We have a few things in common, I will read your testimony.
I read nothing but scripture for over 5 years with no input from any Christian source.
My testimony thread is here...
Jesus's Ministry
Dear Carl,
I read your testimony and you seem to have a real love for the truth and for Christ.
I know you said that you began studying scripture over 5 years ago without any input from others but does that mean that you no longer go to church?
My experience has been different than yours. I was happy in the church, "dwelling in peace and safety" when sudden destruction came upon me. Paul spoke of this same event here:
2Thes 2:1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, 2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. 3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that Man of Sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. 5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? 6 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. 8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: 9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 10 And with all 10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: 12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
This event of the "appearing" of Christ is the Latter Rain of the Spirit. It is the same "appearing" as when Christ comes as a thief in the night. It is also called the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.
The "Day of Christ" mentioned by Paul is not a literal single day. It equates to the thousand years reign of Christ in Rev 20, which is not a literal thousand years. Both the “Day of Christ” and the “thousand years reign” are spiritual symbols which represent spiritual truths (meaning that they happen within a person).
The Day of Christ starts upon the birth of a new child of God. At that time, the Old Man is still living within the new child of God and must be destroyed. Christ's reign is from within this believer for the purpose of judging the Old Man until he is totally destroyed. Then Satan is released for a "short season" to tempt and test the matured son of God. They will pass this test, just as Christ passed His time of testing when He was fasting in the wilderness for 40 days. After this time of testing is complete, the New Man in Christ is ready to be glorified.
What I have just described is the Narrow pathway that leads to life.
I will now describe the Wide Pathway that leads to destruction.
Everyone who is "called out" (including the Elect) will travel this pathway. All believers will "live" (pathway to salvation) not just by bread alone but by
every word that comes from the mouth of God (Mat 4:4). "Every word" includes both good and evil:
Lam 3:38 Out of the mouth of the Most High doth not there proceed evil and good?
A newly "called out" believer will start out on the wide pathway after they have received the Early Rain of the Spirit. At that time, the believer receives a measure of faith and the Holy Spirit. However, the believer is left spiritually blind and cannot "see" Christ at this visitation. Paul "typed" this truth with his blindness on the Damascus Road. Christ also taught this truth in the story of His healing of the blind man in Mark 8:21-25. Since the believer is left spiritually blind, they cannot understand scripture since it is presented in Christ's spiritual language (Isa 28:10-12, John 6:63). For this reason, the new believer is "lead by the hand" by those in the church who are just as blind as he is (the blind leading the blind Luke 6:39). At this point, Satan deceives the new believer through his spiritually blind "ministers":
2Cor 11:14-15 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.
And since the new believer's Old Man (carnal nature) is still living within the new believer, the new believer readily accepts what is taught to him by Satan's ministers. Satan's teachings are preferred by man's carnal nature more than the truth of Christ. And just as Satan tried to feed Christ "stones" in the wilderness, his ministers feed "stones" to the new believer. These "stones" represent the Old Covenant of works.
Luke 5:39 No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new: for he saith, The old is better.
After having tasted these "stones", the believer rejects the New Covenant of Faith because his carnal nature prefers the Old covenant of works.
Once these "stones" are consumed, the new believer "falls away" and is "broken". Instead of approaching Christ by faith alone, the new believer approaches Christ by "works" and commits the sin that leads to dead. The new believer loses his salvation.
This event is "typed" by Adam when he made an apron of figs leaves (his own works) to hide his nakedness (sin). Because Adam did not approach Christ in faith but in works, Christ cast him out of the Garden and their relationship ended.
Now that the new believer is fallen away, he is fully controlled by Satan and devolves into a "worse creature". Christ taught this truth below:
Mat 12:43-45 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. 44 Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. 45 Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation
"Unclean spirits" is a term that represents Satan's false truth taught by his ministers in the church. Since a new believer is spiritually blind after receiving the Early Rain, they cannot replace their worldly false beliefs with God's truth. One "unclean spirit" leaves but comes back with seven more since our house remains void of God's truth. These "seven" spirits represent the
spirit of antichrist, the complete false teachings of Satan. Now, instead of "one unclean spirit" within the believer, he now has EIGHT. The number eight is a term that spiritually represents a "new spiritual condition". This new spiritual condition is "worse than the first". Paul calls this worsened spiritual condition the
Man of Sin. In Revelation, it is called the "false prophet".
The Old Man represents who we become after being controlled by our carnal nature. The Man of Sin represents the addition of a religious component of works and Satan's full control over us to make us into a "worse" creature.
Side note: Christ came in the flesh as all mankind does but He was spiritually perfect. Because of His spiritual perfection, Christ was never controlled by His flesh and never became carnally minded. But since mankind is spiritually marred, we are quickly controlled by our flesh and develop a carnal mind. Because of our carnal mind, we sin.
After the new believer devolves into a Man of Sin, their deadly head wound that came from the sword of Christ at the time of the Early Rain
is healed. The blow by the Sword of Christ was intended to slay our Old man but because of our spiritual blindness and Satan’s deceptions, the wound is healed and our Old Man continues to live. As a result, we become a worse creature than before (Man of Sin).
Rev 13:3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.
The fallen away believer is represented by one of the heads of the Seven-Headed Beast. In case you are unaware, the Beast is a symbol for mankind in our spiritually flawed and carnally minded condition we have from birth (666).
Paul said this about our fallen away state:
Heb 6:4-6 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.
Since a fallen away believer cannot be renewed to Christ by "repentance", their only hope is for Christ to come to them a second time (Latter Rain). For most believers, Christ will not come again to them. They will die in this worsen spiritual state and be resurrected to judgment.
However, Christ will come a second time to a "few" of them - those who have been chosen from the foundation of the world. They are the Elect/Heirs/First-Fruits/Saints.
Matt 22:14 For many are called, but few are chosen.
When Christ returns to those He has chosen, He comes as a thief in the night because they are dwelling in darkness in their fallen away state. When Christ comes, He brings destruction with Him.
With this second visitation (Latter Rain), Christ "appears" to them and heals their spiritual blindness. Now the fallen away believer can see who they had become under Satan's deceptions. The Man of Sin, who had been sitting in God's temple, is finally revealed to them. And because of the "brightness" (truth) of Christ's appearing, the Man of Sin is destroyed.
This "destruction" ends the wide pathway.
With the Latter Rain visitation, Christ baptizes the believer with the Holy Spirit and they are "born again". They now start on the Narrow path that leads to life.
Portions of the Pathway to Salvation are taught in many places of scripture. In fact, this is the primary subject of most of Christ's teachings in the four Gospels. All the parables that begin with "the Kingdom of Heaven is like" are teaching on a certain aspect of the pathway. Once you know the steps of the pathway (both the Wide and Narrow portions), the pieces taught in scripture (little here and a little there Isa 28:10-12), will fall into place.
Here is a quick example:
Matt 13:33 Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.
This is the leavened bread prepared by Satan's ministers in the church. The leaven is "hidden" in the bread so those who consume it, don't realize that it is in there. They believe it is the true bread from heaven but it is actually bread mixed with Satan's lies and deceptions and is a deadly poison.
Carl,
From what I have presented above, coupled with my conversion testimony in my profile, maybe now you can understand what I have experienced in my life.
I travelled the wide pathway that lead to my Man of Sin's destruction on Oct 8, 2005. At that time, I was "born again" as a babe in Christ. Over the years since that time, I have been travelling the Narrow path that leads to life. My "New Man in Christ" has been maturing and my Old Man has been judged and is nearing his destruction. Christ is preparing me now to face Satan and his temptations again (the first time was after the Early Rain when I failed) when Satan is released for a "short season". But I am confident that "Christ within me" will overcome Satan's temptations, just as Christ overcame them during His 40 days of testing in the wilderness 2000 years ago. After this victory, I will be ready for harvest.
I don't consider myself special but I am truly blessed. I have never done anything in my life to deserve any of it. And that is why my salvation is solely by the GRACE of God and not by my "works" or any supposed "free will choices". By the end of the final age, all mankind will have experienced this same blessing of salvation and God will be "all in all".
Our God is truly wonderful and good to all of His creation.
Psa 145:9 The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.
Joe
