100 % Accuracy- Bible Prophecy (Daniel 7 Continued)

 How important is history to prophecy? A person's history at predicting things is important should you be curious about their ability to prophesize, right? If you want to get a prophecy from someone you would look at their track record which would include reading the history of their past interactions. Right now we have things called 'Reviews' on everything from products we might consider buying, to shows we might want to watch, to places you might want to go to eat, drink, sleep, or for recreation. You know what I'm talking about. People scarcely decide to go somewhere new where they are going to spend their hard earned money without checking it out first. We search the internet for reviews- people who have had the experience with the people, places or things we are interested in. Their history with the aforementioned things gives us insight. The more money we are considering spending often determines just how deeply we are going to search out proper reviews. We want to know as much as we can about something before we invest in it. YOU KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!  So, what does this have to do with our studying? The reason I hope you are studying is to KNOW TRUTH. The reason I hope you are studying is because we are told by Jesus we will be blessed, and you want to be blessed by Jesus. The reason I hope you are studying is because you know that we are to, "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." 2 Timothy 2:15   I hope you are studying to know the love of God so perfectly given to us in His word.  If you are studying for these reasons then you know the importance of what you are doing. If we can spend sometimes hours reviewing things online before we commit to spending our money, time, effort, how much more time should we be spending studying the Word of God, as we desire to do as our Lord and Savior would have us do?  I'm saying this to impress upon you  the need to NOT look at this study as tedious and too long to read, too much to get into, because that is what Satan wants you to do. Satan wants you to discount the knowledge of history as being completely unimportant when it comes to salvation. Satan would rather have you toss all this knowledge away as meaningless, than have you study to know truth. Prophecy goes hand in hand with history and if we can see from history that there is so far a 100% accuracy rating on prophecies that have come to pass through time, we do not have to have ANY doubt whatsoever that the rest of the prophecies will come to pass just as they've been written.  If you can get a 100% rating in a review with thousands having reviewed something, you would have no doubt about believing what you were setting out to do would be a good thing.  We need to know truth, facts, and prophecy with history reveals that we can know without doubt what lies ahead for mankind.  God help us, bless us as we seek to know His truth and do His will always! 

Continuing on with our study-

Daniel 7:13,14 'I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. 14. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.'

Jesus receives His kingdom.

Read Luke 19:10-12- 'For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. {19:11} And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear. {19:12} He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return.'

Obviously this is in the Heavenly Sanctuary, in the heavenly temple, when the close of the priestly work is over, all people, nations, languages shall serve Him. None of the wicked. Jesus goes to a far country to receive for Himself the kingdom and then to return.

READ Daniel 7:15-18 -'I Daniel was grieved in my spirit in the midst of my body, and the visions of my head troubled me. 16. I came near unto one of them that stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things. 17. These great beasts, which are four, are four kings which shall arise out of the earth. 18. But the saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever.'

This vision that troubled Daniel was interpreted for him. He wanted to understand the truth, we too want to understand it all. The one interpreting the vision says, 'These great beasts, which are four, are four kings which shall arise out of the earth.' We understand through history itself of the four great kingdoms that reigned on Earth. It's plain to see if you study history how this is so and has come to pass.

What happens after the fourth kingdom is finally destroyed?

'But the saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever.'

God's saints. The righteous in God. Those first in the kingdom are the least here and now, servants.

This will come to pass as well, just as all that was predicted prior to this has come to pass. Nothing can stop the prophecy from being fulfilled.

READ Daniel 7:19,20 - 'Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet; 20 And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows.'

Daniel wanted to know the 'truth of the fourth beast' the fourth kingdom. He understood the other three beasts previously described but the fourth held some confusion for him. Seriously, it is no wonder that the ancient kingdoms were easy for him to understand, they would not last nearly as long, or be nearly as horrific and unnatural as the fourth beast. The fourth kingdom would last in part clear to the end of time, clear to our day and age.

The first kingdom like a lion- he knew what lions were and the nature of lions.

The second kingdom like at bear- he knew what a bear was and the nature of a bear.

The third kingdom like a leopard- yes, he knew was a leopard was and the nature of a leopard.

And he understood that winds meant strife, that wings swiftness- this wasn't some terrible creature he'd never seen before. Bears with ribs, yes understandable. Leopards with wings, understandable as well. But there is no natural animal symbol for Daniel to compare to the fourth beast, the fourth kingdom, such a creature doesn't exist in any form.

The fourth kingdom like a beast dreadful and terrible, nails of brass, teeth of iron, but what beast holds these elements of cruelty, of fierceness? Daniel hadn't a clue.

Then a little horn would come up out of this beast, thrusting aside three of the ten horns it had on its head. And the horn had eyes! Horns didn't have eyes! This horn had eyes of a man and a mouth! A horn with a mouth speaking proud, arrogant claims.

It wasn't any wonder Daniel wanted to understand this fourth beast, this fourth kingdom better than he did. So in even more symbolic language he is told more about the beast. Symbolic and yet as history is the key to understanding, it is just that, understandable without any mistaking.

READ Daniel 7:21,22 - 'I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them; 22. Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the Most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.'

The little horn on the fourth beast was going to make war with the saint and prevail against them and it would do so until the Ancient of days was come.

The rise of the fourth kingdom which we know to be Rome, which conquered Greece, and then the division of Rome eventually into ten kingdoms happened between 351-476 AD. History- all history. The ten horns- ten kingdoms all existing at the same time, the little horn- another kingdom but obviously not anything like the other kingdoms.

Kingdoms are political as a rule. Babylon, Medes-Persia, Greece, Rome, ten kingdoms it divided into, all politically gained, all sharing that sameness. has any kingdom come up among the ten kingdoms of the Roman empire since 476 AD? A kingdom different from all the others? Yes? No? The answer is, yes. This kingdom wasn't political in nature but spiritual. This kingdom that was different from all the others was the kingdom of the Papacy. Never before was there such a kingdom, never. This power, this kingdom is proven in its very symbols.

READ Daniel 7:23 - 'Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.'

Truthfully has there ever been a kingdom, a power such as the papacy which had made war unlike any other kingdom? Fifty million martyrs. History proves this cruel persecution. History of the Waldenses, the Albigenses, and Protestants in general, by the papal power.

It is stated on good authority that the persecutions, massacres, and religious martyrs by the church and bishop of Rome, have shed far more blood of the saints of the Most High any other kingdom. Century after century, after century of persecutions.

READ Daniel 7:23-26 - 'Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and. shall tread it down, and break it in pieces. 24. And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise; and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. 25. And he shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time. 26. But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end.'

More details of the fourth beast, the fourth kingdom, the fourth ruler.

The little horn- wants attention, wants power. The first bishops of Rome had high rank. Read this-- "All the inhabitants of the earth belong to her," said Julian; and Claudian declared her to be "the fountain of laws." " If Rome is the queen of cities, why should not her pastor be the king of bishops?" was the reasoning these Roman pastors adopted. "Why should not the Roman Church be the mother of Christendom? Why should not all nations be her children, and her authority their sovereign law? It was easy," says D'Aubigne, from whom we quote these words (" History of the Reformation," Vol. I, chap. 1), " for the ambitious heart of man to reason thus. Ambitious Rome did so."

The bishops in the different parts of the Roman empire felt a pleasure in yielding to the bishop of Rome some portion of that honor which Rome, as the queen city, received from the nations of the earth. There was originally no dependence implied in the honor thus paid. " But," continues D'Aubigne, "Usurped power increases like an avalanche. Admonitions, at first simply fraternal, soon became absolute commands in the mouth of the pontiff. The Western bishops favored this encroachment of the Roman pastors, either from jealousy of the Eastern bishops, or because they preferred submitting to the supremacy of a pope rather than to the dominion of a temporal power."

Keep reading- History tells the tale-

Such were the influences clustering around the bishop of Rome, and thus was everything tending toward his speedy elevation to the supreme spiritual throne of Christendom. But the fourth century was to witness an obstacle thrown across the path of this ambitious dream. Arius, parish priest of the, ancient and influential church of Alexandria, sprung his doctrine upon the world, occasioning so fierce a controversy in the Christian church that a general council. was called at Nievea, by the emperor Constantine, A. D. 325, to consider and adjust it. Arius maintained "that the Son was totally and essentially distinct from the Father; that he was the first, and noblest of those beings whom the Father had created out of nothing, the instrument by whose subordinate operation the Almighty Father formed the universe, and therefore inferior to the Father both in nature and dignity." This opinion was condemned by the council, which decreed that Christ was of one and the same substance with the Father. Hereupon Arius was banished to Illyria, and his followers were compelled to give their assent to the creed composed on that occasion. (Mosheim, cent. 4, part 2, chap. 4; Stanley, History of the Eastern Church, p. 239.)

The Arians became bitter enemies of the pope and the Roman Catholic Church, history shows this to be true. While the Arian's would get the upper hand remember what prophecy states- the little horn would uproot three horns. Read this-

From Albert Barnes which seems very appropriate when discussing the papacy overthrowing three Arian kingdoms. '"In the confusion that existed on the breaking up of the Roman empire, and the imperfect accounts of the transactions which occurred in the rise of the papal power, it would not be wonderful if it should be difficult to find events distinctly recorded that would be in all respects an accurate and absolute fulfillment of the vision. Yet it is possible to make out the fulfillment of this with a good degree of certainty in the history of the papacy." - Notes on Daniel 7.

Mr. Joseph Mede believes this- he supposes the three kingdoms plucked up to have been the Greeks, the Lombards, and the Franks; and Sir Isaac Newton supposes they were the Exarchate of Ravenna, the Lombards, and the Senate and Dukedom of Rome. Bishop Newton (Dissertation on the Prophecies, pp. 217, 218) states some serious objections to both these schemes. The Franks could NOT have been one of these kingdoms; for they were never plucked up before the papacy. The Lombards could NOT have been one; for they were never made subject to the popes. Says Albert Barnes, "I do not find, indeed, that the kingdom of the Lombards was, as is commonly stated, among the number of the temporal sovereignties that became, subject to the authority of the popes." And the Senate and Dukedom of Rome could NOT have been one; for they, as such, never constituted one of the ten kingdoms, three of which were to be plucked up before the little horn.

But we apprehend that the chief difficulty in the application made by these eminent commentators, lay in the fact that they supposed that the prophecy respecting the exaltation of the papacy had not been fulfilled, and could not have been, till the pope became a temporal prince; and hence they sought to find an accomplishment of the prophecy in the events which led to the pope's temporal sovereignty. Whereas, evidently, the prophecy of verses 24, 25 refers, not to his civil power, but to his power to domineer over the minds and consciences of men; and the pope reached this position, as will hereafter appear, in A. D. 538; and the plucking up of the three horns took place before this, and to make way for this very exaltation to spiritual dominion. The insuperable difficulty in the way of all attempts to apply the prophecy to the Lombards and the other powers named above is that they come altogether too late in point of time; for the prophecy deals with the arrogant efforts of the Roman pontiff to gain power, NOT with his endeavors to oppress and humble the nations after he had secured the supremacy.

The position is here confidently taken that the three powers, or horns, plucked up before the papacy, were the Heruli, the Vandals, and the Ostrogoths; and this position rests upon the following statements of historians.

Odoacer, the leader of the Heruli, was the first of the barbarians who reigned over the Romans. He took the throne of Italy, according to Gibbon (Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol. III, pp. 510, 515),in 476. Of his religious belief Gibbon (p. 516) says: " Like the rest of the barbarians, he had been instructed in the Arian heresy; but he revered the monastic and episcopal characters, and the silence of the Catholics attests the toleration which they enjoyed."

Again he says (p. 547)- " The Ostrogoths, the Burgundians, the Suevi, and the Vandals, who had listened to the eloquence of the Latin clergy, preferred the more intelligible lessons of their domestic teachers; and Arianism was adopted as the national faith of the warlike converts who were seated on the ruins of the Western empire. This irreconcilable difference of religion was a perpetual source of jealousy and hatred; and the reproach of barbarian was embittered by the more odious epithet of heretic. The heroes of the North, who had submitted, with some reluctance, to believe that all their ancestors were in hell, were astonished and exasperated to learn that they themselves had only changed the mode of their eternal condemnation."

The reader is requested to consider carefully a few more historical statements which throw some light on the situation at this time. Stanley (History of the Eastern Church, p. 151) says- "The whole of the vast Gothic population which descended on the Roman empire, so far as it was Christian at all, held to the faith of the Alexandrian heretic. Our first Teutonic version of the Scriptures was by an Arian missionary, UIfilas. The first conqueror of Rome, Alaric, and the first conqueror of Africa, Genseric, were Arians. Theodoric, the great king of Italy, and hero of the 'Nibelungen Lied,' was an Arian. The vacant place in his massive tomb at Ravenna is a witness of the vengeance which the Orthodox took on his memory, when, in their triumph, they tore down the porphyry vase in which his Arian subjects had enshrined his ashes.

Ranke, in his History of the Popes (London, edition of 1871), Vol. I, p. 9, says- " But she [the church] fell, as was inevitable, into many embarrassments, and found herself in an entirely altered condition. A pagan people took possession of Britain; Arian kings seized the greater part of the remaining West; while the Lombards, long attached to Arianism, and as neighbors most dangerous and hostile, established a powerful sovereignty before the very gates of Rome. The Roman bishops, meanwhile, beset on all sides, exerted themselves with all the prudence and pertinacity which have remained their peculiar attributes, to regain the mastery, at least in the patriarchal diocese."

Machiavelli, in his History of Florence, p. 14, says- "Nearly all the wars which the northern barbarians carried on in Italy, it may be here remarked, were occasioned by the pontiffs; and the hordes with which the country was inundated, were generally called in by them."

These extracts give us a general view of the state of affairs at this time, and show us that though the hands of the Roman pontiffs might not be visibly manifest in the movements upon the political board, they constituted the power working assiduously behind the scenes to secure their own purposes. The relation which these Arian kings sustained to the pope, from which we can see the necessity of their being overthrown to make way for papal supremacy, is shown in the following testimony from Mosheim, given in his History of the Church, cent. 6, part 2, chap. 2, see. 2 - "On the other hand, it is certain, from a variety of the most authentic records, that both the emperors and the nations in general were far from being disposed to bear with patience the yoke of servitude which the popes were imposing upon the Christian church. The Gothic princes set bounds to the power of these arrogant prelates in Italy, permitted none to. be raised to the pontificate without their approbation, and reserved to themselves the right of judging of the legality of every new election."

An instance in proof of this statement occurs in the history of Odoacer, the first Arian king above mentioned, as related by Bower in his History of the Popes, Vol. 1, p. 271. When, on the death of Pope Simplicius, A. D. 483, the clergy and people had assembled for the election of a new pope, suddenly Basilius, lieutenant of King Odoacer, appeared in the assembly, expressed his surprise that any such work as appointing a successor to the deceased pope should be undertaken without him, in the name of the king declared all that had been done null and void, and ordered the election to be begun anew. Certainly the horn which exercised such a restrictive power over the papal pontiff must be taken away before the pope could reach the predicted supremacy.

Meanwhile, Zeno, the emperor of the East, and friend of the pope, was anxious to drive Odoacer out of Italy (Machiavelli, p. 6), a movement which he soon had the satisfaction of seeing accomplished without trouble to himself, in the following manner. Theodoric had come to the throne of the Ostrogothic kingdom in Moesia and Pannonia. Being on friendly terms with Zeno, he wrote him, stating that it was impossible for him to restrain his Goths within the impoverished province of Pannonia, and asking his permission to lead them to some more favorable region, which they might conquer and possess. Zeno gave him permission to march against Odoacer, and take possession of Italy. Accordingly, after a three years' war, the Heralian kingdom in Italy was overthrown, Odoacer was treacherously slain, and Theodoric established his Ostrogoths in the Italian peninsula. As already stated, he was an Arian, and the law of Odoacer subjecting the election of the pope to the approval of the king was still retained.

The following incident will show how completely the papacy was in subjection to his power. The Catholics in the East, having commenced a persecution against the Arians in 523, Theodoric summoned Pope John into his presence, and thus addressed him- "If the emperor [Justin, the predecessor of Justinian] does not think fit to revoke the edict which he has lately issued against those of my persuasion [that is, the Arians], it is my firm resolution to issue the like edict against those of his [that is, the Catholics] ; and to see it everywhere executed with the same rigor. Those who do not profess the faith of Nicaea are heretics to him, and those who do are heretics to me. Whatever can excuse or justify his severity to the former, will excuse and justify mine to the latter. But the emperor," continued the king, "has none about him who dare freely and openly speak what they think, or to whom he would hearken if they did. But the great veneration which he professes for your See, leaves no room to doubt but he would hearken to you. I will therefore have you to repair forthwith to Constantinople, and there to remonstrate, both in my name and your own, against the violent measures in which that court has so rashly engaged. It is in your power to divert the emperor from them; and till you have, nay, till the Catholics [this name Theodoric; applies to the Arians] are restored to the free exercise of their religion, and to all the churches from which they have been driven, you must not think of returning to Italy." - Bower's History of the Popes, Vol. 1, p. 325.

The pope who was thus peremptorily ordered not to set his foot again upon Italian soil until he had carried out the will of the king, certainly could not hope for much advancement toward any kind of supremacy till that power was taken out of the way. Baronius, according to Bower, will have it that the pope sacrificed himself on this occasion, and advised the emperor not by any means to comply with the demand the king had sent him. But Mr. Bower thinks this inconsistent, since he could not, he says, " sacrifice himself without sacrificing, at the same time, the far greater part of the innocent Catholics in the West, who were either subject to King Theodoric, or to other Arian princes in alliance with him." It is certain that the pope and the other ambassadors were treated. with severity on their return, which Bower explains on this wise- " Others arraign them all of high treason; and truly the chief men of Rome were suspected at this very time of carrying on a treasonable correspondence with the court of Constantinople, and machinating the ruin of the Gothic empire in Italy." - Id., p. 326.

The feelings of the papal party toward Theodoric may be accurately estimated, according to a quotation already given, by the vengeance which the took on his memory, when they tore from his massive tomb in Ravenna the porphyry vase in which his Arian subjects had enshrined his ashes. But these feelings are put into language by Baronius, who inveighs against Theodoric as a cruel barbarian, as a barbarous tyrant, as an impious Arian." But " having exaggerated with all his eloquence, and bewailed the deplorable condition of the Roman Church reduced by that heretic to a state of slavery, he comforts himself in the end, and dries up his tears, with the pious thought that the author of such a calamity died soon after, and was eternally damned! " - Bower, Vol. I, p. 328; Compare Baronius' Annals, A. D. 526, p. 116.

While the Catholics were thus feeling the restraining power of an Arian king in Italy, they were suffering a violent persecution from the Arian Vandals in Africa. (Gibbon, chap. 371 see. 2.) Elliott, in his Horae Apocalypticae, Vol. III, p. 152.. note 3, says- " The Vandal kings were not only Arians, but persecutors of the Catholics; in Sardinia and Corsica, under the Roman Episcopate, we may presume, as well as in Africa."

Such was the position of affairs, when, in 533, Justinian entered upon his Vandal and Gothic wars. Wishing to secure the influence of the pope and the Catholic party, he issued that memorable decree which was to constitute the pope the head of all the churches, and from the carrying out of which, in 538, the period of papal supremacy is to be dated. And whoever will read the history of the African campaign, 533-534, and the Italian campaign, 534 - 538, will notice that the Catholics everywhere hailed as deliverers the army of Belisarius, the general of Justinian.

The testimony of D'Aubigne (Reformation, book 1, chap. 1) also throws light upon the undercurrents which gave shape to outward movements in these eventful times. He says- "Princes whom these stormy times often shook upon their thrones, offered their protection if Rome would in its turn support them. They conceded to her the spiritual authority, provided she would make a return in secular power. They were lavish of the souls of men, in the hope that she would aid them against their enemies. The power of the hierarchy, which was ascending, and the imperial power, which was declining, leaned thus one upon the other, and by this alliance accelerated their twofold destiny. Rome could not lose by it. An edict of Theodosius 11 and of Valerian III proclaimed the Roman bishop 'rector of the whole church.' Justinian published a similar decree."

But no decree of this nature could be carried into effect until the Arian horns which stood in its way were overthrown. The Vandals fell before the victorious arms of Belisarius in 534; and the Goths received a crushing blow in connection with their unsuccessful siege of Rome in 538. (Gibbon, chap. 41)

Procopius, relates that the African war was undertaken by Justinian for the relief of the Christians (Catholics) in that quarter; and that when he expressed his intention in this respect, the prefect of the palace came very near dissuading him from his purpose but a dream appeared to him in which he was bidden "not to shrink from the execution of his design; for by assisting the Christians he would overthrow the power of the Vandals. " - Evagrius' Eccl. Hist., book 4, chap. 16.

Listen again to Mosheim- "It is true that the Greeks who had received the decrees of the Council of Nicaea [that is, the Catholics], persecuted and oppressed the Arians wherever their influence and authority could reach; but the Nicenians, in their turn, were not less rigorously treated by their adversaries [the Arians], particularly in Africa and Italy, where they felt, in a very severe manner, the weight of the Arian power, and the bitterness of hostile resentment. The triumphs of Arianism were, however, transitory, and its prosperous days were entirely eclipsed when the Vandals were driven out of Africa, and the Goths out of Italy, by the arms of Justinian." - Mosheim's Church History, cent. 6, part 2, chap. 5, sec. 3.

Elliott, in his Horae Apocalypticae, makes two enumerations of the ten kingdoms which rose out of the Roman empire, varying the second list from the first according to the changes which had taken place at the later period to which the second list applies. His first list differs from that mentioned in remarks on chap. 2: 42, only in that he put the Alemanni in place of the Huns, and the Bavarians in place of the Lombards, a variation which can be easily accounted for. But out of this list he names the three that were plucked up before the papacy, in these words- " I might cite three that were eradicated from before the pope out of the list first given; namely, the Heruli under Odoacer, the Vandals, and the Ostrogoths." - Vol. III, p. 152, note 1.

Although he prefers the second list, in which he puts the Lombards instead of the Heruli, the foregoing is good testimony that if we make the enumeration of the ten kingdoms while the Heruli were a ruling power, they were one of the horns which were plucked up.

From the historical testimony above cited, we think it clearly established that the three horns plucked up were the powers named; viz., the Heruli in A. D. 493, the Vandals in 534, and the Ostrogoths in 553. The effective opposition of the Ostrogoths to the decree of Justinian, however, it is to be noted, ceased when they were driven from Rome by Belisarius in 538.

To Be Continued…..

Truth or Lies- You Need to Decide Which You'll Believe.

 God would have us know His truth. He won't force feed truth to us. He's given us His word and has left it up to us to read, to study, to live its truth. Some of these truths are more complex than others, but there is nothing we can't comprehend that our Lord won't help us to know if we need to know it. To discard hard truths because they are just too confusing to us, without a diligent effort to study to know truth, is something we are accountable for. This study here has been and continues to be a long one. Why is it important? Because we need to comprehend what happens after we die- and to understand what happens we need to know Biblical facts. 1. The dead know nothing-they sleep death's sleep. 2. When Christ returns the dead in Christ will rise. 3. The dead who are not in Christ will live again after 1000 years (during that time the Dead in Christ will have become immortal and live in heaven with Christ). 4. After the 1000 years the dead not in Christ will rise and these are the unjust. 5. At their resurrection they will receive their sentence, then their punishment, and their ultimate second death which is when they are in existence no more in any form, never to be again.  All these are just bullet points that can be backed by extensive Biblical proofs if someone is willing to study. In knowing all this we cannot be deceived by Satan to believe in the immortality of the soul, that there is immediate life after death, that most people go to heaven, that we need not be concerned with facing any real punishment. When we consent to believe in immediately life after death we are in league with Satan who told our first parents they would not die if they ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Once we consent knowingly to believe that there is no true death where we no longer know anything at all, we aren't guiltless, we are liable and accountable to perpetuating lies. You see, our Savior needn't have died for us if we never die. Our Savior died so we could live again one day in the mansions He is preparing. He died knowing He would one day return for us, not so we could just live in heaven right after we die our first death. The Bible is so clear on this,God tells us that Abraham, Jacob, Moses, David, none of those well-known Biblical figures are in heaven right now, none have received the promise as of yet and won't, not without all those who are going to be God's, and this takes place when our Savior returns!  So many people choose to turn a blind eye to this, thinking it just doesn't matter. They are deceived! 

God help us to keep studying for truth and only truth no matter how much it destroys our cherished beliefs!

All through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior now and forever! Amen!!!!!!!

*******

Resurrection of the Just and Unjust

*******

(EXCERPT)

The unjust will be resurrected, some object to this truth. The article we've been studying is vindicating the truth of the resurrection of the unjust- scripturally, logically. Pray for enlightenment through our Savior, by the Holy Spirit.

A Vindication of the Doctrine of the Resurrection of the Unjust By J.H. Waggoner 

CONTINUING STUDY….Dan 12:2  And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

*******  (Note- the following excerpt shows so clearly that people can pervert scripture to mean what they desire it to mean without taking all scripture into consideration. People used by Satan will twist any Bible verse they can to meet their own ends which mean the everlasting destruction of any and all who fall under their delusions. Pray that you may perceive only truth, study deeply, let the Holy Spirit guide you in your search for nothing but God's truth, God's will, God's love. All through our Savior, Jesus Christ.)

Isa. 26:13, 14: "O Lord our God, other lords beside thee have had dominion over us; but by thee only will we make mention of thy name. They are dead, they shall not live; they are deceased, they shall not rise; therefore hast thou visited and destroyed them, and made all their memory to perish." 

There are at least two evident reasons why the claim put forth on this text is not warranted. It is not certain that it refers to the resurrection or non-resurrection of the dead at all; but that it only states that the "lords" who had dominion over them should not rise to exercise dominion over them any more. And, were it proved or admitted that it refers to the subject in question, it is yet far from appearing that it is already fulfilled. The same prophet, speaking of the destiny of the wicked, says: "The inhabitants of the earth are burned." Chap. 24:6. This is as definite, and the same in tense, as the text in question; but it remains to be fulfilled. See verses 1-5. The text says, "Thou hast visited and destroyed them." Chap. 24:22, says they shall be gathered as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and "visited after many days." Their visitation and destruction will be in the great day of wrath.

Many texts speak of the destruction of the wicked as already past, if we remove them from the page of prophecy and make history of them; but by so doing, they are perverted, and put in direct conflict with the plainest statements of the New Testament. If we take them as they are, as prophecies, they will harmonize with the words of the Saviour and his apostles, and with all the Scriptures on the subject of "the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men." Isa. 43:16, 17: "Thus saith the Lord, . . . which bringeth forth the chariot and horse, the army and power; they shall lie down together, they shall not rise; they are extinct, they are quenched as tow." 

Were the passages in John 5; Acts 24, etc., no more intimately related to the subject than this, we should no more be surprised that our opponents should set them aside as figurative or irrelevant. The chariot, the horse, the army, the power, lie down together, they shall not rise; therefore there will be no resurrection of the unjust! (((Lies!))))

Words cannot express our astonishment that such a text as this should be quoted as a plain, literal denial of the resurrection of evil-doers, and John 5:28, 29; Rev. 20:5, 6, and others, should be set aside as "figurative," as having no bearing on the subject of the resurrection! 

The power of an army, and the army itself, as an army, may be destroyed without destroying half the individuals composing it. Were they all cut off, so that the army could never again appear, they might all be raised "to the judgment of the great day" without conflicting with that fact. I pray that I may never be found advocating a doctrine which needs to be sustained by such a use of the Scriptures.

Jer. 51:39: "In their heat I will make their feasts, and I will make them drunken, that they may rejoice, and sleep a perpetual sleep, saith the Lord." Does this text forbid the idea, so plainly revealed in the Bible, of the "wicked suffering the second death?" or coming "forth from the graves to the resurrection of damnation," and to utter destruction? Does it even seem to contradict the plain testimonies of the word of God in favor of the resurrection of the unjust? If it does, I have not the ability to perceive it.

Hos. 8:14: "They that swear by the sin of Samaria, and say, Thy god, O Dan, liveth; and, The manner of Beersheba liveth; even they shall fall and never rise up again." Do the words "fall" and "rise up" refer to death and the resurrection? It certainly does not appear in the text or context. Or if the words do so refer, may it not refer to the second death in the lake of fire, from which there is no rising? And this is quoted to prove that the evildoers will not come forth from the graves, to a resurrection to judgment and the second death, by the very ones who affirm that John 5:28, 29, do not refer to the resurrection at all! Strange consistency, indeed! And these are the "positive proofs" on that side of the question. (((Such delusion, God preserve us from all untruth!))))

To be continued…

Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth.

 

Evil Reality.

 We don't believe it's real. We don't  know anyone who is affected in this way, not personally. We see sensationalized, fictional movies, and read fiction best sellers with this content- but they are just made up stories meant to excite your imagination with something that is harmless, not reality at all. We glorified the subject and make it into weekly tv series, or mini-series on our streaming networks, and we just don't think too much of it all because it's  just not real. Plain and simple it doesn't really exist so we can toy with the subject all we want, in any way we want to. A long running television series pitted demons, angels-good and bad, men and woman affected by them, those fighting against all the evil and this series lasted for a long, long, very long fifteen years. That show ended but there are still many new show out there with the same type of premise- different names, different actors, different scenarios but same bottom line theme underneath all the glitter and makeup. 

Evil in the form of demons, in the form of a real presence of Satan- just doesn't truly exist for the majority of people. The reality has been fictionalized away so very much the truth of it all is lost. We'd sooner sit down and watch these stories of make believe than contemplate any truth of evil. We'd be laughed at if we suggested anything remotely portrayed in these shows could be real. It's harmless so long as we know it's not real, or so that's what we've been made to believe. 

How do we imagine the REAL Satan looks at all these evil themed shows. You say as long as the good has defeated the evil that they are okay, so he can't like the shows because he doesn't want evil defeated? That's possible. Good vs evil… with good winning- this is what we desire.

A Christian wants this very thing in REALITY. God has defeated Satan, only Satan isn't done filling his coffers with followers, and God isn't done preparing places for his saints.  THERE will come a day- we don't know when- but there will come a day when God will declared the cup filled and it cannot be filled any further- evil has gone as far as it will ever go. All those that are God's are sealed as such, and all those that are Satan's are marked as such- and all that remains is for the last horrors of evil's reality to arise and God's sealed will suffer greatly and then….Our Savior Jesus Christ Our LORD will return, calling all His saints, all the sealed to Him.

Reality. There is a lot of reality mixed up with fiction and Satan wants us to be desensitized to the evil and he's done a very good job of that. Do you ever find yourself rooting for the demon side over good? Do you ever just love the supposed good, moral upstanding demons fighting against bad ones? Are you ever happy watching monsters wreak havoc because, they are good monsters? Desensitized to evil, so that we call evil good- and mean evil is harmless when it is anything but.

What a world we live in. What tragic times. Will God find faith on earth when He returns?

Luk_18:8  I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?

Mat 24:9  Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. 

Mat 24:10  And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. 

Mat 24:11  And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. 

Mat 24:12  And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. 

Mat 24:13  But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. 

To ENDURE means having something you need to endure.  This world is corrupted and the disguises once worn by evil have been removed so that they are believed to be good, accepted as good, believe to be good, and truly appear to be good to all who look upon them. Enduring to the end, enduring the deception that overcomes all but the very elect. Praying to be among those who endure, to be one of the very elect this is what we must do.

2Th 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. 

2Th 2:8  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: 

2Th 2:9  Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 

2Th 2:10  And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 

2Th 2:11  And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: 

2Th 2:12  That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. 

May we believe ONLY TRUTH!

May we ENDURE to the END!

All through the power of our LORD and SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST! 

Please Father in Heaven, please almighty God to whom we give all glory and honor, all praise and thanksgiving, please, keep us from all the evil of this world, let us belong to our Savior now and always! Please, this is our prayer, this is our plea!  All in the name of Jesus Christ, now and forever! AMEN!

(Excerpt)

POSSESSED WITH DEMONS

We use the term "demons" because it is the language of the Scriptures; to conform to the language and the facts of the Bible we keep up the distinction between the devil, or Satan, and the demons, the fallen angels, who are under his control. Those who were possessed with demons acted strangely. Sometimes they were exceeding fierce (Matt. 8:28); no man could bind them, no, not with chains; they dwelt among the tombs (Mark 5:3, 4); they would cry out and cut themselves

(verse 5); they would throw themselves into the fire and into the water (Matt. 17:15); they knew Jesus and cried out that he was the Son of God (Luke 8:28, etc.). It is expressly said that these persons were possessed with demons; that the demons had entered into them. And it is manifest that the devil had in some way gained possession, or control, of these persons, so that he and his angels acted through them, and made them act just as he pleased. All their actions were attributed directly to the devil, or to demons, and not to themselves. Mark 9:17-26.

It is well known that there is such a thing as mesmerism, or hypnotism, by which one person of strong nerves and a strong will can so control another of weaker nerves and will as to gain entire possession of him, body and mind. Then the mesmerizer can put his own thoughts into the mind of his victim, and make him speak and act just as he pleases. In short, the person so mesmerized

becomes the passive agent, or medium, of the person who has mesmerized him. And so it is with persons possessed with demons. They have allowed Satan to mesmerize them until he has gained complete control over them, mind and body. Then he and the demons use them as mediums through whom to speak and act.

Modern Spiritualism, the work of spirit mediums, is nothing more nor less than this. The spirits magnetize the mediums, and thus gain control of their organs, and then speak through them.

Judge Edmonds, a noted believer in Spiritualism, speaking of a manifestation through Dr. Dexter, medium, said:- "It was conducted throughout with unusual, and, indeed, unknown violence. He [the spirit] took entire possession of the doctor, not merely his arm."

Professor Brittan, another Spiritualist, says:- "We may further add, in this connection, that the trance mediums for spirit intercourse are equally irresponsible. Many of them are totally unable to resist the powers which come to them from the invisible and unknown realms."-  Telegraph's Answer to Mahan, p. 10. In many cases the spirits treat their mediums just as they did those possessed in the days of Jesus. Here is an example given by Dr. Gridly. Of a Medium he says:-

"These spirits would pinch and pound him, twitch him up and throw him down, yell and blaspheme. They forbade his eating, to the very point of starvation. He was a perfect skeleton; they compelled him to walk day and night, with intermissions, to be sure, as their avowed object was to torment him as much and as long as possible."-Astounding Facts from the Spirit World, pp. 253, 254. Compare this with Luke 8:26-30, and it will be seen that the possessions are identical in nature. There is not a particle of difference between the Satanic possessions in the days of Christ and the spirit control of the present time. When once the demons got control of them, the persons possessed had no power to free themselves from their influence. But Jesus had power over these spirits, and He gave the same power to His disciples, through faith in His name. And at the

present time, the mediums become helpless in the hands of the demons. But they can get no control over those who resist them steadfast in the faith of Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 5:8, 9; James

4:7, 8; Eph. 6:10, 11.

Spiritualists themselves assure us that each medium has an attendant spirit, which appears at every call, and can personate any for whom inquiry is made. This gives opportunity for any amount of deception, and it is identical with the doctrine of familiar spirits, so often mentioned in the Scriptures. But consulting familiar spirits was strictly forbidden, the Lord declaring that it was an

abomination to Him. The spirits are demons of darkness, and consulting them leads away from God and from His revealed truth.

Angels: Their Nature and Ministry-  (Excerpt - for continuing study) Revised by J.H. Waggoner.  1891 by Pacific Press Publishing Co.)

At His Appearing!

 2Ti 4:1  I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the living and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom.

WHAT? Hold on, Jesus is going to do what?! Judge people when He returns? Who is He going to judge? Those living when He returns, and… those who are DEAD when He returns. So, hold on, He's judging everyone who ever lived in all of humanity, those still living and those who have died- which are all those not currently alive when He returns. That's the whole of humanity. 

Okay, that makes sense, everyone gets judged when Jesus returns. But wait, why does Jesus need to judge those who have died when He returns, aren't they already judged? Didn't they have to be judged to determine where they went after they died? How was the decision made on where the dead people would go if they weren't judged? And if they were judged then, why would Jesus have to judge them upon His return to earth? Aren't all those dead people where they need to be already? 

Do you see the conflict? Do you see the problem with the logic going on here with this situation? Logic dictates that IF you believe that when you die that a part of you goes on living and that part is immediately given heaven or hell upon the death of the body then your destination HAS to have been determined before Jesus returns- you were judged to determine where you were going to go- that is logical. UNLESS, you do NOT go to heaven or hell upon death, but rather you are truly just DEAD-LIFELESS until Jesus returns and then and only then you are given the determination of your judgment, that makes a lot more sense doesn't it? 

It goes along well with this…

1Th 4:16  For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 

1Th 4:17  Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 

1Th 4:18  Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

Upon His return, the dead that are judged to be HIS will rise….

We which are alive when Jesus returns and are judged to be HIS will be taken up after the dead -are to meet the LORD in the AIR and SO SHALL WE EVER BE WITH THE LORD!

Logical. Our life after being judged is decided for all of humanity ALL AT THE SAME TIME. 

Joh 5:28  Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, 

Joh 5:29  And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. 

Do you see it!? The HOUR is coming when all the dead will HEAR the voice of Jesus! When that happens they will either rise to meet Jesus and ever be with Him, or they will rise to damnation. All judged at the same time! This is truth! BIBLICAL TRUTH!

We are told to KEEP the truth! We are told that we have to study God's word! We are told…

2Ti 4:2  Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. 

… to PREACH the WORD all the time! REPROVE, REBUKE, EXHORT no matter what using DOCTRINE.   This is doctrine…

2Ti 4:3  For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 

2Ti 4:4  And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. 

THE TIME WILL COME… this is really going to happen, the time is really going to come when people will NOT want to hear truth- sound doctrine! Why, because after their own lusts shall they go after teachers that will tell them what they WANT to hear, rather than the TRUTH. People will want FABLES! People will not want the truth!  God's word tells us this!

People aren't going to want to hear this truth, especially because the world is caught up in one of Satan's grand delusions- that people never really die, that people have an immortal soul that continues on right after they die, that they go to heaven or to hell, but mostly heaven. I don't know of anyone who believes any of their loved ones have gone to hell, The truth is… the dead DO NOT GO ON LIVING after they die! They will NOT live again until Jesus returns, the BIBLE tells us this truth! Do you want to believe fables or truth, you will have to decide!

******

(Excerpt)

WHY SUFFERED TO EXIST

The question has arisen in many minds. Why does God suffer Satan to exist?

God is almighty in power; He can destroy Satan; why, then, does He permit him to continue to exert so great power for evil?

To anyone who has carefully considered this subject, these questions present no difficulty whatever, although they involve the whole question of the existence of evil in any form. If we deny the existence of the devil, we cannot deny the existence of evil. Were there any difficulty, it would appear in regard to the 

existence of any evil-not alone with the greatest evil. As to the question of the possibility or impossibility of evil entering into a well-ordered and wisely-governed kingdom, one fact meets us at every step, as far as the universe is concerned, and that is, evil has entered. It is useless to theorize against a fact as evident as this. We may try to ignore its existence, but it will not try to keep out of sight. We are obliged to acknowledge its existence, and we know that whatever is, is possible. We have to deal with facts, not mere speculations.

There is really no more difficulty in admitting the existence of a devil than in admitting the existence of those qualities in others which make up the character of a devil. Evil in a man who was created very good is as incomprehensible as in an angel. In either case it is the perversion of naturally good qualities. We also

see in this world that wisdom, knowledge, and great opportunities, are no safeguards against wrong doing. Many of the ablest men of the world, of the brightest intellects, and the largest opportunities, are very wicked. And all know that the wiser and stronger a man is, the greater is his power to do evil, if his heart is set to do evil. In like manner, we should conclude that if angels sin, they will be capable of doing more evil than man, because they are a higher order of beings; they are possessed of greater intelligence and power. Even so, if the "covering cherub," a being created full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty, sets his heart to do wrong, his power, his wisdom, his beauty, all combine to give him influence over others, and enable him to become the greatest sinner of all. It is not surprising that such a being, having fallen, has earned the titles of

Satan, Apollyon, and devil, or Diabolus.

How Satan fell we are plainly informed in the Scriptures. He became proud of his wisdom and beauty, and ambitious of greater exaltation. This led him into rebellion against the appointments of God. He aspired to be "like the Most High," where he should acknowledge no superior-perhaps the Most High alone excepted. God had declared that all the angels should worship His Son (Heb. 1:6), and this, to the proud heart of Lucifer, was too humiliating. But if the question be asked, Why did he thus rebel against the appointments of God, who had already conferred upon him such honor and glory? we readily answer, There was no reason. 

Sin is a causeless, unaccountable thing. His own being, his wisdom and beauty, his exalted position, and his capacity for enjoyment, all were evidences of the goodness and love of his Creator; and all must coincide with our answer: There was no reason why he should rise up in rebellion and thus risk the loss of all. Sin in every form is unreasonable. There is no reason why anyone should sin. On this subject Dr. Charles Beecher has some very sensible remarks. 

He says:-

"If such was the original condition of the universe, the question arises how sin could possibly enter. Some minds have felt the difficulty on this point so strongly that they have rejected the Bible account of the matter, and denied the existence of any such sinless state of the universe. But the answer to the question is simple. Sin is, in its own nature, anomalous, and therefore mysterious; it is, in its own nature, an  unaccountable thing; for, the moment that we admit that it is properly accounted for, i. e., the moment we have assigned a good and sufficient cause for it, that moment it ceases to be a sin. A good and sufficient cause is a good and sufficient excuse; and that which has a good and sufficient excuse is not sin. To account for sin, therefore, is to defend it; and to defend it is to certify that it does not exist. Therefore the objection that it is inconceivable and unaccountable that sin should enter into such a perfect universe, amounts to nothing but saying that sin is exceedingly sinful, inexcusable, and destitute of the least defense or

justification. Sin is a violation of all law, a departure from all original nature, a thing essentially lawless, anomalous, and mysterious. We can identify the fact of its existence, we can describe the manner, we can discover the occasion, but the cause, the good and sufficient cause, God Himself and the judgment seat will

demonstrate cannot be shown, for it does not exist."-Redeemer and Redeemed, pp. 82, 83.

Because Satan harbored evil thoughts, was tempted, and fell, it does not follow that God created him with an evil inclination. The Bible contradicts such an idea, for the Lord says of him, "Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee." All intelligent creatures, capable of reasoning concerning right and wrong, are moral agents. It is impossible that God should confer a moral character on any of His creatures. He creates them perfect, endows them with full capacities to do His will, to walk in the way of righteousness, but He cannot so compel them to do right as to destroy their power of choice; for to deprive them of choice would be to destroy the moral quality of their actions. Deprived of choice, they would be mere passive machines, and machines cannot develop character. All acknowledge the force of this reasoning as applying to men, but it is equally applicable to angels and to all created intelligences. 

Were the present world and the present life the finalities of man's existence, there would then be difficulties attending this subject which do not exist. Angels and men were endowed with capacities to will and to reason; their actions have moral qualities, and they have responsibilities corresponding to these powers.

They alone can form their characters, and they must bear the responsibility of their actions. The fact, great and of infinite importance, is plainly revealed, that "God shall bring every work into judgment." Eccl. 12:14. The judgment day will make many things clear which have appeared mysterious in this world. Some have assumed the very dangerous position that God is the author of evil; that evil is a necessary counterpart to positive good, by which alone the good is made to appear good. The judgment day will correct this fallacy. God may be just and good, with the issues of the judgment in view, and temporarily permit evil to exist; but it would be impossible to set up a defense if He originated moral wrong, or perpetuated it,-if He gave it an eternal lodgment in a creation which included no evil . Sin is an intruder; it has no rights; it has no claim to favor; it is not entitled to an existence.

It may be said there is a difference between the case of Satan and that of man. Satan and his angels had all the joys of heaven in their possession; they had a high experience, a knowledge in the ways of God, that man did not possess; and they sinned by their sole choice, while man was tempted and beguiled into sin. There is some justice in this remark, and God has recognized it in the provisions of His grace. Salvation was provided for man, but not for the angels. But, though there was no provision made for their salvation, there may be good reasons why they should be suffered to still exist and continue to pursue their way of evil. We do not wonder why God does not destroy every incorrigible sinner here, even if they have done such despite to the Spirit of Grace that, as the Saviour said, they can have no forgiveness in this world nor in the world to

come. We may not understand all the reasons of the decisions made in heaven.

When God promised the land to Abraham and to his seed, he said that he could not then inherit it, because "the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full." Gen. 15:16. The Lord would give them an opportunity to fill up the cup of their iniquity. This proves the long-suffering of God. And no sin was ever so great but that it

found sympathy somewhere. Satan so wrought upon the sympathies of the angels that legions of them denied the justice of God, and took their stand by his side. Had the Lord then destroyed him, it is highly probable that myriads more in the universe might have doubted the wisdom or justice of the action. Perhaps

they could not yet realize the enormity of his guilt. But at the final judgment, when every cup is full, and Satan has fully convinced every creature that he is the only personification of malignity and all that is evil and hateful, all will approve the justice of God in his destruction. And no doubt Satan himself, seeing the issue of many generations of rebellion, and the causeless ruin he has wrought, will realize that God is just, and that he was altogether wrong in his pride and ambition, and, above all, in instigating the murder of the meek and lowly Son of God. 

When Satan sees the city of God descend from heaven, and the hosts of angels with whom he once worshiped in blessed union, and the glorious Son of God, their loved Commander, at their head, and the millions of glorified ones from this world, purchased by His blood, even he himself will be compelled to

confess the utter failure of his ambitious plan, the goodness of Jesus in dying for His creatures, and the wisdom and justice of God the Father in exalting His Son over such a vicious spirit as he has proved himself to be. We verily believe that this will be the case, and that in this will be found the fulfillment of the words of inspiration: "That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Phil. 2:10, 11. 

Angels: Their Nature and Ministry-  (Excerpt - for continuing study) Revised by J.H. Waggoner.  1891 by Pacific Press Publishing Co.)

Twisted Truth.

 LOVE ALL.

BUT…  don't ever love evil in any of its forms. 

Do not ever call evil good, not ever. 

If a person wants to embrace evil and call it good that is their prerogative, but a child of God will NEVER call evil good. (I shouldn't say never, they might do this and by the grace of God repent and seek forgiveness for doing it- I know I have had to do just this very thing -be forgiven for being deceived for calling evil good, more than once!)

Don't get me wrong, many who believe they are children of God and call themselves so, will call evil good and in truth they are NOT God's children. The reality isn't there, it's a deception when they say they are God's children,  they are DECEIVED themselves, blind to their own condition, unable to see, not wanting to see.

Many want to justify the reasons for their calling evil good, you might be doing it right now. Satan wants us to make excuses - really good, thought out, excuses and he'll help us coat them in what we believe is love so long as we keep pulling that wool down over our spiritual eyes. He'll make it feel good, he'll make it feel right, he'll make it feel like love- he'll squish all the feel goods together he can if it means we support evil in some way- great or very small.

I can love a sinner. I am a sinner. Jesus loves only sinners, because that's what we are - all sinners. Jesus does NOT love the sin we commit and does not encourage us to keep sinning. 

Like Jesus, I can LOVE the sinner and hate sin. 

Go and sin no more. Jesus' words. 

Joh_5:14  Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.

Joh_8:11  She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.

For Him to utter those words means sin had to exist and had to be something we could do, or not do. If that sin was of no consequence, Jesus would not have said to sin no more, it wouldn't have mattered.  To sin no more we have to know what constitutes a sin, because we have to know what not to do. 

We have to know what is evil so we are not in danger of calling evil good. We have to comprehend there are wicked people, that there is REAL wickedness. 

We live in a day and age where so little is called evil and wicked because to do so causes offense to the evil doers who want to be told they are not evil doers, that their evil is good. They want to force others to say evil is good just so they can fool themselves that they are doers of good. They call the good evil because only evil would not be accepting of them and their wickedness which isn't wicked at all to them.

Such a world we live in and we were told it would be this way. 

Isa_5:20  Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

This is reality.

More and more people every day are calling evil good, and good evil so that all but the very elect are going to be deceived.

Mat 24:24  For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. 

False Christs- but CHRISTS!

False prophets- but PROPHETS!

GREAT SIGNS!

GREAT WONDERS!  

ALL DECEPTION!

The false Christs and prophets will be showing wondrous things and by these wondrous things they will bring great deception!  They will be calling EVIL - GOOD and GOOD- EVIL, and they will deceive the majority of people!

Love is paramount, and people have divorced love from God's ten commandments! They believe the laws are no longer applicable, that Jesus, who was with God when those commandments were etched in stone by His finger, somehow no longer believes in them. He kept them all, all ten of those commandments. How can I say that? Because sin is the breaking of the law! And He broke NO LAW meaning He committed NO SIN.

1Jn_3:4  Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law

There HAS to be a law in order to keep that law, or sin against that law by not keeping it. Without the law there is NO sin. If you tell me you are NOT a sinner by telling me there is NO LAW to keep, I'll call you a liar! To not sin is to be perfect, as Jesus is perfect. Are we perfect? NO. We sin! Jesus IS our perfection! And just because Jesus is our perfection and Jesus kept the law perfectly and remained completely sinless, doesn't mean we are not to follow the law. 

We seek forgiveness when we sin against the law- because remember- sin IS the breaking of the law. Tell me you don't need to seek forgiveness, and I'll tell you that you're a liar! We need to seek our Savior daily, and by daily I mean always- because salvation is in Him. He'll give us FORGIVENESS, but we have to recognize we NEED forgiveness and we can ONLY do that by recognizing there are laws we are breaking. And guess what? We do NOT get to pick and choose which laws we think are the ones to keep, God chose already and gave them to us! Jesus expounded on them, He didn't take one dot of an i or a cross of a t away from the laws, not one. They are there and we are told to KEEP THEM, not ignore them, not do away with them, not change them.  God's LOVE for us in in all those commandments! Loving Him and loving others, it's all there!

He did do away with the CEREMONIAL sacrificial laws because HE became the SACRIFICIAL LAMB. 

He did NOT do away with the royal law, the ten commandments, to say He did would mean to say He did away with our ability to sin and that we can't sin at all because there is no law we are held to keep. 

Right and wrong, the Bible doesn't hide the truth. The Bible calls ALL of us to a higher standard than Satan would have us attain. 

EVERY single one of us has sins we are partial to. EVERY single one of us has to overcome. There are NO favorites who aren't given any temptations to overcome. Each of us no MATTER our race, creed, orientation, beliefs etc whether genetic, learned, it doesn't matter, none of that matters. We are EACH called to obey God and that means SACRIFICING our self pursuits and it doesn’t matter WHAT those self pursuits are.  We label them saying that person has a harder road to walk, they have to give up so much more- but that's NOT true! To outward appearances it WILL seem that way, but it's not. Your burdens may seem miniscule to me, or mine to you, but they could be giants to me or to you. 

We are called to seek God's truth, ALL of God's truth no matter what that truth may be! When we turn our backs on the truth because it doesn't align with our pursuits, we will be held accountable for that. If we choose to call evil- good because it appears God got it all wrong and doesn't really mean all that stuff in His word, then we are accountable. If we choose our own version of what love should mean, and disobey God's, then yes, we are accountable.

We can love each other (we are all sinners) without loving the sin we commit. We can love each other without calling evil good.

The wicked will NOT accept this truth, the wicked will try to convince us that we are the evil wicked ones for not accepting their ways.

The wicked will be triumphant in the majority wooing those one might never think possible to believe their evil is good. They'll call it truly loving, when in truth it will be calling evil good and good evil. Love will have nothing to do with what they want from those who stand by truth. Submission, capitulation, yielding to evil under the guise of good is what Satan wants from all.

Can there be those who say we must hate those who are calling evil good? Yes, but we are not called to hate them, we are called to hate their evil. We are to love all as Jesus loved all, even those wicked who had Him crucified. He loved them, but that doesn't mean they are all going to be His in the day of judgment. He wept over corporate Jerusalem because they would not accept His love, because He loved them so much. He pronounced sentence on them, still loving them and wanting the individuals to come out from the corporate judgment. It was to the Jews that on the day of Pentecost the apostles preached to and many were converted.

God would call all of us out from the corporate Satanic world that exists today, the awful Babylon, and as God called out those before- there will be few compared to the many who truly want His love.

You can't twist the truth into something you want to follow, the truth must remain pure, straight, and very narrow. Beware of all the twisted truths that Satan has brought to life all around us. You'll want to grab hold and believe a twisted truth because it will seem very pleasing and as if it really is truth, deception- counterfeit- barely perceptible as a lie. Go to God's word for the truth, all of God's word as a coherent truth. 

Isa 8:20  To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.

Act 17:11  These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. 

2Ti 3:15  And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 

2Ti 3:16  All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 

2Ti 3:17  That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

Joh 5:39  Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. 

God help us all! Please, Lord, we would be YOURS, wholly Yours! We do not want to be blinded by the twisted truth Satan has seduced so many into believing! Help us to LOVE as YOU loved- You loved saving people from their sins, not condoning the sin. Help us LORD JESUS, help us, we believe! Help our unbelief!  Forgive us! Keep us!

Thank you, Lord! All glory, all honor, all praise to YOU! Now and forever! Amen!!!!!!!

Keep the Commandments of God, Not Man.

 Luk_4:16  And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.

Act 17:1  Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews

Act 17:2  And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures

Jesus had a custom, and that custom was to go into the synagogue on the SABBATH DAY.  

Years later, Paul, as his MANNER was - went into the synagogue THREE SABBATH DAYS.

Jesus kept the Sabbath the Jews kept, He was a Jew, born a Jew, raised a Jew, and He died a Jew. 

Paul, an Apostle of Jesus', was a Jew and the same was said for him, born, raised a Jew, and died…a Jewish Christ follower. 

Christ was the Messiah spoken of in the Scriptures (the Old Testament)…

Luk 18:31  Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished.

Luk 24:25  Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: 

Luk 24:26  Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? 

Luk 24:27  And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. 

Jesus was the Jewish Messiah- a longed for Messiah, a predicted Messiah. 

Luk 2:22  And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord; 

Luk 2:23  (As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;) 

Luk 2:24  And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons. 

Luk 2:25  And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him. 

Luk 2:26  And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ. 

Luk 2:27  And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law, 

Luk 2:28  Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said, 

Luk 2:29  Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: 

Luk 2:30  For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, 

Luk 2:31  Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; 

Luk 2:32  A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel. 

Luk 2:33  And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of him. 

Luk 2:34  And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against; 

Luk 2:35  (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. 

Luk 2:36  And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity; 

Luk 2:37  And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. 

Luk 2:38  And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem. 

The Jewish Messiah, Jesus. 

Jesus loved His people. Jesus came to save them! Jesus made Apostles of His people, every single Apostle was of Jewish descent. 

Jesus came to reveal to His people that the entire sacrificial system had been set up pointing to His coming. The prophets foretold the suffering of the Messiah, the Son of Man. The Messiah was to be the ultimate sacrifice and once His sacrificed was offered there would no longer be a need for the sacrificial system that had been put into place. The change being made was Jesus sacrificing Himself to save them, not the animal lamb brought constantly in which sins were placed. There was no longer going to be a need to sacrifice animals once Jesus was sacrificed. The Jewish leaders could not fathom anything changing the way they sacrificed in the temple. Their eyes were blinded to the truth in prophecy. 

Jesus came to show them a better way, a perfect way, and they wanted nothing to do with it. The leaders of Israel, of the Jewish faith turned their backs on the sacrifice of Jesus leading them into a new way of life, living without the temple sacrificial services.

The animal sacrifices existed for man to atone for his sin, it was an action of faith they committed to find forgiveness, and cleansing once a year. This whole sacrificial system was a huge part of the Jewish life, changing that was unheard of. Only past forced captivity kept any Jew from living out the sacrificial system. Once they were freed to the point of being able to return to Jerusalem and the temple was restored- it's services were restored. Even today there are many Jews waiting to initiate a return to the sacrificial system- they do not recognize Jesus as their Messiah as having done away with the need for the sacrificial system.

The Sabbath WAS not part of the sacrificial system. 

The Sabbath WAS given and first kept by God and Adam and Eve in the Garden after the six days of creation, God created the Sabbath. The Sabbath was in place before any sin was committed by Eve or Adam. 

The Sabbath was a weekly rest on a day made holy and blessed by God.

Jesus did NOT come to do away with the ten commandments. Jesus did not come to do away with the sin of murder, of stealing, of adultery, of coveting, of idol worshiping, of lying, of taking God's name in vain, of not putting God first, of not honoring our mothers and fathers, and He did not come to do away with the seventh day Sabbath.  

He made NO attempt whatsoever to change the day of the Sabbath, how could He, why would He, it was a day appointed at CREATION. Christ instituted the Lord's Supper to commemorate His life and death. He told us to do it OFTEN in REMEMBRANCE of HIM! He did not say to switch the Sabbath from the seventh day to the first day in remembrance of Him!  He gave a specific ceremony of remembrance, of celebrating His life and death. He also told us that being baptized would be us burying the old man in us, killing the old us and rising up out of the water into new life in Christ!  These are what He did and He didn't do them sneakily or subtly, so that it wouldn't be very plain for all to comprehend from His Holy Word. 

Paul continued on keeping the Sabbath - the day UNCHANGED. All the Apostles continued on that way, every single one of them. It was a commandment of those which not a single dot of an i or a cross of a t would be altered! It was the CHRIST FOLLOWER'S SABBATH, the CHRISTIAN SABBATH - it was something they ALL carried over from their lives, as being holy and unchanged by Jesus, and it wasn't called by them- the Jewish Sabbath, it was simply the Sabbath because that is what is was, is and always will be!  

History has proven that the change to the first day of the week as the supposed Christian sabbath did NOT occur until many years later under the dictate of man, NOT GOD. Remember--

Dan_7:25  And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws…

It happened! One of God's LAWS was changed! And still today the majority of Christians are DUPED into believing it's fine and of no consequence whatsoever because God is an understanding God and He knows the heart of His followers. They alter God to suit them and their holding fast to deceptions because that's how they've been raised and that's what the majority believes. 

Martin Luther - one of the founding fathers of the Reformation did what He did because He was able to read God's word for Himself, something the common person was not able or allowed to do. Once He read God's word for himself he couldn't comprehend why the church of his time, the papacy, did not adhere to God's word in many things. He was led by the Spirit to begin questioning the lies of man substituted for God's truth. Did he uncover all the deceptions, no, there were so many of them. 

God led people to His truth as time went on, and the Holy Spirit convicted them of all they needed to know to be His wholly without following any deceptions blindly.  This had to be done before our Savior would return, there had to be a people left for the Savior- following all truth, undeceived and able to stand firm in God when Jesus would stand up and announce the end of probation for all mankind. Those living when He does that will belong to Him and will be undeceived in all ways and holding fast to Him in all truth!

Rev 14:12  Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. 

They keep the commandments of GOD, not of man, and they have the faith of Jesus.

WAKE UP! Seek the Lord with all your heart!

Jer_29:13  And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

PLEASE, don't be among the deceived! Please… please!

May the Lord bless us and keep us in His truth, His way, His life always! All through the Lord our Savior, Jesus Christ now and forever!!!!!!! 

Amen!

(Excerpt)

Christ and the Pharisees -OR Christ's Faithfulness in Sabbath-Keeping.

BY A. T. JONES.

[Religious Liberty Library, No. 18]

[Cont.]

Here is another element which enters in now. The Pharisees took counsel with the Herodians. The Herodians were a sect of the Jews, who stood at the extreme opposite pole from Phariseeism. They derived their title-Herodians-from being the friends, the supporters, and the rigid partisans of Herod and his house in their rule over the nation of Israel. The Pharisees were the "godly" of the nation, especially in their own estimation. They held themselves to be the righteous ones of the nation, the ones who stood the closest to God, and therefore they stood farthest from Herod and from Rome. They despised Herod; they hated Rome. The Herodians were the political supporters of Herod, and consequently the friends of Rome and Roman power. Therefore as denominations, as sects, the Pharisees and the Herodians were just as far apart as they could be. Now Herod was the stranger that sat on the throne of Judah when the prophecy was fulfilled which Jacob had spoken: "The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be." Herod, a stranger, an Idumean, a heathen, was sitting on the throne of Judah and was lawgiver to Judah by direct appointment of Rome and the Roman Senate; and they all knew that the time was come when the Messiah should appear. For when  the wise men came to Jerusalem, and said, "Where is he that is born King of the Jews," Herod was troubled "and all Jerusalem with him." Why was Herod troubled and all Jerusalem with him when they heard that Christ was born?-Because they knew the time was come that he should be born. And therefore they called the scribes and inquired where Christ should be born, and they said, "In Bethlehem of Judea: for thus it is written by the prophet, And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel." Matt. 2:1-6; Micah 5:2. 

Herod was that stranger, and the Pharisees hated him and his family, because he was the one from the Gentiles, from the heathen, that was ruling over the house of God, More than that, they hated Rome, because it was Roman power that not only held them down, but that held up Herod.

By this it is seen also that these Herodians were a political sect,-they were a religious sect too, for that matter, but more political than religious. They were the partisans of Herod and his household, to sustain him among the people, to plead for him, to apologize for him, and set him in the most favorable light all the time; and also, as a consequence, they had to be friendly to Rome, and do the same thing for Rome, because Roman power sustained Herod. Now when the Pharisees saw that, Christ was not going to yield to their ideas of Sabbath-keeping, they, in order to carry out their purpose to kill him,-it was a far-reaching purpose,-joined themselves, not only to their sectarian enemies, but to these particular religio-political sectarian enemies, so that they could get hold upon Herod, arid at the last upon Pilate, so that they might have the government on their side, that they might have the civil power under their control, and thus make effectual their purpose to destroy Jesus. So they entered politics. 

At the last, Herod and Pilate were made friends over this very thing; the priests and the scribes and the Pharisees took Christ to Pilate, and Pilate sent him to Herod for Herod to judge him, and  he did. Then they took him again to Pilate, and they afterward under threats drove Pilate to judge him also. Now we can see the far-reaching purpose which the Pharisees had in this counseling with the Herodians. It was to get both Herod's and Rome's power in their hands, to carry out their determined purpose to kill Jesus because he would not yield to their ideas of the Sabbath, and give up God's ideas of the Sabbath.

That is why they joined the Herodians-they wanted political power, and political power, too, which they themselves despised, The Pharisees despised this political power; and were professedly separated from it, and infinitely above it. They despised Herod and hated Rome, but they hated Jesus more than they hated these. And in order to carry out their purpose against Jesus-which was as really against the Sabbath-they joined themselves to their extremist sectarian enemies, in order to get political power to carry out their wishes; because they could not carry out their wishes without political power. Well, we may as well carry along the parallel. Haven't we and all the people seen the same thing not only in our day, but within the last five years? Haven't we seen a people professedly and confessedly separated from political power-Protestants, pledged to a total separation from political power, and having nothing whatever to do with it-haven't we seen a professed Protestantism, in plain opposition to the Sabbath of the Lord, joined with politicians and with Rome herself, the chiefest political power on earth, and religio-political also? Haven't we seen this Protestantism taking counsel with Catholicism, to get possession of the civil power, in order to crush out of existence God's idea of the Sabbath, even the Sabbath of the Lord as he made it and as he has named it, and to set up man's, even the Sunday of the papacy, as the Catholic Church has appointed it? Then do we not need to consider Christ Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, in his faithfulness to Sabbath-keeping in such a time as that, when we live now in just such a time? 

This story of Jesus was written for us. It was written for the people who live in the United States and in the world to-day. Then let us see that we consider his faithfulness, and draw from him that faithfulness that will keep us as faithful to God's ideas of the Sabbath, as it kept him. And just here is another important point. The record says: "They were filled with madness; and communed one with another what they might do to Jesus. And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God." Luke 6:11, 12. 

While they were plotting, he was praying. While they were courting political power, he was praying for the power of God. While they were putting their dependence upon the power of man and earthly government, he was putting his sole dependence upon the God of heaven and earth. Let it be so now with us, and with all who would be like him.

(End Excerpt)

Shine

Let's say that you need light, you want light, in fact you want everyone around you to have light. When our electricity goes out, especially at night, we grab a flashlight and turn it on. If you're in a family setting and you have children you might hear them crying out because they are suddenly immersed in darkness and instantly scared by that fact. You call out to them that you'll be right there with a flashlight and sure enough as soon as they see the first glimmer of the light you're bringing to them they are reassured that they won't be left in the dark. While adults might not panic so much in the dark, there is still usually a few moments of disconcertment when our brains are telling us this isn't desired, we want light, but then we spring into action to get a source of light. When we get our light we don't hide it, do we? The only way we'd hide the light of our flashlight would be if we didn't want someone to know where we are, that we are in danger if they find out, or playing a game of sorts. We set our light positioned so that all who are near to us facing the electrical outage may benefit from that light. We want those of our household to have a source of light and lacking a flashlight for each of them, we will share ours.

Jesus tells us- that when we light a candle (no flashlights back then) we don't hide it but we light it and set it up so it can shine.

The analogy (parable) that Jesus was using in this case was to illustrate the spiritual light we are given by Him through the Holy Spirit. When we are given spiritual enlightenment we aren't given it solely for our own benefit, but the benefit of all we come in contact with. We share the spiritual light we have. And if you think you aren't a teacher, preacher, or such so you don't have to share your spiritual light, you're wrong. Your life will be your example of that light you have. Your spiritual calling may be to affect a single person in your lifetime with your light, not all are given ten talents and told to make them a hundred, you may have a single talent that you need to keep visible for the earnest of it to come from a single other person, not a hundred. Your life reflecting the light you are given, the love of Jesus and the message He gave to us to share will shine forth, must shine forth.

Luk 11:33  No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light. 

Dull of Hearing

Heb 5:11  Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing. 

When you have something you want to tell someone, something you consider important, and yet you know your target audience is not one to really listen to you, how does it make you feel?

Do you contemplate not talking at all, even though you really have something important to tell them? Do you preface your talk with exhortations to please, this time really listen? It's not easy trying to talk with someone who listens to you only superficially catching a few words here and there and then piecing together only part of what you've said thinking they understand it all. Watching eyes glaze over in that look which tells you their mind is elsewhere- is never pleasant. Watching the wheels turn in their brains, so to speak, you know they've already gone off thinking things on their own- maybe even things they now want to say, rather than continue to listen to you and what you're trying to convey.

There is every day conversation- bantering back and forth, talking about things that are in the long run non-consequential, and there is serious discussion on matters that might be life threatening. Also, let's not leave out the middle of the two, the conversations we have that are important to us but not life threatening.

When the person you talk to is dull of hearing, it's hard to speak to them, isn't it? And I don't mean dull in the sense of being deaf (though that makes it hard too.) I mean their ability to comprehend and really listen with the desire to understand you is dull, they just don't care enough to be attentive.

Isa 6:8  Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. 

Isa 6:9  And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. 

Isa 6:10  Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed. 

By going and preaching, prophesying as the Lord would have him, Isaiah knew in advance that the majority of people who would hear him speak would hear but not understand….they would see but not perceive. The listeners would have fat hearts, heavy ears, and closed eyes-  selfish hearts, no true comprehension, no desire to be enlightened.  IF they did have those things they would be converted from their lives of sin and ruin and be healed by God. Most people fall into the category of not wanting to hear, of stopping their ears and shutting their eyes, while their hearts are filled fat with their own lives not wanting anything to upset their way of believing, their way of living.

Just imagine for one single moment how significantly the Savior's three year ministry affected lives. Beliefs that had been in place for years and years, generation after generation, were challenged. The majority of those listeners of Jesus did not want their worlds changed, their beliefs altered, and they were among those yelling for Him to be crucified.

Today there is still a majority that would yell for His crucifixion rather than believe in His truths if He came and tried to open the eyes of the spiritually blind. He does come, and He does try, with the Holy Spirit in His place. And yet we know few will find the way.

God help us find the way.

Mat 13:15  For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. 

Mat 13:16  But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. 

Jesus' words from Isaiah applied to Him and His offered healing.

May our eyes see, and our ears hear and may we understand with our hearts.

Mar 8:17  And when Jesus knew it, he saith unto them, Why reason ye, because ye have no bread? perceive ye not yet, neither understand? have ye your heart yet hardened? 

Mar 8:18  Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not? and do ye not remember? 

PLEASE help us see, hear, understand and remember all that You would have us know, Lord!

Luk 24:25  Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: 

Luk 24:26  Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? 

PLEASE let our hearts NOT be slow, let us believe!

Lord we need the Holy Spirit! We need to buy of You - gold tried in the fire of faith. We need to be clothed with the white raiment of Your righteousness, we need the eye salve of comprehension, of understanding, of being able to see spiritually all You would have us see! Bless us, Lord, please, bless us and keep us in You and Your love and far from the evil that surrounds us on every side!

All in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, now and forever!!!!!!!