The Second Coming of Jesus Christ to establish His kingdom on earth is the consummation of hope not just for the saved, but also for humanity as a whole. The world cannot find any enduring solutions to all its problems - wars, famines, pollutions, natural disasters, racial and religious conflicts, poverty, terrorism - and the list goes on. No government or organisation can solve them -not even the superpowers or the United Nations!
Man has to come to the end of his tether before God will come to intervene in the affairs of man. The timeline for the six thousand years of man's rule is coming to an end. Christ will come to rule with His resurrected saints for the next one thousand years (Revelation 20:6) to restore all that has been lost to the great deceiver (Acts 3:21) - Satan. The whole of creation is groaning in pain awaiting the revelation of the sons of God to accomplish the great works yet ahead (Romans 8:18-23)! But take heart, as night follows day, this will surely come to pass as the sure Word of Prophecy says so (Rev 19:10e).
The prophet Isaiah refers to Christ the Messiah as the Prince of Peace -Isaiah 9:6 - and following on in verse 7, it reads 'Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice. From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.' Many sermons have had been preached from these few verses over the centuries but with so little understanding. God is saying through the good prophet that the time of universal world government will be the time when Christ will come (Second Coming) to govern the world as King on the throne of David (based in Jerusalem). That will be the time of peace the world had never known (Isaiah 59:8a).
The Bible records for us God's blueprint to accomplish universal peace that will endure. The seven biblical festivals and feasts are a typology of what is to come. It depicts what Christ and His resurrected saints (sons of God) will do to bring about universal peace and prosperity.
The first is the Passover (Exodus 12:11; Deuteronomy 16:1-2). In Old Testament days, the slaughter of a lamb signifies the future sacrificial death of Christ. In New Testament era, the sacrifice has already been accomplished by Christ's death on the cross, and hence the slaughter of an animal has become unnecessary. However, the meaning and significance is still relevant in this time and age. The celebration reminds us of the sacrifice of Christ to atone for the sins of mankind. In fact, Christ and His disciples kept this festival ( Mark 14:12-16) and the Lord Christ was crucified in the midst of the Passover celebration!
The second festival is the Days of Unleavened Bread. In 1 Corinthians 5:7-8, the Apostle Paul explains that we are to keep the feast not in the ritualistic way, but with the unleaven bread of sincerity and truth. This festival was celebrated following the Passover, signifying that once delivered from slavery and bondage to sin, they are to become slave of righteousness.
The third festival showing God's divine plan is the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1) when the New Testament church was born. In the Old Testament it was known as the Feasts of Weeks and the Day of the Firstfruits (Numbers 28:26). Christ calls out a small group of people as His church (Luke 12:32) who will be the salt and light of this world (Satan is god of this age, 2 Cor 4:4) -Matthew 5:13-14 - until He returns. This 'little flock' has been endowed with the power of His Holy Spirit for inner transformation in preparation for the tasks of great harvest during the millennial age. The Apostle James calls it a kind of firstfruits of His creatures (James 1:18). Many have been deceived thinking that they are called and chosen to be part of this group. The sad truth is that not all have truly repented and been transformed by the Spirit of God to be in this 'first harvest' (Matthew 7:20-23). Just like parents have their firstborn child, second born, third born and so on; there is a first harvest (firstfruits) in this age and subsequent harvests in the age to come.
The first three festivals are a typology of spring harvest. They laid the groundwork for the last four festivals which will serve to gather in the harvest of all humanity who will repent and accept the forgiveness of Christ's atoning work on the cross. All the last four festivals take place in the autumn harvest when crops harvest are gathered in and stored in the northern hemisphere. Such spiritual harvest is yet to take place in the future when Satan will be incarcerated and Christ will sit on the throne of David (currently occupied by Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain) with His Headquarters in Jerusalem! There will be no more wars as swords will be turned to plowshares (Isaiah 2:4), deceptions and spiritual blindness will be removed so all knees will bow down to worship Christ as King over all the earth (Zechariah 14:9; 14:16). Those who refused will find themselves on the wrong end of the stick (Zechariah 14:17-19).
Only the establishment of God's kingdom on earth will there be universal peace. Christ and the resurrected born again sons of God will rule with an iron fist in the initial stage until all rebellion that has its root planted by the great deceiver are pluck out of existence! For the God of Peace (Christ) and His kings (sons of God) will crush Satan (all those values and principles which had their source from the great deceiver) under their feet (Romans 16:20). A new economy that is based on solid principles of honest weights, savings and prudence rather than debts will be implemented worldwide. Man will be taught the truth about life's principles right from the pages of Scriptures. What a wonderful world that will be!
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Sunday, September 27, 2009
PREDESTINATION AND THE PLAN OF GOD
Throughout my Christian life, I have heard several messages about the subject of predestination and free will. Some will preach that predestination is nothing more than two sides of the same coin - we are now on this side of heaven, but when we get there we will understand what God has installed for us even before we were born! Yet others will teach that it is a hundred percent man and a hundred percent God at work. Frankly, it leaves me even more puzzled and confused after all these talks!
But I discover that God has all along revealed the truth to us about predestination and His marvellous plan - it's just that we have not searched the Scriptures enough to comprehend it. Think about this, if all things were predestined by God, then man is not created with a free will to make decisions for himself. If that is so, can man be made accountable for all his actions? That would fly squarely in the face of revealed Scriptures!
Did God predetermine who will obey Him, who will be righteous, and who will be 'lost' or 'saved'? Is God trying to saving all of mankind now - in this time and age? If that is so, as most evangelical Christians believed, then God is 'losing' the battle against Satan! As one-third of mankind has never heard of Jesus Christ. Another one-third who do, believe Him not. And for the other one-third who claimed to know Him, most paid cursory attention to what He taught and commanded as recorded in Scriptures!
Is now the only time to accept or reject Christ, failing which man is doomed for eternity? Evangelists and preachers often use 2 Corinthians 6:2 which is a quotation from Isaiah 49:8 that now is the acceptable time. In truth, the word 'the' in the King James version is nowhere found in the original Greek or Hebrew text. Bible translators had added in the word mistakenly thinking it will add clarity, but instead, the result is confusion. In Isaiah 49:8, God says 'In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee.' If salvation was available only in Paul's time or in Isaiah's time, then all of us are doomed! Clearly, they failed to understand the Plan of God as reveal in God's seven annual Holy Days and the festivities.
However, having said that, it is certainly true that for those who are called now in this age, with the truth of God opened to the minds of their understanding there is no turning back. For those who are called, they must act on it now, for there is no second chance for those who reject God's truth (Hebrews 10:26).
Christ came to save the whole of humanity, not just for a small minority. For it is God's will that none should perish. Do you think the Almighty God will leave the salvation of all mankind to just a small band of sinners saved by grace? I think man is thinking too highly of himself! The answer is an emphatic NO. God will not trust puny men for such an important task, no matter how 'righteous or Godly' they are!
Readers may wonder how to reconcile the truth of God with reality when Satan seem to have the upper hand in the battle for souls. Modern Christianity is subtly depicting God as a sadist who will send man to suffer for all of eternity in the 'pits of hell forever', over which most have no idea who and what is the true God! Nowhere in the whole of the Bible is there a single verse which says that all man must be converted now. The prophecy in Isaiah 2 and Micah 4:1-4 reveals a time in the coming Millennial Age when all nations - Israel and Gentiles - will be taught the truths and laws of God. Only then, when Satan is bound will human nature be reformed and even the animal kingdom will live at peace with one another!
The truth is, God is not calling everybody now. He is only calling a small group of people in every generations who are predestined to become the sons of God. These potential sons of God will be judged in their lifetime through trials and tribulations to have the character, knowledge, attitude and mindset of Christ. God will never allow those who cannot be ruled and submit to His authority in their mortal life to become rulers in His coming kingdom (Luke 19:12-27). They will be given great power and authority that even the angels will have to submit to them (1 Cor 6:2-3)! Only members of the God Spirit Family are qualified to rule and reign with Christ. To enter and inherit this Royal Family of God, they have to die physically and then reborn as eternal spirit God beings (John 3:3-8, see 1 Cor 15). It is God's will for the saints of today to undergo training for great power, authority and responsibility for the salvation of whole humanity during the coming Millennial reign of Christ. Sadly, most theologians and preachers believe that Christians are born again once they accept Christ and all mankind must be saved now or else they are eternally doomed - they are sincerely wrong and miss the Plan of God by a galaxy!
In John 5:28-29 Christ said, ' Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice (last trumpet call) and come forth -those who have done good, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of damnation (Greek: judgment and NOT condemnation)' Similarly, Christ warned of a coming judgment in Matthew 11:21-25 to Chorazin and Bethsaida that it would be more tolerable for Tyre, Sidon and even Sodom on the day of judgment because they would have repented had they witnessed what had been done by Christ! The only way this can happen is when all people from all ages were to be resurrected to physical mortal beings again (Acts 24:15). This will happen in the second resurrection during the Millennila Age when all people who have ever lived (except the sons of God in the first resurrection) will face the Almighty God at the Great White Throne Judgment (Revelation 20:11).
The sheep and goat parable in Matthew 25:31-41 talks about the process Christ carefully works with all those who are called to become sons of God and those who will ultimately end up in the lake of fire! God knows in advance who will have the potential to become members of His Royal Family and those who do not. The Apostle Paul in Romans:8:28-30 describes this process. God foreknew those who have the potential to become His sons. He then predestinate them to be equipped with the right knowledge and revelation of the truth so as to conform to the image of His Son Jesus Christ in character, attitude and mindset. At the right time, He calls them to come on board to be His 'A' team which will ultimately form the supergovernment of God for the whole universe for all eternity! Please note that only that those with the right qualities will qualify (Matthew 22:12-14). They will undergo tests, trials and tribulations to justify their positions in the kingdom of God. By yielding to the work and leading of God's Holy Spirit this is possible while with human effort, this is almost impossible. The last step is to be glorified when the saints are resurrected to become spirit God beings to inherit the kingdom of God. By then Satan will be dethroned and Christ enthroned with all the resurrected saints helping Him to rule and reign (Daniel 7:18,22,27; Rev 3:21)!
The long and short of all these is that God did predestine a small group of people from each generation to become His sons - as only the spirit Royal Family will govern everything, starting with Planet Earth in the Millennial Age and then onto eternity for the whole universe! Does that mean all not predestine to be called will be 'lost'? By no means - they will be given the opportunity to learn of all the truths and ways of God and to accept Christ or reject Him in the Millennial Age. Those who accept Christ for the forgiveness of all their sins will be resurrected into spirit beings as childrren of God. Those who refuse to accept Christ despite being given all the truths and understanding will be annihilated in the lake of fire as if they were never born (Malachi 4:1-3). A merciful God will put them out of their misery. So for the large majority, they are neither lost nor saved. They are not yet being judged. Their time will come as the sure Word of God says so. Meanwhile, only God's true saints are being judged (1 Peter 4:17) to qualify them for high office, power and authority. So make your calling and election sure to enter and inherit the kingdom of God (2 Peter 1:10-11)!
The subject of predestination has nothing to do with being saved or lost. It has everything to do with the calling of God for a small group of people to become the sons of God - the firstfruits of salvation (James 1:18). However, many are being called but they failed to qualify because of distractions and the lure of this world (Matthew 13: 18-24). Only those who ultimately overcome will make the grade!
But I discover that God has all along revealed the truth to us about predestination and His marvellous plan - it's just that we have not searched the Scriptures enough to comprehend it. Think about this, if all things were predestined by God, then man is not created with a free will to make decisions for himself. If that is so, can man be made accountable for all his actions? That would fly squarely in the face of revealed Scriptures!
Did God predetermine who will obey Him, who will be righteous, and who will be 'lost' or 'saved'? Is God trying to saving all of mankind now - in this time and age? If that is so, as most evangelical Christians believed, then God is 'losing' the battle against Satan! As one-third of mankind has never heard of Jesus Christ. Another one-third who do, believe Him not. And for the other one-third who claimed to know Him, most paid cursory attention to what He taught and commanded as recorded in Scriptures!
Is now the only time to accept or reject Christ, failing which man is doomed for eternity? Evangelists and preachers often use 2 Corinthians 6:2 which is a quotation from Isaiah 49:8 that now is the acceptable time. In truth, the word 'the' in the King James version is nowhere found in the original Greek or Hebrew text. Bible translators had added in the word mistakenly thinking it will add clarity, but instead, the result is confusion. In Isaiah 49:8, God says 'In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee.' If salvation was available only in Paul's time or in Isaiah's time, then all of us are doomed! Clearly, they failed to understand the Plan of God as reveal in God's seven annual Holy Days and the festivities.
However, having said that, it is certainly true that for those who are called now in this age, with the truth of God opened to the minds of their understanding there is no turning back. For those who are called, they must act on it now, for there is no second chance for those who reject God's truth (Hebrews 10:26).
Christ came to save the whole of humanity, not just for a small minority. For it is God's will that none should perish. Do you think the Almighty God will leave the salvation of all mankind to just a small band of sinners saved by grace? I think man is thinking too highly of himself! The answer is an emphatic NO. God will not trust puny men for such an important task, no matter how 'righteous or Godly' they are!
Readers may wonder how to reconcile the truth of God with reality when Satan seem to have the upper hand in the battle for souls. Modern Christianity is subtly depicting God as a sadist who will send man to suffer for all of eternity in the 'pits of hell forever', over which most have no idea who and what is the true God! Nowhere in the whole of the Bible is there a single verse which says that all man must be converted now. The prophecy in Isaiah 2 and Micah 4:1-4 reveals a time in the coming Millennial Age when all nations - Israel and Gentiles - will be taught the truths and laws of God. Only then, when Satan is bound will human nature be reformed and even the animal kingdom will live at peace with one another!
The truth is, God is not calling everybody now. He is only calling a small group of people in every generations who are predestined to become the sons of God. These potential sons of God will be judged in their lifetime through trials and tribulations to have the character, knowledge, attitude and mindset of Christ. God will never allow those who cannot be ruled and submit to His authority in their mortal life to become rulers in His coming kingdom (Luke 19:12-27). They will be given great power and authority that even the angels will have to submit to them (1 Cor 6:2-3)! Only members of the God Spirit Family are qualified to rule and reign with Christ. To enter and inherit this Royal Family of God, they have to die physically and then reborn as eternal spirit God beings (John 3:3-8, see 1 Cor 15). It is God's will for the saints of today to undergo training for great power, authority and responsibility for the salvation of whole humanity during the coming Millennial reign of Christ. Sadly, most theologians and preachers believe that Christians are born again once they accept Christ and all mankind must be saved now or else they are eternally doomed - they are sincerely wrong and miss the Plan of God by a galaxy!
In John 5:28-29 Christ said, ' Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice (last trumpet call) and come forth -those who have done good, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of damnation (Greek: judgment and NOT condemnation)' Similarly, Christ warned of a coming judgment in Matthew 11:21-25 to Chorazin and Bethsaida that it would be more tolerable for Tyre, Sidon and even Sodom on the day of judgment because they would have repented had they witnessed what had been done by Christ! The only way this can happen is when all people from all ages were to be resurrected to physical mortal beings again (Acts 24:15). This will happen in the second resurrection during the Millennila Age when all people who have ever lived (except the sons of God in the first resurrection) will face the Almighty God at the Great White Throne Judgment (Revelation 20:11).
The sheep and goat parable in Matthew 25:31-41 talks about the process Christ carefully works with all those who are called to become sons of God and those who will ultimately end up in the lake of fire! God knows in advance who will have the potential to become members of His Royal Family and those who do not. The Apostle Paul in Romans:8:28-30 describes this process. God foreknew those who have the potential to become His sons. He then predestinate them to be equipped with the right knowledge and revelation of the truth so as to conform to the image of His Son Jesus Christ in character, attitude and mindset. At the right time, He calls them to come on board to be His 'A' team which will ultimately form the supergovernment of God for the whole universe for all eternity! Please note that only that those with the right qualities will qualify (Matthew 22:12-14). They will undergo tests, trials and tribulations to justify their positions in the kingdom of God. By yielding to the work and leading of God's Holy Spirit this is possible while with human effort, this is almost impossible. The last step is to be glorified when the saints are resurrected to become spirit God beings to inherit the kingdom of God. By then Satan will be dethroned and Christ enthroned with all the resurrected saints helping Him to rule and reign (Daniel 7:18,22,27; Rev 3:21)!
The long and short of all these is that God did predestine a small group of people from each generation to become His sons - as only the spirit Royal Family will govern everything, starting with Planet Earth in the Millennial Age and then onto eternity for the whole universe! Does that mean all not predestine to be called will be 'lost'? By no means - they will be given the opportunity to learn of all the truths and ways of God and to accept Christ or reject Him in the Millennial Age. Those who accept Christ for the forgiveness of all their sins will be resurrected into spirit beings as childrren of God. Those who refuse to accept Christ despite being given all the truths and understanding will be annihilated in the lake of fire as if they were never born (Malachi 4:1-3). A merciful God will put them out of their misery. So for the large majority, they are neither lost nor saved. They are not yet being judged. Their time will come as the sure Word of God says so. Meanwhile, only God's true saints are being judged (1 Peter 4:17) to qualify them for high office, power and authority. So make your calling and election sure to enter and inherit the kingdom of God (2 Peter 1:10-11)!
The subject of predestination has nothing to do with being saved or lost. It has everything to do with the calling of God for a small group of people to become the sons of God - the firstfruits of salvation (James 1:18). However, many are being called but they failed to qualify because of distractions and the lure of this world (Matthew 13: 18-24). Only those who ultimately overcome will make the grade!
Sunday, September 13, 2009
THE TREE OF LIFE
We know that every person born into this world has had to learn every conceivable piece of knowledge within the span of a lifetime that ultimately forms his/her character and personality. But what about Adam and Eve, the first parents that God created as mature beings at the very onset of life on earth? In all probability, their minds were devoid of any knowledge. So God has to teach them knowledge for them to function as individual beings.
Interestingly, the very first thing recorded in Genesis 2:15-17 is: Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. Man is made to become the overseer of God's creation - to improve and develop upon it. Following that in verses 16 and 17, God commanded Adam to make a choice - Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in that day they you eat of it you shall surely die.
From this passage of Scriptures, we can infer that the first piece of knowledge taught to Adam was the TREE of LIFE and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.The tree of life and tree of the knowledge of good and evil are probably the crucial knowledge that God would have Adam learnt at the onset, before anything else. As Herbert W. Armstrong wrote, these two trees would form the basic foundation of all knowledge on which human civilization later build upon. In fact, these two trees form the foundational stone of the doctrine of the Bible.
According to Herbert Armstrong, the main trunk of the tree of life is the Spirit of God. On one side of the tree of life are the four main branches which represent the first four of the Ten Commandments and they depict man's love toward God. On the other side are six main branches which represent the next six commandments of the Ten Commandments and they depict man's relationship toward fellow man. From the tree of life will flow the gifts of the Holy Spirit of God which is love, joy, peace,longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Gal 5:22-23).
Interestingly, the very first thing recorded in Genesis 2:15-17 is: Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. Man is made to become the overseer of God's creation - to improve and develop upon it. Following that in verses 16 and 17, God commanded Adam to make a choice - Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in that day they you eat of it you shall surely die.
From this passage of Scriptures, we can infer that the first piece of knowledge taught to Adam was the TREE of LIFE and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.The tree of life and tree of the knowledge of good and evil are probably the crucial knowledge that God would have Adam learnt at the onset, before anything else. As Herbert W. Armstrong wrote, these two trees would form the basic foundation of all knowledge on which human civilization later build upon. In fact, these two trees form the foundational stone of the doctrine of the Bible.
According to Herbert Armstrong, the main trunk of the tree of life is the Spirit of God. On one side of the tree of life are the four main branches which represent the first four of the Ten Commandments and they depict man's love toward God. On the other side are six main branches which represent the next six commandments of the Ten Commandments and they depict man's relationship toward fellow man. From the tree of life will flow the gifts of the Holy Spirit of God which is love, joy, peace,longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Gal 5:22-23).
If Adam and Eve had not sinned and partake of the tree of life as commanded by God, life inherent in God would have imparted to Adam and Eve and to all generations that follow. The Spirit of God would have flow up from the root of the tree of life to produce true life for man to live it God's way. Had Adam taken of the tree of life instead of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, human civilization would have taken an entirely different course!
However, by partaking from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, man had rejected God's way and dependence upon Him for all true knowledge. Instead, man would rather choose to make his own decision based on his understanding and worldview of what is good and evil, right and wrong. In other words, man had rejected God and instead, chose the course of self-reliance. Apart from a select few chosen ones who have received the Spirit of God indwelling in them, man had been cut off from the true life source of the Spirit of God. The concomitant result is death. Had Adam and Eve partook of the tree of life, they would have all knowledge and understanding sourced from God. Their human spirit would have been connected with the Spirit of God to become a begotten child (conceived but not yet born) of God, just like a converted Spirit-begotten Christian.
The tree of the knowledge of good and evil looks good and attractive on the outside, but within is rotten to the core! From it springs forth the spirit of Satan which is manifested by the works of the flesh like adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness,revelries (Gal 5:19-21). Those who practice such things WILL NOT inherit the kingdom of God. Since most of mankind falls prey to the ways of Satan, troubles and problems of this world abound in every society of every generations!
A sound knowledge of the two trees will help to underpin our worldview of Bible prophecies, world events and even human nature. Because of the Fall at the Garden of Eden, due primarily to deception on the part of Eve and disobedience on the part of Adam in partaking of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, mankind and the world at large are in a mess that only the Return of Christ can avert total destruction! The knowledge of good is only man's level best of goodness which falls far short of God's best for mankind. So no matter how much good man tries to reform the system of this world, human nature remains unchanged and it will ultimately end in failure and disappointment. All governments and man made systems, including the financial architecture of this world which is based on greed and fear, unfair weights and deceptions will someday collapse just prior to the Return of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is like the Titanic heading towards its prophetic destiny!
Tragically, the best of minds of this world cannot fully understand mankind because they partake from the wrong tree, which is sourced from Satan. And Satan has hidden the truth from them. I learn with disbelief that bright minds from some of the world's most learned universities would spend their life trying to trace man's ancestry back to the apes! The Bible is clear that the spirit in man is what distinguishes man from animals. This spirit in man combines with the human brains are what make man unique with all the fullest potential beyond comparison with any other living species! Yet the wrong premise on the foundation of all knowledge and education have led man going off target researching all in vain.
Today, you can choose to eat from the tree of life instead of eating from the 'tree of death'. The disciples of the Ephesus era were given the promise that to him who overcomes I(God) will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God (Rev 2:7). For the fruit of the righteous is a tree of life (Proverbs 11:30). Most of mankind does not know and understand this as it is hidden from them by Satan (Rev 12:9). But he who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son (Rev 21: 7).
The Bible begins with the tree of life that was proferred to man, represented by Adam. It ends with the tree of life on either side of the pure river of life flowing from the throne of God, yielding twelve fruits and with the leaves given for the healing of the nations (Rev 22:1-2). This tree of life is the fountain of the water of life that will flow forth from the New Jerusalem to bring true life, peace and joy, happiness and prosperity to all nations. Those who obey God's commandments shall have the right to the tree of life and to enter the New Jerusalem - the Headquarters of the kingdom of God! (Rev 22:14).
Have you grasped the significance of true and trusted knowledge that only God the Father has revealed? Anything else that is premised on agnosticism and human reasoning comes from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil which will ultimately fall flat comes the Day of Reckoning!
Thursday, August 27, 2009
TRUE TRANSFORMATION
As a young believer in the faith, I often hear of Christians sharing in their testimonies about being called of God to go into full-time Christian Ministry. Their testimonies are often revolved around some events or incidents that happened in their lives where they take it by faith that God is calling them into full-time Christian service. The truth is, a call from God is a process where it all begins with a journey and end with the ultimate transformation - eternal life when mortal flesh is changed (born again) into immortal spirit God being ('you are gods' - Psalm 82:6; John 10:34) to dwell in eternity.
Nobody comes to God the Father in this church age unless He calls those whom He has predestined to become the sons of God (John 6:44-45; Romans 8:29-30; Eph 1:4-5). However, only those who are willing to pay the price of obedience will ultimately be chosen to be born again as sons of God in the first resurrection when Christ returns to set up His kingdom on earth. Indeed, many are called but few are chosen (Matthew 20:16,22:14), because most will pay lip service with all the nice cliches but lack the faith and will to believe and obey the commandments of God.
A person called of God will begin to experience a deeper and broader understanding of Scriptures like never before. His/her mind will begin to understand and wise up to the things of God because it has been given to those who are called to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven (God) - Matthew 13:11. God only calls a small group of people in this age to form the true church (the firstfruits) to prepare and equip them for the great work of salvation and equipping of the masses yet ahead during the millennial age when most of mankind living then and resurrected to flesh and blood in the second resurrection will be given the truth and offer of salvation!
Those whom God calls, He expects them to change - in their attitude, mindset and behavior. This is the stage of repentance where those who are called begins to understand the nature and evil of sin manifested in every strata of life and society. They realise that the prince of the power of the air is at work to draw man to darkness (Eph 2:2). But God is drawing them out of darkness into His marvellous light (1 Peter 2:9). True repentance is changing the mindset, attitude and actions to conform to the image and mind of Christ (Philippians 2:5). Psalm 51 is a good example of king David's repentance after he committed adultery and murder.The Lord Jesus' remarks in Mark 7:20-23 about the conditions of man's heart bear stern warning to all of us. Similar truths are found in Jeremiah 17:9-10 and Isaiah 55:7. We know that because of man's fallen nature, repentance calls for radical change. In short, we need to be transformed inside out and nothing short of a 'spiritual heart transplant' will suffice!
Acts 2:38 commanded all those who repented to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. This is for two main purposes - the forgiveness of past sins and to receive the gift of God's Holy Spirit. Some think that water baptism is only a Christian ritual. Nothing is further from the truth. Water baptism has deep spiritual significance - it is an outward symbolism of a deeper inner transformation. The Apostle Paul in Romans 6 teaches us the true meaning and significance of water baptism. It signifies death, burial and resurrection to a new life!
The step of going through the water baptism shows the convert's understanding and acceptance of the shed blood of Christ's death on the cross for his/her sins, and the baptismal grave as his/her former life. This is also an acceptance of the truth that the believer will one day be resurrected to eternal life like the Lord Jesus Christ. This is to be followed by prayer through the laying on of hands by a pastor or elder to receive the gift of God's Spirit for empowerment to walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4)- a life of obedience and righteousness and not of slavery to sin (Romans 6:16-18). The baptism is a symbol of being buried with Christ in the old self of sin and shame to live a new life free from slavery to sin.
Through water baptism, the believer is cleansed of his/her past sins. Going forward, God gives us the gift of His Holy Spirit to empower us to live a life worthy of His calling. The impartation of the gift of God's Spirit after baptism through the laying on of hands is taught in Acts 8:17&19, 19:6 and 2 Timothy 1:6. The purpose is to set apart the believer as a child of God to grow in the knowledge and understanding of the truth so as to set him/her free from the grip of Satan and demonic stronghold. And also to replace the human nature of the get way of life with the divine nature of the give way of life. This is made possible with the Holy Spirit leading and guiding the believer (Rom 8:14).The role of the church is to properly teach and guide the young believer into understanding and obedience of the Word of God. When all the right doctrines and teachings are put into practice by the disciple, he/she is on the way to become a member of the God Family with a potential that is out of this world! When persevere to the end (overcomer - Revelation 3:12), the disciple will inherit eternal life as a son of God in His coming kingdom to rule and reign with Christ.
The Apostle Paul chided some believers for being ignorant of God's truth and ways - what a shame(1 Cor 15:34). If a believer would not spend time and effort to study the Scriptures, how can he/she knows the will of God (Romans 12:2), let alone do His will (2 Tim 3:17)? Little wonder that many are always learning (like hopping from one seminar to another) and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth (2 Tim 3:7). Those who proclaim to be ministers of God but are leading the flock in the wrong direction are in grave spiritual danger (2 Cor 11:13-15)- their very own salvation is hanging by the skin of their teeth!
Since only God the Father and Jesus Christ have life inherent in them, only they can impart life, for life comes from life. We can only receive eternal life through the LIFE of Christ (Rom 5:10). It is in the future tense ('shall be saved')for we are NOT YET SAVED, only forgiven. Salvation is yet of the future when Christ returns and resurrection occurs. Even the patriarchs Abraham and David are still in 'deep slumber' up till now (Acts 2:29,34; 13:36). All the saints who died in their faith are not in heaven playing the harp or riding the clouds in everlasting bliss - at least not yet. The soon coming millennial age will have lots of hard work for the resurrected saints to do to help Christ restore all things (Acts 3:21)that has been lost to the kingdom of darkness since humanity began. That is why only those who have being transformed from the inside out in character, attitude and mindset (the only sure things that survive physical death)will be qualified to share the throne as joint heirs with Christ - nothing else matters!
It is worthy to note that God will only give His Spirit to whom He calls (Acts 2:39)and to those who obey Him (Acts 5:32). Repentance is toward God since all sin is against God, but faith is toward Christ because of His sacrificial death on the cross (Acts 20:21). Many may say that it is too hard to obey all the commandments of God. Humanly speaking, this is true. But with God all things are possible (Matt 19:26). What this means is that all believers have to depend on the power of God's Spirit to help them overcome all obstacles in his/her journey of faith toward spiritual maturity. For Christ says that only those who endures to the end will be saved (Matt 10:22, 24:13). Hence, the Christian faith is a test of endurance. For only those who persevered to the end are ultimately transformed to become an immortal spirit God being to inherit everything that only eternal life can offer! There is simply no comparison, not even if you are a trillionaire in British pound sterling or Euro currency. The joy and glory, bliss and fulfillment that eternity awaits is simply beyond description!
Nobody comes to God the Father in this church age unless He calls those whom He has predestined to become the sons of God (John 6:44-45; Romans 8:29-30; Eph 1:4-5). However, only those who are willing to pay the price of obedience will ultimately be chosen to be born again as sons of God in the first resurrection when Christ returns to set up His kingdom on earth. Indeed, many are called but few are chosen (Matthew 20:16,22:14), because most will pay lip service with all the nice cliches but lack the faith and will to believe and obey the commandments of God.
A person called of God will begin to experience a deeper and broader understanding of Scriptures like never before. His/her mind will begin to understand and wise up to the things of God because it has been given to those who are called to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven (God) - Matthew 13:11. God only calls a small group of people in this age to form the true church (the firstfruits) to prepare and equip them for the great work of salvation and equipping of the masses yet ahead during the millennial age when most of mankind living then and resurrected to flesh and blood in the second resurrection will be given the truth and offer of salvation!
Those whom God calls, He expects them to change - in their attitude, mindset and behavior. This is the stage of repentance where those who are called begins to understand the nature and evil of sin manifested in every strata of life and society. They realise that the prince of the power of the air is at work to draw man to darkness (Eph 2:2). But God is drawing them out of darkness into His marvellous light (1 Peter 2:9). True repentance is changing the mindset, attitude and actions to conform to the image and mind of Christ (Philippians 2:5). Psalm 51 is a good example of king David's repentance after he committed adultery and murder.The Lord Jesus' remarks in Mark 7:20-23 about the conditions of man's heart bear stern warning to all of us. Similar truths are found in Jeremiah 17:9-10 and Isaiah 55:7. We know that because of man's fallen nature, repentance calls for radical change. In short, we need to be transformed inside out and nothing short of a 'spiritual heart transplant' will suffice!
Acts 2:38 commanded all those who repented to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. This is for two main purposes - the forgiveness of past sins and to receive the gift of God's Holy Spirit. Some think that water baptism is only a Christian ritual. Nothing is further from the truth. Water baptism has deep spiritual significance - it is an outward symbolism of a deeper inner transformation. The Apostle Paul in Romans 6 teaches us the true meaning and significance of water baptism. It signifies death, burial and resurrection to a new life!
The step of going through the water baptism shows the convert's understanding and acceptance of the shed blood of Christ's death on the cross for his/her sins, and the baptismal grave as his/her former life. This is also an acceptance of the truth that the believer will one day be resurrected to eternal life like the Lord Jesus Christ. This is to be followed by prayer through the laying on of hands by a pastor or elder to receive the gift of God's Spirit for empowerment to walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4)- a life of obedience and righteousness and not of slavery to sin (Romans 6:16-18). The baptism is a symbol of being buried with Christ in the old self of sin and shame to live a new life free from slavery to sin.
Through water baptism, the believer is cleansed of his/her past sins. Going forward, God gives us the gift of His Holy Spirit to empower us to live a life worthy of His calling. The impartation of the gift of God's Spirit after baptism through the laying on of hands is taught in Acts 8:17&19, 19:6 and 2 Timothy 1:6. The purpose is to set apart the believer as a child of God to grow in the knowledge and understanding of the truth so as to set him/her free from the grip of Satan and demonic stronghold. And also to replace the human nature of the get way of life with the divine nature of the give way of life. This is made possible with the Holy Spirit leading and guiding the believer (Rom 8:14).The role of the church is to properly teach and guide the young believer into understanding and obedience of the Word of God. When all the right doctrines and teachings are put into practice by the disciple, he/she is on the way to become a member of the God Family with a potential that is out of this world! When persevere to the end (overcomer - Revelation 3:12), the disciple will inherit eternal life as a son of God in His coming kingdom to rule and reign with Christ.
The Apostle Paul chided some believers for being ignorant of God's truth and ways - what a shame(1 Cor 15:34). If a believer would not spend time and effort to study the Scriptures, how can he/she knows the will of God (Romans 12:2), let alone do His will (2 Tim 3:17)? Little wonder that many are always learning (like hopping from one seminar to another) and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth (2 Tim 3:7). Those who proclaim to be ministers of God but are leading the flock in the wrong direction are in grave spiritual danger (2 Cor 11:13-15)- their very own salvation is hanging by the skin of their teeth!
Since only God the Father and Jesus Christ have life inherent in them, only they can impart life, for life comes from life. We can only receive eternal life through the LIFE of Christ (Rom 5:10). It is in the future tense ('shall be saved')for we are NOT YET SAVED, only forgiven. Salvation is yet of the future when Christ returns and resurrection occurs. Even the patriarchs Abraham and David are still in 'deep slumber' up till now (Acts 2:29,34; 13:36). All the saints who died in their faith are not in heaven playing the harp or riding the clouds in everlasting bliss - at least not yet. The soon coming millennial age will have lots of hard work for the resurrected saints to do to help Christ restore all things (Acts 3:21)that has been lost to the kingdom of darkness since humanity began. That is why only those who have being transformed from the inside out in character, attitude and mindset (the only sure things that survive physical death)will be qualified to share the throne as joint heirs with Christ - nothing else matters!
It is worthy to note that God will only give His Spirit to whom He calls (Acts 2:39)and to those who obey Him (Acts 5:32). Repentance is toward God since all sin is against God, but faith is toward Christ because of His sacrificial death on the cross (Acts 20:21). Many may say that it is too hard to obey all the commandments of God. Humanly speaking, this is true. But with God all things are possible (Matt 19:26). What this means is that all believers have to depend on the power of God's Spirit to help them overcome all obstacles in his/her journey of faith toward spiritual maturity. For Christ says that only those who endures to the end will be saved (Matt 10:22, 24:13). Hence, the Christian faith is a test of endurance. For only those who persevered to the end are ultimately transformed to become an immortal spirit God being to inherit everything that only eternal life can offer! There is simply no comparison, not even if you are a trillionaire in British pound sterling or Euro currency. The joy and glory, bliss and fulfillment that eternity awaits is simply beyond description!
Sunday, August 9, 2009
MYSTERY OF LIFE AND DEATH
I am always bewildered about life and death even when I was a young boy barely in school going age. I used to spend considerable amount of time gazing at the stars, wondering the mysteries of it all. When I was twelve, my beloved paternal grandfather (I was his favorite grandson) passed away due to diabetes. In the 1960s when medical science was still rudimentary in Singapore, the chances of survival were slim, especially for those without the means to spend a small fortune for treatment overseas. As we were of Taoist background then, the Taoist priests advised that one of the rituals involved waiting for seven and fourteen days for the spirit of my late grandpa to return to visit his loved ones and feast on his 'favorite foods'.
We were advised to stay awake on those appointed nights to 'welcome' the return of his spirit from the 'dungeons of purgatory' ! Frankly, there were indeed noises and rumbling of the altar table where the foods were placed. I was so fearful that goose bumps were all over me even with my blanket covered from head to toe! Now I know that these were mere demonic interferences, part of what the Bible calls witchcraft.
To date, I have attended countless funeral wakes and rituals. Some for the passing on of my family members, others of relatives and friends. Other than for a few exceptions, most of those facing death and their family members have no clue what life and death mean. They can try all sorts of religious beliefs, undergo all types of ritual practices including seemingly endless chantings with burning of paper mansions, luxury cars, printed currency notes and consult all kinds of psychic mediums - all of no avail!
What I'm going to share with you readers may shock and surprise some of you, but nonetheless they are true and nothing but the truth. The basis of my faith ? - the Holy Scriptures - the unadulterated Word of God. If God has not revealed the truth, no man can find it!
The Almighty God of the universe place man on earth with the vision of reproducing Himself - the God Family. Man was created in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26) - the God kind. Lucifer (now known as Satan) and some of the angels were placed on earth long before man was ever created. God is the Creator and He assigned Lucifer and the angels to develop and beautify His creation. The books of Isaiah (chapter 14) and Ezekiel (chapter 28) tell us that Lucifer and the fallen angels (now known as demons) rebelled against the government of God
due to pride and arrogance. So there was darkness and ruin on the surface of the earth, (Gen 1:2) probably due to some kind of conflict and warfare between the spiritual forces of good and evil. Perhaps that is why even the planets of the galaxies are in disarray - basically barren and absent of life forms.
God send forth His Spirit to renew the face of the earth (Psalm 104:30) in six days to make way for man - His prize creation! But why must man be created in flesh and blood to undergo temptations, sufferings and death? Why not make man immortal being to enjoy heavenly bliss at the very outset? This is the crux of the matter that man fail to understand the grand plan of God. In a sense God did, but Adam and Eve failed the test. With the tree of life cut off, all human beings are 'on trial' here on earth to develop the spiritual character qualities necessary to become immortal spirit beings for eternity. A small group during the church age, the rest during the millenial age. In order that they can become members of the God Family that will rule and reign the whole universe for all of eternity. Is it a big deal? No, it is the mother of all deals! Whether you and I can make the grade largely depend on us - what you think or don't think, what you do say or don't say, what you do or don't do - with proof of performance in the fruits that result therefrom.
Those who ultimately fail to repent despite being given the whole truth during the millennial age when Satan is restraint and with no interference from him and his demons will be annihilated in the Lake of Fire as if they were never born. A gracious and merciful God will put them out of their misery. This will not be possible if man were to be created immortal first without the testings as spirit beings live forever. The question is where and how they will live out their immortality in eternity! Those who ultimately make it to enter the kingdom of God will be born again as immortal spirit beings like Christ (1 Corinthians 15:50; 1 John 3:2), who does not sin (1 John 3: 9).
God sent Christ to earth some two millennia ago to set up a church (those called out of this world's system with Satan on the throne - 2 Cor 4: 4) as the firstfruits to become the king priest to win the whole of all His creation back to Him during the millenial age. If God had created man as immortal beings first without learning and mastering the necessary spiritual character qualities, there will likely be millions if not billions of 'Satan look-alikes' inhabiting the universe for all of eternity! That would be the mother of tragedies for all of eternity!!
So make no mistake folks, we all have to die physically in order to live as immortal spiritual beings in eternity. Physical death is not the end of it all, but spiritual death is (the second death - Rev 20:14). Physical death is the gateway to all of our inheritance God has installed for us. Man's best is yet to be. But there is a condition. We must show our love through devotion and obedience to God through Christ based on the revealed Word of God. 'Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him' (1 Cor 2:9).
What God has created for good, man has defiled and perverted almost everything through a civilization that is Satanic and demonic influenced. God has designed the family to propagate His God Family vision, but man is in hot pursuit of an 'alternative lifestyle' with same sex marriage advocates passionately challenging societal norms. That is Satan snubbing at God's plan for mankind. God has created everything good for our enjoyment and well-being, but man has perverted all good values and polluted the earth to the point of no return. God's will for mankind is to worship Him in the beauty of holiness (1 Chronicles 16:29), but man turns to idol worship under the cloak of being a fan of some well-known celebrities!
Satan is the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2;2) working in the minds of people devoid of the Spirit of God - up till today. The good news is that it will soon come to an end. Christ will return to be enthroned as the King and Satan dethroned to be incarcerated (Rev 20:2-3). Till then, the whole world is being clouded in deception with the self-centred 'get way of life' instead of God's 'give way of life'. Without the Spirit of God indwelling the human mind, man is automatically tuned into Satan's wavelength. The carnal human mind is often incapable of understanding the whole truth. Even for some reason they do, they often do not believe. And even if they believe, they are powerless to obey. Only with the Holy Spirit baptised by the Lord Jesus Christ into their mind to write the Word of God onto the tablets of their hearts for the repentant sinners to reconcile back to God the Father (Romans 5:10), then there can be a transformation of life to produce spiritual fruits (Gal 5:22-25).
Coming back to my grandpa's story, was his spirit floating around in search of his home and loved ones? Certainly not, but this is what the Chinese celebrating the annual 'hungry ghosts' festival would have you believe. The Bible is unequivocally clear that the spirit of a human being returns to God when a person dies (Eccl 12:7b; Ps 31:5; Luke 23:46; Acts 7:59). Other than Christ who is God in the flesh and was resurrected to return back to the third heaven where He came (John 3;13), all human beings who have died are asleep in unconsciousness awaiting their resurrection. Their next moment of consciousness will be their resurrection. Those called and chosen by God the Father will be amongst the firstfruits in the first resurrection to be born again as immortal God-like spirit beings when Christ returns to set up the coming kingdom of God on earth. All the rest of mankind who have ever lived will be in the second resurrection to be resurrected as flesh and blood human beings beginning with the Israelites and the Jews from the northern and southern kingdoms respectively reunited as one (Ezekiel 37) towards the close of the millennial age. All the unborns (those aborted and died prematurely) together with all the youngs will probably be resurrected as spiritual babes to be raised to full maturity with the knowledge of the whole truths and given ample opportunities for acceptance of Christ for salvation (Isaiah 65:20).
The seven thousand years of God's plan is on track, and the time given for man's government on earth is six thousand years of human history since Adam and Eve and is soon coming to an end. The seventh thousand years of Christs' millennial rule is dawning (the Sabbath rest -Hebrews 4;9-11). God's vision and master plan for mankind cannot be thwarted no matter what and how Satan does to frustrate God's purpose. Many are called but not all will accept God's offer to become the chosen ones to qualify as sons of God. Spiritual fruits of character transformation and lasting impact on lives through service of love are proof of performance qualification to inherit the kingdom of God as sons of the Most High God! Jesus' parable of the wedding feast in Matthew 22:1-14 in part, is a typology of this truth. I kid you not when I say that God is no respecter of persons (Romans 2:11;Eph 6:9;Col 3:25)- titles, positions, social status, IQ, EQ, bank accounts, accomplishments and everything else mean nothing to God, unless they are used for His purpose. He is looking for the heart attitude and character qualities that will stand for all of eternity.If you are reading my blog, you are probably called by God (John 6:44-45) but you have to make up your mind to be among the chosen ones.
The Spirit of Christ is knocking at the door of your heart with an incredible offer of royal membership in the coming kingdom of God (Rev 3:20-21). For those who choose to walk by faith with a vision of the imminent coming kingdom of God, eternal life of immortality and immense glory like the stars in the heavens are all within the grasps of your hands!
We were advised to stay awake on those appointed nights to 'welcome' the return of his spirit from the 'dungeons of purgatory' ! Frankly, there were indeed noises and rumbling of the altar table where the foods were placed. I was so fearful that goose bumps were all over me even with my blanket covered from head to toe! Now I know that these were mere demonic interferences, part of what the Bible calls witchcraft.
To date, I have attended countless funeral wakes and rituals. Some for the passing on of my family members, others of relatives and friends. Other than for a few exceptions, most of those facing death and their family members have no clue what life and death mean. They can try all sorts of religious beliefs, undergo all types of ritual practices including seemingly endless chantings with burning of paper mansions, luxury cars, printed currency notes and consult all kinds of psychic mediums - all of no avail!
What I'm going to share with you readers may shock and surprise some of you, but nonetheless they are true and nothing but the truth. The basis of my faith ? - the Holy Scriptures - the unadulterated Word of God. If God has not revealed the truth, no man can find it!
The Almighty God of the universe place man on earth with the vision of reproducing Himself - the God Family. Man was created in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26) - the God kind. Lucifer (now known as Satan) and some of the angels were placed on earth long before man was ever created. God is the Creator and He assigned Lucifer and the angels to develop and beautify His creation. The books of Isaiah (chapter 14) and Ezekiel (chapter 28) tell us that Lucifer and the fallen angels (now known as demons) rebelled against the government of God
due to pride and arrogance. So there was darkness and ruin on the surface of the earth, (Gen 1:2) probably due to some kind of conflict and warfare between the spiritual forces of good and evil. Perhaps that is why even the planets of the galaxies are in disarray - basically barren and absent of life forms.
God send forth His Spirit to renew the face of the earth (Psalm 104:30) in six days to make way for man - His prize creation! But why must man be created in flesh and blood to undergo temptations, sufferings and death? Why not make man immortal being to enjoy heavenly bliss at the very outset? This is the crux of the matter that man fail to understand the grand plan of God. In a sense God did, but Adam and Eve failed the test. With the tree of life cut off, all human beings are 'on trial' here on earth to develop the spiritual character qualities necessary to become immortal spirit beings for eternity. A small group during the church age, the rest during the millenial age. In order that they can become members of the God Family that will rule and reign the whole universe for all of eternity. Is it a big deal? No, it is the mother of all deals! Whether you and I can make the grade largely depend on us - what you think or don't think, what you do say or don't say, what you do or don't do - with proof of performance in the fruits that result therefrom.
Those who ultimately fail to repent despite being given the whole truth during the millennial age when Satan is restraint and with no interference from him and his demons will be annihilated in the Lake of Fire as if they were never born. A gracious and merciful God will put them out of their misery. This will not be possible if man were to be created immortal first without the testings as spirit beings live forever. The question is where and how they will live out their immortality in eternity! Those who ultimately make it to enter the kingdom of God will be born again as immortal spirit beings like Christ (1 Corinthians 15:50; 1 John 3:2), who does not sin (1 John 3: 9).
God sent Christ to earth some two millennia ago to set up a church (those called out of this world's system with Satan on the throne - 2 Cor 4: 4) as the firstfruits to become the king priest to win the whole of all His creation back to Him during the millenial age. If God had created man as immortal beings first without learning and mastering the necessary spiritual character qualities, there will likely be millions if not billions of 'Satan look-alikes' inhabiting the universe for all of eternity! That would be the mother of tragedies for all of eternity!!
So make no mistake folks, we all have to die physically in order to live as immortal spiritual beings in eternity. Physical death is not the end of it all, but spiritual death is (the second death - Rev 20:14). Physical death is the gateway to all of our inheritance God has installed for us. Man's best is yet to be. But there is a condition. We must show our love through devotion and obedience to God through Christ based on the revealed Word of God. 'Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him' (1 Cor 2:9).
What God has created for good, man has defiled and perverted almost everything through a civilization that is Satanic and demonic influenced. God has designed the family to propagate His God Family vision, but man is in hot pursuit of an 'alternative lifestyle' with same sex marriage advocates passionately challenging societal norms. That is Satan snubbing at God's plan for mankind. God has created everything good for our enjoyment and well-being, but man has perverted all good values and polluted the earth to the point of no return. God's will for mankind is to worship Him in the beauty of holiness (1 Chronicles 16:29), but man turns to idol worship under the cloak of being a fan of some well-known celebrities!
Satan is the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2;2) working in the minds of people devoid of the Spirit of God - up till today. The good news is that it will soon come to an end. Christ will return to be enthroned as the King and Satan dethroned to be incarcerated (Rev 20:2-3). Till then, the whole world is being clouded in deception with the self-centred 'get way of life' instead of God's 'give way of life'. Without the Spirit of God indwelling the human mind, man is automatically tuned into Satan's wavelength. The carnal human mind is often incapable of understanding the whole truth. Even for some reason they do, they often do not believe. And even if they believe, they are powerless to obey. Only with the Holy Spirit baptised by the Lord Jesus Christ into their mind to write the Word of God onto the tablets of their hearts for the repentant sinners to reconcile back to God the Father (Romans 5:10), then there can be a transformation of life to produce spiritual fruits (Gal 5:22-25).
Coming back to my grandpa's story, was his spirit floating around in search of his home and loved ones? Certainly not, but this is what the Chinese celebrating the annual 'hungry ghosts' festival would have you believe. The Bible is unequivocally clear that the spirit of a human being returns to God when a person dies (Eccl 12:7b; Ps 31:5; Luke 23:46; Acts 7:59). Other than Christ who is God in the flesh and was resurrected to return back to the third heaven where He came (John 3;13), all human beings who have died are asleep in unconsciousness awaiting their resurrection. Their next moment of consciousness will be their resurrection. Those called and chosen by God the Father will be amongst the firstfruits in the first resurrection to be born again as immortal God-like spirit beings when Christ returns to set up the coming kingdom of God on earth. All the rest of mankind who have ever lived will be in the second resurrection to be resurrected as flesh and blood human beings beginning with the Israelites and the Jews from the northern and southern kingdoms respectively reunited as one (Ezekiel 37) towards the close of the millennial age. All the unborns (those aborted and died prematurely) together with all the youngs will probably be resurrected as spiritual babes to be raised to full maturity with the knowledge of the whole truths and given ample opportunities for acceptance of Christ for salvation (Isaiah 65:20).
The seven thousand years of God's plan is on track, and the time given for man's government on earth is six thousand years of human history since Adam and Eve and is soon coming to an end. The seventh thousand years of Christs' millennial rule is dawning (the Sabbath rest -Hebrews 4;9-11). God's vision and master plan for mankind cannot be thwarted no matter what and how Satan does to frustrate God's purpose. Many are called but not all will accept God's offer to become the chosen ones to qualify as sons of God. Spiritual fruits of character transformation and lasting impact on lives through service of love are proof of performance qualification to inherit the kingdom of God as sons of the Most High God! Jesus' parable of the wedding feast in Matthew 22:1-14 in part, is a typology of this truth. I kid you not when I say that God is no respecter of persons (Romans 2:11;Eph 6:9;Col 3:25)- titles, positions, social status, IQ, EQ, bank accounts, accomplishments and everything else mean nothing to God, unless they are used for His purpose. He is looking for the heart attitude and character qualities that will stand for all of eternity.If you are reading my blog, you are probably called by God (John 6:44-45) but you have to make up your mind to be among the chosen ones.
The Spirit of Christ is knocking at the door of your heart with an incredible offer of royal membership in the coming kingdom of God (Rev 3:20-21). For those who choose to walk by faith with a vision of the imminent coming kingdom of God, eternal life of immortality and immense glory like the stars in the heavens are all within the grasps of your hands!
Monday, July 27, 2009
NEBUCHADNEZZAR'S DREAM
The book of Daniel of the Old Testament gives a very descriptive narrative of Nebuchadnezzar's dream, who was the king of the Chaldean Empire some six centuries before the first advent of Jesus Christ. The prophetic book reveals the succession of world empires which will culminate in the setting up of God's government on earth at the Second Coming of Christ. Besides, it also reveals what is to happen in the times of the end which we are living in.
God gave Daniel, a young Jewish man serving as a cupbearer to king Nebuchadnezzar, the wisdom of understanding dreams and visions. With his solid faith in God and true humility, he took no credit upon himself but gave the glory to God Who alone is able to interpret dreams (Daniel 2:28). All his wise men were unable to narrate his dream as was required by him.
In his dream, Nebuchadnezzar saw an image whose head was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay (Daniel 2:32-33). Verse 38 gives God's interpretation through prophet Daniel that the gold represents the Chaldean Empire. History tells us that that was followed by the Medo-Persian Empire (Silver), the the Greek Empire of Alexander the Great (Bronze) and then the Roman Empire with the eastern capital at Constantinople and the western capital at Rome (two legs of iron). The Roman Empire attained world domination for over 500 years from 30 B.C. till their fall in A.D. 476.
But how does this fit into the overall scheme of things since A.D. 476, with the fall of the mighty Roman Empire, up until now? To get the full picture, we need to look at Daniel 2 and 7, Revelation 13 and 17 to have a full understanding of what is to follow in the latter days. In Daniel 7, the four Empires are represented by four beasts. The first was like a lion, the second was like a bear, the third was like a leopard (with four wings and four heads representing the split up of Alexander's Empire after his untimely death to his four generals), and the fourth beast representing the Roman Empire has ten horns on its head (Daniel 7:7-8).
What is so unique about this fourth beast is that ten kings or ten kingdoms shall arise from this (7:23-24). After the fall of the Roman Empire in A.D. 476, ten succeeding governments were to grow out of it. The current government is the ninth with the final one yet to come before the Second Coming of Christ! What is so intriguing was that a little horn - symbolizing the great false church - will grow out among them (7:8). Out of the ten, the first three horns were plucked out by the roots (7:8a). There were three barbarian kingdoms that ruled the territories of the Roman Empire but were eradicated by Justinian who restored the Roman Empire in A.D. 554. That left seven horns representing seven resurrections of this empire to be dominated by the liitle horn to become the Holy Roman Empire!
Revelation 17 specifically identifies the seven-headed beast as the seven resurrections of the Holy Roman Empire. Since A.D. 554, six resurrections have materialised and the last one to come is currently in the forming stage awaiting prophetic fulfillment! Note that the ten toes with mixture of iron and clay (Daniel 2:41-43) represents a fragile union of ten governments within a united Europe.
However, in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever (2:44). Revelation 11:15 tells us that the kingdoms of this world shall become Christ's and it shall reign forever and ever. Daniel 2:35 says that the kingdoms represented by iron ,clay, bronze, silver and gold were crushed, and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; the wind carried them away so that no trace of them was found. All the kingdoms of this world will finally disappear -gone with the wind - to make way for the kingdom of God to come upon earth. Daniel assures us that the God of heaven has made these things known. The dream is certain and its interpretation is sure (2:45).
When Nebuchadnezzar heard these, he fell forward on his face, prostrate before Daniel (2:46). It is worthy to note that whenever someone encounters God or His faithful servant, he always fell forward, never backward. God never acts on anything without letting His people know first through His faithful servants (Amos 3:7). These prophecies were sealed till the time of the end - which is now! (Daniel 12:9). And the prophetic clock is ticking towards the midnight hour!
The seventh and last of the resurrected Roman Empire will soon take place albeit a short-lived one. For it will be smashed to make way for the coming kingdom of God - the supergovernment of God on earth to be administered by His Family. The God Family will be the immortal God-like beings of the first resurrection (a better resurrection - Hebrews 11:35) who are all the true sons of God throughout the church age. They will be the firstfruits of the church that were called and chosen. Their tasks will be to help Christ in saving, teaching and governing the rest of mankind who had ever lived during the Millennial Age.
Some who survived the Great Tribulation as humans will be first to know the truth, followed by all the dead to be resurrected in the second resurrection as flesh and blood human beings again. For there will be a resurrection both of the just and the unjust (Acts 24:15). The pre-believers have not being judged yet in this present age, thus they are neither saved nor condemned. Only the called and chosen are judged in this present age. The resurrected pre-believers in their physical form will be given the truth, a chance for repentance and forgiveness based on the shed blood of Jesus Christ and resurrected to become spirit God-like beings - albeit of a lower hierarchy - to become children of God. They too will enter to inherit the kingdom of God. Christ will become the King of kings (the resurrected immortal sons of the royal God Family) and the Lord of lords (the resurrectd immortal children of God). All these truths are hidden in God's Holy Days and the Festivals that celebrate each of these events!
Why are so many Christians ignorant of such truth? Simply because the pulpit of modern Christianity covers only about 5 to 10% of the whole Scriptures. Often, sermons were quoted out of context to be preached around the Bible instead of through the Bible. The end result is that much of the sermons that are preached are nothing more than 'social gospels' that feeds the ego and pampers on feelings and emotions. Hence, the full truth is not preached, the mind is not fed and God's Spirit has insufficient or only substandard 'clay' to work on for the disciple to be enlightened. Perhaps some of them are wasting their time and energy in unfruitful practices and rituals babbling away!
God gave Daniel, a young Jewish man serving as a cupbearer to king Nebuchadnezzar, the wisdom of understanding dreams and visions. With his solid faith in God and true humility, he took no credit upon himself but gave the glory to God Who alone is able to interpret dreams (Daniel 2:28). All his wise men were unable to narrate his dream as was required by him.
In his dream, Nebuchadnezzar saw an image whose head was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay (Daniel 2:32-33). Verse 38 gives God's interpretation through prophet Daniel that the gold represents the Chaldean Empire. History tells us that that was followed by the Medo-Persian Empire (Silver), the the Greek Empire of Alexander the Great (Bronze) and then the Roman Empire with the eastern capital at Constantinople and the western capital at Rome (two legs of iron). The Roman Empire attained world domination for over 500 years from 30 B.C. till their fall in A.D. 476.
But how does this fit into the overall scheme of things since A.D. 476, with the fall of the mighty Roman Empire, up until now? To get the full picture, we need to look at Daniel 2 and 7, Revelation 13 and 17 to have a full understanding of what is to follow in the latter days. In Daniel 7, the four Empires are represented by four beasts. The first was like a lion, the second was like a bear, the third was like a leopard (with four wings and four heads representing the split up of Alexander's Empire after his untimely death to his four generals), and the fourth beast representing the Roman Empire has ten horns on its head (Daniel 7:7-8).
What is so unique about this fourth beast is that ten kings or ten kingdoms shall arise from this (7:23-24). After the fall of the Roman Empire in A.D. 476, ten succeeding governments were to grow out of it. The current government is the ninth with the final one yet to come before the Second Coming of Christ! What is so intriguing was that a little horn - symbolizing the great false church - will grow out among them (7:8). Out of the ten, the first three horns were plucked out by the roots (7:8a). There were three barbarian kingdoms that ruled the territories of the Roman Empire but were eradicated by Justinian who restored the Roman Empire in A.D. 554. That left seven horns representing seven resurrections of this empire to be dominated by the liitle horn to become the Holy Roman Empire!
Revelation 17 specifically identifies the seven-headed beast as the seven resurrections of the Holy Roman Empire. Since A.D. 554, six resurrections have materialised and the last one to come is currently in the forming stage awaiting prophetic fulfillment! Note that the ten toes with mixture of iron and clay (Daniel 2:41-43) represents a fragile union of ten governments within a united Europe.
However, in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever (2:44). Revelation 11:15 tells us that the kingdoms of this world shall become Christ's and it shall reign forever and ever. Daniel 2:35 says that the kingdoms represented by iron ,clay, bronze, silver and gold were crushed, and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; the wind carried them away so that no trace of them was found. All the kingdoms of this world will finally disappear -gone with the wind - to make way for the kingdom of God to come upon earth. Daniel assures us that the God of heaven has made these things known. The dream is certain and its interpretation is sure (2:45).
When Nebuchadnezzar heard these, he fell forward on his face, prostrate before Daniel (2:46). It is worthy to note that whenever someone encounters God or His faithful servant, he always fell forward, never backward. God never acts on anything without letting His people know first through His faithful servants (Amos 3:7). These prophecies were sealed till the time of the end - which is now! (Daniel 12:9). And the prophetic clock is ticking towards the midnight hour!
The seventh and last of the resurrected Roman Empire will soon take place albeit a short-lived one. For it will be smashed to make way for the coming kingdom of God - the supergovernment of God on earth to be administered by His Family. The God Family will be the immortal God-like beings of the first resurrection (a better resurrection - Hebrews 11:35) who are all the true sons of God throughout the church age. They will be the firstfruits of the church that were called and chosen. Their tasks will be to help Christ in saving, teaching and governing the rest of mankind who had ever lived during the Millennial Age.
Some who survived the Great Tribulation as humans will be first to know the truth, followed by all the dead to be resurrected in the second resurrection as flesh and blood human beings again. For there will be a resurrection both of the just and the unjust (Acts 24:15). The pre-believers have not being judged yet in this present age, thus they are neither saved nor condemned. Only the called and chosen are judged in this present age. The resurrected pre-believers in their physical form will be given the truth, a chance for repentance and forgiveness based on the shed blood of Jesus Christ and resurrected to become spirit God-like beings - albeit of a lower hierarchy - to become children of God. They too will enter to inherit the kingdom of God. Christ will become the King of kings (the resurrected immortal sons of the royal God Family) and the Lord of lords (the resurrectd immortal children of God). All these truths are hidden in God's Holy Days and the Festivals that celebrate each of these events!
Why are so many Christians ignorant of such truth? Simply because the pulpit of modern Christianity covers only about 5 to 10% of the whole Scriptures. Often, sermons were quoted out of context to be preached around the Bible instead of through the Bible. The end result is that much of the sermons that are preached are nothing more than 'social gospels' that feeds the ego and pampers on feelings and emotions. Hence, the full truth is not preached, the mind is not fed and God's Spirit has insufficient or only substandard 'clay' to work on for the disciple to be enlightened. Perhaps some of them are wasting their time and energy in unfruitful practices and rituals babbling away!
Sunday, July 12, 2009
SPEAKING OR BABBLING IN TONGUES
The issues of speaking in tongues have plagued traditional christianity for decades with church splitting and division that cause acrimony and disunity. This is to be expected as people who play with fire will eventually be burnt by it. This short blog intents to answer some of the controversy surrounding the issues of speaking in tongues or more appropriately called, babbling in gibberish tongues. The former is biblical but the latter is another man-made theology that has it root tracing all the way back to the tower of Babel (confusion) from where the English word 'babble' comes from.
People who babble in gibberish tongues have no idea what they are talking or even doing. As speaking in tongues is listed as a spiritual gift, then babbling in gibberish tongues is a violation of 1 Cor 12:1 which states, 'Now conserning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be IGNORANT.' Obviously, what the tongue babblers are doing is contrary to what the Scripture is teaching as it is not God's intention for people to be ignorant or unable to understand spiritual gifts. Simply put, they are exercising the 'gift of confusion' by confusing people, both believers and non believers alike! Such a practice is common among idol worshippers whose trademark is confusion, with its root originated from the Mystery Babylon Religion. During the time of the Apostle Paul in Corinth, pagan temple prostitutes were among the gibberish tongue babblers. Perhaps those who are adamant on such practices should research their ancestral lineage!
Much like banks' toxic assets, they are repackaged and resold under the Christian brand with the Charismatic logo tagged onto it! Under the aura of fear, eloquence and emotional mesmerisation by nothing more than snake charmers in staged settings, gullible and naive people are led to undergo and practise such spiritual charades without even understanding what it's all about. They were told simply to exercise faith and trust God and viola! they're spirit filled! Truly, the white horseman of the apocalypse is charging ahead to slaughter like the knight templar, all in the name of Christianity.
It is true that all believers must have the Holy Spirit indwelling them in order to be saved for eternal life (Romans 8:9,11). But must all speak in tongues? The Apostle Paul asks some rhetorical questions in 1 Cor 12:29-30, 'Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? Do all have gifts of healings? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret?' The answer to each of these questions is obvious and does not require a degree in theology to understand. Disciples of Jesus Christ are known by their fruits (Matthew 7:20) and by their love for one another (John 13:35). Nowhere in Scriptures is it mention that they are known by their speaking in tongues, let alone babbling in gibberish tongues. It goes to show that the propagators of gibberish tongues to the mass congregation are doing so outside the ambit of the Bible!
The next question to ask is, 'What exactly is speaking in tongues?' Simply put, it is speaking another known human language unknown to the speaker. For example, I neither speak nor understand the Tamil language, and if God would give me the gift of speaking in Tamil to bring some of my Tamil friends (who can converse and understand only Tamil) to salvation, He would endow me with the gift of speaking in the Tamil language to reach out to the Tamil folks in our midst. This was what happened at Pentecost when devout Jews from every nation under heaven heard them speak in his own language (Acts 2:5-6). 1 Cor 14:22 clearly states that tongue is a sign for unbelievers and not for believers. In fact, the word 'unknown' in 1 Cor 14 is in italics, meaning that the word was added by translators but not in the original Greek manuscript which is the true inspired Word of God!
Many Christians, especially those from the Pentecostal camp, believe that to fall backward after being prayed for to receive the 'gift of tongues' is to be 'slain by the Holy Spirit'. Some were even coerced to move and roll their tongues in rituals that often fringed on the bizarre. But examples abound in God's Word that those who face the Lord or His angels fell forward like Abraham did, and so was the soldier when he confronted Jesus to arrest Him. However, while those who faced the demons fell backward like those who were demon possessed. Man loves to seek exciting thrills and experiences to spice up their lives. The music and drumbeat of the Pentecostal's Holy Ghost meetings are often a draw for those seeking the mysterious and unknown like 'speaking in tongue' and 'miraculous healings'. But such is not the way given in Scriptures, for man's way is not His way. That is why many fall prey to deception.
Speaking in tongues is a gift that only God can dispense as the Spirit gave them utterance (Acts 2:4). But thrill seeking men are trying to invoke the gift by playing all kinds of spiritual poker games to lure and entice the uninitiated. They become mere pawns in the hands of Satan whose sole purpose is to confuse and deceive so that they will fail to inherit the kingdom of God and hence no eternal life! The end result is that all participants are being deceived as the demonic forces lay hold of their victims like the lamb being led to the slaughter. In these days and age, this gift should be few and far between as modern communications and interpretations render it almost unnecessary. There has to be a purpose for God to invoke every gift but in most 'Holy Ghost' meetings where I had attended, I see no purpose for the clairvoyance other than to exalt the preacher. The Lord Jesus warned of the severe punishment to be inflicted upon the unprofitable servant who will be cast into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 25:30)- if they still have them! Indeed, their end shall be according to their works (2 Cor 11:15a).
It is ironical that man will seek what God never tells them to and not to seek what God wants them to. There are only two pre-conditions to receive God's Holy Spirit - to repent and to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ (Acts 2:38). By this the Word of God means genuine repentance, going through proper water baptism as a sign of death and resurrection and being laid hand upon with prayer by someone with the proper authority in order to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. It is as simple as that but man complicates the whole process to push their own agenda. 1 Cor 12:13 should be correctly read as, 'For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body.' Most translations use the preposition 'by' is incorrect as the Holy Spirit baptizes no one. It is Jesus Christ who baptizes His disciples with the Holy Spirit as the means of baptism!
The Lord Jesus Christ says in Matthew 16:18, 'I will build My church' , note that He did not say churches. So how do all the divided and disunited churches of the Pentecostal Movement fit into the scheme of things in Christ's church? This is a question that many Pentecostals would rather avoid to concentrate on 'flowing with the tide' while the going is still good. Such flirting with spiritual poker games could well land them on the wrong side of the great divide come the day of reckoning!
Remember, the Church is called out of the world to live the way God teaches, as written in the Bible. No one has the right to do as he/she pleases. The Church started on the day of Firstfruits called Pentecost in June A.D. 31. Never has such supernatural display occurred before or since. The Greek heard the 120 speaking the Greek language. The Parthian heard the same 120 speaking the Parthian language and the Medes heard the 120 speaking the Medes language! Most of the Pentecostals failed to understand the truth about the Holy Spirit and also what is true repentance, conversion and baptism. Sadly, many will continue to worship Christ in vain as they failed to obey God's commandments (Mark 7:7-9). Since a leopard cannot change its spot (Jeremiah 13:23), many who are already hooked are unlikely to change their ways. But hopefully, it will prevent others from being misled onto this spiritual deception!
People who babble in gibberish tongues have no idea what they are talking or even doing. As speaking in tongues is listed as a spiritual gift, then babbling in gibberish tongues is a violation of 1 Cor 12:1 which states, 'Now conserning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be IGNORANT.' Obviously, what the tongue babblers are doing is contrary to what the Scripture is teaching as it is not God's intention for people to be ignorant or unable to understand spiritual gifts. Simply put, they are exercising the 'gift of confusion' by confusing people, both believers and non believers alike! Such a practice is common among idol worshippers whose trademark is confusion, with its root originated from the Mystery Babylon Religion. During the time of the Apostle Paul in Corinth, pagan temple prostitutes were among the gibberish tongue babblers. Perhaps those who are adamant on such practices should research their ancestral lineage!
Much like banks' toxic assets, they are repackaged and resold under the Christian brand with the Charismatic logo tagged onto it! Under the aura of fear, eloquence and emotional mesmerisation by nothing more than snake charmers in staged settings, gullible and naive people are led to undergo and practise such spiritual charades without even understanding what it's all about. They were told simply to exercise faith and trust God and viola! they're spirit filled! Truly, the white horseman of the apocalypse is charging ahead to slaughter like the knight templar, all in the name of Christianity.
It is true that all believers must have the Holy Spirit indwelling them in order to be saved for eternal life (Romans 8:9,11). But must all speak in tongues? The Apostle Paul asks some rhetorical questions in 1 Cor 12:29-30, 'Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? Do all have gifts of healings? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret?' The answer to each of these questions is obvious and does not require a degree in theology to understand. Disciples of Jesus Christ are known by their fruits (Matthew 7:20) and by their love for one another (John 13:35). Nowhere in Scriptures is it mention that they are known by their speaking in tongues, let alone babbling in gibberish tongues. It goes to show that the propagators of gibberish tongues to the mass congregation are doing so outside the ambit of the Bible!
The next question to ask is, 'What exactly is speaking in tongues?' Simply put, it is speaking another known human language unknown to the speaker. For example, I neither speak nor understand the Tamil language, and if God would give me the gift of speaking in Tamil to bring some of my Tamil friends (who can converse and understand only Tamil) to salvation, He would endow me with the gift of speaking in the Tamil language to reach out to the Tamil folks in our midst. This was what happened at Pentecost when devout Jews from every nation under heaven heard them speak in his own language (Acts 2:5-6). 1 Cor 14:22 clearly states that tongue is a sign for unbelievers and not for believers. In fact, the word 'unknown' in 1 Cor 14 is in italics, meaning that the word was added by translators but not in the original Greek manuscript which is the true inspired Word of God!
Many Christians, especially those from the Pentecostal camp, believe that to fall backward after being prayed for to receive the 'gift of tongues' is to be 'slain by the Holy Spirit'. Some were even coerced to move and roll their tongues in rituals that often fringed on the bizarre. But examples abound in God's Word that those who face the Lord or His angels fell forward like Abraham did, and so was the soldier when he confronted Jesus to arrest Him. However, while those who faced the demons fell backward like those who were demon possessed. Man loves to seek exciting thrills and experiences to spice up their lives. The music and drumbeat of the Pentecostal's Holy Ghost meetings are often a draw for those seeking the mysterious and unknown like 'speaking in tongue' and 'miraculous healings'. But such is not the way given in Scriptures, for man's way is not His way. That is why many fall prey to deception.
Speaking in tongues is a gift that only God can dispense as the Spirit gave them utterance (Acts 2:4). But thrill seeking men are trying to invoke the gift by playing all kinds of spiritual poker games to lure and entice the uninitiated. They become mere pawns in the hands of Satan whose sole purpose is to confuse and deceive so that they will fail to inherit the kingdom of God and hence no eternal life! The end result is that all participants are being deceived as the demonic forces lay hold of their victims like the lamb being led to the slaughter. In these days and age, this gift should be few and far between as modern communications and interpretations render it almost unnecessary. There has to be a purpose for God to invoke every gift but in most 'Holy Ghost' meetings where I had attended, I see no purpose for the clairvoyance other than to exalt the preacher. The Lord Jesus warned of the severe punishment to be inflicted upon the unprofitable servant who will be cast into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 25:30)- if they still have them! Indeed, their end shall be according to their works (2 Cor 11:15a).
It is ironical that man will seek what God never tells them to and not to seek what God wants them to. There are only two pre-conditions to receive God's Holy Spirit - to repent and to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ (Acts 2:38). By this the Word of God means genuine repentance, going through proper water baptism as a sign of death and resurrection and being laid hand upon with prayer by someone with the proper authority in order to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. It is as simple as that but man complicates the whole process to push their own agenda. 1 Cor 12:13 should be correctly read as, 'For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body.' Most translations use the preposition 'by' is incorrect as the Holy Spirit baptizes no one. It is Jesus Christ who baptizes His disciples with the Holy Spirit as the means of baptism!
The Lord Jesus Christ says in Matthew 16:18, 'I will build My church' , note that He did not say churches. So how do all the divided and disunited churches of the Pentecostal Movement fit into the scheme of things in Christ's church? This is a question that many Pentecostals would rather avoid to concentrate on 'flowing with the tide' while the going is still good. Such flirting with spiritual poker games could well land them on the wrong side of the great divide come the day of reckoning!
Remember, the Church is called out of the world to live the way God teaches, as written in the Bible. No one has the right to do as he/she pleases. The Church started on the day of Firstfruits called Pentecost in June A.D. 31. Never has such supernatural display occurred before or since. The Greek heard the 120 speaking the Greek language. The Parthian heard the same 120 speaking the Parthian language and the Medes heard the 120 speaking the Medes language! Most of the Pentecostals failed to understand the truth about the Holy Spirit and also what is true repentance, conversion and baptism. Sadly, many will continue to worship Christ in vain as they failed to obey God's commandments (Mark 7:7-9). Since a leopard cannot change its spot (Jeremiah 13:23), many who are already hooked are unlikely to change their ways. But hopefully, it will prevent others from being misled onto this spiritual deception!
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