State of the Wicked Dead Pt 2

 State of the Wicked Dead Pt 2

The Rich Man and Lazarus

By J. N. Andrews

CONTINUED… 

(Please read the previous day's Pt 1 on this study before reading this one.)

The account of the rich man stands at the conclusion of a discourse made up of parables. 

Thus Luke 15 presents us with the parable of the lost sheep, the ten pieces of silver, and the prodigal son. The sixteenth chapter is made up of two parables; the unjust steward and the rich man and Lazarus. It is true that the account of the rich man and Lazarus is not called a parable by the sacred penman; but the fact is the same with respect to the two cases which precede this; and the three are introduced in the same manner: "A certain man had two sons;" "There was a certain rich man which had a steward;" "There was a certain rich man which was clothed in purple and fine linen."  

It is generally admitted that a parable cannot be made the foundation of any doctrine, or be used to disprove doctrines established by plain and literal testimony. But the doctrine of the present punishment of the wicked dead rests upon a SINGLE parable, and that parable the case of a SINGLE individual.  

The proper interpretation of any portion of the Sacred Record will show that it is in divine harmony with the general tenor and plain facts of the whole book.  

Three of the dead are here introduced - Abraham, Lazarus, and the rich man - and ALL are represented as in hades. "In hell [Greek, hades] he lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom." Luke 16:23. 

Hades is the place of all the dead, the righteous as well as the wicked.

Thus, at the resurrection of the just, they shout victory over death and hades, from whose power they are then delivered. "O Death, where is thy sting? O Grave [Greek, hades], where is thy victory?" 1 Cor. 15:55.

The wicked dead are in hades; for at the resurrection to damnation, hades delivers them up. Rev. 20:13. 

The resurrection of Christ did not leave his soul in hades; i.e., he then came forth from the place of the dead. Hades, therefore, is the COMMON receptacle of the dead. 

Those who are in hades are NOT alive, but dead. 

"DEATH and HADES delivered up the DEAD which were in them." Rev. 20:13.

Even the language of Abraham implies that all the party were then DEAD. To Dives,** he says, "Thou in thy lifetime [now passed] receivedst thy good things; but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented." Classing himself with dead Lazarus, he adds: "Between US and you there is a great gulf fixed." 

**((Note: Dives means Rich in Latin))

The rich man then begs that Lazarus may be sent to his brethren, declaring that if one went unto them from the dead, they would repent. And Abraham, denying his request, said that they would not be persuaded, though one rose from the dead."

This scene transpires in hades, the place of the dead; and those who act in it are three dead persons.  

A clue to the proper interpretation of this parable is found in verses 29 and 31: "They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. . . . If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead." 

This language directs the living to Moses and the prophets for instruction concerning man's condition in hades. In their testimony will be found adequate warning to the living wicked, and facts of great importance bearing upon the proper interpretation of this peculiar passage.  

The Old Testament was written in Hebrew, and the New Testament in Greek. Here an important fact is to be noticed: The Old Testament uses the word sheol to designate the place which in the New Testament is called hades. 

Thus the sixteenth Psalm, written in Hebrew, says, "Thou wilt not leave my soul in sheol." Verse 10. The New Testament, quoting this text, and expressing the words in Greek, says, "Thou wilt not leave my soul in hades." Acts 2:27. 

The Hebrew term sheol, as used in the Old Testament, is, therefore, the same in meaning with the Greek word hades as used in the New. In other words, the hades of Christ and the apostles is the sheol of Moses and the prophets. 

 

It is well here to observe that the Hebrew word sheol is used in the Old Testament sixty-five times. It is rendered grave thirty-one times. Gen. 37:35; 42:38; 44:29, 31; 1 Sam. 2:6; 1 Kings 2:6, 9; Job 7:9; 14:13; 17:13; 21:13; 24:19; Ps. 6:5; 30:3; 31:17; 49:14, 15; 88:3; 89:48; 141:7; Prov. 1:12; 30:16; Eccl.9:10; Cant. 8:6; Isa. 14:11; 38:10, 18; Eze. 31:15; Hosea 13:14. 

It is rendered pit three times, as follows: Num. 16:30, 33; Job 17:16.

It is also rendered hell in thirty-one instances, as follows: Deut. 32:22; 2 Sam. 22:6; Job 11:8; 26:6; Ps. 9:17; 16:10; 18:5; 55:15; 86:13; 116:3; 139:8; Prov. 5:5; 7:27; 9:18; 15:11, 24; 23:14; 27:20; Isa. 5:14; 14:9, 15; 28:15, 18; 57:9; Eze. 31:16, 17; 32:21, 27; Amos 9:2; Jonah 2:2; Hab. 2:5.  

Hades, the New-Testament term for the sheol of the Old Testament, is used eleven times, and in ten of these it is rendered hell: Matt. 11:23; 16:18; Luke 10:15; 16:23; Acts 2:27, 31; Rev. 1:18; 6:8; 20:13, 14.

It is once rendered grave: 1 Cor. 15:55.  

Moses and the prophets were indeed divinely inspired on every point concerning which they wrote; but on the point respecting which we seek light, they have the special endorsement of our Lord. We may therefore confide in their teachings concerning hades, or sheol, assured that the great facts revealed through them by the Spirit of God, will be found in divine harmony with the teachings of Christ and the apostles.  

The texts quoted above, relating to hades, or sheol, reveal to us many important facts. We learn that sheol is the common receptacle of the dead, whether they are righteous or wicked. Thus Jacob expressed his faith in what should be his state in death when he said, "I will go down into sheol unto my son mourning." Gen. 37:35; 42:38; 44:29, 31. Korah and his company went down into sheol. i * Num. 16:30, 33. Joab went down into sheol. 1 Kings 2:6, 9. Job was to be hid in sheol, and wait there till the resurrection. Job 14:13; 17:13. All the wicked go into sheol. Ps. 9:17; 31:17; 49:14. All mankind go there. Ps. 89:48; Eccl. 9:10.  

Sheol, or hades, receives the whole man at death. Jacob expected to go down with his gray hairs to sheol. Gen. 42:38. Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, went into sheol bodily. Num. 16:30, 33. The soul of the Saviour left sheol at his resurrection. Ps. 16:10; Acts 2:27, 31. The psalmist, being restored from dangerous sickness, testified that his soul was saved from going into sheol. Thus he says, "O Lord, my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me. O Lord, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave [Hebrew, sheol]: thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down into the pit." Ps. 30:2, 3; see also 86:13; Prov. 23:14. He also shows that all men must die, and that no man can deliver his soul from sheol. Ps. 89:48.  

The sorrows of hell, three times mentioned by the psalmist, are, as shown by the connection, the pangs which precede or lead to death. 2 Sam. 22:5-7; Ps. 18:4-6; 116:1-9. They are, in each case, experienced by the righteous. The cruelty of sheol is there power with which it swallows up all mankind. Cant. 8:6; Ps. 89:48.  

Those who go down to sheol must remain there till their resurrection. At the coming of Christ all the righteous are delivered from sheol. All the living wicked men are then "turned into sheol," and for one thousand years sheol holds all wicked men in its dread embrace. Then death and sheol, or hades, deliver up the wicked dead, and the judgment is executed upon them in the lake of fire. Compare Job 7:9, 10; 14:12-14; 17:13; 19:25-27; Rev. 20:4-6; 1 Cor. 15:51-55; Ps. 9:17; Rev. 20:11-15.  

To be continued…. PLEASE read all verses--- study! God help us all!

State of the Wicked Dead

 A study on the state of the wicked dead.

People are deceived- and the nature of deception itself is NOT realizing you are deceived. Jesus is our LIGHT to the truth. Jesus is the eye salve to cure our spiritual blindness. Our hearts can be cleansed, our spirits renewed. We dare not rest content with our current or traditional knowledge but ever seek truth, ever desire the wisdom only God can give to us, ever long for our hearts to desire the love of our Savior, and only HIS love.

With that in mind, let us undertake a study on the state of the wicked dead. Why should we do this? Why does it matter? Because truth matters, always. If something is found to be a deception, we have to reveal that deception with the truth. Today more people believe in their loved ones going straight to heaven upon their death, than don't. So what happens if this is true and their loved ones are deemed to be among the wicked dead? No, no one likes to believe that is possible, but it is. People believe, and I have firsthand experience with it throughout my life. They believe that the dead are living in heaven with Jesus and their other dead loved ones. Not only that, they believe those dead loved ones can give them signs of their presence on earth watching over them. I hope if you are one of those believers you will take the time to read the following over the course of the next four days, it's not super long and it's truth that will reveal a great deception. It matters. Get your Bibles (physically in book form or on your phone/tablet/computer) and study.

I'd rather follow truth than lies any day!

If we allow ourselves to be deceived by this great deception, what other deceptions will overtake us, or already have? Don't forget there will be a whole lot of people who think they are the Lord's that are not. Jesus said so Himself (Matt.7:22,23). He will tell those people to get away from him, he never knew them. Why didn't he know these professed followers of his? Because they abode not in the truth(John 8:44), and what is Jesus? The way, the TRUTH, and the life (John 14:6).

Don't be among the deceived, please! God help us all always to seek only His truth!

The Rich Man and Lazarus

By J. N. Andrews

ARE the wicked dead now being punished? This is a question of awful solemnity, and should not be treated as a matter of speculation and idle curiosity. For the greater part of mankind live in neglect of the great duties of religion, if not in open contempt of its most solemn commands. Such has ever been the fact with our fallen race. This vast throng of sinful men for long ages have been pouring through the gates of death, and its dark portals hide them from our further view. What is the condition of this innumerable multitude of impenitent dead? Where are they? and what now is their real state? 

 

To this question two answers are returned:

1. They are now suffering the torments of the damned. This is the answer of the so-called orthodox creeds. 

2. They are now sleeping in the dust of the earth, awaiting the resurrection to damnation. This answer is believed by many candid Bible students to be the harmonious teaching of the Scriptures on this subject. Which of these two answers is the true and proper one? 

There is no statement in the Bible relating to the wicked dead in general, where they are in any way represented as in a state or place of torment. Nor is there any instance in the Bible where men are threatened that they shall, if wicked, enter an abode of misery at death. Even the warning of Jesus, in Matt. 10:28, which is thought to contain the strongest proof of the soul's immortality that can be found in all the Bible, says not one word concerning the suffering of the soul in hades, the place of the dead, but relates wholly to what shall be inflicted upon "both soul and body in gehenna" (the Greek word here rendered hell), the place of punishment for the resurrected wicked.  

There being no general statement in the Bible representing the wicked dead as now in torment, and no instance in which the living wicked are threatened with consignment to the furnace of fire till after the Judgment, we now search out the particular cases which may be thought to teach such a fact. 

There are just two of these cases which may be cited to prove that some of the wicked dead are now in torment; and from these, if at all, the torment of the wicked dead in general must be deduced. These cases are the Sodomites; "set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire;" Jude 7; and the rich man lifting up his eyes in torment; Luke 16:19-31. These are the only cases that can be cited from the Scriptures in proof that the wicked dead are now undergoing the punishment of their sins. 

 

The case of the Sodomites first claims our attention. The text reads thus: "Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire." Jude 7. 

The PRESENT TENSE is used throughout the verse. It occurs twice in speaking of the sin of Sodom, and twice with reference to its punishment. This text does not teach that the men of Sodom are now engaged in the sinful acts referred to; why should it be understood to teach that they are now receiving their retribution? Does the apostle mean to say that the Sodomites are now in the flames of eternal fire? The clause, "suffering the vengeance of eternal fire," is modified by the words, "set forth for an example," which immediately precede it. In fact, the real meaning of the apostle in what he says of the sufferings of the Sodomites can only be determined by giving this phrase, "set forth for an example," its proper bearing. To be "set for an example," to wicked men, "suffering the vengeance of eternal fire," one of two things must be true: 

1. They must now be in a state of suffering in plain view of the inhabitants of the earth; or,

2. They must be somewhere in the Scriptures set forth in the very act of suffering the vengeance of fire from heaven. 

If the first of these views be correct, then the Sodomites are indeed now in torment. But that view is not correct; for the very place where Sodom was burned is now covered by the Dead Sea.  

That the second view is correct, is manifest from Gen. 19:24-28: "Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven; and he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground. But his [Lot's] wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. And Abraham got up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the Lord. And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace." 

 

Here the Sodomites are set forth for an example in the very act of suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. Are they to this day in that fire?

Peter bears testimony, and it is the more valuable in this case because the chapter containing it is almost an exact parallel to the epistle of Jude. Thus he says: "Turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah INTO ASHES condemned them with an overthrow, making them an example unto those that after should live ungodly." 2 Pet. 2:6. Peter thus shows that the fire did its proper office upon the men of Sodom, and that they were not in his day alive in its flames. Their case is an example of what God will do to all the wicked after the resurrection to damnation, when fire shall descend out of heaven upon them, and the whole earth become a lake of fire. Rev. 20; 2 Pet. 3; Mal. 4.  

The testimony of Jeremiah, which represents the punishment of Sodom as comparatively brief, must complete this evidence: "For the punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom, that was overthrown as in a moment, and no hands stayed on her." Lam. 4:6.  

The language of Jude concerning the Sodomites has, therefore, no relation to their condition in death, and cannot be made to furnish evidence that the wicked dead are now in a state of torment. There remains, therefore, the case of a single individual - the rich man - out of which to deduce the doctrine that the wicked dead are now in the lake of fire. This is certainly a fact worthy of note.  

TO BE CONTINUED….

Jesus and Satan Talk - Part 3 & An Arsenal of Scripture

 Satan and Jesus Talk  Pt 3 & An Arsenal of Scriptures

The last temptation Jesus faced in the wilderness, I say,  'in the wilderness' because Satan never stopped trying to tempt Jesus to sin. Satan presented every temptation known to mankind at its basest level to Jesus in the most powerful ways he could. 

Heb_4:15  For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

Did you read that? But was in ALL points tempted like as WE ARE, yet without sin! People say that Jesus didn't live with our modern temptations so He couldn't have been tempted like we are. Cyber porn wasn't around when Jesus was alive so He can't know that temptation. They didn't have designer drugs when Jesus walked the earth- so, He can't know their pain. Chocolate, they didn't have chocolate in Jerusalem in Jesus' day, so he was never tempted by chocolate like they are to gorge themselves on it. Jesus didn't have to drive in the traffic with crazy drivers, like I do. Jesus had a good mom and step-dad and didn't have to deal with obnoxious, abusive parents. People could go on and on listing temptations physically impossible for Jesus to face. They will say there are many more temptations now in our time than could ever have been in Jesus' day.  

The truth is, there are many temptations for specific things that didn't exist for Jesus to be tempted with. Yet Jesus was tempted in ALL POINTS like as we are. The core of every temptation is this…

Jas_1:14  But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.

Drawn away of his own lust… and lust means desires. We can lust after almost anything at all whatsoever. There are no restrictions on the kinds of things a person can lust after. Lust is a longing… and when we lust after things that are forbidden, that's when we get in trouble. 

Being drawn away of our OWN lusts. My lusts don't have to be yours and yours don't have to be mine. But I can understand when your lust tempts you, knowing the power of temptation's pull in a direction similar to yours.

So, tell me, what's forbidden about Jesus turning a stone into bread? Where's the possible forbidden longing there?  

Satan was tempting Jesus because He was very hungry, and he really needed to eat something. Eating isn't a forbidden lust in and of itself, especially when we have a justified hunger after a long fast. The wrong part of that temptation was Satan wanting Jesus to do something that God did not want Him to do at that moment. 

Jesus was instructed to go into the wilderness to fast. Had God told him that fast was over? Had God's will been completed? Satan wanted Jesus to ignore God's will.  Jesus' reply was -It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God…  And that served to show that God's will, which is found in His every word, is to be obeyed.

We are to die, rather than disobey God.  Foolish, you say? The many true martyrs of God, every Apostle and every true follower of God that ever laid down their life rather than renounce God and God's will in their lives, would beg to differ about it being foolish. Jesus, Himself died, rather than disobey the will of the Father, a will He agreed in all points on and had given to mankind along with the God.

So, yes, temptations are anything that will take us awaay from living God's will and into living our own will, or another's other than God's. 

Jesus was tempted in ALL POINTS like we are. And dare I say, probably tempted in ways we cannot imagine. Satan's buffeting Jesus to get Him to sin in order to end the threat of His power to destroy him, didn't end in the wilderness and we'd be fools to think it did.

The world couldn't contain the books if everything about Jesus were written down.

Joh_21:25  And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.

We have to believe that Satan tempted Jesus to sin in all points, all the ways mankind can be tempted to sin- tempted to choose their own wills, their own desires above God's. 

What is at the root of all our temptations could it be… porn, deviant sex in any way, gluttonous behavior, becoming a drunkard, addicted to drugs, addicted to power, to abusing others, pride, lying, and so many more temptations? At their root is the desire to serve self over serving God. 

This last temptation in the wilderness….

Mat 4:8  Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them

There's that word, 'again'. 

Once more the devil uses whatever means available to him to relocate Jesus from one place to another and takes him to a very high mountain. Upon this mountain, Satan uses another means available to him to show Jesus all the kingdoms in the world and how glorious they are. 

Just imagine Satan presenting kingdom after kingdom to Jesus, using the means at his disposal to do so. Today we'd say he gave a power point presentation, but Satan wasn't using a computer as we know computers, he was using powers given to angels, of which he was a former one.  How often throughout prophetic books are we told an angel showed visions of future things to a human being? Quite often. 

Mat 4:8  Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them

Mat 4:9  And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. 

So it's no wonder Satan can produce a vision of these kingdoms there upon that high mountain, revealing that even the high mountain itself was something Jesus could call His own AGAIN, if he'd just fall down and worship him. 

Did you catch that part I put in there-- 'AGAIN'?

Jesus could call the mountain His own again. I emphasized that because at one time the entire world belonged to mankind, (Jesus is a GOD-MAN so a part of mankind now). The world did NOT belong to a fallen angel. That didn't happen until Eve and Adam chose not to follow the Elohim's will.

God along with Christ, who would become Jesus, a God-man many years later, both as the Elohim created the heavens and the earth and all that in them is. They put man in a garden upon the earth, and gave the earth to mankind to tend, to be stewards over.  The earth belonged to man until they gave control of it to the serpent, the devil. 

There, on the mountaintop  Jesus was being shown all the wondrous kingdoms of the world that belonged to the devil, and the devil told him he would give them to Him. All Jesus had to do was fall down and worship him.  He was going to make it easy on Jesus. Jesus wouldn't have to fight for these kingdoms, they could by His for the very low price of a little bowing and worshipping.  Jesus wouldn't have to suffer in any way at all to get what he'd come for- the kingdoms of the world, and the people that filled them.

Never going to happen, no matter how tempting it might have been.  Remember THESE ARE TEMPTATIONS being given to Jesus.

Mat 4:10  Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. 

Jesus clearly had enough of Satan's nonsense, he tells him to go away and uses the written word of the Elohim once again to do so. 

Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God (Elohim) and him only shalt thou shalt thou serve. 

No one other than the Elohim would be worshipped! And because Jesus in His spirit form prior to Bethlehem was God with God, until One was declared Father and the other Son, they were both worshipped, both Gods. And that is why, Jesus in his God-man form can be worshipped without anyone being able to say it was unlawful to worship Jesus. Jesus in spirit form was God with God from everlasting to everlasting, He took on flesh but God, declared the Father, did not. Still Jesus was God in that flesh.

It is written that no man, not even the God-man could worship any other, so Jesus wasn't about to fall down and worship the first to cherish evil and fall to its insidiousness. He wasn't going to worship the fallen angel who once stood at the side of the throne in heaven next to Him. He wasn't going to worship the evil one, not ever. There was nothing the devil could offer Him that would take Him from the Father, they were one in agreement on always.

Mat 4:10  Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. 

Mat 4:11  Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.

Told to go away, the devil had no choice but to leave. He had no power there, no power over Jesus. Not the simplest act of sinning, nor the greatest act of sinning, nor any sin in between would ever be committed by Jesus. Try as Satan might to entice the God-man to let any temptation draw him away, he would never let lust be conceived in him, never. He never indulged a single temptation. If temptation came, Jesus met it head on with rejection using the written words of His own and the Father's. Jesus fought against the temptations each and every one. 

Jas 1:14  But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 

Jas 1:15  Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. 

We are presented with temptations all the time, and every time we are given a choice, just like Jesus was given a choice. God help us to choose rightly, help us to choose HIM over the devil, choose God's will over Satan's. 

My sister tells Satan to go away, all the time, verbally-- maybe it's something all of us should do more often, in fact every time we recognize a temptation, tell him to go away and yes… quote a scripture! 

We should have an arsenal of scriptures at our fingertips. And NO, I'm not telling you to go memorize the Bible, but wouldn't that be amazing if we could. Most people have one electronic device or another at their fingertips nowadays that they could look up a Bible Verse very quickly. If you can't pull one from memory to combat Satan, then pull one up off your phone or tablet, or whatever device you have readily available. Or, if you're very old school, then take a Bible with you everywhere you go! Yes, I'm serious! We don't know when temptation is going to hit us. 

Again, we need to have an arsenal of scriptures, after all, the scriptures of the Word of God and the Sword of the Word of God is a very important part of the armor God's people are to have.  

In a battle a sword alone is not as effective as a sword with a shield, a sword to wound another and a shield to keep from being injured. That shield of faith goes hand in hand for us Christian soldiers, we need them both, along with all the armor upon our bodies.

God help us all to utilize all that God has given to us to fight in the battle against Satan, that old serpent, the devil. He and his minions will attack us to end. Our God is greater than Satan. Jesus defeated Satan for us and give us all we need to use the weapons he's provided for us as we live in this awful place, forever looking for a city which whose builder and maker is GOD.

Heb_11:10  For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

Heb 11:16  But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.

AMEN!

Satan and Jesus Talk Pt. 2

 

Continued from yesterday…

        We are talking about Jesus and the Devil speaking to each other. Do not forget this truth. Do not ignore this truth. Do not regulate it to a story that is unimportant in the grand scheme of things. 

        The battle between God and Evil is on center stage in this encounter.  Yes, I said 'God' not 'good and evil' because God is love and it really is a battle between 'love and evil', not just good.  This battle between God and Evil is portrayed here in reality as Jesus- the only ever God-man, and the Devil, the Father of Lies, Satan himself - talk with each other and it is something we need to study.

        Yesterday I expounded on the first words Satan spoke to Jesus in the wilderness tempting him to sin...  and Jesus' response. Today I pick up with the second temptation.

        Mat 4:5  Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple…

        Stop. Let's examine this closely. 'Then the devil took Jesus…' 

        Now, I've seen this scene portrayed in movies and usually it's in some fantasy style of invisibility and flying, or instantaneous transporting of the two but unseen to all, not real flesh and blood on Jesus' part. 

        How Satan 'took' Jesus to Jerusalem and put him on the uppermost part of the temple, I don't know. No person knows, we can only speculate. Are those movie depictions true? I don't know, they could be. 

        The facts of the matter are … Jesus allowed himself to be taken. Satan exerted power over Jesus's location. The Devil was able to take the God-man all the way from the wilderness to the temple mount in Jerusalem. Did it have to be instantaneous transportation? It sure sounds like it. Perhaps God allowed the Devil to use his spirit powers (former angel remember) to supernaturally whisk him away.  

        Remember we serve a God who parted a sea, a God who unleashed a worldwide flood, a God who had manna (food) rain down from heaven, a God who created mankind from the dust of the ground, a God who took flesh and blood Elijah physically up into heaven so that he was seen by another ascending. Spirit power is real. Angels have powers, and therefore demons have powers. Satan has power to wield as allowed by God and this time he was allowed to take Jesus to Jerusalem supernaturally with that power. They didn't walk there, it didn't take days and days for them to get there- they were there.

        Jesus standing upon the highest point of the temple with the Devil and he hears the next temptation- 

        Mat 4:6  …And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God

        Here we go again, Satan questioning Jesus' Sonship to God. 

        Have you ever done that? Maybe not. It's more likely you may have questioned God's authority. Do you recall ever uttering the words, "If you're real God…" 

        I personally have known people who have outright told me they do not believe in God, end of story. There was no arguing with them. They once believed God, they were raised to believe God, and yet after a string of hardships and a slew of prayers that went completely unanswered in the way they wanted them to be, they determined based on God's inactivity on their behalf that he didn't even exist. A lot of people witness horrors and choose not to believe in a God that allows that and therefore they don't believe in God's Son's existence. Then there are many people who believe in a God, but don't believe he ever had a son.  

        Satan questioning Jesus' sonship isn't all that surprising. He was going to great lengths to coerce Jesus into revealing whether or not He was God's son. If he were then he'd have no problem at all proving it by doing the things he said. 

        Put to the test aren't people supposed to prove their claims? If I claimed to be a long jumper and someone asked me to prove it by jumping, shouldn't I do it to prove it to them?  I should if I cared, or if it mattered whether or not they believed me. If I didn't care what they thought of me, believed of me, then their going away calling me a liar, and not believing in me wouldn't matter. 

        Jesus knew that Satan was trying to goad him into selfishly proving himself. 

       We don't have to prove to anyone, not a single person our beliefs by doing things they tell us will prove to them we are speaking truth.  Our beliefs have to go far beyond a selfish desire to look good in an unbeliever's eyes. 

        However…

        1Pe_3:15  But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear

        We are to give an answer for the hope that is in us to those who ask. 

        Was Satan asking Jesus the reason for his hope? No. 

        Satan wanted to trip Jesus up by turning his mind upon proving himself, exalting himself, defending himself. Jesus wasn't about to do that…  his defense was God's word alone, not in anything he could do. 

        Satan said…

        '… cast thyself down'

        Jump. He told Jesus to jump from the highest point of the temple to the ground far below. Jump. Commit an act that would instantly kill a man, but if you're not just a man, but a God-man, then jump you won't die. God will protect you if you are really his son. In fact if you don't have the power to protect yourself then your Father will use his angels to carry you so that you don't even stub a toe against a single stone in the pavement below. Go on… do it. Prove that you are who you are claiming to be. 

        '…for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.'

       Did you see that! Did you catch that?! Satan used… 'IT IS WRITTEN'!

       Where is it written? In the Scriptures-  

        Psa 91:11  For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. 

        Psa 91:12  They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. 

       Now, before we get all ouuu and ahhhh, Satan knows Scripture, yes, he can use Scripture when it suits him, but he never uses it in the power of God. Many people, many, many, many people warp God's words to make it say what they want it to say, they don't study meanings of words, they don't comparing scripture with scripture, they do not have the Holy Spirit guiding them. They add things, they take away things, they pervert God's holy words. Satan is doing that here.

        Compare verses from God's word, to Satan's version of God's word.

        Satan said...  Matt. 4:6 '…for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.'

         God says… Psa 91:11  For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. 

         Psa 91:12  They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. 

        He shall give his angels charge over (Satan says- concerning) thee. ( Satan omits completely the following words- TO KEEP THEE IN ALL THY WAYS).  In their hands they shall bear thee up (Satan says- they shall bear thee up in their hands) lest thou dash thy foot against a stone (Satan says- lest at any time thou dash they foot against a stone.)

        Does he REALLY think Jesus doesn't know God's exact words?  And why did Satan leave out altogether- 'to keep thee in all thy ways'?  Those words would have reinforced that God was going to protect in everything. Perhaps Satan didn't want that on the table, he just wanted Jesus to hear that he wouldn't let his foot be dashed on a stone as they stared down at the stones of the temple floor below.  Satan was trying to manipulate God's word as so many today do. He also said, 'lest at any time' God's word says, 'lest thou dash thy foot….'  God's word doesn't say- 'at any time' implying that God would never ever let Jesus' foot be dashed against a stone. Implying that Jesus could safely jump and not get hurt at all whatsoever, and he could do it as often as he wanted to because God would protect him all the time.

        Just saying the words - It is written, doesn't mean Satan or anyone is quoting scripture rightly. We have to take what ANYONE tells us is Scripture and STUDY it, and by studying, I don't mean simply reading it and leaving it there. You take things in context, you take things by comparing them with others of the same thing throughout the Bible, you study. you rightly divide the word of truth-

2Ti_2:15  Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

       'Rightly dividing the word of truth' that definitely tells us we are to study deeply. We truly do not want to be ashamed with it comes to our Bible Study. We are studying… 'to shew thyself approved unto God'.

2Ti 2:15  Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 

        Returning to our study- Jesus replies to Satan-  

        Mat 4:7  Jesus said unto him, It is written again..

        Jesus didn't jump because Satan misquoted Scripture. Jesus spoke to the Devil yet again. 

        Jesus told him … IT IS WRITTEN… AGAIN….  Jesus used the word 'again'.   The first time Jesus said, It is written, producing the sword of the Spirit of the Word of God to use against the enemy. The second time Jesus said… it is written AGAIN. Jesus wielded that spiritual sword of God's word once more. He didn't come up with a new method of putting the Devil off, to prove to him that he should just leave him alone. He used the same method as the first time he was tempted by Satan. If you didn't think the first It is written was powerful enough to dissuade Satan, what about the second, It is written?

        '…Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.'

        Wasn't that what Satan was doing? Tempting God? Saying God will save Jesus, and Jesus had to prove that he would.  Prove to me these things. Prove to me you are God's son for real. Show me. Prove yourself.

        Jesus simply says, as he stands there upon the highest temple point - 'You shouldn't tempt the Lord thy God.'  

        He's telling him, you should know better than to try and get God to do your will. We are to do God's will, not the other way around.  

        Telling God that He should do what we want, saying our prayers and becoming furious when God doesn't answer them the way we want him to, is telling God we don't want his will to be done, we want ours to be done.  

        Satan wanted his will to be done as he tempted Jesus. You don't prove God is God by putting him to the test, that's not how God reveals his love to us. 

       Again, God offers us ETERNITY, while we grovel here in the temporary refusing to accept the sufferings of this temporary time, blinding our eyes to time eternal.

        God help us all! 

       To be continued.

Christ In Me- My Hope!

         I deserve eternal death. You know, the second death, the permanent death that will make me non-existent eternally, such as I never existed at all. Yes, that's the death I deserve. Why? Because I'm such a sinful human being. I am. People see me, know me and think I'm not a filthy, disgusting sinner. I am. People have even said to me that 'God likes me', that I have an 'in with God'. I've been told by people they look up to me as the example of someone who loves and lives for God. 

          But I'm a filthy, disgusting, awful sinner! I am! And nothing anyone would ever tell me would make me believe differently. I'm going to even say, I'm the chief of all sinners, who else claimed such a title? 

          1Ti 1:15  This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. 

          Paul. But even Paul claimed he sinned out of unbelief. I'm even more of a sinner than Paul because I've believed in Jesus Christ as my Savior for many, many years, and most of those years are filled with grievous sins.

          I deserve to die eternally and nothing will ever change that fact.

          Read the following verses about being filthy, such as I am…

Job_15:16  How much more abominable and filthy is man, which drinketh iniquity like water?

Psa_14:3  They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

Psa_53:3  Every one of them is gone back: they are altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

Isa_64:6  But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags…

Zec_3:3  Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel.

Zec_3:4  And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment.

Col_3:8  But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.

Rev_22:11  He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.

          I'm filthy. Believe it or not, I am.  My sins are too numerous to count, my shame greater than any can imagine. I'm covered in filthy rags of unrighteousness.

           1Jn 1:8  If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 

           We are all sinners deserving of eternal death. 

           We ask ourselves how can a murderer be forgiven? It angers some people when they hear a murderer can be saved from eternal death. We equate murder as one of the most vile sins in existence, as if there is a ranking system.  1. Murder  2. Adultery… wait, society has accepted that one so it's been moved down a few ranks. 2. Hurting children Mat_18:6  

           Let's stop there at those  2 despicable sins.  Everything inside us screams, no they don't deserve eternal life, not after what they did! How can the worst of the sinners get eternal life just like the least of the sinners? 

            How can I say I'm the worst sinner if I've never murdered anyone? If wishing someone were dead, sadly, I am guilty.  Some people might laugh and say a lot of people will be guilty as murderers if just wishing it were a sin. They'd be right. A lot of people are guilty. 

            There are sins of such atrocities I can't even write them down. And there are sins which are common to us, so much so we take it for granted that everyone lies (white lies included), everyone covets their neighbors goods, a lot of people commit adultery and if you're using this list to check off the ones you haven't committed, let me remind you that Jesus Himself said if you so much as LOOK upon another to LUST after them in your thoughts… guess what? You're guilty of adultery. So, just because you haven't physically consummated the act of adultery, you're just as guilty.  When we see someone in need and refuse to help them…  guilty.  Those uncharitable thoughts you keep to yourself about even strangers…guilty.

    Sins fill our lives and we are ALL deserving of eternal death.

To say we don't deserve to die eternally is to make God a liar.

            There is no good thing in us--

            Psa_53:3  … there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

           The most disgusting sinner is worthy of eternal death and so is the least of all sinners whoever that may be.

            I am no BETTER than a single other person in existence. We all wear filthy rags equally. 

            What I do know is that if I confess my sins that Jesus is faithful and just to forgive me my sin.  And guess what, I'm sad to say, I sin daily. It's a constant war, a never ending battle to love God and love others, and to give up the idol that is me, of putting myself first. It's a war against principalities and powers, and wickedness in high place. It's fighting against the devil because he's going about like a roaring lion seeking to devour me. It's the uncharitable thought, it's the sins of the past that the devil brings back up to my remembrance, it's that heavy guilt of failure to be as God would have me be, and the war against despairing of my deserving eternal death. 

              I do deserve it! But …

             CHRIST DIED FOR ME SO I DON'T HAVE TO DIE THAT ETERNAL DEATH I DESERVE. 

             Christ let himself be tortured and hung on a cross in MY PLACE!

             If I but confess my sins… HE IS FAITHFUL AND JUST TO FORGIVE ME MY SINS AND HE WILL CLEANSE ME FROM ALL UNRIGHTEOUSNESS. 

             All of us sinners, from what we imagine is the worst of sinners to the least of sinners, must do this… confess to JESUS! 

            Confess your sins daily, hourly, minutely whenever you recognize the sin in yourself confess it! Recognize your desperate need of a SAVIOR all the time! 

             I don't want people who know me to think I'm anything but a forgiven sinner, because that is ALL I am! Christ is everything, and if anything at all whatsoever seems to be good in me, it's NOT by anything I have done at all, it's not ME, but Christ in me my hope of glory!

Col 1:27  To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory

1Jn_1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Psa 32:5  I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin…

Rom 7:24  O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the     body of this death? Rom 7:25  I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord

Rom_10:9  That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

Eph 2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 

Eph 2:9  Not of works, lest any man should boast. 

Eph 2:10  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. 

Jesus and Satan Talk

 IT IS WRITTEN. Jesus and Satan spoke with each other. We don't consider this fact enough. Jesus as a man, as God with us, as the only  God-man to exist, spoke to Satan, his adversary, in person here upon earth.

There is a place upon our world where Satan spoke with Jesus. It's a wilderness place.  

Jesus was led to the place he was to meet with Satan, led by the Holy Spirit.

So let's picture this in our mind's eye.  Jesus walking, being led where to go by the Holy Spirit and makes his way into a desert, a desolate place where he's alone, the only human being there.  In that place he waits- and while waiting he doesn't eat anything for 40 days. 

As a human, a divine Spirit in a human body with all its frailties, he doesn't eat. He feels hunger just as you or I would feel hunger. We know a person can go without food for up to 70 days or more as long as they are drinking water, so it's doable. Humans have suffered from starvation throughout time. They can become walking skeletons, skin and bones, and still live. Not forever of course but for a long while.

Jesus after not eating for 40 days, like any human being would be, was hungry. Was he hungry before those 40 days were up? Yes, he had to be, most likely it started an hour or so after his usual mealtime- you know what I mean. 

 Jesus was left alone in the wilderness those 40 days, but not under direct attack from Satan.  Those 40 days were probably spent deep in prayer if I had to venture a guess.

I've seen a show called, 'Alone', and it's about people who get dropped off in the wilderness and must survive off the land, yes, they eat. The point I want to make is a lot of those people who stay there get very, very lonely and quite quickly. Some even drop out from sheer loneliness.  You might think 40 days by yourself would be a good thing, but the conditions in which you are allowed to spend those 40 days alone would matter a great deal. 

Jesus had no creature comforts. Jesus had no other person to talk to. Jesus was in a barren land where he couldn't have eaten if he wanted to, there was no food in this place he was at. Rocky, sandy, a barren place.

I'm not saying that no one else in existence could survive the conditions and circumstances he went through, I'm sure there have been people who've done it, just to prove they can.  I'm just saying it had to be very, very difficult for them, and for Jesus. 

Jesus wasn't sitting in a tent being fanned by a servant, his feet up, laying upon a soft pillowed bed for 40 days. It was a great hardship for him and if you don't think it was because he was the God-man, then you miss the reality of Him altogether. 

At this very weak point in his humanity he was in rough shape- it was then that Satan was allowed to tempt him face to face.

REALITY PEOPLE. Wake up! Satan is real!

Jesus talked with him! Jesus in talking to him resisted the temptations put forth by Satan.

The thing we overlook, as if this was just another Jesus story… is the reality of it. Maybe we overlook it because we don't have a clear picture of Satan's appearance. I've seen several shows that depict him in many different ways and why is that? Because Satan is a spirit being, a fallen angel, and angels were created spirit beings. We also know that angels can appear as human beings. Satan also possessed a Serpent before it was changed into a form of a snake. So, yes, it might be hard to imagine exactly what Satan chose to look like when he tempted Jesus in the wilderness. Do it anyway. Create whatever version of Satan you desire and picture him there with Jesus.

Now, we aren't quite sure exactly how much Jesus remembers about his own existence before he was conceived in his mother's womb. We simply don't have all the answers. One thing we do know, 12 years old Jesus knew God, who had been declared his Father by a decree.  No other boy, or man for that matter, went around calling the Almighty God, Father. People got upset later on in Jesus' ministry over his claiming the Almighty God as his father. 

Why am I bringing this up? Because I suspect Jesus knew exactly who Satan was when he appeared to him in the wilderness. He knew him of old, he knew him from his turning from God to evil. He knew Satan before evil consumed him. Satan appeared there- face to face, evil angel in front of God-man. 

Satan opened his mouth first. Jesus didn't challenge Satan, Satan challenged Jesus, right here on earth, somewhere over where the Judean Desert is located today.  Let's read it-

Mat 4:3  And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. 

Right away Satan challenges Jesus' reality as the God-man- as being God's son by decree.  

If thou be… if you are the Son of God… then you should be able to do things that ordinary human beings can't do. You should be special. You should have powers no other human has. To me you are just another human being pretending to be something you aren't, pretending to be the Messiah just like so many others before you have done.  All that was IMPLIED in the words- If thou be, wasn't it? If you are who you claim you are, who John just said was the Lamb of God… then prove it. I'm not asking you to do anything all that hard- just this simple trick… just take these hard stones, something you can never eat, and turn it into simple bread- nothing fancy, no cake, not even meat, or a vegetable, just make bread. 

Can you just imagine Satan's thoughts in that moment. Face to face with the Seed promised to destroy him. If he could get the so-called Messiah to flaunt his power, well, he couldn't be the Messiah. 

Prove to me you are God's son! Prove it! Listen to me, do as I say! It'll settle the matter once and for all, and I'll believe you are who you say you are, but not really… I'm a liar.

Satan is assuming Jesus would care if he believed who he was. Why would Jesus care if Satan believed he was God's Son?  Why would he care if the father of all lies, all deception, all evil, believed in him? It didn't matter a single bit in any way, shape or form if Satan believed in him as a God-man. It would alter nothing. He wasn't there for Satan.  Jesus answered Satan any way instead of just ignoring him because he was going to reveal to us a tool to use against Satan's temptations.

Mat 4:4  But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. 

IT IS WRITTEN.   Jesus, the God-man quoted SCRIPTURE at Satan. 

Sure, he could feed himself by turning those stones into bread, but he didn't need to. He wasn't starving to death, and even if he were, He lived at God's will. His breath of life was in God's hands. There was no reason to feed himself by supernatural means, he was being sustained by God. We don't live by bread alone, none of us do. We live because God wills it to be so.  Let's take a look at the Scriptures Jesus was talking about when he said-- IT IS WRITTEN-

Deu 8:2  And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no. 

Deu 8:3  And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.

God was proving the children of Israel that he'd rescued from Egyptian slavery. God wanted to know if they would keep His commandments or not. He was humbling the people, letting them suffer and then He fed them. HE FED THEM. They would have all starved to death in the wilderness if He hadn't provided for them. He wanted the people to trust HIM that He wouldn't let them starve,  He would take care of them - IF they would keep His Royal Law, the Ten Commandments.   Why do I say that? Who else fasted for 40 days and nights, and when did he fast?

Exo 34:27  And the LORD said unto Moses, Write thou these words: for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel. 

Exo 34:28  And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments

God sustained Moses when he was given the Ten Commandments the second time, for 40 days and 40 nights.

God took care of Him. Moses trusted God. God's word sustains us for ETERNITY. Temporary food satisfies a hunger now, it satisfies us in our temporary existence, but God's words give us eternal life, promises us we'll eat from the Tree of Life! Which is more important? 

Satan wants us focused on the TEMPORAL. We need to remember that, it's so easy for us to forget that, so easy. 

Enough for now… prayerfully, more tomorrow on this. All glory, praise and honor to God now and forever! In Jesus Christ's blessed and holy name!

Seventy Times Seven

 

There are a lot of professed Christians in our world who have given Christian's a bad name, a really bad name, a name so bad people detest all things Christian because of them. 

People are choosing not to be called Christians because they don't want the association with the masses of 'Christians' who are saying the words they speak come from God, from Jesus, when they don't.

I told someone recently that I understood when they said they don't want the label 'Christian' even though they love Jesus.

I really, really understand.

I also told them they can love Jesus and not be called a Christian. 

The word Christian means--- follower of Christ. 

I'm a follower of Christ, so many 'Christian's' today are not.

We've come to a place in time where there are so many hypocritical Christians, that they are turning people away from Christ, as if they had horns and were carrying a pitchfork. They are exhibiting Satan's attributes more readily than an actual self-declared Satan follower. I'm not lying. I'm not making this up. I've had firsthand experience with the disgust of those who see the un-Christlike actions of many, many so-called Christians.

These 'Christians' are deluded, they are deceived, they believe their own lies as if they are truth. We are warned about these people but we never thought they'd be called 'Christians'. 

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. 

Many 'Christians' are completely convinced they are Christ's true followers. They are allowed STRONG DELUSIONS so they will believe lies.

Loving your enemies doesn't mean forcing them to believe as you do. Loving your enemies doesn't mean doing things they despise for their own good. 

Show me ONE instance of Jesus forcing a single person to follow him, to believe him, to love him. 

Jesus didn't do a single thing to coerce followers his way, for their own good.

When spreading the gospel the disciples were told if someone didn't want it, to leave them, to go away. 

You can hate sin. You're supposed to hate sin. You are not supposed to hate the sinner, not ever. 

There are such hate-filled 'Christians' today it's sickening.

We are individually accountable to God, not collectively.

We answer to God for ourselves, not others.

When Jesus helped the adulteress, he told her to sin no more- leaving it up to her not to sin again. He even redefined what adultery meant- making it harder for those fantasizing about adultery to get away with their sin. They didn't even have to physically do the act of adultery to be guilty, they just had to indulge it in their minds.  So when he helped the adulteress he wasn't sending the message that adultery was okay now, not at all.

Treating all people as God's children and leaving God to judge their eternal life, leaving vengeance with God, this is what we are to do. 

The worst blatant sinner you know right now living in the worst of sins, is a child of God's who has the potential to belong to Christ Jesus.  If you treat that person with hate, who are you revealing to them but Satan. 

No, I'm not advocating hanging out with blatant sinners, I don't want you to make a group of devil worshipers your new best friends. Just don't hate on them, love them with the love of Jesus whose HEART BROKE for the sinners that refused His salvation.  He may have said harsh things to the Jewish leaders of his day, but he wept over them when they refused him.  And he didn't tell a single disciple to go scream at people.

God will sort out all those that don't belong to Him, that's not our job.   

Bringing truth, only truth to those who desire to hear it, that is what you do. If they don't like the truth, that's between them and God. Wipe the dust off your feet and keep on walking. And that doesn't mean turning your back on anyone if they have a need you can help with. Just because someone has rejected the truth, doesn't mean you let them starve when you have food. 

Mat_5:44  But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you

Mat 7:22  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 

Mat 7:23  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. 

Mat 18:21  Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? 

Mat 18:22  Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven. 

Endlessly. 

 

How can you forgive endlessly if you are busy hating those whose very existence you believe to be a sin against you?