DECEPTION (part 3)

God has always desired a dwelling place on this planet where He could have fellowship with man. Before the fall it was in the Garden of Eden, where he had communion with Adam in the cool of the day. Then we see it was with Moses and His people in the “Tabernacle” in the wilderness. Then in the “Temple” that Solomon built in Jerusalem, although a temple built with hands was not His choice, He did dwell in the “Ark of the Covenant” in the Holy of Holies. Then we see His supreme effort to dwell with man by allowing His Son to be incarnated in human flesh here on planet earth, so that He could become “Immanuel”, or “God with us”. Jesus was His “Temple or Sanctuary” on earth for some 33 years. It was not until the age of 30, when He was baptized in the Jordon river by His cousin John, that the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in the form of a dove, and the Father’s voice was heard from heaven saying “You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Mark 1:10-11). From this time until He “gave up the Ghost” on the cross of Calvary, He was the very image of the invisible God, in whom dwelt “all the fullness of the Godhead bodily” (Col 2:9). Jesus was the “pattern Son” that the church, which He said He would build (Matt 16:18), and which was to be His body on earth after He ascended back to heaven, were to pattern themselves after.

The apostle Paul gives the best description of the church in his letter to the Ephesians. In (Eph 2:19-22) we see the church called a “household of God”, “a Holy temple in the Lord”, and a “dwelling place of God in the Spirit”. This is clearly God’s intention, to have a dwelling place here on planet earth, where He can commune with His “new creation” of adopted children. The church is to be the “companion” for His Son, not only now in this “present age”, but also in the “age to come”. The church is to be “filled with all the fullness of God” (Eph 3:19), and be the vessel here on earth for the “abode” for the Father, Son and Holy Spirit to dwell in. (John 14:23). This is the same Greek word used by John in (John 14:2) which is translated there as “mansions”. This is a clear reference to our bodies which Paul calls the “temple of the living God” in (2 Cor 6:16), and not some “mansion over yonder” as we have been told that Jesus has gone to prepare for us. At the present time Jesus is seated next to Father God on His throne making “intercession” for us. I imagine the theme of His intercession is that we, His children, will be strengthened by the indwelling Spirit, and learn how to function as mature “sons of God” in this dark, ungodly age in which we are called to be “salt and light”! We trust these articles on deception have cleared up some things for you.

Sincerely submitted.

Gramp

DECEPTION (part 2)

We see in (Rom 5:17) that we will “reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ”, and then in (Rev 5:10) we read that we shall reign as kings and priests “on the earth”. This whole idea that we are transported to “heaven” either by death or by the rapture to be with God is not a scriptural concept, as I now see it. We have been led astray by man’s teaching and by many songs that talk about going to heaven as a place located somewhere “over yonder” where Jesus has gone to prepare a “mansion” just over the hilltop in the corner of “glory land”. I’m sorry to have to be the one to burst your bubble, but all that we have been told is not according to the word of God.

This deception, as I mentioned in part 1, goes back a long way, and is part of Satan’s way of sabotaging the plan God has for His true Church. The whole teaching about a “secret rapture” and how Jesus is coming at any moment “for” His saints, to transport them to heaven to be with Him for 7 years in order to miss the “tribulation”, is not scriptural! Read (Matt 24:15-31) carefully, especially verses 22, 24, and 29, and see that we the “elect” will be there during the “great tribulation”. Jesus returns to “shorten” the time for our sakes by doing away with the Antichrist when He appears “on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory”. There is not one verse of scripture to tell us Jesus is coming “for” his saints, but many to tell us He is coming “in” and “with” His saints, and we will go up to meet Him in the air. Not to be taken to “heaven”, but to return to earth to rule and reign with Him through eternity. The reason the “Pretribulation Rapture” has become so popular is because it does not require us to suffer any persecution, or to grow up unto maturity. Scripture is clear that both of these are required of us by our Creator. The whole Pretribulation thing with the secret rapture, and Jesus coming "for" the saints, is all part of this major deception plot of the enemy to get our attention off what the Lord wants us to concentrate on now! His plan for us is to realize our responsibility as “sons of God” and start to learn how to be over comers. In (Heb 5:12-14) we learn how we are to become mature believers, by feeding on the solid food of God’s word, and not just the “milk”, which is meant only for babes in Christ. This maturing is a process that starts with receiving Christ as Savior, and progresses to “know the love of Christ which passes knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Eph3:19). This process is known as “sanctification”, which is another word for “holiness”, or the separation from the world system which is under the control of our enemy, “the god of this age”. (2 Cor 4:3). Study these scriptures carefully like the Bereans did in (Acts 17:11)!

Sincerely submitted.

Gramp

DECEPTION (part 1)

The more I study the scriptures, the more it becomes clear to me that the church has been deceived in so many areas. I have mentioned in previous articles some of these areas of deception, and would like to draw your attention to another. We must keep in mind that we are involved in a “cosmic war” between God and Satan that has been going on for thousands of years. We enter this conflict the moment we are “born again” into the family of God and become an heir, and joint-heir with Christ of all things. Satan is now our enemy too, and deception is one of his many tools that he uses to try to keep the church from being what God intended it to be!

From the very beginning God’s intention was to have a family of beings like himself that he could have fellowship with. He has always lived in “community” with the Son and Holy Spirit, in what we call “The Trinity”, but it seems he wanted to enlarge his family. We read in Genesis how he created Adam in His image and likeness, and then brought forth Eve from Adam’s side, to start the first human family on this planet. God’s desire was always to come and dwell with man on planet earth. We see this in Genesis where we read how He came down to fellowship with Adam in Eden. Then when we read the last few chapters of Revelation we see The heavenly Jerusalem coming down from heaven to apparently hover over the earthly Jerusalem as a home for the redeemed throughout eternity!

This whole idea that heaven is located somewhere “over yonder” as a geographical location that we will all go to when we die, is all part of an enormous deception, as I am beginning to see it. This has been designed by our enemy to get our attention off the earth as our inheritance. (Matt 5:5) Instead of God transporting us to heaven to be with Him, His plan is to transport heaven down to planet earth so He can abide with us here for eternity. I know that sounds like “heresy” of the highest order, but before you tune me out, let me show you a few scriptures. In (Rev 5:10) we read that He has made us “kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth”. We have already pointed out (Matt 5:5) where Jesus said the meek shall “inherit the earth”. Check out the many other references to earth as being our inheritance, and I’m sure you will see what I mean. If we could just learn to read scripture for what it is, the very word of our Creator God, and ask the Holy Spirit to interpret it for us and not depend on some man’s opinion, we would begin to see how much we have been deceived! We will continue this in part 2, and it may become a series!

Sincerely submitted.

Gramp

BIG CHURCH or SMALL CHURCH ?

As you know, if you have followed this blog lately, that the subject of church has been a major topic. This week I ran across a statement that grabbed my attention, here it is "A small church with a big vision has greater impact than a big church with a small vision"! Read it over a few times before you decide that Gramp is just not in favor of large churches. This statement is not about the size of churches, but about their vision! It's only common sense that a big church with a big vision would have a greater impact than a small church with a big vision. Right?

What makes a church "successful" in the eyes of God? Is it their large buildings? Is it their multi-million dollar budgets?---I think not! If we read Paul's first letter to the church he planted in Thessalonica we get a true picture of a church that is having a great impact on their city. "And may the Lord make your love for one another and for all people grow and overflow, just as our love for you overflows. May He, as a result, make your hearts strong, blameless, and holy as you stand before God our Father when our Lord Jesus Christ comes again with all His holy people." (1Thess 3:12-13). God looks at the heart of a church to see if they are "successful", and here Paul mentions two characteristics that are vital for a successful church---"love for one another" and "holiness". Sad to say, in many churches today we don't see much of either of these two essential requirements!

In our western 21st century culture, we are taught that looking out for number one is important, and independence is seen as a virtue to be attained at all costs. This is completely opposite to the teaching of scripture, for example read (Phil 2:1-5), and (Col 3:12-17) to see how church members should relate to each other. Then when people in the world see this, they are more apt to be interested in hearing the "Good News" of the Gospel! So no matter what size of church you are part of, and you definitely should be part of one, (Heb 10:23-25), let us all strive to meet this scriptural standard laid down by the apostle Paul. Then when God looks at our local church, He will be pleased with our church heart, no matter how many people attend the services!

Sincerely submitted.

Gramp

SOME THINGS SATAN HATES (part 5)

Another thing that I'm sure he hates is "cleanliness and order". Our God is a God of order, as can be easily seen when we consider the perfect universe that He created. If it were not for this perfect order, the space exploration program would be impossible, and we would never be able to predict future times for simple things like "tide tables"! There is an old saying that "cleanliness is next to Godliness", it may not be a quote from scripture, but is a true statement none the less! When you consider things like "disorder, confusion, and chaos", which often surround ungodly people who are part of Satan's kingdom of darkness, you can easily see that these things are completely opposite to cleanliness and order. This is one way of detecting things he hates, by simply considering some of the attributes of God. Since Satan is the avowed enemy of God, and because he has no power to come against God directly, he does all he can to prevent the extension of the Kingdom of God on planet earth. We often see this in things that are completely opposite to the attributes or character of God.

The Bible mentions "unclean spirits" in several places, such as (Mark 1:26-27, and 9:25). These unclean spirits were demons, or disembodied spirits, that are part of Satan's kingdom of darkness on planet earth. They are invisible earth bound creatures, which seem to like to inhabit the physical bodies of humans or animals.(Mark 5:1-13). In the OT we see many times the distinction between objects that are declared by God to be unclean, and those that are considered by Him to be clean. God's people were always warned to abstain from anything that was unclean. The same goes without saying for God's people in the NT, and for all of us living today who are followers of Jesus. There may be some questions concerning certain things today that are considered unclean, but the Holy Spirit who indwells us as believers can be depended on to show us what to avoid!

I'm sure we have all had the experience of driving through the country on some back road, and seeing the contrast between houses and dooryards that are neat and tidy with lawns and flowers etc. and yards that are completely the opposite, with junk and garbage everywhere! There is a good likelihood that unclean spirits are involved in such a situation. Let us who know and follow Jesus, let our light so shine wherever we are, that there will be no question which kingdom we are part of!

Sincerely submitted.

Gramp

SOME THINGS SATAN HATES (part 4)

6/ Another thing that Satan hates with a passion is "humility"! This is a very interesting Greek word that was used by Paul in his exhortation to the elders of the church at Ephesus (Acts 20:19). According to Strong's #5012 it is composed of two words, one meaning "humble", and the other meaning "mind". And in English it can mean---modesty, lowliness, humble-mindedness, a sense of moral insignificance, and a humble attitude of unselfish concern for others. It is a total absence of arrogance, conceit, and haughtiness. Is it any wonder that Satan would hate it? It describes an action on the part of followers of Jesus, that is the exact opposite of everything he stands for!

We are seeing clearly, as we list these things that Satan hates, that there is no way we can prevent being in conflict with him, if we really choose to become a follower of Jesus! Take time right now to read carefully (James 4:6-10), and also (1 Peter 5:5-11) for clear instructions for dealing with Satan. Notice that in both of these passages the authors stress the importance of "humility", and in each case we are told to "humble yourself"! This is something that God will not do for us! He gives us lots of instructions in His Word for us to know how to humble ourselves, but it is up to us to carry them out.

In his second letter to Timothy, Paul gives some good advice that is applicable to all of us as followers of Jesus.In chapter two (2 Tim 2:15-23) he gives good advice on various things, and then in verse 24 we read "A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be kind to everyone, be able to teach, and be patient with difficult people. Gently instruct those who oppose the truth. Perhaps God will change these people's hearts, and they will learn the truth. Then they will come to their senses and escape from the devil's trap. For they have been held captive by him to do whatever he wants." This passage describes the strategy of Satan quite well. He is holding people captive to do his will, and the only hope for them is that if we, as followers of Jesus, will "gently instruct" them in the ways of Satan. This requires that we "humble ourselves", and submit to the Holy Spirit who indwells us, to know how to gently lead people to Jesus. Then they will be able to "escape from the devil's trap"! This is the overall purpose of "humility" in our lives, as I see it.

Sincerely submitted.

Gramp

SOME THINGS SATAN HATES (part 3)

5/ "Spiritual Unity" is another thing that Satan hates, and has done everything he can do to prevent true unity in the Body of Christ over the years. Even in the OT he was always active trying to get God's people to worship the idols and the many false Gods that the nations around them worshiped! Satan has never changed his tactics much since that time. The "True Church", which is the Body of Christ in the world today, is continually being tempted to worship the idols of the world system that they have been delivered from. The Greek name for church is "Ecclesia", which means "called out ones". In other words when we are born again into the family of God, we are called out from the ungodly world around us, and become part of the one True Church, that Jesus has been in the process of building for some 2000 years. Satan has always hated the true church, as we mentioned back in part 1, and has tried in various ways to form a counterfeit false church.

We have written several articles on unity, and there is a true unity of the Spirit of God, which is identified in scripture by the Greek word "koinonia". This word is used in (Acts 2:42) and is translated "fellowship". This true unity is only possible between people who have been born into the family of God, and thus became part of the true church. Satan has a counterfeit "Ecumenical Movement" which he has been promoting for years now among members of the "false church". This movement would like to see all Christian denominations join together with other world Religions, to form one big "World Wide Church". After all, they say, we all believe in one god, and all roads lead to heaven, why should we not be united? This type of "unity" will never achieve koinonia, or God's type of unity in the Spirit, simply because it is prompted by Satan. People who have never been born of the Spirit can be easily convinced that surely this is a good thing. Scripture teaches that we can not be part of two separate kingdoms, Satan's kingdom of darkness, and God's Kingdom of Light! (Col 1:11-14). So let's be clear that we will have nothing to do with this false church, or this false system of "unity" that Satan is trying to set up as a counterfeit for God's true unity of the Holy Spirit! Remember, Satan hates God, he hates God's people, and he hates true "koinonia", or unity of the Spirit!

Sincerely submitted

Gramp