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In April 2009 the Idaho Observer published an article called, “Revelation and the Rothschild connection,” which was written by Anne Wilder Chamberlain. Now, 9 years later in 2018, it is once again widely being used as propaganda to defend and advance unbiblical teachings such as Covenant theology, Amillennialism and Replacement theology. After I received a number of requests for my opinion on this document, I decided to publish this article on HEAVENLY REMNANT.

The abbreviations used is this article are as follows:
AWC – Idaho Observer / Anne Wilder Chamberlain and their sources
HR – Heavenly Remnant
Amills – Amillennials and those who support Covenant and Replacement theologies

HALF A BIBLE

According to AWS, to support Hitler’s genocidal agenda, the Church hierarchy removed as many as 72 books from the Bible. Ironically, those who support the AWS article are the same ones who choose to be known for following Sola Scriptura. They are also the ones who say that Satan is already bound. I strongly doubt that God would have allowed a single man to remove more than half of His Word, thus leaving all generations subsequent to the Hitler era with less than half a Bible. By believing this lie, they basically give Satan undeserved credit. In addition, with Hitler’s hatred towards the Jews, I am surprised at all of the Scripture he “allowed” to remain, which speaks about God’s positive plans with the nation of Israel.

THE OLD LIE ABOUT THE HISTORY OF DISPENSATIONALISM

AWS says that Christians predominantly believed that all Biblical prophecy had been fulfilled, until some “believers” changed this position in the early 19th century through fearmongering. AWS then also mocks these “believers” as those whose only remaining “hope” is to be raptured off this planet and into heaven before God destroys this wicked world. They call John Nelson Darby (1800-1882) the father of dispensationalism. Ironically, AWS themselve only quotes from books and articles written by Amills in the 19th to 21st centuries to back their unbiblical views.

While modern premillennialism depends upon Scriptural foundations for its apologetic and theological statement, it has nevertheless a significant historical context. It is regrettable that moderate dispensationalism and premillennialism has seldom had fair consideration in historical treatments of Christian doctrine. Peters in his classic work, “The Theocratic Kingdom,” cites no less than fifteen advocates of premillennialism in the first century. While his classification in some cases no doubt is debatable, in others it is undisputed. The notable testimony of Papias, who was associated with the Apostle John, is of special weight. Papias who lived in the first century and the beginning of the second lists as adherents of premillennialism Aristio, John the Presbyter and the Apostles Andrew, Peter, Philip, Thomas, James, John, and Matthew. He certainly was in a position to know their views, and his testimony is an important link in sustaining the fact that the disciples continued in the Jewish expectation of a kingdom on earth. Peters also lists as premillenarians Clement of Rome, Barnabas, Hermas, Ignatius, and Polycarp. In contrast to these clear evidences, not one adherent, not one line of evidence is produced sustaining the idea that any first-century Christians held Augustinian amillennialism—that the interadvent period was the millennial. Further, there is no evidence whatever that premillennialism was even disputed. It was the overwhelming-majority view of the early church.

THE SCOFIELD BIBLE

As always is the case with these twisters of Scripture, AWS also attempted to link dispensationalism to the Scofield Bible. Well, I do have a surprise for them. What I have learned about prophecy and God’s relationship with Israel, I learned from the KJV and related versions of God’s Word. The difference comes in as some believe the Bible exactly as it was given by God, while others add the “wisdom” of men, by applying unverifiable allegorical interpretation.

REPLACEMENT THEOLOGY AND ANTI-SEMITISM

AWS disputes the view of God’s 7,000 years cycle of time and the fulfilment of prophecy regarding the reformation of Israel in 1948. AWS also calls dispensationalist Christian Zionism because they believe that “God is able to graft [the Jews] in again” and to fulfill all the promises made to the genetic seed of Abraham.

AWS also insults the blessing of Isaac in Genesis 27:29 concerning Israel, which reads, “Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee.” According to them, this has fallen away during the curse of Balaam (Numbers 24:9), when “God told Moses that if Israel did not keep His commands and decrees, He would destroy them from the face of the land (Deuteronomy 6:15-16), which he has done twice—In 585 BC and again in 70 AD.”

AWS further states that the “state of Israel,” as a geographical location, was given to Abraham in 2081 BC (Genesis 15:17-21) as part of a covenant. When Jesus came, he brought the new covenant and Israel fell, to be replaced by Christianity. Jesus told His disciples, “This is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.” AWS even goes as far as asking the question whether dispensationalist premillennial theology is a Luciferian plan to cause Christians to think if they go against Israel, that they are going against God and delaying the second coming of Christ.

It is HR’s humble opinion that such claims could only be made by the blatant ignorance or twisting of Scripture. Amills always agree with Scripture up to the point where it talks about God’s punishment of Israel but conveniently ignore the rest of Scripture which deals with the physical and spiritual restoration of the Jewish nation. By applying the “wisdom” of man, the make God out as a broker of promises and a liar.

THE ”KHAZARIAN” TOOL

They go on to say that the state of Israel has a connection with the Rothschilds and calls it the “Armageddon plot.” Once again, predictably, the favourite “Khazarian” tool used by Amillennialists is also being applied to all Jews by AWS.

In short, AWS and those who practice Replacement theology use the following story:
“By 1823, the Rothschilds had taken over the financial operations of the Catholic Church worldwide. As the 19th century came to an end, it is estimated that the Rothschild family controlled half the wealth of the world. In 1914, at the start of World War I, they financed the Germans, the British and the French and controlled the three main European news agencies and used them to stir the public into fervour for war. A Rothschild agent then sent a Zionist delegation from America to Britain with a promise to bring America into the war on the side of the British, provided the British agree to give the land of Palestine to the Rothschilds. America entered the First World War on April 6, 1917.

On 2 November 1917, the British Foreign Secretary drafted a letter commonly known as the, “Balfour Declaration,” which gave the House of Rothschild 80 percent of the land now called Israel for “the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people.”

On September 1, 1939, the Second World War started when Germany invaded Poland. Using the slaughter of Jews in Germany to bring hatred against the German people, with this war the Rothschilds would also increase the power of communism to a level equaling that of united Christendom. The war went as planned: $billions were spent, millions were killed and the state of Israel was created. Tribunals were convened after the war to investigate and punish Nazi war criminals. If there was any mention as to which bankers were providing Hitler with financial assistance, that testimony has been edited from the historical record.

In 1945 giant steps towards the Rothschilds’ goal of world domination were achieved when the United Nations was approved. In 1947 the British transferred control of Palestine to the United Nations, which resolved to have Palestine partitioned into two states, one Jewish and one Arab, with Jerusalem to remain as an international zone. In the spring of 1948, the Rothschilds bribed President Harry S. Truman with $2 million in campaign funds to recognize Israel as a sovereign state. The flag of Israel was unveiled and, despite tremendous opposition, the emblem on the flag is a blue colored version of the Rothschild red hexagram.

The House of Rothschild funded the Nazis and then founded Israel, not as a home for Jewish people, but as a base for the terrorists who created that state in order to operate a global terror and political manipulation network. The influence of its intelligence arm, Mossad, is vast for this tiny country because it is funded by the Rothschild global power elite. The motto of the Mossad is probably the most disgusting secret service motto in the world: “By way of deception, thou shalt do war.

Political Zionism is an agency of Big Business. It is being used by Jewish and Christian financiers in this country and Great Britain, to make Jews believe that Palestine will be ruled by a descendant of King David who will ultimately rule the world. What delusion! It will lead to war between Arabs and Jews and eventually to war between Muslims and non-Muslims. That will be the turning point of history.

Genuine Jewish people are being used. Jewish leadership has perverted the idea of a holy people chosen to advocate morality into a ‘self chosen’ elite to take God’s place. But when critics suggest that the ‘chosen’ are being misled and betrayed, they are accused of being ‘anti-Semitic’ and charged with ‘hate-crimes.’”

HR is of the opinion that if this is actual history, then so be it – it does not change God’s prophecy about the return of the Jews to their land and the creation of their state “in one day” (Isaiah 66:8). As a matter of fact, who can say that God didn’t use the provided piece of history to achieve the fulfilment of this prophecy? Remember, Satan cannot do anything if God doesn’t allow him to. God often allow the devil to exercise his evil plans and then turns it around and uses it for His own purposes and glory.

PROPHECIES AND THE FALL OF JERUSALEM IN 70 AD

According to them, the book of Revelation was not written about 95 or 96 AD, but written prior to the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD. They say that the prophesies of Isaiah, Joel and Daniel and of Jesus in Luke 21 and Matthew 24 therefore refer to the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD. They believe that their theory is backed by words such as “distant future” and “imminent” (going to happen “before the end of this [Jesus’] generation”). According to AWS there is nothing in the Bible, indicating that Christ will return to begin a one thousand-year reign upon a literal throne in the Middle East and save us from this evil world. AWS further mocks the idea of an Antichrist and the warnings against radio frequency identification (RFID) tags that could relate to “the mark of the beast.” AWS says, “Rather than recognizing typical metaphorical biblical prophesy of “the sun being darkened and the moon not giving light,” Sellers calls it, “A period of seven years of disaster that will end with Christ’s defeat of evil at Armageddon.”

They say that the “end of the age” referred to in Revelation and Matthew is the same as that spoken of in Daniel but it refers to the end of the old covenant between God and Israel, made with Abraham. According to them, the Apostle Paul was saying that this covenant had expired (Galatians 4:31-5:2), as Paul completed his mission to bring the word of God to “all the earth.” (Romans 10:18; Colossians 1:5-6; Titus 2:11).

AWS even tried to show a tie between the “sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind [that] filled all the house….and appeared unto them cloven tongues as of fire (Acts 2:2)” and “the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory….with a great sound of a trumpet (Matt. 24:30-31)” In HR’s opinion this is an excellent example of how Amills would go to any extremes in twisting holy Scripture to defend their unbiblical theology and eschatology.

Irenaeus (A.D. 180), a student of Polycarp (who was a disciple of the apostle John), wrote that the apocalyptic vision “was seen not very long ago, almost in our own generation, at the close of the reign of Domitian” (Against Heresies 30). The testimony of Irenaeus, not far removed from the apostolic age, is first rate. He places the book near the end of Domitian’s reign, and that ruler died in A.D. 96. Irenaeus seems to be unaware of any other view for the date of the book of Revelation.

Clement of Alexandria (A.D. 155-215) says that John returned from the isle of Patmos “after the tyrant was dead” (Who Is the Rich Man? 42), and Eusebius, known as the “Father of Church History,” identifies the “tyrant” as Domitian (Ecclesiastical History III.23).

Victorinus (late third century), author of the earliest commentary on the book of Revelation also agreed with the date of 95 / 96 AD.

The contents of the book of Revelation also suggest a late date, as the following observations indicate. The spiritual conditions of the churches described in Revelation chapters two and three more readily harmonize with the late date. The church in Ephesus, for instance, was not founded by Paul until the latter part of Claudius’s reign: and when he wrote to them from Rome, A.D. 61, instead of reproving them for any want of love, he commends their love and faith (Ephesians 1:15) (Horne 1841, 382).

NO GREAT TRIBULATION EXPECTED

AWS tells us that Daniel 9:24-27 refers to the destruction of Jerusalem at the hands of Prince Titus in 70 AD. His “desolations” and the “tribulation” in Matthew 24:29 refer to the judgment of Judah (part of Israel) for persecuting the saints.

In Matthew 24:21 says, “For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.” Many worse things happened in the world since the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD and what is described in Revelation 6-19 would make the 70 AD event look like a Sunday school picnic.

JESUS, THE “ANTICHRIST”

AWS makes a ridiculous remark about Daniel 9:27 which reads, “And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease.” They say that the “he” in this verse refers to Christ when, after 3 1/2 years of ministry (midweek), he died on the cross and became the ultimate sacrifice.

If only AWS had read the previous verse (26) they would have noticed that the “he” is the “prince” to come to destroy, namely the Antichrist, Daniel 7:26 says, ““And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, and till the end of the war desolations are determined.”

THE TERM “ANTICHRIST”

According to AWS, the term “antichrist” is only listed in the Bible three times (I John 2:18, I John 4:3 and II John:7). They therefore question the motive of Christians who “denounce and demonize” the United Nations, Europeans, Russia, Iraq, Muslims, the media, liberals, freethinkers and international bankers as those who will team up with the Antichrist. Furthermore, AWS clearly doesn’t understand the prophetic reference as they also argue that Babylon is already “a ruins.”

Although the Apostle John was the only Bible writer to use the name antichrist, he did not only used the word “antichrists” when he spoke about false prophets and teachers. 1 John 4:3 says, “And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming and is now already in the world.” In 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 the Antichrist is called the Man of Sin. Revelation 13:5-8 calls the Antichrist “the beast.” In Daniel’s prophetic vision of end days, he described the Antichrist as “a little horn” in chapters 7, 8 and 11.

But typically to the hypocrisy and “copy and paste” style of Amills , much later in their article, AWS change their tune and said, “the Zionism, Freemasonry, organized Jewry, Imperialism, Jesuits, Vatican, Intelligence agencies, mass media, etc. are among countless octopus arms. Its motive is to protect its priceless but fraudulent private monopoly over public (government) credit (money creation). It needs a ‘world government’ to protect its unlimited wealth and power. It’s ideology of world tyranny, Illuminism…. preaches that man (i.e. the bankers) can usurp the place of God and redefine truth,” destroying Christianity, nation-states and family by promoting homosexuality and promiscuity and the end of inheritance and private property. Christians must recognize that the teachings of Jesus have been subverted to suit the cause of a satanic cult determined to destroy civilization and institute a violent police state. It has banished God from public life and placed itself as the regent “governing authority” in top political seats and in church hierarchies worldwide.”

So what AWS is actually doing, is acknowledging that their will be an Antichrist system called “Babylon.” As long as we do not call it part of unfulfilled end time Bible prophecy!!

THE THIRD WORLD WAR

According to AWS, the third world war would be played out by stirring up hatred of the Muslim world for the purposes of playing the Islamic world and the Zionists against one another. While this is going on, the remaining nations would be forced to fight themselves into a state of mental, physical, spiritual and economic exhaustion. Organized Jewry and its Masonic allies are following this script, based on end times biblical prophesies. It calls for mass destruction of all people. The New World Order would then rise from the debris.

AWS says that the Cabalists (students of the Jewish Cabala) are the actual anti-Semites. Set up as scapegoats for the diabolical few, duped Jews cover for the Rothschilds, who have suppressed normal Jewish cultural/spiritual expression while hijacking the Jewish people via “anti-Semitism” into advancing their Illuminati banker plan for world government dictatorship.

Once again, we see the hypocrisy of the Amills. They disagree on the reality of an Antichrist with a “Babylonian” system, but that is exactly what AWS is describing here.

In addition, if the Cabalists are the actual anti-Semites, then Amills are indirectly advancing the course of the Cabalists!!

THE 144,000 “GOOD” CHRISTIANS

AWS mockingly refers to the 144,000 Jews in Revelation as the “good guys,” or “a phalanx of 144,000 Jews who accept Jesus.” They say that prominent Christian leaders condemned this story as “unscholarly” and a “perversion” of the Bible.

The fact that the 144,000 are specifically linked to the twelve tribes of Israel is never taken into consideration when Amills touch on this issue.

THE RAPTURE

AWS further says that John Nelson Darby created the idea of the rapture, and sarcastically refers to the rapture as the “two second comings of Christ.” AWS specifically rejects the fact that 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 refers to a rapture. They argue that Jesus’ prophesies and those of the Old Testament refer exclusively to the Jews of that day, for whom the resurrection was extremely important, not to the Gentiles at some indistinct future time. “Darby’s difficulty was solved by assuming that the Gospels were addressed partly to Jews and partly to Christians.”

AWS makes the statement that the popularity of dispensationalism and its corresponding “rapture” theory has declined sharply since the 1970’s due to what they call “notorious corruption in evangelical organizations and because many of today’s Christians recognize the “rapture” is not in the Bible.”

An in-depth study of Bible prophecy provides many indications of a rapture (but this is an entire subject on its own.) Amills hardly ever knowledge that the doctrine of the rapture is built on many other pieces of Scripture as well, other than 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17.

CONCLUSION

AWS ends its article with the following paragraph: “As Christians, we are obligated to research the origins of our beliefs; no longer can we accept—on faith alone—what we have been taught regarding end times theology. An Idaho Baptist elder recently said that we must change our hearts to be open to what God wants us to do; get quiet, away from life’s clutter as Jesus did and listen. Then act. We have something the NWO doesn’t have and that is Love. We must focus on that.”

From a Pre-millennial point of view, that is exactly what we are also pleading and praying for. The only thing I would like to add as part of my conclusion, is the fact that our love should also include a truth and a love for God’s Word, without adding to or taking away from it, the way Amills do.

It is interesting to see how Amills always blatantly ignores the detailed content of Romans 11, Zechariah 12-14, Joel 3 and many other prophetic passages which relate to God’s plan for the nation of Israel.

Furthermore, they never refer to Revelation 22, as it totally destroys their believe that the book of Revelation is not a prophetic book that relates to the second coming of Christ.

Let us refrain from the deception and propaganda spread by Amills. They are not seeking for truth, but only for the approval of their man made theologies.

Revelation 22:18-20

18 For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.”

IT IS INTERESTING TO SEE HOW OLD TESTAMENT PROPHECIES ABOUT JESUS HAVE BEEN FULFILLED IN THE NEW TESTAMENT. HERE ARE SOME REFERENCES TO SCRIPTURE YOU MIGHT FIND HELPFUL.

1 Messiah would be born of a woman. Genesis 3:15 Matthew 1:20 Galatians 4:4
2 Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. Micah 5:2 Matthew 2:1 Luke 2:4-6
3 Messiah would be born of a virgin. Isaiah 7:14 Matthew 1:22-23 Luke 1:26-31
4 Messiah would come from the line of Abraham. Genesis 12:3 Genesis 22:18 Matthew 1:1 Romans 9:5
5 Messiah would be a descendant of Isaac. Genesis 17:19 Genesis 21:12 Luke 3:34
6 Messiah would be a descendant of Jacob. Numbers 24:17 Matthew 1:2
7 Messiah would come from the tribe of Judah. Genesis 49:10 Luke 3:33 Hebrews 7:14
8 Messiah would be heir to King David’s throne. 2 Samuel 7:12-13 Isaiah 9:7 Luke 1:32-33 Romans 1:3
9 Messiah’s throne will be anointed and eternal. Psalm 45:6-7 Daniel 2:44 Luke 1:33 Hebrews 1:8-12
10 Messiah would be called Immanuel. Isaiah 7:14 Matthew 1:23
11 Messiah would spend a season in Egypt. Hosea 11:1 Matthew 2:14-15
12 A massacre of children would happen at Messiah’s birthplace. Jeremiah 31:15 Matthew 2:16-18
13 A messenger would prepare the way for Messiah Isaiah 40:3-5 Luke 3:3-6
14 Messiah would be rejected by his own people. Psalm 69:8 Isaiah 53:3 John 1:11 John 7:5
15 Messiah would be a prophet. Deuteronomy 18:15 Acts 3:20-22
16 Messiah would be preceded by Elijah. Malachi 4:5-6 Matthew 11:13-14
17 Messiah would be declared the Son of God. Psalm 2:7 Matthew 3:16-17
18 Messiah would be called a Nazarene. Isaiah 11:1 Matthew 2:23
19 Messiah would bring light to Galilee. Isaiah 9:1-2 Matthew 4:13-16
20 Messiah would speak in parables. Psalm 78:2-4 Isaiah 6:9-10 Matthew 13:10-15, 34-35
21 Messiah would be sent to heal the brokenhearted. Isaiah 61:1-2 Luke 4:18-19
22 Messiah would be a priest after the order of Melchizedek. Psalm 110:4 Hebrews 5:5-6
23 Messiah would be called King. Psalm 2:6 Zechariah 9:9 Matthew 27:37 Mark 11:7-11
24 Messiah would be praised by little children. Psalm 8:2 Matthew 21:16
25 Messiah would be betrayed. Psalm 41:9 Zechariah 11:12-13 Luke 22:47-48 Matthew 26:14-16
26 Messiah’s price money would be used to buy a potter’s field. Zechariah 11:12-13 Matthew 27:9-10
27 Messiah would be falsely accused. Psalm 35:11 Mark 14:57-58
28 Messiah would be silent before his accusers. Isaiah 53:7 Mark 15:4-5
29 Messiah would be spat upon and struck. Isaiah 50:6 Matthew 26:67
30 Messiah would be hated without cause. Psalm 35:19 Psalm 69:4 John 15:24-25
31 Messiah would be crucified with criminals. Isaiah 53:12 Matthew 27:38 Mark 15:27-28
32 Messiah would be given vinegar to drink. Psalm 69:21 Matthew 27:34 John 19:28-30
33 Messiah’s hands and feet would be pierced. Psalm 22:16 Zechariah 12:10 John 20:25-27
34 Messiah would be mocked and ridiculed. Psalm 22:7-8 Luke 23:35
35 Soldiers would gamble for Messiah’s garments. Psalm 22:18 Luke 23:34 Matthew 27:35-36
36 Messiah’s bones would not be broken. Exodus 12:46 Psalm 34:20 John 19:33-36
37 Messiah would be forsaken by God. Psalm 22:1 Matthew 27:46
38 Messiah would pray for his enemies. Psalm 109:4 Luke 23:34
39 Soldiers would pierce Messiah’s side. Zechariah 12:10 John 19:34
40 Messiah would be buried with the rich. Isaiah 53:9 Matthew 27:57-60
41 Messiah would resurrect from the dead. Psalm 16:10 Psalm 49:15 Matthew 28:2-7 Acts 2:22-32
42 Messiah would ascend to heaven. Psalm 24:7-10 Mark 16:19 Luke 24:51
43 Messiah would be seated at God’s right hand. Psalm 68:18 Psalm 110:1 Mark 16:19 Matthew 22:44
44 Messiah would be a sacrifice for sin. Isaiah 53:5-12 Romans 5:6-8

IS GOD STILL IN CONTROL?

Tragedies cause many people to question God’s goodness. It is distressing that natural disasters are often termed “acts of God” while no “credit” is given to God for years, decades, or even centuries of peaceful weather. God created the whole universe and the laws of nature (Genesis 1:1).

The Bible proclaims that Jesus Christ holds all of nature together (Colossians 1:16-17). Numbers 16:30-34 shows us that God sometimes allows natural disasters as a judgment against sin. The book of Revelation describes many events which could definitely be described as natural disasters (Revelation chapters 6, 8, and 16). Is every natural disaster a punishment from God? No, it is not.

IS GOD RESPONSIBLE FOR NATURAL DISASTERS?

In much the same way that God allows evil people to commit evil acts, God allows the earth to reflect the consequences sin has had on creation. “And unto Adam He said, “Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree of which I commanded thee, saying, `Thou shalt not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life (Gen. 3:17).

Romans 8:19-21 tells us, “The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.” The fall of humanity into sin had effects on everything, including the world we inhabit. Sin is the ultimate cause of natural disasters just as it is the cause of death, disease, and suffering.

God is not in the business of causing natural disasters and calamities. On the contrary, He is the giver of life. The Bible says, “for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but My salvation shall be forever, and My righteousness shall not be abolished” (Isaiah 51:6).

WHY DOES NATURE SEEM TO BECOMING MORE AND MORE DESTRUCTIVE?

The descendants of Adam became so violent and corrupt that God allowed the world to be destroyed by a global flood (Genesis 6:5,11). The fountains of the deep were broken up (Genesis 7:11). There was great volcanic activity. The layers of the earth’s crust were formed and nature was turned out of its God-given course. The stage was set for earthquakes, and killer storms.

As the consequences of sin have progressed from that day to this, the natural world is nearing its end; the results of our first parents’ disobedience are becoming more and more evident as this world is wearing out. But God is still in the business of rescuing, helping, and healing. He holds out salvation and everlasting life to all who will receive Him.

WHY DOES GOD GIVE SATAN AND NATURE PERMISSION TO DESTROY?

Because Satan had tempted the first humans—the head of the human race—into sin, Satan claimed that they had chosen him as the god of this world (see 2 Corinthians 4:4). He claims to be the rightful ruler of this world (see Matthew 4:8, 9). Through the ages, Satan has been fighting against God, trying to establish his claim to this world.

Many choose to neglect God’s offer of a new life and choose to live outside God’s will. By so doing they support Satan’s claim against God. The Bible says that this situation will only get worse as time goes on. In the last days, “evil men and imposters will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived” (2 Timothy 3:13). As men and women remove themselves from God’s protection, they are subject to Satan’s destroying hatred.

Those who choose to follow Satan are free to do so. And God will allow Satan to demonstrate to the universe what the consequences of sin really are. In the calamities and disasters that befall the earth and destroy lives, we can see what sin is like, what life is like when Satan has his own way.

Speaking of those who choose to follow Satan, God says, “I will forsake them, and I will hide My face from them, and they shall be devoured. And many evils and troubles shall befall them, so that they will say in that day, ‘Have not these evils come upon us because our God is not among us?’ ” (Deuteronomy 31:17). This is the message that we may learn from calamities and natural disasters.

For one thing, such events shake our confidence in this life and force us to think about eternity. Churches are usually filled after disasters as people realize how tenuous their lives really are and how life can be taken away in an instant. God can, and does, bring great good out of terrible tragedies (Romans 8:28).

WHY IS IT SO OFTEN THE POOR, THE ELDERLY, AND THE CHILDREN WHO SUFFER THE MOST?

Where is God when all this happens? Do not good people pray for safety? The Bible says, “Am I a God at hand, saith the LORD, and not a God afar off?” (Jeremiah 23:23).

God gives life and love to all. Every day, billions of people wake up to fresh air, warm sunshine, delicious food, and comfortable homes—because God is love, and He showers His blessings on the earth.

But when disasters happen, the real point is that they could also happen to any of us at any time. We have no individual claim on life, as though we had created ourselves. We must acknowledge that we live in a world that is subject to death from a variety of sources. Calamities serve to remind us of the fact that apart from the salvation that Jesus offers, there is no hope for the human race. We can expect more and more destruction as we come closer to the time of His return to earth. “Now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed” (Romans 13:11).

NO MORE PAIN

The calamities and catastrophes that engulf our world serve as reminders that this world of sin, pain, hate, fear, and tragedy will not last forever. Jesus has promised that He will return to Earth to save us from our world that is falling to pieces. God has promised to make everything new again and that sin will never rise up again (see Nahum 1:9). God will live with His people, and there will be an end to death, crying, and pain. “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Revelation 21:3, 4).

(Additional sources: Bibleinfo.com and Gotquestions.org)

As Christians we all know the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20 and are also well aware of the many other warnings in Scripture, such as in Revelation 22, against homosexuality, idolatry and fornication, to name a few.

Most Christians will not even consider entering into most of these “bigger and more obvious” sins, mainly because we were re-generated and are being convicted by the Holy Spirit. However, there are a few things, which are easier to fall prey to than others. These “no-no’s” are generally more of a “personal” nature and we often think that others would not realize when we commit them. The most frightening thing is however, that none of them can be hidden from God, who is omnipresent and all-knowing.

Some of these sins or bad habits could also become so part of us that we may later not even realize that we are committing them. And sadly … some of them are practiced as we were swallowed into church traditions and rituals.

So let’s briefly look at 10 of the most common “no-no’s.”

1. PRIDE AND ARROGANCE

The kind of pride that stems from self-righteousness is sin, and God hates it because it is a hindrance to seeking Him. Psalm 10:4 explains that the proud are so consumed with themselves that their thoughts are far from God: “In his pride the wicked does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God.”

Sadly, so often there is even pride while Christians are busy with the things of their Father’s business. Debates on social media (eg Facebook, YouTube etc) provide good examples. So often, we see how Christians do not even give their “opponent’s” opinions the slightest bit of consideration. It goes as far as even ignoring Scripture provided by the other party. Thus, they are actually defending and promoting their own views than seeking and sharing the truths of God’s Word.

Throughout Scripture, we are told about the consequences of pride. Proverbs 16:18-19 tells us that “pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. Better to be lowly in spirit and among the oppressed than to share plunder with the proud. We are not to boast about ourselves; if we want to boast, then we are to proclaim the glories of God. What we say about ourselves means nothing in God’s work. It is what God says about us that makes the difference (2 Corinthians 10:18).

Pride is taking the glory that belongs to God alone and keeping it for ourselves. Pride is essentially self-worship. Anything we accomplish in this world would not have been possible were it not for God enabling and sustaining us. “What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?” (1 Corinthians 4:7). That is why we give God the glory—He alone deserves it.

2. LIES

The first sin in this world involved a lie told to Eve. We all know that Satan is the father of lies. Colossians 3:9 says, “Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices.” Lying is listed in 1 Timothy 1:9-11 as something practiced by the lawless. Furthermore, liars will be among those judged in the end (Revelation 21:8). In contrast, God never lies (Titus 1:2). He is the source of truth. “It is impossible for God to lie” (Hebrews 6:18).

Jesus called Himself the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6), and He expects those who follow Him to be people of truth. The truth is to be expressed in love (Ephesians 4:15), offering hope to those seeking redemption from the lies of the world.

There are at least two instances in the Bible where lying produced a favourable result. For example, the lie the Hebrew midwives tell Pharaoh seems to result in the Lord’s blessing on them (Exodus 1:15-21), and it probably saved the lives of many Hebrew babies. Another example is Rahab’s lie to protect the Israelite spies in Joshua 2:5. It is important to note, however, that God never condones these lies. Despite the “positive” outcome of these lies, the Bible nowhere praises the lies themselves. The Bible nowhere states that there are instances where lying is the right thing to do.

The question then remains: is there ever a time when lying is the right thing to do?
In an instance such as the above, where lying may be the only possible way to prevent a horrible evil, perhaps lying would be an acceptable thing to do. it must however be noted that such instances are extremely rare. It is highly likely that the vast majority of people in human history have never faced a situation in which lying was the right thing to do. To lie to keep yourself out of trouble (which you most probably got yourself into), is nothing but blatant sin. Also, if I know that my colleague has an affair and I keep quiet about it, I am just as guilty of living a lie as he is. It might cause his wife a great deal of sorrow to hear the truth, but would cause even more pain if she only finds out at a later stage.

3. LACK OF DISCERNMENT

It means “to distinguish, to separate out by diligent search, to examine.” Discernment is the ability to properly discriminate or make determinations. A discerning mind demonstrates wisdom and insight that go beyond what is seen and heard. For example, God’s Word is “spiritually discerned.” To the human mind without the Spirit, the things of God are “foolishness” (1 Corinthians 2:14). The Spirit, then, gives us spiritual discernment.

Paul prayed for believers “to discern what is best . . . until the day of Christ” (Philippians 1:10). Seeking discernment is a goal for all who desire to walk righteously: “Who is wise? He will realize these things. Who is discerning? He will understand them. The ways of the LORD are right; the righteous walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them” (Hosea 14:9).

We are commanded to “hate what is evil; cling to what is good” (Romans 12:9). But, unless we have true discernment, how can we determine what is “evil” and what is “good”? In order to maintain the purity of the gospel, the church must distinguish truth from heresy. Wisdom also demands that we properly discriminate between what is “best” and what is merely “good.”

Way too many times we do not apply our discernment when we are emotional, under pressure, too pride or even bounded by things of this world. A good example is where we enter into debt for something we do not really need, so we can boast. When those instalments become too heave to pay, we are quick to expect from God to help us overcoming our financial difficulty.

Another mistake so often made is the cover-up meme of “don’t judge.” If we do not judge (fairly), how would we prevent throwing or peals to the swines? How will we be able to avoid and warn others against false teachers and prophets? Doesn’t the Bible teaches us to love what God loves and to hate what God hates?.

4. SEEKING THE FAVOUR OF MEN

Galatians 1:10 clearly states that we should seek to please God, rather than men. “ For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ.”

Off course, this does not mean that we should not do good to others. In fact, the Bible instructs us to do good works as a result of our salvation and change of heart. But the question to ask oneself is: “What is my motive in doing what I am doing?”

We all know some people in church who always cluck around the pastor, believing that they are his “elect” and feeling so good about it. On Facebook, these people “like” every single post their pastor makes and everybody else knows that they are faking. The sad thing is that most pastors allow them to do so as it in turn also makes them feel somewhat important. Not to forget about the lady who doesn’t walk straight to the kitchen to drop her contribution for tea and sandwiches after church. No, with the tray in her hand, she first needs to greet everybody and receives her praise.

And talking about Facebook (and other forms of social media). There is nothing wrong if a pastor or evangelist shares news about his gathering or sermon. But there should at least be limits to it as well. Some of them are openly fishing for complements by posting tons of photos after each even. Does this really advance our Father’s business?

Matthew 6: “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2 Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 3 But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.

5. SKEWED PRIORITIES AND UNDER THE LAW

There is no conflict between grace and the Law, properly understood. Christ fulfilled the Law on our behalf and offers the power of the Holy Spirit, who motivates a regenerated heart to live in obedience to Him (Matthew 3:8; Acts 1:8; 1 Thessalonians 1:5; 2 Timothy 1:14). James 2:26 says, “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.” A grace that has the power to save also has the power to motivate a sinful heart toward godliness. Where there is no impulse to be godly, there is no saving faith.

Conflict between “grace” and the “Law” can arise when someone 1) misunderstands the purpose of the Law; 2) redefines grace as something other than “God’s benevolence on the undeserving” (see Romans 11:6); 3) tries to earn his own salvation or “supplement” Christ’s sacrifice; 4) follows the error of the Pharisees in tacking manmade rituals and traditions onto his doctrine; or 5) fails to focus on the “whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27).

We often see how some Christians would go overboard about a secondary issue and at the end cause more division in the Body of Christ than doing good. As an example, for days they would rather hammer on the pagan history of Christmas and Easter, that focussing on God. In the meantime, those who do celebrate these days do so to the honour of God. Do we not often cause others to stumble by acting this way?

In Colossians 2:16-17, the apostle Paul declares, “Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.” Similarly, Romans 14:5 states, “One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.”

6. RITUALS AND TRADITIONS

In this regard, the church to which a person belongs is playing a key influential role. One of the best examples is the Roman Catholic Church. Like slaves, their followers blindly participate in rituals and traditions, which are clearly abominations to God.

But they are not the only ones. Within the Pentecostal and Charismatic churches, so much emphasis is placed on the importance of things that the eye could see, that most of their followers put more trust in all of these things, than putting their trust in the power of fervent prayer and in God himself. Does the oil on their door and window frames really guarantee extra protection against demons and evil spirits? Didn’t Jesus taught His disciples to pray “And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one?” No one needed to fall backwards in the congregation either, when healing took place.

7. SEEKING FOR “WORLDLY” BLESSINGS

Although the Bible teaches that we should rather seek for the things in heaven, many Christians measure their standing with God in terms of “worldly” blessings. What they do not understand is that God sometimes gives people over to their own desires when their focus is on all other things except on Him only. Furthermore, this makes Satan’s work so much easier as he do no longer have to put in a lot of effort to draw them away from God.

Here, the prosperity preachers play a huge role. Spiritual promises and promises of basic provision are twisted into worldly promises of wealth, health and success. Nowhere in God’s Word does He promise that Christians would have an easy and trouble free life on earth. To the contrary, He expects us to take up our crosses and says that we would go through tests, trials, and tribulations.

A few examples of promises and blessings often being twisted include the following. God promised that all things will work out for good for His children (Romans 8:28). This is the broader picture that keeps us from being dismayed by present circumstances. God promised to finish the work He started in us (Philippians 1:6). God does nothing in half measures. He started the work in us, and He will be sure to complete it. God promised to supply our needs (Matthew 6:33; Philippians 4:19). Not that we get everything we want, but our needs will be taken care of.

8. DENYING GOD’S ATTRIBUTES

Many have created a “love-only” Jesus for themselves. They avoid all other attributes of God. They choose not to admit that God is also holy, that He is just and righteous, and that He hates sin. They believe that all would go to heaven because Jesus died on the cross for our sins. They call being obedient and bearing fruit because of one’s salvation, legalism and say that they are no longer under the law. This is their way of covering up their love for the things of the flesh and the things of this world.

And then you also have a group which could just not come to terms with God’s sovereignty. They just could not accept that God created men for His own pleasure and does as He pleases. They refuse to accept that God’s next move is never dependant on men’s choices of will.

God’s sovereignty is a natural consequence of His omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence. Every part of man is in bondage to sin – our bodies, our minds, and our wills. Jeremiah 17:9 tells us the state of man’s heart: it is “deceitful and desperately wicked.” In our natural, unregenerate state, we are carnally minded, not spiritually minded.

The foundation on which God’s elect stand is a perfect one: nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it (Eccl. 3:14). Here, then, is the highest and grandest display of the absolute sovereignty of God. Verily, He has “mercy on whom He will have mercy, and, whom He will He hardeneth” (Rom. 9:18).

9. PRIVATE LITTLE PLEASURES

Christians often think of their private little pleasures as little secrets that would not “hurt” anybody. For example – Is it not better to watch pornography on the computer late at night, rather than entering into an affair outside of your marriage? Unfortunately not. Matthew 5:28 says with good reason: “But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.” Should we not live holy lives?

10. MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT THE DEVIL

Some Christians overrate the power of Satan and give him way too much “credit.” Yes, he is running around like a roaring lion, always wantpng to steal, kill and destroy. BUT – He can do nothing if God does not allow him to. Furthermore, he needs to make use of his demons, bad spirits and the ungodly to do his dirty work, as he is not omni-present.

It would be incorrect to believe that God created Satan with sin already present in him. God is holy and does not create anything that is contrary to His own nature (Psalm 86:8–10; 99:1–3; Isaiah 40:25; 57:15).

But there are several times in Scripture that God uses Satan or the demons to carry out His purposes. For example, God sends Satan to Job in order to test and purify Job.
There are also the following examples:

1kings 22:21-23 “Finally, a spirit came foreward, stood before the Lord and said, “I will entice him.’
“By what means?”, the Lord asked.
“‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets,” he said.
“You will succeed in enticing him”, said the Lord. “Go and do it”
“So now the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouths of all these prophets of yours. The Lord has decreed disaster for you.”

Judges 9:23 – “God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the citizens of Shechem, who acted treacherously against Abimelech.”

1Samuel 16:14 -” Now the Spirit of the Lord had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him”.

When something is going wrong, the first one to blame is Satan. Very seldom do we acknowledge that God sometimes allow things to happen to us with a purpose. Maybe He wants us to grow in faith, maybe He wants us to realize our dependence on His grace and mercy. Perhaps He needs to remind us about the importance of prayer again. But instead, we look the other way and believe we have the power to “bind” Satan.

Welcome to part 2 of this 6 part series. In part 1 we discussed the content John 3:16, which states that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. The Bible says God is love and it is consistent with God’s nature to love.

That wonderful truth is unique to Christianity because Christianity is the only true religion in the world that reflects the true God. The author of all other religions is Satan who has no comprehension of love. They are fearsome, angry, selfish, threatening deities who must be constantly appeased or their temperamental character will motivate them to inflict pain, torture and even death. Never is God’s love more evident than in the gift of Jesus Christ.

A SNAPSHOT OF PART 1

To grasp the character of God’s love in some manageable ways and to begin to understand it, we need to look at three propositions.

1. First of all, God’s love is unlimited in extent.
2. Secondly, God’s love is limited in degree.
3. Thirdly, God’s love is ultimately directed at His own glory.

In part 1 of this series, we considered the principle that God’s love is unlimited in extent. We saw that because it says in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world.” Titus 3:4 talks about God’s love for mankind. We find in 1 John 2:2 that He is the propitiation for our sins and not for ours only but for the sins of the whole world, because as John 4:42 and 1 John 4:14 say, Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world. God has demonstrated that unlimited love by sending His Son to be the Savior of the world.

As we saw in part 1, that unlimited love is demonstrated in four ways. First of all, in common grace. Secondly, it is revealed in compassion. Thirdly, it is demonstrated in His warnings. And then fourthly and finally, God’s universal love is demonstrated in the Gospel invitation, that is in calling all sinners to repent and embrace Jesus Christ. We know that not all the world will come to Him, but He is no less the Savior of the world. Jesus Christ, though not sought by sinners, is nonetheless the official Savior of the world.

Romans 10:13 sums it up by saying, “Whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.” “Whosoever will, let Him come,” it says in the book of Revelation. God loved the world enough to provide a sufficient atonement for their sins and to call them all to repentance and faith. The problem is, people are unwilling to come. In John 5:40 Jesus said, “You are unwilling to come to Me that you might have life.” The prophet said, “Why will you die?”

PART 2 … GOD’S LOVE IS LIMITED IN DEGREE

This may come as a surprise, but God’s universal love has its limits. First of all, when that universal love of God is rejected, it turns to hate. In Psalm 5:5 it says, “The boastful shall not stand before Thine eyes, Thou dost hate all who do iniquity, Thou dost destroy those who speak falsehood, the Lord abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit. The Lord hates those who do iniquity.” Psalm 11:5 says, “The Lord tests the righteous and the wicked, and the one who loves violence, His soul hates.”

In Psalm 101:3 the psalmist says, “I will set no worthless thing before my eyes, I hate the work of those who fall away.” Later on in Psalm 119:104 the psalmist says, “I hate every false way.” Psalm 139:21, “Do I not hate those who hate Thee, O Lord?” Verse 22, “I hate them with the utmost hatred.”

Therefore, in another sense God’s universal love is temporal. It is limited to time and it is not a saving love. He loves them only in this world and when they are fixed in rejection toward Him, His love turns to hate.

There are some people who would like to believe that God will just love everybody so much that ultimately they will all get saved. That’s what prompted the Apostle Paul to write in 1 Corinthians 16:22, “If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed.” Literally, let him be damned.

John 13 relates to God’s love for those who respond to the gospel, which is far greater than His love to the world in general. John 13:1 sets the scene, and it is the last Passover meal that Jesus is having with His disciples. The night Judas will go out to betray Him. The next day He will be arrested and executed. And that’s the scene as John writes, “Now before the feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that His hour had come that He should depart out of this world to the Father…that’s His death…having loved HIS OWN who were in the world, He loved them TO THE END.”

That little phrase “to the end” is the key to unlocking this understanding. In the Greek it is eistelos, which describes basically a quality or a degree of something. We should be able to understand it when we look at just at some significant meanings.
First of all, it can have the meaning of completely, like when Jesus said on the cross that it is finished. Jesus loves the world but He loves His own perfectly. God loves His own enough to make them equal to His Son, as far as redeemed humanity could bear any equality, because He makes us joint-heirs with Christ to inherit everything that is His, and He makes us into His very image in our glory. And He lavishes us with all of the blessings of eternity. He loves His own with no limits.
Secondly, it can mean to the last. It never changes and will never turn to hate. He is gathered in the upper room with His disciples and He is very much aware of their failures, their weaknesses and of their fear, as they would very soon be scattered all over the place when He is taken prisoner. Their leader will deny Him with a curse. Even after the resurrection, they will be pining away in unbelief and He will have to appear to them to let them know He is alive. Even after they’re able to see Him in His post-resurrection appearance, even after they’ve touched Him and heard Him and seen Him, they will still lapse in to significant disobedience and He will have to confront them in Galilee and restore them and call them back into ministry and even ask the question…Do you love Me? And when He’s hanging on the cross dying for their sins, they won’t be there, with the exception of John and some women.

And as if all that was to come to pass was not enough, at the very supper they are arguing about which of them is going to be the greatest in the Kingdom – blatant pride as opposed to the humility which He had exemplified before them by washing their dirty feet and showing them how to humble themselves. But He loved them to the end.

The third significance to this term, eistelos, is that it can mean eternally. In fact, He will tell them a few moments after this, “I’m going to heaven to prepare a place for you that where I am there you may be also,” which is to say I love you to the degree that I will take you to be with Me forever.

The degree of this love is very limited, it is limited to His own. And He is about to make the single great demonstration of that love by dying for those He loved.

“Greater love hath no man than this,” Jesus said, “then that a man would lay down his life for the ones he loves.” And the ones He loves are not worthy or who have somehow earned it. They are the people who by grace have been granted it. “While we were yet sinners God commended His love toward us.” How? “In that Christ died for us.”

It is a love that only those who belong to Christ can experience. It is a love that forgives and saves. It is a love that gives eternity and all its glories.

The best way to illustrate this different degree of love that His own is experiencing, is to go to the Old Testament and look at Israel because Israel was His own people. Deuteronomy chapter 7 verse 6 gives us a very important beginning point. God is speaking about Israel, His chosen people. They are the elect nation called “Israel, My elect, chosen before the foundation of the world to be His nation.” And within that nation many individuals chosen for salvation. But this is His chosen nation. Verse 6, “For you are a holy people to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.”

You say, “Why was Israel God’s people? Because they chose God?” No, because God chose them.

And then verse 7, “He didn’t love you and He didn’t choose you because you were greater than any of the peoples.” He chose then, verse 8, “Because the Lord loved you.” Why did He love them? Because He chose to love them. “And so He made a promise and an oath which He swore to your forefathers and He brought you out by a mighty hand and He redeemed you.” He loved them first, then He chose them, then He redeemed them.

“Know therefore,” says verse 9, “that the Lord your God He is God, the faithful God who keeps His covenant and His loving kindness to a thousandth generation with THOSE WHO LOVE HIM AND KEEP HIS COMMANDMENDS, but repays those who hate Him to their faces to destroy them. He will not delay with him who hates Him, He will repay him to his face.”
God loves by His own will. Out of His love He chooses. He makes a covenant and He will not break it but He will redeem whom He loves.

Now let’s go to Ezekiel 16. This is the longest chapter in Ezekiel’s prophecy. It is the most vivid and the most dramatic chapters in all of Scripture. It is very graphic and distressing. Why? Because it focuses devastatingly on the iniquitous character of Israel. But the chapter is not actually about Israel’s iniquity, it is about God who is maintaining His love toward a grossly sinful people. God has set His love by His own will upon a certain people, chosen them and will redeem them.

This chapter focuses on God’s electing gracious, saving, forgiving, eternal love for those He designates to be His own.

At this point in history Jerusalem is God’s city. It belongs to the nation Israel. It is to be a place for the worship of the true God and the temple is there. But He says Jerusalem is full of abominations. He is referring to idolatry, the worship of false gods and idols. And the Lord says to Ezekiel, you’ve got to tell Jerusalem that I know about her abominations. She is going back to her roots in the land of the Canaanites. They simply scoop up all the pagan idolatrous tribes that were there when Israel arrived. Jerusalem once was in the hands of pagans.

Jerusalem, of course, is a symbol for the whole nation. Notice verse 4, “As for your birth, on the day you were born your navel cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water for cleansing, you were not rubbed with salt or even wrapped in cloths. No eye looked with pity on you to do any of these things for you, to have compassion on you, rather you were thrown out into the open field for you were abhorred on the day you were born.” He is talking about Israel. God says that is how they were when He found them in Egypt. Nobody in the world wanted them and they were a slave people. They were defenceless, poor and abhorred by everybody. No compassion. But God decided to set His love on that “child” called Israel.

And then in verse 6, “When I passed by you and saw you squirming in your blood, I said to you while you were in your blood, Live. I said to you while you were in your blood, Live.” I came along and I picked you up out of Egypt and I gave you life. Why? Because there was something lovable? No, this “child” was ugly, bloody and dirty. And here He’s talking about the early period of growth as the nation Israel comes out of Egypt and comes into the promise land and starts to form.

“And I made you,” verse 7, “like numerous plants of the field and you grew up and you became tall and you reached the age for fine ornaments, your breasts were formed and your hair had grown, yet you were naked and bare.” Israel sort of become a nation, starting to grow and develop but there’s no wealth and civilization is very limited. It is still a pretty wild group, nomadic.
Then in verse 8, “Then I passed by you and saw you and behold, you were at the time for love.” Now Israel had reached maturity. And He said, “So I spread My skirt over you and covered your nakedness.” It wasn’t proper anymore to be naked, you weren’t a child anymore, you were an adult and you had reached the time of love and you couldn’t be naked and so I covered you. That was a custom, by the way, which signified espousal to a marriage. (You can read about it in Ruth chapter 3 verse 9). I not only picked you up out of the field when you were a bloody dirty infant but I carried you until you grew. And then when you became mature enough, I deemed it proper to marry you. “And I swore to you and entered in to a covenant with you so that you became Mine, declares the Lord God.” This is the marriage of God to Israel. He just determined in His sovereign will to love Israel although there is nothing lovable about her.

And then He says in verse 9, “I bathed you with water, washed off your blood from you and anointed you with oil.” In verse 10, “I clothed you with embroidered cloth and I put sandals of porpoise skin on your feet. And I wrapped you with fine linen and covered you with silk and I adorned you with ornaments. I put bracelets on your hands and a necklace around your neck. I also put a ring in your nostril.” “I put earrings in your ears and a beautiful crown on your head.”

The love here is incredible and absolutely lavish. “And you were adorned with gold and silver,” verse 13 says, “your dress was of fine linen and silk and embroidered cloth; you ate fine flour and honey and oil so you were exceedingly beautiful and you advanced to royalty.”

This is what God did when He brought Israel to full bloom. Then came David and the kingdom flourished and it was magnificent and powerful. After came Solomon and it was the greatest kingdom in the world. And the Queen of Sheba came because of the wonder of it, just to see it all and the beauty and the royalty of it was all because of the goodness of God.

And then verse 15, “But you trusted in your beauty and played the harlot because of your fame,” and it continues as from verse 16 onwards … This wife been picked up as a baby, nurtured until she was marriageable and then espoused to God and then wed to God, adorned with royalty and now all of a sudden she is out on the street and she will commit adultery with any person who passes by. And this, of course, has reference to her spiritual harlotries in the worship of idols. When they were wealthy and God had given them silver and given them gold, they used it to buy idols, to form idols, to build alliances with pagan nations. They even took their little babies and they put them on a fire to the god Moloch.
“You also played the harlot with Egyptians, your lustful neighbors, and multiplied your harlotry to make Me angry. Behold, now I’ve stretched out My hand against you and diminished your rations,” and indeed their days of greatness descended. “I delivered you up to the desire of those who hate you, the daughters of the Philistines who are ashamed of your lewd conduct.”

And then He says something that is just amazing. “When you built your shrine at the beginning of every street and made your high place in every square and disdaining money, you were not like a harlot.” In other words, you didn’t even want money for it. Harlots do it for money, you did not even want money, you just wanted the harlotry. “You adulterous wife who took strangers instead of her husband. Men give gifts to all harlots, but you give your gifts to all your lovers to bribe them to come to you from every direction for your harlotry.” Here the harlot is paying the person seeking harlotry.

You see the degree to which they’ve gone? “Therefore, O harlot, hear the word of the Lord,” here comes judgment. “… therefore behold, I shall gather all your lovers with whom you took pleasure, even all those whom you loved and all those whom you hated, so I shall gather them against you from every direction and expose your nakedness to them that they may see all your nakedness. Thus I shall judge you like women who commit adultery or shed blood are judged and I shall bring on you the blood of wrath and jealousy. I shall also give you into the hands of your lovers and they will tear down your shrines, demolish your high places, strip you of your clothing, take away your jewels, leave you naked and bear. They will incite a crowd against you. They will stone you, cut you to pieces with their swords. They will burn your houses with fire, execute judgments on you. In the sight of many women I will stop you from playing the harlot and you will no longer pay your lovers. I shall calm my fury against you, My jealousy will depart from you, I shall be pacified and angry no more because you have not remembered the days of your youth but have enraged me by all these things. Behold, I in turn will bring your conduct down on your head, declares the Lord God, so that you will not commit this lewdness on top of all your other abominations.”
And that is exactly what happened in the Babylonian captivity Ezekiel predicted in 586 B.C. when Israel was destroyed and the whole nation massacred and the remaining living people carried off into the Babylonian culture to be refined.

In verse 46 to 59 is an incredible section. The were worse than Samaria, and Sodom who was previously destroyed by fire and brimstone. In fact, verse 57 says you have become the reproach of the daughters of Edom and of all who are around here, of the daughters of the Philistines, those surrounding you who despise you. Everybody sees how corrupt you are, even the pagans.

Verse 59, “Thus says the Lord God, I will also do with you as you have done, you who have despised the oath by breaking the covenant.” They started out being the least, they ended up being the worst. And that’s why the end of the chapter is so utterly shocking.

Verse 60, “Nevertheless,” God does not say I will hate you with a holy hatred, I will despise you, He says, “Nevertheless I will remember My covenant with you in the days of your youth and I will establish an ever-lasting covenant with you.” Why not do it with the Sodomites as they are a better bunch? Or why not Samaria, as also they are better? Because these were the people he has chosen to love and with whom He has made an ever-lasting covenant. He love, no matter what they’re like and He will love them eternally. He will love them enough to provide an offering for their sin, because I determined to do so.

Verse 62, “Thus I will establish My covenant with you and you shall know that I am the Lord in order that you may remember and be ashamed and never open your mouth anymore because of your humiliation when I have forgiven you for all that you have done, the Lord God declares.” Is that not overwhelming?

Why didn’t He forgive Sodom? Because he did not choose them. Why didn’t He forgive Samaria? He never made a covenant with them. God loves whom He chooses to love and makes an ever-lasting covenant of redemption with them.

God made Israel His own possession. And His love for them is very different in degree than the compassionate warning love that He has for the whole world. This love is complete and saving. This love is eternal. It is this love that caused Him to lay down His life for His own.

Second Samuel chapter 12, points up how that love focuses on an individual. Remember David’s terrible sin with Bathsheba and that he had actually caused her husband to be executed? He then committed adultery with her. God was very displeased and the child of that adultery died. He then married his adulteress and she was very sad because the illegitimate baby, conceived in iniquity, died. But now they’re married. In verse 24 David was trying to comfort her because her baby died. And he went into her and lay with her and she gave birth to a son and he named him Solomon. Look at the next line, it says, “Now the Lord loved him.” The Lord determined to love Solomon though he could not yet believe or not believe. The Lord set His love on him, even though he was a child born of a sinful wicked union.

But when he grew up, he had hundreds of wives. A man is not only an adulterer who does that, he is a fool. And then he had concubines. would the Lord love him? Because the Lord delights in loving sinners. He just loved him because He chose to love him.

Nehemiah 13:26 says, “Did not Solomon, king of Israel, sin regarding these things?” Yes, all of his foreign wives brought idolatry and all kinds of things in. Here we are back to the same kind of sin the nation of Israel committed. “Yet among the many nations there was no king like him. He had foreign women caused him to sin, but God made him king over Israel,” and then it says in the middle of the verse, “he was loved by his God.”

All we can say. for whatever purpose exists in the mind of God, He chooses to love whom He chooses to love. And whom He chooses to love He forgives and redeems – the rest are left to the consequence of their own sinful choices. So when we talk about God’s love, there is a love that is unlimited, but there is a love that is limited only to His chosen people.

You may say, “Well, how do I know if I’m chosen?” It is not hard. Do you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ? Do you believe that He came into the world as God in human flesh? That He died on a cross to bear your sins and rose again the third day? Do you believe that He is the only way in which your sin can be forgiven and you can go to eternal heaven if you believe? Then you were chosen.

Spiritual warfare is real. Paul acknowledges this in Ephesians 6:12 “ For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”
But the weapons of this warfare are often somewhat misunderstood. In some church circles, for example, it is commonplace to hear pastors and their people to talk of “binding Satan” or “renouncing the devil’s presence” or some such display of confidence.
Here are three reasons this is misguided.
1. Satan is (most probably) not in earshot
Folks think Satan can hear them speak. Some people unwittingly pad Satan’s résumé to include God’s unique attributes of omniscience and omnipresence. Yes, Satan certainly is ambulant (1 Pet 5:8 ), but he is confined to one place at a time. He cannot read your mind, and he does not perk his ears when he hears his name mentioned in your prayers.
Some pastors even while praying to God, lapse into addressing Satan! “Lord we pray against the forces of evil, and Satan we bind you in the name of Jesus, we denounce your efforts to distract us by messing with the PowerPoint projector again, and we rebuke your presence here today. You are not welcome here!”
First, Christians should pray to God, and not Satan (even if what we are saying to Satan is meant to irk him). Second, I doubt Satan is loitering around your church anyway. So unless he has demons recording our prayers and then e-mailing him the transcript, Satan would have to be in the room.
As one who understands the very basics of time management (I have read Kevin DeYoung’s Crazy Busy) I am confident that fiddling with my church’s sound equipment has got to be a lower priority than say, what happens at the UN or a North Korean nuclear testing facility.

2. Binding Satan is above your pay grade
Satan can be bound, just not by you. The task of binding Satan is given to an angel. (Rev 20:1-3 ). It’s a pretty important task, and a lot of eschatology depends in it being done properly.
Jude sternly warns precocious people who presume to venture above their pay grades and malign angelic beings.
Jude 8 Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones. 9 But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.” 10 But these people blaspheme all that they do not understand, and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively.
The archangel Michael himself didn’t pull rank on Satan the way many swaggering televangelists do.
Even invoking the name of Jesus is no guarantee that your exorcism would work. Sceva’s boys tested that hypothesis…
Acts 19:13 Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.” 14 Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this. 15 But the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?” 16 And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
Next time you are tempted to start bossing an evil spirit around in the name of Jesus, make sure you have a change of clothes in the car.

3. God has a better idea
The Bible is not written in code. There are sections written as descriptive narrative, which record what happened in history. And there are other narrative sections written as prescriptive commands that apply to you and me.
The only instruction Christians are given about how to confront the spiritual forces of darkness is Ephesians 6. Note the conspicuous absence of what you’ve seen on TV or hear from our Charismatic brothers and sisters.

Eph 6: 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. …13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.
He then lists: the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, readiness given by the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, and praying at all times in the Spirit.
No holy water or oils required.

(Source: The ripplegate)

We all have some religious people on our friend lists. They love to be acknowledged as saved Christians but actually, they are nothing but lukewarm people, practicing religion. Catholics, Muslims, Mormons and Buddhists are also religious people but none will enter the door of heaven, except if they are converted to believe that Yeshua is their Redeemer and become willing to obey to God’s Word. The religious people who operate under the banner of Christianity are the ones so accurately described in 2 Timothy 3:5 and 7.

“5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

They are quite easy to identify on social media, including Facebook. Most of them at least have 2 or 3 of the following “trademarks” or habits:

• They belong to the “Don’t judge” gang as they prefer to take the biblical concept of not judging out of context, in an effort to hide their acceptance of, or their love for things contrary to the Word of God;
• They usually defend their religious views with carnal arguments which either contain no reference to Scripture, or by cherry-picking Scripture from God’s Word and then use it out of context;
• They blatantly ignore Scripture provided to them in an effort to bring them to truth;
• They are believers in the new “Love-Jesus” the world created for itself. Every time that “hot” topics are being discussed, such as God’s sovereignty and will, sinning, judgement and wrath, they will remind you that Jesus is love. This is the only attribute of God’s nature they accept or know;
• Their focus is always on worldly blessings and even Scripture which relates to spiritual blessings are twisted to fit their love for the things of this world. They look no further than for blessings of wealth, blessings of health and blessings of success but hardly ever mention or seek for blessings with regards to God’s grace, the ability to understand the Word of God or any other spiritual blessings;
• Instead of being Christians, many of them should rather be called “Pastorians.” They are the ones who would go as far as to even fight Scripture quoted if it “contradicts” what their pastors taught them. They are usually also friends with their pastors and “like” every single post on their pastor’s profile. When you tag them on something or leave a post on their profiles, they will remove it as quickly as possible, as it may cost them some points with their favourite pastor;
• Some of them like to be heard and they just love the attention they receive from their aggravating comments. Ten Christians will have a discussion or a healthy debate. Then suddenly one of these religious persons would pop in, telling you that homosexuals are born that way, that you shouldn’t judge Benny Hinn, Joel Osteen and the likes as you do not know their hearts, and even that Pope Francis is called a man of God for buying a few poor people some pizzas.
• They are often full of pride in the sense that they will never consider or accept the views or opinions of others. They do not fight for truth but for their own egos;
• They use little to no discernment in identifying false teachers and false prophets. Real men of God are often being named as such, because of rumours they heard from those who hate some “hard to swallow” truths. On the other hand you will find quotes and videos of heretics on their walls. They also eagerly promote interfaith or ecumenical events and so-called “revivals” such as The Gathering 2016, Together 2016 and the biggest religious event ever held in South Africa – called It’s Time. They blindly continue to follow these false prophets and healers even if their prophecies are not coming to pass or their promises of healing result into nothing (Didn’t Jesus and the disciples always healed on the spot and never had any failures);
• Most of them do not understand the meaning of the word “Amen.” Whether they see a post on someone’s profile about Christians being slaughtered by ISIS or about an innocent child being abused and raped by her father, you are almost guaranteed to see an “Amen” from them (There is however nothing wrong with an “Amen” where it is relevant);
• Some are also members of the “chain letter” gang. They just love to share posts in which others seemingly have the authority to decide on God’s behalf what He needs to do within 24 hours or in the week to come. It always reads something like this: “This is the end of your troubles. Share this post with 10 friends and God will bless you within 3 days from now.”
• The profiles of some are catering for all. The odd posts with a single Bible verse on the background of a beautiful picture can be found between the foul language, the dirty jokes and the pics of half-naked girls or muscular idols. (No problem with a clean joke, the sharing of your recipes or your love for animals etc);
• Judged by the large number of “selfies” posted almost on a daily basis, a few of them are clear testimonies that we are living in the latter days. 2 Timothy 3:1-2: “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, ” (Once again, no problem with a new pic of yourself, your children, your grandchildren or even your cat or dog, the places you went to or whatever – but there are also limits to everything in life);
• Almost similar to the last point – There is nothing wrong when a pastor or Evangelist occasionally post some pictures of their outreach or their church meetings. But some of them honestly take this way too far. After every sermon a picture is posted where he stands behind the pulpit, where he reads from the Bible, where he prays, where he kneels before a child and where he “anoint and heal” Maybe we should ask them to read what is said in Matthew 6:1-4.

None of us are perfect, including me. But let us remember, we are known by our fruits as well as by those who surround us, including our Facebook friends. If you have any religious people on your friends list, pray and ask God to guide you on whether you should still sow seeds in the hope to bring them to truth, unfriend or even block them and move on. Remember, often God sends people our way for a purpose, according to His will. But sometimes He also removes them after the purpose has been met.

Shalom

(Posted by Gerhard Woest – Heavenly Remnant Ministries)