The Apostate, chapter 7
To: In residence Churches of God. God’s 10th Mo. Tevet 8, 5,781. 12/23/2020.
Unbelieving people aren’t aware of sin’s bondage, and gods are that which primarily consumes their thoughts, time and energy. Speaking to converted people, Jesus’ apostle John was spiritually inspired to write; (1John 4:16-19; And we have come to know and to believe the love that God has in us. God is love, the one who resides in love resides in God, and God resides in him. By this love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment, because just as Jesus is so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears punishment has not been perfected in love. We love because He loved us first.) Always study the whole.
Jesus spiritually inspired His apostle Paul to write; (1Tim 1:6-7; Because of this I remind you to rekindle God’s gift that you possess through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a Spirit of fear but of power and love and self-control.)
With various attitudes, divisions concerning right, wrong, good and evil; it’s obvious, the majority love gods of their own making. It’s in our inherited fleshly nature from Adam to love gods that allows choices regarding what’s right, wrong, good and evil. God’s that change with popular traditions, and condone practices that are abominable to the Eternal all knowing God. He told Ezekiel what were abominations to Him, and these are the apostates Jude wrote about that’s divided this world’s denominations.
To worship our Creator God in spirit and truth people must be led to know His attributes, characteristics and plan for their saving; accept that there is a devil, whose desires are, to wreck God’s plan and purpose. Believing IN God is to know He’s ultimately going to destroy Satan and all evil. His Word from Genesis, through Revelations reveals His promised plan to save many. His righteous attributes and characteristics are revealed through Jesus.
(Hebrews 1:1-4; After God spoke long ago in various portions and in various ways to our ancestors through the prophets, in these last days He has spoken to us in a Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whom He created the world. The Son is the radiance of His glory and the representation of His essence, and He sustains all things by His powerful word, and so when He had accomplished cleansing for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. Thus He became so far better than the angels as He has inherited a name superior to theirs.) Last days are these since Jesus’ ascension.
Jesus revealed Himself to Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, His apostles and each called to believe. Consider the following two scriptures in Romans and Genesis from God’s point of view.
(1) Rom 15:4-5; Jesus’ apostle Paul shared; ‘For everything that was written in former times was written for our instruction, so that through endurance and through encouragement of the scriptures we may have hope. Now may the God of endurance and comfort give you unity with one another in accordance with Christ Jesus, so that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.)
(2) Gen 15:12-16; When the sun went down, Abram fell sound asleep, and great terror overwhelmed him. Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a foreign country. They will be enslaved and oppressed for four hundred years. But I will execute judgment on the nation that they will serve. Afterward they will come out with many possessions. But as for you, you will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age. In the fourth generation your descendants will return here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its limit.”)
(a) The judgment the Lord God ’Jesus’ executed on Egypt and the Amorites is from the foundation of His Love, for our example and learning.
(b) God plans all His involvements in the affairs of people.
(c) God plans the destruction of nations from the foundation of His Love and with foreknowledge of where their sins are taking them. Example; western world countries particularly are committing gross abominations as they condone Sodom and Gomorrah like practices.
When the many read of God’s judgments, they assume the God of the Old Covenant is unloving and different from the God of the New Covenant. Gross error! He’s One and the same. (Re-study study John 1:1-5, Hebrews 1: and let’s read again; (Colossians 1:15-20; He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation, for all things in heaven and on earth were created by Him; all things, whether visible or invisible, whether thrones or dominions, whether principalities or powers; all things were created through him and for him. He Himself is before all things and all things are held together in Him. He is the head of the body, the church, as well as the beginning, the firstborn from among the dead, so that He Himself may become first in all things. For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in the Son, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself by making peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven.)
He chooses: the Son of God, ‘Jesus’ delivered the Israelites by promise, they had no goodness warranting a deliverance, only chosen by promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They and New Covenant believers are heirs with Abraham by promise. Each are recipients by promise of Jacob’s changed name, ‘to Israel’ meaning ‘God fights.’ (See Genesis 25:28. An example is, when Isaac’s wife’ Rebekah’ was pregnant with twins boys struggling in her womb she wasn’t sure she wanted to be pregnant, so she went to the Lord in prayer. The Lord said to her; ‘two nations are in your womb and two peoples will be separated from within you. One will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.’)
These twins were named Esau and Jacob, ‘the weaker Jacob’ cheated, ‘the stronger Esau,’ of his birthright. As human nature goes, Isaac loved Esau and Rebekah loved Jacob, so she helped Jacob deceive Isaac by him pretending to be Esau and obtaining Esau’s by age birthright.
Esau’s married a Hittite woman, causing Isaac and Rebekah anxiety. So Isaac sent Jacob away to find a wife and blessed him as follows.
(Gen 27:28-29; May God give you the dew of the sky and the richness of the earth, and plenty of grain and new wine. May peoples serve you and nations bow down to you. You will be lord over your brothers, and the sons of your mother will bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed, and those who bless you be blessed.) These historical events of God’s promises are recorded for our learning.
The world rejects Jesus’ Good News message.
Jesus said His good news will be shared with the whole world before His return. (Study Matthew 24: and Revelations 11) Jesus foreknew the demonic led apostasy and He ordained two witnesses to miraculously announce His Way. Revealing to John and he to us that these two will be killed; the populations will rejoice and after three days God will resurrect them. (Review Revelations 11, from the previous study.)
. (Revelations 11:14-19; The second woe has come and gone; the third is coming quickly. Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven saying: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever. Then the twenty-four elders who are seated on their thrones before God threw themselves down with their faces to the ground and worshiped God with these words: “We give you thanks, Lord God, the All-Powerful, the One who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and begun to reign. The nations were enraged, but Your wrath has come, and the time has come for the dead to be judged, and the time has come to give to Your servants, the prophets, their reward, as well as to the Saints, to those who revere Your name, both small and great, and the time has come to destroy those who destroy the earth.” Then the temple of God in heaven was opened and the ark of His covenant was visible within His temple. And there were flashes of lightning, roaring, crashes of thunder, an earthquake, and a great hailstorm.) Do we see reasons to ask God for a shortening of this time?
Jesus said and Matthew recorded in chapter 24: “time will be shortened for the Elect’s sake.” In this so called enlightened time, Jesus has been so camouflaged by Satan’s demonic followers that the world will rejoice when His two witnesses are killed, this demonstrating the degree to which the APOSTASY has encompassed the whole world. We should not be surprised at Satan’s successes.
As unbelievers invaded God‘s churches, attempting to camouflage Jesus’ characteristics to fit pagan views, Jude was recognizing where that apostasy was leading the world. We, who aren’t blinded by demonic forces see the culmination of these apostasies. (Study Jude’s letter again)
The apostasy is much deeper than Satan’s first lie, his influencing a pagan calendar, and planning a one world governing body of unbelievers. Only a few haven’t bowed to their Baal type philosophy the Holy Scriptures defines as this ‘worldly system of things.’
Heavenly Father: please help us individually understand the difference between, believing that; opposed to believing IN. Believers IN are looking forward to Your kingdom’s establishment and our living Your promises. To, meeting in the sky and literally ruling under the king of king’s authority. In Jesus’ name we ask and worship. AMEN.
Reveled spiritual understanding is given individually through methods of God’s choosing. Hearing, reading, observations and angelic appearances have fit His methods. The desire to turn from falsehoods and practicing His righteous way is gifted. Give God the praise when truth is understood, ‘it’s by revelation and not from within our fleshly nature or intellect.’ John the Baptist shared this truth.
(Matt 3:7-10; But when John saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You offspring of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Therefore produce fruit that proves your repentance, and don’t think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that God can raise up children for Abraham from these stones! Even now the ax is laid at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”)
Producing fruit, is to practice God’s righteous Way of living; NOT practices that’s designed to honor pagan gods! We should carefully set prideful boasting aside, and only boast in the Lord’s gifting spiritual comprehensions. It’s gifted as the wind blows.
(John 3:7-8; Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must all be born from above.’ The wind blows wherever it will, and you hear the sound it makes, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.)
It’s a spiritual immersion, gifting individually thru Jesus. John the Baptist continued. (Matt 3:11; I baptize you with water, for repentance, but the One coming after me is more powerful than I am, I am not worthy to carry His sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.) Baptize means, ‘immerse.’ God immerses repentant individuals with His spirit and will ultimately immerse evil with a ‘burning UP.’