Category: good vs evil

Our Gospel Hid #1

Friday, February 10, 2012

“But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them” (2 Corinthians 4:3,4 KJV).

How does Satan, “the god of this world,” keep our gospel hidden from lost people? Does he use drugs, alcohol, fornication, and the occult? According to the context of today’s Scripture, he uses something far subtler, what you would least expect.

God’s Word exposes the heart of Satan’s policy of evil. Previously, the Apostle Paul stated that he has “renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully” (verse 2). Where was this “dishonesty” and “craftiness?” Paul explains, “nor handling the word of God deceitfully.” It was in religion! Before Paul’s salvation, he, as a Pharisee (Jewish religious leader) and participant in Satan’s religious system, had used God’s Word (of all things!) to send people to hell (Galatians 1:13,14; Philippians 3:3-7). Thankfully, Paul claimed, “Now that I am saved, I have given up that foolishness!” Sadly, today, preachers still use the Bible to guide over 100,000 people to hell every day! How?

Satan hides the Gospel of God’s Grace (what God has done for you at Calvary) by having you focus on religion (what you can do for God at church). These “ministers” (!) of Satan (2 Corinthians 11:13-15) tell you that Christ died for you, but that you need to work for salvation (Acts 15:1-5). How deceptive! They mention Christ (sounding godly), but they are totally anti-God because they exalt man’s efforts to please God (thereby ignoring the sufficiency of Christ’s finished crosswork). God warned against this “false gospel” in Galatians 1:6-9. God’s attitude toward one who preaches this heretical gospel: “Let him be accursed [removed from fellowship]!!!”

The Gospel of the Grace of God says you can do nothing, nothing, nothing to merit salvation.

Friends, either Jesus Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection are sufficient for our salvation, or He is dead for nothing (Galatians 2:16,21)!

Do We Have Guardian Angels?

Monday, February 6, 2012

“The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them” (Psalm 34:7 KJV).

Today’s Scripture is one of the scores of verses that speak of “guardian angels.” But do we have guardian angels today, in our Dispensation of Grace?

Throughout the Old Testament, angels protected and guided the nation Israel (Exodus 23:20,23; Exodus 33:2; Judges 6:11,12; 2 Kings 19:35; et al.). “For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone” (Psalm 91:11,12).

In the New Testament, angels ministered to Jesus Christ during His earthly ministry (Matthew 4:11; Luke 22:43). Angels rescued the imprisoned apostles (Acts 5:18-26) and delivered the Apostle Peter from prison (Acts 12:1-11). Yet, when we come to our Apostle Paul, God uses an earthquake—not an angel—to free him from prison (Acts 16:23-28). Why?

Notice what Paul writes about angels today. They should not be worshipped (Colossians 2:18) and that, if a supposed “angel” appears to us today, it would do so only to deceive by preaching to us a false gospel (Galatians 1:8; cf. 2 Corinthians 11:14). But, Paul’s epistles are silent about guardian angels in our Dispensation of Grace. We are not guaranteed physical protection with angels like God promised Israel, but we Christians have something better: we have eternal spiritual protection because the indwelling Holy Spirit is guarding our souls (Ephesians 4:30; cf. Romans 8:35-39).

Furthermore, Paul writes that, while angels have no ministry to us today, we have a ministry to them! The angels are curious about what God is doing, so they learn this by watching us, the Church the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 4:9; 1 Corinthians 11:10; Ephesians 3:9,10; 1 Timothy 3:16; 1 Timothy 5:21). Smile, they are watching! 🙂

But, what about Hebrews 1:14: “Are they [the angels of verse 13] not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?” Notice, this is the book of Hebrews—this is speaking of future Israel.

We do not need angels today—they need us.

Has Hell Departed Far Hence?

Thursday, February 2, 2012

“Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41 KJV).

Today’s Scripture (and its context of verses 31-46) explains that, after Christ returns to earth (His Second Coming), He will gather to stand before Him the saved and lost Gentile survivors of the seven-year Tribulation. The Gentiles (not us the Body of Christ) who blessed Israel during the Tribulation will be allowed to enter the earthly kingdom (verses 34-40) while those who refused to help Israel will be cast into hell, “everlasting punishment” (verses 41-46).

Hell is a real, spiritual place of “everlasting fire” that God originally created to punish Satan and his angels (today’s Scripture), but it also exists for those humans who participate in Satan’s rebellion against God. Here, the souls of the damned are eternally banished from God’s presence, confined to a place where God’s wrath is never appeased, where consciousness is rewarded with intense heat and painful remembrance (note the thirsty rich man tormented by memory and flames in Luke 16:22-31). Sin is allowed to disfigure their souls and hell’s fire preserves them forever (Matthew 10:28; Mark 9:43-50; John 5:28,29; 2 Thessalonians 1:8-10). There is no consumption or annihilation—it is “everlasting punishment.”

Understandably, the doctrine of everlasting hellfire is quite unpopular in modern-day “feel-good” Christendom. You will rarely hear preachers (especially “mega-churchers”) mention everlasting hellfire. Moreover, hell is watered down and even removed from modern Bibles! The Greek words translated “hell” (hades) and “hell/hellfire” (gehenna) in our King James Bible have been left untranslated in modern Bibles (including NKJV). Which is more offensive—“hell” or “hades/gehenna?” Modern Bibles further deny the everlasting nature of hell by replacing “everlasting fire” with “eternal fire,” and omitting Mark 9:44,46 (which both read, “where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched”).

“Hell” may have departed far hence from Christendom and modern Bibles, but those who reject Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour will depart far hence to the everlasting hellfire that God’s Word (King James Bible) clearly teaches!

The Crux of God’s Eternal Purpose

Friday, January 27, 2012

“And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven” (Colossians 1:20 KJV).

God the Father has one grand purpose for creation—to make His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Head of the governments of heaven and earth (Ephesians 1:9,10). But, the Bible teaches that an angelic rebellion, led by Lucifer (Satan), sought to usurp Jesus Christ’s headship in heaven (Isaiah 14:12-14; Ezekiel 28:12-18). Once Satan enticed mankind to sin and cooperate with his policy of evil, that rebellion then infiltrated earth (Genesis 3:1-24).

Today, the governments that God created in heaven and earth are in rebellion. Satan has spoiled what was created “by” and “for” the Lord Jesus Christ (Colossians 1:16,17; cf. 2 Corinthians 4:3,4; Ephesians 2:2; Ephesians 6:12). How will God reconcile unto Himself the governments of heaven and earth? How will Jesus Christ eternally subvert Satan’s strongholds in those two realms? Today’s Scripture provides the answer.

Using Christ’s shed blood, God is currently forming a heavenly people for His name, the Church the Body of Christ (Ephesians 1:7; Ephesians 2:13; Colossians 1:14). In eternity future, He will use this entity—us!—to restore His authority in the heavens. At Christ’s Second Coming, God will restore His earthly people, the nation Israel, forgive them of their sins through Christ’s shed blood (Acts 3:18; Hebrews 9:11-15; 1 Peter 1:18,19), and use redeemed Israel to reclaim His authority in the earth.

Indeed, the very thing at which Satan thought he defeated God—Calvary’s cross—is that which God will use to permanently conquer Satan’s policy of evil. Christ’s finished crosswork on Calvary is the crux of God’s plans for eternity future: everything that God will accomplish in the ages to come hinges on Jesus Christ’s shed blood. In order to destabilize Satan’s power in heaven and earth, God must deal first with the sin issue in both realms, and Christ’s blood does just that in both realms. Behold the wisdom of our God!

Oh, by the way, interestingly, crux is Latin for cross….

God’s Heavenly Kingdom (Finally) Established

Thursday, January 26, 2012

“And [God the Father] hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: that in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:6,7 KJV).

Before Jesus Christ will return at His Second Coming to establish His earthly kingdom, He will found another kingdom—His heavenly kingdom!

Genesis 1:1 reads, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” Colossians 1:16 continues: “For by him [Jesus Christ] were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, dominions, principalities, or powers: all things were created by him and for him.” God created heaven and earth, but He also made governments to manage those two realms for His glory. Unfortunately, Satan has caused “spiritual wickedness in high places [heaven]” (Ephesians 6:12) and he is “the god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4): the Bible documents God’s plan to restore the governments of heaven and earth unto Himself.

Before the seven-year Tribulation begins (and before Christ’s Second Coming to establish His earthly kingdom), the Lord Jesus will rapture us, the members of the Church that is His Body, from earth, secretly taking us to heaven. As the seven-year Tribulation is unfolding on earth, we will be in heaven, appearing before Jesus Christ at the Judgment Seat of Christ to receive our orders for eternity.

At the midpoint of the future Tribulation (three-and-one-half years into it), the Bible explains: “There was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon [Satan]; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven” (Revelation 12:7,8). Why will that happen? At that point, God will have thrown Satan and his evil angels out of their “place” in heaven to install us there (note “places” in today’s Scripture)!

Once God has subdued the heavenly places using us, He will come to earth to end the seven-year Tribulation and establish His kingdom here on earth with Israel, thus defeating Satan in both realms!

I Want Pictures!

Saturday, January 21, 2012

“Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed” (John 20:29 KJV).

Once, when my mom offered to read the Holy Scriptures to my then five-year-old niece, the latter protested, “I want pictures!” 🙂 I could not help but chuckle upon hearing that. Yet, how many churchgoers prefer experiences that can seen and felt rather than sound doctrine that can be read and believed?

Most Bibles lack pictures, which makes God’s Word less appealing to the average reader. But, these precious souls fail to understand God never intended His Word to be a photo album or art portfolio. God wanted us to know information, but He did not communicate that information using paintings, drawings, or photographs. God wanted to not just give us His thoughts, but His very words (Deuteronomy 8:3; Psalm 12:6,7; Matthew 4:4; Luke 4:4)! Jesus Christ declared: “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away” (Matthew 24:35; cf. Mark 13:31; Luke 21:33).

While God could have communicated His truth in any way He wanted, He determined to have His truth permanently written down in a Book, His Book, whose words would span the eons of eternity future. That Book would be independent of the reader, and would serve as an objective standard to distinguish truth from error. It would never change, it would always be relevant, and it would never be lost to time. He would preserve the words of the Book forever and ever and ever.

Instead of us seeking “pictures” (visual confirmation of Scripture) like my niece and doubting Thomas of today’s Scripture, let us pursue “the wholesome words of Jesus Christ and the doctrine which is according to godliness” (1 Timothy 6:3). We place no authority on experiences, but we trust alone in the King James Bible’s authority, the only standard by which we gauge the veracity or falsity of all experiences. “We walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7).

“The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever” (Isaiah 40:8; 1 Peter 1:24,25).

The Temporal Blindness of Israel

Monday, January 16, 2012

“And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a midst and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand” (Acts 13:11 KJV).

God formed Israel so He could utilize them in a kingdom to send His salvation to the Gentiles (non-Jews). When God sent Israel’s Messiah-King, Jesus, the Jews demanded His crucifixion. Even after Jesus was resurrected, they still rejected Him: Israel refused the apostles’ ministry (technically, the Holy Spirit’s ministry) in the early Acts period. Until all of Israel was saved, her kingdom could not be established, keeping the Gentiles from receiving salvation. But God had a plan to circumvent this rebellion!

Today’s Scripture is the Apostle Paul’s first recorded miracle—the physical blinding of Elymas. Why did Paul do this? According to verses 6-8, a lost Gentile, Sergius Paulus, sought to hear God’s Word from Paul, but Elymas, a Jewish sorcerer, attempted to prevent this Gentile from hearing God’s Word and trusting Christ.

Verses 9 and 10 read: “Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him [Elymas], and said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?”

Elymas symbolizes lost national Israel that prevents Gentiles from hearing God’s Word. Paul writes, “the Jews…[forbid] us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins alway…” (1 Thessalonians 2:14-16).

As Paul begins his apostolic journeys, God signifies, through the blinding of Elymas, that He will temporarily spiritually blind Israel and send salvation to the Gentiles through Paul’s ministry, without Israel (Romans 11:11-13). In our dispensation, Israel is “[blinded]…until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in” (Romans 11:25). When our dispensation ends (the rapture), God will return to Israel (Romans 11:26-29). Just as Elymas was blinded “for a season”—not eternally—Israel is temporarily blinded. God is not finished with Israel.

Whom Doth Thou Really Follow? #3

Sunday, January 15, 2012

“Then they reviled him, and said, Thou art his disciple; but we are Moses’ disciples. We know that God spake unto Moses: as for this fellow, we know not from whence he is” (John 9:28,29 KJV).

In the context of today’s Scripture, Jesus heals a blind man. After he appears before the unbelieving Pharisees, they summon his parents to confirm his former blindness (verses 18-21). His parents fear being cast out of the synagogue, so they avoid admitting Jesus Christ healed him (verses 21-23). Contrariwise, their son boldly holds to God’s truth, refusing Israel’s vain religion. Thus, the Pharisees “reviled [insulted] him” (today’s Scripture). How we Pauline dispensationalists face the same persecution today!

Most Jews—especially Israel’s religious leaders—refused to trust in Jesus as their Messiah. Any Jew who embraced Jesus as Messiah was alienated by his friends and family, for the Jews who followed Jesus Christ went counter to Israel’s apostate religious system. The parents of the man in today’s Scripture feared losing their popularity, so they did not confess Christ. Eventually, the Pharisees cast out the man for following Jesus (verse 34).

Similarly, if you have trusted exclusively in Christ Jesus, and you are not relying on your good works for salvation, you are going contrary to the prevalent works-religion system of our day. The lost world avoids you because you are God’s child. Moreover, if you study and believe the King James Bible “rightly divided,” as 2 Timothy 2:15 teaches, you become even less popular. The denominationalists and religionists do not want you either!

We follow our Apostle Paul as he follows Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1). Since most of Christendom abhors dispensational Bible study, they keep their distance from us. The denominationalists and religionists treat us the same way the wicked Pharisees treated the Jewish believers—criticize and ostracize! Like the Pharisees, they reject sound Bible doctrine and keep their tradition. Moreover, the non-religious lost world rejects us too, for we trust in Jesus Christ while they trust in their worthless idols.

Let us continue following Paul as he follows Christ, even as they criticize and ostracize! 🙂

Is It Wrong to Go to War?

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:… a time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace” (Ecclesiastes 3:1,8 KJV).

War is devastating. It causes great loss of life, injury, and heartache. Considering this, does God’s Word encourage war? Clearly, it does (today’s Scripture is only one example).

“If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men” (Romans 12:18). This is conditional—some wars cannot be avoided. Why? James 4:1,2 reads: “From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.” War occurs because of sin. In this sinful world, war will occur, as it has for 6,000 years.

The Bible makes many references to God’s people and war. Moses gathered 12,000 Jews “armed for war” (Numbers 31:2). Through the prophet Samuel, the LORD encouraged King Saul to attack wicked King Amalek and his people (1 Samuel 15:3). Entering into the Promised Land (Canaan) under Joshua, some 40,000 Jews “prepared for war” (Joshua 4:13). The LORD helped King David win countless military battles (see 2 Samuel chapter 8, especially verse 6).

Jesus Christ was no pacifist when He claimed, “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword” (Matthew 10:34). In fact, God is called a “man of war” (Exodus 15:3; Isaiah 42:13). Moreover, Jesus will fight and overcome Satan, the antichrist, and his armies at His Second Coming (Revelation 16:14,16; Revelation 19:11-21).

Understand that war is not necessarily evil, for Proverbs 20:18 says, “Every purpose is established by counsel: and with good advice make war.” There is nothing unbiblical about defending yourself and your possessions. Countries must defend themselves against terrorism. God does not expect us to sit quietly as we are robbed of our freedom and possessions. “If it be possible… live peaceably with all men.”

Cunningly Devised Fables

Sunday, January 8, 2012

“For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty” (2 Peter 1:16 KJV).

Satan has been working for thousands of years. Spiritual warfare between good and evil begins in the denominational leadership. Ungodly, lost church leaders with religious clout entice the masses to follow them… to hell! Jesus explained, “Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch” (Matthew 15:14).

Religious authorities concoct nonsensical stories that play on gullible people’s emotions in order to gain followers and their savings. Last May, Harold Camping was the latest “date setter” for the end of the world. For years individuals have been calculating elaborate timelines that document the end of world, only to be mocked when the dates fail to come to pass. How people ridicule God because of these fools, too! But, the “cunningly devised fables” grow more and more far-fetched.

Tales of tumors miraculously falling from infirm bodies, Mary appearing in treetops, stigmata seen on hands and feet, weeping statues, “Holy Ghost” encounters, relics, and grotto shrines are but a few of religion’s “cunningly devised fables” used to deceive sincere souls. These “doctrines of devils” distract people from the truth of God’s Word, and because these stories are so preposterous, they cause people to doubt the Bible’s testimony (1 Timothy 4:1-3; cf. Ephesians 4:14; 2 Peter 2:1-3).

Beloved, the Bible warns us about people “beguiling [tricking] us with enticing [nice-sounding] words” (Colossians 2:4). The story appears to be godly, but do not be fooled. Compare it with the Bible rightly divided.

In today’s Scripture, the Apostle Peter reassures his Jewish readers that he did not fabricate the account of Jesus Christ appearing in all His glory on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-8; Mark 9:2-8; Luke 9:28-36). Unlike the “signs, miracles, and wonders” of religion, it really did happen—visibly, physically, and literally.

As long as we believe the King James Bible rightly divided, we too “have not followed cunningly devised fables.”