Putting an End to Sin

PUTTING AN END TO SIN

It is difficult to believe that there ever will be an end of sin in the universe, but there shall be. From the time that Satan and his angels disobeyed God, God has developed a plan to put an end to rebellion once and for all. We may not realize it at first, but this is the best news imaginable. God has determined to make an end to sin, and mankind is involved in God’s plan.

Seventy “sevens” are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy. (Daniel 9:24)

Sin began when Satan decided he wanted to replace the Father. So the original sin was self-will. Satan is a usurper, like Absalom. From self-will sprang all the sins we know today, such as immorality, murder, and lying.

We who live on the earth, and those who died and are in the spirit world, have always been surrounded with a desire to sin. This desire is worse than any other affliction man must bear. As we know, our Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross and brought His blood into the Most Holy Place in Heaven to present to the Father. Thus Christ made an atonement for the sins of the whole world.

If Christ had not done this, I believe the earth and almost all of its inhabitants would have been destroyed long ago. I don’t know about the people who have died and are in the spirit world; perhaps some of them would have been spared. Sin against God is a horrible thing, and cannot be permitted to abide in God’s world.

As far as the spirit world is concerned: Satan, Antichrist, the False Prophet, the rebellious angels, the demons — all continually are pushing people in the direction of sin. The pressure never lets up — night or day. Added to those external forces are the sinful impulses that dwell in our flesh.

Satan has introduced several concepts so that we will not become serious about putting an end to sin:

Divine grace prevents God from seeing our behavior.
We are saved by belief in Christ without any change in our behavior.
As long as we are in world the we must sin; but when Christ comes, we will not sin any longer.
When we go to Heaven we won’t sin, even though sin began in Heaven.
People always will sin. That is their nature and the way things are supposed to be. God intends to forgive our sin but not remove the impulse to sin.
The world never has seen a man who does God’s will perfectly. It is too difficult.
If we try to do something about our sin, that is the filthy works of self-righteousness.

The above are how we cope with the fact that most of us are bound with sin, even though we say we love the Lord Jesus. All of these ideas are from Satan, who wants us to believe we must sin. Satan is bound tightly with sin, self-will, and hatred of God. Therefore he wants us to be bound with sin and self-will. Also, he would be pleased if we hated God, just as he does.

If we know anything at all about God, we know that He does not tolerate sin. In addition, God has the power to remove all traces of sinful behavior from any person at any time.

But God has a master plan. He is leaving the sin us and in our environment in order to develop holy people who through Christ will overcome their sins and self-will. After God has perfected this army of victorious believers, I believe that God will remove the external pressures, and also alleviate the internal pressures from the remainder of mankind, so they can be taught how to resist sin. But they still shall be governed by God’s Firstfruits.

God shall put an end to sin. He is in the process right now of doing this in the victorious saints, as we enter the spiritual fulfillment of the Jewish Day of Atonement.

Let’s consider the following passage, and see what it has to say to us:

As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear. (Matthew 13:40-43)

Note that:

The angels will weed out of His Kingdom everything that causes sin.
The angels will weed out of His Kingdom all who do evil.

“Everything that causes sin.” “All who do evil.” I take this to mean that there will be no sin in the Kingdom of God. In fact, the Apostle Paul informed us that if we Christians continue to sin, we shall not inherit the Kingdom of God.

One problem here is that believers will read these words and say, “There is no problem because I am going to Heaven by grace, so I don’t really care whether I inherit the Kingdom.” The above sentence reveals the misunderstanding of salvation that prevails today in America. Do we really believe it is possible to be at peace in Heaven and not be in the Kingdom of God?

The confusion arises because eternal residence in Heaven is taught as being the goal of salvation. If one will take the time to read the New Testament, he or she will discover that Christ and His Apostles did not preach about going to Heaven. Not one time! Not one single time!

What did they preach about? Two things: eternal life, and the Kingdom of God.

But aren’t these the same as Heaven? They assuredly are not. God gave His Son that whoever believes in Him shall have eternal life. This has nothing whatever to do with the place called “Heaven.” When we are born again, we can see and enter the Kingdom of God. This has nothing whatever to do with going to Heaven.

The Kingdom of God refers to the doing of God’s will in the earth, as Christ is formed in us.
Eternal life is a state of being in which we are filled with the Spirit of God.

The Kingdom of God is the rule of God that begins within us, as Christ is formed in us, and then will spread throughout the earth as Christ and His saints descend from Heaven and install the Kingdom of God. And then the angels will weed out everything that causes sin and all who do evil. I do not know how the removal of sin from the Kingdom of God will proceed. I know it has begun today.

Christ has come in the Spirit to His disciples, as He promised in John chapter 14:

Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him. (John 14:21)

Christ’s coming is in fulfillment of the Jewish feast of the Blowing of Trumpets. The Trumpets are announcing the spiritual fulfillment of the Jewish feast of the Day of Atonement, which is to follow immediately.

During the ceremony of the Day of Atonement, sin was forgiven through the blood of a goat. Then it was laid on a living goat, which was led out of the camp, signifying the removal of sin.

It is time now for God to remove the compulsions of sin from those of His people who will listen to Him and obey Him.

First, the Holy Spirit brings to our attention something we are doing that is not pleasing to God.
Then we are to confess that we are doing this, and determine to never again for eternity practice such behavior. We do this through faith in Christ. It is an eternal judgment on the spirit that is causing the sin.
In the future, should we be tempted along this particular line, we will find that we now have the strength to resist it.

Try it and see whether it works. It has for me for fifty years.

We cannot get rid of all our sinful behavior at once. It is sin by sin. Each must be confessed and renounced when the Holy Spirit brings it to our attention.

We are not to say, “God, I am so terribly sinful, please remove all of my sinful behavior.” Pray like this and nothing will happen. Instead, you must be specific about the sin.

When you begin the practice of confessing and forsaking your sins, Satan will accuse you of sins of the past that you are not doing, or other sins that you have no intention of doing. Do not listen to Satan. Wait until the Spirit of God points out something you actually are doing.

So the time has come for the removal of sins from the Kingdom of God.

How about those who refuse to confess and renounce their sins? They will be removed from the Kingdom. “All who do evil.”

Since I have mentioned two of the seven feasts of Israel, I will show you the entire progression. They are found in the 23^rd chapter of the Book of Leviticus as well as in other places in the Bible.

Passover. This symbolizes when we first receive Christ as our Lamb of God.
Unleavened Bread. This ceremony speaks of our coming out of the uncleannesses of the world, as dramatized in water baptism.
Firstfruits. This takes place when we are born again and a “firstfruits” of our personality is raised with Christ to the right hand of God.
Pentecost. Many Christians today have had the baptism with the Spirit of God, as in the Day of Pentecost at the beginning of the Church Age.

The following three observances may be new to us. The spiritual fulfillment of them has begun now:
The Blowing of Trumpets. This celebration marks the coming of the King, Jesus, to His faithful disciples to wage war against the sin in them. Trumpets announces the coming of the Day of Atonement.
The Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16) portrays the forgiveness of our sins, as the first goat of atonement was slain and its blood sprinkled upon and before the Mercy Seat. Aaron laid his hands on the second goat of atonement and confessed the sins of Israel. Then the second goat of atonement was led away into the wilderness. The fact that there were two goats of atonement reveals that God is not reconciled to us completely until our sins are forgiven and then removed.
Tabernacles. This is the seventh and last feast. Tabernacles refers to the coming of the Father and the Son to make us their eternal home. This is the ultimate goal of God — to have a home, a resting place through which He can govern, bless, and enjoy His creatures.

Right now, we are at the time in the program of redemption when the last three feasts are to take place. Actually, the Day of Atonement is starting now and shall continue until the time of the final resurrection, in preparation for the coming down to the new earth of the new Jerusalem, the home of the Tabernacle of God and the royal priesthood (I Peter 2:9).

Down through the centuries of the Christian era, there have been different ways of confronting the problem of sin, from the Catholic Mass to the sanctification-root-and-branch of the Nazarene people. All of these have done some good for the recipients, I am sure. But now we have come to God’s answer to the sin in His creation — the spiritual fulfillment of the Day of Atonement.

Make very certain that you are listening to the Spirit of God today. Be guided by Him into the deliverance from all sinful bondages. Be diligent in this so you do not miss the day of your visitation.

For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, (Romans 8:13)

(“Putting an End to Sin”, 3259-1, proofed 20211020)