The Apostate, chapter 1
To: In residence Churches of God, His 9tn month, Keslev 25, 5,781. 12/11/2020.
Something to consider regarding God’s planning. Jesus inspired His apostle Matthew to write; (Matt 1:17; So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to Christ, fourteen generations.) 3 x 14= 42; generations and is linking to Daniel 9:24, ‘70 weeks of years is 490 years,’ this commonly places a biblical generation at 35 years. (42 x 35=1,470 years from Abraham to Jesus; so, seemingly other events are linked to generations.
Assuming the 7 day week represents 7 thousand years, Peter writes. (2Peter 3:8; Now, dear friends, do not let this one thing escape your notice, that a single day is like a thousand years with the Lord and a thousand years are like a single day.)Thus it’s likely that 6 thousand years are planned to allow mankind go the way that seems right, then Jesus’ millennia reign. Jesus inspired His apostle Paul write.
(Rom 3:1-5; Therefore what advantage does the Jew have, or what is the value of circumcision? Actually, there are many advantages. First of all, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God. What then? If some did not believe, does their unbelief nullify the faithfulness of God? Absolutely not! Let God be proven true, and every human being shown up as a liar, just as it is written: “so that you will be justified in your words and will prevail when you are judged.” But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say? The God who inflicts wrath is not unrighteous, is He? (I am speaking in human terms.)
If the Judean calendar is correct, 219 years remain until Jesus’ planned return, but for the Elect’s sake time is to be shortened. See Matt 24:22. Additionally Jesus said; (Matt 24:24-25; For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the Elect. Remember, I have told you ahead of time.)
Jesus is prophesying that before His return the whole world will be deceived similar to before the flood and likened to Sodom and Gomorra. All these things are parts of Jesus’ good news explained by Him, His prophets and apostles.
Where’s the world going wrong?
Worshiping in denominational meetings and believing without proving, is faith in people who founded them. Truth seekers should look to God. At Romans 3.Jesus is teaching the spiritual significance through Paul; ‘there’s an advantage to circumcision,’ (circumcision always looked forward to a circumcision of the heart.) God has entrusted the Jews with His oracles of faith. (Oracles include His calendar, commandments, caring for the land etc.) Judaism like no other people have held to God’s oracles, commandments, calendar and annual Sabbaths, which is a main reason they’ve been persecuted all these years. Many Jews don’t believe in Jesus, but that don’t nullify their God given responsibility. They like all worldly religions are part of the apostate Jude wrote about and we studied last time.
So, let’s review the scriptural definition of apostasy? (a) Deciding for oneself, what’s right, wrong, good and evil. (b) Attempting to mix old pagan practices with God’s truth; ‘like those of old Babylon, Egypt and the nations whose lands God took and gave Israel. (c) Any twisting of God’s Holy Word.
Within forty years after Jesus’ ascension, His apostles were defending God’s Truth on several fronts. (1) From those desiring to make merchandise of God’s people by use of their credentials. (2) Teaching a methodology doctrine; ‘anyone can practice and choose to be saved at will.’ (3) Supporting the pagan philosophy that everyone has a soul that’ll live forever someplace, ‘in preference to God’s truth that eternal life is gifted through being called to believe in Jesus’ sacrificial shed blood and the resurrections. (4) Teaching people are made to serve the law in preference to God’s law made for people’s good and not people for the law. (Example, Jesus said; ‘The Sabbath is made for people, not people for the Sabbath; for this reason the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.’ See Mark 2:27.
Pharisee, Judaism and pagan mentalities have invaded God’s church, and hasn’t change much, from when Jesus was ridiculed for healing on a Sabbath. (John 5:9)
The apostasy basically spring from two fronts, Judaism’s erroneous teaching God’s law and non-Israelite groups desiring to mix pagan practices.
God’s gifted spirit in Jude compelled him to write about these apostasies.
Blood brothers Jude, James and half brothers to Jesus’ were converted to a belief IN Him as the Son of God and Savior after His ascension. Seemingly Jude wrote about 66 to 69 A.D. His intent was to write about followers of Jesus’ common salvation, but the Holy Spirit compelled him to write about the ongoing apostasy already taking place. Each apostle referred to the apostasy in various terminologies, each taught the Saints to hold fast to The Truth that had been presented to them.
The apostate’s historical evidence is all about us as people make God fit their individual ideas. (The apostasies have been used by Satan to divide denominational groups as foretold by Jesus, His prophets and apostles.) In this so called knowledgeable age; ‘the history and foundational beginnings of groups and customs can be quickly traced with a Google search. The question; how much worse will it get before Jesus’ return? Simply put; ‘apostate is lawlessness toward God‘s Way, His View and His definition of sin. A result is that people’s natural love grows cold when they yield to the demonic and their own fleshly imaginations. Another result is that His people are hated for practicing Jesus’ commandments.
(Matthew 24:9-14; Then they will hand you over to be persecuted and will kill you. You will be hated by all the nations because of My name. Then many will be led into sin, people will betray one another and hate one another, many false prophets will appear and deceive many because lawlessness will increase so much, the love of many will grow cold. But the person who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole inhabited earth as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.)
Particularly in the USA and so called western democracies; people’s hatred expands to political differences as well as religious. But Jesus’ good news about His reign on earth is going out. His two witnesses will get the attention of the world in their time. (Study Revelations 11:)
Some Protestant religions teach that Christians will be raptured -‘taken up’ and escape coming persecutions and plagues. There are prophecies about protection and others about people dying for Jesus’ cause. Consider Jesus’ revelation to John, and Stephen’s sermon; who’s coat Paul held while he was being murdered.
(Revelations 6:9-11; Now when the Lamb opened the fifth seal, I ‘John’ saw under the altar the souls of those who had been violently killed because of the Word of God and because of the testimony they had given. They cried out with a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Master, holy and true, before You judge those who live on the earth and avenge our blood?’” Each of them was given a long white robe and they were told to rest for a little longer, until the full number was reached of both their fellow servants and their brothers who were going to be killed just as they had been.) Persecution and death for some Believers seem to be a reality of the time.
Jude gives us a righteous example of angel Michael’s contention with Satan over the body of Moses. Rather than debate Satan, God’s angel said; ‘may God rebuke you.’ This is the attitude we Believers need to have regarding disputes.
Only Jude shares Enoch’s prophecy. His writing is a good introduction to, Jesus’ Revelations to John. Many professing Christians, don’t take Jesus’ words seriously, saying; ‘many will come saying, I am the Christ, yet deceive many.’ Many erroneously teach that Jesus came to bring peace on earth in this current age, through organized religion.’ This too is a big part of the apostasy.
Jesus said; (Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household. Matt 10:34-36)
Why does God’s Word cause such discord among family, friends and religions? Our natural unbelieving mentality does not think God should be telling us ‘what’s right, wrong, good and evil!’ Until we’re individually lead to be Believers IN Jesus, our inherited fleshly nature will dominate such thinking. The many think highly of their own intellect, which is idolatry! It’s the little god mentality that causes people to believes, ‘from within ourselves we can choose what is right, wrong, good and evil.’ Such is idolatry and part of the apostasy.
Jude’s letter is to a particular group of people.
(Jude 1:1-2; From Jude, a slave of Jesus Christ and brother of James, to those who are called, wrapped in the love of God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ. May mercy, peace, and love be lavished on you.) What a difference, if only professing Christians accepted this one truth!
Jude, James and all Jesus’ apostles considers selves Jesus’ slave. Each wrote to the called. Jude believed, God the Father and God the Son were two individuals, with the mind of One, as believers should be.
(Jude 1:3; Dear friends, although I have been eager to write to you about our common salvation, I now feel compelled instead to write to encourage you to contend earnestly for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the Saints.)
Every Believing teacher is compelled to encourage, the same way. Jesus’ faith teaches that, ‘we obey because we recognize that God’s loved us first.’ Believers are spirit led to love His Way. Those to whom Jesus isn’t revealed, resist His teaching regarding what’s right, wrong, good and evil.
(Jude 1:4; For certain men have secretly, slipped in among you, men who long ago were marked out for the condemnation I am about to describe; ungodly men who have turned the grace of our God into a license for evil and who deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.)
It’s difficult for the natural mind to realize God is all knowing. (a) God could previously mark certain individuals for condemnation. (b) The natural mind can’t fathom, God foreknowing all things! (c) That disobeying God is evil.
Grace doesn’t annul God’s law; grace demonstrates the elegance of His law and His gift of love to His Way People. God the Father made God the Son, ‘Master and Lord.’ To dilute Jesus’ prominence is to deny. (Re-study John 1:1-5, Colossians 1:15-20 and Hebrews 1:)
(Jude 1:5; Now I desire to remind you, (even though you have been fully informed of these facts once for all) that Jesus, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, later destroyed those who did not believe.)
Professing Christians can’t fathom our Savior as being the One Lord that led Israelites from Egypt. That Jesus is the Life Giver that commanded the Israelites to destroy unbelieving populations.
(Jude 1:6; You also know that the angels who did not keep within their proper domain but abandoned their own place of residence, He has kept in eternal chains in utter darkness, locked up for the judgment of the great Day.)
The seventh of seven annual Sabbath is the holy, ‘Last Great Day’ ending the Feast of Tabernacles. Demonic angels’ final demise is established. Sodom and Gomorrah’s fate is our example of what’s to become of all evil.
(Jude 1:7; So also Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighboring towns, since they indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire in a way similar to these angels, are now displayed as an example by suffering the punishment of eternal fire.)
Study the prophecies at ‘Ezekiel 38:17 & Isaiah 30:27-33.’ Things related to physics as we understand science are not eternal as is God. Eternity is to the point of non-existence, or the point of the Eternal God’s choosing. For Sodom and Gomorrah it was until they were burned up, existed no more. God’s sun and His earth is eternal to the point of His choosing.
Michael the archangel through spiritual discernment did not slander Satan, but said, may the Lord rebuke you.
May we understand the working of God’s spirit as Paul was gifted to explain. (The unbeliever does not receive the things of the spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him. And he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. The one who is spiritual discerns all things, yet he himself is understood by no one. For who has known the mind of the Lord, so as to advise him? But we, have the mind of Christ. 1 Corinthians 2:14-16)
It’s the great mystery to this world’s populations. God does the calling, the revealing and training His people. His love is revealed as in gifted. The blood over the Israelites doors on that Passover before their deliverance looked forward to Jesus’ own shed blood for the remission of sin, and looked forward to gifted spiritual deliverance from sin’s bondage through Jesus the Christ.