My Goal Is Not:
To “feel” the presence of the Lord…To see great signs and wonders…..to move in great power to heal the sick and raise the dead. Or to preach a great sermon or write a great paper…..Or to emotionally move people to a so called repentance.
Even a love for true doctrine alone can not be my ultimate goal, for it is not enough in these last days. For none of these things can save me or anyone else. All of these things can be used to deceive my heart into thinking I am “ok” with God.
(2 Thessalonians 2:9-12) Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
I have seen so many people, who at one time taught such great truths fall into deception. You wonder how could they, knowing all that they knew, fall for such deception. Then we realize that it is not just “knowing” it but “living” it. And then, even more than that…it is seeking the wrong things! God will have no other god before him! If we are seeking all these things that were mentioned above, instead of God himself and his righteousness, we have idols before our heart, and God will answer us according to our idols. The motives and intent of our hearts we cannot hide from God. God will not share his Glory with anyone or anything including signs and wonders!
(Ezekiel 14:4) Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Every man of the house of Israel that taketh his idols into his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I Jehovah will answer him therein according to the multitude of his idols;
(Luke 10:19-20) Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.
The world seeks after these things, But God knows what we have need of. We are to seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness and these signs will follow after us. We don’t follow after them.
(Matthew 6:32-33) (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
My Goal is to be found worthy and to enter into his rest:
(Philippians 3:12) Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.
(Philippians 3:14) I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
(1 Timothy 6:11-12) But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Babylon
Babylon
As men moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there. They said to each other, "Come, let's make bricks and bake them thoroughly." They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth." (Genesis 11:2-4—NIV)
Shinar is Babylonia. This is the original Babylon.
The ambition to build a city with a tower that reaches to the heavens reveals the desire in the adamic personality to join with others in order to accomplish something of significance, the idea being that we can gain a name for ourselves. Also, we can achieve power that we would not have were we to be a single individual or a small group of people. By combining our efforts, our wisdom, and our talents we can establish a monument on the earth to our own glory.
However, God does not use the concerted efforts of people, their wisdom, or their talents to establish His Kingdom. God often works through intense interaction with one person, such as Moses, Elijah, John the Baptist, or the Apostle Paul.
God immediately recognized that if people of one language joined together they indeed could accomplish whatever they pleased.
The LORD said, "If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them." (Genesis 11:6—NIV)
We of today would emphasize the good that could be done if people would stop fighting against each other and work together to produce things and situations that would benefit mankind. Thus it is almost impossible for us to perceive the potential evil in everyone speaking the same language and being able to bring about results not possible for warring nations to accomplish.
God saw the danger immediately and confused the ability of the people to communicate with each other. To the present hour we have wars because of the self-interest of nations—nations separated from one another because they speak different languages.
What is the problem with wanting to join together with other people to accomplish something?
First let us explain we are not saying it is wrong to work together with other people in order to accomplish a task. Rather we are speaking of our human tendency to ignore the Lord Jesus Christ and look to the combined strength and wisdom of human beings to bring to pass what we desire. We are speaking especially of using this method in trying "to do things for God."
The problem is that when God created the world in six days He fashioned not only the physical universe but also the destiny of mankind. In particular, God determined the destiny of each member of His elect, His Israel, His governing priesthood. God does not desire that we join with others to do what we think needs to be done, particularly in the work of establishing the Kingdom of God on the earth. Only God knows His plan for our life, and only God knows His plan for His Kingdom.
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:10—NIV)
Notice the foreknowledge and predestination in this verse.
According to the above, God planned from the beginning of the world specific good works for us to do. We cannot enter God's rest except as we set aside our own ambitions and fears and seek each day the plan of God for that particular period of time. This procedure is simply stated, but proves to be difficult in practice because of our self-will and rebellion against God. Eve fell because she was not willing to trust God for her betterment and joy.
God has been resting since the seventh day because all His works have been finished through to the new Jerusalem. To enter the finished work of God for one's life is to enter the rest of God. The coming of the Kingdom of God is the doing of God's will in the earth as it is in Heaven, not the will of well-intentioned man.
Each human being is moved on by a multitude of ambitions, fears, dreads, obligations, passions, and so forth. There are things we wish to possess, heights we desire to climb, relationships we crave to establish. We may not realize it but God has a specific plan for our life, a plan worked out in detail in His mind from the time He created the world.
Our whole duty in life is to find God's will for us and to perform it diligently. To do this is to enter the rest of God, for God is resting after having decided what good works we are to perform.
To enter God's rest is at once remarkably easy and incredibly difficult. It is remarkably easy because we can lay aside our worries and ambitions and flow with the flowings of the Godhead. It is incredibly difficult because each day a multitude of pressures urge us to follow our own desires. Have you found this to be true?
All we are expected to do in life is to look continually to the Lord Jesus for every action we take, and then do with all our might what is set before us. Sometimes we do not hear from the Lord and we just have to keep on doing what we are doing until we are certain God wants us to do something else. This is all there is to the rest of God; but because Satan is living in our land of promise, we have to follow the Spirit of God into battle in order to enter God's rest.
Satan deems it his business to deceive and confuse us so we do what he wants rather than what God desires. We have to labor to enter the rest of God.
Once we understand thoroughly that a personal mark has been set before us, and we are to be pressing toward that mark each day, then we can perceive immediately how people of one language joining together for the common good will frustrate God's plan for the individual. Instead of looking to God for what he should be doing he is working together with the group to perform the desires of the group.
If anyone chooses to do God's will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. (John 7:17—NIV)
God wants each one of us to come to Him as an individual, not as part of a group. God does not interact with groups but with individuals. It is God's plan that His Kingdom be composed of people who have come to know Him in a very personal way, who have become part of Him through the Lord Jesus Christ. Such people automatically are one with each other because they are integral parts of the one Christ. None of them looks to the other for recognition, power, or wisdom, except as God directs one to minister to the other. The members of the Body of Christ do not gain status, wisdom, or power by joining together but by living in iron righteousness, fiery holiness, and stern obedience to the Father.
Can you see now why God prevented the ancient people from proceeding with their plan to build the city? God caused them to be confused and scattered them over the face of the whole earth so they would look to Him rather than to each other. To look to the group instead of God is Babylon—confusion!
The spirit of Babylon is found in the world. It's name is Antichrist.
The spirit of Babylon is found in religion, including the Christian religion. Its name is Babylon the Great.
It seems so natural and "right" that people should join together to promote the Christian religion. However, this is not God's way. The result of such attempts at united effort, unless clearly and specifically put into effect by Jesus Christ, brings into existence the horror of Babylon the Great. When God's people neglect to seek the mind of Christ, and look to cooperation with others in order to build the Kingdom of God, we eventually create a cage of unclean spirits.
The Lord Jesus Christ stated He would build His own Church. For two thousand years we have denied Him His right to build His Church. Instead we have attempted to do this for Him. The result has been Babylon! Confusion! A thousand competing denominations!
Many churches understand that a true Christian is not worldly in appearance and behavior, and that God does not want us to continue in sin. This is good and right. But the greatest monster of all is self-will. Until God destroys the self-will from us by repeatedly sending tribulations and prisons to purify us of this monster, we always are going to bring forth Babylon as we seek to build the Kingdom of God.
Two chapters of the Book of Revelation are devoted to a discussion of Babylon the Great, revealing what an abominable institution it is. From the description, I believe Babylon the Great represents the Christian religion when it is guided and empowered by the will and ability of human beings instead of by close interaction with the living Jesus and by the Holy Spirit.
-Bro Thompson-
As men moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there. They said to each other, "Come, let's make bricks and bake them thoroughly." They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth." (Genesis 11:2-4—NIV)
Shinar is Babylonia. This is the original Babylon.
The ambition to build a city with a tower that reaches to the heavens reveals the desire in the adamic personality to join with others in order to accomplish something of significance, the idea being that we can gain a name for ourselves. Also, we can achieve power that we would not have were we to be a single individual or a small group of people. By combining our efforts, our wisdom, and our talents we can establish a monument on the earth to our own glory.
However, God does not use the concerted efforts of people, their wisdom, or their talents to establish His Kingdom. God often works through intense interaction with one person, such as Moses, Elijah, John the Baptist, or the Apostle Paul.
God immediately recognized that if people of one language joined together they indeed could accomplish whatever they pleased.
The LORD said, "If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them." (Genesis 11:6—NIV)
We of today would emphasize the good that could be done if people would stop fighting against each other and work together to produce things and situations that would benefit mankind. Thus it is almost impossible for us to perceive the potential evil in everyone speaking the same language and being able to bring about results not possible for warring nations to accomplish.
God saw the danger immediately and confused the ability of the people to communicate with each other. To the present hour we have wars because of the self-interest of nations—nations separated from one another because they speak different languages.
What is the problem with wanting to join together with other people to accomplish something?
First let us explain we are not saying it is wrong to work together with other people in order to accomplish a task. Rather we are speaking of our human tendency to ignore the Lord Jesus Christ and look to the combined strength and wisdom of human beings to bring to pass what we desire. We are speaking especially of using this method in trying "to do things for God."
The problem is that when God created the world in six days He fashioned not only the physical universe but also the destiny of mankind. In particular, God determined the destiny of each member of His elect, His Israel, His governing priesthood. God does not desire that we join with others to do what we think needs to be done, particularly in the work of establishing the Kingdom of God on the earth. Only God knows His plan for our life, and only God knows His plan for His Kingdom.
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:10—NIV)
Notice the foreknowledge and predestination in this verse.
According to the above, God planned from the beginning of the world specific good works for us to do. We cannot enter God's rest except as we set aside our own ambitions and fears and seek each day the plan of God for that particular period of time. This procedure is simply stated, but proves to be difficult in practice because of our self-will and rebellion against God. Eve fell because she was not willing to trust God for her betterment and joy.
God has been resting since the seventh day because all His works have been finished through to the new Jerusalem. To enter the finished work of God for one's life is to enter the rest of God. The coming of the Kingdom of God is the doing of God's will in the earth as it is in Heaven, not the will of well-intentioned man.
Each human being is moved on by a multitude of ambitions, fears, dreads, obligations, passions, and so forth. There are things we wish to possess, heights we desire to climb, relationships we crave to establish. We may not realize it but God has a specific plan for our life, a plan worked out in detail in His mind from the time He created the world.
Our whole duty in life is to find God's will for us and to perform it diligently. To do this is to enter the rest of God, for God is resting after having decided what good works we are to perform.
To enter God's rest is at once remarkably easy and incredibly difficult. It is remarkably easy because we can lay aside our worries and ambitions and flow with the flowings of the Godhead. It is incredibly difficult because each day a multitude of pressures urge us to follow our own desires. Have you found this to be true?
All we are expected to do in life is to look continually to the Lord Jesus for every action we take, and then do with all our might what is set before us. Sometimes we do not hear from the Lord and we just have to keep on doing what we are doing until we are certain God wants us to do something else. This is all there is to the rest of God; but because Satan is living in our land of promise, we have to follow the Spirit of God into battle in order to enter God's rest.
Satan deems it his business to deceive and confuse us so we do what he wants rather than what God desires. We have to labor to enter the rest of God.
Once we understand thoroughly that a personal mark has been set before us, and we are to be pressing toward that mark each day, then we can perceive immediately how people of one language joining together for the common good will frustrate God's plan for the individual. Instead of looking to God for what he should be doing he is working together with the group to perform the desires of the group.
If anyone chooses to do God's will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. (John 7:17—NIV)
God wants each one of us to come to Him as an individual, not as part of a group. God does not interact with groups but with individuals. It is God's plan that His Kingdom be composed of people who have come to know Him in a very personal way, who have become part of Him through the Lord Jesus Christ. Such people automatically are one with each other because they are integral parts of the one Christ. None of them looks to the other for recognition, power, or wisdom, except as God directs one to minister to the other. The members of the Body of Christ do not gain status, wisdom, or power by joining together but by living in iron righteousness, fiery holiness, and stern obedience to the Father.
Can you see now why God prevented the ancient people from proceeding with their plan to build the city? God caused them to be confused and scattered them over the face of the whole earth so they would look to Him rather than to each other. To look to the group instead of God is Babylon—confusion!
The spirit of Babylon is found in the world. It's name is Antichrist.
The spirit of Babylon is found in religion, including the Christian religion. Its name is Babylon the Great.
It seems so natural and "right" that people should join together to promote the Christian religion. However, this is not God's way. The result of such attempts at united effort, unless clearly and specifically put into effect by Jesus Christ, brings into existence the horror of Babylon the Great. When God's people neglect to seek the mind of Christ, and look to cooperation with others in order to build the Kingdom of God, we eventually create a cage of unclean spirits.
The Lord Jesus Christ stated He would build His own Church. For two thousand years we have denied Him His right to build His Church. Instead we have attempted to do this for Him. The result has been Babylon! Confusion! A thousand competing denominations!
Many churches understand that a true Christian is not worldly in appearance and behavior, and that God does not want us to continue in sin. This is good and right. But the greatest monster of all is self-will. Until God destroys the self-will from us by repeatedly sending tribulations and prisons to purify us of this monster, we always are going to bring forth Babylon as we seek to build the Kingdom of God.
Two chapters of the Book of Revelation are devoted to a discussion of Babylon the Great, revealing what an abominable institution it is. From the description, I believe Babylon the Great represents the Christian religion when it is guided and empowered by the will and ability of human beings instead of by close interaction with the living Jesus and by the Holy Spirit.
-Bro Thompson-
Friday, July 04, 2008
The Old Wineskin – Pagan Christianity
Chapter 7
By Dene McGriff
The Church today is broken and can’t be fixed. It is weighted down by meaningless forms, practices, traditions and programs, by a clergy that tries hard to serve the laity but fails miserably. But it is lifeless and irrelevant. It is an old wineskin that must be discarded if Christians are to discover a living relationship with Christ and one another. Not only are the roots pagan but most of the practices we accept today bear no resemblance to the living early church.
A central theme of “The Tribulation Network” is that in the last days, most of the church will fall away but a remnant will become a triumphant testimony to the world around. The church will go through the tribulation period and Christians will be delivered up by other “Christians” thinking they are doing God a favor. (e.g. Matthew 10:18-20) What will separate one group from the other? Why will brother turn on brother and son against father? Why will Christians be so deceived (e.g. Matthew 24:4, 5, 11, 24)? Why will some overcome and avoid the deception and others become a willing part of it?
What I am about to share with you is revolutionary but I will begin with a disclaimer. I am not condemning or judging anyone. We are all told to overcome. As Christians, we all answer to our Maker on Judgment Day. To a certain extent, we walk in the light we have. But we may unwittingly be deceived because we accept things as they are and do not question the church, doctrines and practices we have been brought up with. As we see in the letters to the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3, there are “overcomers” in each church – no matter what their condition. Today, many see the excesses of the church: the prosperity gospel, the Toronto, Pensacola and Lakeland “revivals”, contemplative prayer (a form of Eastern meditation becoming mainstreamed in the church), the mega and purpose driven churches with their “seeker friendly” approach, etc. But it is practically impossible for the well meaning Christian to see anything wrong with “their” church, with the way things are done.
Although I wrote about this many years ago in my online book “Recognizing Apostasy and Deception,” I have been struggling with another online book titled “In search of the Last Days Church”. But what a confirmation when I read Pagan Christianity by Frank Viola and George Barna! Frank Viola has long been a leader in the “organic church” movement (rather than calling it the “house church”) and was quoted in “Recognizing Deception”, and George Barna is the head of the Barna Group, a Christian company that has been doing research on various aspects of the church. I would encourage you to go to either website and order five or ten copies, read it and give it to your friends.
Even though I have known for many years there were pagan influences in the early church, I have never seen it so well documented and expressed as in this book. Evangelicals take for granted the fact the Roman Catholic Church has a lot of unbiblical practices, but they can not possibly imagine that they have carried over many of the same practices! Pagan Christianity not only leaves no doubt but it completely exposes the historical roots of our own accepted “Christian” practices. How far did the reformation go? What is the effect of the clergy/laity system, and all the sermonizing? It will surprise you greatly that many of our practices go back to Imperial Rome, Plato and Aristotle rather than to Judaism. But please, don’t take my word for it. Order the book and see for yourself.
In the Old Testament, the people of Israel struggle throughout against the prevailing culture and religion. Israel was to be a people set apart for God and they were not to mingle with the nations around them, lest they be led astray. We have this from Exodus 34:
Time and again the nation of Israel gets mixed up with the peoples around them, intermarries and their hearts are drawn away from the one true God. They make idols and worship foreign gods. They go through some heavy trials, repent and come back to God, only to fall again. It is difficult for anyone to stand against the prevailing culture, including Christians today. Culture has a way of intruding on our lives and molding us in the image of the world around.
Religious Form or Reality?
The center of the Jewish religion was the temple, the priesthood and the sacrifice. The temple was considered to be where God dwelt on the earth. His presence was in the holy of holies. The tribe of the Levites was the priesthood who carried out the sacrifices on behalf of the nation of Israel. These were types of what Jesus Christ accomplished for us. He was the sacrifice for our sins. He abolished the temple and the priesthood. We became the temple of God and a kingdom of priests. The priesthood, the physical temple and the sacrifices were abolished once and for all – at least they should have been. Jesus did away with the professionals, the buildings and the rituals. However, it didn’t take long before our human concepts of religion began to creep back into the church and we left reality and built another religion!
Viola does a fantastic job pointing out that Christianity was the first and only religion that didn’t have any of the accruements of organized religion. There was no temple, no class of priests and no sacrifices. Christians indwelt by the Holy Spirit were the temple and every Christian was a priest and had equal access to God. The early Christian meetings were informal gatherings where everyone shared, prayed, sang and ate together. It was a community of equal believers – a body of people with different gifts and functions. There was no hierarchy, “house of worship” or ritual. There were no sermons as we know them, no “order of worship”, no professional clergy, no temples and no Sunday School, seminary or Bible Schools. But it wasn’t long before these things began to creep into the early church – not long at all. The church slowly began to succumb to the surrounding pagan culture and after the emperor Constantine made Christianity the religion of the empire, it was thoroughly mixed with Greek thought, Roman organization and Pagan religion.
“Pagan Christianity” thoroughly documents when and how all of the practices we accept today as “Christian” came into the church. The footnotes are as interesting as the text. It is thoroughly researched. We know the priesthood, temple and sacrifice were a full blown part of the Roman Catholic Church, but most of us “evangelicals” just assume we threw all that away and went back to the New Testament pattern. Again, Viola does a brilliant job showing how things were changed by the Reformers, the Puritans, the Methodists, the frontier preachers coming up to the present day church but many of the essential errors of the Catholic Church were continued. The reformers didn’t reform that much.
The Challenge
What does this mean to us today? It means that the church as we know it is far more compromised than any of us ever imagined. You have no idea until you see it systematically all laid out for you. That is why I urge you to order “Pagan Christianity”. I have never met or talked to either author. This is no ploy to sell books and you know that we don’t accept donations or sell anything. We are a true non-profit because have never charged for anything. But I challenge you to buy and read this book. It will blow your mind and change you forever. You will never be the same! I could never have done the research and put it as well as these two authors do.
After more than 50 years as a Christian in various expressions of the church – from traditional Baptist, to the Jesus movement, to Calvary Chapels, and Vineyards, I can say that the church in its present institutional form will never produce a mature, cohesive triumphant testimony – NEVER! Although there may be many dear saints within the church, the institution will only serve itself and perpetuate its errors. If you want to be free of the deception inherent in the “church”, what can you do? There are only two paths available to the evangelical or even the post modern or emergent Christian today – be a part-time or a full-time Christian (whether in a church or parachurch ministry). And if you decide to be a “full-time” Christian, you won’t get very far unless you go to Bible College or a Seminary where you will be further brain washed to pass along the same error to other well meaning “Christians.” All the preaching in the world has never accomplished the stated goal of “equipping the saints.”
As long as we relate to one another in the context of buildings, programs and Sunday sermons, God will never have a “triumphant testimony.” The average Christian will never grow by sitting quietly and listening to countless sermons. We will never produce Christians secure in their own relationship with the Lord, in their own ability to minister with the gifts God has given them, to minister along side other Christians as equals complimenting one another. We will never have an authentic organic Christian community that attracts unbelievers. If you read Viola and Barna’s book, you will see how absolutely broken the institutional church is. Yes, the people in it are believers, but they are sorely deceived – not just by the practices of their “church” but by their teachings and end times view which in all likelihood is an escapist (pre-trib rapture) and lukewarm Laodicean message. We must abandon the old wineskin and go to Him outside the camp. (Hebrews 13:13)
I receive emails from people all the time saying that their church is either dead, has no vision for the last days or is stifling and killing them. What do they do? Do I know of any churches or meetings they can go to? You can look up house churches on the internet and see if there is a suitable one near you. Or you can order the sequel to Pagan Christianity called Reimaging the Church for practical suggestions. Get extra copies. Share them with your friends. Open up your house an evening a week or Sunday afternoon to begin to experience an open, sharing, body-life type meeting. For some practical suggestions see some of the later chapters in my book online.
I can say from experience, that the traditional church where people come in and sit and listen to sermons week after week will never “equip the saints.” It will just perpetuate the clergy and their position and hold the saints hostage until the day they die. People learn by doing. They grow by doing and I don’t mean by ushering, rearranging chairs or passing the plate. The life of the church should flow out of the living relationship each person has with the Lord and the meeting should be a corporate expression of each individual’s experience. You have no idea how deceived you are until you begin to delve into this yourself. Don’t take my word for it, but please take the time to look into it for yourself. The old wineskin has been patched and patched again over the past two thousand years. It is time to abandon it.
In the last days, Christians will either be a part of the problem or a part of the solution. They will be a part of the deception and persecution, or a part of the testimony (and the use of the world “testimony” and “martyr” are synonymous in the New Testament). During the Reformation, the Anabaptists promoted an open meeting where all saints were free to share. Martin Luther labeled it a heresy and laws were passed against such a practice with the penalty of death. This is not to say that we would be persecuted for having home meetings, but we could be persecuted for not being patriotic as the institutional church and state become more aligned.
Part of what we write about here is what is happening politically and economically. Having the advantage of reading the end of the Book, we know the whole economic system will end badly with the “mark of the beast” (Revelation 13:17) and not being able to buy or sell without it. Revelation 17 talks about the unholy alliance the harlot church makes with the beast. The only thing that will get us through this period of trials is the church with the little “c” – relationships with other saints that are based on Christ’s transforming life in us – not sitting in a building together listening to lectures/sermons. The cry of the post-modern emerging “Christian” is for authenticity and relevance which isn’t found in the institution but is found in the simple corporate life of the organic church.
Just as Israel became entangled in the tribes and nations around them, the Church has become entangled in the world, the traditions of men, Greek philosophy, Roman organization, worldly hierarchy, purpose driven modern management, entertainment and marketing, New Age spirituality and the “good life” – material wealth beyond the imagination of 99.99 percent of all of the people who have ever lived. As Barna’s research points out, the church is so compromised as to be indistinguishable from the society around it. The dynamic, spontaneous, living expression of the church has been stifled by the dead forms, programs, traditions and teachings of the moribund institution we call the Church. With that, I challenge you one last time to get and read Pagan Christianity and you will flee and never defend that old wineskin again.
Dene McGriff, Sacramento
July 1, 2008
By Dene McGriff
The Church today is broken and can’t be fixed. It is weighted down by meaningless forms, practices, traditions and programs, by a clergy that tries hard to serve the laity but fails miserably. But it is lifeless and irrelevant. It is an old wineskin that must be discarded if Christians are to discover a living relationship with Christ and one another. Not only are the roots pagan but most of the practices we accept today bear no resemblance to the living early church.
A central theme of “The Tribulation Network” is that in the last days, most of the church will fall away but a remnant will become a triumphant testimony to the world around. The church will go through the tribulation period and Christians will be delivered up by other “Christians” thinking they are doing God a favor. (e.g. Matthew 10:18-20) What will separate one group from the other? Why will brother turn on brother and son against father? Why will Christians be so deceived (e.g. Matthew 24:4, 5, 11, 24)? Why will some overcome and avoid the deception and others become a willing part of it?
What I am about to share with you is revolutionary but I will begin with a disclaimer. I am not condemning or judging anyone. We are all told to overcome. As Christians, we all answer to our Maker on Judgment Day. To a certain extent, we walk in the light we have. But we may unwittingly be deceived because we accept things as they are and do not question the church, doctrines and practices we have been brought up with. As we see in the letters to the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3, there are “overcomers” in each church – no matter what their condition. Today, many see the excesses of the church: the prosperity gospel, the Toronto, Pensacola and Lakeland “revivals”, contemplative prayer (a form of Eastern meditation becoming mainstreamed in the church), the mega and purpose driven churches with their “seeker friendly” approach, etc. But it is practically impossible for the well meaning Christian to see anything wrong with “their” church, with the way things are done.
Although I wrote about this many years ago in my online book “Recognizing Apostasy and Deception,” I have been struggling with another online book titled “In search of the Last Days Church”. But what a confirmation when I read Pagan Christianity by Frank Viola and George Barna! Frank Viola has long been a leader in the “organic church” movement (rather than calling it the “house church”) and was quoted in “Recognizing Deception”, and George Barna is the head of the Barna Group, a Christian company that has been doing research on various aspects of the church. I would encourage you to go to either website and order five or ten copies, read it and give it to your friends.
Even though I have known for many years there were pagan influences in the early church, I have never seen it so well documented and expressed as in this book. Evangelicals take for granted the fact the Roman Catholic Church has a lot of unbiblical practices, but they can not possibly imagine that they have carried over many of the same practices! Pagan Christianity not only leaves no doubt but it completely exposes the historical roots of our own accepted “Christian” practices. How far did the reformation go? What is the effect of the clergy/laity system, and all the sermonizing? It will surprise you greatly that many of our practices go back to Imperial Rome, Plato and Aristotle rather than to Judaism. But please, don’t take my word for it. Order the book and see for yourself.
In the Old Testament, the people of Israel struggle throughout against the prevailing culture and religion. Israel was to be a people set apart for God and they were not to mingle with the nations around them, lest they be led astray. We have this from Exodus 34:
12 Take heed to yourself, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you are going, lest it be a snare in your midst. 13 But you shall destroy their altars, break their sacred pillars, and cut down their wooden images 14 (for you shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God), 15 lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they play the harlot with their gods and make sacrifice to their gods, and one of them invites you and you eat of his sacrifice, 16 and you take of his daughters for your sons, and his daughters play the harlot with their gods and make your sons play the harlot with their gods.
Time and again the nation of Israel gets mixed up with the peoples around them, intermarries and their hearts are drawn away from the one true God. They make idols and worship foreign gods. They go through some heavy trials, repent and come back to God, only to fall again. It is difficult for anyone to stand against the prevailing culture, including Christians today. Culture has a way of intruding on our lives and molding us in the image of the world around.
Religious Form or Reality?
The center of the Jewish religion was the temple, the priesthood and the sacrifice. The temple was considered to be where God dwelt on the earth. His presence was in the holy of holies. The tribe of the Levites was the priesthood who carried out the sacrifices on behalf of the nation of Israel. These were types of what Jesus Christ accomplished for us. He was the sacrifice for our sins. He abolished the temple and the priesthood. We became the temple of God and a kingdom of priests. The priesthood, the physical temple and the sacrifices were abolished once and for all – at least they should have been. Jesus did away with the professionals, the buildings and the rituals. However, it didn’t take long before our human concepts of religion began to creep back into the church and we left reality and built another religion!
Viola does a fantastic job pointing out that Christianity was the first and only religion that didn’t have any of the accruements of organized religion. There was no temple, no class of priests and no sacrifices. Christians indwelt by the Holy Spirit were the temple and every Christian was a priest and had equal access to God. The early Christian meetings were informal gatherings where everyone shared, prayed, sang and ate together. It was a community of equal believers – a body of people with different gifts and functions. There was no hierarchy, “house of worship” or ritual. There were no sermons as we know them, no “order of worship”, no professional clergy, no temples and no Sunday School, seminary or Bible Schools. But it wasn’t long before these things began to creep into the early church – not long at all. The church slowly began to succumb to the surrounding pagan culture and after the emperor Constantine made Christianity the religion of the empire, it was thoroughly mixed with Greek thought, Roman organization and Pagan religion.
“Pagan Christianity” thoroughly documents when and how all of the practices we accept today as “Christian” came into the church. The footnotes are as interesting as the text. It is thoroughly researched. We know the priesthood, temple and sacrifice were a full blown part of the Roman Catholic Church, but most of us “evangelicals” just assume we threw all that away and went back to the New Testament pattern. Again, Viola does a brilliant job showing how things were changed by the Reformers, the Puritans, the Methodists, the frontier preachers coming up to the present day church but many of the essential errors of the Catholic Church were continued. The reformers didn’t reform that much.
The Challenge
What does this mean to us today? It means that the church as we know it is far more compromised than any of us ever imagined. You have no idea until you see it systematically all laid out for you. That is why I urge you to order “Pagan Christianity”. I have never met or talked to either author. This is no ploy to sell books and you know that we don’t accept donations or sell anything. We are a true non-profit because have never charged for anything. But I challenge you to buy and read this book. It will blow your mind and change you forever. You will never be the same! I could never have done the research and put it as well as these two authors do.
After more than 50 years as a Christian in various expressions of the church – from traditional Baptist, to the Jesus movement, to Calvary Chapels, and Vineyards, I can say that the church in its present institutional form will never produce a mature, cohesive triumphant testimony – NEVER! Although there may be many dear saints within the church, the institution will only serve itself and perpetuate its errors. If you want to be free of the deception inherent in the “church”, what can you do? There are only two paths available to the evangelical or even the post modern or emergent Christian today – be a part-time or a full-time Christian (whether in a church or parachurch ministry). And if you decide to be a “full-time” Christian, you won’t get very far unless you go to Bible College or a Seminary where you will be further brain washed to pass along the same error to other well meaning “Christians.” All the preaching in the world has never accomplished the stated goal of “equipping the saints.”
As long as we relate to one another in the context of buildings, programs and Sunday sermons, God will never have a “triumphant testimony.” The average Christian will never grow by sitting quietly and listening to countless sermons. We will never produce Christians secure in their own relationship with the Lord, in their own ability to minister with the gifts God has given them, to minister along side other Christians as equals complimenting one another. We will never have an authentic organic Christian community that attracts unbelievers. If you read Viola and Barna’s book, you will see how absolutely broken the institutional church is. Yes, the people in it are believers, but they are sorely deceived – not just by the practices of their “church” but by their teachings and end times view which in all likelihood is an escapist (pre-trib rapture) and lukewarm Laodicean message. We must abandon the old wineskin and go to Him outside the camp. (Hebrews 13:13)
I receive emails from people all the time saying that their church is either dead, has no vision for the last days or is stifling and killing them. What do they do? Do I know of any churches or meetings they can go to? You can look up house churches on the internet and see if there is a suitable one near you. Or you can order the sequel to Pagan Christianity called Reimaging the Church for practical suggestions. Get extra copies. Share them with your friends. Open up your house an evening a week or Sunday afternoon to begin to experience an open, sharing, body-life type meeting. For some practical suggestions see some of the later chapters in my book online.
I can say from experience, that the traditional church where people come in and sit and listen to sermons week after week will never “equip the saints.” It will just perpetuate the clergy and their position and hold the saints hostage until the day they die. People learn by doing. They grow by doing and I don’t mean by ushering, rearranging chairs or passing the plate. The life of the church should flow out of the living relationship each person has with the Lord and the meeting should be a corporate expression of each individual’s experience. You have no idea how deceived you are until you begin to delve into this yourself. Don’t take my word for it, but please take the time to look into it for yourself. The old wineskin has been patched and patched again over the past two thousand years. It is time to abandon it.
In the last days, Christians will either be a part of the problem or a part of the solution. They will be a part of the deception and persecution, or a part of the testimony (and the use of the world “testimony” and “martyr” are synonymous in the New Testament). During the Reformation, the Anabaptists promoted an open meeting where all saints were free to share. Martin Luther labeled it a heresy and laws were passed against such a practice with the penalty of death. This is not to say that we would be persecuted for having home meetings, but we could be persecuted for not being patriotic as the institutional church and state become more aligned.
Part of what we write about here is what is happening politically and economically. Having the advantage of reading the end of the Book, we know the whole economic system will end badly with the “mark of the beast” (Revelation 13:17) and not being able to buy or sell without it. Revelation 17 talks about the unholy alliance the harlot church makes with the beast. The only thing that will get us through this period of trials is the church with the little “c” – relationships with other saints that are based on Christ’s transforming life in us – not sitting in a building together listening to lectures/sermons. The cry of the post-modern emerging “Christian” is for authenticity and relevance which isn’t found in the institution but is found in the simple corporate life of the organic church.
Just as Israel became entangled in the tribes and nations around them, the Church has become entangled in the world, the traditions of men, Greek philosophy, Roman organization, worldly hierarchy, purpose driven modern management, entertainment and marketing, New Age spirituality and the “good life” – material wealth beyond the imagination of 99.99 percent of all of the people who have ever lived. As Barna’s research points out, the church is so compromised as to be indistinguishable from the society around it. The dynamic, spontaneous, living expression of the church has been stifled by the dead forms, programs, traditions and teachings of the moribund institution we call the Church. With that, I challenge you one last time to get and read Pagan Christianity and you will flee and never defend that old wineskin again.
Dene McGriff, Sacramento
July 1, 2008
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Why Do The Nations Rage?
1) Lord, You are God of the heavens;
Lord, You are God of the sea.
We lift our voice up together;
We lift our voice up to Thee.
Why do the nations rage,
And the people plot vain things?
Kings of the earth take their stand.
They’re against the Lord and His King.
2) Stone that the builders rejected,
Now the chief cornerstone.
Rock of offense for the wicked;
The righteous in Him find a home.
All who believe on His name,
Will by no means be put to shame.
Called out of darkness to light;
That we may proclaim His fame.
3) Grant to Your servants all boldness;
Speaking Your word without fear.
By stretching Your hand out to heal now;
Touching the ones who will hear.
Let signs and wonders be done,
In the name of Jesus Your Son
Pour out Your Spirit on us;
Even so, Lord Jesus come!
Listen to the audio
Lord, You are God of the sea.
We lift our voice up together;
We lift our voice up to Thee.
Why do the nations rage,
And the people plot vain things?
Kings of the earth take their stand.
They’re against the Lord and His King.
2) Stone that the builders rejected,
Now the chief cornerstone.
Rock of offense for the wicked;
The righteous in Him find a home.
All who believe on His name,
Will by no means be put to shame.
Called out of darkness to light;
That we may proclaim His fame.
3) Grant to Your servants all boldness;
Speaking Your word without fear.
By stretching Your hand out to heal now;
Touching the ones who will hear.
Let signs and wonders be done,
In the name of Jesus Your Son
Pour out Your Spirit on us;
Even so, Lord Jesus come!
Listen to the audio
Jesus, You Are Wonderful!
I was lost, I was blind, but to me You inclined.
And Your ear heard my plea, now I live because of Thee.
You have shown me the way, that I must die each day.
Then I will cease from sin, live for God and not for men.
Chorus:
Jesus, You do all things well! Jesus, You are wonderful!
And there is no other name that can save.
Jesus, You’re my righteousness! You have come, now I am blessed!
Every tongue, they will confess, Your great name.
Lord, You came as a man, and they scorned Your great plan.
Still You died on the tree, bore my sins and set me free.
Now Your living in me. You’re my hope and my peace.
And I’m living by faith, as I walk the narrow way.
Listen to the audio
And Your ear heard my plea, now I live because of Thee.
You have shown me the way, that I must die each day.
Then I will cease from sin, live for God and not for men.
Chorus:
Jesus, You do all things well! Jesus, You are wonderful!
And there is no other name that can save.
Jesus, You’re my righteousness! You have come, now I am blessed!
Every tongue, they will confess, Your great name.
Lord, You came as a man, and they scorned Your great plan.
Still You died on the tree, bore my sins and set me free.
Now Your living in me. You’re my hope and my peace.
And I’m living by faith, as I walk the narrow way.
Listen to the audio
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Created to do good works
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— Not by works, so no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8,9—NIV)
How many times have we heard the above verses quoted without the next verse, Ephesians 2:10. Ephesians 2:8,9 apart from the next verse leaves an entirely incorrect view of the Christian salvation.
The next verse:
For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:10—NIV)
Now, the above verse can lead us to a biblical understanding of how we actually possess God's righteousness, how it is that we can be called "The Lord our righteousness."
First of all, we are God's workmanship. We have been created in Christ Jesus to do good works. We have not been created to go to Heaven to lay on a couch in our mansion. We have been created to do good works.
We have been created to do good works. I am repeating this idea because it is almost never mentioned in Christian circles.
Where do these good works come from? They come from God in Christ. God is dwelling in Christ who is dwelling in us. Their righteousness becomes our righteousness when we have been crucified and they are living in us. We have been predestined to be in the moral image of Jesus Christ, our older Brother. As He is, so are we in this world. We are to reveal His Life in us. This is salvation and the new covenant.
But then a mysterious thought is added: "which God prepared in advance for us to do."
We have been created to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do. What do you think this means?
Jesus advised us to let our light shine that people might see our good works and because of them glorify God.
What good works? The Lord Jesus went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed of the devil.
In other words, we who claim to be part of Jesus Christ ought always to behave ourselves as He behaves Himself.
Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. (I John 2:6—NIV)
Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure. (I John 3:3—NIV)
Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. (I John 3:7—NIV)
We can behave ourselves as Jesus behaves Himself only as we are dead to our sinful nature and it is Christ who is living His Life in us. Isn't this true?
We understand, therefore, that seeking God's Kingdom and His righteousness is not primarily a matter of having God attribute right standing to us because of our belief in Jesus Christ but of revealing in ourselves God's righteous Character and His Kingdom.
There is an awesome gulf between these two concepts. If we hold only to the idea of Christ's righteousness being attributed to us, and continue in our ungodly behavior, then there is no Kingdom of God, no doing of God's will in the earth. It is this misunderstanding that has created the poor testimony of the churches during past years.
How many times have we heard the above verses quoted without the next verse, Ephesians 2:10. Ephesians 2:8,9 apart from the next verse leaves an entirely incorrect view of the Christian salvation.
The next verse:
For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:10—NIV)
Now, the above verse can lead us to a biblical understanding of how we actually possess God's righteousness, how it is that we can be called "The Lord our righteousness."
First of all, we are God's workmanship. We have been created in Christ Jesus to do good works. We have not been created to go to Heaven to lay on a couch in our mansion. We have been created to do good works.
We have been created to do good works. I am repeating this idea because it is almost never mentioned in Christian circles.
Where do these good works come from? They come from God in Christ. God is dwelling in Christ who is dwelling in us. Their righteousness becomes our righteousness when we have been crucified and they are living in us. We have been predestined to be in the moral image of Jesus Christ, our older Brother. As He is, so are we in this world. We are to reveal His Life in us. This is salvation and the new covenant.
But then a mysterious thought is added: "which God prepared in advance for us to do."
We have been created to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do. What do you think this means?
Jesus advised us to let our light shine that people might see our good works and because of them glorify God.
What good works? The Lord Jesus went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed of the devil.
In other words, we who claim to be part of Jesus Christ ought always to behave ourselves as He behaves Himself.
Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. (I John 2:6—NIV)
Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure. (I John 3:3—NIV)
Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. (I John 3:7—NIV)
We can behave ourselves as Jesus behaves Himself only as we are dead to our sinful nature and it is Christ who is living His Life in us. Isn't this true?
We understand, therefore, that seeking God's Kingdom and His righteousness is not primarily a matter of having God attribute right standing to us because of our belief in Jesus Christ but of revealing in ourselves God's righteous Character and His Kingdom.
There is an awesome gulf between these two concepts. If we hold only to the idea of Christ's righteousness being attributed to us, and continue in our ungodly behavior, then there is no Kingdom of God, no doing of God's will in the earth. It is this misunderstanding that has created the poor testimony of the churches during past years.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Trust in the Lord
As simple as that, right?……..or is it? Have faith in God….? How easy it that? It isn’t easy at all if we have not picked up our cross and followed the Lord. Laying down our own life, with all its ambitions, wants and desires to pick up the Lord’s life and to live it as he directs is what is required of us. Desiring the Lord above ALL else.
If the end of the road is you, oh Lord, I will follow it. When it seems that you are not there…when those around me think me a fool…..when no one understands what you are doing in me…I will follow you. You alone have the words of life.
There would be no pain as the pain of not knowing you Oh Lord! You have said any that seek you with their whole heart you will in no wise cast off. John 6:37
The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.
The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.
It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD
(Lamentations 3:24-26)
If the end of the road is you, oh Lord, I will follow it. When it seems that you are not there…when those around me think me a fool…..when no one understands what you are doing in me…I will follow you. You alone have the words of life.
There would be no pain as the pain of not knowing you Oh Lord! You have said any that seek you with their whole heart you will in no wise cast off. John 6:37
The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.
The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.
It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD
(Lamentations 3:24-26)
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Grace Does Not Mean Perpetural Forgiveness
Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers: (Romans 15:8)
Jeremiah made no effort to fulfill the prophecies the Lord gave him. Jeremiah contented himself with bearing witness of the mighty promises of God. Meanwhile he obeyed the Lord in the directions given to him each day. Let us do the same.
On and on goes the list of myths and errors. But the churches will be purified during the age of moral horrors that is approaching. Then the Gospel of the Kingdom will be seen to be a response to the statements of the Hebrew Prophets, not a new religion unrelated to biblical Judaism.
The Definition of Grace
The term "grace" has come to mean the perpetual forgiveness of the sins of the Christian whether or not he or she makes a success of victorious Christian living. We ought to try to do good, but if we are tempted and fall there is no real problem because we are saved by grace and not by works of righteousness we have done.
Let us look at several passages that employ the word "grace" and from them derive a more comprehensive definition.
And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all. (Acts 4:33)
Grace as used here means the Presence and blessing of God.
Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord. (Acts 11:23)
Grace means the Presence and blessing of God.
Now when the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas: who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God. (Acts 13:43)
Grace here would mean to continue to trust in Jesus for salvation, according to the doctrine of Paul, rather than in the Law of Moses.
Long time therefore abode they speaking boldly in the Lord, which gave testimony unto the word of his grace, and granted signs and wonders to be done by their hands. (Acts 14:3)
Trust in the atonement of Jesus rather than the Law of Moses.
And thence sailed to Antioch, from whence they had been recommended to the grace of God for the work which they fulfilled. (Acts 14:26)
Presence and blessing of God.
But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they. (Acts 15:11)
Trust in the Lord Jesus for salvation rather than in the Law of Moses.
And Paul chose Silas, and departed, being recommended by the brethren unto the grace of God. (Acts 15:40)
Presence and blessing of God.
And when he was disposed to pass into Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him: who, when he was come, helped them much which had believed through grace: (Acts 18:27)
Trust in the Lord Jesus for salvation rather than in the ministry of John the Baptist.
Another Unscriptural Pursuit:
And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence: (Luke 4:9)
The challenging of us to "do great things for God." Nowhere in the Bible are we challenged to do great things for God. This is presumption. It is the challenge to leap from the gable of the Temple. It is soulish ambition in the things of God.
The "faith chapter" of the Scriptures is the eleventh chapter of the Book of Hebrews. There is not one instance of aggressive faith in this chapter. The faith portrayed here is obedience to the revealed Word of God. True faith is a confidence in God's goodness, power, and faithfulness such that we obey implicitly His every command.
There is no evidence whatever in the Book of Jeremiah that Jeremiah challenged God to do exploits. A careful study of the Book will reveal that true faith, the faith by which the people of God of every century have lived, is the faith of obedience to that spoken by the Lord.
When God called Jeremiah in the beginning, Jeremiah protested that he was only a child. After this, God gave Jeremiah an unpopular message, a message that aroused hostility. The concept of an aggressive faith that challenges God to perform some grand idea of the believer is foreign to the Book of Jeremiah.
Today we have thousands of Christians who believe that the role of the churches is to govern secular society and to force unsaved people to behave in a manner acceptable to the Christians. Christians are attempting to impose their will on unbelievers. They will fail and may bring intense persecution on all of us.
The proper role of the Christian in the present hour is to bear witness of the Kingdom of God that is coming to the earth. To attempt to govern now is to move outside of the plan of God for His Church.
In America the churches are demanding that the civil government repent. But God is speaking to the churches to repent.
In some quarters the idea has been expressed that Christians are to use their gifts to set up the Kingdom of God now so that all will be ready for the Lord to return. According to the Scriptures, the present age will grow increasingly worse until the end. Then the angels of God will remove all wickedness and wicked people from His Kingdom. In that hour the saints of God will shine as the sun in their righteousness.
Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. (Matthew 13:43)
The greatest witness of all time will be given just before the Lord returns. But the Kingdom of God will not be established on the earth before the Lord Jesus returns from Heaven with His saints and holy angels. To teach otherwise is to invite presumption and destruction.
Jeremiah made no effort to fulfill the prophecies the Lord gave him. Jeremiah contented himself with bearing witness of the mighty promises of God. Meanwhile he obeyed the Lord in the directions given to him each day. Let us do the same.
On and on goes the list of myths and errors. But the churches will be purified during the age of moral horrors that is approaching. Then the Gospel of the Kingdom will be seen to be a response to the statements of the Hebrew Prophets, not a new religion unrelated to biblical Judaism.
The Definition of Grace
The term "grace" has come to mean the perpetual forgiveness of the sins of the Christian whether or not he or she makes a success of victorious Christian living. We ought to try to do good, but if we are tempted and fall there is no real problem because we are saved by grace and not by works of righteousness we have done.
Let us look at several passages that employ the word "grace" and from them derive a more comprehensive definition.
And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all. (Acts 4:33)
Grace as used here means the Presence and blessing of God.
Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord. (Acts 11:23)
Grace means the Presence and blessing of God.
Now when the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas: who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God. (Acts 13:43)
Grace here would mean to continue to trust in Jesus for salvation, according to the doctrine of Paul, rather than in the Law of Moses.
Long time therefore abode they speaking boldly in the Lord, which gave testimony unto the word of his grace, and granted signs and wonders to be done by their hands. (Acts 14:3)
Trust in the atonement of Jesus rather than the Law of Moses.
And thence sailed to Antioch, from whence they had been recommended to the grace of God for the work which they fulfilled. (Acts 14:26)
Presence and blessing of God.
But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they. (Acts 15:11)
Trust in the Lord Jesus for salvation rather than in the Law of Moses.
And Paul chose Silas, and departed, being recommended by the brethren unto the grace of God. (Acts 15:40)
Presence and blessing of God.
And when he was disposed to pass into Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him: who, when he was come, helped them much which had believed through grace: (Acts 18:27)
Trust in the Lord Jesus for salvation rather than in the ministry of John the Baptist.
Another Unscriptural Pursuit:
And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence: (Luke 4:9)
The challenging of us to "do great things for God." Nowhere in the Bible are we challenged to do great things for God. This is presumption. It is the challenge to leap from the gable of the Temple. It is soulish ambition in the things of God.
The "faith chapter" of the Scriptures is the eleventh chapter of the Book of Hebrews. There is not one instance of aggressive faith in this chapter. The faith portrayed here is obedience to the revealed Word of God. True faith is a confidence in God's goodness, power, and faithfulness such that we obey implicitly His every command.
There is no evidence whatever in the Book of Jeremiah that Jeremiah challenged God to do exploits. A careful study of the Book will reveal that true faith, the faith by which the people of God of every century have lived, is the faith of obedience to that spoken by the Lord.
When God called Jeremiah in the beginning, Jeremiah protested that he was only a child. After this, God gave Jeremiah an unpopular message, a message that aroused hostility. The concept of an aggressive faith that challenges God to perform some grand idea of the believer is foreign to the Book of Jeremiah.
Today we have thousands of Christians who believe that the role of the churches is to govern secular society and to force unsaved people to behave in a manner acceptable to the Christians. Christians are attempting to impose their will on unbelievers. They will fail and may bring intense persecution on all of us.
The proper role of the Christian in the present hour is to bear witness of the Kingdom of God that is coming to the earth. To attempt to govern now is to move outside of the plan of God for His Church.
In America the churches are demanding that the civil government repent. But God is speaking to the churches to repent.
In some quarters the idea has been expressed that Christians are to use their gifts to set up the Kingdom of God now so that all will be ready for the Lord to return. According to the Scriptures, the present age will grow increasingly worse until the end. Then the angels of God will remove all wickedness and wicked people from His Kingdom. In that hour the saints of God will shine as the sun in their righteousness.
Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. (Matthew 13:43)
The greatest witness of all time will be given just before the Lord returns. But the Kingdom of God will not be established on the earth before the Lord Jesus returns from Heaven with His saints and holy angels. To teach otherwise is to invite presumption and destruction.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
No suffering?
Wherefore came I forth out of the womb to see labour and sorrow, that my days should be consumed with shame? (Jeremiah 20:18)
Jeremiah knew of the stern warnings that God issues to those of His elect who continue in sin and rebellion against God. He lived to see the end result of ignoring those warnings. If Jeremiah were alive on earth today he would tell us to pay attention to the words of the Apostle Paul. He would not claim that God loves us so much Paul could not possibly be speaking to God's own people!
Another unscriptural myth:
The concept that the Christian must never suffer. Christ did all the suffering for us. This idea is so obviously unscriptural that it is amazing intelligent believers would accept it as truth. But it is a part of the understanding that to be a Christian requires only that we make the right profession of belief. Once we do that we are saved by grace and no other action is necessary.
Jeremiah indeed would wonder at the notion that God's people are not supposed to suffer. Jeremiah suffered at the hands of his own people because he continually rebuked them for their ungodliness.
Woe is me, my mother, that thou hast borne me a man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth! I have neither lent on usury, nor men have lent to me on usury; yet every one of them doth curse me. (Jeremiah 15:10)
Why is my pain perpetual, and my wound incurable, which refuseth to be healed? wilt thou be altogether unto me as a liar, and as waters that fail? (Jeremiah 15:18)
Suffering plays an important role in the development of God's rulers. If we suffer we will rule, Paul stresses.
The Apostle Peter claims that suffering is part of the process of making us holy.
Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God. (I Peter 4:1,2)
To attain the first resurrection from the dead we must share the sufferings of Christ.
That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; (Philippians 3:10)
It is through our suffering that the resurrection life of Christ is brought to other people.
Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. (II Corinthians 4:10)
Tribulation creates patience in us and teaches us obedience to God. Christ Himself learned obedience through the things He suffered. Paul learned that God's power is perfected as we are weak.
The teaching that Christians are not to suffer but are to be raptured to Heaven before they face Antichrist or the great tribulation is unscriptural. God's way, according to the Scriptures, is to enable us to go through the fire without being burned—like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. (I Timothy 6:9,10)
Another incorrect teaching:
A modern doctrine is that Christians are to be rich in this world and they can use "faith" as a tool to acquire riches. But the Lord Jesus refused to turn stone into bread by the word of faith, teaching us we are not to attempt to use miracle-working faith apart from the express will and directions of the Lord. There are higher issues in the Kingdom than our personal desires.
"No person can serve both God and money," the Lord Jesus said. The Scriptures tell of Balaam, Gehazi, Judas, and Ananias and Sapphira. We have been clearly warned by the Apostle Paul to avoid the pursuit of riches.
The Scriptures could not be more clear on this topic, yet the love of money has kept many people from the Kingdom of God, just as it did the rich young ruler.
The new covenant prophesied by Jeremiah has as its goal the creating of righteous people. It says nothing about making them wealthy in the present world.
Christians are to imagine what they want and then speak the creative word that will bring their imagined object or situation into physical existence. The word of the Christian is totally different from the Word of God. God speaks worlds into existence. The believer cannot speak a grain of dust into existence.
But there has been teaching to the contrary!
The current faith-prosperity doctrine in some instances may be framed in harmless exhortations to maintain a positive, cheerful attitude toward God. But in other cases it may result in attempts to manipulate the physical environment by supernatural power. But it is not the supernatural power of God.
It is not God's will that man at his discretion speak words of power, not yet at least. This would put man in control of the physical universe while he still is under bondage to an adamic soul and body. Imaging and speaking creative words are too close to the occult!
We are not to attempt to exercise supernatural faith in this manner. We are to call on the Lord. True faith is demonstrated when we place our trust in the Lord Jesus and ask Him to move on our behalf. There could be instances when the Lord then directs us to act in faith in some manner. But this is true faith, faith in the Lord Jesus, not faith in faith itself. There is a world of difference in these two approaches to miracles.
No part of the new covenant announced by the Prophet Jeremiah includes the idea that people are to have power to get what they desire by speaking creative words.
Bro. Thompson - excerpt from GRACE AND THE NEW COVENANT
Jeremiah knew of the stern warnings that God issues to those of His elect who continue in sin and rebellion against God. He lived to see the end result of ignoring those warnings. If Jeremiah were alive on earth today he would tell us to pay attention to the words of the Apostle Paul. He would not claim that God loves us so much Paul could not possibly be speaking to God's own people!
Another unscriptural myth:
The concept that the Christian must never suffer. Christ did all the suffering for us. This idea is so obviously unscriptural that it is amazing intelligent believers would accept it as truth. But it is a part of the understanding that to be a Christian requires only that we make the right profession of belief. Once we do that we are saved by grace and no other action is necessary.
Jeremiah indeed would wonder at the notion that God's people are not supposed to suffer. Jeremiah suffered at the hands of his own people because he continually rebuked them for their ungodliness.
Woe is me, my mother, that thou hast borne me a man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth! I have neither lent on usury, nor men have lent to me on usury; yet every one of them doth curse me. (Jeremiah 15:10)
Why is my pain perpetual, and my wound incurable, which refuseth to be healed? wilt thou be altogether unto me as a liar, and as waters that fail? (Jeremiah 15:18)
Suffering plays an important role in the development of God's rulers. If we suffer we will rule, Paul stresses.
The Apostle Peter claims that suffering is part of the process of making us holy.
Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God. (I Peter 4:1,2)
To attain the first resurrection from the dead we must share the sufferings of Christ.
That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; (Philippians 3:10)
It is through our suffering that the resurrection life of Christ is brought to other people.
Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. (II Corinthians 4:10)
Tribulation creates patience in us and teaches us obedience to God. Christ Himself learned obedience through the things He suffered. Paul learned that God's power is perfected as we are weak.
The teaching that Christians are not to suffer but are to be raptured to Heaven before they face Antichrist or the great tribulation is unscriptural. God's way, according to the Scriptures, is to enable us to go through the fire without being burned—like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. (I Timothy 6:9,10)
Another incorrect teaching:
A modern doctrine is that Christians are to be rich in this world and they can use "faith" as a tool to acquire riches. But the Lord Jesus refused to turn stone into bread by the word of faith, teaching us we are not to attempt to use miracle-working faith apart from the express will and directions of the Lord. There are higher issues in the Kingdom than our personal desires.
"No person can serve both God and money," the Lord Jesus said. The Scriptures tell of Balaam, Gehazi, Judas, and Ananias and Sapphira. We have been clearly warned by the Apostle Paul to avoid the pursuit of riches.
The Scriptures could not be more clear on this topic, yet the love of money has kept many people from the Kingdom of God, just as it did the rich young ruler.
The new covenant prophesied by Jeremiah has as its goal the creating of righteous people. It says nothing about making them wealthy in the present world.
Christians are to imagine what they want and then speak the creative word that will bring their imagined object or situation into physical existence. The word of the Christian is totally different from the Word of God. God speaks worlds into existence. The believer cannot speak a grain of dust into existence.
But there has been teaching to the contrary!
The current faith-prosperity doctrine in some instances may be framed in harmless exhortations to maintain a positive, cheerful attitude toward God. But in other cases it may result in attempts to manipulate the physical environment by supernatural power. But it is not the supernatural power of God.
It is not God's will that man at his discretion speak words of power, not yet at least. This would put man in control of the physical universe while he still is under bondage to an adamic soul and body. Imaging and speaking creative words are too close to the occult!
We are not to attempt to exercise supernatural faith in this manner. We are to call on the Lord. True faith is demonstrated when we place our trust in the Lord Jesus and ask Him to move on our behalf. There could be instances when the Lord then directs us to act in faith in some manner. But this is true faith, faith in the Lord Jesus, not faith in faith itself. There is a world of difference in these two approaches to miracles.
No part of the new covenant announced by the Prophet Jeremiah includes the idea that people are to have power to get what they desire by speaking creative words.
Bro. Thompson - excerpt from GRACE AND THE NEW COVENANT
Sunday, June 01, 2008
CLEANING HOUSE
CLEANING HOUSE
2Thessalonians 2:7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
The house to be cleaned we are referring to is the kingdom of God, people whose names are in the Book of Life scattered into every nation on earth. Iniquity means violation of the law, illegal use of the law which means illegal use of the Word of God.
The Word of the Lord has come forth for years....PREPARE, PREPARE, PREARE. There have been some dear saints who have been sounding out this message seeking to help people to do that very thing. Dreams and visions have been shared by different ones that have come from the Lord. All of this has been to awaken people out of slumber, out of sleep to the fact something is about to happen and they need to prepare for it. That something is what we have been taking about, THE HARVEST spoken of by Jesus in the 13th chapter of Matthew.
The Lord wants you to see how great this event is, the separation and the clean up work that must and will take place.
Matthew 13:37-41 He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
The parable of the net- Matthew13:47-50 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
This drawing of every kind and the separation will affect every person on the earth. There will be no house left untouched. It will take peace from the earth. You can also see then how this harvest will bring into fulfillment other scripture such as:
Mathew 24:10-14 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
This scripture underlined about the kingdom preached in all the world will not be as the leaders are saying and doing today. There will be no comparison when Jesus will have brought you up into a relationship as One and cleaned you white ready for the Masters use. This preaching that is to come will be with power and great Glory. Not only to bring the Word of judgment to what is called the church and to bring about the fall of Babylon, but to give all people their last chance to accept Jesus as savior and Lord.
Go out at harvest time when a farmer starts to harvest wheat with a machine called a combine and see the great clean up, separation of the wheat from tares and weeds that have grown along side the wheat. This wheat also has the straw and chaff removed which is like a veil taken off the head.
Spiritually it is a time when you, the wheat, will have reached a place of maturity, when God by Spirit will remove a veil from your eyes to see the Glory of God in a light you have never seen before.
Isaiah 25:6-8 And in this mountain shall the LORD of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined. And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it.
1John 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it does not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
The removing of the veil will allow you to see the word of judgment in much greater light and detail. The purpose of this is so that we can examine ourselves by the Word of Truth. Because of the clarity of truths, we will also see wickedness revealed to us as it really is and the manner in which wickedness is preached. The Lord wants to bring us all up into agreement with Him as One.
In the scripture above we have brought to the surface the words, iniquity, tares, and wicked. These people of wickedness and iniquity up to now have been allowed by God to live with the children of the kingdom. He who has let will let until he is taken out of the way. Now the time is almost upon us when he will be separated, no longer allowed (let), to be with the people of God. Jude speaks of these in the following verses.
Jude 1:10-13 But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves. Woe unto them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Korah. These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.
When these spots are removed it will be easier to work on the white garment to make it spotless and without wrinkle. These spots, (people of iniquity and wickedness), many have crept in unawares and have rose up into high places of leadership. This is why as you prepare your selves in the things of the Lord, it will be important that you read the scriptures for yourself to see whether the things that are spoken line up with the Word.
This great clean up work will not only be the Lord coming forth with His angels to do that which He has promised to do but will also have a clean up work that we will be called on and expected to do as we have the veil removed and see much more clearly how we can work in being a better over comer. It will begin as the Lord has declared in Matthew 13:49 So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just.
There will be some real decisions we will have to make as the Lord calls on us, showing us what to do. Also the word of the day will be ...TO REPENT, CHANGE YOUR WAY OF THINKING. YOU HAVE NOT GONE THIS WAY BEFORE AND THAT WHICH IS BEFORE YOU IS THE AGE OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD.
Everyone from the greatest to the least among us will be called on to throw down at the feet of Jesus every word that we have idolized as truth, that is not. Many of these untruths are stumbling blocks thrown in our path to hinder our walk to Jesus and Jesus' walk to us. We will be called on to make our path straight and level between us and the Lord Jesus Christ.
There are other scriptures we could use to speak to you of this great event that is about to happen and there will be many scriptures that will all at once begin to be fulfilled when the harvest begins.
The Lord spoke to me earlier that He was about to do it. May we all continue reading the scriptures, listening to the Holy Spirit who will teach us as we prepare.
With love, One of the brethren,
Branch
2Thessalonians 2:7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
The house to be cleaned we are referring to is the kingdom of God, people whose names are in the Book of Life scattered into every nation on earth. Iniquity means violation of the law, illegal use of the law which means illegal use of the Word of God.
The Word of the Lord has come forth for years....PREPARE, PREPARE, PREARE. There have been some dear saints who have been sounding out this message seeking to help people to do that very thing. Dreams and visions have been shared by different ones that have come from the Lord. All of this has been to awaken people out of slumber, out of sleep to the fact something is about to happen and they need to prepare for it. That something is what we have been taking about, THE HARVEST spoken of by Jesus in the 13th chapter of Matthew.
The Lord wants you to see how great this event is, the separation and the clean up work that must and will take place.
Matthew 13:37-41 He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
The parable of the net- Matthew13:47-50 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
This drawing of every kind and the separation will affect every person on the earth. There will be no house left untouched. It will take peace from the earth. You can also see then how this harvest will bring into fulfillment other scripture such as:
Mathew 24:10-14 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
This scripture underlined about the kingdom preached in all the world will not be as the leaders are saying and doing today. There will be no comparison when Jesus will have brought you up into a relationship as One and cleaned you white ready for the Masters use. This preaching that is to come will be with power and great Glory. Not only to bring the Word of judgment to what is called the church and to bring about the fall of Babylon, but to give all people their last chance to accept Jesus as savior and Lord.
Go out at harvest time when a farmer starts to harvest wheat with a machine called a combine and see the great clean up, separation of the wheat from tares and weeds that have grown along side the wheat. This wheat also has the straw and chaff removed which is like a veil taken off the head.
Spiritually it is a time when you, the wheat, will have reached a place of maturity, when God by Spirit will remove a veil from your eyes to see the Glory of God in a light you have never seen before.
Isaiah 25:6-8 And in this mountain shall the LORD of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined. And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it.
1John 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it does not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
The removing of the veil will allow you to see the word of judgment in much greater light and detail. The purpose of this is so that we can examine ourselves by the Word of Truth. Because of the clarity of truths, we will also see wickedness revealed to us as it really is and the manner in which wickedness is preached. The Lord wants to bring us all up into agreement with Him as One.
In the scripture above we have brought to the surface the words, iniquity, tares, and wicked. These people of wickedness and iniquity up to now have been allowed by God to live with the children of the kingdom. He who has let will let until he is taken out of the way. Now the time is almost upon us when he will be separated, no longer allowed (let), to be with the people of God. Jude speaks of these in the following verses.
Jude 1:10-13 But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves. Woe unto them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Korah. These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.
When these spots are removed it will be easier to work on the white garment to make it spotless and without wrinkle. These spots, (people of iniquity and wickedness), many have crept in unawares and have rose up into high places of leadership. This is why as you prepare your selves in the things of the Lord, it will be important that you read the scriptures for yourself to see whether the things that are spoken line up with the Word.
This great clean up work will not only be the Lord coming forth with His angels to do that which He has promised to do but will also have a clean up work that we will be called on and expected to do as we have the veil removed and see much more clearly how we can work in being a better over comer. It will begin as the Lord has declared in Matthew 13:49 So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just.
There will be some real decisions we will have to make as the Lord calls on us, showing us what to do. Also the word of the day will be ...TO REPENT, CHANGE YOUR WAY OF THINKING. YOU HAVE NOT GONE THIS WAY BEFORE AND THAT WHICH IS BEFORE YOU IS THE AGE OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD.
Everyone from the greatest to the least among us will be called on to throw down at the feet of Jesus every word that we have idolized as truth, that is not. Many of these untruths are stumbling blocks thrown in our path to hinder our walk to Jesus and Jesus' walk to us. We will be called on to make our path straight and level between us and the Lord Jesus Christ.
There are other scriptures we could use to speak to you of this great event that is about to happen and there will be many scriptures that will all at once begin to be fulfilled when the harvest begins.
The Lord spoke to me earlier that He was about to do it. May we all continue reading the scriptures, listening to the Holy Spirit who will teach us as we prepare.
With love, One of the brethren,
Branch
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