The Exposition Of A Failed Church., The Split, Part #2

The Splitting of The Church

John to the seven churches, seven is a symbolic and representative number used in the scripture to indicate a period of time, a time of repetition, such as seven days is a week, a period of time that will repeat itself as long as time exist.  It signifies the fullness of and a marker that indicates the completeness of the works of God.  If man is involved, then the number seven is a time of testing and it requires, and is indicative of, an act of faith. Joshua was required to march around the walls of Jericho seven times; Naaman was required to wash in the dirty river of Jordan seven times. Now, if we can view the seven churches as representative churches, then we can see the history of the church unfold and the message that is passed down to the church of today. If we refuse to accept these churches as representative churches, and the significance of the use of the number seven then we are justifying the changing and polluted messages that are being preached in many of the churches today.

The seven churches named in the second and third chapter of Revelation represent the churches throughout the church age. They are representative churches, chosen by the spirit because of certain characteristics typical of the character of the church, not only in the day when John wrote, but on down through the centuries until the church is caught up to meet their Lord in the air. These seven churches represent periods of time clearly defined in both sacred and secular history. 

Many growing churches, in search of the Mega-Church status have divested themselves of the spiritual and atonement promises of the Gospel and began to focus on the entertainment and financial motivational aspects of Christianity.  The knowledge of God is cast aside as new or updated messages emerge that redefine God and caters to the needs and progress of the knowledge of good and evil.  The modern day organized church operating as a business began the process of recreating itself when it was forced to acknowledge a dwindling pool of indoctrinated souls.  In view of Daniel’s prophecy, (Daniel 12:4), the indoctrination process failed with the sudden increase of knowledge that took place within the last two hundred years. 

Studies showed that many of the young people who grew up in the church were leaving the church after reaching the age of consent.  A church without young people is a dying church To remain viable new methods of attracting and involving young people had to be implemented.  To attract this vast pool of young and old, ministers begin by learning to preach motivational messages with a scriptural subtext and the spirit of God was redefined as nothing but an emotional reaction.   The church that is depicted in Revelation 3:14, underwent a startling transformation.

The changing course of the organized church is not a new thing.  During the early days of the New Testament Church when the Gentiles were becoming believers, they were forced to accept the Jewish Law and all of its provisions, particularly circumcision. For many non-Jewish descent, it was a source of contention and one which faced St. Paul in his ministry to the gentiles. It was the first major dispute in the New Testament Church  It is a dispute that was settled, yet it is still alive today.   Galatians 3:24-26  Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.  Paul’s teaching is re-interpreted in such a manner the it gives a certain instability to faith in Christ.

The oldest organized church of record, the Catholic church became embroiled in disputes, soon after it was established as an organized body.  In his letters to the seven churches, Jesus describes it as a church that had lost its first love. For the first thousand years of Christianity, there were no "denominations" within the hierarchy of the church as there is today.  Offshoot groups existed, but they were considered "heresies" and part of the church’s mission was to bring these groups into one fold.  In 1054 the catholic church, the church that lay claim to being the church founded by Saint Peter split. 

The first division within Christendom came in 1054 with what was called the "Great Schism" between the Western Church and the Eastern Church. From that point forward, there were two large branches of Christianity, which came to be known as the Catholic Church (in the West) and the Orthodox Church (in the East). The next major division occurred in the 16th century with the Protestant Reformation. The Reformation was sparked by Martin Luther and "Protestantism" as a movement or denomination officially began in 1529.

We will not attempt to do a detailed study of organized church history, but from 1054 and forward church history will show a pattern of splits upon splits.  Many of these splits were orchestrated by men who were striving to maintain the purity of  Christian values, while there were those who was in search of power. 

The church of England, initially prompted by a dispute over the annulment of the marriage of King Henry VIII to Catherine of Aragon, the Church of England separated from the Roman Catholic Church in 1534 and became the established church of the Empire by an Act of Parliament in the Act of Supremacy, (Rights of the Empire), thus beginning a series of events known as the English Reformation.  Once the door was open and God’s refusal to actively take sides, ‘splits’ became acceptable within the household of faith as the means of starting a new church or denomination.

The desire to stand out, the desire to be a superstar, the desire to be in charge is the driving force behind many new denominations and ministers entering into the vineyard of Christ.  To  make such statements is to open myself up to criticism, but there is an urgent need for the truth to be told.  Hiding behind scriptures out of context and making false claims of God has placed the church in a tenuous position.  To sustain itself in a blatant attempt to remain relevant, that which was once considered to be a part of the world is now being drawn into the church, not for the purpose of edifying God, but for the purpose of attracting more people into the church as a place of entertainment.  Modern day churches are seeking to merge worship and entertainment,  and there are those who are good at this are reaping the benefits while Jesus is left standing at the door knocking.

Before we proceed further, to understand the word of God as pertaining to the churches we must be able to reconcile the meaning of these scriptures: Matthew 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.  Acts 8:3  As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison.  Acts 12:1-2  Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church.  And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.  I know you heard in church recently that God was just standing by waiting to deliver you, or he is just waiting to pour out his blessing upon you.    These types of statements invoke a feel good emotional response, but this is not the true mission of the church or  the Gospel.  

If we abide in Christ, then we are a member of his church.  Though we might suffer and even die, the Devil will not be able to stand against us.  The church is a spiritual body, the Devil can affect our natural but he is powerless against our spiritual body.  Understanding the word of God is not complicated, but when we let one or two words shape our understanding of what is being said, or what we see, the end result can be disastrous.   The three most important aspects of any conversation is, who is talking, who is being spoken to and what is the conversation about.

Recently I posted a picture on the internet with the caption, “Can you see the bear?”  A simple question that required a yes or no answer.  There were those who said yes, they could see the bear and there were those who said no.  Now there was a third group that publicly stated that I had seen a bear and went on to poke fun at my sighting.  A simple test that was suppose to be used in support of this discussion turned out to be rather embarrassing based upon the number of people who didn’t get the question right.  The same as Jesus was not standing there pointing at a rock and telling Peter, upon this rock I will build my church.  The church was to exist within the heart and not on a piece of ground.

Before the level of the knowledge of good and evil was allowed to progress to the level it is today there was no need to restudy the Bible in the original cultural context. Now I will challenge you to step out from behind your wall of indoctrinated beliefs and ask yourself several questions.  What is the purpose of the church and what is the purpose of the Gospel?  Some will exclaim, to bring glad tidings.  Glad tidings of what? God is about to give you a whole lot of money?  How profane.  A breakthrough is coming on your job?  You don’t have to go to a church building or even pray to God for a breakthrough on your job.  The church is suppose to be about the Gospel of Christ, not about the doctrine of men.  The doctrine of man is a Pagan response to a spiritual God.

False teachers are in the majority and they are flourishing today. They have erased the powerful gospel of the water and the Spirit which Jesus announced on the earth, reducing it to little more than a faint memory, dismissing it as being too elementary, condescending about it. In its place they have created another gospel, and, preaching only about the righteousness of man. This is what has allowed Christianity to degenerate into such a sorry state that it finds itself in today.   What we see today in masses in the pulpit and on TV is the smiling faces of pastors, stoking their ego's, as they preach a failed gospel of prosperity and promising favors,  while nothing is said about Luke 21:11, and there will be great earthquakes, and in various places plagues and famines; and there will be terrors and great signs from heaven. (NASB)

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The Exposition Of A Failed Church, Pagan Worship Part #3

The Exposition Of A Failed Church., Part #1

The Exposition of a Failed Church.

Revelation 3:14-22

In this letter to the church, the seventh church that is representative of the seventh and final church age, Jesus issued a stinging indictment against this mutant form of a church and threatens to take punitive action.  This church had entered its final state of apostasy and Jesus was threatening to, ‘spew it out of his mouth’, the same judgment that God rained down upon the children of Israel.  This type of indictment does not set well within the modern church structure who says it is rich in God’s favors and God is providing it needs.   A careful reading of Revelation 3:14-22 seems to indicate that Jesus is addressing the issues of a failed church.  

Revelation 3:14-22: And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;  I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me.

Whenever there is a conversation about the state of affairs within the household of faith, namely the church, there are those who are well versed in the scriptural will use Matthew 16:18, out of context of course, to stifle any complaint level against the church.  Jesus said to Peter, “And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”  A common and simple interpretation of that verse is that it does not matter what the Devil bring against the church, the church will always stand.  This verse is used by churches of all classes, creeds and denominations, from the storefronts to the fancy edifice.  Yet, the truth of this statement cannot be found in the modern day English translation of the word church.  Many different doctrines are formulated to promote the establishment of different churches, thus presenting the picture of a kingdom divided against itself.  The Devil has played havoc with organized religion, he has infiltrated the organized church, he has weakened some, some he has taken over and some he has even destroyed.

Now there are those who will be quick to condemn me for making such bold statements, in view of the Words of Jesus, that said, “the gates of hell could not stand against the church.”  As we seek to understand the condemnation of the church as issued by Jesus, Revelation 3:20-22  Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man (he is not speaking to a group now) hears my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him (come in to HIM), and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.  The key phrase here is, to him that overcometh.  

To further explore the truth, we need to understand the meaning of the word church and be able to differentiate when a church is not a church.  The use of the word church in the English language is misnomer, in that it fails to express the true meaning of the original Greek word.   Based upon the original language of the Bible, a church is best defined as an assembly or group, but never as a building.  The existence of the church was and is a condition of the heart, the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit, not some glitzy glass cathedrals. Therefore, when Jesus spoke of the church he was referencing the true gospel within the heart of man.  This was not some made up gospel that caters to the desires and wants of humanity, but a gospel that catered to the coming of the kingdom, the return of Jesus Christ.

In the New Testament era this group or assembly did not meet in the temple on the Sabbath day, rather they met in homes or other private locations.  There was no high priest or offering of the sacrifice, they met and edified each other through the words of their testimony.    The church was a new thing based upon the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The assemblies of the church expressed a love for each other that attracted the attention of those outside of the assemblies.  The focus of this new thing was not wealth building, but its focus was on being prepared to meet the bridegroom when he comes.  New assemblies were formed as the need required to accommodate the ease of assembly.  In essence groups were formed in cities and outlying communities.  Full-time pastors did not exist, as the group or assembly was governed from within and traveling preachers or ministers was always welcome.  They often stopped by to expound the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  This was a weakness that the Devil sought to exploit.  It became a tool of the ‘church busters’.   In many instances there  did not appear to be any special or set day for the assembly to meet, the church was always available.  When there was death, sickness or even hungry the church was there to help. 

Paul traveled extensively and wrote letters admonishing the churches to stand fast in the Gospel.  When the assemblies came together they often read the letters that Paul or others had written to them.  The church flourished, not as an organizational body, but as a body of believers.  There was a type of love that drew men and women together, a type of concern that they showed for each other.  

Under the Roman rule, after the persecution had ceased,  the Christians joined hands with the government, and with their access to newly found wealth and status, they then became known as the builder of the glitzy glass cathedrals.  Leaders emerged and under government sanction established themselves as rulers or leaders of the Church that Jesus founded.  In the letters to the churches in the Book of Revelation, Jesus spoke of his hatred for these groups.  The evolution of the church continued as men of dubious honor and causes sought to hew out positions for themselves by dividing the church into denominations, creeds, cultures and doctrines.  Each brand of Christianity became a religious entity within itself, thus the confusion of Christianity began to spread worldwide.  The Devil through the creation of the church as an organizational body was able to present the body of Christ as a divided body.  The English speaking nations that once claimed to be the defenders of the true faith, played the harlot with it Christian values and what emerged was a polluted mess.  Jeremiah 3:8  And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; (scattered her among the nations) yet her treacherous sister Judah (The western world) feared not, but went and played the harlot also.  The once so-called Christian nations are guilty of committing the same grievous errors that once was attributed to the children of Israel.

In the Garden of Eden, using the knowledge of good and evil the Devil introduced a form of  interpretation of the scripture that is still being used today.   This interpretation is based upon a suppressed knowledge of God and it is empowered by the worldly knowledge of good and evil, it sows seeds of doubt wherever it is spread.  If members of the assemblies (church) were challenged to step out from behind their indoctrinated beliefs in search of a true experience with God and his Word the confusion and division of Christianity would cease to exist.  The knowledge of God requires us to ask God questions, the same as Job, David and other great men of the Bible.  Once the question is posed, knowing that the Devil will be the first to answer, we should wait for God to open up our understanding.   How do we know when the Devil is speaking when he has transformed himself into an angel of light?  1 John 4:1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

Much of the confusion that exists within the household of faith is caused by the dubious claims made as pertaining to what God is doing or what God can do.  God can do anything but fail is a common cliché that is supposed to remove doubt and foster a strong belief in God, yet it is these type of clichés that cause the seed of doubt to grow. Sitting through a church service where the speaker informed the congregation  that while they sleep God would be preparing a blessing for them.  The crowd responded with an emotional outburst that was equivalent to a crowd watching their home team score a touchdown.   In the Book of Revelation John saw an angry God sitting on his throne waiting to pour out his wrath.  

The Exposition Of A Failed Church., Part #2

The Knowledge of Good and Evil, Part 3 of 3

There are many prophecies contained within the Bible concerning the end of time, but Daniel 12:4 takes on a special and ominous  meaning in light of our discussion.  This is most definitely a prophecy that has come to pass within this generation.  There are signs in the heavens, such as the blood moons and fire falling from the sky.  The earth is quaking in its misery, earthquakes in divers places, and there are news reports of huge numbers of fish and  sea creatures washing up on the beaches dead. The intensity of war keeps increasing while there are those who cry peace, peace.

What is it that prevents mankind from being fearful and running to God?  It is the vast knowledge of good and evil that allows us to explain all of these events away.   Natural occurrence or climate changes are usually the culprit and at the end of the day we feel smug and protected by our vast knowledge of the earth events taking place.  We are assured that God is not pouring out his vengeance upon an evil generation.  Why? Is it because we have created a God of love who is about to rain down favors upon his children.  This type of God would not rain down wrath upon his children.  The Book of Revelation depicts a God who is storing up his wrath awaiting for that moment to pour out.   Revelation 16:1  And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.

Growing up in the Mississippi’s southern countryside in the early fifties when the knowledge of good and evil was not freely dissimulated, we were taught to respect the works of God.  When the lightning began to flash and the thunder roared, we were taught to find a place to sit and be quiet.  As the knowledge of good and evil increased we began to understand the scientific definition and root cause of thunder and lightning, in the process we lost some of our fear of God.  The process began in the garden of Eden, as knowledge, increase the fear of God diminish. 

Freedom of religion was one of the great cornerstones that this nation was founded upon, yet today there is a movement to promote freedom from religion.    The knowledge of the world has increased and the true knowledge of God has decreased, yet there seems to be an increased knowledge of the awareness of God all around us, a type of God that is alien to the God of the Bible.   Who God is and what God is doing is based upon our modern day interpretation of the scripture.   It could be described as a false faith that requires a level of indoctrination to sustain it.  In a conversation with his disciples, Jesus mused in Luke 18:8,... Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?

The earth as a testing ground, a place for the preparation of souls to occupy the kingdom of God is a concept or an idea that has never been fully accepted by mankind since partaking of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil.    After the Devil corrupted a third of God, angels and brought corruption upon the earth, God did not choose to make a full end.   Jeremiah 4:23-25  I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled.  Jeremiah speaks of a time before the beginning of the restoration works of God.

Genesis 1:2-5  And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.  And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

God in his creative works spoke the words, “let there be light”.   The darkness was caused by a catastrophic event that had taken place.  God saw the light and it was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.  In a mortal and the natural world, there are opposites, for one attribute to exist the opposite must also exist.  For light to exist darkness must also exist.  Good is the opposite of evil.  When the world is restored to its former state, before the devil corrupted it, there will be no darkness, no sin, and even the seas will disappear.  Revelation 21:1  And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.  Revelation 21:25  And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.  In the spiritual realm the knowledge of good and evil is no more, only the knowledge of God prevails.

In God’s administration or world affairs choices are always given.  The purpose of choices is the perfect way to root out those who are unfit for the kingdom.   Choices can be viewed as a process of culling out the bad fruit.  Bad choices are only acceptable when we accept the finish work of the Cross as an atonement for our sins. When God restore this earth according to the plan laid out in the Book of Revelation, what happen in the past when the Devil made the wrong choice and rebel against God is not going to happen in the renewed Kingdom of God.

Humans are so good at doing bad,  God knows this and the Devil know this.  Down through the ages of the scripture, God has allowed the Devil to tempt man.  One of the messages we are supposed to get out of the story of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is, there is God’s way and there is the Devil’s way.  Our vast knowledge often presents us with a path that seems right, but is contrary to the way of God.  Often the two ways seem to coincide with each other and thereby the sin is minimized. 

To promote the Devil’s agenda, there has never been a need to rewrite the Bible even though many have expressed that need.  It is all a matter of interpretation.  To attempt to rewrite the Bible is a product of a reprobate mind.  Romans 1:28  And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;  A person who are classified by the scripture as having a reprobate mind have some knowledge of God and it is contained within their knowledge of good and evil.  They know of His commandments, but they live impure lives and have very little respect or desire to please God. They have no fear of God.  A person with a reprobate mind live corrupt and selfish lives, sin is justified and acceptable it becomes a matter of interpretation.  The reprobates are those whom God has rejected and has left to their own devices and they are leading many astray.

How we use the scripture has always been a  matter of interpretation.   It is evil to use the word of God for the advancement of our worldly pleasures.  Many are using the scripture for financial gain and claiming it to be the will of God,  as we said, it is a matter of interpretation.   In the garden the Devil used the scripture or the Word of God to his own advantage.  He tried the same trick with Jesus.  Matthew 4:5-7  Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: 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. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

God's exercised his authority over man, as a creature that had reason and freedom of the will. God commanded the man, who stood as a public person, the father and representative of all mankind, to receive the law of God, as he had lately received a nature, for himself and all his. God commanded all the creatures, according to their capacity; the settled course of nature is a law, Ps 148:6; 104:9. The brute-creatures have their respective instincts; but man was made capable of performing the reasonable service, and therefore received, not only the command of a Creator, but the command of a Prince and Master. Though Adam was a very great man, a very good man, and a very happy man, God commanded him; and the command was no disparagement to his greatness, no reproach to his goodness, nor any diminution at all to his happiness. We must acknowledge God's right to rule us, and it is our obligation to be ruled by him; and never allow our will to be in contradiction to, or competition with, the will of God.

There was nothing essentially evil about the tree or the fruit of the tree. It is unlikely that eating the fruit truly gave Adam and Eve any further knowledge. It was the act of disobedience that opened Adam and Eve’s eyes to evil.  Their sin of disobeying God brought sin and evil into the world and into their lives. Eating the fruit, as an act of disobedience against God, was what gave Adam and Eve knowledge of good and evil.

God did not want Adam and Eve to sin. God knew ahead of time what the results of sin would be. God knew that Adam and Eve would sin and would thereby bring evil, suffering, and death into the world. Why, then, did God allow Satan to tempt Adam and Eve? God allowed Satan to tempt Adam and Eve to force them to make the choice. Adam and Eve chose, of their own free will, to disobey God and eat the forbidden fruit. The results—evil, sin, suffering, sickness, and death—have plagued the world ever since. Adam and Eve's decision results in every person being born with a sin nature, a tendency to sin. Adam and Eve's decision is what ultimately required Jesus Christ to die on the cross and shed His blood on our behalf. Through faith in Christ, we can be free from sin's consequences, and ultimately free from sin itself

The Knowledge of Good and Evil, Part 2 of 3

Daniel 12:4  But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.

The Bible often refers to two different types of knowledge, the knowledge of God, which include wisdom as an active attribute, which was given to Solomon and the knowledge of good and evil. Proverbs 2:5  Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.   1 Corinthians 15:34  Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.  Then there is that type of knowledge described as the knowledge of good and evil.  The use of the term good an evil is a Merism.  A Merism invokes a statement of “polar extremes” as a way of embracing everything that lies between them.  Therefore the knowledge of good and evil encompass the knowledge of the universe.   Genesis 2:17  But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it:...  

At the close of Daniel’s prophecies he was instructed to, seal the book of prophecies until the time of the end.    The last part of Daniel 12:4 should make us think of the transportation age and the knowledge explosion that took place within the past century.  Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.   At least 6000 years have passed since God created Adam.  The destruction of the tower of Babel and the confusion of the languages was used to control the flow of knowledge until the time of the end.  Genesis 11:7  Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.  This control factor slowed the dispersion of the knowledge of good and evil so that God was able to maintained the timetable that he had established from the beginning of the world.  

The knowledge of good and evil or all the knowledge of the universe has increased exponentially within the last one hundred years.  All but the last hundred years of man's existence he has either walked or rode animals as a major mode of transportation.  The 20^th Century saw man invent automobiles, planes and spacecrafts and even travel to the moon.  Think about this, a couple of centuries ago, It took men 160 years to produce a steam engine that really worked,  from conception to completion.  The nuclear bomb was built in just 6 years a few decades ago, and today’s tech inventions fly from paper to prototype in just days, and is mass production in mere weeks!  As Daniel prophesied, many are traveling to and fro, and the knowledge of the universe  has increased.   There is a downside to this travel and knowledge that God in his infinitive wisdom was trying to protect man from.   The spread of diseases is one downside that quickly comes to mind.

Isaiah 5:20  Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!  The knowledge of good and evil have overshadowed the knowledge of God and it is being used today to discredit or reshape the teachings of the Bible.   That which once was considered sacred is now considered to be wrong and evil is now considered good.  Our political and religious leaders are speedily embracing policies and doctrines that are contrary to the teaching of the Word of God, and it is being hailed as a good thing by the masses.

It began in the Garden of Eden, a flagrant attempt by the Devil to discredit the word of God by planting a subtle seed of doubt in the hearer's mind.   Once the doorway to the knowledge of good and evil, or all of the knowledge of the universe was open, God and the Devil knew that this knowledge would continue to grow and the seeds of doubt would flourish.   Playing loose with the interpretation of what God said is a tool that the Devil that has used down through the ages.  This seed of doubt manifested itself when God was dealing with Abraham and Sarah and it again reared its ugly head when the Angel announced the birth of John the Baptist.  The knowledge of the universe has allowed the 'created' to question the validity of the 'creator'. 

 There is an increased level of disbelief  in todays society and it is proportional to the spread of the knowledge of good and evil.   Many who came of age in a Christian environment are finding it hard to maintain their indoctrinated views in a changing world.   This level of disbelief is aided by those who casting aside the contextual nature of the scripture, misinterpret and misapply the scripture in favor of sermonizing events as if they were a separate entity.  This is done to produce messages that caters to the indoctrinated and emotional state of humanity, producing an emotional high that is often referred to as the 'Spirit of God.' This concept cannot be sustained through a deeper understanding of the Word of God, nor by common sense.  It is the root cause that many are walking away from the teachings of old.

An essential part of the knowledge of God was the fear of God.  Proverbs 1:7  The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.  The fear of God has been cast aside and a more friendly and politically correct version of God has been created.  The church that Jesus ordained has been taken over by those who are skilled in turning the Church of God into a  business that caters to their own financial advancement. The sellable attributes or buzz words of Christianity is good health, prosperity, increase.  In the book of Revelation, Jesus spoke of his hatred for those who came into the church and set themselves up as leaders.  Revelation 2:15  So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.

To continue the discussion of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, we need to look closer at the reason God placed this tree in the midst of the garden.  Many have framed the question  that if it was God’s desire to eradicate sin, why place the temptation before man.  The question is based upon a false allegation that it was God’s intent to eradicate sin.  Let your mind focus on another question.  Did God create Lucifer as a sinful angel or did Lucifer choose to sin?  Did God create Adam to sin or did Adam choose to sin?   Now lets take a step backward, did God create the darkness that engulfed the earth when Lucifer rebelled or was it caused by the rebellion of Lucifer?  We must be careful that the knowledge of good and evil does not taint our answer.  God is looking for souls that is capable of standing up to the devil.  These souls will make up his new kingdom.  This is a test and the  Book of Genesis tells us how it all began, the Book of Revelation tells how all of this is going to end.

Genesis 3:5  For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.  It would be pointless to proceed in this discussion without addressing the  statement attributed to the Devil.  At this point to try to make the case that the Devil was a liar would be moot because he did not lie.   How can he be a liar when he is telling the truth?  The answer can be found in John 8:44  Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.  Simply put, the last part of the verse tells us that if we speak the Word of God for our own benefit we lie.  The problem is in how do we acclimate the statement of God with what the Devil said when we know the rest of the story.  Many within the sphere of religious endearment find it hard to accept the statement of God when the man did not fall dead  the moment he took a bite of the fruit.  Our understanding of the event is based upon whether we use the knowledge and wisdom of God or the knowledge of good and evil. 

Based upon what we know about what happen the best interpretation is achieved when we look at what God said, “the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die”, and what the Devil said, “the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened”.  From these two statements we should be able to see that this death, God spoke of was the separation of the soul from its creator.  A spiritual God addresses the spiritual aspects of humanity. This death was achieved when man fail the test and began to worship his natural and emotional self.  

When God created man, a timeline was implied by the use of the translated word, “subdue” rather than “occupy”.  To subdue means to bring into subjection and prepare for departure.  Genesis 1:28  And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it…  The use of the word occupy would have been indicative of a force or people preparing to remaining for an extended and indefinite period of time. 

Once Adam and Eve disobeyed God and tasted the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, a floodgate of knowledge and emotional experiences were  open up to them.  When they began to experience the fruit of their vast knowledge, the emotional conflict caused by the battle between good and evil was overpowering.  They looked upon themselves and they saw themselves different from what God had intended for them to see and were ashamed of what God had created.  What was it that changed when they partook of the fruit?  We know that when their eyes were open, they saw things differently.  Was it the sight of their naked bodies that unleashed a flurry of emotional or sexual highs that took control of their mind, causing them to fashion garments and trying to hide from God?

God had placed man in the garden in a protective state.  He gave man a clear knowledge of the things around him.  Using what we will call common sense Adam was able to name all of the animals.  Genesis 2:19  And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.

 He provided for man all of the necessities of life, there was no need to explore that dark area of emotional confusion that existed in the knowledge of good and evil.   That forbidden knowledge manifested itself soon afterward and caused Cain to slay Abel, his brother.  

The Knowledge of Good and Evil, Part 1 of 3

Genesis 2:16-17  And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:  But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

Many of us have heard beautiful crafted sermons delivered based upon this verse that expounded upon the failure of Adam to keep the commandment of God.  It seems that the full implication of this tragic failure is overshadowed by Adam’s disobedient nature.  Many listeners are often left with unanswered and unvocalized questions, because of our fear of questioning the works of God. What is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  A clue can be found in the way the words are phrased.  Why would God deny man access to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil?  That will be the focus of the lesson.  Did God intend for Adam to live in an ignorant state of bliss?  The answer is ‘no’, we will expound later.

Now, before we proceed further, let's take a closer look at the conversation  between the Devil and Eve.  Genesis 3:1-5  Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?  And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. (Somehow I cannot get over the idea that Eve changed the message of God.  Did God command Adam not to touch the tree?) 

And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.  Keep in mind it was the Devil intention, then as well as now to destroy the Word of God, and it began with a simple misrepresentation of God and a misinterpretation of what God said.   The Devil plan is based upon the future, it is the prophecies of God that disturb him.   That old Satan was not out to just destroy Adam, he was trying to destroy what Man represented.  

The creation of man was not something that God did as an afterthought or to past time, neither did he create man to have someone to give stuff to.  A deeper understanding of the scripture will reveal that a battle between good and evil had already taken place and Satan and his demons had been cast out upon the earth.   This epic battle that Jesus alluded to in Luke 10:18  ”And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven,” had already taken place between the Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2.  Man was created with a purpose in mind.  Genesis 1:28  And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.   The words ‘replenish’ and ‘subdue’ should enlighten us as to God’s future plan and it is manifested through the fulfillment of his prophecies.  

The Bible clearly states that God created Adam and Eve and put them in the garden filled with trees that produced good things to eat.   However, according to the English translation, God also created a tree that would give the eater the knowledge of good and evil and He commands Adam not to eat its fruit.  Now this is that question that tends to plague mankind, why would God create something that was banned and, specifically, why would it be a tree whose fruit offered the knowledge of good and evil? Isn't knowledge good?  Even the Bible teaches us that the fear of God is the beginning of knowledge.  This is a question that deserves an answer and the answer must exist within the meaning of the phrase “the knowledge of good and evil” and not some outside conjectures.

If we were to proceed without getting a clear knowledge of the meaning of the phrase “the knowledge of good and evil”, it's conceivable that we will end up with a distorted and polluted view of God’s plan and the purpose of creating man.  It began as a simple task So that man might know there was a sovereign Lord, to whom he owed obedience. For in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.  A simple statement that the Devil used to inject a level of confusion into the Word of God that is prevalent in this day.  Did God fail to carry out his threat when he said to the man you will die if you eat of the fruit of the tree?   Do man interpret or translate the message of God wrong the same as the Devil did in the garden? 

Once the man was tempted and did partake of the forbidden fruit, he entered into a partnership agreement with the master of deceit and began to follow his directives, the same as the fallen angels that preceded him and were cast out. Adam, now following in the footsteps of the fallen angels was cast out, also. Man began to interpret and reinterpret the meaning of God's word based upon his infinite knowledge of good and evil. The line of separation between good and evil became blurred.  What was once considered evil became 'good' and the desires of man became accepted as the will of God.  

When God created man he gave him the necessary knowledge to carry out the task that was assigned to him.  This scripture also implies that man was created with a type of God given knowledge necessary to carry out the directives of God.  Genesis 2:19  And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.  This in itself is indicative of a God given knowledge. He also created an access for man to achieve wisdom and knowledge through him, as in the case of Solomon. There is a difference between the God given knowledge and the knowledge of good and evil.   Sometime the English translation  can be misleading.

 The knowledge of good and evil is what is called a “merism.”  A merism is an expression of totality by the mention of opposites. You mention some opposites and it implies everything in between.  In the Hebrew language we  have a lot of merisms.  For example, the west and the east are used as merisms.  Heaven and hell, if I ascend to heaven there you are, if I go to Sheol there you are. This does not mean that God is only at the two extremes.  It means He is everywhere.  Near and far are used as merisms. “Peace to the far and peace to the near,” says the Lord. In other words peace to everybody. More examples of merisms— “going out and coming in” is a fairly common merism. “The Lord will keep your going out and coming in,” meaning the Lord will take care of everything in your life.

Merism involves a statement of “polar extremes” as a way of embracing everything that lies between them. A final example of this would be,  I have searched “high and low “ for that thing, meaning I have searched everywhere.

The knowledge of good and evil is a way of saying in Hebrew “all knowledge, knowledge of everything” and that is what God does not want people to know. If you read the story, you see that is what Satan says. He says, “Hey, he knows you will become like gods knowing everything. That is what he is trying to keep from you. Don’t you want to know everything?” Knowing everything sounds interesting. And they do and after the fall God says, he is speaking again in heaven as he often does in many places in Scripture, not just Genesis, “Look they have become like one of us, they know good and evil, they know everything.”  It takes time and study to achieve the knowledge of the world, the idea is that we now have more knowledge than we can morally handle.

Part of the human dilemma as a consequence of the fall of man is that we have this enormous knowledge of how to do evil as well as good. The same human being that knows how to create a computer for communication purposes know how to use that same computer for destructive purposes. The same skill set that uses atomic energy for good can also make weapons out of it. Unlike animals we have enormous capacity for choices; taking skills that could use and should use for good and employing them for evil. That is the human dilemma. We are in trouble because of our hungry for this knowledge of the good and evil.  

Deconstructing God

Deconstructing God

Malachi 3:6  For I am the LORD, I change not…

Many believe the future of humanity as we know it is at risk because our system of values has become corrupt and the world at large is suffering from moral bankruptcy.  We derive our value systems from our cultures and our cultures get their values from religion.   Christianity once was that flagship religion  whose mission was to convert the world, the same as democracy was hailed as the government of choice by many emerging nations. 

The earth is groaning under the pains of global warming, wars, and Christian values are becoming more and more toxic every day.   Romans 8:22  For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. The president of the United States chose to publicly state,  “America is no longer a Christian nation.”  Our schools now can teach that man evolved from apes, but they cannot teach that man was created by God.  Christianity has dumbed down and accepted a position of adaptability as it seeks to create a non-confrontational God.

At an early age, my first impression of God was that of an angry God who underwent periods of silence when dealing with his wayward creation.  A fact that has been removed from our modern day interpretation of the scripture is that God often vented his anger and frustration upon his creation.   David understood and expressed the sentiment of God heart when he said in Psalms 7:11, “God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.”  God’s wrath was poured out in the form of a flood in Noah’s day and he continued to vent  his angry when dealing with the people of the wicked nations. 

God’s anger peaked when he gave Israel,  his bride, his chosen people a bill of divorcement.  Jeremiah 3:8  And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah (western civilization)  feared not, but went and played the harlot also.  God spoke through his prophets concerning the final consummation of things, then God was silent until the fulfillment of time and his Son came forth, not to broker a peace or prosperity, but a plan of salvation.   The grace of God brought through the works of the cross did not turn God into a fun loving God, but a God who is storing up his wrath until the works of Grace is complete. Revelation 15:7  And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.

Now I  have introduced an idea or concept of God that is not politically correct, nor is it in the best interest of promoting a loving God.   The Old Testiment depicted a God that was prone to bouts of angry and long periods of silence.  The Old Testiment introduced us to a God that actively  participated in killing sprees.  The New Testament introduced us to the Son of God who extolled the virtues of love.  To overcome the obstacles presented in the Old Testiment and to make God more user friendly it became necessary to deconstruct and reconstruct God in a fashion that is compatible with todays standards.   

Nations that were once considered  ‘God fearing nation’ are backing away from the concept of one nation under God.  World leaders seek to shed the image of a Christian nation, and many have publicly stated that the way of the cross is just one of many ways to this new concept of heaven.  The church had no qualms about making God more user friendly, because it open up a  new level of power and control.  Under the direction of the church,  this deconstruction and reconstruction process produced a type of religion, (charismatic religion) that embodies many of the excesses that the God of old frown upon.

To deconstruct means to systematically remove layer after layer of the supporting structure, whether it is an idea, concept or even a religious deity.  This is done for the purpose of doing an analytical examination of something (as a theory) often in order to reveal its inadequacy  or relevance and to bring about changes.  Deconstruction is an environmentally friendly, it is the  alternate to demolition or destruction.    Rather than destroying or cast aside and item, idea, or even God, it is  more fitting that a process deconstructing and reconstructing be initiated.   The children of Israel attempted to do the same thing at the base of the Holy Mountain.  They just wanted a God that they could see and touch. 

 In our modern and ever changing world, it is necessary that certain items, things or even our belief structure be updated to maintain their relevancy in a modern and  high-tech society.  Let's look at the cook stove of the early 1900’s, a wood burning configuration  that certainly would be out of place in the modern homes of today.  Yet no home would be complete without the presence of a stove.   To fulfill the need of the home did not require creating a new method of processing food, heat would still be needed to heat a chamber or oven to a temperature necessary to cook the food.  Therefore a process of deconstructing and reconstructing the wood stove allowed for the emergence of the gas, electric and microwave ovens, thus eliminating the smoke and grit.  Yet, they all have one thing in common that makes them an oven.  

Blessings and miracles were the first two attributes of God that was subjected to an analytical examination.  A blessing had to be more than the power to act in God’s name, it had to represent financial gain.  A miracle became something that could be advertised and even sold.   Blessings and the miracle would be the selling points of this new or updated God.   The key to obtaining the blessing would be through an unholy translation of the scripture call “the planting of a seed”.  Jesus attempted to correct the disciples thinking when he stated in  Matthew 5:45  That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.  There are things that God allows or ‘maketh’ without regard to one’s status as a believer or not. 

There is no divine directive that says the design of a stove cannot change, but there is a divine directive that deals with the changing of God.  God simply stated in  Malachi 3:6  For I am the LORD, I change not…    As a child growing up in a church going family the name of God was spoken with reverence and respect.   We were taught to never use the name of God in vain.  There was always the proper place and time to honor and praise God.   Often praise and prayer were a private thing being careful to adhere to the teaching of Matthew 7:6  Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you. 

This new or reconstructed God can now be found in many places where he once was not found.  Many of us are doubtful as to whether God wants to be acknowledged in some of the venues that make the claim of honoring God.   The rap star, whose music caused many to blush, is often quoted as thanking God for his blessings.  God has exploded all over the social media and many have concluded that God is doing great things.  If you type “Amen’ under the picture of the huge stack of money ‘God’ will give it to you.  Once the door was open to the redesigning of of God many became caught up in defining and redefining God.   Today ‘God’ can be found doing so many wonderful things that the judgement of God spoken of in the Book of Daniel and Revelation is no longer an issue.   We have trivialized the name of God, and now we are well on the way to rendering the message of Jesus Christ impotent.  

Destroying The Prophecies Of God

Growing up in a church going family, we were taught to look forward to the end of the world. Judgement day is coming was the catch phrase that cause us to go to church and in our fashion attempt to serve God.  There was no attempt to define judgement day other than that day when we were required to stand before God and give an account of the deeds that we had done. Heaven was the place we wanted to go, hell was the place we did not want to go.  The attempt to define heaven or hell did not rate high on the list of priorities.  The book of Revelation was a scary book because it told of the fulfillment of the  prophecies and the end of the world.   We knew what lay ahead of us because we believed in the prophecies, then they told us we had it all wrong.  

       

The name of God was a sacred word, it was not cast about freely.  Reverence, awe, fear and respect usually surround its use.  We would worship God for what he was, not what we was expecting to get from him.   Now, the ATM God has replaced the God of the ancient prophecies and many have subscribed to the Devil’s ideologies.  Heaven and Hell have been redefined and many (so call) messengers of God are preaching messages that is contrary to the prophesies of the Bible.  These messages have been effective in that they have allowed the word of God to be twisted and the church, that is suppose to represent the body of Christ has become splintered and fragmented. 
  
Try to imagine, Christ is coming back for his church, combining all of the concepts and ideologies together into one cohesive unit, that can be referred to as the Bride of Christ.  It boggles the mind when we think of the confusion that exist within the household of faith.  Based upon our conception of Heaven, Hell, and everlasting life, the prophecies have long been discarded.   Christianity is all about earthly gains and continued blessing. 

While serving in the military a German immigrant and I shared the same sleeping quarters.   One of our many conversations centered around what is known as, ‘The Holocaust’.   It was his opinion that this tragedy was not an act of hatred, but an action that was supported by other nations for the purpose of circumventing biblical prophecies.   If the Jews could be eliminated or not allowed to reclaim their homeland, then the biblical prophecies would not be valid. History also bears out that Hitler was deeply concerned about the prophesies of the Bible and  Nostradamus.

Throughout Bible history and even today many world leaders and groups have attempted to destroy the Jews as a nation and a people, thereby claiming their birthright for themselves.  If this was allowed to happen, the written Bible prophecies would fail, and it is the thinking of the Devil (Antichrist) that Jesus Christ would not have a reason to return to this earth.  Even religious organizations and churches have unwittingly participated in this unholy scheme of claiming what was not theirs to claim.   Understanding the Bible prophecies will help us understand what has been and still is going on in the Middle East and the world.  It will also prepare us for the return of The Christ.

As we near the two thousand year mark, (depends on how we count it) since Christ left to return to his Father, many religious organizations have given up on the prophecies.  A gospel is being preached that caters to the here and now.   All of the blessings promised to the children of Isreal is now being claimed by the church.   There are three classes or groups of people dealt with in the Bible.  One Group does not supersede or replace the other.  Paul referred to all three of them in 1 Corinthians 10:32, “ Give none offense, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God”.  The Jews and the Gentiles  are, and always been  earthly bodies, whereas the Church is and always been a spiritual body composed of both, all three will be judged separately...

The Judgment referenced in Matthew 25:31-46 is a judgement of the nations.  The description of this judgment, and of the one given in Revelation 20:11-15 are often combined, and taken to teach the doctrine of a general judgment. But when we compare them as they differ so widely that it is evident that they do not describe the same event. What God has put asunder let no man join together. The following comparison will show the difference in the two accounts  In Matthew 25:31-46

·         No Resurrection.

·         Living Nations Judged.

·         On the Earth. Joel 3:2.

·         No Books Mentioned.

·         Three Classes Named. "Sheep," "Goats," "Brethren."

·         Time-- Before the Millennium.

Revelation 20:11-15

·         A Resurrection.

·         Dead judged.

·         Heaven and Earth Gone.

·         Books Opened.

·         One Class Named. "The Dead."

·         Time-- After the Millennium.

This comparison reveals the fact that one of these judgments is "on the earth," the other in the "heavens," and that they are separated by 1000 years.  

As this is a judgment of nations only, the Jews cannot be in it, for they are not reckoned among the nations. Numbers 23:9. And as the Church will be associated with Christ in this judgment, for the "Saints" (the Church) shall judge the "World" (the Nations) (1Co 6:2), the Church cannot be in this judgment either. As we have seen the Church and the Jews have been already judged, the judgment  of the Nations" cannot be a general judgment. Who, then, is asked, are meant by the Sheep? Do they not represent the Righteous, and all the Righteous from the beginning of the world to the end of Time? And do not the Goats in like manner represent all the Wicked?

If the Sheep are the Righteous, and the Goats the Wicked, then who are the Brethren? If they are the "followers of Christ," as some claim, they should be classed with the Sheep. The Scriptures teach that the Righteous are saved by "faith," and the Wicked are lost because they "reject Christ," but in this judgment scene the Sheep inherit a "Kingdom" and the Goats are commanded to "depart," because of their treatment of the Brethren.

There are many different opinions of the final consummation of things as prophesied in the book of Daniel and outlined in the Book of Revelation. The most noted are:

1. Historic Premillennialism, It teaches that the great tribulation precedes the church age and is followed by the return of Christ. 

2. Dispensational Premillennialism, teaches that the church age and the great tribulation is separated by the rapture, which is followed by the second coming of Christ.

3. Postmillennialism, teaches that after the church age the great tribulation and the millennium overlaps each other for a period of time and at the end of the millennium Christ return.

4. Amillennialism, teaches that the millennium and the great tribulation run concurrently and ends with the return of Christ.

All of these different ideals involve the same elements, it is the placement of the elements that seems to be the most troubling. The common denominator of the concepts is the second coming of Christ and the final judgement. They all agree that the prophecies will be fulfilled, but it is the order of the events that is most troubling. 

"After the Children of Israel have returned to their homeland from whence they have been scattered, the anti-Christ will rise and he will broker a peace agreement.  This peace agreement last three and one half years. The Temple of the Lord will be rebuilt, and temple worship will resume. The antichrist will enter the Temple of God and declare that he is God. The peace pact will fail, and in that day the nations of the world shall rise up against the Holy City and her allies, and in that moment of despair when all hope for the world is lost Christ shall return with his Holy angels (the Church, The Saints) and fight against the infidels, and his judgement shall be based upon "how they treated the brethren." (Matthew 25:31-46 Joel 3:2).