Blog
Thoughts
by Raymond A. Cutts
page 1
I
Am That I Am
In Exodus 3:11-18 we find Moses standing in the presence
of God at the burning bush, where he is given his commission
to go and lead Israel out of Egypt. Then Moses says to God,
what is the name of who sends me, and in verse 14 God says
“I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto
the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.”
The name of God, “I AM” is a form of the verb
“to be” in English, in Hebrew is derived “Yahweh”
or “ Jehovah” which indicated self existence as
opposed to being created or made, like the remainder of
Creation. Self-existence is where our God differs from false
gods made by man’s hand. Our Savior, Jesus Christ when
speaking in John 8:24, 27, and 58 brings to our attention
that He is God. In verse 24 He says “if you believe
not that I am he [“he” should not be there, it
is a supplied word not found in the original text], ye shall
die in your sins;” this says if you do not believe
Christ is self-existent [not a created being] you are doomed
to everlasting death. In verse 27 He says “know ye
that I am he” [“he” again is a supplied word].
Then, the ultimate texts are verse 58-59 where the Jews
take up stones to kill Jesus for “blasphemy” [making
himself, a man to be God], He said “Before Abraham
was I am.” They did not understand the oneness of God
or the God-head, for in Genesis 1:1, the very first verse
of the Bible, says “In the beginning God created,”
where the word “God” in Hebrew is “elohim”
the plural form of the word “el” – God. Paul
in Hebrews 13:8 says of Jesus “Jesus Christ the same
yesterday [in heaven], and today [present with man], and
forever [in eternity].” Finally, in Revelation 1:8
Jesus reveals of Himself to John “I am the Alpha and
Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which
is, and which was, and is to come, the Almighty.” Jesus
Christ the “I AM THAT I AM” – “Jehovah.”
A
Thought Concept on Armageddon
The Battle of Armageddon in Revelation 16:14 is actually
“the Battle of the Great Day of God Almighty,”
and verse 16 tells us “the spirits of devils”
gather the earthly leaders to the “place called …
Armageddon.” These deceptive “spirits of devils”
symbolized as “frogs” deceive their prey by use
of their tongues, as in false sermons and speeches, etc.
The battle at Armageddon is the final battle of the war
which found its beginning in Eden where the Devil deceived
our first parents, recorded in Genesis 3:1 “the serpent
[the Devil or Satan] was more subtil … said to the
woman, [the first earthly lie] hath not God said, Ye shall
not eat of every tree of the garden?” And, the beginning
battle of this war on earth is recorded in Genesis 3:15
“it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his
heel.” The fight goes on and the deceptions go on,
and only the spiritually alive saints will survive. The
heart of the plan of Lucifer [the Devil or Satan] to win
the last battle of the great day of God Almighty is revealed
in Isaiah 14:12-14; “How art thou fallen from heaven,
O Lucifer … thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend
into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God
[above, higher than God], I will sit also upon the mount
of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend
above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most
High.” The Devil’s intent is to be above God,
sitting on the “mount of the congregation in the sides
of the north.” Psalms 48:2 says “Beautiful for
situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on
the sides of the north, the city of the great King.”
This is the New Jerusalem, and Satan intends to rule there.
Satan has come down to earth with his angelic power, signs,
deceptions and lying wonders being performed from pulpits
within churches today, which are his main targets. Only
those who have a full knowledge of God’s truth will
be able to see through this grand deception. This is war,
and Armageddon is ahead.
Fruitage
of the Social Gospel
Compromise is always the easy way and much more comfortable,
which is fine in the social day to day affairs, but never
in regard to your spirituality. We enjoy too much the ease
of the comfortable pew and do not want to move out of it.
But this is not what God requires of us, as He said through
John in the warning to the church of Laodicea in Revelation
3:15-17 “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold
nor hot: I would that thou wert cold or hot. So then because
thou art lukewarm … I will spue thee out of my mouth.”
The social gospel is completely made up of compromising,
lukewarm so-called Christianity, the same as the Jews in
Isaiah’s time, with the cry from God coming in Isaiah
1:21 “How is the faithful city become an harlot.”
In prophecy, “a woman” represents a spiritual
group, a pure woman is a church faithful to God, a “harlot”
or unfaithful woman is a church that is lax and compromising
in the spiritual details of God. God pleads with this type
of Christian, in Isaiah 1:18-19 “Come now, and let
us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be
as scarlet, they shall be white [pure] as snow;” but
this can only come about by a revival, and the big word
is “if,” “If ye be willing and obedient.”
What is needed is willing obedience to the commands of God
through a spiritual revival. We hear the term “Revival”
regularly in church groups, but for a revival to come about,
you must take a good long look at yourself, and admit openly,
that spiritually, you are dead. The experience of Israel
illustrated here in Isaiah shows just how deep man can stoop
in compromises in his religious experience, and a departure
from the righteousness God requires. A lukewarm, compromising
and comfortable religious experience will never lead you
through to heaven; so, call in God’s Spirit, His emergency
revival unit, to bring you back from death to life.
Cyrus
Mentioned By Name
It is utterly remarkable that in the Bible prophecy of Isaiah
chapters 44 and 45 the exact name of Cyrus [future king
of Persia] is twice mentioned, and this prophecy is predicted
about one and a half centuries prior to its fulfillment.
The prophecy is regarding the rebuilding of Jerusalem and
the Temple after its utter destruction by Nebuchadnezzar
and the 70 years of captivity of Israel in Babylon. Isaiah
writes as told by God in Isaiah 44:28 “Cyrus, He is
my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying
to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy
foundation shall be laid.” Here is a pagan king used
as an instrument of God; but this is not the first time
God has used pagan rulers to his purpose, stories such as
Pharaoh of Egypt and Joseph, and Nebuchadnezzar and Daniel.
God’s people were treated favorably in these instances,
and Cyrus made the first of three decrees to rebuild Jerusalem
and the Temple. Also, in Isaiah 45:1, 4 and 13 it says “Thus
saith the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand
I have holden, to subdue nations before him,” “I
have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me,”
and “he shall build my city, and he shall let go my
captives, not for price or reward.” Can you just imagine
the astonishment of Cyrus at being shown in Jewish prophecy
that over a hundred years before his birth the God of Heaven
wrote his surname, his accomplishments and wrote them down
to fine details such as written in Isaiah 44:27 “saith
to the deep, Be dry, and I will dry up thy rivers.”
The drying up of the river that ran through the center of
Babylon, by diverting it, so that Cyrus could enter and
subdue the city. This is the only way he could get into
that extremely fortified city, in fact, king Belshazzar,
Nebuchadnezzar’s grandson, partied the night of the
invasion, even though the city was surrounded, showing how
secure he felt. But God had other plans. Nostradamus, Edgar
Casey and Jean Dixon all put together can not come close
to the exact predictions in God’s prophecies, His prophecies
are 100 percent correct to the detail. Fulfilled prophecy
is a sure way to prove God and know for certain that everything
He says is correct, even to His rewards to come.
King
of Tyre or Satan?
In Ezekiel 28 God relates a story, but is He speaking about
the King of Tyre or Lucifer, as Satan was called in heaven?
The history of this is found in Ezekiel 28:11-19; verse
12 says “take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyre,”
however the following verses show definitely that the imagery
presented goes far beyond the local problems of the King,
back to the root of sin with Lucifer [Satan] in heaven,
as told in Isaiah 14:12 “how art thou fallen from heaven,
O Lucifer, son of the morning.” Now going forward in
Ezekiel 28:12, of Lucifer he says he was “full of wisdom,
and full of beauty;” this is shown in how Satan came
to tempt Christ, Matthew 4, he was very wise in his deceptions
and came as a beautiful angel. The common misconception
about the appearance of Lucifer is a horrid looking, red
colored, horned head and tailed person; if this is what
we are to expect, people could not be tricked. Then, verse
13 says “thou hast been in Eden the garden of God,”
the King of Tyre was not there but Lucifer [the Devil] surely
was there tempting Adam and Eve. In the sanctuary service,
in the holiest place in the temple was the Ark of the Covenant,
on the lid of which were two Covering Cherubs [the highest
ranked and order of angels] over the Mercy Seat of God’s
presence. In heaven now, these two cherubs are Michael and
Gabriel, but back then, it was Michael and Lucifer as said
in verse 14 “thou art the anointed cherub that covereth
… upon the holy mountain of God.” Going on in
verses 15-16 God says of Lucifer, “Thou wast perfect
… till iniquity was found in thee … I will cast
thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy
thee.” And then finally in verse 18 He says “I
will bring thee to ashes upon the earth.” So, what
is brought to view from all this is that this despot, the
King of Tyre, lamented upon by God, was none other than
Lucifer, the Devil himself on the throne as a man; an angel
in human form. God knew who he really was on that throne.
Jesus knew who it really was when he was tempted in the
wilderness, he recognized Satan [Lucifer] right away, especially
when he twisted the Scriptures to suit himself; this is
done regularly in Christian churches today. Study for yourself
with God’s Spirit as your guide, not another man, and
know truth for yourself. Top
Babylon
Is Fallen – Come Out!
Revelation 18 gives warning to the true followers of God
to remove themselves from the midst of apostasy. In 18:2
the angel cries out “Babylon the great is fallen,”
and then in 18:4 another voice from heaven says to God’s
people “Come out of her, my people, that ye be not
partakers of her sins, that ye receive not of her plagues.”
So those in Babylon will be one of the groups receiving
the last plagues of God immediately prior to Christ’s
return and be lost evermore. But, what is Babylon and what
is her make-up? First, Babylon is a term representing spiritual
“confusion” and secondly, the make-up of Babylon
is, and what constitutes her, are all false church systems,
the papacy being the “mother” and false apostate
Protestantism the harlot daughters, as brought forward in
17:5. This is the message for God’s true followers
now, ones who are still worshipping within these apostate
systems, “come out of her my people,” for your
own safety. But, Babylon, itself as great as it is, is yet
a part of a still greater triumvirate made up of the dragon,
the beast and the false prophet as shown in Revelation 16:13-14
“I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of
the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast,
and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are
spirits of devils working miracles.” And all the falsehood
will be perpetrated in the name of Christ, as Christ Himself
told us in Matthew 7:22-23 “many [not some or few]
will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied
in thy name? and in thy name cast out devils? and in thy
name done many wonderful works. And then I will profess
unto them, I never knew you: depart from me ye that work
iniquity.” The track of truth and the track of iniquity
run side by side and it is hard to tell the difference,
but each ends in a different station, one in heaven the
other hell. On which track are you running; only the Law
of God tells the difference. The habit of frogs is to catch
their prey by their tongues, and what do these tongues say
to you? Isaiah 8:20 says regarding this “To the law
[God’s Ten Commandments] and to the testimony [Old
and New Testament]: if they speak not according to this
word, it is because there is no light in them.” “No
light” from God for you from these apostate preachers,
Come Out!
God
With Us
What God really is, can only be revealed to us through Christ
and by Christ abiding in us, and this is our only hope of
being glorified in the end; as said in Colossians 1:27 “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.” This is the only way to attain glory
before God, having Christ in you working His will, molding
and transforming you into a re-created being. However, it
is one thing to know that God exists, the Devil knows who
God is, but it is yet another thing to have a full knowledge
of what He is. In Exodus chapter 3 Moses is instructed by
God at the burning bush, and in verse 13-14 he asks God
who shall I say is sending me, God says, tell Israel “I
AM hath sent me to you;” but previously in verse 13
God gives his full name “I AM THAT I AM.” Thus
God is saying we must not only believe who He is, the self
existent One, but what He is, He is our Rewarder; as said
in Hebrews 11:6 “he that cometh to God must believe
that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.”
The reward is our redemption to heaven in His adopting us,
as brothers and sisters of Christ, into His family, therefore
making us joint heirs with Christ. The reward of eternal
life comes only, as said in Matthew 19:17 “if thou
wilt enter into life [eternal life], keep the commandments.”
Through the Law of God, his ten commandments, we come to
a knowledge of God’s existence, and in the fourth Command
the acknowledgement of God as our Creator, then, as said
in Ezekiel 20:12 “I gave them my Sabbaths, to be a
sign between me and them,” the sign is the sanctifying
mark for our final reward, heaven. Just as told about heaven
in Isaiah 66:22-23 “as the new heavens and the new
earth, which I shall make … from one Sabbath to another,
shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord.”
And all this is only through Christ working in and through
us, as Paul relates in 2 Corinthians 5:19-20 “God was
in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself … that
we might be made the righteousness of God in him,”
that active word is “in,” Him “in” us.
So, what God is, - He is our Creator and Redeemer.
Three
Heavens?
Are there three heavens or three heavenly stages to attain
to the highest, third heaven, as some believe? What does
this mean? There must be three heavens, because Paul speaks
of the third heaven in 2 Corinthians 12:2 “I knew a
man in Christ [a Christian] … such a one caught up
to the third heaven;” then in verse 4 he says where
or what this third heaven is, “he was caught up into
paradise, and heard unspeakable words.” This man was
“caught up” to the “paradise” of God,
the “third heaven,” where he was given an unspeakable
prophetic vision. So, when Paul refers to the “third
heaven” he is speaking of the dwelling place of God,
or “paradise,” but is he calling it the third
as a stage or step in closeness to God? Paul did understand
three heavens, but not in stages of human glorification.
He understood the first heaven – atmospheric; second
heaven – astronomic; and third heaven – the dwelling
of God. Looking at each through the Bible, first the atmospheric
heaven is the air we breathe, where the birds fly, from
where rain falls and wind blows; see texts such as Genesis
1:20; 7:11; Deuteronomy 11:11 and Daniel 8:8. Secondly,
the astronomic heaven is the starry heavens of space with
the sun, moon and planetary systems in their orbits established
by God; see texts like Genesis 1:14, 16-17; Isaiah 13:10;
Joel 2:30-31 and Matthew 24:29. Now, finally the third heaven,
the home dwelling place of God, referred to often by Christ
when speaking of His Father, where Christ came from initially
on becoming a man, where He was taken back to after His
death here on earth, and finally where the saints of God
will be taken to at the end of all things; see texts such
as 1 Kings 8:30, 39; Psalms 102:19; Matthew 5:16; John 3:13;
Hebrews 9:24; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 and Revelation 21:1-7.
To avoid adopting false theories of man, it is of the greatest
import that as said in 2 Timothy 2:15 that in truly understanding
the Bible, we are “rightly dividing the word of truth”.
A
Hindrance To God’s Cause, Church Traditions!
So many precious souls are sacrificed on the altar of “church
tradition” by ministers who blind themselves as slaves
to many fallacies of church traditions that directly contradict
God’s Word. And when these ministers are asked by sincere
people for an answer and direction in these situations,
they point to church tradition as the obvious correct way
to follow, not “The Way;” as Jesus said “I
am the way, the truth and the light” to follow. In
this attitude, these ministers, as supposed watchmen on
the walls of Zion, are giving the warning trumpet an uncertain
sound; in making of none affect the Word of God. These Bible
contradictory traditions are relics of paganism introduced
into the early papal church, sprinkled with “holy water”
and pronounced “Christian,” and then entered as
church tradition. A couple of obvious church traditions
contrary to the Bible are: Christ’s day of birth –
a quick study of the Word of God shows that it cannot be
December 25, this is a pagan day of celebration for the
birth of the son of the sun god: Easter day – is approximately
correct for the resurrection of Christ, but is also the
time of worship of Ishtar the goddess of fertility including
such rites as egg painting, bowing east to the rising sun,
etc; and the most blatant of all is the substitution of
Sunday [the day of worshipping the sun god in Mithraism]
for God’s true day of worship, Saturday, His Sabbath.
These are but a few church traditions taken directly from
paganism. Jesus had the same confrontation with the church
ministry or priesthood of His day with regard to traditions
of men, as told in Matthew 15:3-9 “why do ye also transgress
the commandment of God by your tradition?” “ye
have made the commandment of God none effect by your tradition,”
“in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrine
the commandments of men;” He says, you worship in vain
when following these traditions. Now, looking at the Reformation
churches from popery, Alexander Campbell in his “On
Baptism” page 15 says “reformation of popery was
attempted in Europe …. All of them retain in their
bosom – in their ecclesiastical organizations …
various relics of popery… reformations only in part…
traditions of men yet impair the power and progress of the
gospel.” God forbid that we continue this! Top
Three
Phases of Rome
In looking biblically through the history of the Roman Empire
we generally divide it into two phases, first the pagan,
under the Caesars, then secondly papal, under the popes.
However, in a closer look, there is an additional phase
in the middle; this is brought forward in a closer look
at the book of Revelation in chapter 17. Revelation 17:8-9
says“they behold the beast that was, and is not, and
yet is. And here is the mind that hath wisdom. The seven
heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.”
The “woman” is represented as a religious power
and her headquarters situated on “seven mountains”
or the Seven Hills of Rome. We know from the description
in previous verses that this is a power that persecutes
the true followers of Jesus. Now the phases are brought
out in the terms “was,” “is not” and
“yet is.” The first phase, Rome in its pagan form
persecuted God’s people dreadfully all throughout its
history, - the beast that “was” a beast. The second
phase is a transition from fully pagan Rome to a falsely
called Christian Rome, because of all the compromises made
to convert the pagans to Christianity. It was for a brief
period of laxness in its persecuting character – the
beast that “is not” a beast. Then, to the third
phase which is the passing into fully papal Rome under the
popes, with the resumption of the blood-thirsty and oppressive
persecutions, and constituted the beast that “yet is”
a beast again. This third period of Rome continued on until
its climax in 1798 A.D. [the end of the 1260 day/year prophecy
of Revelation12] with papal Rome’s loss of power when
the pope was taken captive and there died in captivity under
the French occupation of Napoleon’s forces. But, the
power of papal Rome soon afterward had its resurgence [the
deadly wound was healed – Revelation 13:3] and stands
as it is today, back as the head of so-called Christianity,
with all eyes looking to Rome for world-problems and spiritual
answers.
Confusion
in the Gift of Tongues
The “Gifts of the Spirit” are listed and ranked
by importance as found in 1 Corinthians 12:28 “first
apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after
that miracles, then gifts of healing, helps, governments,
diversities of tongues.” Then in verses 29-31 Paul
asks the big questions with the obvious answers of, No,
which is, “are all apostles? …do all speak with
tongues?” then he says we should “covet the best
gifts.” In the church today there is much confusion
and falsity concerning the gifts presented, and one in particular,
which Satan is having a field-day with; it is that of speaking
in tongues. Let us look at it. First of all, the Concordance
shows that throughout the entire New Testament there are
three Greek words used for the word tongues, “glossa”-
meaning a language or tongue; “heteroglossos”
– meaning a man of another tongue, or a foreigner;
“dialektos” – meaning a mode of discourse
as in a dialect of a spoken language. In all cases they
refer to a specific dialect of spoken language, not a confused
babbling or gibberish. Secondly, in 1 Corinthians 14:3,
4 and 22-23 Paul states “he that prophesieth speaketh
unto men to edification,” “he that speaketh in
an unknown tongue edifieth himself,” and then concludes,
“wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that
believe … prophesying serveth … for them which
believe,” “if therefore the whole church be come
together into one place, and all speak with tongues, and
there come in those that are unlearned, or unbelievers,
will they not say ye are mad?” Thirdly, at Pentecost
when all were given the gift of tongues, God had a specific
work to be done, and the primary way to accomplish it was
with that one particular gift. At Pentecost, Jews made the
pilgrimage to Jerusalem from all parts of the world, speaking
in the native language of their home country; the only way
for Jesus’ followers to communicate the gospel was
to have the gift of tongues to speak and be heard in all
these particular languages. The gift of tongues was directly
used for the preaching of the gospel outside of the confines
of the church congregation. In God’s economy every
gift has its specific use.
Christ,
Jacob’s Ladder
Genesis 27 – 32 tells the story of Jacob, the brother
of Esau, one of the two sons of Isaac and Rebekah, in the
dispute over the birthright, and the flight of Jacob from
the fury of his brother. In Jacob’s fearful flight
he found himself for the first time alone and exposed in
the wilderness to many dangers. On the second night he found
himself at the place he afterward called Bethel [the house
of God], after praying fervently to God for forgiveness
of his sins, he rested and slept; and in Genesis 28:12 while
sleeping “he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on
the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold
the angels of God ascending and descending on it.”
Then, God said in verse 15 “I am with thee, and will
keep thee in all places wither thou goest,” he was
assured God’s forgiveness. In Jacob’s seemingly
simple vision, he was in that short time shown by God His
complete plan for the salvation and redemption of all mankind.
God’s plan of redemption shows through the vision that
the ladder represents Christ, the bridge of steps connecting
earth and heaven, God and man, through our only Mediator
and Priest, Jesus Christ. The angels going up and down are
the ministering messengers of God, who without Christ intervening
could have no communion with fallen man. The most important
thing in this vision is that the ladder spanned completely
from heaven fully touching the ground making a complete
connection. There is no gap; Christ reached all the way,
showing that there is no person or priest needed to fill
in a gap in the mediating process, Christ did it all. He
is the only mediator between God and man; as it says in
1 Timothy 2:5 “there is one God, and one mediator between
God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” Jesus is the only
one person who could make the span as mediator because He
is fully God and fully man. The vision of the ladder is
what explained the plan of redemption to Jacob, and now
to you.
Faces
Toward the East
In Ezekiel chapter 8 God gives His prophet a vision of the
apostasy going on within the priestly ministry of His Sanctuary
or Temple. In verse 10 He shows “abominable beasts
and all the idols of the house of Israel,” then in
verse 14 He shows “women weeping for Tammuz” [son
of the Sun god]. Finally, in verse 16 the climax of all
abominations before God is witnessed of the priesthood,
“at the door of the temple of the Lord, between the
porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with
their backs toward the temple of the Lord, and their faces
toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the
east.” We see they had their backs toward the altar
of God and were worshipping the Sun god, the highest deity
in all pagan worship. They were professing true worship
within the temple but compromising truth with error and
teaching others to do the same. Do we not also regularly
flirt with paganism within the church today? Our Easter
services, supposedly worshipping the true Son of Righteousness
at His rising from the grave, we bow to the east and worship
the rising Sun [Sun god]. And then sing the old hymn “Let
Us Break Bread Together On Our Knees” with the lyrics
carrying on “with our face to the rising sun.”
How blasphemous can we be to God? Notice in the construction
the true tabernacle of God, in both the one by Moses in
the wilderness and the construction of Solomon’s Temple,
the alter was in the west end, when facing God’s true
altar you had your back to the rising sun and faced west,
not east as in paganism. These subtle differences lead down
the fine line between truth and error, between church traditions
and Bible truth! On what side are you, as Joshua challenges
in 24:15 “choose you this day whom ye will serve …
as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Bodily
Sanctum Sanctorum
In 1 Corinthians 6:19 Paul states “know ye not that
your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost;” so, if
we are true children of Christ, we are the “sanctum
sanctorum,” the Most Holy, the holy dwelling place
of God. And Paul again says in 2 Corinthians 6:16 “ye
are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will
dwell in them” [see also Romans 8:9; Ephesians 3:17;
1 John 4:13]. This is the mystery Paul spoke of in Colossians
1:27 in saying “the riches of the glory of this mystery
among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of
glory … that we may present every man perfect in Christ
Jesus.” The emphasis is on the word “in”-
as “within” the heart of your body, as part of
your converted, re-created person. We are told to glorify
God in our body [1 Corinthians 6:20], and also a warning
comes in 1 Corinthians 3:17 “If any man defile the
temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of
God is holy, which temple ye are.” Defile the temple,
how is this done? At the heart of the temple or sanctuary,
is housed the Law of God, it is the written transcript of
His character; Christ is the embodiment of God’s Law
and our example to follow. Trampling down, in any point,
His written character is to defile His sanctuary. In the
heart of the sanctuary, in the Ark in the Most Holy Place,
is where The Law rested, showing to the people the utter
reverence God expected to be shown to it. This today is
where God expects His Law to be placed, in the heart or
mind of our bodily “sanctum sanctorum” of God.
Top
Ten
Virgins at Midnight
In Matthew 25:1-13 Jesus tells a parable of ten virgins
who were part of a wedding party and whose responsibility
was, with their lamps lighted show the straight and narrow
path for the bride groom. The whole parable is symbolism
of the state of earth’s readiness just prior to Christ’s
second coming in power and glory. The midnight cry is a
warning message, a wakeup call to God’s people. The
“virgins” are obviously a select group, for the
term “virgin” indicated purity of religion and
faith before God. The “cry” at “midnight”
is the wakeup call preparing them to enter into the presence
of God with Christ, the “bride groom.” The “oil”
in the lamps is the presence of the Holy Spirit on their
persons, without the Holy Spirit with them they were not
ready to enter into the presence of God. In verse 13 Jesus
says we are to “watch therefore, for you know neither
the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh,”
also Matthew 24:36 He says “that day and hour knoweth
no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.”
It is of necessity that you be in a state of spiritual readiness
at all times, in a state of grace, which is Christ in you;
and the false concept of “once saved always saved”
is shown here in this parable. For the “virgins”
were all pure in faith, but five were in full readiness
and prepared when the “cry” came at midnight,
whereas the other five were not prepared and had fallen
out of grace. The other virgins could not help them to refill
them with the oil of the Holy Spirit, and while they went
off to look for more oil, the time for the closing of the
door came, the “door was shut,” it was too late.
When they arrived back to the shut door, they knocked and
said in verse 11 and 12 “Lord, Lord, open unto us.
But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know
you not.” They were lost! It is only when a crisis
comes that man’s true character is revealed, we see
here that when the “cry” was made, though the
virgins slumbered, it is seen who were truly prepared for
the event, and who were not, even though they, in their
purity, all had knowledge of the truth. Be ever prepared
for your eternal destiny is at stake!
One
Law of God, or Two?
In Romans chapters 7 and 8 Paul gives a discourse on the
Ten Commandment Law and how we are to function within its
bounds as Christians. Many Christians believe from this
that we are no longer under The Law but under the Grace
of God; this is misunderstood by incorrectly reading Romans
7:6 where it says “now we are delivered from the law,
that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve
in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.”
This way of thinking is a partial truth and very dangerous.
For, if you do away with The Law, you have done away with
Sin because the definition of Sin is directly tied to The
Law as said in 1 John 3:4 “sin is transgression of
the law.” In Romans 7:12 Paul states “the law
is holy … just and good,” and in Romans 7:7 “I
had not known sin but by the law.” Now, all will admit
Sin is still in the world, so, therefore the Law of God
is still in effect and Christians must deal with it. But,
in Romans 7:23 Paul says “I see another law,”
and in 7:25 “with the mind I serve the law of God;
but with the flesh the law of sin” [the same thinking
is related in Romans 8:2]. So, are there two laws, or one
law viewed from two opposing perspectives? It is comparable
to looking at the Traffic Law, if you drive your vehicle
in a safe and respectful manner, the law is a safety net
to protect and save you [the law of the Spirit of life].
But if you speed, make illegal turns or cut off pedestrians,
you are open to be punished and the law is the justice system
[the law of sin and death]. However, in either illustration,
do you do away with the Traffic Law? No, that is ridiculous
to think of. It is the same with God. Our example to live
in accordance with the Law of God is found in Roman 8:3
and 4 “what the law could not do, in that it was weak
through the flesh, God sending his own Son … condemned
sin in the flesh [as a man He obeyed the Law of God]: that
the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us [Christian
conversion, Christ living in you and working through you].”
And, in Romans 8:29 we become “conformed to the image
of His Son.”
Man
of Lawlessness
In 2 Thessalonians 2:3 it says “that man of sin be
revealed,” sin being lawlessness. And “sin”
is defined by the beloved disciple John in 1 John 3:4 “sin
is transgression of the law,” and goes on in verse
22 by giving the prerequisite for Christ answering our prayers,
saying “whatsoever we receive of him, because we keep
his commandments.” Jesus said in breaking one commandment
you have broken all, “the law” is one entity [see
James 2:10 and Matthew 5:19]; therefore the terms “sin”
and “lawlessness” can involve the breaking of
just one commandment. The “man of sin” can, and
I believe does, refer to the head of an organization or
religion. Paul, in 2 Thessalonians 2:4 says of this power
“opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called
God…so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God,
shewing himself that he is God,” which is “blasphemy”
[pretending to be God]. In this, Paul is talking future,
but in verse 7 he says it is already underway “For
the mystery of iniquity doeth already work; “iniquity”
defined is – violation of law. Mithraism, the mystery
religion of Indo-Iranian descent was the major religion
which had taken over the majority of the Roman Empire at
Paul’s time and had many similarities to Christianity,
one supreme deity [the sun], baptism, a communal meal of
bread and wine and belief in the final immortality of man
in heaven. Most pagan religions worshipped the sun as the
highest deity, but not on a weekly basis, but according
to a letter dated Nov. 21, 1923 from the Smithsonian Institute,
they stated that “The devotees of Mithra held Sunday
sacred … but we have not knowledge how they observed
that day … It became the religion especially of the
Roman army;” also in the book “The Mysteries of
Mitha” by Dr. F. Cumont on page 167 he says “Each
day of the week … was sacred …and Sunday, over
which the sun presided, was especially holy.” At the
time of Constantine many of the pagan mysteries of Mithaism
were adopted into the church as a means of easy conversion
to Christianity. But is it truly Christianity or paganism
sprinkled with holy water? However, as touching the heart
of God’s Law, Sunday replaced Saturday, the Sabbath
of God.
Naked
Before God
In Revelation 16:15, during the sixth of the seven last
plagues, Jesus says “Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed
is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk
naked, and they see his shame.” In the Bible “nakedness”
and “shame” go together; therefore, to “see
his shame,” is to see that you have surrendered your
faith in God, and stand naked without His robe of His righteousness
to cloth you. Christians must never relax their vigilance,
and be ever alert to the deceptions Satan presents regularly,
especially from within the church, Satan’s main target.
A similar message is presented in the messages to the seven
churches in Revelation chapters 2 and 3. Look at the part
of the message to Laodicea in Revelation 3:17-18 “knowest
not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and
blind, and naked” and if repentant God gives to each
man individually “white raiment, that thou mayest be
clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear.”
The individuality of this is realized in verse 20 where
Jesus is standing outside of the church, as a whole, saying
“I stand at the door and knock: if any man [not men]
hear my voice…I will come in to him [not them].”
This nakedness before God is shown at the beginning in the
Garden of Eden in Genesis, where Adam and Eve after compromising
their faith in God to supply all, turned to Satan seeking
outside knowledge. They were clothed with God’s robe
of righteousness, but lost it in falling to temptation and
Adam forfeited his dominion of earth to Satan. Genesis 3:7
says “the eyes of them were opened and they knew they
were naked,” and in verse 10 the new feeling of fear
was introduced to man, “I was afraid, because I was
naked;” this brought shame to man and also the guilt
of disobedience. They could not in this state of nakedness
meet openly, eye to eye, with God and holy angels. Is it
any different for us today? Yes, in that Satan’s temptations
are greater and his deceptions are more numerous by his
false prophets. In closing read Genesis 4:7 “If thou
doest well, shalt thou not be accepted, and if thou doest
not well, sin lieth at the door.” Top
Spiritual
Death of Christianity, Why?
After the church went through the Dark Ages, a Reformation
began within, which commenced about 1517 A.D. ushering in
a new period of Christian growth. In Bible prophecy this
is brought forth by Christ in the representation of the
church of Sardis, in Revelation 3:1-6, which is part of
the messages to the seven churches [denoting seven time
periods in church history]. The church at the time of the
Reformation is here condemned by God, as said in Revelation
3:2-3 “I have not found thy works perfect before God.
Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and
hold fast, and repent.” Condemned but not without hope!
The situation in the church was bad, the people including
the majority of the clergy had poor knowledge of the Scripture,
just as Jesus said in Revelation 3:1 “I know thy works,
that thou hast a name that thou livest, and are dead;”
they are Christian in name only, but not knowing God and
His Word, they are spiritually dead. The church was riddled
with “traditions of men” superseding the Word
of God, and the common person denied the Bible; the time
was ripe for repentance in the form of the Reformation.
God’s Word was then opened to the common man. The same
type of situation is happening within the church today,
not so much in being denied the Scripture, but laxness of
common people [the comfortable pew] allowing leadership
to dictate doctrine without any challenge to their theories.
This was the same cause of virtual spiritual death of the
church of Sardis [at the beginning of the Reformation],
it all came down to neglect of individual study and knowledge
of God’s Word. Remember 2 Timothy 2:15 “study
to show thyself [individually] approved unto God;”
it is a personal thing between you and God. Lacking knowledge
of His Word is starvation of the Bread of Life, the spiritual
food necessary for individual readiness for salvation.
“Promissory
Notes” From God
The promises of God are like “promissory notes”
issued to “whosoever will” may ask for His blessings,
the amount of which can never be fully received because
God, as said in Ephesians 3:20 “is able to do exceeding
abundantly above all we ask or think.” This is how
man, here on earth, is able to partake of the divine nature
in his human nature, for this is one of God’s promises
to those who obey Him, as said 2 Peter 1:4 “whereby
are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises:
that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature.”
This is our conversion experience, the re-birth or re-creation
of us, and this promise of God is wherein lies the power
to overcome sin, by taking of the divine nature of Christ
within us, through Christ in us the only hope of our being
glorified, as stated in Colossians 1:27 “Christ in
you the hope of glory.” This power to transform is
also witnessed in the promise to Abraham of a son by Sarah;
the birth of Isaac was a miracle of God in the revival of
the aged womb of the old woman, Sarah. It was by her faith
in God’s promise, as said in Hebrews 11:11 “through
faith Sarah herself received strength to conceive seed,
and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because
she judged him faithful who had promised.” It is wrong
for us, as Christians, to attempt moving forward by putting
forth our own efforts to be righteous before God, nothing
we do can gain righteousness; it is only through belief
in the promises of God, that righteousness will be imputed
[as a gift] to us by Christ working in and through us. The
power is in the promises of God, His “promissory notes.”
Found
Wanting
In every circumstance God wants His follower to trust His
judgments and decisions. When looking for answers to our
prayers God can answer in one of three ways, “Yes,”
“No” or “Not right now, you are not ready
to receive it.” We as human beings desperately try
to understand the ways of God, which we cannot do. Pride
and vanity sometimes get in the way in our assumptive attitude
of doing things for God. This is dangerous! We are to wait
upon God for our answers. Such was the case with King Saul
on many occasions; which was the reason for his being “Found
Wanting” in the eyes of God. This can be read in I
Samuel 13, where he ordered and made the offering to God
as if he were the priest. This ended in his being rebuked
by God through the prophet Samuel. 1 Samuel 13:13-14 "Samuel
said to Saul, Thou hast not kept the commandment of the
Lord thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the
Lord have esatblished thy kingdom upon Israel for ever.
But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the Lord hath sought
him a man after his own heart ... because thou hast not
kept that which the Lord commanded thee." God does
not change in his ways of dealing with man as He said in
Malachi 3:6 "I am the Lord, I change not." Presumption,
vanity and assuming we know what God wants; by such, we
walk on dangerous ground. Let us not be "found wanting."
Justification,
The Law Incarnate In Christ
The word “incarnate” means – in the human
form; therefore Christ took upon Himself God’s Law
in His humanity, as our example to follow. At our acceptance
of this principle [conversion], Christ taught that we become
justified, in other words we choose to follow in obedience
to God’s Law by our faith. What we have done here,
is explained in Psalms 51:10 where David pleads in asking
God to re-created him and inviting God to take control of
his life, “Create in me a clean heart O God; and renew
a right spirit within me.” This is living God’s
Law by allowing the Spirit of God to control your thought
patterns - justification, becoming just or in the right
[righteous] before God. Paul in his discourse to the Romans
in 1:17 says “the just shall live by faith” [this
he took from Habakkuk 2:4] which is “the righteousness
of God revealed [in us] from faith to faith;” it is
only by our faith in God, as said in Philippians 2:13 “for
it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of
his good pleasure.” This is how we, as Christ’s
followers, overcome the world of sin. For, in God’s
eyes, without having the indwelling of His Spirit we are
dead to truth, as said in Romans 3:10 “there is none
righteous, no, not one.” And Romans 3:20, 23-24 “by
the deeds of the laws shall no flesh be justified in his
sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin,” [some
try to do away with the law which, if done does away with
sin in the world]; “all have sinned, and come short
of the glory of God; being justified freely by his grace
[through our faith] through the redemption that is in Christ
Jesus.” So, when Christ gives us His righteousness,
it takes away sin [justification], and then by our faith,
He leaves his righteousness with us; that is what makes
the radical change in us in re-creating in us a new being
dedicated to the service of God [sanctification]. Top
The
Sanctuary Teaches It All!
God’s full plan of salvation for all mankind is taught
in the Sanctuary, for the nation of Israel first, then at
Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross, the first
sanctuary system ended and was transferred back to Heaven,
where Christ ministers for us as our only priest interceding
between us and God. The Heavenly Sanctuary is referred to
also as the True Tabernacle, as read of Christ in Hebrews
8:2 “a minister of the sanctuary, and the true tabernacle,
which the Lord pitched, and not man.” The original
tabernacle on earth was an exact pattern of the heavenly,
as we see in Hebrews 8:5 “See, saith he, that thou
make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee
in the mount,” this referring back to Exodus 25:40
to Moses. In Revelation chapter 1, John in vision was ushered
into the heavenly tabernacle by Christ and shown its layout,
the seven candlesticks – “seven lamps of fire
burning before the throne”, the golden altar with a
golden censer offering incense and the Ark of His testament;
all this is recognized relating to the sanctuary at the
time of Moses. But, in all of this ceremonial ritual taught
in this school of God, the first and the final lesson for
our eternal salvation comes down to what is said by Solomon
in Ecclesiastes 12:13 “hear the conclusion of the whole
matter [God’s full plan of salvation for man]: Fear
God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty
of man.” That is why, the most sacred article in the
entire Sanctuary is the eternal Law of Ten Commandments
housed within the Ark of the Covenant or His Testimony.
A complete understanding of the importance and sacredness
of God’s Law is essential for us to attain the holy
character [attained by Christ working through us] needed
to see Heaven. Study the Sanctuary services and realize
Christ in all.
Chronology
of the Seven Last Plagues
In chapters 15 and 16 of Revelation we find John describing
the coming manifestation of the seven last plagues. In 15:1
it says “I saw another sign in heaven … seven
angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled
up the wrath of God.” And verses 15:7-8 says “the
four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials
full of the wrath of God … no man was able to enter
into the temple [in heaven], till the seven plagues of the
seven angels were fulfilled [indicating Christ’s mediating
ministry as High Priest for man was closed or ended]. Christ
at this point in time has sealed the righteous saints, and
no longer mediates for man, mercy has ceased, and He pleads
no more in holding back the vengeance of God. The plagues
are reserved for those who, as said in 16:2 “fell …
upon the men which had the mark of the beast and upon them
which worshiped his image.” Some Bible readers prefer
to think that these plagues spoken of are just symbolic,
or things in past history, also some try to break up of
the plagues into different time periods in past history;
but a brief examination of Scripture will settle the contentions.
First, the plagues are poured out upon those who have the
mark of the beast and worship his image, indicating end-time
prophecies, for the forming of the image to the beast is
still in its last stages. Second, the plagues fall after
the closing of the work in the sanctuary of heaven, when
the class previously spoken of has finally and completely
rejected God’s last warnings. So, we are here describing
the final judgments of God, immediately prior to Christ’s
second coming. These plagues are “the wine of the wrath
of God” that is threatened by the third angel of Revelation
14:10 and 15:1. Thirdly, as to breaking up the plagues into
different past time periods, sometimes separated by many
generations, just a quick look at the fifth plague shows
the fallacy of this theory. The plagues are all sequential,
and fall upon one generation of man, looking at the fifth
plague for instance, this generation blasphemes God because
of the plague of sores, but the sores came as a result of
the first plague that was poured out. Fearful are these
happenings to come and we need to know fully where we stand
in the eyes of God.
In
The Spirit On The Lord’s Day
Revelation 1:10 says of John, “I was in the Spirit
on the Lord’s day;” what does it mean, or which
day is he speaking of? There are three theories presented
to explain this, of which two are very plausible the other
cannot be supported by scripture at all. First, in the Greek
the term is “kuriake” [belonging to God] and “hemera”
[time period as in a 24 hour day]. During the time of Constantine,
a new church tradition was established and no Scriptural
documentation can substantiate it; Sunday [the first day
of the week] was taken from Mithraism as their holy day.
Second, the terms “day of the Lord,” “Lord’s
day” or “day of Jesus Christ” in eight cases
in the New Testament all refer to this time period as the
day of God’s final judgment of the world, these texts
are Acts 2:20; 1 Corinthians 1:8, 5:5; 2 Corinthians 1:13-14;
Philippians 1:6 and 10; 2 Peter 3:10 and 12. The ninth text
is Revelation 1:10 “in the Spirit on the Lord’s
day,” is it also referring to the day of God’s
judgment? Going on to Revelation 4:1-2 John “looked,
and behold a door was open in heaven … [a voice said]
I will show thee things which must be hereafter [future
events],” and some events were future judgment scenes.
Therefore this text also could be referring the day of our
Lord’s judgment. But, there is a third theory which
also makes very much sense, it is the fact that John, as
did all the early Christians, following the custom of Jesus,
kept the Sabbath on the seventh day of the week, Saturday;
and as Jesus himself said in Mark 2:28 “the Son of
man is Lord also of the Sabbath,” the Lord’s day.
For Jesus to make a special visit to John, the beloved disciple,
on God’s Holy day of rest, the Sabbath, and reveal
this most cherished Revelation, is, I feel, the most plausible
explanation of this text. Top
Receive
the Holy Spirit!
For a Christian, the receiving of the Holy Spirit is paramount
to being ready for having eternal salvation. After Jesus’
resurrection he met with His disciples, with the exception
of Thomas, and in John 20:21-22 Jesus said to them “as
my Father hath sent me, even so send I you ... and saith
unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost.” Also, in Acts
1:8 Jesus said “ye shall receive power, after that
the Holy Ghost is come upon you;” which means God’s
power to overcome sin, and truly do anything in God’s
name, we must have the infilling of His Spirit. But we must
be aware that Satan has his counterfeits, just as when Jesus
was in the wilderness and Satan came tempting Him as an
angel of God; the same temptations if given to a common
man would seem so wonderful in receiving things such as
praise, adoration and worldly royal powers. How did Christ
know the difference? He implicitly followed God’s Word,
and because of this, was full of the Spirit and able to
discern truth from error, even when the counterfeit was
so close to the real. Jesus told us in John 14:14 and 16
“whatsoever ye shall ask in my name I will do”
and “I will pray the Father, and He shall give you
another Comforter [His Holy Spirit].” However, the
same prerequisite that Christ had for the reception of the
Holy Spirit in His life, is identically the same for us
to receive the Holy Spirit today; it is found in the verse
tucked between the two verses cited above, verse 15 “If
you love me, keep my commandments,” and going down
to verse 21 “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth
them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall
be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest
myself to him [in the receipt of His Spirit].” Then
in verse 23 Jesus said “if a man love me, he will keep
my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come
unto him, and make our abode with him.” This is what
we need; the God-head fully abiding in us; but as said above,
beware of the counterfeits which are everywhere.
God’s
Missionary Societies
The Jews, or Israel, were called by God on the 14th day
of the First month, 1491 B.C.; the calling is recorded in
Exodus 4:22-23 “Thus saith the Lord, Israel is My son,
even My first-born … Let My son go [speaking to Pharaoh
of Egypt], that he may serve Me.” This calling to Israel
was God preparing this selected group of people to a specific
task, as His agents or representatives, to carry to the
entire world the peculiar knowledge of God’s law, the
Ten Commandments, and the knowledge of the promised Redeemer
to come. To do this task God established them as a nation
with a government in the form of a theocracy, because God
was their King and the leadership was to get their instructions
directly from God. They were to be organized as a church,
a school and a nation under God’s control; this is
told in Exodus 19:6 “ye shall be unto me a kingdom
of priests [or teachers], and an holy nation.” They
were to spread God’s truths as missionaries to all
nations teaching God’s plan of redemption and the gospel
to all. However, all through their history, it was a constant
see-saw battle, with God sending in His prophets to correct
and chastise the leaders because of their laxness in obeying
the message and also holding the message in exclusiveness
instead of sharing it with the world. Finally, when the
Redeemer, Jesus Christ, did arrive, He was constantly battling
with church leadership for recognition and crying to them
for repentance to return fully to God; instead they crucified
Him, which completely terminated this missionary society
and started a new one. The terminating came at the time
of Christ death, when the veil in the temple was torn from
top to bottom by an unseen hand, showing to all that this
system had fully come to an end [Matthew 27:51]. Then, after
Christ’s resurrection from the dead, He became our
High Priest and instituted the new missionary society, and
told his followers in Mark 16:15 “Go ye into all the
world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”
The
Little Horn of Daniel 8
Daniel 8:8-12 in this study focuses our interest on the
“little horn which waxed exceeding great,” which
brings up the question who or what power does it represent?
The Greek Empire after the death of Alexander the Great
was divided among his four generals Cassander, Lysimachus,
Seleucus and Ptolemy; which thereafter was reduced to two,
the Seleucid Empire [later prophetically referred to as
King of the North], and the Ptolemaic [the King of the South].
But as to the “little horn,” some say it refers
to Antiochus Epiphanes [“The Illustrious”] who
is from the linage of Seleucus. Others prefer, as I do,
to realize the extent of the range of the prophecy of this
horn’s power that it can only refer to the next up-coming
power, Rome! Looking at Antiochus Epiphanes in the line
of Seleucid kings he really was not that outstanding as
a king according to historians like Livy and Polybius; in
fact some say according to his true character, he should
have been referred to as “Epimanes” [The Madman]
instead of Epiphanes [The Illustrious]. His father Antiochus
the Great defeated by the Romans, as part of the pledge
of peace, gave his son as a hostage in Rome, and his ascendancy
to the throne afterward was maintained by Rome. One of the
worst things Antiochus Epiphanes did was the massacre of
about 70,000 Jews and setting up pagan worship in the Jewish
temple, which some say is the fulfillment of Daniel 8:11
and 13 “the daily sacrifice was taken away,” and
“the transgression of desolation, to give both the
sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot.” However,
to accept this as the fulfillment, you must discard what
Christ prophesied, as for a future event, in Matthew 24:15-16
“when ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation,
as spoken by Daniel the prophet [Daniel 8:8-12], stand in
the holy place … then let them which be in Judea flee
into the mountains;” Christ referring to the slaughter
of one million Jews, the utter destruction of Jerusalem
and the tearing down of the temple in 70 A.D. stone by stone.
And just as it also said in Matthew 24:15 “whosoever
readeth, let him understand,” and pray for a full understanding,
comparing all scripture when deciding on what is truth.
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