Introduction
I am reading in Zephaniah, chapter three, for my time with the Lord today. This is speaking of Jerusalem, which today is the church, the bride of Christ.
Yet, the true church is the people who have trusted in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of their lives. It is not a building, not an organization, not a denomination or even a non-denominational organization. For, it is not an organization, but a living organism. It is not built with bricks and mortar, but with human lives. And, it is not built on human marketing schemes, but on the Word of God, with Jesus Christ as her head, foundation, and support.
Yet, in the time this was written, Jerusalem was symbolic of the nation of Israel, which was a physical nation of people who worshipped Jehovah God in a physical temple. So, this could also be speaking of those who profess faith in God, in Jesus Christ, and who do still view physical buildings and organizations as their “house of God.” And, this could be representing, as well, one physical nation, in particular, but not God’s covenant people, as was physical Israel, but a nation which calls itself a “Christian nation.”
And, we must remember here that, even in the Old Testament, under the Old Covenant, just because someone descended from Abraham, it did not mean that he truly believed in God, for many of the Israelites of old died in the wilderness due to unbelief and (including) due to disobedience.
Zephaniah 3:1 ESV
Woe to her who is rebellious and defiled,
the oppressing city!
So, I believe today that the Lord would have me address these thoughts to the physical nation of the USA, which promotes itself as a Christian nation and as one nation, one people, under the authority of the One True God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Israel). And, I believe he would also have me address these words to the institutional church (state-church) in the USA, which does also include some Christians, and some professing Christians, and some, too, who make no profession of faith in Jesus Christ.
Certainly this is not addressed to every individual true believer in Jesus Christ, though, but only to those who are living in actual rebellion against their Lord. But, it also applies collectively to all those who are united with the world, and with the government and big business, via the 501c3, in direct contradiction to God’s commands that we not be unequally yoked (partnered) together with unbelievers, that we not turn God’s house into a marketplace, and that we have no other gods before the One True God.
I believe that the USA or the institutional church (state-church) in the USA is Babylon, the Harlot, but that her influences spread far and wide across the globe, so she is not necessarily just in one specific location. But, she is the harlot who rides the beast, which is a conglomerate of the elite, wealthy and powerful of the world who are conquering this world of ours presently, one nation and one person at a time, and which is conquering Christians, too.
Thus, as the Harlot who rides the beast, the USA serves the beast in a submissive role, and she does the dirty work of the beast in going into all these other nations to seek, to kill, and to destroy, and to persecute Christians, and to overturn sovereign nations and to take them over. And, she is now turning against her own people to do the same to us as she has done in these other nations, and is still doing (See Rev. 12-14).
Zephaniah 3:2a ESV
She listens to no voice;
she accepts no correction.
The control and the influence of this two-fold beast, i.e. of this totalitarian global government and its one-world religion, is spread far and wide. It or she is an overpowering global force which is unrestrained and uncontrolled.
And, it has produced a global church movement, which is predominant in the USA, which is leading the way to this one world religion, for it reduces the gospel of our salvation to a mere acknowledgment of Jesus or a mere acceptance of God’s grace, but it requires no repentance, no obedience, and no submission to Jesus Christ as her only Lord (master) and Savior.
This “Christian” movement, that is spreading like rapid fire, is taking the church, the institutional church, in particular, by storm. But, it is twisted. It distorts the Word of God, misrepresents the truth of scripture, manipulates the scriptures to their advantage, and uses hypnotic means to control the minds of the naïve and the ignorant, and the minds and hearts of fallen Christians, too, who have returned to walking according to the flesh.
What this movement is teaching, though, is in direct opposition to the teachings of Christ and his NT apostles, but not to all the teachings, just the ones which don’t fit with their man-made goals and objectives. For, it promotes wickedness, immorality, and corruption. For, it is representative of the beast and of Satan, for it bears their character, mind and will.
Yet, they put on a persona of righteousness and truth. They proclaim they are Christians and that they have been saved from their sins and that what they are teaching is the true gospel, while they criticize and demonize those who are teaching the true gospel of repentance and submission to Christ.
But, they don’t listen to the truth, or they certainly don’t accept it, and they don’t accept correction, either, i.e. that they must turn away from their lifestyles of sin and they must follow Jesus in obedience to his commands.
Zephaniah 3:2b ESV
She does not trust in the Lord;
she does not draw near to her God.
But, this appearance of righteousness, and this appearance of truth and godliness is a sham, for it is appearance only, outward and for show. It is unrealistic, for it is lacking in real spiritual depth, for it is very superficial. It is, therefore, pretentious, inconsistent, unreliable and fleeting, for it does not hold up to the truth of God’s Holy Word. For, it is of the flesh of man.
The true authority, thus, over these who are making these false professions of faith in Jesus Christ, and/or who are presenting this false grace gospel message, which delivers no one from hell and from slavery to sin, is not God. It is Satan, and it is the flesh of man, the sin nature. And, it is the same for the fruit of these who believe and who teach what is false, and who are self-righteous, and who put on a show of righteousness. Their fruit also comes from the flesh, the sin nature, and thus also from Satan.
Thus, they are not in true relationship with the Lord Jesus (God), but with themselves, and with the devil, and with the flesh of man. For, they are opposing God and his Word. They are fighting against him, and his Word, and his messengers who are presenting the Word in its fullness. They are disputing with them, contradicting the truth, and are resistant to correction and to accepting the truth of God’s Word, taken in context.
So, they have turned to being wishy-washy, indulgent, lenient and spineless with regard to the truths of God’s Word, because they don’t want to “offend” anyone, because they are building earthly kingdoms, and because they serve Satan, and Satan doesn’t want anyone coming to the truth.
So, these who are of this movement, which is spreading like wildfire, not only are not truly trusting in the Lord themselves, but they are willfully and knowingly lying to people, and it is very calculated, too. For, these lies which are being spread are premeditated and scheduled with the full intent of leading people away from pure devotion to Jesus Christ to follow after Satan, basically, and their own flesh, and the teachings of humans in the flesh.
These false shepherds of the people, thus, whether in the government or in the institutional church, have one goal in mind, to lead people away from the Jesus of the Bible to a false Jesus of man, and to lead them away from the true gospel of our salvation to a gospel of men in their deceitful scheming. And, this is so that none of them will be saved from their sins, but so they will remain in bondage (slavery), and so they will not go to heaven one day, although they will believe that is exactly where they are headed.
So, we need to be aware that this is going on within the gatherings of the church, and that many of our church leaders are truly wolves in sheep’s clothing who are thieves and robbers, who are out to destroy the church and to kill the gospel and its messengers (See: John 10). And, we need to be so discerning, and we need to be in the Word of God, finding out what it really teaches, and then we need to be obeying the Word of God.
For, we are all going to reap what we sow one day. If we sow to please our sinful flesh, from the flesh we will reap destruction (decay, death). But, if by the Spirit, we are sowing to please the Spirit, then we will reap eternal life (Gal. 6:7-8; cf. Gal. 5:19-21; Lu. 9:23-25; Rom. 8:1-17; 1 Jn. 1:5-9).
Lastly, this beast (antichrist) is at our doorstep and growing in size and power, so we need to be ready.
For Our Nation
An Original Work / September 11, 2012
Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Trust Him with your life today.
Make Him your Lord and your Savior.
Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.
He will forgive you of your sin;
Cleanse your heart, made new within.
Men betraying: Our trust fraying.
On our knees to God we’re praying,
Seeking God to give us answers
That are only found in Him.
God is sovereign over all things.
Nothing from His mind escaping.
He has all things under His command,
And will work all for good.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Men deceiving: we’re believing
In our Lord, and interceding
For our nation and its people
To obey their God today.
He is our hope for our future.
For our wounds He offers suture.
He is all we need for this life.
Trust Him with your life today.
Thursday, May 16, 2019
I am reading in Zephaniah, chapter three, for my time with the Lord today. This is speaking of Jerusalem, which today is the church, the bride of Christ.
Yet, the true church is the people who have trusted in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of their lives. It is not a building, not an organization, not a denomination or even a non-denominational organization. For, it is not an organization, but a living organism. It is not built with bricks and mortar, but with human lives. And, it is not built on human marketing schemes, but on the Word of God, with Jesus Christ as her head, foundation, and support.
Yet, in the time this was written, Jerusalem was symbolic of the nation of Israel, which was a physical nation of people who worshipped Jehovah God in a physical temple. So, this could also be speaking of those who profess faith in God, in Jesus Christ, and who do still view physical buildings and organizations as their “house of God.” And, this could be representing, as well, one physical nation, in particular, but not God’s covenant people, as was physical Israel, but a nation which calls itself a “Christian nation.”
And, we must remember here that, even in the Old Testament, under the Old Covenant, just because someone descended from Abraham, it did not mean that he truly believed in God, for many of the Israelites of old died in the wilderness due to unbelief and (including) due to disobedience.
Zephaniah 3:1 ESV
Woe to her who is rebellious and defiled,
the oppressing city!
So, I believe today that the Lord would have me address these thoughts to the physical nation of the USA, which promotes itself as a Christian nation and as one nation, one people, under the authority of the One True God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Israel). And, I believe he would also have me address these words to the institutional church (state-church) in the USA, which does also include some Christians, and some professing Christians, and some, too, who make no profession of faith in Jesus Christ.
Certainly this is not addressed to every individual true believer in Jesus Christ, though, but only to those who are living in actual rebellion against their Lord. But, it also applies collectively to all those who are united with the world, and with the government and big business, via the 501c3, in direct contradiction to God’s commands that we not be unequally yoked (partnered) together with unbelievers, that we not turn God’s house into a marketplace, and that we have no other gods before the One True God.
I believe that the USA or the institutional church (state-church) in the USA is Babylon, the Harlot, but that her influences spread far and wide across the globe, so she is not necessarily just in one specific location. But, she is the harlot who rides the beast, which is a conglomerate of the elite, wealthy and powerful of the world who are conquering this world of ours presently, one nation and one person at a time, and which is conquering Christians, too.
Thus, as the Harlot who rides the beast, the USA serves the beast in a submissive role, and she does the dirty work of the beast in going into all these other nations to seek, to kill, and to destroy, and to persecute Christians, and to overturn sovereign nations and to take them over. And, she is now turning against her own people to do the same to us as she has done in these other nations, and is still doing (See Rev. 12-14).
Zephaniah 3:2a ESV
She listens to no voice;
she accepts no correction.
The control and the influence of this two-fold beast, i.e. of this totalitarian global government and its one-world religion, is spread far and wide. It or she is an overpowering global force which is unrestrained and uncontrolled.
And, it has produced a global church movement, which is predominant in the USA, which is leading the way to this one world religion, for it reduces the gospel of our salvation to a mere acknowledgment of Jesus or a mere acceptance of God’s grace, but it requires no repentance, no obedience, and no submission to Jesus Christ as her only Lord (master) and Savior.
This “Christian” movement, that is spreading like rapid fire, is taking the church, the institutional church, in particular, by storm. But, it is twisted. It distorts the Word of God, misrepresents the truth of scripture, manipulates the scriptures to their advantage, and uses hypnotic means to control the minds of the naïve and the ignorant, and the minds and hearts of fallen Christians, too, who have returned to walking according to the flesh.
What this movement is teaching, though, is in direct opposition to the teachings of Christ and his NT apostles, but not to all the teachings, just the ones which don’t fit with their man-made goals and objectives. For, it promotes wickedness, immorality, and corruption. For, it is representative of the beast and of Satan, for it bears their character, mind and will.
Yet, they put on a persona of righteousness and truth. They proclaim they are Christians and that they have been saved from their sins and that what they are teaching is the true gospel, while they criticize and demonize those who are teaching the true gospel of repentance and submission to Christ.
But, they don’t listen to the truth, or they certainly don’t accept it, and they don’t accept correction, either, i.e. that they must turn away from their lifestyles of sin and they must follow Jesus in obedience to his commands.
Zephaniah 3:2b ESV
She does not trust in the Lord;
she does not draw near to her God.
But, this appearance of righteousness, and this appearance of truth and godliness is a sham, for it is appearance only, outward and for show. It is unrealistic, for it is lacking in real spiritual depth, for it is very superficial. It is, therefore, pretentious, inconsistent, unreliable and fleeting, for it does not hold up to the truth of God’s Holy Word. For, it is of the flesh of man.
The true authority, thus, over these who are making these false professions of faith in Jesus Christ, and/or who are presenting this false grace gospel message, which delivers no one from hell and from slavery to sin, is not God. It is Satan, and it is the flesh of man, the sin nature. And, it is the same for the fruit of these who believe and who teach what is false, and who are self-righteous, and who put on a show of righteousness. Their fruit also comes from the flesh, the sin nature, and thus also from Satan.
Thus, they are not in true relationship with the Lord Jesus (God), but with themselves, and with the devil, and with the flesh of man. For, they are opposing God and his Word. They are fighting against him, and his Word, and his messengers who are presenting the Word in its fullness. They are disputing with them, contradicting the truth, and are resistant to correction and to accepting the truth of God’s Word, taken in context.
So, they have turned to being wishy-washy, indulgent, lenient and spineless with regard to the truths of God’s Word, because they don’t want to “offend” anyone, because they are building earthly kingdoms, and because they serve Satan, and Satan doesn’t want anyone coming to the truth.
So, these who are of this movement, which is spreading like wildfire, not only are not truly trusting in the Lord themselves, but they are willfully and knowingly lying to people, and it is very calculated, too. For, these lies which are being spread are premeditated and scheduled with the full intent of leading people away from pure devotion to Jesus Christ to follow after Satan, basically, and their own flesh, and the teachings of humans in the flesh.
These false shepherds of the people, thus, whether in the government or in the institutional church, have one goal in mind, to lead people away from the Jesus of the Bible to a false Jesus of man, and to lead them away from the true gospel of our salvation to a gospel of men in their deceitful scheming. And, this is so that none of them will be saved from their sins, but so they will remain in bondage (slavery), and so they will not go to heaven one day, although they will believe that is exactly where they are headed.
So, we need to be aware that this is going on within the gatherings of the church, and that many of our church leaders are truly wolves in sheep’s clothing who are thieves and robbers, who are out to destroy the church and to kill the gospel and its messengers (See: John 10). And, we need to be so discerning, and we need to be in the Word of God, finding out what it really teaches, and then we need to be obeying the Word of God.
For, we are all going to reap what we sow one day. If we sow to please our sinful flesh, from the flesh we will reap destruction (decay, death). But, if by the Spirit, we are sowing to please the Spirit, then we will reap eternal life (Gal. 6:7-8; cf. Gal. 5:19-21; Lu. 9:23-25; Rom. 8:1-17; 1 Jn. 1:5-9).
Lastly, this beast (antichrist) is at our doorstep and growing in size and power, so we need to be ready.
For Our Nation
An Original Work / September 11, 2012
Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Trust Him with your life today.
Make Him your Lord and your Savior.
Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.
He will forgive you of your sin;
Cleanse your heart, made new within.
Men betraying: Our trust fraying.
On our knees to God we’re praying,
Seeking God to give us answers
That are only found in Him.
God is sovereign over all things.
Nothing from His mind escaping.
He has all things under His command,
And will work all for good.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Men deceiving: we’re believing
In our Lord, and interceding
For our nation and its people
To obey their God today.
He is our hope for our future.
For our wounds He offers suture.
He is all we need for this life.
Trust Him with your life today.
Thursday, May 16, 2019
