
Acts
10:44-47 While Peter was still speaking these words, the
Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. And those of the
circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because
the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. For
they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God. Then Peter answered,
"Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have
received the Holy Spirit just as we have?"
When
Peter returned to Jerusalem, the Jews were outraged that he went to the house
of a Gentile, and Peter had to defend his visit. After Peter explained all the
circumstances and the outcome of the visit, the other Apostles, disciples, elders,
and leaders of the church (all Jewish) were satisfied.
Acts
11:18
When they heard these things they became silent; and
they glorified God, saying, "Then God has also granted to the Gentiles
repentance to life."
About
four years before Peter's encounter with Cornelius, Jesus tried to tell the
disciples that they would be privy to mysteries and revelations that many
prophets, righteous men, and even angels had longed to know but never did. We
will cover a few mysteries revealed to the church by the Holy Spirit after Pentecost.
Matthew
13:16-17 But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your
ears because they hear. For I tell you the truth, many prophets and
righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what
you hear but did not hear it.
1
Peter 1:12 the things which now have been reported to you through
those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from
heaven things which angels desire to look into.
The first
of those mysteries we briefly touch on is regarding God's plan for the
Gentiles. Although Abraham was called the father of many nations, and there
were other hints about God's dealing with the Gentiles, the Jews had no idea Gentiles
would be adopted into the family and become one with them.
Ephesians
2:11-15 Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles
by birth and called "uncircumcised" by those who call themselves
"the circumcision" (that done in the body by the hands of men)
remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from
citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without
hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were
far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.
Paul uses
the analogy of how the Gentiles were like a branch from a wild olive tree and
got grafted onto a fruitful olive tree, Israel. Gentiles should not be arrogant
against Israel because they rejected Christ, but we should be grateful to
partake in the promises and be joined with Christ.
Romans
11:17-18 And if some of the branches were broken off (Jews
that rejected Christ), and you (Gentiles), being a wild olive tree,
were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and
fatness of the olive tree, do not boast against the branches. But if you do
boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.
From
Pentecost to the rapture can be called the fullness of the Gentiles. Some
people would say that the fulness of the Gentiles ends when the last Gentile
gets saved before the rapture. Also, it is the end of the church age, and the
outpouring of the Holy Spirit and gifts of the Spirit will cease. Once the
church is snatched away in the rapture, prophetic events focus on the Jews and
how the nations relate to them.
Romans
11:25
For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery,
lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has
happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.
There is
another prophetic event called the times of the Gentiles, which ends with the
destruction of the last Gentile Empire, the antichrist global kingdom (Daniel 2:31-45). From the
middle of the tribulation, for 3 1/2 years, the Gentiles trample the temple,
the antichrist, and all the world's armies will attack Jerusalem. When it looks
like Israel is doomed, they will cry out to Christ, and he will return and
destroy the armies of the nations. Then Jews will say blessed is he who comes
in the name of the lord.
Luke
21:24
"And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into
all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of
the Gentiles are fulfilled.
Revelation
11:1-2 Then I was given a reed like a measuring rod. And the
angel stood, saying, "Rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and
those who worship there. "But leave out the court which is outside the
temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles. And they
will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months.
Another
reason to look at the Gentiles and the church is to expose antisemitism (hatred
of Jews) and replacement theology in the church. Church history is full of
leaders and movements that have persecuted or rejected the Jews as God's
people. Replacement theology teaches that the church has replaced Israel in
God's plan of salvation, and the covenants and promises intended for Israel
switched to the church. This thinking produces false teachings and is deceptive
and destructive. Jesus died to destroy the walls between Jew and Gentile and
make them one in Christ.
Ephesians
2:14-19 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two
one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by
abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His
purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace,
and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the
cross, thereby putting to death the enmity …
For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.
Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow
citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,
In the
book of Acts, after God uses Peter to bring Gentiles into the church, the
narrative shifts from Peter to Paul. Paul was so zealous as a Jew that he
persecuted the church, and after his conversion to Christ, he was the most
zealous preacher to the Gentiles.
Galatians
2:2, 7-8 And I went up by revelation, and communicated to them
that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles … But on the contrary,
when they saw that the gospel for the uncircumcised had been committed to
me, as the gospel for the circumcised was to Peter (for He who worked
effectively in Peter for the apostleship to the circumcised also worked
effectively in me toward the Gentiles),
Paul's
burning zeal made him an unstoppable missionary that blazed the trails to start
many new churches, and he trained many young missionaries to carry his torch
after he was gone.
Paul also
gave instructions to all the churches that he started, and judging by the
letters he wrote, their form of meetings and fellowship was much different than
what we do today. The idea that the church was an institutional organization
represented by a building, board members, paid staff, and an annual budget
would have been totally foreign to them. They thought of themselves as the body
of Christ, like a human body where each member (eyes, nose, ears, mouth, arms,
legs, etc.) plays a different role (different gifts) in contributing to the
whole body (of believers) to create balance and full function of the body.
Romans
12:4-8 For as we have many members in one body, but all
the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in
Christ, and individually members of one another. Having then gifts
differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy,
let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it
in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts,
in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with
diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.
Paul told
the church that God works "in all," and the Spirit is given to
"each one" to profit all, then lists various gifts used by multiple
people. Notice the words "to each" and "all" regarding the
distribution of special abilities given by the Holy Spirit. However, what you
see inside most church buildings today is one person (the preacher) who is the
only one with any gifts and a congregation of spectators.
1
Corinthians 12:4-11 There are diversities of gifts,
but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same
Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God
who works all in all … But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one
for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom
through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same
Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of
healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to
another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another
different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All
these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each
one, just as he determines.
In small churches, the Pastor does
everything, and in larger churches, the Pastor may delegate some things, but he
does all the pulpit (preaching, teaching) ministry. Usually, the Holy Spirit
has to be funneled through the Pastor for everything in a church service, to
the point that the Pastor replaces the Holy Spirit in guidance, direction, and
control. In those situations, the verses we just read would more accurately
portray many churches if we read them as follows; using the titles of Pastor, Priest,
Prophet, Bishop, or Grand Poobah if that fits your situation:
1
Corinthians 12:4-11 There are diversities of gifts,
but the same Pastor. There are differences
of ministries, but the same Pastor.
And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same Pastor who works all. But the manifestation of the
Pastor is for the profit of all: for to the
Pastor is given the word of wisdom,
to Pastor the word of knowledge
through the same Pastor, faith by
the same Pastor, gifts of healings
by the same Pastor, working of
miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, different kinds of
tongues, the interpretation of tongues. All
these are the work of one and the same Pastor,
and he gives them just as he determines.
The first church was not a one-man
show, to the contrary they were a full functioning body with many moving parts.
1
Corinthians 12:28-31 And God has appointed these in the
church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers,
after that miracles, then gifts of healings,
helps, administrations, varieties of tongues. Are all
apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? Do
all have gifts of healings? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? But
earnestly desire the best gifts… (We could cynically add to that list, Are
all spectators?)
Colossians
3:15-16 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since
as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the
word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another
with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with
gratitude in your hearts to God.
Another
analogy of the church is that of a family, and especially the love, concern,
compassion, hospitality, and care that family demonstrates towards each other.
Just like Israel began with one man (Abraham) and his 12 great-grandsons, the
church started with the 12 apostles, and the early church was like a family.
They referred to each other as brothers and sisters and ate meals together from
house to house. When Paul started churches, he said he was like their father
and cared for them like a mother.
1
Corinthians 4:14-17 I do not write these things to shame you,
but as my beloved children I warn you. For though you might have ten
thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ
Jesus, I have begotten you through the gospel. Therefore, I urge you,
imitate me. For this reason, I have sent Timothy to you, who is my beloved
and faithful son in the Lord, who will remind you of my ways in Christ, as
I teach everywhere in every church.
1
Thessalonians 2:7-8 But we were gentle among you, just as
a nursing mother cherishes her own children. So, affectionately longing
for you, we were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God,
but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us.
They
operated as the family of God in the power of God, and they recognized
spiritual authority, gifts, different levels of spiritual growth, and the grace
of God in someone's life. Paul and John used examples of how to treat widows,
older men, older women, fathers, younger men, younger women, little children,
and spiritual babies. They spoke in terms of the family with love.
1
Timothy 5:1-3 Do not rebuke an older man, but
exhort him as a father, younger men as brothers, older women
as mothers, younger as sisters, with all purity. Honor widows
who are really widows.
1
John 2:12-14 I write to you, little children,
because your sins are forgiven you for His name's sake. I write to you, fathers,
because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young
men, because you have overcome the wicked one. I write to you, little
children, because you have known the Father.
I have written to you, fathers, because you have known Him who is from
the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and
the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the wicked one.
1
Corinthians 3:1-2 And I, brethren, could not speak to
you as to spiritual people but as to carnal (worldly, fleshly minded), as to
babes in Christ. I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now
you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able;
The
example of a family structure type of leadership that recognizes, acknowledges,
and submits to the spiritual authority of the individual can only work
voluntarily with humble and discerning people who are sensitive to the Spirit.
In families, the parents work hard to provide for and take care of the kids
while they grow and mature to become responsible adults and one day have
children of their own. The great leaders in the Bible were humble with a
servant's attitude, like Jesus, Moses, and Paul. On the contrary, the
ego-driven dictator style of leadership wants to be served by others and covets
more power and money, turning religion into a business using secular
administrative, growth, and marketing techniques.
Numbers
12:3
(Now the man Moses was very humble, more than all men who were on the face
of the earth.)
Mat
11:28-29 (Jesus) "Come to me, all you who are weary and
burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for
I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
Philippians
2:2-9
fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord,
of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in
lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you
look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the
form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself
of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness
of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and
became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
Therefore, God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is
above every name,
1
Corinthians 1:26-29 For you see your calling, brethren,
that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many
noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the
world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of
the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things
of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the
things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no
flesh should glory in His presence.
Matthew
20:25-28 But Jesus called them to Himself and said, "You
know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are
great exercise authority over them. "Yet it shall not be so among you; but
whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. "And
whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave "just as the
Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a
ransom for many."
One of the most glaring differences
between the early churches of the apostles and modern American churches today
is persecution. All the original Apostles died as martyrs except John. They
tried to kill John by boiling him in oil, but it had no effect on his body, so
they put him on the Isle Patmos, where he wrote the book of Revelation. The
apostles and early church martyrs considered it an honor to suffer for Christ.
When people challenged the validity
of Paul's ministry, he didn't give a list of miracle crusades but a list of all
the sufferings that he endured for the cause of Christ (2 Cor
11:22-33). Persecution against the church is like pouring gas
on a fire burning away hypocrisy and sin and making the conversion of new
believers spread like a forest fire.
Acts
5:40-42 And they agreed with him, and when they had called
for the apostles and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in
the name of Jesus, and let them go. So, they departed from the presence of
the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His
name. And daily in the temple, and in every house, they did not cease
teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.
2
Thessalonians 1:3-5 We are bound to thank God always for you,
brethren, as it is fitting, because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love
of every one of you all abounds toward each other, so that we ourselves boast
of you among the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your
persecutions and tribulations that you endure, which is manifest evidence
of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be counted worthy of the
kingdom of God, for which you also suffer;
2
Corinthians 4:16-17 For which cause
we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is
renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment,
worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
1
Peter 1:6-8 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little
while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the
genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes,
though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the
revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love. Though now you
do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of
glory,
James
1:2-4
My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing
that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its
perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
Despite severe persecution, the
churches experienced phenomenal growth. The church was strong and challenged the
pagan religions, shaking and conquering the world for about 300 years, and then the church was hijacked!
The Roman
Emperor Constantine made Christianity the state religion of the Roman empire in
the year 326. Constantine became the head of church and state, declaring
Christianity the state religion, and Romans were Christians by the Emperor's
decree, not spiritual rebirth. Constantine paganized Christianity by mixing it
with Roman mythology and idolatry, perverting the scriptures, creating a
political hierarchy in the church, selling priestly offices, and committing
spiritual adultery with pagan gods.
All the
pagan temples changed their names from pagan to Christian names, and statues of
pagan gods like Jupiter, Apollo, and Mercury had their names changed to the
names of the saints like Peter, John, and Paul. They Christianized the names of
the Pagan holidays like the winter solstice (Dec 25th, shortest daylight) and
renamed it Christ's mass. According to Catholic theology in the mass service,
once the bread and wine are blessed, they become the actual, literal, physical
body and blood of Jesus, called transubstantiation. Disagreeing with
transubstantiation was an act of heresy that would have grave consequences during
the inquisitions (which is why Christ's mass was opposed). The mass service was
called Christmas in the 1400s. Jesus said to keep the supper in remembrance of
him, meaning it was symbolic (1
Corinthians 11:24-25).
Adding to
that tradition, they took Nicholas of Myra, made him a saint, embellished his
story, and mingled it with pagan mythology to make Santa Claus and Christmas
traditions. In England, by the 1100s, the word Christmas replaced the old
German word Yule, which represented the pagan winter festivals. The Protestants
and Puritans in the early 1600s were against the Romish, Popery, and pagan
roots of Christmas, but as time passed, they became more widely accepted. Then
American businesses secularized those traditions to make Christmas the most
popular holiday season and the most profitable for business. And just for the
record, the actual date of Jesus' birth has been disputed for centuries, but
there is clear evidence that it was not the 25th day of December. But
admittedly, Christmas is a precious time of year for families and people
worldwide. However, governments and businesses have removed Jesus from the
winter holiday and prostituted it.
At the
spring equinox, the pagans held a festival celebrating the multi-breasted
goddess of sex and fertility (Diana or Artemis, Acts 19:24-35,
Astarte, Ashtar, Semiramis) with symbols of fertility like eggs and rabbits going
back 2500 years. The American use of the Easter egg first appeared in 1825, the
Easter bunnies in 1888, and current traditions gained popularity in the 1900s.
German immigrants in Dutch Pennsylvania had their children make boxes with
straw and grass for rabbits to nest in and picked colorful flowers to feed the
rabbits so they would produce colored Easter eggs. The pagan Easter fertility
celebration has replaced the Biblical Jewish Passover for many. But the first
Christians acknowledged that Christ died on the Passover, but even more
important is that Jesus rose from the dead three days later. However, there are
multitudes of “churches” every year that have Easter egg hunts to celebrate
(the fertility goddess) Easter.
Rome
institutionalized the church and patterned it after the Roman government, with
political assignments or selling the offices like Pope, Bishops, and Cardinals.
The Roman Catholic church idolizes Mary and the infant baby Jesus, duplicating
Semiramis and Tammuz, the mother-infant cult from Babylonian mythology that
exists in many pagan religions worldwide. Tammuz, the mother-infant cult from
Babylonian mythology that exists in many pagan religions worldwide. They also
worship idols, pray to dead saints, and so much more that makes them guilty of
spiritual adultery (James
4:4),
making it a harlot church.
Not only
did Catholicism paganize Christianity, but it exercised iron-fisted government
control over countries and kings. Anyone who criticized or disagreed with them
could be labeled a heretic and imprisoned, tortured, or killed. The height of
their murderous tyranny was called the inquisitions, in which tens of thousands
died, and hundreds of thousands got tortured at the hands of the Jesuit priests
for disagreeing with Catholic teachings.
False
religious leaders from Nimrod, Jezebel, Pharisees, Jesuits, and eventually the
antichrist have one thing in common they will kill for power. With the comingling
of pagan religions, secular government, and Christianity, the Roman Catholic
church became a mother of harlots, and her daughters are all of the protestant
denominations. The protestant denominations may have renounced the Catholic
church teachings, but most have retained the church hierarchy system and many
other institutional and doctrinal errors. Knowingly or not, the Pope, Priests,
Pastors, and famous preachers in the harlot churches may be leading their
flocks straight into the arms of the antichrist.
In the early 1500s in Germany, an
Augustinian Friar was upset by the sin he saw in himself and the Roman Catholic
church. He was grieving and strived to earn salvation by doing religious works
until he read, "the just shall live by his faith." When he realized
that salvation is a gift and not by his works, Martin Luther was a changed man,
and that moment changed the world.
Habakkuk
2:4
"Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him; But the just shall
live by his faith.
Romans
1:17 For in
it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written,
"The just shall live by faith."
Galatians
3:11 But that
no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for "the
just shall live by faith."
On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther wrote
what has become known as the 95 theses, in which he listed his 95 objections to
selling indulgences and Papal powers. At that time, the Catholic church took
money in exchange for the forgiveness of future sins that someone wanted to
indulge in or to pardon the sins of their dead relatives in purgatory. Purgatory,
invented by the Catholics in the 12th century, was a place of punishment where
souls stayed to purge their sins to become fit to go to heaven. And for the
right price, you could pay to have your dead relatives delivered from purgatory
to heaven. The proceeds from the sales of indulgences were a fundraising scam
to build St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. Pope Leo X demanded that Luther
renounce his writings voicing his oppositions, but he refused, and by 1521 he
was excommunicated from the Catholic church. He began a movement that became
the Lutheran Church denomination. Most historians and theologians
place this as the beginning point of the reformation movement of the church.
Martin Luther was not the only reformer but was probably the most influential,
and the theological divide and power struggle between the Catholics and
Reformers became bitter and bloody.
In
the dark ages or medieval times, anyone who disagreed with the Catholic
teachings was a heretic. The determination of guilt was by an inquiry, like a
trial but no jury, and in a torture dungeon, they became known as the
inquisitions, and the most infamous was the Spanish inquisitions. Heretics were
tortured and could recant and renounce their heresy or have a painful death.
Maybe the cruelest tortures ever invented happened in those dungeons to
believers in Jesus who refused to partake in Roman Catholic pagan idolatry and
ritualism. (Recommended
reading free book Foxes
Book of Martyrs, or YouTube)
Those
who stood against Roman Catholic teachings were called reformers, and the
reformation movement became labeled as a protest, so they became known as
Protestants. The more the true believers got persecuted, the more the movement
grew, but it took centuries for the movement's liberation from the tyranny of
the Catholic church.
Luther and the Protestants Reformers got
the basics right, like justification by faith, and they exposed idolatry and
many of the false teachings of Catholicism. But in a sense, they were daughters
of the harlot because they kept the hierarchy (church government) system of
power, control, and much of the Catholic baggage with them when they left. One
unfortunate flaw was how some Protestant Reformers persecuted anyone who
disagreed with them. Luther attacked Catholics, Jews, Anabaptists (Baptist),
and others. The infighting, power struggles, and disagreements have resulted in
numerous denominations (daughters of the harlot church).
Successive
generations have had to sift the wheat from the tares, traditions from the
truth while questioning the belief systems handed down by their fathers, and go
to the scriptures to find the right way,
the truth in reality, and eternal life in Christ (John
14:6). As
generations have passed, getting to the truth has been like peeling the layers
of an onion, peeling away lies, deception, and tradition, and simultaneously
revealing and rediscovering lost truths.
This process is also God's way of separating the bride of Christ from those
who are part of the harlot church.
In considering the King James
Version, aka the Authorized Anglican Version of the Bible, we should start by
looking at the word church, which appears nowhere in the original Greek
writings of the Bible, but was inserted into the English Bible by translators.
The original word was ekklesia, which
translated means; called-out, a congregation or assembly of people. Ekklesia
speaks of people and has nothing to do with a building or an institution. So, for example, the correct reading of Matthew 16:18 would be,
“And I also say to thee, that thou art a rock, and upon this rock, I will
build my assembly, and gates of Hades shall not prevail against it (Youngs
Literal Translation).
There is nothing
Christian about the word church, and its roots are pagan. So how did a pagan
word replace the word congregation or assembly in our Bibles? Following the
history, starting from 1382, John Wycliffe translated the word ekklesia as
chirche, which was in the Old English of his time. But Wycliffe did not speak
Greek and translated from a Latin Bible into English (translation of a
translation). That may explain why he used the word chirche instead of ekklesia.
However, Wycliffe was not a proponent of religious buildings and institutions,
and spoke of the invisible church of the elect. The translations that followed
Wycliffe rendered the word ekklesia as a congregation:
Renderings of Matthew
16:18
In the year 1526
Tyndale’s Bible, is rendered “congregation”
In the year 1535
Coverdale Bible, is rendered “congregation”
In the year 1537
Matthew Bible is rendered “congregation”
In the year 1539 The
Great Bible is rendered “congregation”
In the year 1568
Bishops Bible is rendered “congregation”
In 1611, the word
church was inserted into the King James Version by the translators, and we will
look at some of their motives. But before we do, we will go back a few years to
get a little background history.
In 1526 William Tyndale
was the first to translate an English version of the Bible directly from the
original languages. In 1534, King Henry the 8th broke away from the Catholic
Church, so He could divorce his wife, which the Pope would not allow. Ironically,
King Henry used one of William Tyndale’s writings as the rationale for the
split from Catholicism and later killed Tyndale for his writings. So basically,
breaking away from the Catholic church just meant Henry renounced the Pope and
the Catholic church, appointed himself the head of the church, and changed the
name to the Anglican Church. King Henry 8th became the head of the church and
state, and those powers transferred to successive kings.
That was a time of
persecution for true believers, anyone who challenged church authority or
practice could be deemed a heretic and severely beaten, imprisoned, or killed.
Biblical ignorance was used as a weapon by the church to have power over the
people. Most Bibles were in Latin and not available to the general public.
Translating the Bible into English was considered a threat to the church and
government powers.
In 1535 William Tyndale
was arrested and jailed for heresy because he translated the Bible and for his
writings. In 1536 he was convicted of heresy and sentenced to be burned alive.
When the executioner tied him to the stake, he shouted, “Lord! Open the King of
England’s eyes,” the executioner then strangled him to death and burned his
body afterward.
Just
75 years after William Tyndale’s martyrdom, King James became Head of the
church and state. The reformation movement (salvation by faith in Christ alone)
had grown more and more, creating a division between the Anglicans (state
religion) and Puritans (reformers). That growing friction created political and
religious problems for King James. King James sought a way to control both
factions, so he thought by creating a new Bible version, he could consolidate
the religious groups while strengthening the monarchy (state power). King James selected 47 Scholars and gave them 15 edicts
controlling how they translated the new version. In the 3rd edict, He made it
forbidden to use the word “congregation” as it had been in earlier
translations. Also, for anything that pertained to church leadership, they
inserted words like bishop, deacon, office, and rule to give a mindset of
church ministry as an official designation, university educated, being
sanctioned and ordained by the government for the clergy.
King
James, the head of church and state worked to keep the church under submission
to the monarchy and maintain control. The King James Version or the Authorized
Anglican Version was the only version endorsed by the King. But he branded
other versions as seditious, like the Geneva Bible (a study Bible with
commentary), the Bible brought by the Puritans on the Mayflower to America.
Before moving on, just
a side note about the word “church” and its pagan origins, which existed in all
the Celtic dialects long before its Greek counterparts. No doubt the word means
‘a circle.’ The places of worship among the German and Celtic nations were
always circular. The Druids had their Stonehenge, and the Celts and Saxons also
met around stone circles to worship their gods. Many of the first English
buildings for Christian worship were located on top of those same circle sites
or built using stones from those sites. That may be why William Tyndale used
the word “chirche” (circle) in his Bible translation in 1382. We also get the
word circus (like a three-ring circus) from chirche, or in our conversations,
we speak to our circle of friends or circle of influence. The church can be
like a three-ring circus or sitting with a circle of friends. There is also
possibly another, darker meaning for this word.
In the dialects of the Anglo-Saxon,
it was circe, a small church, with circol, a circle. In the Scottish dialect,
it was called Kirk, and in Geman, it was Kirche, and in England, it is the word
Circe. Circe was also the name of a Goddess in Greek mythology. Circe was the daughter
of the Sun god Helios, and was the goddess of fertility and a sorceress. She
supposedly lived and was buried on the island of Aiaiai, which was in a chain
of islands within eyesight of the isle of Patmos, where the Apostle Paul was
banished when he wrote the book of Revelation. Circe was famous for taming wild
animals for her circus. She was said to have the power to change men into
lions, wolves, and especially pigs. She would seduce men to drink from her Gold
Cup, which she had mixed with wine and drugs. After drinking from the cup, they
transformed into a part man and part animals. The men would retain their human
senses, but they got trapped in an animal body. We don’t know if the King James
translators knew about Circe and Greek mythology, but one thing is clear, Circe
and her story have a striking resemblance to the Great Whore of the book of
Revelation.
Revelation 17:3-6 … And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast … The woman
was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones
and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the
filthiness of her fornication. And on her forehead a name was written:
MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF
THE EARTH. I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and with
the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I marvelled with great
amazement.
Revelation
18:3
"For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her
fornication,
Revelation
18:6
"Render to her just as she rendered to you, and repay her double
according to her works; in the cup which she has mixed, mix double for her.
Revelation
18:23
For your merchants were the great men of the earth, for by your sorcery all
the nations were deceived. "And in her was found the blood of prophets and
saints, and of all who were slain on the earth."
The King
James Version is good, but some keywords associated with leaders in
congregations got translated to influence a mindset that supports orthodox
clergy, institutions, government ordination, and official education. Words like
Deacon and the "office of Bishop" were translated to reflect the
attitude that church leaders must have a professional education in an
accredited government school. Hence the word "office" is tied to the
word Bishop giving a different impression than the original meaning. In the
original Greek, a bishop was an elder with oversight to look after and a
caregiver. Similarly, the Greek definition of a Deacon was an errand runner,
servant, or one who waits on tables, not a church official with a high-ranking
status.
The
English vocabulary was altered forever by the KJV Bible, and words like a
church (building) instead of a congregation (ekklesia, people), or a Deacon
instead of an errand boy, are irreversible and permanently ingrained in the
culture. We have to use the word church if we want people to know what we are
talking about. Maybe it's semantics, but it has a profound psychological impact
on our thinking. If you ask a Christian, a Jew, a Morman, and a Jehovah's
Witness who is Jesus, you will get five different answers about the same
person. All that to say, most Christians are "institutionalized," like
long term prison inmates or troops fresh out of boot camp, to think according
to a set structure. Our minds are programmed to think of the church as a
building, institution, or organization rather than a family with fathers,
mothers, brothers, sisters, and elders.
Romans
12:2
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of
your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect
will of God.
Colossians
3:9-10 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the
old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in
knowledge according to the image of Him who created him,
Let's
summarize and look at the pattern left by Jesus and the apostles for believers
to follow after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said true worship is
not based on external, physical things like temple buildings and religious
trappings but in the Holy Spirit and the truth, coming from the innermost being
(John 7:38). The believers after Pentecost met
daily from house to house and around the temple, synagogues, and the public
squares. The congregations experienced tremendous growth, and the apostles
received the revelations regarding the Gentiles, the bride of Christ, the
rapture, the end times, and the eternal heavenly places.
They
functioned as a body, with every member participating and contributing to the
encouragement and faith of the others. They were like a family, caring for and
serving each other based on love and respect. Their leaders were humble
servants with recognizable gifts and callings of the Holy Spirit, having proven
character and grace in their lives. Submission to elders was out of respect for
a godly character and spiritual authority, not because of some clergy title or
superior organizational rank. And despite severe persecution, the congregations
experienced phenomenal growth, and the gospel spread worldwide.
Like ancient Israel with its 400
years of silence, we have had 2000 years since Christ and the original
apostles, and since then, men have added a lot of traditions, routines, and
rituals that were never part of the original gospel. Many of those rituals came
from the Catholic influence from the year 300 until the 1500s. After the 1500s, more traditions were created and handed
down to us by the Puritans, Baptists, Pentecostals, and other movements. We
will look at a few of the most common additions.
The Puritans came to America for religious freedom, and with
their new liberty, they did things differently, some by choice and some by
necessity. The Anglican Church in England received financial support from the
government, but the financial aid stopped for the Puritan churches in America
after the Americans declared their independence from England. Their solution
was to pass an offering plate at church for financial support.
During
the 1700s, through the ministry of fiery preachers, the American colonies
experienced the "Great Awakening," where multitudes turned to God for
salvation. Because of the messages like "Sinners in the hands of an angry
God" by Jonathan Edwards, people were so afraid that they would go to hell
that they clung to the pews in fear. To accommodate those gripped with fear,
they designated a bench in the front row for sinners to stay and pray until
they felt assurance of salvation, and they called that pew the mourner's seat.
The mourner's seat was tweaked by
evangelists like Charles Finney in the 1820s and eventually evolved into our
modern "altar call," which
was popularized by Billy Graham in the 1950s. Billy Graham also modified
something used for over 100 years before him, but he turned it into the
standard operating procedure for evangelism by most Christians, known as the sinner's prayer. The sinner's prayer is the
most basic evangelistic tool, which is done by having the sinner repeat a
prayer that asks Jesus to come into their heart and be their personal Savior.
Ok, let's knock over this golden calf, not to belittle the
sinner's prayer, but to illustrate how something can be a "beloved"
tradition of men. First, the sinner's prayer is not a "get out of hell
card" or a "now you are ready for the rapture card." That can be
a false hope, especially if the sinner doesn't repent and stays a sinner. Also,
Jesus is the Savior of all men, sinner or saints (1 Tim 4:10), not a personal Savior, but we can personally decide to trust in
him. Can you imagine Jesus speaking to a crowd and saying, with every head
bowed and all eyes closed, if anyone wants me to come into your heart, raise
your hand, and repeat this prayer after me to me. Multitudes have said the
sinner's prayer and have genuinely been born again, and God has used it. But it
is a prayer and not salvation, so it's like an introduction handshake saying,
please meet Jesus and have a relationship with him. But continuing to follow
Jesus is up to the person who repeated the prayer. The bottom line is that the
sinner’s prayer is not part of the original gospel. Jesus didn't say, have
people repeat the sinner's prayer and baptize them in the name of the Father,
Son, and Holy Ghost (Matthew
28:19), or he that believeth, and repeateth the prayer, and is baptized
shall be saved (Mark
16:16). We could say much more about that, but hopefully, you get the
point (and sorry if you want to kill me).
Next, the first Sunday school
started in England in 1751. In America in 1855, a young shoe salesman converted
to Christ in a Sunday school class. And since he had great compassion for
Chicago's poor children, he started a Mission
Sunday School, and by 1864 he rented a hall (a converted saloon) for
his outreach to children. When that became too small
for his kids, he purchased a building and started a church. His church, the
Moody Bible Church, is still a historical landmark in Chicago, and D.L. Moody
became a world-famous preacher in his life and church history. One of his
accomplishments was to make the Sunday school movement popular and widespread.
We
just mentioned the origins of the altar call,
the sinner's prayer, the passing the offering plate, and Sunday school, which are standard operating
procedures for nearly all western churches. Do you feel like we have just been
to church? But those are evangelistic tools or techniques created by men over
the last couple of hundred years. Not to say that those traditions are wrong or
that God has not used them, he has, but they are traditions of men and not part
of the original gospel in the Bible. And sometimes, these traditions are
repeated blindly and mindlessly and are just another set of religious routines
without God or his power (2 Tim 3:5). We could say the same for many
other traditions, teachings, and trends that blow through the church. If
someone were to dogmatically and staunchly defend these church traditions, what
would be the difference between them and the Scribes and Pharisees? When the
floods, winds, and trials come, our rock-solid foundation can only be on the
word of God, and everything else is sinking sand (Matt
7:24-27).
Whatever does not align with what
we see in the first church in the book of Acts is questionable and should be
evaluated. The traditions we just mentioned are pretty harmless, but the things
that some professing churches are doing in the name of Christ are an
abomination and just plain evil. One example would be that “drag queens” (men
dressed as women) read books to small children in Sunday school celebrating
homosexuality and other perversions. Our culture is no better than the ancient
Israelites who threw their children into the fires of Molech. In the US alone,
we have committed over 63 million abortions since 1973 and are currently
teaching sexual perversions, creating gender confusion, and funding sex changes
with grade school children in public schools. There are very many examples we
could site, but we will spare you.
It should go without saying that
there are church denominations that approve and condone these things. America
has already reached the threshold of judgment regarding sin in the church, and
the next thing that is coming is the marriage of the harlot church with the
antichrist government.
During the Covid plandemic, we
started seeing church groups divide over whether to submit to lockdowns and
vaccine protocols. One group sided with the government, and the others had
convictions about obeying God and not forsaking the assembling of yourselves (Hebrews 10:25). We can
know the direction and trends that current Harlot churches will take by seeing
where they are now and where they will eventually end up in the book of
Revelation. We will see persecution against the remnant of believers intensify
to comply with universal worship of the antichrist and global governance. The
Harlot church will consolidate power with all religions of the world
(compliance mandatory) and leverage the multitudes of people in exchange for
power with the antichrist global government (church & state). If we add up
the population of the three largest religions in the world: Christian 2.3
billion, Islam 1.9 billion, and Hindu 1.1 billion, that's 5.3 billion out of
7.9 billion total world population with just three religions. The billions of
people in the global religious community will create tons of leverage at the
bargaining table with the antichrist, giving the Harlot power to ride the
beast's (antichrist) back with a measure of influence and control (for a
season).
Revelation
17:1-3 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls
came and talked with me, saying to me, "Come, I will show you the judgment
of the great harlot who sits on many waters, "with whom the
kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth
were made drunk with the wine of her fornication." So, he carried me away
in the Spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet
beast which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten
horns.
The harlot church will try to
exterminate all true believers in Christ and will succeed in killing many
martyrs (like Jezebel).
Revelation 17:5-6 And on her forehead a name was written: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE
GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. I saw the
woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of
Jesus. And when I saw her, I marveled with great
amazement.
Believers not killed by
the Harlot church will die by the antichrist government, who will exterminate
all who refuse to worship the image of the antichrist or take his mark 666.
Without the mark, you cannot buy or sell, so naturally, the members of the
harlot church will be first in line to take the vaccine. Oh, did I say vaccine?
I meant to say mark.
Revelation 13:14-17 He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast,
that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not
worship the image of the beast to be killed. He causes all, both small and
great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or
on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark
or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
The harlot church is a mother with
daughters, the mother is the leader, and we have clues to who she is.
Revelation
17:9
"Here is the mind which has wisdom: The seven heads are seven mountains
on which the woman sits.
Revelation
17:18
"And the woman whom you saw is that great city which reigns over
the kings of the earth."
Rome is
known as the city on seven hills, and all the reformers since the 1100s until
today believe the mother of harlots is the Roman Catholic church. The Harlot
began in Babylon and spread around the world, and 300 years after Christ, she
mixed her pagan religion with Christianity in Rome. And very soon, she will
once again combine all the religions of the world to serve the Antichrist. At
the forefront of bringing the world's religions together is the Pope, with 1.2
billion Roman Catholic followers. All the reformers believed the Pope was the
Antichrist by the cruelty displayed during the inquisitions. Many current teachers
believe the Pope will be the False Prophet because he is a religious leader,
while the Antichrist will be a government leader. We have just seen the
direction the harlot church will go, as they will compromise with other
religions, cultures, and sins and become partners with the global governance
system. They will be the woke political followers, climate change advocates,
transgender lgtbqrstuvwxyz supporters, gender-confused, medical tyranny
backers, pro-abortion, and whatever else the government wants them to be. Worst
of all, they will play church while sleeping with the Devil.
Unlike everyone else in the world,
the true church, the bride of Christ, increases in hope as things grow worse
because the rapture is called the blessed hope. Jesus said when you see all
these things happening, look up your redemption, the rapture is getting closer.
Luke
21:28
"Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads,
because your redemption draws near."
Titus
2:13-14 … looking for the blessed hope and glorious
appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for
us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His
own special people, zealous for good works.
This group will be the faithful
remnant that loves Jesus and have the same anticipation for the rapture as a
bride waiting for her wedding day. They are watching and preparing to meet
the bridegroom (Jesus).
Isaiah
62:5
For as a young man marries a virgin, so shall your sons marry you; And as the
bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.
Revelation
19:7
"Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the
Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready."
1 John 3:2-3 Beloved,
now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be,
but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall
see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself,
just as He is pure.
Luke
21:36
"Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to
escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of
Man."
After the church is gone (rapture),
the plan of God refocuses on Israel. The tribulation is called Jacob's sorrow,
it will be the worst time in human history, and two-thirds of the Jews will
die. But the entire nation of Israel that survives the seven years of
tribulation will repent and come to faith in the Messiah, Christ.
Zechariah
13:8-9 And it shall come to pass in all the land," Says
the LORD, "That two-thirds in it shall be cut off and die, but one
-third shall be left in it: I will bring the one-third through the fire,
Will refine them as silver is refined, and test them as gold is tested. They
will call on My name, And I will answer them. I will say, 'This is My people'; And
each one will say, 'The LORD is my God.'"
Romans
11:26-27 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is
written: "The Deliverer will come out of Zion, And He will turn
away ungodliness from Jacob; For this is My covenant with them, When I take
away their sins."
Those who survive will enter a
one-thousand-year period called the millennium, or millennial kingdom. It's
called a kingdom because Christ, the king they once rejected, has come back to
rule and reign from Jerusalem, the world's capital city. The planet will have a
total restoration to be like the garden of Eden, the animals will all be tame, and
there will be peace, prosperity, good health, and long lives. That will fulfill
all the hopes, dreams, and covenants of the Jewish people since Abraham, and it
will be like heaven on earth.
At the end of the millennium, Satan
gets released for a final battle (Rev
20:7-10),
he and his armies get destroyed, and time will be no more. Then is the final
judgment, and all sinners get sent to the second death in the lake of fire. But
the saints will receive their rewards, and there will be a New Heaven and a New
Earth, and a New Jerusalem with joy unspeakable and full of glory for all
eternity in the presence of God.
Revelation
21:1-5 Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth,
for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also, there was no
more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down
out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And
I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God
is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God
Himself will be with them and be their God. "
We are in the calm before the
storm, but times are changing, and overnight our world could be completely
different. Bible prophecy tells us that the worst time in human history is
rapidly approaching, people will be saying peace and safety, and then sudden
destruction will hit. Israel becoming a nation, world wars, global lockdowns,
and global food shortages are warnings that the four horsemen of the apocalypse
are on their way and getting closer.
Now is
the time to equip ourselves with the word of God to share with others before
another lockdown or being de-platformed or some other concocted restriction
closes the door to our freedom. Like Joseph in Egypt stored grain during the
seven years of plenty so that when the seven years of famine (7-year
tribulation) came, Egypt had food. Christians will not go through the great
tribulation but can experience severe persecution before the rapture happens.
The institutional church buildings could be locked down or become so perverted
and politically woke that all true believers must flee from them.
These are
the years of plenty, and while we have time and freedom, we need to study the
word of God and share it with others, build fellowship groups of sincere
believers and "be the church." This book is part of a set of studies
that are essential teachings for followers of Christ. We call it the "toolbox
series" because it is designed to make you a tool in the hand of God and
provides you the knowledge you need for a scriptural foundation for your faith,
while equipping you to share with others.
These
studies can be a start-up kit for a small group Bible study and are
downloadable with other resources, and it's free. Freely you have received,
freely give, go to our website at: Ears2Hear.online
Another
parable He put forth to them, saying: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man
who sowed good seed in his field; 25 "but while men slept, his enemy came
and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. 26 "But
when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared.
27 "So the servants of the owner came and said to him, 'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?'
28 "He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' The servants said to him,
'Do you want us then to go and gather them up?' 29 "But he said, 'No, lest
while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. 30 'Let both
grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the
reapers, "First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn
them, but gather the wheat into my barn."'"
Jeremiah
7:18;
"The
children gather wood, the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead dough,
to make cakes for the queen of heaven; and they pour out drink offerings
to other gods, that they may provoke Me to anger.
Jeremiah 44:16-25 "As
for the word that you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD, we will not
listen to you! 17 "But we will certainly do whatever has gone out of our
own mouth, to burn incense to the queen of heaven and pour out drink
offerings to her, as we have done, we and our fathers, our kings and our
princes, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. For then we
had plenty of food, were well-off, and saw no trouble. 18 "But since we stopped
burning incense to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings
to her, we have lacked everything and have been consumed by the sword and
by famine." 19 The women also said, "And when we burned incense to
the queen of heaven and poured out drink offerings to her, did we make cakes
for her, to worship her, and pour out drink offerings to her without our
husbands' permission?" 25 "Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of
Israel, saying: 'You and your wives have spoken with your mouths and fulfilled
with your hands, saying, "We will surely keep our vows that we have
made, to burn incense to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to
her." You will surely keep your vows and perform your vows!'
Ezekiel
8:13-14 And He
said to me, "Turn again, and you will see greater abominations that they
are doing." 14 So He brought me to the door of the north gate of the
LORD'S house; and to my dismay, women were sitting there weeping for Tammuz.
James
4:4-5 Adulterers
and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with
God?
Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of
God. 5 Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, "The Spirit who
dwells in us yearns jealously"?
Genesis
9:1 So God blessed
Noah and his sons, and said to them: "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill
the earth.
1 Peter
2:4-5 Coming to
Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and
precious, 5 you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual
house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God
through Jesus Christ.
Isaiah
14:12-15 "How
you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are
cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations!
13 For you have said in your heart: 'I will ascend into heaven, I
will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the
mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the
north; 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will
be like the Most High.' 15 Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, To the
lowest depths of the Pit.
Genesis
11:8-9 So the
LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and
they ceased building the city. 9 Therefore its name is called Babel, because there
the LORD confused the language of all the earth; and from there the LORD
scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.
Deuteronomy
16:16 "Three
times a year all your males shall appear before the LORD your God in the place
which He chooses: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks,
and at the Feast of Tabernacles; and they shall not appear before the LORD empty-handed.
2 Kings
17:24-41 Then the
king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah,
Ava, Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria
instead of the children of Israel; and they took possession of Samaria and
dwelt in its cities. 29 However every nation continued to make gods of
its own, and put them in the shrines on the high places which the Samaritans
had made, every nation in the cities where they dwelt. 30 The men of
Babylon made Succoth Benoth, the men of Cuth made Nergal, the men of Hamath
made Ashima, 31 and the Avites made Nibhaz and
Tartak; and the Sepharvites burned their children in
fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim. 32 So they feared
the LORD, and from every class they appointed for themselves priests of the
high places, who sacrificed for them in the shrines of the high places. 33 They
feared the LORD, yet served their own gods according to the rituals of the
nations from among whom they were carried away.
1 Kings
11:4-9 For it
was so, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods;
and his heart was not loyal to the LORD his God, as was the heart of his father
David. 5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and
after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. 6 Solomon did evil in the sight
of the LORD, and did not fully follow the LORD, as did his father David. 7 Then
Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, on the hill
that is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech the abomination of the people of
Ammon. 8 And he did likewise for all his foreign wives, who burned incense
and sacrificed to their gods. 9 ¶ So the LORD became angry with Solomon,
because his heart had turned from the LORD God of Israel, who had appeared
to him twice,
Jeremiah
29:10-12 For thus
says the LORD: After seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will
visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to return to
this place. 11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD,
thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you
will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.
Psalm
74:7-8 They have
set fire to Your sanctuary; They have defiled the dwelling place of Your name to
the ground.
8 They said in their hearts, "Let us
destroy them altogether." They have burned up all the meeting places
(Synagogues, KJV) of God in the land.
Matthew
26:59-61 Now the
chief priests, the elders, and all the council sought false testimony against
Jesus to put Him to death, 60 but found none. Even though many false witnesses
came forward, they found none. But at last two false
witnesses came forward 61 and said, "This fellow said, 'I am able to
destroy the temple of God and to build it in three days.'"
Acts 1:6-7 Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, "Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" 7 And He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.
Acts 3:19-21
"Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so
that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, 20 "and
that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, 21 "whom
heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God
has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.
2
Peter 1:2-4 Grace and
peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, 3 as His
divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness,
through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, 4 by which have
been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through
these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption
that is in the world through lust.
1
Samuel 4:20-22 And about
the time of her death the women who stood by her said to her, "Do not
fear, for you have borne a son." But she did not answer, nor did she
regard it. 21 Then she named the child Ichabod, saying, "The glory has
departed from Israel!" because the ark of God had been captured and
because of her father-in-law and her husband. 22 And she said, "The
glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured."
Daniel 2:31-45 "You, O king, were watching; and
behold, a great image! This great image, whose splendor was excellent, stood
before you; and its form was awesome. 32 "This image's head was of fine
gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, 33 "its
legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. 34 "You watched
while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of
iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. 35 "Then the iron, the clay, the
bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed together, and became like chaff
from the summer threshing floors; the wind carried them away so that no trace
of them was found. And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain
and filled the whole earth. 36 "This is the dream. Now we will tell the
interpretation of it before the king. 37 "You, O king, are a king of
kings. For the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, strength, and
glory; 38 "and wherever the children of men dwell, or the beasts of the
field and the birds of the heaven, He has given them into your hand, and has
made you ruler over them all-you are this head of gold. 39 "But after you
shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours; then another, a third kingdom of
bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. 40 "And the fourth kingdom
shall be as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and shatters
everything; and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break in pieces and
crush all the others. 41 "Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter's
clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength of the
iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay. 42
"And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so
the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile. 43 "As you saw iron
mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will
not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay. 44 "And in
the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall
never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall
break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. 45
"Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands,
and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the
gold-the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after
this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure."
John
14:6 Jesus
said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
John 7:37-39 On the last day, that great day of
the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him
come to Me and drink. 38 "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has
said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." But this He
spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for
the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
1 Timothy 4:9-10 This is a faithful saying
and worthy of all acceptance. 10 For to this end we both labor and suffer
reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all
men, especially of those who believe.
2 Timothy 3:5 … having a form of godliness but
denying its power. And from such people turn away!
Matthew 7:24-27 "Therefore whoever hears
these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who
built his house on the rock: 25 "and the rain descended, the floods
came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it
was founded on the rock. 26 "But everyone who hears these sayings of
Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on
the sand: 27 "and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew
and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall."
Revelation
20:7-10 Now when
the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison 8
and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the
earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is
as the sand of the sea. 9 They went up on the breadth of the earth and
surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down
from God out of heaven and devoured them. 10 The devil, who deceived them, was
cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false
prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
1
Corinthians 11:23-26 For I
received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus
on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given
thanks, He broke it and said, "Take, eat; this is My body which is
broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me." 25 In the same manner
He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant
in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in
remembrance of Me." 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink
this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes.
Acts
19:25-41 But when
they found out that he was a Jew, all with one voice cried out for about two
hours, "Great is Diana of the Ephesians!" 35 And when the city
clerk had quieted the crowd, he said: "Men of Ephesus, what man is
there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple guardian of
the great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from Zeus?
36
"Therefore, since these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and
do nothing rashly. 37 "For you have brought these men here who are neither
robbers of temples nor blasphemers of your goddess.
Matthew 28:18-20 And Jesus came and spoke to
them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19
"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in
the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 "teaching
them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you
always, even to the end of the age." Amen.
Mark
16:15-16 And He
said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every
creature. "He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who
does not believe will be condemned.
Hebrews
10:23-25 Let us
hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He
who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider one another in order to stir
up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves
together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much
the more as you see the Day approaching.
John
5:8 Jesus
said to him, "Rise, take up your bed and walk." 9 And immediately the
man was made well, took up his bed, and walked. And that day was the Sabbath. 10
The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, "It is the Sabbath; it is
not lawful for you to carry your bed." 16 For this reason the Jews
persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on
the Sabbath.
2
Corinthians 11:22-33 Are they
Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? So am I. 23 Are they ministers of Christ? I speak as a fool I
am more: in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more
frequently, in deaths often. 24 From the Jews five times I received forty
stripes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned;
three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; 26 in
journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own
countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the
wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; 27 in
weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings
often, in cold and nakedness 28 besides the other things, what comes upon me
daily: my deep concern for all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I am not weak?
Who is made to stumble, and I do not burn with indignation? 30 If I must boast,
I will boast in the things which concern my infirmity. 31 The God and Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ, who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying.